GlorifyHimNow.Net!

coming soon!

Ok. Let’s face it.

If you are anything like me, you would have to agree that when you became a parent you really didn’t know what you were getting yourself into. The task of raising God fearing, intelligent, wise, disciplined, productive, responsible human beings, for the Glory of God, may seem overwhelming - if not daunting!

The problem is not that there isn’t a plethora of books and teachings on “training up” our children; or that there are not many opinions, philosophies, and methods abounding with do’s and don’ts. No, there is so much information available to us now, that our parents did not have access to, that many times we don’t know what to do. It often leaves us exasperated.

Despite all the information from the “experts” the best training a child can get is our example.  Children learn more from our actions than from our words and rules?

If that is so, then this may give us a clue as to why many parents are getting opposite results from what they want from their parenting.

Our kids are just doing what we do and following our examples.

Have you ever felt like throwing your hands up and just leaving the children to themselves to figure life out? At times, I have. But we can’t do that.

So what can we do? Where can we find the answers and the courage to implement them? Well, as always, it is in God’s word. We are told that “…his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue…” 2 Pet. 1:3

For many of us, our lack of success can be attributed to us lacking the things we want to teach our children. What if you were never trained in character, discipline or Godliness…?.  What if you never learned how to submit yourself to earthly authority, or even worse, God’s Commands? What if you never learned how to say no to your own whims and impetuous desires?  What if you don’t know how to make wise decisions or right choices? How can you give to your children what you don’t know or have? We need to be taught and “trained up” before we can impart biblical wisdom and knowledge to our children?

It is with this in mind that I have decided to write a series of articles on “PARENTING PARENTS THROUGH PROVERBS”.

We will go through the Proverbs together and gather some good nuggets for ourselves on how to live a life with wisdom and success. Armed with this knowledge, we can then pass what we have learned on to our children. Let’s be parented by God first.

I only wish that as a child I was taught the principles found in Proverbs.  It would have spared me from many bad choices. Some, of which, I am still reaping the consequences. I have no doubt that I could be much further along in life. Maybe there wouldn’t be such a struggle to be a better example to my kids. Thank God, it’s not too late. It doesn’t matter how old you are or how old your children are. As long as you and your children have breath, you can grow and learn.

Every day is a new day. It is ok to start fresh, start over, break old habits, choose to do good, and teach your children - even if they are adults. The Book of Proverbs is timeless and useful for everyone at any age. It is my prayer that you will be blessed by this study.

The topics we will discuss, in no particular order, are:

Wisdom: The Principle Thing!

Discretion and Discernment

Industry, Work, Financial Responsibility and Success

Fleeing Temptation

Keeping Wise Companions and Seeking Godly Counsel

Self Discipline and Temperance

Honesty and Integrity

I encourage your comments and if there are any other topics you would like to discuss then please feel free to let me know and I will add them to the list.

I am excited about the opportunity to learn and grow together. I hope you will join me!

Early today while reading the life of Joseph in preparation for a sermon series I am preaching through tomorrow entitled “Lessons to the Young”, I couldn’t help but notice how God provided for Joseph and his family in the midst of great famine.

Will he not do the same for you and I?  Of course he would, for our God is impartial in his dealings with His people. And we know he is the same yesterday, today and forever more. Over and over the scriptures say about Joseph that “the Lord was with Joseph”. This is a clue to Joseph’s success; we will come back to that statement.

In Gen 39:2 we find, ” And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.”

Here is a young slave, who through diligence and faithfulness is promoted to work in the house of his master. Could your lack of diligence and unfaithfulness be affecting your ability to get a promotion, though you are a child of the king?

Again we read in Gen 39:21,22 “But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it.”

In studying the life of Joseph, it was clear that God could trust Joseph with favor and prosperity. Not because he was one of His children, but because he was a young man of impeccable character.

But this character was not developed in a vacuum or over night. Joseph didn’t wake one day in the field with the sheep and begin to display character. This was developed in his early years. So much so, that at 17 years old, Joseph’s father Jacob could rely on him to Shepherd the large herd of flock that Jacob got from his father in law, Laban (Gen. 30:27, 30, 43). By the time we get to Gen. 39:2 this young man who by now had lost his mother, was loved by his father and hated by his brothers could be relied upon to bring back news about the bad conduct of his brothers. In Gen. 37:2b we read these words, “…and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.”

Joseph was not gossiping or slandering his brothers. His character was such that though he was the youngest, his father could rely on him to make sure that his brothers were not getting into trouble. In Gen. 37:14 Jacob sends Joseph to check on his older brothers and the flock to “…see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again.“ What 17 year old do you know could be trusted to be more responsible than his older siblings? I don’t know of many.

Because of Joseph’s faithfulness to God and man, we find these words,

Gen 39:2-6  “And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. Gen 39:3  And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand. Gen 39:4  And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand. Gen 39:5  And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field. Gen 39:6  And he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured.”

It is amazing to see how much prosperity and success entered the life of Joseph by chapter 40 of Genesis. If you trace his life from Gen. 30, this young man went through more than most his age. Yet he remained true and committed to God. How many men do you know would run away from Potiphars wife? This woman had to be extremely beautiful and powerful. She pressed him day by day to have sexual relations with her (Gen. 39:7-21a); Yet he remained true to God and his personal convictions. He was a young man of impeccable character. This had a lot to do with why Joseph was so blessed by God and also divinely positioned to bring Glory to God in the midst of a time of great famine. Will you be divinely positioned to be a blessing to others as things get worse for those around you?

God blessed Joseph with wisdom through dreams to prepare for a very difficult time that would come upon Egypt and the people of Israel. I believe he can do the same with you and your life. If you are willing to be faithful to Him now.

What can you learn from this?

Well there is much. Unfortunately, time would not permit us to go into all the riches found in this story. Therefore, let’s answer the question, Tough Economic Times - What can I do?

Here are 4 things you can do today:

1. Determine to be faithful to God regardless of your circumstances. Character is what you do when no one is around. Or better yet, what you do, when no one is around, and you faced with extreme temptation to do evil and an OPPORTUNITY “to get away with it.”Gal. 6:9. Joseph was tempted with great evil. He had opportunity to sin and maybe no one would ever know. And he refused. How can I do this great wickedness?
2. Whatever you are doing regarding work or career, do as unto God (Col. 3:23). Don’t approach life as though Church and religious activities are spiritual, but work , career or income is not. So many of God’s people are mediocre on the job because work is not something they want to do. The attitude is, it’s something I have to do to provide for my needs. This was my attitude for many years and lead to me not being productive and efficient. But this approach to life was not the attitude of the successful people in the scriptures (Josh 1:8). For example, Joseph was made a slave in Potiphar’s house, yet he served Potiphar as though he was working for God. His faithfulness, led to his promotion and prosperity. In Gen 39:4 again, “And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.” Be faithful in little so God can make you ruler over much. Ask yourself, can God trust me with more?
3. Don’t complain or give up/in when things get tough. One day Joseph was the joy of his parents. The next he was a slave with no hope of what his tomorrow would be. The day his brothers sold him into slavery could have been his last. He would not see his family for more than 13 years and  be left to grow up without his family. Yet never once did Joseph complain or allow life to crush his spirit. Like Daniel, he remained true to God and purposed in his heart that his circumstances would not cause him to complain, compromise or quit. Like Daniel, this led to Joseph being promoted to leadership in every period of his life. see Gen. 39:2-4; 21-22.
4. Flourish, thrive and do well right where you are. Don’t wait for things to get better. Make them better by living above your circumstances (Col. 3:1,2). God says if you faint in the day of adversity, it’s because your strength is small (Prov. 24:10). You have been given ALL you need to succeed right where you are. Stop making excuses or blaming God for your failures or disappointments for he places nothing before you with the view to induce you to do wrong (Js. 1:13) . Joseph could have spent his time being angry with God, his brothers, the Midianites, the Ismaelite’s, Potiphar…. But he chose to obey God, be thankful in all things, pray without ceasing, make no provision for the flesh, deny himself and gave God something to work with. I am sure he made the Lord proud (Heb. 11:6). Will you?

Well, I hope you find this information helpful. Take time to read Joseph’s life beginning in Gen. 30. If this was helpful to you, leave a comment.

May the blessings of the Lord make you richin everything you do!

The idea of Glorifying God in your body has had extremes throughout the ages…….

So much so, that the mean denomination that focuses on health are the 7th Day Adventist.

Since my wife’s diagonoses with Cancer almost 7 years ago, we have seen so many of God’s people die from diseases. Unfortunately, there have been one of two extremes

Whether you eat or drink…

by Sean Isaacs

In the book of Corinthians we find this very simple, but often overlooked instruction, “whether you eat or drink, do all to the Glory of God.”

What does it mean to Glorify God in all that you do?

How does the Glory of God relate to my everyday life? Can it be applied to….?

I am convinced and persuaded that all we do can be done with the mindset of glorifying God.

In 1 Cor. 10:31 we find the following admonish from the Apostle Paul to the Corinthian church, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”

Look for continuation soon…..