Faithfully Serve Wherever the Lord has Placed You

 Genesis 39:1-6a

Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt.  Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishamaelites who had taken him there.

The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.  When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant.  Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.  From the time he put him in charge of his household and all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph.  The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.  So he left in Joseph's care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.

Joseph's situation was not ideal.  He had been assaulted by his brothers and then sold into slavery.  Now, a thousand miles from home, he was put to work.  It's easy to think that Joseph was bitter.  He certainly had every right to be.  You would think Joseph would be angry and resentful toward his master.  It would even make sense that Joseph would be mad at God.  After all, it was God who gave him those dreams and the ability to understand what they meant.

But the Bible tells us Joseph responded to his situation much differently than we might expect.  Nowhere are we told that Joseph prayed to God demanding an explanation for his situation.  Perhaps it's reasonable to think that on that long journey from Canaan to Egypt, Joseph had plenty of time to think through his situation.  It seems like Joseph realized that he was just as responsible for his situation as his brothers were.

Whatever the case may have been, Joseph's response teaches us an important lesson: No matter what our situation, we are to glorify God by giving our very best everyday.  Joseph had no reason to think that his faithful work would earn him a promotion.  Joseph sumbitted to the authority that God had placed over him and he faithfully served Potiphar to the best of his ability.  He was honoring God by honoring Potiphar.

Because of Jospeh's faithfulness, God blessed him and all of Potiphar's house.  There are certainly blessings that come with faithfully honoring God in all we do, and obeying his commands; but God does not promise any particular blessings for our faithfulness.  He does not promise to bless us like he blessed Joseph while he served in Potiphar's house.  Joseph's motivation for honoring and obeying God was his love for God, his faith in God's promise of salvation.  Our motivation must also be the same: A thank you to God for his gift of faith and forgiveness of sins for Jesus' sake.

Joseph didn't serve Potiphar diligently because he was trying to earn God's favor.  He served Potiphar diligently because he already had God's favor.  It was God's love for Joseph and Joseph's faith that empowered him to love God and love his neighbor- Potiphar.

This is the same for us.  As God's children, we are called to love God and love our neighbor.  This love is displayed in our lives through service.  As a response to God's love for us, we diligently work everyday to serve our neighbor- in our family, at work, in the community, and in church.  Wherever God gives us an opportunity to serve, that's where we serve each day.

We can serve in this way, every day, because Jesus has served us in the most important way: He lived the perfect life we can't live.  He died the death we deserve.  He rose from the dead to conquer death for us.  "Becasue Jesus lives, we also will live."

God bless,

Jason Fredrick

The Storms of Life

 The lectionary readings for this week are:

Job 38:1-11
Acts 27:13-26
Mark 4:35-41

In all three of these readings there are some common threads: Storms and major life challenges will come.  Also, God is faithful, he honors his promise to protect and provide through those challenges.

Mark 4:35-41

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side [of the Sea of Galilee]."  Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat.  There were also other boats with him.  A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.  Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion.  The disciples woke and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet!  Be still!"  Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid?  Do you still have no faith?"

They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this?  Even the wind and the waves obey him?"

Several of the disciples were professional fishermen.  They knew the Sea of Galilee well.  This most likely was not the first time they had been caught in the middle of the lake when a storm suddenly blew in.  There response was interesting, though.  We're not told how long they tried to fight the waves themselves, but it doesn't seem like they fought the storm for very long before waking up Jesus.

Reading through the text, it doesn't seem like Jesus was mad that they woke him up.  He rebukes them for their lack of faith.  That was displayed with their accusation toward him, "Don't you care if we drown?"  They accused Jesus of not caring about them.  It is a ridiculous accusation, but how often are we guilty of the same thing?  We get overwhelmed with the storms that hit us in our life, we panic, and turn to God, "Don't you care about me God?  How could you let this happen?"

This is obviously a ridiculous question.  God loves us.  He has demonstrated his love for us in so many ways, it is total arrogance to even ask such a question of God.  Here Jesus gave a short, but strong rebuke to his disciples.  In Job 38-39 God gives Job a lengthy and crushing rebuke.  Job quickly recognized that he had been a whiny baby about his challenges and God didn't owe him an explanation.

God doesn't owe us an explanation for the challenges we face in life.  In faith, we know that the storms of life are the result one thing- sin.  We live in a sinful world so sometimes bad stuff happens to everybody.  We also know that God uses those storms for our good (Romans 8:28).  

Sometimes the storms of life are of our own making.  They are the natural effect of sinful behavior or bad decisions.  Sometimes they are the natural side-effect of living in a sinful world.  Whatever the case, God always uses them as an opportunity to draw us closer to him.  In all three readings above Job, Paul, and the disciples turned to God to see them through the storm.  This is the same place that we must turn during the storms of life.  Only Jesus can carry us through.

You never need question Jesus' love for you like the disciples did.  Jesus cares about you.  Jesus loves you.  His greatest statement of just how much he loves you was made on Calvary.  He gave up his life that you may live.  Despite being totally innocent of any sin, he took all of yours on himself and paid the price for all of them on the cross.  No matter what happens in life, you can be confident of one thing: Because Jesus lives, you also will live.  God's got it all worked out all ready.  He is not suprised by the storms you face.

So do not worry, but seek first his kingdom and righteousness, and all good things will be added to you as well. (Matthew 6:33)  That is God's promise to his children.

God bless.

Jason Fredrick

A Pastoral Vacancy

 1 Timothy 3:14-16

Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the the truth.  Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great:

God appeared in a body,

was vindicated by the Spirit,

was seen by angels,

was preached among the nations,

was believed on in the world,

was taken up in glory.

The previous thirteen verses of 1 Timothy 3 are Paul's instructions for deacons and overseers in the church.  Paul wanted to make sure churches understood how to conduct themselves in the absence of a trained pastor.  One underlying point here is that the ministry of an individual congregation can't stop because of a pastoral vacancy.  The leaders of the church have to be prepared to step up and lead.  Every member of the church has to be prepared to act on, and live out, their Great Commission calling.

Notice how Paul calls the church "the pillar and foundation of the truth."  The church is all of God's people united in individual congregations all over the world.  The church is not the pastor.  While it can be frustrating and scary for church members to carry out the ministry of Christ's Church without a pastor, they must.  That is what they have been called to.  Pastor or not, it is the call of every Christian church to take the gospel of Jesus Christ into their community.  While the mystery of godliness is great, the Holy Spirit empowers God's chidlren to be able to understand it a little, believe it totally, and share it generously.  That is what every Christian has been called to do.

God's grace be with you.

Jason Fredrick

Love (Part 2)

 1 Corinthians 13:5

It [love] is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

How do you measure up against this list?

I know I come up short on every one.

This verse could be summed up by saying, "Love is not selfish."  All of the attitudes listed here are birthed out of selfishness.  The interesting thing is when you see these qualities in other people: rudeness, self-seeking, easily angered, and keeping a record of wrongs, you can't stand it.  Those attitudes in others make you so angry.  Yet when you indulge them everyone is supposed to show you grace and give you the benefit of the doubt.

Imagine if you took this verse to heart just with the people you regularly claim to love- your family.  What if you stopped indulging the sinful selfishness which this verse exposes and stopped treating your spouse and children like this?  What if you actually loved (active verb) them with this definition of love?

Your life would drastically change if you started being considerate and stopped being rude.

Your life would be transformed if you started serving others and stopped seeking to serve yourself.

You would actually be respected if you exercised emotional intelligence and controlled your anger.

You would be set free if you stopped keeping a record of everyone else's wrongs.

Love is not any of these things.  If you are behaving this way towards anyone, you don't love them.  No matter what your mouth may claim...you don't.  

Which of these is your biggest weakness?  Fix it.  Start today to work on fixing it.  All of these attitudes are relationship killers.  You need to fix them because they are taking withdrawals from every one of your relationships everyday.  If you're not sure if you suffer from any of these ask the people around you.  Ask your spouse.  Ask your boss.  Ask your co-workers.  Give them permission to speak the truth and don't it take it personally.  Take it as feedback and let them know you are working to fix it.

How do you "fix it"?  Be intentional about fixing and building the most important relationship in your life: your relationship with Jesus.  Love is a fruit of faith.  You can't truly love other people if you are rejecting Jesus as your Savior.  

1 John 4:7-8

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.  Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

The way to build your relationship with Jesus is by reading and studying his Word daily.  Faith is created and strengthened through God's Word and the Sacraments (Baptism and Holy Communion).  To strengthen your faith you must be reading God's Word.  If you don't have faith in Jesus then you need to start reading God's Word (the Holy Bible) and be baptized so the Holy Spirit can work faith in your heart.  Only the Holy Spirit can change your heart so you can love like Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 13.

This 1 Corinthians 13 love is the love that all Christians strive for, and all people long for because this is the way that God loves us.  He has demonstrated this love for us by offering his Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.  Jesus loves us so much that he paid the price that we all deserve when he died on the cross.

1 John 4:9-10

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

God bless

Jason Fredrick

Love (Part 1)

 1 Corinthians 13:4

Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

Love is Patient

Are you patient?  With whom are you patient?  With whom are you impatient?

Patience is so important.  Patience shows consideration and understanding.  Patience requires humility.  The reason love is patient is because it looks at life from the other person's perspective.  It seeks to understand the other person instead of placing expectations on them.

Patience is essential in marriage.  Both spouses must practice patience constantly.  Impatience typically results in nagging and sarcasm, and both of these behaviors take gigantic withdrawals from the relationship.  Love is patient because it doesn't place unspoken or unrealistic expectations on the other person.  The patient husband recognizes that it takes his wife time to get ready to go...anywhere.  The patient wife realizes that her husband is slow to open up and express his feelings.  In these situations, and every other, both recognize that patience is key and it's worth it.  Saying nothing and waiting patiently doesn't necessarily make a deposit, but it absolutely does not take a withdrawal from the relationship.

Impatience is really born out of selfishness.  You have an expectation of someone else and you want them to fulfill it...NOW!  Impatience may not be a problem, in and of itself.  The problem is the behaviors that impatience gives birth to: temper tantrums, nasty and cutting words, sulking, sarcasm, and general selfish childish behavior.

Love is patient because patience recognizes that the relationship is way more valuable than the task.  Patience values people more.

The other relationship I want to address with patience is the Christian interacting with the non-Christian.  Many non-Christians have horrible stories of interactions with Christians who treated them in an unloving manor.  Love is patient here to.  This is another relationship where unrealistic expectations make people impatient.  

Christians cannot be so arrogant as to expect non-Christians to act and live in accordance with God's Word.  They can't.  They are spiritually dead.  Jesus did not call Christians to judge non-Christians with the Great Commission.  He has called us to us to be disciple makers with the Great Commission.  He has called us to share the gospel with those who don't know him and don't believe in him.  This requires love to be displayed through patience.

In order to share Jesus with an unbeliever you must patiently build a relationship.  This must be a real relationship.  You have to actually care about this person.  You build relationships by asking questions and seeking to understand the other person.  You don't build relationships by preaching at people and constantly pounding them over the head with the Law.  If you are patient and take the time to really get to know a person, the Holy Spirit will open doors of opportunity for you to share God's Word with them.  It's preferable, especially early on, to let the gospel predominate.  The Law can be used to correct bad behavior later on, but you should always error on the side of too much  gospel instead of too much Law.

When sharing Jesus with an unbeliever, be patient.  Trust that the Holy Spirit will work in his own time.  It's not your job to decide what that timing should be.  Love this person the Lord has placed in your life by showing them patience and understanding.

Love is Kind

Are you kind?  I'm sure you think you are.  Here's the best way to find out:  Ask the five people who are closest to you.  Do you want to change your answer?

Here's how dictionary.com defines a kind person: Having a friendly or generous nature or attitude.  Helpful to others or to another.  Considerate.  Humane.

Are you kind?  Love is kind.  

Maybe you're kind to the people closest to you: spouse, children, family, and friends, but what about the others?  Are you kind to people you don't really like?  Are you kind to strangers?  Are you kind to coworkers?

You can show love to people that you really don't like, because love is a choice.  You can be kind to them.  You can show them patience and grace.  You can stop complaining about them and gossiping about them.  That would certainly make you more kind.

Kindness can be difficult.  I know is for me.  If you have been selfish and self-serving your whole life it is very tough to become kind.  It's not impossible, but it is tough.  It starts by making the decision to start working on it.  You have to do things every day for somebody else to start changing your heart and making yourself more kind.  You have to humble yourself and stop being so arrogant.  Kindness comes when you truly start looking for ways to serve other people and not yourself.  When you develop a servant's heart you will be more kind.  When you truly start loving people you will be more kind.  Love is kind.

(It's okay to ask God to make you more loving and kind.  This may not happen over night so keep asking.)

Love Does Not Envy.  Love Does Not Boast.  Love is Not Proud.

Look at what love is not.  What do these three things have in common?

They are attitudes that are focused on self.  Envy, boasting, and pride are born out of arrogance.  They all demand that others take notice of me and serve me.

Envy comes from comparing yourself to others.  Instead of appreciating the gifts of others, you are intimidated by their gifts.  You thing that somehow their strengths make you look weak.  Envy is really a form of coveting.  You want what someone else has.  Love does not envy because envy destroys relationships.  Envy wants to win at all costs and it won't stop until it gets everything it desires.  Envy does not care about who gets stepped on along the way to it's own fulfillment.  Envy kills love because it is constantly in competition with everyone and seeks only self-agrandizement.  Envy is selfish.  Love does not envy.

Boasting and pride go hand-in-hand.  I'm sure we all have met the prideful person who is constantly talking about himself and boasting about his achievements (even if they were 50 years ago).  How long do you stay friends with a person who is a prideful boaster?  

You probably try to avoid them as much as possible.  Are people avoiding you?  Do you suffer from this disease, the disease of "It's all about me"?  Maybe you're like Ben Franklin and people actually cross to the other side of the street when they see you coming because they don't want to deal with you.  This can be literal or figurative (For Franklin it was literal.  It actually happened), but this is why pride and boasting destroy realtionships.  People don't want to be around arrogant, prideful boasters.

If this is you it's time to get over yourself.  It's time to stop talking about yourself.  It's time to stop comparing yourself to everyone else.  It's time to take your eyes off yourself and focus on someone else and thier greatness for a while.  Love does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

1 John 3:16-20

This is how we know what love is:  Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.  And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.  If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?  Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.  This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us.  For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

God bless

Jason Fredrick