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1 Hallelujah! Thank God! Pray to him by name! Tell everyone you meet what he has done! 2 Sing him songs, belt out hymns, translate his wonders into music! 3 Honor his holy name with Hallelujahs, you who seek God. Live a happy life! 4 Keep your eyes open for God, watch for his works; be alert for signs of his presence. 5 Remember the world of wonders he has made, his miracles, and the verdicts he's rendered - 6 O seed of Abraham, his servant, O child of Jacob, his chosen. 16 Then he called down a famine on the country, he broke every last blade of wheat. 17 But he sent a man on ahead: Joseph, sold as a slave. 18 They put cruel chains on his ankles, an iron collar around his neck, 19 Until God's word came to the Pharaoh, and God confirmed his promise. 20 God sent the king to release him. The Pharaoh set Joseph free; 21 He appointed him master of his palace, put him in charge of all his business 22 To personally instruct his princes and train his advisors in wisdom.45 So they could do everything he told them - could follow his instructions to the letter. (Psalm 105:1-6, 16-22, 45b The Message Bible)

Are you into geneaology? I get mine secondhand from my wife, who is heavily into researching her family and mine. She has found a lot of names of ancestors we otherwise would not have known. It's interesting in that we have never met, and in many cases not even seen a photo of a great grandfather or great grandmother, but we believe they existed. We know their name, place of birth and even their date of birth. but more than geneaology, the psalmist knows details like names and roles, but he knows the power of God at work in the lives of these mothers and fathers of the faith. And in a very real way, God has been at work in your lineage and mine. The years and miles they/we have traveled, would not have been possible without God. I can't explain it but when Nellie and I first visited Spain we felt it immediately, we couldn't explain it but it was a feeling of home and I asked what drove our forebears (forefathers and foremothers) to leave this place? We had some idea but we said it facetiously but meaning what a place they left and we were blessed to visit; but we believe that God led them to a better place. We do thank God and praise God.

Ours is to seek God daily for Him to lead us where He would. Our eyes should be on Jesus, like Peter and not the "winds" of life that scare us or slow us or even make us stop. When we focus on the Lord we receive from Him precisely what we need. And the psalmist reminds us of Joseph and his terrible experience of being sold by his brothers into slavery and still he stayed true to God because he knew God was true to him and we konw how the story ended. Joseph went from slavery to prison to the palace. All because God led him exactly where he needed to be led. The psalmist reminds us that Joseph was chained on his ankles, and an iron collar around his neck. He was a slave meaning he lost his freedom and to emphasize his slavery, he was physically shackled and chained, enough iron and steel to keep him from even think about running away and yet even at this very low point in his life, his faith was strong in God. He knew that God would act, maybe not that day or the next, but in His time. When the day finally came the blessing was beyond belief as has and will continue to be in our lives, too. We don't give up and our faith does not waver the first or second or even thirtiest day of whatever it is, but we trust God and we will see the blessings soon enough.

The Christian faith, dear believer, is a solid, unwavering faith. The writer of Hebrews reminds us in this modern language, "The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see," and in the classic version, "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1 in The Message and NIV versions). Hang on, don't give up, stay strong.

PRAYER: Loving God, come to us now in our hour of need. Bless us with new faith and new strength and guide us out of whatever is trying to enslave or hold us; make us bold in sharing that which holds us together, faith in You; and it is through Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Move towards God and bring others with you.

Receive my blessings of joy and peace,

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.