Daily Treasure

“And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her.  And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within.  And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out” (Genesis 39:10-12).

At times as we try to resolve conflicts, we may end up in the wrong place at the wrong time. No matter how godly we are or how much faith we have, we may have to choose to flee a situation.  Even when we do, it may not be enough.  In Joseph’s case he was accused of something he didn’t do and had to spend some time in prison. Some may wonder why  God would allow everything Joseph encountered.  Yet we see throughout the life of Joseph, that God did not abandon him.  As we desire to make peace instead of conflict, we must recall God stands ready for us to place our hand in His.  He will either deliver us or walk right beside us through every battle. We just have to remember; if we find ourselves in a comprising situation, we have the choice to turn and run.

When we think of resolving conflicts, start with the small ones as our study writer suggests. It does take courage, but as we start with small conflicts, we will gain the confidence and strength we need for the bigger ones. Joseph is a great example of how best to handle conflicts.  He could have been bitter and angry, but instead he had a caring attitude.  Could we have felt the same way, given how much grief his brothers cause him?

We will take one last look at Joseph tomorrow.  We may know how the story ends, but do we really understand why there had to be so much tension and conflict?

Sue Winchester
Missouri

PRAY TOGETHER: Pray for Texas Women Active for Christ meeting today and tomorrow, and for WNAC executive director Elizabeth Hodges who will be speaking to women there.

“And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.  And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.  Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.  And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him” (Genesis 37:18-21).

Sibling rivalry is nothing new. Joseph’s brothers went to extremes with it.  From the coat of many colors to the dreams he interpreted,  Joseph definitely had conflict with his brothers. They wanted to kill him. Now there is a novel way to resolve conflict.  Reuben stepped in, but was selling Joseph into slavery just as evil?

The battles didn’t end for Joseph.  We see a picture of faith and trust in God.  This was in spite of how bitter he could have become.

So many times we can become overwhelmed in the heat of the battle.  If we’re not careful, we will find ourselves becoming bitter instead of better. More on Joseph tomorrow…

Sue Winchester
Missouri

PRAY TOGETHER: Pray for Richard Atwood, FWBHM director of missionary assistance as he seeks to encourage church planters.

“But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes” (2 Timothy 2:23).       

This week in our study of dealing with conflict and tension in the body of Christ we are admonished to pick and choose our battles.  We won’t always know which to choose or which to just let go. Whether it is in our family or in our church there will be times when we have done all we can to make peace. We will have no choice but to give issues to God and let them go.

According to our verse, we shouldn’t go looking for conflict.  Let a contentious person look elsewhere for an argument.  As a Christian, we should be willing to avoid strife. It still takes two to argue. The light of God’s love won’t shine if we let others see us “blow a fuse.”

For the next three days we will look at a Bible character who had plenty of battles from which to choose. His name is Joseph.  We are familiar with all the adversity he faced at the hands of his brothers. However, we see the hand of God upon his life.  Just as God was there for Joseph, He will be there for us as we avoid strife and deal with conflicts.

Sue Winchester
Missouri

PRAY TOGETHER: Pray for unity and spiritual growth among E-TEAMers as they participate in missions efforts throughout the world.

“How thankful I am to Christ Jesus our Lord for considering me trustworthy and appointing me to serve Him, even though I used to…”  (1 Timothy 1:12 NLT).

I know, I know, Paul wrote the words, but I take a personal claim to them—because that’s my testimony in a nutshell.

To think, He gives me the privilege of leading a great group of gals in Bible study each and every Sunday morning?  Amazing! considering who I once was.

And?  Well, I’m holding the awesome responsibility of teaching the littlest ones in church this morning.  What an opportunity for this one who was once lost.

A young boy to raise for Christ?  Given to me as a gift?  As if I’m supposed to know how?  Someone like me should have never, ever, been given such a blessing in this life.

A family to reach for Him? A jobplace to impact with His presence?  A neighborhood to mark with His mercy?  A world to minister to?  A church to work in?

Never in a million years should I have been given the privileges Christ has placed in my life.  I am so very thankful.

Malinda Edgell
Illinois

PRAY TOGETHER: Pray for Sunday school teachers and nursery workers in your church today.

“But in the end, the holy people of the Most High will be given the kingdom, and they will rule forever”  (Daniel 7:18 NLT).

Prayer has been taken out of our schools.  Crosses are being removed from public property.  Legislation is being written to remove “In God We Trust” from future coinage.  Sins are being legalized.  Historical facts are being rewritten to exclude God’s influence on the founders of our great nation.

Are you scared?  Are you concerned?  Is worry filling your heart?  Are you anxious about what else might come to pass against the Christian community?

Good news:  We win!

Tough it out.  Hang on.  Muddle your way through.  Grit your teeth and bear it.

Our time of victory has not yet come.  Our place of rest is not yet prepared.  Our turmoils, trials and testings may not end here—but in the end we will reign with Christ in heaven.

Rest assured, it’s coming…and it will be worth it all.

Malinda Edgell
Illinois

PRAY TOGETHER: Pray that God would supply adequate funding for the WNAC office.

“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted” (Galatians 6:1).

As we close out this week, I hope you have prayerfully read through week one of our study. I chose today’s verse because I think it is the antidote for the causes of conflict. Seeking to restore instead of keeping the conflict going is bound to lessen tension.  We are often so quick to judge and criticize. The Living Bible states this about today’s verse: “Dear brothers, if a Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help him onto the right path, remembering that next time it might be one of you who is in the wrong.”   As body builders we must learn the three R’s, resolve, reconcile, and restore. These are words that can keep conflicts at bay.

Sue Winchester
Missouri

PRAY TOGETHER: Pray for Tennessee Women Active for Christ involved in preparations for the WNAC Convention in Memphis this July.

“When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padan-aram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.  And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padan-aram;  And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father;  Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife” (Genesis 28:6-9).

We see in today’s verses something else that happened prior to Jacob and Esau being reunited. Esau was not only angry with Jacob, he was mad at his father.  The world says, “Don’t get mad; get even.”  What Esau did in our verses was done out of spite.  He knew his Dad would not be happy with his choice of wives, but he took them to himself anyway.  We see not only a cause of conflict, but also something that would keep it brewing.

What did he hope to attain by acting in such a rebellious manner?

As we live for Christ, not everyone will be drawn to us. They are not really rejecting us, but our Savior. As America drifts farther from God, we may one day face persecution.  How are we going to handle that?  Will we take a stand and hold on to our faith?  Or will we seek to rebel and do things out of spite to hurt back?

Sue Winchester
Missouri

PRAY TOGETHER: Pray for E-TEAM leaders in training this week. Pray that God would give them unity and spiritual wisdom as they seek to lead these groups of teens in missions efforts.