Acceptance & Obedience
The Life Story of Joseph by the Grace of God
by
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Lesson 2 Summary
One night, my husband and I arrived home late and in sheer exhaustion sat in the lounge chairs for a little rest and chat before retiring. We both sat there looking up at the light in the centre of the ceiling. There, to our surprise, was a little ant. We watched as this ant made the circumference of the light surround. After some time of watching its travels, we began counting each circuit. To our amazement, we counted over one hundred full circuits and the ant continued even after this. The LORD spoke to our hearts that night, for it seems that many of us go around in circles in our lives and never find the way of escape. We do this in many different ways. We worry and fret over problems that always seem so big at the time. When our house was full of young people, I discovered a very important fact – although the troubles, which came upon us, appeared so large; if we prayed about them, within minutes they had already begun to change!
This week’s lesson is all about problem solving. Joseph and his brothers had serious problems and their gracious loving Almighty God knew their failings, their past sins and the weaknesses of the flesh in each of them. Almighty God loved them in spite of those things that caused them to struggle and react to each other and the circumstances within the family. He loved them so much that He wanted them to be reconciled to each other. In fact, more than this; He wanted the family to become functional and united and He wanted to keep His promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and so become the God of their children.
Week 6: Learning from Joseph and His Family.
Day 5: Heb. 4:9-16; 11:1-3; 21-22 and 12:1-2
13. Lessons learned from Joseph and his family.
a. What were the possible weights Joseph could have found which were easily besetting him?
b. What were the possible weights his brothers may have struggled with?
c. What are the weights that so easily beset you?
14. Read Acts 9:1-22 (use a Biblical Dictionary if needed.) What does it mean to “kick against the pricks?” (You may need to look it up in a King James Bible.)
15. Can this (“kicking against the pricks”) be a part of our lives even when we are Christians?
16. Summarise how Joseph had to be obedient during his life.
Spend time with God concerning any weights that easily beset you. Consider whether you have kicked against the leading and teaching of the LORD in your life...in any way!
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About the Book
Joseph’s life is an example to us of how we, too, can learn to trust God through the greatest difficulties and the most mundane of life’s experiences. This book has been designed to encourage daily devotions and can be used by individuals or groups.
The study runs for six weeks and teaches valuable lessons:
Acceptance of God’s holiness and his right to have authority over us
Acceptance of the fact that he has had control over our upbringing, our heartaches and sorrows, and our joys and delights
Acceptance of our sinfulness and our desperate need for salvation through Christ Jesus
Acceptance of our roles as men and women
Acceptance of our roles as husbands, wives, and parents
Acceptance of the situations we find ourselves in be they good or bad
About the Author
Wendy has two grown sons and seven grandchildren.
She has always enjoyed painting, writing, cake decorating, gardening, sewing and cooking. However, she delights most of all in creation and feels closest to God when in the bush, especially where there is water flowing.
In the late 1970’s to early 1980’s, she and her husband encouraged younger people who lived with them; opening their hearts and family lives to them in order to stabilize their lives and lead them to Christ Jesus.
Besides teaching Sunday School, Religious Instructions and being a Girls Brigade Lieutenant; her Church ministry involved mainly one to one as she shared in the delight of praying with and for others whenever it was needed. It has been her joy to speak at ladies’ programs and do devotions in fellowship groups as the LORD has led her. She enjoyed teaching Bible Study groups and encouraging others to learn the Scriptures. This continues today in the form of teaching English by using the Bible.
In 2001, Wendy began a women’s ministry in her local Church. As part of this work for the ladies’ program she started to write a newsletter to help them take memories of the afternoon home with them. It grew incredibly, and eventually others joined her in this task in 2004. The format was changed into a magazine, named “The Heart of a Woman Inc. As the Editor, she delighted in teaching the art of Christian living through fictional stories and poems. To her amazement, God grew it to such a degree that it was classed as one of the largest Australian Christian Woman’s Magazines. Through stories, Scripture teaching, recipes, testimonies etc 3.000 people hungered for their next copy. All who received this beautifully and professionally printed magazine sent out across Australia and to missionaries still keep and fondly remember the work she and her team produced.
After her husband went to be with the Lord, Wendy at last accomplished her dream of going to Bible College. She achieved a Diploma of Christian Studies; however, was disappointed not to be able to continue due to ill health. Her great love of God’s Word though has not stopped the studying. She has spent time studying Hebrew with the Israel University and is now studying some on-line courses with Ariel Ministries.
It is her belief that in these last days, this and prayer, which is an extremely important part of her life, is of utmost importance to each and every Christian.