OK, now who am I?

We've seen that God has a purpose for our lives....we know why we were born.

Now...... who are we?

Do we have a strong and unshakable sense of who we are?

Let's put this another way...... are we embarrassed to be known as Christians? Or instead, is that an integral, rock-solid part of our identity?
Hmmmmmmm.......
Have I got your attention? (Grin)
The Spirit may mash on some toes this week -- let's dive in!
Recently you would have thought that Tony Dungy, a sportscaster and opinion commentator on a major network, had set fire to the studio he was broadcasting from. The airwaves and social media lit up with people upset and screeching about him. What did he do that was so earth-shattering? So terrible that people would insult and denigrate him?

He merely mentioned that quarterback Nick Foles was a Christian (Tony is an outspoken Christian, too) and that his faith would help him to have confidence going into an important game.

Oy vey.
Yes, the world has come to this. Tolerance? NO!
Prejudice? YES!
Christian-shaming? YES!
Remember back when Tim Tebow caused a stir when he said his true identity didn't come from his vocation? He said, "I'm a Christian who happens to play football."
All three of these well-known people, and many more who I won't take time to list, are rock-solid in who they are.....they are willing to admit that the foundation of their identity is God.
They are not embarrassed to say they are Christians.
Not embarrassed by the barrage of social media snipers. Not embarrassed to thank God publicly.
You see, without God's help, we will never become who we are meant to be. We will really never be sure of where we fit in.
But once we know who we are, we can fit in anywhere...... we can serve Christ anywhere.
Keep that in mind while we turn back to Joseph's story.

Our story begins again in Genesis 39. Joseph has been sold to a wealthy, important Egyptian named Potiphar. What do you think he was thinking as he stood on the auction block? Perhaps he was thinking he was far from home, abandoned by his brothers, and his dad thought he was dead. Dark thoughts. But somehow I don't think that is what Joseph was thinking. Let me explain why I think he was upbeat, positive, content to be where the Lord put him.....
I truly believe that he was true to his faith in God. Look at how many times (in just a few verses!) it is mentioned that the Lord "was with Joseph."

The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did,4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. (Genesis 39:2-5)

We get the idea here that God is pleased with Joseph, and is blessing him tremendously. There are four different mentions that God is "with him" and is giving him success, and that the blessing of the Lord was on Potiphar -- because of Joseph. I believe we can see between the lines of Moses' words that Joseph must have been praying, and relying on God, not moping and pouting and wailing, "Woe is me!"
It also sounds like Joseph was a hard worker; to be in charge of the entire household, and entrusting all that Potiphar owned to Joseph's care was a huge responsibility. He probably had his hands full, juggling all of the day to day things that had to be attended to!

And into this busy, God-fearing young man's life steps a woman.
A wily one.
One with seduction on her mind.
So the next part of our story is the tale of a battle against sexual impurity. Potiphar's wife is going to do everything she can to seduce this fine-looking young slave. But we will also see how and why Joseph was able to resist.
C. S. Lewis noted that "no man knows how bad he is until he has tried to be good." Whoaaaa. Ain't that the truth! We have no end of trouble resisting temptation on our own.....and then we learn how much we need God's grace, when we try to be good!
Temptation is nothing new. It's the same for us as it was for Eve and Adam. Satan comes to us and tries to tempt us, just as he tried to tempt Jesus in the wilderness. There are battles raging every day in our own lives, and in the lives of those around us. I saw a good definition of temptation:

Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment, that threatens long-term goals. 

An inner urge to do wrong....because after all, the stimulus may be outside, but the urge to do wrong starts inside of us! We can't blame someone or something else.....no one makes us sin. We do that all on our own.
These words are familiar:

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. (I Corinthians 10:13)

We will see that God will provide a way of escape. Might not be easy. In fact, I can guarantee it won't be a bed of roses! But let's stick with Joseph and see what happens; then let's see what we can learn from him.