'My utmost for His highest'

New Guest: Like this one, most posts are devotional; those related to CAR BIZ can be found by searching for that title. You might start with 'Welcome,' the first post in the archives, dated November 12, 2008, where I introduce myself and the blog. As you read, I encourage you to add in any reflections or comments you may have.

Blessings and best wishes,
Dr. Will

Friday, March 12, 2010
Devotions: Ps 88, 91, 92, 95; Gen 47:1-26; 1 Cor 9:16-27; Mk 6:47-56

I cry out to You, my God, for I am at the end of my strength, alone, and hemmed in on every side. I am in the dark, my Light. Help! I know that You are my Refuge and Strength, and that I exist in Your shadow. Cover me, Father, and bless me. No evil will befall me while I am under Your care. Give Your angels charge concerning me, as I cling to You. I call, YHWH! Please answer. God has promised to rescue and honor me and show me His salvation. Let it be so! Make me glad, Lord, so I can sing before You and praise You to others. Your enemies will perish, Lord, and I will bring forth fruit in my old age. You are my Rock, and in You there is no unrighteousness at all. Let us sing and celebrate before our God; Lord, I thank You and praise You with my whole heart. YHWH is the great God, King above all gods. All creation is His; we kneel before YHWH our Maker. His people have peace; His enemies live in constant turmoil and pain.

When Joseph told Pharaoh about the arrival of his family from Canaan, the king directed that they be settled in Goshen, and also put in charge of Pharaoh’s own flocks and herds. Joseph introduced Pharaoh and Jacob, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. The patriarch was 130 years old at the time. And the family settled into their new home. As Joseph managed the surplus he had gathered, he collected all the money in Egypt, then all the livestock, and finally the people themselves—all exchanged for food. So Joseph bought all the land, all the animals, and all the people, and Pharaoh was sole owner of everything in Egypt—excepting only the land of the priests of On, who already lived on a fixed allowance from the king. Even as a slavemaster, Joseph showed wisdom and compassion. He provided seed for the Egyptians to sow, and let them keep four-fifths of what they harvested, taxing them only 20 percent for Pharaoh. These statutes survived until Genesis was written, centuries later.

Paul wrote: I preach by necessity—this is my task, and woe to me if I shirk it! My reward is offering the gospel without charge, foregoing my right to get a living from my ministry. God has made me free, and I choose to indenture myself to everyone, to win more. I become like a Jew when I evangelize Jews, and like a Gentile with Gentiles. I keep Torah, though Torah has no hold on me, in order to win those under Torah. I live under Christ’s law, and that directs me to become all things to all people, so that I may be some means win as many as possible. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share its blessing! You should live in this same way: run the race you’re in for all you’re worth, focused on the one prize that matters. We are seeking an imperishable reward, not a perishable garland! I subdue my body, least after preaching to others, I myself should be disqualified!

Jesus prayed alone on the mountain, into the evening. Jesus perceived that His disciples were struggling against the winds and waves. About the fourth watch, in the dark before dawn, Jesus went out to them, walking on the water of the sea. He meant to pass them by, Mark writes, but they saw Jesus and cried out in terror. Immediately, He spoke to them: ‘Take heart, I Am; don’t be afraid.’ He got into the boat, the winds ceased, and the disciples were utterly astonished. They couldn’t understand how Jesus did what He did, as their hearts were hardened.