Hello everyone. I apologize for not posting on Wednesday night but I came down with some type of virus, but am on the mends. Without further adieu, let's look at our second bad girl in this Bible study - Popiphar's wife.
The author of "Bad Girls of the Bible," Liz Curtis Higgs, opens up the second chapter with Mitzi leaning over the breakfast table toward her husband, Christopher, making sure she offers him more than just coffee..."So...may I serve you something before you head to the office?" She asks seductively. Christopher doesn't even glance up from the newspaper he's reading but does strike up a conversation by telling Mitzi about a new guy he had hired at the office by the name of Joe, the kind of man "you can trust with the company bankbook...and everything else." Christopher winks at his wife while he says this last sentence. What Christopher doesn't know is that he may be able to trust Joe with everything including the company's bankbook, but Mitzi has already set her sites on this young prey. She noticed him at the and his musky smelling aftershave at the company picnic last weekend. She didn't care about the rumors that he lived a squeaky-clean lifestyle and was religious to a fault. She thought that was perfect - she loved a good challenge. So, after asking Christopher if he'd be home for dinner and receving the usual reply of, "Not tonight, sweetheart" and something about meetings..blah, blah, blah...Mitzi didn't care after that. She was already thinking of how she was going to get Joe over to the house so she could have her way with him. She waved to Christopher as he backed down the driveway all the while composing a list of things she needed to do...first, she made a few phone calls...telling the gardner and the housekeeper to take the day off, and then she hung a note on the front door for the UPS man to leave the packages on the porch. "No doorbells please. I might be napping. Correction - she might be in bed if all went as planned."
Now for the challenge of getting her prey, oops, rather Joe to come to the house...she picks up the phone, changes her voice tone a bit so the receptionist won't recognize her, and asks for, "Joe in Property Management, please." When Joe comes on the line, Mitzi drops her voice back down to its usual "husky pitch" and introduces herself as Christopher's wife. In a few minutes, after telling Joe that Christopher left an important file at the house that he will need for his meetings that day, Joe is putty in her hands and tells her he will be there in 30 minutes. After hanging up the phone, she quickly bathes and dresses in a scarlet gown that leaves nothing to the imagination along with a gauzy robe and red slippers. As she brushes her hair she hears a brisk knock at the door. Joseph! She practically skips down the stairs and stops to catch her breath. She doesn't want to appear too eager...her smile changes to a look of surprise as she opens the door. Joseph, who was very handsome and well built, look shocked and quickly shifted his gaze to the planters on the porch. He tried looking everywhere else but at her. She quickly stretched out her hand to catch his and forced him to meet her gaze, "Silly man! Have you never seen a woman in her pajamas? you merely got here too fast for me to change, that's all. Come on in and let me see if I can find that file."
She's smoother than a double-blended mocha frappucino. Poor Joseph doesn't stand a chance.
After Mitzi messes around with "trying to find that file," she quickly finds out this is definitely going to be more of a challenge than she had originally thought. Slowly slipping his jacket off, she allows her hands to brush against his chest. She asks him if he knows why she invited him, and he says, "it's becoming clearer to him by the moment." She nods, relieved, and says, "Good. Then we don't have to play games, do we? I want you, Joe."
Joe clears his throat and takes a step backward, pressing his broad shoulders against the front door. "No simple at all. You're Christopher's wife. He gave me this job, promoted me to manager. He trusts me with..he trusts me with everything." This gave Mitzi perverse pleasure to see how he sweated...boy she was affecting him wasn't she...she watched him gulp and wipe his hands along the sides of his suit pants. Laughter spilled from her lips. "Come to bed with me, Joe. Believe me, Chris not only won't know, he wouldn't care." Joe groped for the knob behind him and yanked the door open. "You don't understand! It isn't only Christopher I'm worried about. This..this is a sin!! A sin against the Lord. The Lord I love with all of my heart." Disgusted, she sputtered, "The Lord!! What has God got to do with this?" Kinda sounds like a Tina Turner song, right? What's God got to do, got to do with it?? Joe looks at her and smiles and says, "Everything." Then he bolted for his cars and the tires squealed all the way down the street.
You can imagine how our sultry seductress felt at this moment...until...she...spotted...his...jacket!!! Now she felt the sweet taste of revenge rising in her throat. "You'll pay, Joe. You'll pay you holier-than-thou-jerk!!"
When she heard the receptionists voice on the other end of the phone, she snapped on a teary sob, "Uh, B-Betty? Is that you? I'm so...scared! Is Christopher there? Please. Tell him I need to talk to him. Yes, yes, interrupt the meeting. Right away!"
That's how the modern-day Potiphar's Wife does it!! Genesis 39, chapters 1 - 23 - the story of Joseph and Potiphar's Wife. It's worth your time to read these chapters and see the similarities in our modern-day Mrs. P. We've all heard stories, watched Lifetime movies, and perhaps, unfortunately, experienced her in our lives. As destructive as she can be, what lessons can we learn from her?
Friday, September 30, 2011
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Blink!!
How many times have you heard a song that you just can't get out of your head? It's typically a really lame song that you heard on a commercial or in a store and you'd give anything to get it out of your head. Well, I actually have a good song that's been stuck in my head for the past few days. It's called "Blink" by the Christian band Revive and the lyrics are:
Blink, by Revive
Teach me to number my days
And count every moment before it slips away
Take in all the colors before they fade to gray
I don't want to miss even just a second more of this
Refrain:
It happens in a blink
It happens in a flash
It happens in the time it takes to look back
I try to hold on tight, but there's no stopping time
What is it I've done with my life
It happens in a blink
When it's all said and done
No one remembers how far we have run
The only thing that matters is how we have loved
I don't want to miss even just a second more of this
Refrain
Slow down, slow down
Before today becomes our yesterday
Slow down, slow down
Before you turn around and it's too late
Refrain
You can Google it and listen to the actual song which is much more awesome than just reading the lyrics, although the lyrics are pretty powerful. I love the first line, "Teach me to number my days." You know the Bible actually tells us to "number our days" in Psalms 39:4 (NIV), "Show me, O Lord, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life." In Psalms 90:12 (NIV), Moses asks God to "Teach us to number our days alright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."
After thinking about this numbering my days concept, I actually sat down and numbered my days - it's pretty sobering to realize that if I live to be 87 years old, which is 1 year more than my mother had lived, as of today, I have 13,197 days left to live or 1,099 months. What happens when we put a time limit on things? I don't know about you, but when I put a time limit on something I'm doing, I tend to move a bit faster than if I had all day. Well, guess what? You start putting a time limit on the number of days you estimate your life to have left, and now you're going to find your life has a whole new meaning. Instead of "waiting" in order for things to happen like "When I lose weight, I'll finally do..." or "I don't have time now to take care of this, but I will when..." your "whens" start to become a bit more urgent and it's suddenly not so important to lose weight before going on that vacation you always wanted to go on. You suddenly realize that you only have 4 more years before your oldest son starts college and if you're not careful, you'll blink and miss his entire high school years because you're too busy waiting for "when" to happen.
If you dare to number your days, post how many you estimate to have left and let's all start to help each other in slowing down and realizing what our blinks in life are right now!! Friday night, after dropping Josh (my 14-yo) and his friends at the high school for an away game they had, I picked up Jack and Jakob and drove to Monroeville to celebrate my nephew, Michael's, 19th birthday. Someone had commented to me that I'm crazy for driving all over creation and that my nephew wouldn't mind if I didn't show. I agreed but realized that in a few short years, Michael will be out of college and starting his life. My reply was simply, "This is my blink!!" And now it's Sunday night and Friday night is a memory - a very wonderful memory!!!
Lord, Show us how to number our days and to realize that your plans for us is bigger than what we can even imagine. Help us to listen for your direction, Lord. Amen and Amen!!
Check back on Thursday night for the continuation of, "Bad Girls of the Bible."
Blink, by Revive
Teach me to number my days
And count every moment before it slips away
Take in all the colors before they fade to gray
I don't want to miss even just a second more of this
Refrain:
It happens in a blink
It happens in a flash
It happens in the time it takes to look back
I try to hold on tight, but there's no stopping time
What is it I've done with my life
It happens in a blink
When it's all said and done
No one remembers how far we have run
The only thing that matters is how we have loved
I don't want to miss even just a second more of this
Refrain
Slow down, slow down
Before today becomes our yesterday
Slow down, slow down
Before you turn around and it's too late
Refrain
You can Google it and listen to the actual song which is much more awesome than just reading the lyrics, although the lyrics are pretty powerful. I love the first line, "Teach me to number my days." You know the Bible actually tells us to "number our days" in Psalms 39:4 (NIV), "Show me, O Lord, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life." In Psalms 90:12 (NIV), Moses asks God to "Teach us to number our days alright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."
After thinking about this numbering my days concept, I actually sat down and numbered my days - it's pretty sobering to realize that if I live to be 87 years old, which is 1 year more than my mother had lived, as of today, I have 13,197 days left to live or 1,099 months. What happens when we put a time limit on things? I don't know about you, but when I put a time limit on something I'm doing, I tend to move a bit faster than if I had all day. Well, guess what? You start putting a time limit on the number of days you estimate your life to have left, and now you're going to find your life has a whole new meaning. Instead of "waiting" in order for things to happen like "When I lose weight, I'll finally do..." or "I don't have time now to take care of this, but I will when..." your "whens" start to become a bit more urgent and it's suddenly not so important to lose weight before going on that vacation you always wanted to go on. You suddenly realize that you only have 4 more years before your oldest son starts college and if you're not careful, you'll blink and miss his entire high school years because you're too busy waiting for "when" to happen.
If you dare to number your days, post how many you estimate to have left and let's all start to help each other in slowing down and realizing what our blinks in life are right now!! Friday night, after dropping Josh (my 14-yo) and his friends at the high school for an away game they had, I picked up Jack and Jakob and drove to Monroeville to celebrate my nephew, Michael's, 19th birthday. Someone had commented to me that I'm crazy for driving all over creation and that my nephew wouldn't mind if I didn't show. I agreed but realized that in a few short years, Michael will be out of college and starting his life. My reply was simply, "This is my blink!!" And now it's Sunday night and Friday night is a memory - a very wonderful memory!!!
Lord, Show us how to number our days and to realize that your plans for us is bigger than what we can even imagine. Help us to listen for your direction, Lord. Amen and Amen!!
Check back on Thursday night for the continuation of, "Bad Girls of the Bible."
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Welcome!
Welcome to Hope Today Cafe!! This blog is inspired by God so that its contents may bring you hope and inspiration.
This blog has been in my heart for many months, but every time I felt God nudging me to write it, I allowed fear to creep in and whisper, "What makes you think you can do this?" But yesterday morning, the nudging was so strong and lasted all day that I couldn't ignore it any longer and I'm reminded of the verse in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
I signed up for a Bible study and this week was the first lesson. I've done alot of other Bible studies, mostly Kay Arthur Precept Upon Precept studies which are very good, in-depth studies that I learned alot in. But when my friend, Lori, asked me if I was interested in going with her to this study, the title wasn't even out of her mouth and I knew I was in. It's called, "Bad Girls of the Bible, and What We Can Learn from Them" written by Liz Curtis Higgs. Seriously, who can resist a title like that? We all can relate to this, right? Well, at least my female readers can, but I know our male counterparts have somewhere along the line, met a bad girl or two (or three, okay, I'll stop there).
The study is broken down into 10 chapters with each chapter concentrating on one of the Bible's best-known femme fatales. First up, is the First Lady of the Bible, Eve! The author first introduces us to Evie - a modern day Eve in a more modern setting. To make a long chapter short, and at the risk of sounding like I'm writing a book report, here's my summation...
Evie is in her father's garden located in the Historic District of Savannah, Georgia. She's about to have her "coming out" ball and become engaged to her one true love, Adam. The garden is filled with such wonderful plants, flowers, fruit trees, as well as a Spanish moss-covered gazebo that she is forbidden by her father to enter - ever!! Well, I know what you're thinking, and you're absolutely right! On the night of her ball, after dancing herself into a sweat, Evie ventures out into the garden in her white silk gown and new silk dancing flats to wait for Adam to bring her a snack. While she waits, she hears, "Pssst! Here, Evelyn." She turns to find herself "nose-to-boutonniere with a man dressed in the most elegant evening clothes. Not white tails though (as it was an all white ball), but black." His name is Devin, and he wears a "sleek black tuxedo with a silvery gray vest, cravat, and dress gloves, crowned with a black silk hat." What happens next doesn't come as a shock to any of us. The mystery man lures our innocent Evie into the gazebo by convincing her that her father really didn't mean she would be cut off if she's discovered there. The lustful liar doesn't stop there, he kisses Evie (who has never been kissed) and that's it for her. A whole new lustful world has opened up and she can't wait to share what she experienced with Adam. When Adam comes to the garden, of course he's shocked to find where she is, but she quickly shows him what she learned and they throw all caution to the wind. Now, this is a Bible study, so only shirt buttons are undone before Evie's father catches them...
If that section of the first chapter isn't entertaining enough, the author goes on to analyze the true Garden of Eden events using humor and up-to-date examples that are easily relatable. What we can learn from Eve is the following:
1. Don't get into a debate with Satan - get out!! "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:7).
2. Know God's Word so you won't be fooled. "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." (Psalm 119:11).
3. Watch out for the Big Three. "For everything in the world - the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes, and the boasting of what he has and does - comes not from the Father but from the world." (1 John 2:16)
4. Let's avoid the blame game. "Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:24-25).
Next week, Potiphar's Wife.
If you'd like to follow along each week using the book, you can purchase it at Amazon.com or check at your local bookstore.
It's not my intent to write a book report each week, but to share some of the highlights of this truly entertaining and enlightening study. If you live in the Cranberry Twp/Economy Boro, PA area and would like to join the study group, email me at matoteks@comcast.net.
Thought for the week: God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. (paraphrased from the New Living Translation Bible).
Be sure to bookmark or add this site to your Favorites and check back on Thursdays so you can check up on what our "Bad Girls" are doing as well as on Mondays when the posts will be...well, only God knows. I'll also be adding new things often while I'm building this site for the glory of God!!
This blog has been in my heart for many months, but every time I felt God nudging me to write it, I allowed fear to creep in and whisper, "What makes you think you can do this?" But yesterday morning, the nudging was so strong and lasted all day that I couldn't ignore it any longer and I'm reminded of the verse in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
I signed up for a Bible study and this week was the first lesson. I've done alot of other Bible studies, mostly Kay Arthur Precept Upon Precept studies which are very good, in-depth studies that I learned alot in. But when my friend, Lori, asked me if I was interested in going with her to this study, the title wasn't even out of her mouth and I knew I was in. It's called, "Bad Girls of the Bible, and What We Can Learn from Them" written by Liz Curtis Higgs. Seriously, who can resist a title like that? We all can relate to this, right? Well, at least my female readers can, but I know our male counterparts have somewhere along the line, met a bad girl or two (or three, okay, I'll stop there).
The study is broken down into 10 chapters with each chapter concentrating on one of the Bible's best-known femme fatales. First up, is the First Lady of the Bible, Eve! The author first introduces us to Evie - a modern day Eve in a more modern setting. To make a long chapter short, and at the risk of sounding like I'm writing a book report, here's my summation...
Evie is in her father's garden located in the Historic District of Savannah, Georgia. She's about to have her "coming out" ball and become engaged to her one true love, Adam. The garden is filled with such wonderful plants, flowers, fruit trees, as well as a Spanish moss-covered gazebo that she is forbidden by her father to enter - ever!! Well, I know what you're thinking, and you're absolutely right! On the night of her ball, after dancing herself into a sweat, Evie ventures out into the garden in her white silk gown and new silk dancing flats to wait for Adam to bring her a snack. While she waits, she hears, "Pssst! Here, Evelyn." She turns to find herself "nose-to-boutonniere with a man dressed in the most elegant evening clothes. Not white tails though (as it was an all white ball), but black." His name is Devin, and he wears a "sleek black tuxedo with a silvery gray vest, cravat, and dress gloves, crowned with a black silk hat." What happens next doesn't come as a shock to any of us. The mystery man lures our innocent Evie into the gazebo by convincing her that her father really didn't mean she would be cut off if she's discovered there. The lustful liar doesn't stop there, he kisses Evie (who has never been kissed) and that's it for her. A whole new lustful world has opened up and she can't wait to share what she experienced with Adam. When Adam comes to the garden, of course he's shocked to find where she is, but she quickly shows him what she learned and they throw all caution to the wind. Now, this is a Bible study, so only shirt buttons are undone before Evie's father catches them...
If that section of the first chapter isn't entertaining enough, the author goes on to analyze the true Garden of Eden events using humor and up-to-date examples that are easily relatable. What we can learn from Eve is the following:
1. Don't get into a debate with Satan - get out!! "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:7).
2. Know God's Word so you won't be fooled. "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." (Psalm 119:11).
3. Watch out for the Big Three. "For everything in the world - the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes, and the boasting of what he has and does - comes not from the Father but from the world." (1 John 2:16)
4. Let's avoid the blame game. "Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:24-25).
Next week, Potiphar's Wife.
If you'd like to follow along each week using the book, you can purchase it at Amazon.com or check at your local bookstore.
It's not my intent to write a book report each week, but to share some of the highlights of this truly entertaining and enlightening study. If you live in the Cranberry Twp/Economy Boro, PA area and would like to join the study group, email me at matoteks@comcast.net.
Thought for the week: God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. (paraphrased from the New Living Translation Bible).
Be sure to bookmark or add this site to your Favorites and check back on Thursdays so you can check up on what our "Bad Girls" are doing as well as on Mondays when the posts will be...well, only God knows. I'll also be adding new things often while I'm building this site for the glory of God!!
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