Devo: Joseph's Bones

Have you ever really thought about the bones of Joseph?

Joseph was the favorite son of Jacob and was sold into slavery by his brothers. You may have heard the story before, if not then you can read it in your bible in Genesis 37 - 42 or online here. When Joseph died, he left instruction with his family to take his bones to Israel, the land of his fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The process of getting his bones to Israel was a little difficult however and involved 400 years of slavery before Joseph's descendants were able to leave Egypt. If you don't know that story, you can find it in the beginning of Exodus... and then watch this movie because it is wonderful, it is beautiful and it has the most amazing soundtrack that you will ever hear!

Anyway! Back to Joseph's bones. It's not really the bones that are important, but what they represent. When the Israelites left Egypt, they spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness because of their disobedience, before they were allowed into the Promised Land. 

These events are a great picture of the Christian Life! Before we accept Christ, we are enslaved by our sins (Jhn 8:34), but after we believe in Him, we are released from bondage (Jhn 8:36). 

However, there is a downside!

Once you are saved, you enter into the Kingdom of God (Jhn 3:5-8) and then you have to wait for His eternal reign (Jas 5:7-8). God gives us something to do while we're waiting (share His words with others Mat 28:18-20), but it doesn't always make it easy. Just like the Israelites had to wait 40 years in the wilderness to enter into their Promised Land, we have to wait in our wilderness to enter into our Promised Land (Heaven). 

Have you ever had that feeling? Like you don't quite belong? Could it perchance be the sense of eternity in your heart? We're not there yet, and we know it deep down! We get fed what we need to get by, like the Israelites were fed their manna and quail every day (Ex 16), but there's that sense that something more is missing, that there's an excitement we don't have yet. We want to taste that milk, honey (Ex 3:8) and those giant grapes and pomegranates (Num 13:23)!

But Laura, wait, weren't you going on about Joseph's bones earlier?

Well, yes! The Israelite people were carrying Joseph's bones with them all throughout the wilderness. The bones were carried in a coffin... an ark in other words (I got this part from Beth Moore's Patriarchs study, and then double checked it on BibleGateway.org to make sure). 

Actually, the Hebrew word for ark and coffin is the same, it is arown.

Prep: Chinatown Adventure

A couple weeks ago, those of us going to Asia had a small in-town retreat and went on a "Chinatown Adventure"

We started our morning off with a good old breakfast, Hong Kong style! Some dim sum at a pretty authntic restaurant called Urban China.

Yes, that is a chicken's foot. I ate one of those and two pieces of tripe! Other students who have been on the trip before say that near the end of the meal with Dim Sum overseas they start negotiating who will eat what, as it is rude to leave any food left on the table.

From there we began a scavenger hunt! Our team won in the end :)

  On a hunt to find the "wierdest" food!

 Because we wanted something a little less expensive (and guessed that at some point during the day someone would have to consume what we brought back), we chose two beverages.

 

Testimony: Everything

One of the dramas we perform is called the "Everything" drama. In the drama, Jesus created a girl and they had a close relationship with each other, they were happy just being together. But then people came into her life who were using things to try to distract her from Jesus: lust, money, drunkeness, vanity and suicide. As her life reaches a dark point, she decides to run back to Jesus, but has to struggle against the baggage now in her life. Jesus shields her from the baggage tormenting her and defeats them. She and Jesus are then happy together again.

 (If the video does not work, you can view it by clicking here)

Our HMS crew performed this drama at one of the youth groups in Edmonton last night. It has been one of my favorites for a while!

When I was in Jr. High I saw this drama performed by Vanguard at a Bible Quizzing Tournament. At the time I was struggling a bit with my faith because I didn't feel that I had a very close relationship with God. This drama helped me to remember the way I used to talk with Him as a child, with no doubt that He could hear me and that He would speak to me. 


I began to realize that there was hope, that I would be able to have that relationship restored, and began my struggle back to Jesus. Like in the drama, I realized that I needed to let Jesus take on my emotional baggage in order to become closer with Him. There wasn't anything I could do to restore myself to Him, I just needed to surrender and trust Him to do the work Himself.

Now He is my Everything!  

 

 Isaiah 53:5-6 

But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed. 

We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all. 

Prep: Heat, Humidity and Hair

As I begin thinking more about this trip, one thing keeps coming to mind... The extreme heat our team be living in! The hottest months in Thailand are April and May, which is when I will be there. Coming from Northern Edmonton's winter, this is going to be quite the climate shock. Not only will it be hot, but it will also be quite humid. This come into play when deciding what to pack. 

What will I do with my hair?

Any suggestions? Currently these are my top decisions:

1. Keep it back in a bun/ponytail/headband

2. Cut it short so it's off my shoulders but long enough to put in a small ponytail

3. Cut it so short that it won't bother my neck at all!

Let me know what you think, what you would do and what you have done in the heat and humidity before. I'd love to hear your opinions :)