Author: Christine Wyrtzen

KNEES TO THE EARTH

And Joseph saw the third generation of Ephraim’s sons; [they] were born on Joseph’s knees. Genesis 50:23

Then Joseph removed them from his knees, and be bowed himself with his face to the earth. Exodus 48:1 

         Ron and I are blessed enough to have my two grandsons nearby. I was there at the time of, or just after, their births. What priceless moments they were, as I witnessed the beginning of two new lives and imagined, with spiritual imagination, what they would be in the hands of a powerful God.

         Joseph’s great grandsons were born near to him and placed on his knees, a sign of ownership and investment. Just after blessing them, he lowered himself prostrate to the earth as a way of consecrating them to God.

         How much heart and soul do I invest in the lives of my children and grandchildren? More and more as I get older. When they sleep under my roof, it begs an invitation to go in and pray over them, then speak scripture over them. The cries before God seem to have a theme. “Remember them. Keep them close to You. Reveal Yourself to them. Teach them to hear Your voice. Deliver them from all evil. Make them wise as Daniels. Fashion their tongues to be sharp swords of Your truth.” How will they prosper in this darkening world without investments of prayer on their behalf?

         Oh, and at bedtime, I would not trade the spiritual conversations we have. Their questions are so creative and wonder-filled. I often wonder what happens to us as we age. Where did that priceless curiosity about all things of God’s kingdom go? I hear my grandsons talk. God is described as the ‘lion from Narnia’. Lost people are characterized by those ‘still under the curse from the Garden of Eden.’ Both boys get it. They’re spiritual diagnostic skills are honed and sharp.

         ‘Knees to the earth’ is the needed posture of all who raise children. It is an acknowledgement that complete and utter dependence on God is needed to grow a child who reveres God and is passionate to know His heart. I am not clever enough. I am not eloquent enough to birth anything lasting in their spirits. All that children are ~ only God sees. All that children are to become ~ only God knows. Bending each of them in the right direction will only be possible as I listen to my Father, the One who gives insight and direction about my offspring.

Teach me how to pray, Holy Spirit, for the lives of my children’s children. Then teach me how to walk my faith before them in living color. In Jesus’ name, Amen

“I DON’T WANT TO BE ALONE WITH HIM”

When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” Genesis 50:15

         Is there someone’s whose anger you dread? In a group, you’re fine. There’s a pretension of peace. Everything seems okay. However, the thought of being alone sends chills to your bones.

         This is the dread the brothers feel once their father is dead. A parent often keeps the lid on family tensions when they are alive and Joseph’s brothers feared that Joseph withheld revenge for the sake of his aged father. With him gone, his true feelings would emerge and making them suffer would be at the top of his agenda.

It grieved Joseph that they mistrusted his forgiveness. It grieves Jesus even more so when I mistrust His forgiveness. The joy of seeing Jesus in heaven can be ruined by my fear of being alone with Him in the same room. Continue reading “I Don’t Want To Be Alone With Him” →

WHY IS THIS? PLEASE COMMENT.

When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and was gathered to his people. Then Joseph fell on his father’s face and wept over him and kissed him. And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. Forty days were required for it, for that is how many are required for embalming. And the Egyptians wept for him seventy days. Genesis 49:33-50:3

         I’m posting this on Facebook today to get your thoughts as you contemplate these verses. I’m also inviting your comments here on my blog.

         I confess that I do not understand why the Egyptians would mourn over Jacob’s death for 70 days. The quick assumption would be that it was out of respect for Joseph. That’s the easy answer but it just doesn’t explain it to me. Seventy days were how long people mourned the death of their Pharaoh. Jacob was not a pharaoh. He was not even an Egyptian, but a Hebrew. To further baffle me is the fact that Egypt did not value Israelites. They saw them as peculiar, as outsiders.

         Did Joseph just rule so well that people loved his father also? Was Judah a visible presence to the people throughout the 17 years he lived there? Did he make a mark somehow?

         I am wide-eyed over this. I’m missing possible explanations.

Lord, what is there for me to learn here? Please speak to Your people and teach us. In Jesus’ name, Amen

 

SEEING THE FUTURE THROUGH A PERSON’S HISTORY 

Then Jacob called his sons and said, ‘Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall happen to you in days to come. Assemble and listen, O sons of Jacob, listen to Israel your father.” Genesis 49:1-2

         Is it possible to imagine someone’s future based on their past behavior? Yes. Their patterns of righteousness or unrighteousness spell out their future. If I know the principles of the kingdom, I can pretty accurately predict their days ahead. What changes a dark prediction, however, is someone’s repentance.

         If someone has a history of anger, and I know him well, I can forecast what will set him off. I know his patterns from past experience. If someone is greedy, I know not to expect generosity. I’ve experienced him from our long history. Now, I am not a fortuneteller.  I do not pretend to be able to call a person aside and declare, with certainty, how their days will unfold. I do not know if an unrepentant will repent. I also do not know if a faithful servant will throw in the towel and lead an ungodly lifestyle. I do know, however, the principles of scripture. God put us in a sowing and reaping world. What we sow, we reap. To be able to guess someone’s behavior from past experience is not rocket science. It’s biblical wisdom. To anticipate their future correctly is not judging, it is seeing someone with God’s eyes.

         Jacob knew the patterns of his sons. He knew that God often defined the destinies of His people by the bent of their hearts. He proceeded to reveal the future of the twelve tribes of Israel to each of his sons. His knowledge of them, coupled with the revelation of God, accurately forecasted their destinies. I wonder how it felt to each one as the truth sunk in ~ What I’ve done with my life is determining my future.

         What do I do today if I see the shipwrecked life of someone I love? I know that without a spiritual turnaround, the days ahead of them are foreboding. I ask God to have mercy on them. I ask God to destroy the schemes of the evil one to ‘blind the mind of my unbelieving loved one so that they might not see the glory of Christ.’ 2 Cor. 4:4 I ask God to reveal Himself to them and bring them to a place of spiritual need. Each of us knows that our past does not have to define our future. With God, there is mercy. With God, there is forgiveness and a clean canvas upon which He can paint a glorious destiny of grace.

Thank you for not giving me what I deserve. Thank you for forgiving me. Amen

ICONIC FATHERS AND THEIR CHILDREN’S FAITH

Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers. Genesis 48:21

         When good fathers are alive, their children dwell securely under their shade tree. God’s favor is on the father, and by extension, the sons and daughters who share their faith. The children might not think about the day when their father no longer lives. If they do, they wonder if God’s favor will shadow them in the same powerful way it has hovered over their father.

         How reassuring were Jacob’s words to Joseph. “I am about to die but God will be with you.” Didn’t Joseph already know that? God brought him safely through slavery, captivity, and enthronement. But ascending a throne in Egypt is not the same as stepping into the role of a patriarch within a covenant family. It was easier for him to follow in the footsteps of Jacob alive then to step into his shoes after death. This, every man of a larger-than-life father, feels.

         In taking Joseph to Egypt, God gave Joseph distance between his iconic father and himself. He became his own person, a unique son of Yahweh. And this very thing, sons of famous fathers must do. Leave home. In their father’s shadow, it is difficult to get to know themselves and give themselves permission to be different from what others expect. How unfair to hear, “He not like his father. Or, he’s going to be just like his father!” Either way, it’s a pile of expectations. The problem with icons is that the public sees perfection. The family sees the humanity. We are god-makers and cast this heavy burden upon their children.

         Like you perhaps, I’m aware that the story would be different if Reuben, or Judah, or Simeon had become the vice-chancellor of Egypt. Great fathers don’t always raise great sons. Joseph was great because God had his hand on him and cast him into refining fires early in life. The others stayed in their father’s shade, resented his faith, and acted out a kind of teenage rebellion throughout their adult lives.

         I’m married to the son of an iconic father ~ a larger than life evangelist. No matter where we go, Ron is Jack Wyrtzen’s son. Expectations have always been high. At 32, God called Ron away from his father’s organization to become the unique leader he is today. He was cast into great refining fires for two decades. Today, he is a great man much like his father but different from his father. He is a ‘Jesus’ in the business world while his father was in ministry. This metamorphosis would not have happened without time and distance. But one thing has proven true. As God was with Jack Wyrtzen, God has been, and is, with Ron Wyrtzen. I see God’s favor on him every day as he brings the kingdom to our world with wisdom, holy restraint, and grace.

You made me. Only You should shape Your own creation. Strengthen the holy legacies with our fathers and break the back of idolatry. Amen

GOD DOES NOT BOW TO CONVENTION

When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Mannasseh’s head. And Joseph said to his father, “Not this way, my father; since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.” But his father refused and said, I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.” Genesis 48:17-19

         One of the reasons men try to control religion, right down to the nitty gritty of a church service, is a basic distrust of God. He is unpredictable. We say we want the Holy Spirit to come and have His way but do we really? He does things His way and what in the world would happen if we relinquished the reins? By holding on tightly, we forfeit God’s blessing.

         Mannaseh was Joseph’s firstborn, the heir to the firstborn’s blessing. But Jacob perceived that God wanted something different when he went to pronounce a final blessing on the two brothers. God intended to bless the younger over the older. History would reveal that Jacob heard God correctly. After the exodus, Ephraim became the leading tribe in the Northern Kingdom, much superior to the tribe of Mannasseh. Oh, but how Jacob’s spiritual hunch offended Joseph!

         God does not exalt whom we think he should. He is full of surprises as he chooses the overlooked, the weak, the average, the unsuspecting. Talent does not impress him. Stature in the eyes of men and family don’t weigh in the decision either. God looks at the heart and if that heart has an inclination toward humility and utter dependence on God, that qualifies him for spiritual greatness. Why should Joseph have been surprised? He, himself, was in fact, far removed from the firstborn.

         I’m reminded again this morning that I dare not live off of my knees. I cannot guess what God wants. I am to bless whom He blesses and withhold when He withholds. Who am I affirming today that may be far from God’s blessing? Perhaps I’m impressed by their talents and charisma. And, whom would God have me encourage? That person might be unnoticed, living outside of the spotlight. It’s the ‘David’ who tends sheep; the one the family has all but waved off as insignificant.

Align me to Your purposes. I forfeit my logic and declare that it is flawed. Amen

PRAISE-TALK FOR THE FUTURE

And he [Jacob] blessed Joseph and said, “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys; and in them let my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.” Genesis 48:15-16

         In retrospect, I can see how God provided and blessed. In the present, I fear that He will continue to do so. Words of faith are choked out. That’s unfortunate because remembrance is meant to feed my faith. When things looked impossible, God did come through. When I tried to quit life, God brought new manna to breathe hope into the crevices of my soul. Why do I not think He will continue to provide? Either I have a short memory or present circumstances paint such a dire picture that I fear even God could affect any change.

         Jacob embraces his two newly adopted grandsons. Half-Egyptian grandsons, I might add. He remembers God’s promised covenant over his family. He remembers that God was faithful to preserve their lives when it looked like their line would be extinct. He praises God for the past but his language quickly changes to thank God for what He will do to bless his descendants. Faith is future.

         Several decades ago, I was lamenting to a mentor that a certain portion of my life looked like it would fail. I had plenty of evidence to prove it. She listened to it all. Her reply was this, “Live joyfully confident!” When I questioned her further, she replied again, “Live joyfully confident!” I understood that she wasn’t going to spoon-feed me the meaning.

I was to prayerfully explore it until I made the meaning my own. Obviously, I haven’t forgotten it and the phrase has been beyond special to me. It describes what faith is. When all things point to failure – I live joyfully confident that God creates options where I see none. When people I love are disinterested in the God I cherish – I live joyfully confident that God is a wooing God and has not forgotten to call them to Himself.

         What ‘joyfully confident’ statement of faith do I need to make today about some area of my life that invites despair? I smell death but know that God is a Resurrector. I will say so, outloud, and ask for the grace to live in joyful anticipation.

You will. You promised. I’m learning to dance before the party. Amen

WAITING FOR THE RIGHT MOMENT TO DIE

After this, Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is ill.” So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. And it was told to Jacob, “Your son Joseph has come to you.” Then Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed. Genesis 48:1- 

         How Jacob reacted when Joseph and his sons arrived at his bedside. He was very ill, near death, but their presence gave him an uncanny strength to finish what had been unfinished. He needed to give Joseph the birthright of the family and adopt Joseph’s two sons as his grandchildren. The future inheritance of Israel depended on this moment and Jacob knew it.

         Have you known anyone who was near death and it was predicted they wouldn’t last much longer? Then, they hung on and refused to die. Something was unfinished. There was someone they needed to see; something they needed to say. When that person arrived, they had a moment when they gained their full faculties. Like Jacob, they rose up to have a needed conversation.

         After moving to Georgia, I made a connection with an older saint named Iris. She became a prayer partner and spiritual mother to me. Our bond was as deep as family and because the foundation was spiritual, our connection was like iron. Iris was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer. It took her life in a matter of weeks. I was out of town when she lay on her deathbed in a local hospital. Continue reading “Waiting For The Right Moment To Die” →

WHAT I VALUE MOST

And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were 147 years. And when the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, put your hand under my thigh and promise to deal kindly and truly with me. Do not bury me in Egypt, but let me lie with my fathers. Carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burying place.” He answered, “I will do as you have said.” Genesis 47:28-30

   Jacob’s wish to be buried in Canaan surprises me on the one hand. He was living in, what could appear, to be the best part of his life. His whole family was reunited. Joseph was alive and blessed. His sons were older, wiser, and had repented of earlier deeds against their father and against Joseph. They had plenty of food. Their lineage was blessed and multiplying. Why not ask to be buried where you are the happiest?

  When all is said and done, it is interesting what I value most. My mind travels back, as Jacob’s did, to the places where God spoke. Jacob wanted to be buried near ‘Bethels’, where monuments marked the spots of God’s revelation. Time in Egypt, in a period of plenty, did not alter what he cherished. I also remember, with passion, the places where the voice of God changed my life.

  If I value the wrong things, I will be a bitter woman when I lay down to die. I will realize that I invested in things I have to leave behind. And, if I know my Bible, I’ll also realize that they will eventually burn. At the end, I want my family near me. They are eternal. I want to bless them, give them last words they will remember, and hold their hands as we are temporarily separated. There will be one more thing I want in my grip ~ The Bible that went with me through the darkest period of my life. I had to put a new binding on it recently when it fell apart because I could not part with the pages. They are journals of my fears and God’s faithfulness. Yes, at that time, let me touch my people and the Word of God. They are the only two things I take with me into the Kingdom.

  Jacob left the land of plenty to be buried in some obscure barren place. Though it was nothing to look at, for him, it was rich with memories and a priceless location.

Thank you for taking me through hard time to re-align my priorities. Amen