Welcome!
Date: Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Today: A fruitful vine
Passage: Gen 49: 22-24 NIV
22 “Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall. [j]
23 With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility.
24 But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed [k] limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,
The rise of Joseph from prison to palace is very interesting
From the pit, he went to Potiphar house, and then to the prison and then the Palace!
Even in our days, we know people who rose from their humble beginnings, to the highest office in the nation
Abraham Lincoln was a man with very little education, but became one of the most popular presidents of America
In the scripture above, we see Jacob testifying about his son Joseph
While blessing his children before his death, Jacob speaks very true and meaningful statements about Joseph
Joseph is compared to a “fruitful vine”
We all like to compare ourselves to Joseph, especially when it comes to the “Prison to Palace” portion, but read the rest of this and see where we actually stand
A vine tree is precious, because it gives the fruit, which are grapes
Grapes are so much part of everyday life, especially for the Hebrew nation
While there could be many vines out there, Joseph’s specialty was that he was a fruitful vine, bearing fruit for others
Wherever Joseph went, he was a fruitful person-even in the prison
I have seen people looking for any excuse to avoid doing their work, who complain about facilities and stuff like that
But commitment is a matter of the individual, a matter of heart, not a matter of circumstances
It doesn’t matter what my neighbor is doing or not; my commitment is mine
Even as Joseph faced lot of troubles, Joseph continued to be deep rooted in God and bear fruit. He was a different breed- a child of God.
Joseph’s bow and his arms remained steady, irrespective of whatever he faced
In these days of instability-not only financial but also moral, can we stay true to our commitment and be steady?
Many are concerned about their children growing up in this generation
Our elder son who is fourteen, recently wrote a message, where he mentioned that basically “we” are facing challenges very similar to what the generation before us faced!
In other words, in these days people use different types of gadgets and media, but the challenges are always similar, because satan has not learned much of new things!
And, we have an unchanging God, to help
So can we, regardless of whatever challenges or temptations we are facing, keep rooted and anchored in God, His love and His word?
Let others know us by our commitment and humility, more than by our skills and education!
I am kind of afraid, if the very word “commitment” would be removed from our dictionaries soon, because there are many who even hate to hear that word “commitment”, believe it or not!
Commitment to God, to family, to work,….
Stay committed. Bear fruit
God bless
BG
Prayer: Lord, help me to be like Joseph, not only about the “blessing” part of him, but also about the “commitment” and integrity of Joseph. Amen