Lonely, forgotten, Joseph sat in jail for no reason at all. He had done the right thing -- so why was he here? His friend, Pharaoh's chief butler, had promised to remember Joseph when the butler was reinstated. But he completely forgot. How often do we forget to keep promises that we made? I know I do, and there is a terrible feeling of guilt. The butler's words express this sort of guilt when, on Pharaoh's birthday "two full years" later, he introduces the king of Egypt to God's dream interpreter (pun not intended). "Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, ' I do remember my faults this day: Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and put me in ward in the captain of the guard's house, both me and the chief baker: And we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he; we dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream. And there was there with us a young man, an Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told h...

"The tarry of Jacob and his sons at Shechem ended in violence and bloodshed. The one daughter of the household had been brought to shame and sorrow, two brothers were involved in the guilt of murder, a whole city had been given to ruin and slaughter, in retaliation for the lawless deed of one rash youth. The beginning that led to results so terrible was the act of Jacob’s daughter, who “went out to see the daughters of the land,” thus venturing into association with the ungodly. He who seeks pleasure among those that fear not God is placing himself on Satan’s ground and inviting his temptations." --Taken from Patriarchs and Prophets , p. 204

We are living in the perils of the last days. All heaven is inerested in the characters you are forming. Every provision has been made for you, that you should be a partaker of the divine nature,having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Man is not left alone to conquer the powers of evil by his own feeble efforts. Help is at hand, and will be given every soul who really desires it. Angels of God, that ascend and descend the ladder that Jacob saw in vision, will help every soul who will climb even to the highest heaven. They are guarding the people of God, and watching how every step is taken. Those who climb the shining way will be rewarded; they will enter into the joy of their Lord. How completely gratifying is that thought! As I prepared to "pen" this blog post, I was pondering and praying as to how to start it. I knew what the topic was: Jacob's ladder and the ladder of grace (found in 2 Peter 1:5-7, but vv. 1-12 provide the bigger pict...

On a hill long ago, Someone died for doing nothing at all. In being obedient to his Father's will, He showed His Father's love. And thousands of years before His arrival to our dying planet, God painted a picture of what that love would look like. You see, His Son would become flesh and dwell as Deity among humanity. But the Father -- His losses would be less tangible in the eyes of His creation. So rather than using reams of paper and additional doctrinal points to show us His side of the sacrifice, He gave us a story. Abraham was another father; Isaac another son. The mother in this story is distant, almost nonexistent. There was another mountain far away from their home. It was a new place. There was another pile of wood, another willing son tied to it; another group of two men on the same journey, yet not called to the same fate. There were another father's tears; another son's prayers; another story of love and self-sacrifice. And it started in the beginning*...

 This is a little devotional thought that I gave during a kid's cooking school at our church this past summer (2013). It is based on the story in found in Genesis 25 & 27 of Jacob's deception and Esau's birthright. Feel free to share this story with the younger members of the family of God. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. 31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. 32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? 33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright. (Genesis 25:30-34) How many of us have said a lie before? How many have cheated on a test? Was it right or w...

She would not leave her possessions. She had heard the angel's instructions; but as she observed her husband's hesitation, she dwelt on her own doubts. Her heart clung to Sodom, and the thought of leaving behind all she loved was too much. So she looked back... He had stepped out in faith. Yes, he had doubted along the way, but as he saw the fulfillment of divine promises, he was learning to love and trust God more. But, there was only one thing he did not yet trust Providence to take care of -- her. She was the apple of his eye, the joy of his life. She was a beauty, and he knew that other guys would think so too. Please, Beulah* , he said, if you love me, just please call me your brother . He would rather lose her than lose his life... Relief flooded over him as he reached the promised haven. As he entered the city, he turned to see the intense firestorm raining about six miles behind him. Heaven's judgment had come. He noticed his two daughters in the city with...

God is a keeper of His word. What He say, He will do. "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness" (2 Peter 3:9). To Noah and his sons the promise was made that never again would the earth be destroyed by water. As a token of that vow, God said, "I do set My bow in the clouds..." His bow? In the Revelation, at the beginning of chapter 4, John relates this scene: "After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. And He that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne , in sight like unto an emerald" (verses 1-3). No matter how bad the rain gets, God will never destr...

"By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he had witness borne to him that he was righteous, God bearing witness in respect of his gifts: and through it he being dead yet speaketh" (Hebrews 11:4). Since the earliest years of this earth's history, the blood of martyr's has been the seed that spreads the truth of God's character and influences the living to trust in Him.  Abel was a steadfast adherent to the will of God. More than anything else, he wished to exalt his Maker as the Supreme One, as the Master of all that is. By sacrificing one of his choice lambs for a burnt offering to the Lord, this younger son of Adam was looking ahead to both the Father's immense pain in separating from His Son in a gift to the world; and Jesus' immeasurable sacrifice.  Though an imperfect reflection, it was indeed "a more excellent sacrifice than Cain." It was heart service. Abel believed in his heart that a...