If you are reading this on another day, search for
June 12, 2015 on the intouch.org website.
From the CANON on this blog:
How the
worship of Baal breaks the Ten Commandments
1.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Tyrants do not believe in the true God. Their god is Tyranny. They cause their subjects to worship and be
dependent on them, rather than God.
1.
God is omnipotent and therefore can solve any problem. He may choose to use the solutions listed
below, but he often provides in ways you could have never imagined. The poor should cry out to God for help,
rather than depending on Baal.
From today’s devotional:
If anyone had ample
opportunity to become embittered by life’s trials, it was Joseph. His brothers
treated him with contempt even before they tossed him into a pit. Then, he was
sold into slavery, transported to a foreign land, framed for a crime, and left
to waste away in prison—all within a relatively short period of time. Despite
the many injustices he suffered, this boy who grew up in bondage became a man
of diligent work ethic and gentle spirit.
It’s almost
impossible to understand how Joseph could seem so forgiving, peaceful, and even
joyful. His secret to maintaining grace under pressure was a constant focus on
God. He must have spent many hours recalling Jacob’s stories about the Lord’s
faithfulness to their family—and also the divine revelations about his own
future as a leader (Genesis 37:8-9).
In spite of his numerous afflictions, Joseph trusted that those God-given
dreams would become reality.
Imagine what kind of
man Joseph might have become after 13 years of suffering and injustice. Had
Joseph dwelled on his unfair circumstances, he’d likely have become cynical and
vengeful. With a mind full of escape plots and revenge tactics, he might have
failed at being a good worker—so instead of achieving greatness, Joseph would
probably have toiled at unfulfilling menial tasks.
With his spiritual
eyes trained on God’s glory, Joseph persevered through great trials. In the
end, he certainly had the power to punish his brothers for their treachery, but
he chose to forgive. That decision probably wasn’t easy. Yet because Joseph
placed himself under God’s protection, his heart was unhindered by negative
emotions.
Commentary
Imagine what kind of
man Joseph might have become after 13 years of suffering and injustice. Because Joseph placed himself under God’s
protection, his heart was unhindered by negative emotions.
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