Recently, I found myself comparing the lives of Joseph and Jonah and the effect their presence had on those around them:<\/p>\n
JOSEPH <\/strong>\u2013 In Genesis 39, the Bible says the Lord was with Joseph. \u201cAnd the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand.\u201d Genesis 39:2,3<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n In verse five of that same chapter we see that Joseph\u2019s presence brought blessing to Pharaoh\u2019s house. \u201cAnd it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake<\/span>; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.\u201d Genesis 39:5<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n JONAH<\/strong> \u2013 In Jonah 1, we read of Jonah fleeing from the presence of the Lord. \u201cNow the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.\u201d\u00a0 Jonah 1:1-3<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n The very next verse tells of the storm that arose after Jonah entered the ship. \u201cBut the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.\u201d Jonah 1:4<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n In verse 12, Jonah acknowledges that his presence<\/span> is the cause for the storm. \u201cAnd he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake<\/span> this great tempest is upon you.\u201d Jonah 1:12<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n ~ Joseph’s presence brought blessings to those around him; Jonah’s presence brought a storm. ~<\/p>\n \u00a0From the lives of Joseph and Jonah, we see the key to a blessed and peaceful life for us AND<\/strong> our family is staying in the Lord\u2019s presence<\/span>. Aside from our personal Bible reading and prayer, playing Christ-honoring music through-out the day will help our spirits stay sweet. A good example of this is in the life of Saul. \u201cAnd it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.\u201c \u00a0I Samuel 16:23<\/em>\u00a0 <\/strong>We should also be careful that our close friendships are those that will encourage us to love and build our families.\u00a0 \u201cEvery wise woman buildeth her house\u2026\u201d Proverbs 14:1<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em> Disgruntled friends will eventually have a negative effect on us as well. And remember, friendships are also in what we read, watch, listen to\u2026anything that has an influence on us and therefore\u00a0“giving us counsel” in our relationships. Psalm 1 exhorts us, “Blessed is the man that walketh not<\/span> in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth<\/span> in the way of sinners, nor sitteth<\/span> in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”<\/em> <\/strong>These verses are not just talking about avoiding close communion with the unsaved; carnal Christians can affect us negatively as well. I Corinthians 15:33 warns us, “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.”<\/em> <\/strong>The fact that this verse begins with the phrase “be not deceived” tells us that our choice of close friends is indeed an area in which many are mislead.<\/p>\n As wives and mothers, would our families say that our presence brings blessing to our home, or are they always\u00a0relieved for us to run to town just to have a moment of peace from the \u201craging storm\u201d?\u00a0\u00a0Although the husband is to be the head of the home, we must remember that the\u00a0wife is\u00a0the heart of the home. By our own attitudes, we\u00a0set the atmosphere – the temperature – of the home.<\/p>\n Psalm 113:9 says, “He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful<\/span> mother of children. Praise ye the LORD.”\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Concerning our children, this verse\u00a0reminds me again of what our pastor preached this past Sunday morning – “The Impact of a Godly Mother”. One\u00a0point he made was, “We have the best chance of reproducing what\u00a0we are. If what we call our Christianity was reproduced in our children, what would it do for them? What will it produce?”<\/p>\n And then, concerning our husbands, Proverbs 18:22 says, \u201cWhoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing<\/span>…\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Are we our husband’s “good thing”?<\/p>\n ~ Rachel ~<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Recently, I found myself comparing the lives of Joseph and Jonah and the effect their presence had on those around them: JOSEPH \u2013 In Genesis 39, the Bible says the Lord was with Joseph. \u201cAnd the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand.\u201d Genesis 39:2,3 In verse five of that same chapter we see that Joseph\u2019s presence brought blessing to Pharaoh\u2019s house. \u201cAnd it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.\u201d Genesis 39:5 JONAH \u2013 In Jonah 1, we read of Jonah fleeing from the presence of the Lord. \u201cNow the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.\u201d\u00a0 Jonah 1:1-3 The very next verse tells of the storm that arose after Jonah entered the ship. \u201cBut the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.\u201d Jonah 1:4 In verse 12, Jonah acknowledges that his presence is the cause for the storm. \u201cAnd he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.\u201d Jonah 1:12 ~ Joseph’s presence brought blessings to those around him; Jonah’s presence brought a storm. ~ \u00a0From the lives of Joseph and Jonah, we see the key to a blessed and peaceful life for us AND our family is staying in the Lord\u2019s presence. Aside from our personal Bible reading and prayer, playing Christ-honoring music through-out the day will help our spirits stay sweet. A good example of this is in the life of Saul. \u201cAnd it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.\u201c \u00a0I Samuel 16:23\u00a0 We should also be careful that our close friendships are those that will encourage us to love and build our families.\u00a0 \u201cEvery wise woman buildeth her house\u2026\u201d Proverbs 14:1\u00a0 Disgruntled friends will eventually have a negative effect on us as well. And remember, friendships are also in what we read, watch, listen to\u2026anything that has an influence on us and therefore\u00a0“giving us counsel” in our relationships. Psalm 1 exhorts us, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” These verses are not just talking about avoiding close communion with the unsaved; carnal Christians can affect us negatively as well. I Corinthians 15:33 warns us, “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.” The fact that this verse begins with the phrase “be not deceived” tells us that our choice of close friends is indeed an area in which many are mislead. As wives and mothers, would our families say that our presence brings blessing to our home, or are they always\u00a0relieved for us to run to town just to have a moment of peace from the \u201craging storm\u201d?\u00a0\u00a0Although the husband is to be the head of the home, we must remember that the\u00a0wife is\u00a0the heart of the home. By our own attitudes, we\u00a0set the atmosphere – the temperature – of the home. Psalm 113:9 says, “He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD.”\u00a0Concerning our children, this verse\u00a0reminds me again of what our pastor preached this past Sunday morning – “The Impact of a Godly Mother”. One\u00a0point he made was, “We have the best chance of reproducing what\u00a0we are. If what we call our Christianity was reproduced in our children, what would it do for them? What will it produce?” And then, concerning our husbands, Proverbs 18:22 says, \u201cWhoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing…\u201d\u00a0 Are we our husband’s “good thing”? ~ Rachel ~<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[18,65,37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-courtshipmarriage","category-relationships","category-the-virtuous-woman"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4o6C2-Fd","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2555"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2555\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2557,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2555\/revisions\/2557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthineheart.com\/staging\/8143\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}