07 June 2022 | After two consecutive postponements of the planned GC Session, June 6, 2022 marked the first day of the first hybrid General Conference (GC) Session in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.—for the first time, delegates could attend and participate in the GC Session online and in-person. Delegates waded through many motions, and some […] Source: https://atoday.org/set-in-motion-day-1-of-the-gc-business-sessions-june-6-2022/
Wednesday: Joseph, A Slave in Egypt
We now pick up the flow of Joseph’s stories, which had been “interrupted” by the Tamar incident. Joseph is now working as a slave for the “captain of the guard,” who is in charge of the prison for royal officials (Genesis 40:3-4; Genesis 41:10-12).
Read Genesis 39:1-23. In light of the example of Joseph’s working as a manager under Potiphar, what are the factors that led to such success?
Image © Lifeway Collection at Goodsalt.com
Almost immediately, Joseph is characterized as a man of success (Genesis 39:2-3). He was so good and his master so trusted him that “all that he had he put into his hand,” and even made him “overseer over his house” (Genesis 39:4).
Joseph’s success, however, does not corrupt him. When Potiphar’s wife notices him and wants to sleep with him, Joseph unambiguously refuses and prefers to lose his job and his security rather than “do this great wickedness, and sin against God” (Genesis 39:9). The woman, humiliated by Joseph’s refusal, reports falsely to her servants and to her husband that Joseph wanted to rape her. As a result, Joseph is cast into prison.
Joseph experiences here what we all have experienced: the sense of abandonment by God even though, even in this difficult time, “the LORD was with Joseph” (Genesis 39:21).
Eventually, the Lord acts, and He has an impact on Joseph’s relationship with the officer of the prison. Here, too, as in his master’s house, the Lord blesses Joseph. He is obviously a gifted man, and despite the even worse circumstances now (after all, before, he was still a slave!), he seeks to make the best of it. Whatever his gifts, however, the text makes it clear that, in the end, it was only God who brought him success. “The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made it prosper” (Genesis 39:23, NKJV). How important that all who are gifted, all who are “successful,” remember where it all comes from!
| Read Genesis 39:7-12. How did Joseph resist the wife’s advances? Why did Joseph specifically say that to have done what she asked would have been a sin against God? What understanding does he show about the nature of sin and what it is? |
Amen!
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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/wednesday-joseph-slave-in-egypt/
‘Again????’: Ted N.C. Wilson Re-elected as President of the General Conference
During final minutes of June 6, 2022, business meeting, Ted N.C. Wilson re-elected as president. Wilson has been president of the GC for 12 years; this is his third term. While many on social media are expressing congratulations, many others are expressing concerns about his re-election and how well Wilson actually represents the global Adventist […] Source: https://atoday.org/again-ted-n-c-wilson-re-elected-as-president-of-the-general-conference/
Day One at General Conference Session Cont’d
Almost immediately the General Conference Session opened, an invitation was extended to a special guest – the Holy Spirit. Not perhaps the most unusual action, but one taken to signify as ever the primary agenda for the session – mission.
At face value, the agenda seems anything but – as constitution, policy and Church Manual matters dominate, but noticeable is the attempt of leaders to explain the mission potential of each amended action.
In the context of today’s multi-faith world, the…Source: https://adventist.uk/news/article/go/2022-06-07/1203/
Day one at the General Conference Session
Delegates and guests from around the world arrived at America’s Center in St Louis, USA, on Monday for the opening programme of the 61st session of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventist. After a two-year delay, this hybrid session feels like a long-awaited family reunion.
Evangelist Mark Finley shared the first message, challenging the present to depend on the power of the Holy Spirt, and not their own. Finley invited Christians to finally be “tired of prosperity and success” and make…Source: https://adventist.uk/news/article/go/2022-06-07/1202/
