Last couple of nights got into the mid 20’s, frost was definitely on the pumpkins.  It was beautiful this morning, absolutely clear skies and both Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams were glistening white under the morning sun.

 

I took a drive out through the orchards yesterday, it is funny how one orchard’s trees leaves are turning and the ones next to it are still bright green.  As I look at the orchard across the way I can see a difference 24 hours makes, the leaves are suddenly turning that brown orange, the trees are deciding it is time to rest.

High winds the past couple days have started shaking the leaves loose.  Those same winds have brought cold air from the north – we are actually colder than Viv up in Wasilla.  Suppose to get down to 17 tonight, pretty cold for so early in the year, with a strong possibility of snow the next few days.  They are saying the Gorge is going to be nasty during that time – no surprises there.

Carla was in and out of the fenced area trying to get some of her plants inside, she left the gate open to facilitate her efforts – Blaze decided to go exploring.  Fortunately she realized it before he got too far, I had to go down to the neighbor’s to get him. 

He hates to go through narrow spots, if my stool is too far out from the chair and it blocks him a bit, he starts to whine, rather than go around it.  Yet, he went right through the gate, even though it was barely open – about the time I ‘think’ I have him figured out he suddenly does something unexpected – motivation, I guess.  

Genesis 50:18-20 And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.

¹⁹ And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?

²⁰ But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

Joseph was a young man whose brothers plotted against him, first to kill him and then decided to sell him into captivity.  But God used this time to place Joseph in a position of authority second only to the Pharaoh.

Throughout his life Joseph faced many challenges – betrayal by family and then by many in Egypt.  Yet, he lived for God and never took His eyes off of Him.  At some time he realized that while everyone meant to harm him in some way, God used their deceit and hate to glorify Him.

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Paul reminds us that when we live for Christ that no matter what comes, we are called by Him to serve Him for HIS purpose.  We may feel we have been placed at the bottom of a well by those whom we have trusted.  We may feel deceived and our bodies and psyche may bear the scars of betrayal, yet, God will use our circumstances and pain, for His Glory.  As He was with so many in the Old Testament, so He is today as we live the New Covenant through Christ.

Colossians 1:9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

When we get into those circumstances we don’t understand.  When we pray for ourselves or others that are in need, how do we pray?  I was reading an article by Paul Estabrooks where he was relaying requests for prayer from a Missionary in China.

The Missionary stated that he wanted Christians to pray WITH him, not just for him.

In doing so they not only are praying for him to receive blessings from God, but in the process they too receive God’s Blessing

They become closer to the missionaries, and will be more open to the Holy Spirit’s leading in how they can better serve the missionaries.

By praying WITH the missionaries they are praying for the people they are ministering to, they join together sending even more prayer on these people’s behalf - as intercessory prayer reaches out to God, God anoints and acts on those prayers.

Often I have prayed for the protection and safety of missionaries, but, to be honest, I have not prayed as they prayed for the people they are ministering to – a new revelation to me and one that makes sense.  We are joining our prayers with theirs, we are united in thought and instead of just praying for, we are praying with – makes a difference when you think about it.

When we take our minds off the obvious, when we allow the Holy Spirit to search us and to give us new insights as we study God’s Word and listen to those that are both applying the Word and teaching it, all kinds of things happen.

We become more in tuned with the Holy Spirit, more in tuned with our own heart in serving God and more effective in every aspect of our life.  Our prayers are more directed, our actions are more directed and our willingness to see AND then the experiencing of God’s activity in our lives becomes more exciting.

We will never please everyone – if we do then we can’t be serving God.  The only person we need to please IS God, no matter what happens to or around us, He will use it to glorify Him.  It isn’t easy, we know from the many verses of how the people treated the prophets in the Old Testament, and how they treated the Apostles and early Christians (and are still doing so even today.)

Mathew 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

We are never alone; Christ has promised that He will always be with us.  Just as God was with the Israelites, just as He was with the Apostles and the New Christians in Biblical times; just as He has been through the past two thousand years, so He is now and will be forever.

One of the very worse things that could happen to the Apostles, and the rest of Christ’s followers, was to see Christ Crucified.  I can’t imagine the pain and the confusion they felt.  Satan meant it to divide them, to conquer Christ and defeat God – BUT God meant it for Good.  Without Christ’s sacrifice we would not have any means to enter into God’s Grace and His Heaven.   We are the Gentiles that, before Christ, were excluded from Him.

Satan will always be on the attack with us.  The closer we get to God, the harder he works to divide us from God.  But no matter what happens, God will use it to bring others to Him.  It is hard for us to accept that fact while we are in the middle of our suffering, but it is true.

As Joseph went through years of imprisonment and suffering before God’s purpose in his life and God’s glory showed through His life, so we might also find ourselves in circumstances that last a long time, even years before we see God’s hand.  We may not understand, we may never fully realize why, but God is using us to reach others; to Glorify Himself.

God wants people to come to Him; He wants people to accept His Son and be eligible for eternal life with Him.  While His methods may be beyond our understanding, even in persecution and death we can trust Him to be there for us at all times.

In those difficult times – or in those times when we feel we are on top of the world and everything is going well – may we look to God and ask Him to bless our circumstances and use them for HIS Glory!

Later, Art :-)

From the ColumbiaRiverGorgeous
May Our Good Lord Bless and Keep YOU....’til we meet again