ROYAL PREPARATIONS

When Joseph finished his morning rounds on the next date of Pharaoh’s birthday his mind still relived the dreams he interpreted. He slumped into his desk chair.

“Joseph, you’re being summoned.” The jail keeper’s voice held its usual demanding tone.

Joseph walked to the front office. “Don’t tell me those two are drunk already.”

His mouth dropped open when he saw an entourage of Pharaoh’s officers staring at him.

The man closest to him nodded once. “Are you the Hebrew who interprets dreams?”

Joseph swallowed hard.

A second man stepped forward. “Did you tell the cup bearer he’d get his job back three days before it happened.”

Joseph grabbed the door post to steady his knees.

The third man came to Joseph and stared in his eyes. “How did you know the baker would get hanged? I came up with the idea for that game for Pharaoh the morning of his birthday. Was it truly from his dream?”

Joseph stood straight. “It’s not me, actually. My God gives dreams. I guess He uses me to interpret them.”

The man standing closest to Joseph grabbed his arm. “It doesn’t matter where you insist it comes from. Pharaoh is disturbed by some dreams he had last night. He’s requesting you to come tell him what they mean.”

The man looked at his arm when he felt something strange. He brushed the flea off as he stepped back.

Joseph squashed the flea with his sandal. “I can’t go before Pharaoh like this. Look, shave my head. It’s the only way to insure I don’t carry any parasites in with me. And I should wash and get a new set of clothes. Pharaoh’s dreams aren’t going anywhere.”

The first man pushed the second man toward the door. “He’s your size. Bring something nice for him to wear.”

The second man rushed to the door. “Right.”

The first man looked at Joseph. “Do you have a razor here?”

The jail keeper pulled a drawer open and picked one up from the back corner. “I can shave him. I used to shave Pharaoh’s father. I’ll do anything to help the king.”

The next thing Joseph knew he was seated in the jail keeper’s chair. He felt the jail keeper’s breath on his scalp as large locks of hair fell to the floor.

Two buckets of water were brought in. They yanked Joseph’s clothes off him and washed him from head to toe. A beautiful robe was placed on him.

The first man clapped his hands twice. “Come, we must not keep Pharaoh waiting.”

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 Have you ever thought about there being a practical reason why Joseph shaved before he entered Pharaoh’s presence?

Think about it. He’s been living in a prison for over two years. It’s referred to as a dungeon. It’s not much of a stretch to picture rats and mice scurrying about. Fleas and lice would be carried in.

Who’d want to be known as the guy who gave Pharaoh lice?

He wouldn’t have been in jail so long that he would have forgotten that civilized people wash and smell nice. We can only imagine how long it had been since he had a real bath.

First impressions are important. Especially when you want to get on the good side of someone who has the power to get you out of jail.

[Tweet “God loves messy People! That’s why He gave His life for us.”]

Unfortunately too many people treat God the same way. They think they need to clean up their life before they can come to Him.

They see most church people being upstanding citizens and think they were that way when they came to God to begin with, that’s why He accepts them.

Nothing could be further from the truth. If most Christ-followers are honest they’ll tell you they were a wreck when they came to God.

Think back to the crucifixion. Jesus told the dying thief next to Him he’d be in Paradise with Jesus. That thief didn’t have time to change anything about his life. Jesus took him in just as he was and He continues to do the same thing today.

I love the fact Jesus was born in a stable on the outskirts of town. When the angels told the shepherds about the child who was born to make their jobs obsolete they didn’t wash up before they came to God in human flesh. They rushed as quickly as they could to see the Messiah born that night.

God worked those details together to show how He came so humbly to forgive sinful humanity.

I know your life is a mess. You wouldn’t be human if it was any other way. My life is a mess and I’ve been following Jesus since I was  boy.

God loves messy People! That’s why He gave His life for us.

When you accept Jesus as your savior you’re adopted into God’s spiritual family. That’s why we call Him Father.

He activates his Holy Spirit in each of His children to help them improve their lives. The goal of every true Christ-follower is to become more like Jesus every day.

Before you come into God’s family your desire is for your own interests. Your happiness is your top priority. Christians who deepen their relationship with God through Jesus turn that priority upside-down to please Father.

God knew you’d never be able to be good enough to be in His perfect presence. That’s why He came down to earth as Jesus. That baby grew into the only man who never messed His life up.

Jesus’ perfect life made Him the only person who could come to God because He was good enough. But, He knew we needed someone to build a bridge in the gap that separates us from the perfect Father.

That’s what Easter is all about. Jesus didn’t deserve to die because of His sinless life. His death was done in our place so we can come to Father in our messy condition.

The proof of Jesus’ conquest over death is His resurrection.

Give your messy life to Him today.

I’ll see you later.   Wade