Joseph the Grinder

Posted on October 4, 2015 Written by Mark McIntyre 2 Comments

In reading about Joseph in Matthew 1 this morning, the term “grinder” is what came to mind. Joseph could be counted on to do the right thing.

After two whole years . . .

Posted on December 14, 2013 Written by Mark McIntyre 6 Comments

Do you think that Joseph struggled with self pity during that time? Do you think that he questioned himself and his God while lingering in prison? Do you think that Joseph whined to God occasionally? Joseph had gone from favorite son to prisoner through no fault of his own.

An ordinary guy involved in extraordinary things

Posted on May 30, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

Joseph as an ordinary guy. Because he did the right thing, he was used by God to accomplish something extraordinary. We have the same opportunity be used by God.

What Joseph teaches me about Thanksgiving

Posted on November 24, 2011 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

Genesis 41 records the story of how how Joseph responded when he was presented to Pharaoh. Even though Joseph was sold out by his brothers and falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife, even though he spent years in slavery and prison, even though he had good reason to think that God had abandoned him, Joseph wastes […]

Genesis 50:20 – The Proper Understanding of Evil

Posted on September 10, 2010 Written by Mark McIntyre 2 Comments

Joseph learned that even though his brothers were evil toward him, God remained in control and even the evil coudl be used by God for good.

Good advice in turbulent times

It is easy to get our knickers in a twist over current events. It is easy to get caught up in the rhetoric of whichever political party seems to better fit our predisposition.. It is easy to feel overwhelmed and wonder if things will ever stabilize or get better.

On having ears to hear

In western culture we are subjected to a constant barrage of noise and information. We have talking heads on the radio in the car. Music streams into stores as we shop. The television provides incessant babble if we allow it. The stream of information is unrelenting and we cannot possibly take it all in. We have to be selective in our listening.

In several places in the Gospels, Jesus make the statement, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” My paraphrase of this would be, “you’ve got the equipment required to hear, now use it and listen up.”

Don’t quit your day job

The point of this ramble is that God redeems all of life, even the aspects of life that seem to have no eternal value. To be faithful in a difficult or boring job is as much an act of grace as teaching a Bible study.

What are the decrees of God?

There is nothing that happens in the world that takes God by surprise. When our first parents rebelled against God by eating the fruit, God had a plan already in place to send Jesus to fix the resulting mess.

A. W. Tozer on activity in the Church

I share a quote by A. W. Tozer in the Pursuit of God. In 1949 Tozer thought the church was missing something, it is still lost.

Humble and Contrite?

I don’t think that we can place too much stress on Jesus’ statement about the responsibility for building the church. It is his; he claimed the responsibility and the resurrection proved that he has the power to do it. Maybe we should spending more time in prayer asking him how he wants us to participate in that building than we do in building our own strategies.