EMBRACE IT

The following is an excerpt from my new book, “Be a Man the World Needs: Volume One,” available now at: https://a.co/d/80U575e. Every day this week, you can read a new devotion from the first chapter.

1.2 EMBRACE IT

READ: Genesis 37:18-36

“But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.” Genesis 45:7 NIV

Joseph had every reason to play the victim card. He was a real victim. His own brothers had sold him out, literally. 

Even in Egyptian slavery, Joseph experienced betrayal, hardship, and loss. But Joseph would not be deterred. Joseph saw the potential on the other side of every difficulty.

Joseph embraced hardship and experienced God's incredible goodness. Ultimately, Joseph’s willingness to embrace the moment provided the opportunity to make a profound difference.

When disaster struck, Joseph didn’t celebrate the misfortune of his captors. He didn’t stomp on the hopes of those who had betrayed, enslaved, and imprisoned him. Joseph once again embraced the need in front of him. Joseph looked for a way to help the world around him. Not only did it save a nation, it saved his family. Joseph didn’t look for a way to get back at them, he sought the chance to give himself to an incredible need.

You can spend your life looking for retribution or looking for contribution. A man the world needs will bear the scars of hurt and betrayal. No one gets out of this world alive. But you were made for it. Don’t go looking for it, but when hardship comes, don’t let it rob you of the opportunity to be a man the world needs. Your friends, family, and neighbors are depending on you.

CHALLENGE: Every day is met with some kind of hardship. Don’t ignore it today. Look for the opportunity hiding there. How can you be the man the world needs in this situation?

MADE FOR IT

The following is an excerpt from my new book, “Be a Man the World Needs: Volume One,” available now at: https://a.co/d/80U575e. Every day this week, you can read a new devotion from the first chapter.

1.1 MADE FOR IT

READ: Genesis 1:1-31

“And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:28 ESV

God had worked a masterpiece. A world teeming with life and untapped potential. Every syllable of God’s creative work set the stage. The blank canvas of possibility was ready.

The world was amazing. It was good. It was new and raw and wild. And it was in need. All that was made was waiting. But for what? The world was lacking one thing. God’s amazing creation needed a man. So God made Adam and Eve and called it good. And God gave man stewardship over His creation. God trusted the first man with His creation.

God still trusts men with His creation. You are a man God trusts with His creation. You are a man God trusts with His world.

The first mandate from heaven was to be fruitful and multiply. Because the Garden of Eden wasn’t a well-manicured masterpiece of landscaping. It was a landscape of potential, opportunity, and hope.

God still places men where hope is needed. You have everything you need to be a man the world needs. You were created for it.

CHALLENGE: Today, when you encounter a need in your everyday world. Meet it. You may be the only one who can.

Noah: Willing Different

God looked at the state of His creation and was greaves by the corruption, violence, and evil. It pained Him enough to regret having made humanity. That's a pretty shocking declaration concerning the state of the world. But Noah was different. God liked what he saw in Noah. (Genesis 6:8 MSG)

In the midst of absolute wickedness Noah stood apart. There was something different about him. The story goes on to show that Noah obeyed God. He played a role in saving the world—literally.

Maybe for us to be used by God all we really need to do is be a little different than the crowd. I'm not talking about being unique for the purpose of sticking out. Many today throw themselves so fully into a contrived attempt at uniqueness that they lose themselves in a noisy mob of similar pretenders.

Noah stood out, not because he was unique but because he was what God was looking for. He was willing to obey. He was willing to work. He was willing to wait. Noah was willing.

Perhaps all that is holding back a miraculous change in the lives of those around you, is for you to be willing. What if you could read Genesis 6:8 again with your name in Noah's place? What woukd it take to get you to that place with God? What is holding you back?

But _______________ was different. God liked what he saw in _________________. (Genesis 6:8 MSG)

November 13 - Prophecy: Borrowed Tomb

And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. (Isaiah 53:9 ESV)

When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. (Matthew 27:57-60 ESV)

Isaiah lived and prophesied about 700 years before the time of Jesus. His writings have so many references to Christ that his book is often referred to as the fifth Gospel. One of Isaiah's predictions was that Jesus would be buried in a tomb given to him by a rich man.

Joseph of Arimathea was a rich councilman, and a secret follower of Jesus. He used his political power and wealth to influence the Romans to give him Jesus' body for an early burial. All of it happened so fast that Jesus was buried on the same day he was crucified.

Joseph played a pivotal part in the history of Christianity. Do you think he knew how important his tomb would be when he was having it cut? Probably not. But he took his wealth and power and offered them to God to be used for His purpose. It is an incredible lesson.

What we have is not ours alone. We are stewards. How can we use it to bless others? How can we put our assets to work for God's plan?

July 31 - For This Purpose

John 12:27-36

“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. (John 12:27 ESV)

Jesus could have saved himself. He didn't have to suffer for us. He had a choice. However, as the Son of God he chose to bridge the gap between Heaven and Earth. He chose to become the mediator. The Way.

As he told his followers, it was "for this purpose" that he has come. Not to be a good moral teacher. Not merely to perform miraculous healings. And not to stir up the religious elite. He came for the express purpose of restoring humanity to the relationship God intended.

Have you ever set out to do something with a purpose? Have you ever let something interfere? I know I have, and often do. The truth is that we're not quite on par with Jesus. We're pretty far off the mark.

But he maintained. He persisted. To the point of death. He knew his purpose, he embraced his purpose, and he fulfilled his purpose.

We can find our own purpose in this life. Chances our that the seeds for God's great purpose for your life have long since been planted in your soul. Look for your purpose, embrace your purpose, fulfill your purpose.

March 17 - The Reason

Read: Mark 6:7-13

And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them. (Mark 6:13 ESV)

I never really understood the reasoning for anointing people with oil when you're praying for them. But I didn't have to completely understand it. Jesus told his disciples to do it, they obeyed, and people were healed. Honestly, that's all the reasoning I really need.

Do you ever feel like there are things about this faith life that you don't know the reason for? If you're like me you probably think that way pretty often. Generally I am just crazy enough to believe that everything has a reason and a purpose. I am perplexed at some of the things in life that seem to be reasonless. Still, there are others who's reasons seem ridiculous.

What about your reason? If Jesus had a reason for teaching his disciples to anoint with oil he must have had a reason for most of the things he did. I certainly don't believe that he was bouncing around the Galilean countryside behaving at random. No, he had a reason for everything because he was sent with purpose. He ministered with purpose. He healed with purpose. He died with purpose. And behind every purpose there is a reason.

January 25 - The Given Name

Read: Luke 2:21-24

And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. (Luke 2:21 ESV)

Eight days after he was born Joseph and Mary took the baby Jesus to be circumcised. It was during this event when he was named.

Imagine bringing a child into the world without any power over his or her destiny, or even something as simple as their name. Yet, that is exactly what the young Jewish couple did. The son which they would provide for, shelter, educate, and love was more important than even they could comprehend. So important that God sent a holy messenger to hand deliver the news of his birth and even a detail like his name.

Names are important things. They were even more important in the days of Jesus. In those days names were given based on meaning. Maybe you like your name. Maybe not. Perhaps your parents spent a great deal of time contemplating your name including its meaning. Or perhaps not.

I believe that, like Jesus, God intends for each of us to find purpose and mission in relationship with Him. I believe that God has chosen for you a given name. Maybe not literary in the sense that you should go and change your name or ask people to start calling you something different entirely, but I think you were made for a higher purpose than your parents, teachers, family, coworkers, friends, or yourself can truly grasp. Spend time today asking Jesus about your true given name.

SOMETHING that ENDED on a FRIDAY

It's not going to happen. Friday 12-21-12 will be a pretty standard Friday for most of us. I for one will be glad to have it behind us. But what if it were actually going to all go away tomorrow? What if today was the last day you ever had? Are you satisfied with how your final moments played out? Did you do something worthwhile? Did you give yourself in something meaningful? The main idea here is that days like Mayan Apocalypse Day should, besides generating a ton of sarcastic humor, cause us to reflect on our lives. Days like these should make us stop and ask ourselves a few questions, not because we actually believe that the world is about to end, but because we believe that it will not. Are we satisfied with who we are, where we are, and how we are? What would we do to change any of it?

Jesus did something to change it. In fact, the first part of the most important moment in human history (the crucifixion of Christ) is widely believed to have happened on a Friday. Tomorrow is supposed to be a scary Friday. Jesus faced the scariest Friday ever. He did it with a willing commitment we will never be able to understand. He did it for you and for me, and to glorify the Father. He lived life free of regret, full of purpose, and focused on God. What about you?