Precious Lord, take my hand,

Lead me on, let me stand,

I am tired, I am weak, I am worn;

Through the storm, through the night, 

Lead me on to the light:

Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.

~ Thomas A. Dorsey

the set - 10 Nov 13

We acknowledge our transgression
We confess to You our sins
Show us mercy and compassion
Touch our lives with Your healing grace again

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong, a perfect plea:
A great High Priest, whose name is Love

My name is graven on His hands
My name is written on his heart

When Satan tempts me to despair
and tells me of the guilt within
Upward I look and see him there
Who made an end of all my sin

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like You have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks Yours
Everything I am for Your kingdom's cause
As I walk from earth into eternity

Lord I need You oh I need You
Ev'ry hour I need You
My one defense my righteousness
Oh God how I need You

Cheering on the faithful encouraging the weary

Thanks for your encouragements, prayers and the article on the bulletin.
Thanks to our Father that Shern shared a link of Laura Story - blessings. A reminder that we're not home yet, and the hope we have.
And through the study of Genesis, YHWH ordained Joseph's slavery and imprisonment. YHWH ordained the crucifixion of His only Son. YHWH himself allows what he does not prefer, in order to achieve some greater goal.
Let's pray that His will be done...

Laura Story - Blessings

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we have faith to believe

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It's not our home

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the achings of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise

If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. (Ex 33:15)

Joseph is exalted

There is no limit to what YHWH will do with a person like Joseph who does not touch YHWH's glory.

When you suffer, will you ask YHWH to teach you humility and to prepare you to remain unchanged when success and praise come? Deep inner humility comes only through the deep work of the cross of Christ as we yield to YHWH's will regardless of the circumstances.

Joseph's Suffering

From the day Joseph was thrown into the prison, he experienced the comfort of being conscious of God's presence. He adapted himself to his new circumstances and chose to use them as YHWH's appointed place to serve Him at that time in his life.

Joseph honored those in authority above him, and took compassionate care of those over he had authority. He glorified YHWH rather than himself. He worked with a joyful attitude in unfair conditions out of obedience to YHWH.

Joseph's betrayal

Joseph's betrayal... There are no miracles, yet YHWH great power is at work in every circumstance to accomplish all His good purposes not only for Joseph, but also for the world.

Perhaps Joseph was tempted to question YHWH's promises or the gift of his dreams, yet YHWH deliberately allowed all this to happen to him.
Hebrews 5:8-9 Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.

YHWH trained His Son through suffering (Hebrews 2:10 In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered.), He trained Joseph through suffering (Genesis 37-41).
Your behaviour when you suffer qualifies or disqualifies you to lead others.

Joseph flourished in hardship because he had faith to see YHWH's faithfulness and goodness in his circumstances. YHWH gladly gives grace to those who ask Him, moment by moment in whatever the circumstance.

Fully Alive

Notes 

p14
men and women who were born as male or female, part of a divine plan that brings with it the joyful sense of purpose that God wants you to know in all your relationships, even the difficult ones.

p43
neqebah means punctured; bored through
neqebah refers to something that has been opened and can now be entered.
Neqebah suggests relational femininity is a two-way street. It includes an openess to receive and a willingness to give.


p62-63
Observation 4: Peter offers Sarah to women as an example of the beauty of submission.
The man of faith made his move, I suspect three months later. The woman of imperishable beauty opened herself to receive her husband's God -honoring movement. Sarah submitted to God's purpose, as a woman fully alive in her femininity. And Peter says, "Wives, be like Sarah."

p92
Do we really believe we're being spiritually formed if we experience the presence of Jesus without being empowered to relate like Jesus?

Come to me Matt 11:28
Jesus issued an open invitation to people who He knew would not respond. How did it make Him feel?

p110
But I want more than warm acceptance when I show myself. I want to hear truth that has the power to transform me, to set me free from fear.

p118
In the mystical quietness of spiritual retreats complete with lectio divina and contemplative prayer, and in the excitement of world-changing activism through political campaigns and working for social justice, something is often missing, something important. A passionate focus on personal spirituality, feeling God's presence, and social spirituality, changing the world through evangelism and social action, too often leaves little room for serious interest in relational spirituality.

Hours before Calvary, Jesus prayed that His followers would relate well, revealing to the wolrd what divine community looks like (John 17:20-26). Days after Calvary, He told us to "make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matt 28:19). Our power to make the difference in our world that God is interested in depends onn how His world-changing disciples get along with each other. The order matters: relate well in order to serve well.

p165
C.S. Lewis, who worried that the more he knew God the less he might like Him. I hear Hosea and Paul and James telling us that deep joy emerges only in deep sorrow, that real femininity and masculinity develop in the tragic existence of felt futility and owned failures, of significant relational pain.

p182
The main thing we learn from a serious attempt to practice the Christian virtues is that we fail. C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.

p186
Jesus made it clear: the way to life is knowing God (John 17:3)

p202
Never ask for God's wisdom lightly. Seeing things as they are in God's way of thinking can be difficult to handle.

p211
I am beginning to enjoy the fruit of confession in a new way. More frequently and with greater intensity I now experience the reality of emptiness and brokenness, at a depth I have not before known, and I seem to be embracing this reality more willingly, even gratefully, without a fight, and with results I have long been waiting for.

Fully Alive by Dr. Larry Crabb ISBN 978-0-8010-1592-2