He answered, ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” (Luke 10:27)
ETERNAL INK
(The actual account of a dream)
by Craig F. Pitts
I dreamed I was in heaven
Where an angel kept God’s book.
He was writing so intently
I just had to take a look.
It was not, at first, his writing
That made me stop and think
But the fluid in the bottle
That was marked ETERNAL INK.
He who answers before listening– that is his folly and his shame. (Proverbs 18:13)
What’s God doing in your life?
Yes, it’s that time again! It’s time to look back on your week and see what God did! How did He come through for you? Did He show you something new this week? Did He answer a prayer? Did He bring you through a storm? Did He pour out His grace on you in a new way? I would love to hear about it!
This last week, the above verse continued to speak very loudly in my life. I can’t begin to tell you how many times a situation came up where I needed to listen very carefully before I spoke. I have to be honest, it’s not so easy to listen to the degree that the Bible calls us to. Often, I find myself wanting to interrupt and give my two cents, for what it’s worth and I find that sometimes it’s not worth much. In fact, my silence is golden! My silence allows those around me to heal.
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. (Genesis 2:2-3)
What’s God been doing in your life?
Yes, it’s that time again! I would love to hear what God is doing in your life. How has God been faithful to you? How has God answered your prayers? Can you reflect back on your week and see that God has come through in a specific way?
I have been studying different passages on what it means to take a day of rest. I’m convinced that I haven’t been doing a good job at it. In fact, last week I saw myself go and go and go for many different reasons. It doesn’t matter what or how life fills up, it just does and our lack of rest tends to affect the other areas in our lives. I know for me, I watch it affect my marriage, my friendships, my health, my ministry, my writing, etc. I have to stop and take time to refresh, refuel, and recharge in the Lord. There is no way I can give on an empty battery!
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)
I hope you were able to take a look at Joseph’s story. Did you see how the puzzle pieces of his life didn’t exactly fit? His life was an up and down roller coaster ride. A ride that he didn’t sign up for. Today, we will find the ride starts to ease a bit. Everything begins to make sense in Joseph’s life.
In Genesis 41, we see that two years had passed since David had interpreted the dreams for the Cupbearer and Baker. That would seem like a good length of time in prison, especially when your innocent. How’s that puzzle looking now? Well, we see that Pharaoh had a dream that troubled him. In fact, he had two dreams. These two dreams really disturbed him. He sent for the wise men and magicians of Egypt to interpret them. Unfortunately, no one in his company could interpret the dreams. This was good news for Joseph, as the chief cupbearer remembered the day Joseph interpreted his dream. He shared with Pharaoh how Joseph had correctly interpreted a dream for him, so Pharaoh sent for Joseph.
No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit… The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. (Luke 6:43-45)
This passage of Scripture seems so simple. I mean shouldn’t we expect good things to come out of someone who has good stored up in their heart and shouldn’t we expect evil from the same. Honestly, I don’t expect to get apples from an orange tree. And I don’t expect to get peaches from a plum-tree. That just doesn’t make sense. I expect to find oranges in an orange grove and apples in an apple grove. So why is it that we expect good things to come from those who do not store up good in their hearts. Hmmm…. Good question!
Let’s look at what kind of fruit a good tree should bear!