God has found us out

Genesis 44:1-17

The story of Joseph in the last 14 chapters of Genesis is full of many lessons, not least in the way it points to the rejection and exaltation of Jesus (Acts 7:8-15). But one thing it especially seems to bring out by the time we reach this passage in chapter 44 is the way God teaches his servants to trust entirely in his timing.

Joseph was a sinner like us – perhaps he told too much of his dreams as a boy (37:8) and perhaps here in this passage his tactics lack full integrity (44:4). Yet his patient trust in God and his awaiting of his timing are remarkable. We never hear of him retaliating against his brothers (37:24), though they “saw the anguish of his soul” (42:21), nor against the unjust treatment he received at Potiphar’s house (39:20). Cast far away by his loved ones, he dutifully and faithfully gets on with his work as a slave (37:1-5), and thrown into prison for a wickedness he did not commit, he sets himself with the same faithfulness to his new position (39:21-23). Finally he is raised to a position of power (40:40) and then sees his brothers coming to him for help (42:7). Full of love for them and no doubt desperate to show it, yet he hides his love from them and “speaks roughly to them”, not to get them back but because he is entering into God’s plan – a heart-searching plan which will bring about true repentance and reconciliation at the right time. The plan unfolds and his brother Judah finally realizes, “God has found us out,” and then pours forth the beautiful confession which forms the second half of this chapter (44:18-34). Joseph can refrain himself no longer and they are reunited (45:1-15). 

All in God’s timing, and all because he could find one humble servant to trust entirely in his timing.

Dieu arrive à point nommé. L'histoire de Joseph nous le rappelle.  Elle préfigure celle du Christ. Renvoyé, trahi,  par les siens, Joseph s'emploiera plus tard à les réunir par son pardon.

James Pitts

…….he who believes has everlasting life ~ … celui qui croit a la vie éternelle ~ ….. wie gelooft, heeft eeuwig leven

John 6:41–51

John 6 :47      …….he who believes has everlasting life.

The hymn by Stuart Townsend, In Christ alone my hope is found

4^th verse    No guilt in life, no fear in death

                   This is the power of Christ in me.

In the works of Marie de Hennezel, she talks about the dying and how

important it is for them to be able to express their fears of death,

and to clarify unresolved anger and guilt before passing from this

life into another experience ……….that of death.

She has noticed how peaceful these people become once they were

able to let go of their remorse or guilt, it was as if it fell away from them

and allowed them to go…..forward. To everlasting life perhaps…?

Johannes 6: 41-51

Johannes 6:47    ….. wie gelooft, heeft eeuwig leven

Alleen in Christus is mijn hoop gevestigd

                Geen schuld in het leven, geen angst voor de dood

                Dit is de kracht van Christus in mij

Marie de Hennezel spreekt in haar boeken over de stervenden.  Zij vertelt hoe belangrijk het voor hen is om hun angsten voor de dood te kunnen uitdrukken en om klaar te zien in alle onopgeloste woede en schuld vooraleer over te stappen vanuit dit leven in een andere ervaring ... deze van de dood.

Ze heeft opgemerkt hoe vredig deze mensen werden zodra zij hun wroeging of schuld hadden kunnen loslaten; het was alsof het allemaal van hen af viel wat hen in staat stelde om ... vooruit te gaan.  Naar eeuwig leven misschien

St. Jean 6:41-51

St. Jean 6:47    ……… celui qui croit a la vie éternelle.

Le hymne par  Stuart Townsend, Seul dans le Christ mon espoir se trouve

4ième verset    Aucune culpabilité dans la vie, aucune peur de la mort

                           Tel est le pouvoir du Christ en moi.

Dans les œuvres de Marie de Hennezel, elle parle de l’importance

pour les mourants de pouvoir exprimer leurs peurs de la mort et d’éclaircir leur colère ou leur culpabilité non résolues avant de passer

de cette vie pour aller vers une autre expérience ... celle de la mort.

Elle a remarqué comment ces personnes deviennent paisibles une fois

qu’elles sont capables de lâcher prise de leur remords ou de leur

culpabilité. A partir de ce moment ils sont libres de partir … en avant.

Vers la vie éternelle peut-être ?

Lynda Boardman

God loves us as we are~ Dieu nous aime, tells que nous sommes

Inspired by Romans 4.13-25

Romains 4 :13-25

Grace is an unparalleled gift of sweetness, an undeserved gift from God to man of forgiveness and generosity with no strings attached, given just because He loves us as we are. As individuals we are far from perfect, sometimes in ways too obvious to hide, which will cause scorn from some people and understanding from others (or sometimes both at the same time!). Yet everyone will go through times of confident strength and times of debilitating weakness in their life. If we are lucky enough to live long lives like Abraham and Sara, eventually our bodies will grow less firm and capable of bearing life. Yet God breathed grace into Abraham and Sara and gave them the unexpected joy of children because they trusted in him. He can breathe grace and bring new life into any situation of strength or weakness.

(I am reading Philip Yancey’s book ‘What is so Amazing about Grace’ at the moment. I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to learn more about grace from God and how to be gracious to others.)

Inspiré de Romains 4 :13-25
La grâce est un cadeau incomparable de gentillesse, un cadeau immérité de pardon et de générosité donné par Dieu à l’homme juste parce qu’il nous aime comme nous sommes. En tant qu’individu, nous sommes loin d’être parfaits, avec des traits de caractère qui seront méprisés par certains et compris par d’autres (et parfois les deux en même temps !). Pourtant, chacun passe par des moments de force confiante alternant avec des moments de faiblesse. Si nous avons la chance de vivre de longues vies, comme Abraham et Sara, nos corps finiront par être moins fertiles. Pourtant, Dieu leur insuffla la grâce et leur donna la joie inattendue d’être parents parce qu’ils lui ont fait confiance. Il peut insuffler la grâce et apporter vie à n’importe quelle situation de force ou de faiblesse.

Petra Zollner

I’m only human aren’t I?

Galatians 6 (especially verses 7-10)

Galates 6 (en particulier les versets 7-10)

It is tempting sometimes to try to justify doing something wrong; that little lie that gets you out of a difficult situation, saying something unkind or unnecessary because you’ve been “pushed to the edge” by frustration, not keeping your temper under control….

“After all, I’m only human aren’t I? God can’t expect me to get it right every time, can he?  I don’t usually do this.”

But verse 9 urges us to try that bit harder:  “Let us not grow weary of doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.”  So when I am next tempted, maybe I will manage to recall these words and ask God to help me do what is right this time, rather than having to settle for thinking that I will do better next time.

Il y a toujours une tentation de justifier nos actions mauvaises.  Mais suivons les conseils dans ce texte et faisons un gros effort de se conduire mieux.

Rachel Warfield

‘The Fruits of the Spirit’ ~ Les Fruits de l’Esprit.

Galatians 5:16-26

Galates 5:16-26

 ‘The Fruits of the Spirit’

La maîtrise de soi contient tous les autres fruits de l’Esprit.

From the days when I could systematically remember things, I have always remembered that ‘the Fruits of the Spirit’ were a nine-to-five job. Nine fruits, from Galatians chapter five. If I have heard, say, 40 sermons a year for the last 40 years, then one of the very few of the 1600 that I can still picture is that delivered by the commanding figure of my own father - preaching on the Fruits - from the pulpit of St Michael’s Church, Highworth (in north Wiltshire) around the mid-1970s.

For me, the odd one out is ‘Self-control’. The first eight Fruits are nice, comforting, even predictable – Love, Joy, Peace etc. But ‘Self-control’ is something else – a rather ugly expression, and seemingly a modern construct. (The King James Bible had it as ‘Temperance’.)  It’s not so obviously a good thing in itself, and more of a way of corking up the bad but nonetheless very compelling things we might like to indulge in, like Money, Sex and Power. (Aren’t these three so much more interesting than their opposites, the monastic vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience?)

And yet, my word, we do pray for ‘Self-control’. Paul unfolds a colourful list of ‘passions and desires’ from which it can restrain us. Not many of us move in circles offering much in the way of 'witchcraft', 'debauchery', 'drunkenness' and 'orgies' (in this respect, Brussels pales next to Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe), but I would wager that most of us tick off almost all of the Seven Deadly Sins, on an almost daily basis. Anger, Greed, Sloth, Pride, Lust, Envy, Gluttony – ah yes, one of each, please, and gift-wrapped, if you will.

But the greatest of my sins is undoubtedly ‘Self’. Self-pity easily tops the list, often linked to its close associate Self-confidence. How is my good ‘Self’ feeling now? Happy? Sad? Middling? Up and down, and a bit of each? Whichever, both my default and my inherent fault is to impose and inflict myself on others, and to make sure that they know just how I’m feeling...

So, suddenly, this rather ugly expression ‘Self-control’ has new and urgent meaning. It makes ‘Restraint’ as precious a thing as the other eight more obviously good things. In fact, it actually exhibits them all – Love, Joy and Peace as above, and Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness. Amen to that, and Amen to the ninth Fruit, ‘Self-control’.

John Phillips

You were doing well, what happened?

You were doing well, what happened?

Galatians 5:2-15

Galates 5:2-15

The message of the gospel is so counterintuitive that we cannot hold on to it by our own strength. Even if it seems that we manage for some time, we so easily fall back to our normal state of attempting to stand before God with our own goodness and good works.

Paul goes as far as calling the cross an “offense”, so radical and crazy is the idea. I have been thinking whether the insanity of the cross could possibly help us get rid of having a faith centred on ourselves. Otherwise it is very easy to turn the Bible into a book of moral virtue, a self help guide to better life. However, with the cross, it is about what God has done in Jesus. It is a story no self-help guru could ever have written, since it makes no sense.

When we risk falling off the path, we should remember that it may be the simplicity of the real message that is so “light” that it can sometimes become unbearable: The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

La lettre de Paul aux galates nous semble difficile à comprendre. Le message de la croix est-il absurde?  Nos bonnes actions ne suffisent-elles pas? Cependant, pour moi, la seule chose qui compte c'est la foi qui s'exprime dans l'amour!

Arttu Mäkipää

Study Diligently

John 5: 30– 47

Jean 5: 30-47

Study Diligently

As you read this passage, can you hear the hurt in Jesus’ voice?  He says ‘I seek not to please myself but him who sent me’ -  but just look at all the negatives in the following verses: ‘you do not believe’   ‘you refuse to come to me to have life’ ‘you do not have the love of God in your hearts’ ‘you do not accept me’........  His one desire is to do what the Father asks, but he meets only mistrust, rejection and downright disbelief. And yet his hearers are studying the Scriptures diligently – but fail to recognise Jesus when he comes among them.

Do we also study the scriptures diligently (the fact that you’re reading this suggests that you probably do!) yet refuse to come to Jesus for life?  Faith and trust in him is a matter of the heart and not just of the head.

En lisant ce passage est-ce que vous entendez le chagrin dans la voix de Jésus? Il dit: ‘je ne cherche pas à réaliser mes propres désirs, mais à faire la volonté de celui qui m'a envoyé’ – mais notez bien toutes les expressions négatives qui suivent: ‘vous ne croyez pas’ ‘vous ne voulez pas venir à moi pour recevoir la vie’ ‘vous n’avez pas d’amour pour Dieu’ ‘ vous ne me recevez pas’.......Le seul désir de Jésus est de faire ce que le Père demande de lui, et pourtant il ne rencontre que la méfiance, le rejet, l’incrédulité. Ceux qui l’écoutent étudient avec soin les Ecritures – mais ne reconnaissent pas Jésus quand il arrive parmi eux.

Est-ce que nous aussi, nous étudions avec soin les Ecritures (le fait que vous lisez ceci indique que c’est peut-être le cas!) mais refusons de venir à Jésus pour recevoir la vie?

La foi en lui est une question de coeur  et pas seulement de tête.

Catherine Roberts