Joseph interpreted dreams and revealed their meaning to those around him, and so Pharaoh gave him the name, Tsofnat Paneach (Zaphnathpaaneah) which means the “Decipherer or Revealer of Secrets”. Yeshua, (Jesus) at his first advent as “Mashiach ben Yosef” also came revealing secrets; not as an interpreter of dreams, but as one who disclosed the secrets of men.

Yeshua’s teaching consistently exposed the innermost thoughts of the heart, forcing them into the light. As the living Word of God His words like a sword, cut through deception and went straight to the motives of men. Exposing sin through deep conviction, He presents the opportunity for real and sincere confession. He can then remove those sins through His atoning death.

Yeshua’s insight and the conviction of His word are a gift. If He probes you in the secret places it’s only because He loves you so much, and because He wants to reveal His grace and power to cleanse you. When you read His Word or seek Him in prayer, don’t be surprised if you discover some of your own secrets, things you may have even hidden from yourself. He will reveal what He wants you to see, what He wants you to confess, and what He wants to help you change. And then, you will also discover a “secret” love He was waiting to show you.

by George Whitten, Editor of Worthy Devotions

Maybe it’s because we live in the desert and our bodies crave salt to maintain a certain level of hydration or something, but lately we’ve become big fans of salt around here. Not a day goes by that our four year old daughter, Elianna doesn’t ask for “salt in my hand please”, lol. “What in the world does salt have to do with grace and truth?”, you ask. Well, I’ll tell you.

As you may remember from chemistry class, salt is a combination of sodium and chlorine. While sodium is a harmless active element, chlorine is a poisonous gas — it’s actually what gives bleach that yucky smell. Interestingly, when the two elements are combined, they produce salt — a substance, which we all know, is used to preserve and bring out the flavor in food.

In the same way, if we present the truth of the Gospel without grace, it often produces a very offensive and sometimes poisonous effect on those with whom we share it. However, if we combine the two, we’ll be be able to preserve and bring out the delicious flavor of our faith!

Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ, the scripture says. How much more should we approach the world around us with these two important components?

Have you been struggling to convey the Gospel in an effective way? Perhaps you need more grace… or maybe more truth? Let’s give our efforts to the Lord and ask Him to help us spice it up the way He likes! There’s so much work to be done!

When we read this passage of Scripture, the first thing that probably comes to mind are all the promises that God gave to Abraham and the nation of Israel. But it occurred to me that there is a bigger lesson that we can learn here.

We tend to focus on the part of that scripture where God does the blessing — but why did He bless Him? The answer lies in the passage! The Lord told Abraham: “I will bless you — and you shall be a blessing.” Abraham was blessed so that he could be a blessing!

The same is true today. The Lord has done so much for us! He has blessed us with so many things, the most important of which is His mercy in that He died for sinners like us! He has bestowed us with so much grace! He has allowed us to come into His Kingdom and be a part of the great things He’s doing! What we have received should not only be for our own enjoyment but for the salvation of a dying world around us!

God gives freely to us so that we may give freely to others! Let’s not be afraid to give out the blessings God has granted us! Share God’s goodness! To whom much is given, much is required!

A friend sent us this very touching story and we had to share it with you.

Some time ago there was a story in the San Francisco Chronicle about a female humpback whale who had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines. She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail, her torso, and a line tugging in her mouth.

Thankfully, a fisherman spotted her just east of the Farralone Islands (outside the Golden Gate) and radioed an environmental group for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was in such bad condition that the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her, a very dangerous proposition.

One slap of the enormous whale’s tail could kill a rescuer. Still the brave rescuers worked for hours cutting her free. One guy who was cutting the rope out of her mouth says her eye was following him the whole time. Eventually they were able to free her.

As soon as she became free, the divers say she began to swim in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed gently around-she thanked them. Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives.

Let’s take a lesson from this beautiful story. So often we let the hurting in our churches and communities fall through the cracks, never to be seen again. But it is a brave soul who gathers up an army of rescuers to reach out to a suffering or hard to reach brother or sister and rescue him or her from the binding entanglements of this world. Just as the Lord has so mercifully reached out to us, we need to do the same. Whether it is a gift, an invitation to a meal or a smile and a word of encouragement, let’s strive to reach out.

We need to be the first to initiate this kind of rescue team for our brothers and sisters. Believe you me, it will be just as beautiful and rewarding too. There’s so much work to be done!