Archives for December 2012

“The Gift of Hunger”

When I taught my high school English students to analyze poetry, I always asked them to explain the author’s purpose in writing the poem. What was his/her intent?

Invariably they would respond . . .

• “How do we know?”
• “We weren’t with him when he wrote it.”
• “He’s dead now.”
• “How will we ever know?”

Even my suggestions of what I felt the author meant were met with “He could have meant something totally different!”

“That is true,” I explained, “but this is not something I made up. My suggestions are sound because I have done something you have not done.

“I have studied his life! You won’t know the author’s purpose if you don’t know the author.”

“Read as much about the author as possible,” I told them! “Then you can understand his motivation, his intent. Then you can understand his diction (word choice), his tone, his message!”

As you study the Word of God this year, I encourage you to get to know the Author. Every word that He spoke is an avenue into His heart. Every phrasing, a sliver of His mind. Every nuance of language, a facet of His personality! This is what Jeremiah the prophet said:

When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight (Jer. 15:16)

The same one who said, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5) also said, “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons” (Matthew 10:8). What did He mean? What was His intent? What is His purpose?

I pray that this year God will give you the gift of hunger for His words more than ever . . . that it will be the Author of the words that you yearn to know and love! Read His words! Watch movies about his life! Get into exciting Bible studies and prayer meetings! Read books by people who practice His presence! Saturate your mind with as much of Him as possible! Such a hunger will give purpose to your life, and passion to your pursuits!

PRAYER: Abba, that’s our prayer in 2013! Give us the gift of hunger for your words! As we desire your words, unfold your nature to us so that we will know your purpose and all that you want us to know. As your words come, let us eat them! Let them be our joy! Let them be our hearts’ delight! In Yeshua‘s Name, Amen.

Happy New Year from Weiss Ministries as your hunger allows you to feast upon the bounty of His Words!

Let the words of “My Soul Cries” by Misty Lewis minister to you: 

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WHEN!!!! Joseph’s life was full of “when’s”! So is your life! I think that you will gain some insight into what God is doing in your life by discovering the “when’s” in Joseph’s life.

WHEN . . .

. . .others hate you (as Joseph’s brothers did),

• God will criss-cross the blessing and use the scorned one to bless the haters.

(Joseph was the younger and, according to custom, should not have received the blessing, but God raised him up to be a blessing to all of his elder brothers and even the younger one [Benjamin] whom he had never met — all because God criss-crossed the blessing.)

WHEN. . .

. . .others want to kill you,

• God will send you a Reuben (Genesis 37:12-21) and use him to prevent others from taking your life.

(Reuben, the eldest of Jacob’s sons, suggested that Joseph not be killed but that he should be placed in a cistern. His intent was to return later and free his brother. If the enemy is conspiring to take your life, your reputation, your dreams — God says, “There is a Reuben I am raising up for you!”)

WHEN . . .

. . .they reject you (Genesis 37:23-28),

• God will send you the balm of Gilead.

(Joseph was taken from the cistern and sold to a caravan of Ishmaelites on their way to Egypt to sell merchandise. This could have been a caravan of rocks, sheep, dung — anything —  but it wasn’t!  They were carrying incense, spices and balms from Gilead. Joseph was thrown on the back of a caravan that smelled of the sweet fragrance of heaven  . . . of the sweet fragrance of Yeshua who is often referred to as “the Balm of Giliead.” I don’t know if Joseph missed the presence of this sweet aroma on his way to Egypt. He could have been so engrossed in his troubles and hurt that he could have missed it! Don’t you miss the fragrance He has for you as you journey through your situation!)

WHEN . . .

. . . you’re in slavery (Genesis 37:36)

• God will send you a Potiphar.

(Joseph is now in Egypt and it is not to a cruel person he is sold . . . but to a man who sees his worth and shows him favor so that Potiphar puts to Joseph’s disposal his entire household. Now, Potiphar’s whole house is blessed because of Joseph’s presence. God will send you a Potiphar who will bless you and you, in turn, will bless him. When Potiphar’s wife accuses Joseph of making advances on her, it will be Potiphar’s love for Joseph that spares his life. Potiphar had him thrown in prison when he could have had him killed. Oooooooo, BUT GOD! This same One who raised up a Potiphar for Joseph and will also for you!”

WHEN. . .

. . . others forget you,

• God will use a dream as an opportunity for someone who forgot you to remember you.

(When Joseph blessed the cupbearer by telling him the meaning of his dream, Joseph asked the cupbearer to remember him. The cupbearer forgot all about him. Two years later, Pharoah has a dream that none of his astrologers could interpret. Coincidentally — NO! — PROVIDENTIALLY — the cupbearer remembers Joseph and now Joseph finds his way out of the prison. That was God’s idea . . . because when you are to be remembered, He will not let anyone forget!)

PRAYER: Father, we find ourselves in all kinds of situations: hated, plotted against, rejected, forgotten. Thank you that you have a way of escape for us and that whatever the purpose you have for our lives, your will WILL NOT and CANNOT be thwarted! If you have to criss-cross the blessing, you will. If you have to raise up a Reuben–one voice of compassion in the midst of all the others–you will. If you have to give us an indication of your sweet presence even on the vehicle that is taking us into our slavery, you will. If you have use a Potiphar, a cupbearer or a dream to prepare us for our destiny, you will. We yield to your great mercy, your undeniable plan, and your amazing love! Amen.