Making Godly Personal Choices Against Worldly Pressure

"Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives..."When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women,...if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live." But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive. (Exodus 1:15-18)

The midwives in this story are true heroes. Here is a situation which is unfortunately too familiar to the Jewish people, where there is a desire of a national leader to exterminate them. In this case, Pharaoh did not want to get rid of the forced labor that he was using (the Hebrew population), but he wanted to minimize their numbers so they would not be a threat.

The midwives needed to make a choice, do they follow the earthly king who had to power to kill them, or do they fear God even more and disobey the direct orders they have been given? While the decision can seem cut and dry, in the moment with such an intimidating presence as the leader of one of the most powerful nations on Earth ordering you to do evil, it is tough to side with the Lord.

To their eternal credit, the two midwives, Shiphrah and Puah defied the Pharaoh and let the males live. They were called to Pharaoh to explain themselves, but instead deceived him by saying that Hebrew women typically give birth even before the midwives get there. Was that a lie? Yes. But a lie to fool a person who is doing evil is not a lie. Other prominent examples of this type of lie would be Germans who helped hide the Jews during the Nazi Holocaust or Underground Railroad participants who aided and hid slaves going North toward freedom.

This kind of usage of deception needs to be used very carefully however, and the usage of "evil" must be that as defined by God and not by man. For example, the deception and fudging of figures of the scientists recently exposed in the "Climategate" scandal could be construed as deception done for the greater good of the Earth (although it was probably done for the greater good of the scientists' funding). Many environmentalists might believe that true evil is our production of carbon dioxide, the gas we emit when we breathe. Irrespective of the argument over whether global warming is true, this instance is not a definition of evil in the eyes of God. In fact, He says, "subdue the Earth" (Gen 1:28), not "save the Earth". So the lies and deception of the scientists in this case are sins.

Ultimately, this passage is really about personal choices that we make. In this situation, the Hebrews were subjugated by Pharaoh and made to do rigorous labor. It seems like they had little personal choices and were trapped in their situations. Scribbles scrawled into rock walls of the time period had desperate pleas written in Hebrew like "Save us El (God)!" carved into them.

But, even though orders were given by Earthly authorities, there is still a personal choice on whether they will be followed. As Christians, we ultimately fear God over anything else. When we refer to Him as "Lord", it is a calculated word which means "My life is God's, for His service alone. Even my own desires and wants must be checked to His authority." There are no half-measures here. We cannot be saved by Christ, and call Him Lord without truly handing over all of ourselves to Him. The standard - the only standard for the Christian is as Paul describes, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."(Gal 2:20)

In that light, there are many agendas in this world, and powerful people who will seek to persuade, influence and even cajole others to do things ranging from unlawful acts to acts lacking in integrity that aren't criminal. They will ask you to mislead others and make it sound harmless by calling it "mere spin". I write these things because it is very real to me and to my profession. I write these things because I know that my heart and my flesh are weak. I know that I am not strong enough to live a life of integrity without the Lord.

Although we may feel trapped and afraid in certain situations, we must remember these two brave midwives. They defied a king who asked them to do evil, and are forever remembered for their faith in the Lord and their allegience to Him alone.

Lord Jesus, You ask us to set ourselves aside and to worship only You. What that means is that You are our Lord in everything and we live our lives for You, knowing that ultimately You are responsible for guiding our lives like a loving Father. We will be all right, things will work out. There are those in the world who are striving to manipulate us for their own gains, and unfortunately they can put very real pressure upon us to forget our core beliefs and values. Lord Jesus, give me the strength to walk in integrity. Let me never choose to do an act that would violate my beliefs, but instead, help me to walk a path of true faith. I know that might mean killing my career, losing friendships, and struggling at times, but I know You will honor my choices accordingly. If the only reward we see is eternal salvation and being with You in Heaven, that is enough. Thank You Lord that You have taught me how to know right from wrong, please empower me with the strength to live it out. I know I am imperfect in that light, but my desire is to get better and better everyday. Please help me in that, In Jesus' name, Amen.

Remembering the Lord In Times of Wellness

"But remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house." (Gen 40:14)

"Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him." (Gen 40:23)

During this set of passages, Joseph has given comfort to the butler of Pharaoh during a short jail stint by interpreting a dream from the Lord in his favor. The butler was supposed to repay this kindness by giving a good word to the Pharaoh to get Joseph out of the prison (he was falsely accused of trying to rape Potiphar's wife.) Instead of remembering Joseph when his interpretation came true, he forgot Joseph's imprisonment as soon as he was freed.

Human nature is like that, isn't it? If we are in trouble or distress, we are overcome with humility and cry out to God to save us. Once, we are placed back in a comfortable position where our worry and terror have abated, we are much less humble and revert back to the way we lived our lives before. I think part of our fallen state after the garden has left us with woefully short term memories, especially when it comes to remembering our worship of the Lord.

My family is still in the washing machine of this recession and it has been a journey of faith. While we certainly did not lead ostentatious lives before, we have learned to live a little leaner as we could to cut back. My wife has become quite a good cook and we certainly eat pretty well, as my stomach can attest.

Our faith too has been renewed. Stepping off the rat race of business for a short time, my soul finally had time to breathe. Genuinely a terrible burden and weight was lifted off and my soul's thirst for the Lord was satiated. The Lord and I have had time to rebuild our relationship. And one of the first things that He did was to rebuild my marriage, which had been showing strain that my wife and I did not notice in the midst of our busy lives. We are so grateful for the Lord in doing that for us. He placed more importance over our marriage than over our material wealth.

Should I ever find my footing in my career again, my challenge in terms of faith will be in remembering and continuing to cultivate my relationship with the Lord when I am busy with the cares and challenges of the world. Ultimately, since the structure of my life and marriage is dependent on the Lord, it will make the difference between success and failure in my life as well.

Why do I say this? Because the Lord straightened out my life in such a way that he took a broken man who felt so alone in this world, and gave him love and wholeness. The Lord truly saved me, gradually righting my destructive path, and then He gave me a wife who also was changed fundamentally by knowing God so much so that her whole personality and life goals were transformed. It is in this changed state that we are compatible with each other. The Lord gives us the kind of blueprint in which our new personalities live in harmony and symbiotically toward a common purpose. Should we ever drift away from the Lord and revert back to our old selves, we would surely disintegrate in our marriage as well. That was part of our problem that the Lord fixed for us during this season.

There are many challenges for us economically, but deep down I believe we will get through this into better days. How we handle better days will be a true test for us in faith, and today's scripture is surely a reminder that we must remember the Lord first in everything. For the butler in Joseph's story, it wasn't a big deal to forget, but for my family, it will mean the difference between a family that grows closer to each other and a family that withers and falls apart.

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your word today. Help me to keep our bonds of communication strong and to have a heart of worship in everything that I do. In doing so, I know that all the pieces of my life will fall into its proper place. You will help me to make it as You deem good and I am so glad to trust You in everything. Thank You for what You've done for our family - we are only together because of You, and it has been the greatest blessing of our lives. To You be all the glory in everything, In Jesus' name, AMEN.

God has a way of teaching us what we need...

"Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. but when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him." (Genesis 37:3-4)

The story of Joseph is one of the most well-known stories in the Bible. Out of jealousy, his brothers kidnap and sell him as a slave to a band of traders headed to Egypt. He is put into the service of an Egyptian prison warden, accused of coming on to the warden's wife, sent into prison, released because of his gift to interpret dreams, used to save Egypt, given a leadership position in Egypt, and then used ultimately to save his family from famine.

It is surely a story of great triumph, but it all starts with the spoiling of a young child by his father, and the jealousy that it incites in his brothers. The scripture paints a picture of a bratty child, one who was accustomed to getting his way, but the Lord knows that character is developed through trials, and not through a life of ease.

One takeaway from the story is in the area of parenting - where it is clearly disruptive for parents to play favorites. I only have one child now, but my sincere hope is to love and handle each child equally - reflecting the equal love that our own God has for all of his children.

The second takeaway for me revolves around the way that the Lord builds our characters. Joseph in his bratty state and favored existence as Jacob's son was clearly ill prepared to take on a position of leadership in saving the family of Israel in the future. As such, there was a hard road ahead for him.

God surely knew the potential that existed in Joseph to become a leader in a powerful country like Egypt, but it needed to be molded and formed. I can only imagine the kinds of hardships and difficulties that Joseph faced, but they were key to the development of a deep seated maturity that was needed for the future.

This is a real encouragement for me because I lived a sheltered and pampered existence growing up and I think it ultimately served to my detriment rather than to help me through life. As an adult, I have been blessed by the Lord in many ways, but things have not come easily or smoothly. There have been many periods of trial each step of the way, but they have also served to deepen my maturity and character. I would not change a thing that I have gone through.

And so it is with the current trials that we are in. They are shaping my wife and myself in such a way that we can become wiser and more mature to do the work that the Lord has arranged for us in the future. Romans 8:28 confirms this: "For we know that in all things God works for the good for those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose."

This message also matches the sensing that I've been receiving from the Lord. That this is simply the beginning and that there are bigger things awaiting in the future. What I've realized however, is that God's concept of "big" and man's concept are two different things. As Jesus said:

"The Kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called 'benefactors'. But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves." (Luke 22:25-26)

Yes, I do aspire to better days financially and to have a means to provide for my family to live comfortably, but I want to be a man of deep character and integrity to use whatever I am given wisely. And in doing so, I hope to raise a Godly generation who can do even more for the kingdom of God.

Lord Jesus, thank you for this word today and for the greater assurance of Your sovereignty amidst trials and strife. Everything has its place and purpose - and I do not know mine yet in full, but I know that I simply need to follow and everything will be unveiled in time. Just as Joseph was taken from a brat to a savior for his family, so too I know that I am on a journey of growth and maturity towards an ultimate goal. Help me to walk with You every step of the way humbling myself before Your throne. In Jesus' name, AMEN.