I was reading this morning in Matthew 14. It says, "Immediately he (Jesus) made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭14‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭ https://bible.com/bible/59/mat.14.22-23.ESV Jesus dismissed the crowds and excused his disciples so that he could go "up on the mountain by himself to pray". Then evening came. That means Jesus probably spent hours on the mountain praying alone to the Father. Jesus, God in the flesh, made time to spend hours in prayer to the Father. How much more do we need to take extended time away to pray to the Father and spend time in God's presence?

Scripture: "The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed." Genesis 39:23 Observations: -Joseph was so trustworthy with his responsibilities that the keeper of the prison "paid no attention to anything" that Joseph was in charge of. This was a prisoner in a jail. Joseph developed an extremely high level of trust with the warden of the jail. I am sure that wasn't common. -The difference with Joseph was that "the Lord was with him". That had to have been bearing fruit. If God was with him, he must have been stewarding his responsibilities at a high level under the influence of the Holy Spirit, most likely. When we are walking closely with God, it will bear fruit such as being a better employee or worker in general. -"Whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed." Joseph was so pleasing to the Lord that He made anything Joseph touched succeed. A. I was reading this passage this morning. I asked myself, "Would someone be able to say this about me?" I want to live in such a way that God and people can trust me with any responsibility. P. Father, help me to live like Joseph. Help me to be a good steward of the responsibility you give me. Let me live in such a way that you will always be close to me and people will be able to notice. Amen.

This morning I was reading in 2 Corinthians 3:4-6. Here's the passage: “We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ. It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant.” ‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭3‬:‭4‬-‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬ A little background on Paul who was writing this. He was highly trained in Jewish theology and worked very hard to keep the Old Testament Law. He trained under some of the best Jewish theologians of his day. Before coming to Christ, he was advancing in Judaism faster and further than most (see Galatians 1:14). He was obviously an intelligent, passionate, driven guy. And that translated once He found salvation in Jesus. Yet, even with all of that, Paul didn't think those things qualified him to do what God had called him to do. He didn't say, "I see why God chose me. I have a lot of theological knowledge. Nice call, God". He didn't see it that way. His credentials weren't enough. His accomplishments weren't it. There was only one thing that qualified him to do what God had called him to do. God. Paul said, "Our qualification comes from God." God qualified Paul to do His work. There were a lot of budding Jewish theology guys in Paul's time. God didn't chose them. God said to Paul, "I pick you". Even though you have a checkered past of trying to kill Christians. Even though at first people won't believe you really follow Me. I'll use all that. You're the right guy for the job. God qualifies us.