FreshBread

Good Morning Friends,
Yesterday morning we began to look at the life of Moses, but let’s turn the clock back and start at the beginning. Exodus 2:1-4 tells us :
1 Now a man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman, 2 and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. 3 But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. 4 His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

It is so hard at times to remember that we exist to bring God glory. He does not exist to make our lives better. However, this story is a reminder that God is always working to accomplish his plan. God had plans to use Moses! Maybe his parents were motivated by parental love and placed him in the basket, but I have a feeling they were acting with the belief that God was going to use their son!
For those of you who are parents, what would change about the way to approach, teach, train, support your children, if you approached every day with the solid belief that GOD WANTS TO USE YOUR CHILDREN! He does and you will show them that…..NOT BY WHAT YOU SAY, as much as HOW YOU LIVE! I am praying for you today!
Scott

Good Morning Friends,
It’s almost the weekend and we have a super weekend at FRESHSTART…….the golf tournament on Saturday and a great service on Sunday. Look forwarded to seeing YOU!
We have been looking at the life of Joseph this week. One thing after another happened to Joseph due to the anger, deceit, or forgetfulness of other people. There is no one that would say that he was treated unfairly. However, REMEMBER, God was with Joseph, and when the Pharaoh had a dream, Joseph was called out of prison to interpret it. Due to his interpretation ability, he was placed second in command of Egypt and it was his task to prepare for a great famine. When the famine occurred, his brothers traveled to Egypt to find food. It was years later, and they had no idea they were standing before the brother they had sold into slavery, but Joseph did. When the bothers learned it was Joseph, they feared for their lives, and rightly so. Joseph responded with these words recorded in Genesis 50:20- “20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.”< ?br>
There are times in this life when we are treated unfairly by brothers and sisters who claim the name of Jesus. It is wrong, hurtful, confusing and even scary at times……but remember, THE LORD IS WITH YOU. Joseph never retaliated, he never copped an attitude, he never pouted or even complained (that we know of). What we do know is he did the very best he could in whatever situation he found himself and in the end had clear understanding for he was able to say: 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.”
Carry on my friends….God is with you…..do not let your brothers or sisters acting in misguided ways steal your joy…..GOD WILL USE IT FOR HIS GOOD!
Have a great day. I think I need to go hit a bucket of balls so I can win this golf tourney in the AM. See you there!

Good Morning Friends,
T minus 4 days till the Freshstart Open. If you are not signed up to play, CALL THE OFFICE TODAY!

Yesterday we saw that Joseph was sold by his brothers into slavery. In Egypt, Joseph was purchased by an official of Pharaoh named Potiphar. In Genesis 39 we read these words:
2 The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.
That sounds like a great thing to me. Every one of us would like to be assured that the Lord is with us and that we would prosper right? HOWEVER, our understanding of that might be a little different than reality. Somewhere along the way many of us have been taught that when God is with you, (and you prosper) that means that your personal agenda is furthered, circumstances work out well for you, and possibly you even get more stuff. As we read on in the story of Joseph (and I encourage you to read Genesis 39 today), we see that this is not the case. Joseph is seduced by Potiphar’s wife, falsely accused and thrown in Jail for YEARS….but we read that God is still with him and he continues to prosper.
We must remember that God desires to walk through life with us and PARTNER with us. This does not mean that God will fix everything. It does mean that God is going to do his part and ask you to do yours. Many times people face tough situations and ask God to change them and then sit around doing nothing waiting for God to act. God has equipped us to do our part, to love mercy, act justly and walk with Him. We can be assured that he will do his part.
One more thing……do not be confused by the word prosper. The scripture is not speaking of personal wealth in this passage, but in Joseph’s character building, and in turn, in his walk in God’s Kingdom. We can see a change in Joseph. As he is faithful (his part), God changes his character (God’s part). Are you prospering today? Growing in your walk with God for HIS glory and His Kingdom? What are you seeking today?
Have a wonderful day and let’s talk in the AM!
Scott
If you want a jump on this weekend, take a look a the story of Moses in the early parts of Exodus, we will be diving into it on Sunday!