The Rebel

A Series on Lamentations
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Lamentations 5; Jeremiah 29:10-14; Luke 15:11-24 

 

[The book of Lamentations was written by Jeremiah to the Jews in Babylon who had been exiled and were lamenting the destruction of Jerusalem. Known as the “weeping prophet”, his tears flowed from a broken heart for Jerusalem – the “City of God” – and her people. In this series we will look at Lamentations to learn about God’s justice and mercy, the consequences of sin and the hope for redemption.]

  

When I was a little boy, Westerns were the staple of TV. One show that I used to watch was called The Rebel with Johnny Yuma. I can still remember the theme song, sung by Johnny Cash. ♫ “Johnny Yuma was a rebel; he wandered alone” ♫.

 

As a former Confederate soldier, not only was he a rebel in that sense, but also, he was a loner that didn’t fit well with the establishment. In fact, the character of Johnny Yuma was often described as a symbol of rebellious youth.

 

The people of Jerusalem were rebellious. But the difference was that they didn’t rebel against the status quo, they rebelled against the Lord. In the opening verses of Lamentations 5, Jeremiah prayed for the shattered nation.

 

¹ Remember, Lord, what has happened to us; look, and see our disgrace. ² Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our homes to foreigners.                             NIV            Lamentations 5

 

Jeremiah also prayed about: their daily necessities like firewood and water, which at one time was free, but now had to be bought; their enemies who pursued and oppressed them; their food which required risking your life to get it; their women who were raped; and their princes who were killed.

 

But Jeremiah realized that the Lord hadn’t shut the door on them completely.

 

¹⁹ You, O Lord, remain forever; Your throne from generation to generation. ²¹ Turn us back to You, O Lord, and we will be restored; Renew our days as of old.                                                 NKJV      Lamentations 5

 

In fact, the Lord spoke to Jeremiah telling him that after seventy years he would bring his people back home from Babylon to Jerusalem.

 

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.      NIV    Jeremiah 29

 

No matter how much we rebel against the Lord, he still desires to redeem us; to bring us back into relationship with him; to bring us home. Jesus told a parable illustrating this principle – the prodigal son.

 

In the context of Jesus’ parable, the word prodigal means wastefully extravagant or recklessly spending. In his story, a father’s youngest son asked for his inheritance. Once received, he went to a far land where he spent it all on wild living.

 

When he had nothing left and became desperate, he realized that his rebellion was a sin against his father and returned asking for forgiveness. He even went so far as to say that he didn’t deserve to be called his son. But his father wouldn’t hear of it. Instead, he set into motion a big celebration.

 

²⁴ For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So, they began to celebrate.                      NIV    Luke 15

 

Like the prodigal son, we’re all lost without our Heavenly Father who happily embraces us to welcome us home.

 

Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

Pablum or Dreams

A series on God’s calling: Joseph, son of Jacob
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Genesis 37:1-11; 42:6-9; 45:1-8 

[Traditionally we think of someone who has received “God’s call on their life” as being a missionary or pastor or some other paid ministry position. But God has called all of us into ministry. And there’s not just one way that He does it. In this series, we will look at how God called people in the Bible to ministry, and what that means to us.]

  

Being the youngest of four, I was very spoiled. Nowhere was that more apparent than at the dinner table. If I didn’t like what we were eating, I’d ask Mom to fix some Pablum for me. And she would oblige me, even until I was eight years old!

 

As an adult, this became a problem because my siblings teased me mercilessly every time we got together. After years of them poking fun, I decided to go on the offense by accusing them of being jealous, even if they weren’t. Joseph, the son of Jacob, had a much more serious problem with jealous siblings.

 

Like myself, Joseph received special treatment from a parent. In his case, it was his father, Jacob. One time Jacob had an expensive robe made for Joseph as a special gift – the “coat of many colors”. His brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more.

 

Joseph also had a unique gift from God. That is, God spoke to him through dreams. Sometimes they were his own dreams. But other times they were the dreams of another person, and he would interpret them.

 

As an immature seventeen-year-old who was full of himself, he didn’t seem to recognize that God was speaking to him through his dreams. Instead, he used them as a way to boast, or even provoke his brothers – which it did.

 

One day Joseph’s brothers were out watching the flocks when they saw him approaching them in the distance. At first, they plotted to kill him, but later decided it would be more advantageous to sell him to a caravan of traders going to Egypt.

 

Despite their evil intentions, God was with Joseph in Egypt. It didn’t matter if he was a slave of Potiphar who had bought him; or a prisoner due to false accusations; or in the presence of Pharoah when Joseph interpreted his dreams. God blessed Joseph in all he did.

 

The result was that Pharoah placed Joseph in charge of managing the whole land during a season of prosperity, followed by a severe drought. It was during the drought that his brothers came to him for food. Not recognizing Joseph, they bowed down to him. And he remembered his dream from twenty years before.

 

With all the adversity that he had faced, Joseph could easily have become a very bitter man, and seen this as the perfect opportunity for revenge. Instead, when he finally disclosed his identity to his brothers, he forgave them. And as he wept, he explained how God had been in control during the whole time.

 

^4b “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! ⁵ And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you”.   NIV    Genesis 45

 

Joseph realized that God had always been with him and had been working in his life to draw him closer. In fact, God had been calling Joseph to be his servant since his youth through dreams. Joseph had finally understood and fulfilled his call.

 

God isn’t limited in how he calls us into his service. His only limitation is our own shortcomings. How is God calling you into his service? With Pablum or dreams? Or some other means?

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

 

Overachiever

 

A series on meeting God – Saul
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Acts 9:1-18 

[We all have a story about how we met God. Some are more miraculous than others, but none more amazing than the mere fact that the Living God, our Creator, reached out to bring us into relationship with him. In this series, we will be looking at how people in the Bible met God, and what that means to you today.]

  

Growing up, my dad overcame many hurdles. Born in 1902, he grew up poor on a farm in Iowa. When he was eight his dad died suddenly. Since he was the oldest of four kids, he ran the farm. Because all four kids took turns attending college and working on the farm, he didn’t graduate until he was twenty-four

 

After getting his bachelor’s degree, he returned to grad school and went on to get his master’s and then his doctorate in chemistry. At his first job, he rose through the ranks and became the head of research and development. Dad was an overachiever.

 

So was Saul. Shortly after Jesus ascended into heaven, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples. It was at this time that the church began to grow by leaps and bounds. They met publicly in the temple to pray, and people came from all over to be healed by the apostles. The religious leaders were extremely jealous.

 

As a result, the apostles were persecuted, including thrown into jail. Then one day, Stephen was dragged in front of the Sanhedrin where they brought false witnesses against him. As mob rule took over, they stoned him to death with Saul’s approved.

 

But Saul wasn’t satisfied. His hatred for the followers of Jesus resulted in further persecution.

 

³ But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.         NIV    Acts 8

 

He was like a shark that could smell blood in the water. After his conversion, he described his hatred like this.

 

^10b On the authority of the chief priests, I put many of the Lord’s people in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. ¹¹ Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. I was so obsessed with persecuting them that I even hunted them down in foreign cities.            NIV    Acts 26

 

But on the way to Damascus, Saul was confronted by Jesus when a light from heaven flashed around him and Jesus said, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 

Following this, Saul was blind for three days until Ananias, led by the Lord, opened his eyes. Jesus had greater plans for Saul… the overachiever.

 

¹⁵ But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.  NIV

 

The spirit led Paul on three missionary trips covering thousands of miles across the Roman Empire. Jews and Gentiles alike were converted to follow Jesus. Paul was an overachiever both before his conversion and after.

 

But it doesn’t matter if you’re an overachiever or an underachiever. Jesus meets us where we are at and will use our gifts for his plan. Even if it means getting knocked off our horse by a blinding flash of light, Jesus is always pursuing us to follow him.

 

¹⁰ God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.                     NLT   1 Peter 4

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

A 1000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle

A series on the story of redemption – Part II
The story of Rebekah
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Genesis 25:19-34; 27:1-40 

[Everybody has a story. Even God has one. His is a story about love and redemption and faithfulness. In this series we are going to take a closer look at God’s story through the lives of the people that He touched. How their story became His story of redemption. And how your story is also a part of it.]

  

I hate puzzles. It doesn’t matter what kind it is… crossword, Wordle, Rubik’s Cube, Sudoku or jigsaw. However, recently I found myself addicted to working on a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle of Spartan Stadium, where Michigan State plays football.

 

My strategy was to look for a scene that was identifiable and try to complete that section of the puzzle… piece by piece. Have you ever sorted through 1000 puzzle pieces that all seem to look alike? It can be tedious and frustrating! But when one of the pieces actually fits, you want to celebrate!

 

Life is like a puzzle. We have to problem solve all the time. If trying one way doesn’t work, then try another. Figure it out. Make it work. Take control. Do whatever you need to do in order to solve your problem. At least, that’s what Rebekah thought.

 

Rebekah was the wife of Isaac. Following their marriage, she was unable to conceive for twenty years. Finally, after Isaac pleaded with the Lord, she became pregnant. But during her pregnancy the babies jostled each other within her. When she asked the Lord why, his answer was unsettling.

 

²³ And the Lord told her, “The sons in your womb will become two nations. From the very beginning, the two nations will be rivals. One nation will be stronger than the other; and your older son will serve your younger son.”    Genesis 25    NLT

 

Because of this, Rebekah was aware that the Lord’s plan to carry his covenant down through the generations involved Jacob, but not Esau. Many years later, she most likely learned about Esau trading his birthright for a meal. Knowledge is power.

 

When Isaac was old and frail, Rebekah overheard him tell Esau that he was going to give him his blessing. But the Lord had said that Jacob would carry the covenant. Plus, he was Rebekah’s favorite.

 

It would have been an easy step for her to think that she needed to take things into her own hands. With that thought in mind, she devised a plan to trick Isaac into blessing Jacob. More so than Jacob, Rebekah was the master manipulator.

 

But the Lord is sovereign, loving and faithful. His plans are fulfilled despite sinful people. In Romans 9, Paul wrote about God’s sovereignty. As an example, he used the story of Rebekah giving birth to Esau and Jacob.

 

¹¹ But before they were born, before they had done anything good or bad, she received a message from God. (This message shows that God chooses people according to his own purposes; ^12a he calls people, but not according to their good or bad works.)        NLT

 

The Lord is a master puzzler. That is, he knows exactly where each piece of the puzzle goes. He knows how to make 1000 unique pieces fit perfectly for the picture to look proper. We may not understand it while he’s putting the puzzle together. But he is God, and we are not.

 

²⁰ But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?” ²¹ Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?            NIV

 

Copyright 2024 Joseph B Williams

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

 

Silver Lining

The five women in Matthew’s genealogy: Bathsheba
A Series on Advent
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
2 Samuel 11; Matthew 1:1-17 

[In Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus, the Messiah, there are five women mentioned. All of them were in some sense outsiders. In this Advent series we will be looking at these five women to gain a better understanding of “the word who became flesh and made his dwelling among us”.]

  

The 2012 movie, “Silver Linings Playbook”, is about a young man who is bipolar and was recently released from a mental institution into the care of his parents. While his main goal is to win back his ex-wife, he meets a young widow who offers to help him if he will enter a dance competition with her.

 

It’s a heartwarming story about relationships and the struggles that people face who have a mental illness. The title of the movie comes from a line spoken by the young man to his father.

 

“This is what I believe to be true. You have to do everything you can and if you stay positive, you have a chance at a silver lining.”

 

The story about Bathsheba has a silver lining but with a much darker side. It started with David who was the King of Israel. While Israel’s army went off to war, David stayed behind in Jerusalem.

 

One evening he couldn’t sleep, so he got up and walked around the roof of the palace. It was there that he saw a “very beautiful woman” taking a bath. Instead of turning away, he had someone inquire as to who she was.

 

Upon learning that she was “the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite”, David sent messengers to bring her to the palace where he slept with her. Soon afterwards, she sent David a message that she was pregnant.

 

In an effort to cover up what he had done, he had Uriah return from the battlefield. Then David personally instructed him to go home to be with his wife. But Uriah wouldn’t do it because the other fighting men weren’t able to do the same.

 

So, the next day, David tried again. This time he had Uriah eat and drink with him in the palace. He even got Uriah drunk. But once again, Uriah would not sleep with his wife, Bathsheba.

 

Desperate, David had Uriah return to the battle with written instructions for Joab, the head of the army. The letter told him to “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.” Despite Uriah’s good character, he was murdered.

 

For her part, the only thing that Bathsheba did wrong was to be “very beautiful”. But this was a culture where men had all the power and King David was the most powerful man of all. To refuse him could have resulted in severe punishment.

 

How could anything redemptive come from this? David knowingly slept with another man’s wife and then had her husband killed. And yet, God is sovereign and somehow all of this mess fit into His plan of redemption.

 

Included in Matthew’s genealogy of “Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham”, is the following silver lining verse.

 

⁶ Jesse was the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon (whose mother was Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah).             Matthew 1    NLT

 

Like Bathsheba, God provides a silver lining for you and me. Even though we are sinful people, and our sin can result in terrible consequences – God can still bring about redemption through his son Jesus.

 

¹³ For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.                   Colossians 1                    NIV

 

Copyright 2023 Joseph B Williams

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

 

A Wild Ride at Disney World

A Series on Advent
The candle of hope – Joseph
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Matthew 1:18-25

[Advent is the period of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Tradition includes lighting four candles: hope, love, joy and peace. To celebrate Advent, we will be looking at four people plus one who were intimately involved in the Christmas story, and then relating their part of the story to one of the Advent candles.]

  

Recently, my wife and I went to Disney World with our daughter, son-in-law and three grandchildren, ages 12, 8 and 4. It was Magical! Where else could you do any of these?

 

Eat in a restaurant where Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Grumpy or Snow White might stop by your table for a photo op.

Go to “Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party” where we dressed up as the Seven Dwarfs. (After all, there was seven of us.)

Go on the roller coaster ride Expedition Everest, where during part of the ride you’re in total darkness going backwards! It's wild!

 

I would imagine that Joseph might have felt like he was on a roller coaster ride with all the ups and downs; flying around turns; abruptly changing directions with no control over where he went; riding in total darkness, not knowing where he was going. It was unchartered territory.

 

After all, Joseph was your “average Joe” – nobody special. He was just living life. He had started his carpentry business and was engaged to be married, when suddenly the roller coaster went off the rails. His fiancé was pregnant… but not by him.

 

An angel appeared to him in a dream, telling him an unbelievable story. That Mary is pregnant by the Holy Spirit; that he should still take her as his wife; that she will have a son and they should name him Jesus. Why that name?

 

²¹ And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”    NLT

 

You could imagine when Joseph woke up the following morning the thoughts that were running through his mind. “What just happened? Did I have bad pizza last night? Was the dream even real? The angel couldn’t have said all those things. Surely, I misunderstood.” But he didn’t.

 

²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. ²⁵ But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.             NLT

 

Like Joseph, sometimes life can feel like a roller coaster… out of control, even hopeless. But, there is a plan; there is hope. For Joseph, that plan included the extraordinary fulfillment of prophecy from Isaiah.

 

²² All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

²³ “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”            NLT

 

As you contemplate and celebrate the birth of Jesus, keep in mind that God has a plan and that he is sovereign. And, because of this, there is hope. And, because of that hope, we can live faithfully like Joseph.

 

Copyright 2022 Joseph B Williams

 

 

 

For Such a Time as This

A Series on Women in the Bible

 (Use the link below to read the verses.)

Esther 4:1-17

[God worked in and through the lives of countless women in the Bible. These women played significant, if not critical roles in the Lord’s plan of Redemption. In this series, we will look at the faithfulness of some of these God fearing women.]

 

During spring break of my sophomore year of college, my high school girlfriend, and fiancé, broke up with me. When I returned to school, which by the way, there were ten guys for every girl; my prospects were slim to none. I felt hopeless and depressed to the point where I almost flunked out of school.

 

The following summer, my degree program required a summer term of field work. There was a guy in the program who invited me to church with him where, low and behold, there were pretty girls everywhere. I thought I’d died and gone to heaven.

 

One night, my friend shared with me about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. For such a time as this, Ken Baker, had literally changed my life forever.

 

The book of Esther tells us the story about how her cousin Mordecai raised her as his only daughter because both of her parents had died. Mordecai and Esther were exiled to Persia.

 

During a festive banquet for many high officials, King Xerxes was humiliated by Queen Vashti. As a result, he deposed her, and sponsored a beauty contest to choose the next queen.

 

Scripture tells us that Esther “had a lovely figure and was beautiful”. Because of this, she was forced to participate in the contest. After a yearlong of beauty treatments, she was taken to the king’s bed. Following this, he made her his queen.

 

The situation became desperate when Haman, who was the most powerful man in the king’s service, manipulated King Xerxes to decree that all Jews be killed. 

According to my NIV study Bible, these events “threatened the continuity of God’s purposes in redemptive history. The future existence of God’s chosen people, and ultimately the appearance of the Messiah, were jeopardized by Haman’s edict to destroy the Jews.”

 

Mordecai sent this message to enlist Esther’s help.

 

¹³ “Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed. ¹⁴ If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?”             NLT

 

Making a bad situation worse, Esther had never disclosed to King Xerxes that she was a Jew. Plus, by law, anyone who went into the king’s presence without an invitation, was subject to death.

 

For such a time as this, Mordecai told her. The Lord had placed her in just the right place, at just the right time. Esther risked her life, and faithfully submitted to the Lord, changing the lives of a whole nation. My friend, Ken Baker, faithfully followed the Lord, and changed my life.

 

Where has the Lord placed you, for such a time as this?

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams