DAY #120: Genesis 43:1-34

BACKGROUND:

The famine continued and Jacob’s family needed more grain. This time, however, Benjamin had to go with them to Egypt. Judah reminded his father that without Benjamin their long trip to Egypt would be in vain. Jacob was, of course, reluctant; his scolding (why did you tell the man you had another brother?) was an effort to escape the decision he dreaded to make. Yet he must release Benjamin so they could return to Egypt. Otherwise they would all die from starvation.

Judah broke the deadlock with a warmly personal initiative, offering to take the blame if Benjamin were not returned. Judah (Jacob’s fourth son; 29:31-35) succeeded where Reuben had failed, and Benjamin went down to Egypt with his brothers. Interestingly Judah was the one who had come up with the plan to sell Joseph to Egypt. Now he had to negotiate with his father in order to get Benjamin to see Joseph.

Jacob suggested that they take some of their best products... to the man as a gift, including balm... honey... spices and myrrh... pistachio nuts, and almonds. Apparently these delicacies were not available in Egypt. They also took double the amount of silver, returning what they had found in their money pouches before. Jacob resigned himself to the high risk involved in possibly losing a third son—first, Joseph; then Simeon; and now perhaps Benjamin too.

The brothers hurried to Egypt. When they arrived, they were taken to Joseph’s house. They were frightened, thinking they were going to be captured. When they told Joseph’s steward about the silver they found in their sacks when returning from their first trip, the steward told them not to be afraid because their God had given them that money.

Perhaps Joseph had talked with the steward about the true God. Simeon was returned to them, and a noon meal was prepared for Joseph’s 11 guests. When they presented their gifts to Joseph... they bowed down before him in fulfillment of Joseph’s dream. Joseph, seeing his brother Benjamin, could not hold back his tears of joy. Benjamin, of course, was his full brother; the others were half brothers. As before when he talked with the 10, he went aside and wept.

At the dinner, Joseph demonstrated something ominous to them. The mysterious accuracy of the seating (from the firstborn to the youngest) would increase their uneasy sense of exposure to divine intervention. Yet in all the events of this visit the brothers were confronted with gracious dealings from God through this “Egyptian”. The chapter is a foretaste of future things for, as Joseph said later, God sent him down before them to provide for them in the midst of famine.


SO WHAT? (what will I do with what i have read today?)

This chapter tells us that Joesph's brothers go back to Israel. They eat the food. They run out of food and they have to go back to Egypt, the second journey. Joseph meets up with them again and gives them some food again. Benjamin’s there. 43:15“The men took the gifts and double the amount of silver, and Benjamin also, and they hurried down to Egypt and they presented it to Joseph. When Joseph saw Benjamin he said to the steward of the house, ‘Take these men to my house. Slaughter an animal and prepare dinner. They’re to eat with me at noon.’”

So they have this great meal together. Here’s Joseph's test for them. Benjamin, the youngest, is the test. Joseph says, “Let’s have the youngest served more food than anybody else – five times as much as anyone else’s. Then when they leave, let’s take some silver cup and put it in Benjamin’s sack and let’s see what happens.” They do that and they send them off.

They leave and they find this silver cup in Benjamin’s sack. V. 11 “Each of them quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it and each steward proceeded to search [Joseph had set this all up.] He began with the oldest and the cup that was stolen was found in Benjamin’s sack. They tore their clothes, they loaded their donkeys, they returned to the city.”

Here’s the test: What are they going to do with the youngest? Perfect opportunity to throw him into the pit. Here’s the answer: “Joseph says, ‘What is this you have done? You know that a man like me can find things out by divination.’ ‘What can we say?’ Judah replied. ‘How can we prove our innocence? We are your slaves.’ Joseph said, ‘I can’t do that. Only the man who was found to have my cup will become my slave. The rest of you go back to your father in peace.’” Then listen to what Judah says, “Please, let your servant speak. Don’t be angry, though you’re equal to Pharaoh himself. We’ve told you we have an aged father. He’s going to die if we don’t bring our youngest back…. Your servant, our father said, “You know that my wife bore me two sons. One of them went away from me [what do you think Joseph thought when he heard that?] and I said he’s surely been torn to pieces and I’ve not seen him since. If you take this one from me too, harm will come to me. … “ So now, if the boy is not with us when I go back to your servant, my father is going to die. Your servant has guaranteed this boy’s safety… Please let your servant remain as my lord’s slave in place of the boy and let the boy return with his brothers. How can I go back if the boy isn’t with me?’”


That’s a long story that would make a great Hollywood movie. It’s told very quickly but it’s told for the ending. Judah says, “Take me instead!” Years later, Jesus was going to say, “Take Me instead!” and He died on the cross for us. Judah said, “I’ll be the slave in his place.” Jesus released us from slavery. Judah is a forerunner of Jesus and the end of the story is better than the beginning.

Maybe you had a tough beginning in your story of life. Maybe you made some real mistakes like Judah did. But when I read the story of Judah I say, “Here’s a man of faith!” People can look at you the same way even if you had a tough beginning.

45:7 Joseph reveals himself to his brothers. He weeps loudly. “He says to his brothers, ‘I am Joseph. Is my father still living? God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on the earth to save your lives by a great deliverance.’” We started talking about forgiveness yesterday. Do you see the forgiveness? He’s able to say, “I understand what God’s doing. He didn’t send me here for my greatness. He sent me here to save your lives.” That’s forgiveness. That’s a man who’s come to a point in his life that he not only sees God’s hand at work and he’s able to say I forgive somebody else. But because of God’s grace in his life, he’s able to see how God wants to use him in the life that he’s forgiven.

You’re probably not there yet but Joseph's life tells us that you can be there. It took him thirteen years of faith to get there. You can be there. If you’re in bondage to unforgiveness it colors everything. It colors your attitudes, it colors your actions, everything.

How do you break out of that bondage of unforgiveness? Simple. Forgive. You say, “I’d love to forgive, how?” Maybe you can write on a sheet of paper everything God’s forgiven you for. And look at it everyday if you’re having a hard time forgiving somebody

Pray for the person that you have an unforgiving attitude toward every day. At the beginning you may be praying for them to die! But at least talk to God about them. Start to talk to God about them every day.

It’s not going to happen in a day it’s not going to happen in two days. It’s probably not even going to happen in a month. But if you’re struggling with unforgiveness that’s the way to break those bonds.

Some of you are thinking, “I don’t want to do that!” There’s the real issue! Sometimes we just don’t want to forgive. We don’t want to let go. But the truth is that God has forgiven us so much, how can we hold unforgiveness in our hearts towards anyone else when you start to look at what He’s forgiven us for. I understand the feeling full well of “I don’t want to forgive. They don’t deserve to be forgiven”, but when I say for you to forgive them, I'm not saying for you to release them of all accountability for their wrong actions. That’s not what forgiveness is about. Forgiveness is not releasing them from accountability. Forgiveness is saying, “I'm not the one to hold them accountable. God is.”

Forgiveness isn’t saying, “I'm not going to act in a different way towards someone because of what they did to me.” If you had a business deal with someone and they stole a million dollars from you and you forgive them and they say, “Let’s have another business deal,” I’d say forgiveness does not say you have another business deal with them. That’s not forgiveness. That’s stupidity. Forgiveness is saying, “I don’t hold you accountable. I put that in God’s hands because He’s the one who understands it all anyway.” We’re too small to hold the big issues of unforgiveness in our hearts. When we do it explodes us.

#5. Dream managers finish the job. They don’t just start it, they finish it. Joseph's most significant contributions came seven years (at least) after he received his dream, after he was given the signet ring and the robe was put on him. It wasn’t until seven years later he started making the significant contribution, feeding the world and bringing Israel down to Egypt. That’s the main reason God sent him there. He wanted to bring the nation of Israel down to Egypt for over 400 years. That was part of his plan. If Joseph had given up five years after he had received his dream and said, “I think I'm going to go on to something else,” he would have missed the very reason God sent him there.

Some of you came today, reading this devotional blog, needed to hear just that. God had you read this today just to say, “Don’t give up short of finishing the dream,” or you’re going to miss the very reason God sent you here.

#6. Dream managers pass the dream on. They pass it on to someone else. That’s what Genesis 48 and 49 are all about. In Genesis 48 you see the blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh. In 49 you see the blessing of the twelve sons of Jacob. Have you caught on that the twelve sons of Jacob are going to become the twelve tribes of Israel? Every time you read about the tribes you’re just reading about a family that started back here.

But have you ever wondered why there was no tribe by the name of Joseph? Joseph got a double blessing. His two sons would become tribes. There is a tribe of Ephraim and there is a tribe of Manasseh. That’s the reason. They each get a blessing. They have the dream passed on.

In Genesis 48 as Manasseh the oldest and Ephraim were blessed they’re sitting in front of Jacob to get this blessing that Joseph wants them to get. Remember Jacob was the younger son. Joseph was a younger son. 48:12 “Joseph removed them from Israel’s knees and bowed down Joseph put Ephraim on his right hand, the hand of greater blessing toward Israel’s left hand and Manasseh on Israel’s left toward Israel’s right hand and brought them close to him. But Israel reached out with his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head although he was younger and crossing his arms he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head even though Manasseh was the first born.” So Ephraim is going to get the greater blessing. Why? Because God knew who was to get the greater blessing. The blessing is God’s not Jacobs. So he moves Israel to cross his arms and once again the younger gets the blessing.

If you feel like God can’t bless your life because of some circumstance of your birth, some circumstance of your life, the book of Genesis says that’s not true.

What is a blessing? What does it mean to pass on a blessing? If you go home tonight and read Genesis 48 and 49 you’ll find out that a blessing is not just an encouragement. A blessing is a statement of what you believe God can do in a person’s life. A blessing is saying, “God can do this through you. God can work in your life in this way. God can take what was a dream in my heart and pass it on to you, the dream of faith in Him, the dream of sharing that faith with others.” That’s what a blessing is. Passing on a blessing means you realize that the dream that God gives you, that God gives me, if it’s really a God-given dream it’s going to be bigger than your life. God wants to give those kinds of dreams. And once we’ve got them we’ve got to pass them on. Two questions:

To whom do you need to pass on God’s blessing in your work, your family, your ministry? Not just encouragement – blessing. “I believe that God will use you in this way.” This isn’t a lie, something you make up. It’s something you believe.

And secondly, who do you need to honor? Joseph honored his father Jacob. Jacob asked to be buried back up in Israel and so he was. In fact, they took almost half the officials from Egypt. A huge procession goes just to bury his father. Even after he died he honored him. One of the things that keep us from passing on a blessing is not honoring those that passed on the blessing to us. Who do you need to honor? It may be someone who has died. Honor them in your heart for the blessing they passed on to you. You’re not really a dreamer unless you pass it on.

We all need a dream that outlasts our lives.

#7. Dream managers see God’s hand at work. They see God’s hand at work in life and in circumstances. Jacob dies. In Genesis 50:15 “When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead they said, ‘What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs that we did him?’ [Guilt again. It’s a terrible thing. When they threw Joseph into that pit, who really went into the pit? When they sold Joseph into slavery, who really went into slavery? Guilt is a terrible thing.]

So they sent word to Joseph saying, ‘Your father left these instructions before he died. “This is what you say to Joseph, ‘I ask you to forgive your brothers, the sins and wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’” [It doesn’t even sound like Jacob, does it? Sounds like one of those notes you used to write to teachers to get out of something. They wrote one of those kinds of notes.] And now please forgive the sins of your servants.’ When the message came to him, Joseph wept. His brothers came and threw themselves before him and said, ‘We’re your slaves.’ [And here’s one of the most dramatic moments in all the book of Genesis.] Joseph said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? [That’s somebody who sees God’s hand at work in their relationships, in their character, in their actions. He recognized “I'm not in God’s place. It’s not my place to judge, it’s God’s.] You intended it to harm me. But God intended it for good, to accomplish what is now being done the saving of many lives.’”

In Genesis 50 you see Joseph living, not with his solution but with God’s solution. Not guilt or grief like his brothers or his father. You see him living with grace. Here at the pinnacle of his life, the pinnacle for an opportunity for revenge he instead takes the opportunity to sum up his faith. Who would you rather be in this story? The brothers or Joseph? Everyone wants to be Joseph but it took him thirty years of faith decisions to get to this point. God intended it for good. He had God’s perspective on his circumstances.

That’s a great dream manager, someone who prays for that and looks for that. You want to take charge of your circumstances? Recognize who’s in charge of your life. Do you want to be the kind of person who can manage things and come in and take control where it’s needed? Then recognize that God is the one who’s in control. That’s how we manage God-given dreams.

One final practical step. You may need to think about how to receive a dream and focus on what next step does God want you to take. Is it humility? Is it risk? Is it tenacity? What next step do I need to take?

Or you may be managing a God-given dream right now and I challenge you this next if you are. If you’re a parent, you are managing a God-given dream. If you’re married, you’re managing a God-given dream. If you’re in ministry – if you’re in this church – you’re managing a God-given dream. Take one of those seven things we’ve talked about over the last few days and apply it to your dream so you can better manage the God-given dreams in your life.

I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course.

DAY #119:Genesis 42:1-38

BACKGROUND:

Joseph was handling his brothers roughly, but underneath his severity was affection, as their later reunion makes clear. Ironically the brothers were speaking to a person they thought was dead.

Their presence in Egypt confirmed the truth of his dreams, but not their fulfillment. Joseph knew that all the family must come to Egypt under his rulership. He demanded that one of them bring their little brother as proof that they were not spies. Retaining them in prison was an interesting turn of events, since the brothers had previously put Joseph in a “cistern-prison.”

After a three-day custody of the brothers, Joseph altered his plan and suggested keeping only one... in prison while the other nine returned. He retained Simeon while the others returned home to Canaan with grain. If they would not return with their youngest brother, Simeon would be killed.

A taste of retribution began to awaken feelings in the brothers, feelings that Joseph’s cries for mercy and Jacob’s tears (37:34-35) had failed to awaken. They sensed that having to bring Benjamin back to Egypt against the wishes of their father would be punishment for their having sold Joseph. Since Jacob was still distressed, now they were in distress. As they spoke, they were unaware that Joseph understood them for he was using an interpreter. Seeing their sense of remorse touched Joseph and he turned away and wept.

As a further means of striking the fear of God into his brothers, Joseph had their silver (with which they had purchased grain) put into their sacks. Whether he meant the money to be discovered on the way home or at home, its initial shock was effective. The sense of guilt already aroused made the group quickly see the hand of God in the governor’s action. So the question, What is this that God has done to us? was, as far as it went, a fruitful reaction to trouble. They apparently felt that Joseph would accuse them of theft, which would support his contention that they were spies.

When they arrived home in Canaan, the nine brothers told Jacob what had happened. Jacob, grieved because he thought another son was dead (Simeon is no more), refused to let Benjamin return. Reuben, the eldest, sought to assure his father that he would bring Benjamin back. This is ironic since Reuben had failed to prevent the loss of Joseph. But Jacob refused to let Benjamin go. He said if something happened to his youngest, he would sorrow the rest of his days, just as he had said when he heard of Joseph’s “death”.

Joseph’s tests were important in God’s plan to bless the seed of Abraham. God planned to bring the family to Egypt so that it would grow there into a great nation. But it was necessary that the people who entered Egypt be faithful to the Lord. It was necessary that the brothers be tested before they could participate in God’s blessing. Joseph’s prodding had to be subtle; the brothers must perceive the hand of God moving against them so that they would acknowledge their crime against Joseph and their previous unbelief in his dreams. But one test was not enough; there must be two.


SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)

One of the key qualities in Joseph's life wasn’t just that he had dreams or waited for dreams or that he received dreams. One of the key qualities in his life is that he knew how to MANAGE THE DREAM.

Today (4) and tomorrow (3) I want to give you seven characteristics of great managers of dreams.

#1. Dream managers develop discipline. Joseph gathered grain for seven years. He’s a model of discipline. He worked when he wasn’t pressured to work, that’s discipline. All of us know how to work against a deadline. But he had seven years to gather grain. Why not kick back for two years before he started gathering? There was no real pressure. No one knew if the famine was coming for sure. Even though he wasn’t pressured, he worked.

He collected grain consistently over those seven years. He didn’t collect a little then wait a while. He worked out a daily way to do it. He continued to gather grain even though it looked like he had too much at one point. He gathered so much grain they couldn’t even count it anymore but he kept gathering because God had told him to do that. He’s a model of the discipline that it takes to manage a dream.

That’s the first seven years, the gathering of the grain. Then comes the second seven years, the giving out of the grain.

#2. Great managers choose to serve. 41:57 “All the countries came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph because the famine was severe in all the world.” All the countries? If you think Nordstrom’s is busy during Christmas time, imagine Egypt, imagine all the countries. Joseph was there finding ways to serve all those people. They did pay for the grain but that wasn’t the issue. The issue was he was feeding a world because of a God-given dream. He not only saved Egypt, he not only saved Israel, he saved many – all – the countries of the world.

We look at famine today and think, “I’ve got to do something!” Joseph did do something. He served a world that was hungry. That’s what you do if you’re a dream manager. You choose to serve. You don’t kick back and think, “Now everybody gets to serve me because I’ve got the dream.” No, you choose to serve.

#3. Dream managers remember who owns the dream. They remember whose the owner of the dream in the first place. One of the ways you see this very clearly is through those two sons of Joseph. Remember what he named those two sons.

He had a son named Manasseh and one named Ephraim. Manasseh means “God has caused me to forget.” That was the meaning of that name. “Caused me to forget the heartache that I had with my family, the heartache of coming down to Egypt. God has caused me to forget.”

Then a son named Ephraim “God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.” God has caused me… What you named your children in Joseph's said a lot about who you were. I'm not sure it says a lot about who we are – we just thumb through those books of names and ind one that we like. In that day it said a lot about who they were. It said a lot about their heart. If you were in a depressing time, you named the child a depressing kind of name.

Here is Joseph naming his sons, “God has caused…” to forget and to be fruitful.

The question for you and I is this, if your dream were fulfilled, whose victory would it be? Sometimes when the dream is fulfilled – ministry, marriage, whatever the dream is – even if we’ve prayed for it, after that dream is fulfilled a subtle change of ownership starts to happen. Instead of it being God’s dream, it’s my dream. Watch out for that. Don’t be a victim of victory.

Many people have been through the years. In the Bible, read the story of Gideon. You might remember the good parts of his story, but later in his life he’s the victim of the victory in his life. You can read that in the book of Judges.

Another story is Solomon. The wisest man who ever lived the Bible says. But at the end of his life he ends up being an idolater, worshipping other gods. Why? Because Israel was in its Golden Age. It was more successful than it had ever been. That success caused him to relax his faith. Don’t be a victim of God’s victory in your life.

#4. Dream managers learn to forgive. On the way towards that dream there were probably some people that hurt you. When you reach that dream there are probably some people that wronged you. If you hold on to an unforgiveness towards those people, you end up ruining the dream. It would have for Joseph.

Genesis 42 you hear the story of Joseph and his brothers. We go back to square one. v. 1. Here’s Joseph. He has the dream, he’s over in Egypt second ruler in all of Egypt, he’s feeding the world, and here’s his brothers, “Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt and he said to his sons, ‘Why do you just keep looking at each other? You’re just setting their staring at each other!’” Because of their fear. In Genesis 42 you see the picture of a family who’s living with their solution instead of God’s solution. You see the picture of grief twenty to twenty-four years later. You see the picture of guilt at least twenty years later. Grief and guilt were still a part of this family’s life even a generation later.

Look in v. 4 at the grief that’s still there. “Ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt but Jacob didn’t send Benjamin, Joseph's brother, with the others because he was afraid that harm might come to him.” Benjamin was the youngest brother. The grief is still there, twenty years later. When they sold Joseph into slavery they thought they were getting rid of their problem. They hadn’t solved their problem. They invited their problem to move in, right next door, right in their house, right in their bedroom for twenty years. That’s what happens when it’s our solution not God’s solution.

Some of you are living with your solution right now. You’re thinking right now, “That’s the truth!” You can make a change.

They were also living with guilt twenty years later. The go down to Egypt and they’re going to buy some grain and guess who the brothers meet up with? Joseph. He might have a veil on or some of the officials then might be behind a partition, they wouldn’t get close to people. I don’t know exactly why but they could hear each other but not see each other real closely. He might have been high up, away from them. They talk and communicate but they don’t know who Joseph is. But Joseph knows who they are. He recognizes them.

They come in and say, “We need some food.” Joseph devises a little test. He says, “I’ll give you some food but if you want some food I’ve got to see that younger brother.” They begin to struggle with that. v. 22 “You’ve got to bring your youngest brother to me so that your words may be verified and that you may not die.’ And this they proceeded to do. “Surely we are being punished because of our brother [Benjamin? No, Joseph!] We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life but we wouldn’t listen. That’s why this distress has come upon us.” Twenty, at least, years later they remembered vividly how he pleaded for his life. And every bad thing that happened in their life they’d think, “God’s punishing us.”

Any of you ever felt like that? Then get it settled! Don’t live with your solution, live with God’s solution. Live with His forgiveness. Learn to forgive and allow Him to forgive. You don’t have to feel like every time something bad happens that it’s punishment for what I did wrong. That’s a family living with their solution.

Joseph has this test. Then he sends them away. v. 25 “Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain and put each man’s silver that they brought to buy the grain within the sack. After this was done they loaded the grain on their donkeys and they left. They stopped and they looked in their sack and the silver was there. Their hearts sank and they turned to each other trembling ‘What is this that God has done to us?’” That’s guilt twenty years later, unresolved guilt!

If you’re feeling that way every time something goes bad, get His forgiveness. You don’t have to feel that, “God’s punishing us or what is this that God has done to us?”

I pray these foundational truths and principles are beneficial to you as you consider the dream God has for you. I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course.

DAY #118: Genesis 41:41-57

BACKGROUND:

The signet ring Pharaoh gave Joseph was a ring with a seal used for signing documents. When the seal was impressed on a soft clay document which then hardened, it left an indelible impression of the ruler’s seal and so carried his authority. Pharaoh also dressed Joseph in linen clothes and a gold neck chain, made him second in command to Pharaoh, and had him ride in the second chariot so all the people could do homage to him.

As a token of Joseph’s new status, Pharaoh gave him a wife, Asenath, from the priestly family of On (a city which was a center of sun worship seven miles north of Cairo and also known as Heliopolis). He also gave Joseph an Egyptian name, Zaphenath-Paneah (the meaning of which is unknown). Joseph was 30 at the time of his installment, 13 years after he was sold by his brothers. Joseph’s position gave him opportunity to travel extensively across Egypt. (Psalm 105:16-22 speaks of Joseph’s imprisonment, release, and rise to power.)


Pharaoh’s dreams were then fulfilled. The land produced abundant, even immeasurable crops for seven years, and Joseph gathered them into storage in the Egyptian cities, exercising absolute authority throughout the land. In spite of the success that Joseph enjoyed, he did not abandon his Israelite heritage. He gave his two sons characteristically Hebrew names. Manasseh (forget) signified that God had made him forget the misery of his separation from his family. Ephraim (fruitful) signified that God had made him fruitful in the land of Egypt.


Joseph’s wisdom bore fruit, for the seven good years were indeed followed by seven years of severe famine, and the Egyptians and people in other countries as well went to buy grain from the storehouses throughout Egypt. At last Joseph was in power in Egypt. God’s revelation to him by dreams was being fulfilled.


SO WHAT? (what will I do with what i have read today?)

When you look at Joseph's life it’s like three strikes and you’re out! Strike one was his own brothers selling him into slavery. Strike two, he lives as a slave down in Egypt. Strike three, he’s thrown into a prison. If this were baseball it would be “Strike three! You’re out!” That’s it.

But this isn’t baseball. And you can have three strikes against you or ten strikes or twenty strikes and you may be feeling, “That’s it! I'm in the dugout. I'm out of the game.” But life isn’t baseball. God has a plan for our lives.


Point number four as you look at Joseph's life is RECEIVING THE DREAM

How do you receive this God-given dream? A lot of you have been motivated by this quote by Robert Kennedy, “Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not?”

I'm here to tell you today why not, one of the reasons. We do not know how to make the step from dream to reality. We don’t know what to do when we get right to the edge of our dream. Even if we’ve had the dream for years and years, sometimes, when we get right to that moment when God wants to do something, when God wants to do the miracle that brings the dream about, often it’s at that very moment that we stumble.

If you take a close look at Joseph's life in Genesis, you discover how his faith played a part in his dream becoming a reality. How do you get dreams to come true? That’s what we’re asking. How do dreams come true? How do dreams happen? It’s more than just sitting back and letting God’s dreams happen to you. He’s going to let your faith – He’s going to demand that your faith – play a part in those dreams happening. There are some practical faith steps that you and I can see in Joseph's life that let us know what to do when we get right to the edge of a dream. How do you receive a dream?

Many of you already know this if you’ve been on the edge of a dream. One of the overriding emotions that you feel when you get right on the edge of a wonderful great dream, you’d think it would be a thrill. But one of the overriding emotions is fear. Am I going to be worthy of this dream? I’ve been waiting so long for it. Is it really going to happen now? These faith steps help to deal with that fear that often keeps us from living out the dream that God has for our lives.

He had wisdom. He knew the right time to act. Wisdom enabled him to act at the right time. Remember Joseph's in prison and God does something. 40:1 says, “Sometime later the cup bearer and baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, Pharaoh. And Pharaoh was angry with his two officials. [These were very high, exalted positions. It doesn’t sound like much to us but if you had anything to do with food for the Pharaoh you were a very trusted person because one of the main ways you could kill a Pharaoh in that day was to poison the food. These were very trusted people.] These two people were put in the custody of the house of the captain of the guard. [This is the same prison where Joseph was confined.] The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph and he attended them.”

What Joseph does in relationship to them is very important. v. 4. The two men have been in custody for some time. “They had a dream the same night. Each had a dream with a meaning of its own. Joseph came to them the next morning. He saw that they were dejected and so he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in custody with him in their master’s house, ‘Why are your faces so sad today?’”

Doesn’t that amaze you? If I were Joseph and I saw somebody else unhappy, with all I’d been through, I’d think, “Great! Somebody else can be miserable with me!” But here’s somebody who recognizes somebody else’s need and continues to care for people in prison. He continues to serve people in prison. I think he may have had some wisdom here. He knew who these people were. It may be more than just his niceness. He knew that God may be able to use his relationship with them in some way and God is going to do that.

The next thing that happens, in v 8 “‘We both had dreams,’ they answered. ‘But there’s no one to interpret them.’” If you’d been Joseph what would you have said at that moment? Dreams and no one to interpret. Joseph had a dream and look where he ended up. Wouldn’t you have been tempted to say, “Ha! Dreams! Let me tell you about dreams! I had a dream that I was going to be a ruler and look where I ended up. Forget it! Dreams don’t work!” Thinking what we would think… look at the next verse.

“Joseph said to them, ‘Do not interpretations belong to God?’” I think that’s the most amazing verse in the story of Joseph. Here he is at the bottom. He has every reason to disbelieve that any dream could ever come true and some guys had a dream and he says, “Interpretations of dreams belong to God. Tell me your dreams.” And they do.

He’s got the wisdom to continue to believe when everything is saying you shouldn’t believe.

He also has the wisdom to see the right opportunity in a situation. Look at what happens. They tell him their dreams. One guy, the cupbearer, says, “’I had a dream of a vine, three branches. They budded and blossomed. Grapes, Pharaoh’s cup in my hand. I took the grapes and squeezed them into the cup and then put it in his hand.’ ‘This is what it means,’ Joseph said. ‘Three branches, three days. Within three days Pharaoh’s going to lift up your head and restore you to your position. You’re going to be putting the cup back in his hand.’” Great dream! They’re feeling pretty good.

So the baker says, “’That’s good! Here’s my dream. Three baskets of bread on my head [he’s thinking three days I'm going to be put back in this great position.] The birds came and took the bread out. What does it mean?’ Joseph said, ‘the three baskets are three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head.’” [A little bit different interpretation] and the birds will eat away your flesh.’”

“The third day was Pharaoh’s birthday. He gave a feast for all the officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief cup bear and the chief baker in the presence of the officials.”


Notice back a few verses. V. 14 Joseph said nothing to the baker whose head is going to be cut off. He’s not the right person. That’s not the right opportunity there. But to the one whose position is going to be lifted up, “When all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness and mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison.”

Three days. He’s three days away from freedom. If this dream comes true in three days will you remember me? Will you tell Pharaoh?

Have you ever felt three days away from your dream and were disappointed? You know what that’s like when you are on the edge. You can see it, taste it, and touch it. If you’ve ever been like that and felt, “I was so close that I could touch it but I lost it. That must mean that God doesn’t want me to have it. That must mean it could never happen.” Notice what happened to Joseph.

v. 23 “The chief cup bearer however did not remember Joseph.” He forgot! This is his dream, his life and he forgot! Then 41:1, “When two full years had passed…” two years later! Joseph's story is an amazing story of God’s wisdom and God’s timing. It was a right time. And Joseph did the right thing at the right time. It took two years and three days for God’s timing to act. You may be in that time right now – that two-year period – where God’s at work for something you’ve already done. It’s not that you haven’t shown faith. What you’ve done is already working in some way; you just haven’t seen the results of it yet. Just like Joseph.

I want to spend a bit of time on the opportunistic wisdom that Joseph had. He had what I’d like to call an open door faith. That is the kind of faith that looks for and goes through God’s open doors. What we do so many times in our faith is close the doors for God, deciding in advance that they’re closed. We’re not even going to try that door. “God doesn’t want to do that. It didn’t work before. That’s just the way it is.”

Fast forward – two years later. Pharaoh has a dream and he can’t find anybody to interpret it. Guess what? The cupbearer remembers, “There’s a guy in prison. I wonder if he’s still there.” They go back and get Joseph and they bring him out and Joseph interprets Pharaoh’s dream. 41:14 “Pharaoh sent for Joseph. He was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes he came before Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I had a dream but there’s no one to interpret it. I’ve heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.’”

Let’s be clear… What’s an open door faith?

It’s the ability to take risks. There was a good chance in that day that if you didn’t interpret a dream the way the leader, the Pharaoh, liked, if he felt like you were trying to make up an interpretation, if he felt like you were trying to impress him, trying to lie to him in any way the leader would have you killed. That simple. That’s the way they did things back then.

So Joseph had to make a choice. Be stuck in prison. He could stay there the rest of his life and be safe. Or he could take a risk and try and interpret Pharaoh’s dream and perhaps lose his life. An open door faith has the ability to take risks in a godly kind of way. He did that when he went and interpreted the dream.

Think upon these things today as you consider laying hold of the dream God has for your life. I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course.

DAY #117: Genesis 41:1-40

BACKGROUND:

In spite of all the heartache and set backs that Joseph has faced, we see today - we are reminded that God has not lost sight of Joesph. God is always working - especially when we can't see it. Today, we see that God gives Joseph the ability to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams.

God then used two dreams to elevate Joseph from the misery of prison to the splendor of the court. Joseph had proven himself faithful to God and therefore fit for service.

Pharaoh’s two dreams caused him great distress, especially since none of the wise men of Egypt could explain them. God used an Israelite slave to confound the wisdom of Egypt. Later in the days of Moses another Pharaoh would be at the mercy of God’s power.

Egyptian coloring is evident in these dreams. Cows like to stand half-submerged in the Nile among its reeds in refuge from the heat and the flies. They then come up out of the water for pasture. The troubling part of the first dream was that seven ugly and gaunt cows came up and devoured the seven... fat cows. The second dream carried a similar message: seven plump ears of grain... on a single stalk were swallowed up by seven thin and scorched ears of grain that sprouted after them.

The magicians belonged to a guild expert in handling the ritual books of magic and priestcraft. However, they could not interpret Pharaoh’s dreams. A later guild of wise men in Babylon also would be unable to interpret a king’s dream, and God would use another Hebrew slave, Daniel, to show that no matter how powerful a nation might be, it is still not beyond God’s sovereign control (Daniel 2).

Joseph was summoned from prison when the cupbearer remembered that Joseph was gifted in interpreting dreams. Yet when Joseph stood before Pharaoh (shaved, as was the Egyptian custom, and in a fresh change of clothes) he declared that the interpretation was with God alone. After Pharaoh recounted both dreams, Joseph reiterated this conviction as he explained that God was making known to Pharaoh what He was about to do.

Both dreams predicted that seven years of plenty would be followed by seven years of severe famine. Furthermore, Joseph explained that because the dream came in two versions it signified that it was of God, and would be carried out soon. During God’s dealings with him several things must have been on Joseph’s mind: his own two dreams, his two imprisonments, the two dreamers in prison (40:5-23), and now Pharaoh’s two dreams.

God’s revelation demanded a response. So Joseph advised Pharaoh to choose a wise man who would oversee storing 20 percent of the grain during each of the years of plenty for the coming years of famine. Wisdom literature teaches that wisely planning ahead is a basic principle of practical living.

The man whom Pharaoh recognized as capable for such a task was Joseph in whom was the Spirit of God. Centuries later Daniel was chosen to be the third highest ruler in Babylon for the same reason. Joseph had been faithful over all the little things God sent him; now he would become ruler over all the land of Egypt under Pharaoh.


SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)

If you’ve got a God-given dream it’s going to face tests. Guaranteed. One of those greatest tests is really the third point.

#3. WAITING FOR THE DREAM.

A time will come for each of us - the in between time - when you’ve had the dream, you’re excited about the dream, you’re building towards the dream, and the dream falls apart – waiting, waiting, waiting…


What do you do during those times of life? You feel God’s given a dream to my life as a parent, God’s given a dream in my life for marriage, God’s given a dream in my life for a ministry to make a difference in this world but every time I push the button it seems like I'm moving the wrong way. How do you handle those times of life? Joseph shows us. God’s put his story into His word so you and I can face those times of life that all of us have to face. What do I do? Three things:

** You live the dream

Even on the way down, even when it doesn’t seem like it’s real, you live the dream even though you don’t see the dream. Oftentimes what we do is we give up, we feel like it’s going the wrong direction, it’s destroyed and the dream starts to fade. Joseph didn’t do that. God had given into his life a dream to be a leader. He’s sold into slavery and he’s in the household of a man named Potiphar and before long what does he become in that household? He becomes the leader of all the slaves in that household. That’s not God’s eventual dream for his life but even there as a slave he was living the dream. Even though he didn’t see the dream. Joseph shows us how to live the dream even when we don’t see it.

When I say Live the dream, the picture in Joseph's life is…

1. Lead in slave’s clothing. There will be times in your life when you feel like, “I'm not at the place of God’s dream. What do I do? Give up on it?” No. You lead in slave’s clothing. Even if you feel like, “I’ve got greater qualifications than this! This isn’t where I'm supposed to be.” You still do what God’s made you to do.

Joseph did that in Potiphar’s house. You and I are to do that. The New Testament tells us to do that. The Bible tells us that you and I are citizens of heaven. You don’t feel like a citizen of heaven yet sometimes. We’re still in this world. But still, in Colossians, we’re told to act like, live like citizens of heaven because that's who we are. You lead in slave’s clothing. Live the dream even though you don’t see the dream.

2. The second picture is you work while you’re in Egypt. He’s not in Israel. He’s not in God’s Promised Land but he’s working. He’s in Egypt. He did not want to be there. He didn’t deserve to be there. Have you ever been in a place where you didn’t want to be and you didn’t deserve to be? Joseph knew all about that. But there he was. What was he going to do? He was faithful. Even there, even in Egypt, he made the choice to be faithful.

We spend a lot of life in Egypt, don’t we? Places we’d rather not be, doing things we’d rather not do. If you and I are going to be all that God wants us to be, we have to learn to work in Egypt. When we’re in those places we’d rather not be and doing those things we’d rather not do, we need to be faithful to do God’s will. That’s where God’s at work in our lives. The truth is, your real success as a believer in Christ, your real impact on this world, it’s not going to be determined so much by the blessings in Israel but the faithfulness in Egypt, those times you’re in a place you don’t want to be, doing something you don’t want to be doing. But God has you there for a purpose.

Some of you are there right now. Your job is in Egypt. Or your family is in Egypt right now. You’re in a place that you don’t want to be. Joseph teaches us that’s the place to be faithful. That’s the place God builds dreams. That’s the place where God does something powerful.

3. You succeed in Potiphar’s house. Succeed in the house of Potiphar, his slave owner. Here’s Joseph, this great leader. God’s given him some great gifts and abilities and He’s given him a great dream and he’s working in the house of Potiphar making his master very successful. If you have a God given dream, on your way towards that dream, you’ll meet some people who’ll hitch their wagon to your dream. They’re even going to take the credit for some of the things that happened in your life because of your God given dream. You can count on that. Potiphar did. He got a lot of blessings from a man named Joseph using him as a slave. And there are going to be few people who try to use your dream. What do you do about that? Do you just stop dreaming? No. You do what Joseph did. You keep serving Him. You don’t worry about them.

You do what Paul did. He had a God given dream to share the Gospel with everyone. In Philippians he tells us there are people who are jealous of that and tried to make fun of him and his preaching. He said, “I don’t care about that. Only that in every way whether in pretence or in truth Christ is proclaim.” He forgot about those people who were trying to take credit for his dreams. You and I need to, too. Forget about it. God can take care about that.

When someone else tries to take credit for the dream, there’s a test. And the test is this: Who’s dream is it? If it’s your dream – if you and I have started to take possession of it – there’s going to be a lot of anger. But when I recognize it’s God’s dream I realize God can take care of them. He can take care of them real well! He knows exactly what to do to those trying to take credit for His dream. That’s the test.

There’s a second thing you and I need to do during those times of waiting, those long times of waiting sometimes.

** Resist the temptation.

Waiting is filled with times of temptation. Temptations can really come when you’re waiting. Not when you’re working for the Lord and there’s a lot to do but it’s in those down times of life. One of the real dangers of any kind of waiting is temptation. You’re a prime candidate because of the frustration, because of the doubt, because of the untapped time.

If you think you can’t be tempted or you think you’re past this thing of temptation look at this quote: “Sex, money and pride. Those are the three areas I think Satan attacks God’s servants on. I was told that many years ago by an old clergyman and I’ve never forgotten it. I learned from that moment on I would be tempted in those areas. So I never road in a car with a woman alone. I’ve never eaten a meal with my secretary alone or ridden in a car with her alone.” Billy Graham. Billy Graham is not a model of integrity because he felt like he was beyond temptation. He’s a model of integrity because he realized he could be tempted just like everybody else. That’s one of the keys.

Jesus was tempted. He never succumbed to temptation but He was tempted. What makes you and I think that we’re somehow beyond temptation? Forget that! And when you’re tempted don’t let Satan tell you, “Because you’re tempted you should feel like you sinned anyway. Just the fact that you were tempted, why don’t you feel as dirty as if you’d sinned?” When Satan tells you that one just say, “That’s a lie! Jesus was tempted and yet He never sinned and because of the power of Christ in me I can make that choice too.” Every one of us – you’re going to face temptation in your life as a believer. Satan’s going to send it your way. When it comes don’t fall for the trap, “As long as I was tempted, I may as well sin anyway!” That's a trap. Don’t fall for it.

Instead, find out how to resist temptation. Joseph gives us some lessons – three of them.

1. Stay busy in the master’s business. If you want to resist temptation, stay busy doing what God gave you to do. For Joseph that meant staying busy serving Potiphar. He didn’t have any time to sin with Potiphar’s wife. Temptation becomes overwhelming when we stop doing God’s will. As soon as you stop doing what God wants you to do, temptation just starts to overwhelm you. Stay busy doing what God’s given you to do.

2. Tell the temptation the truth. Talk to your temptation! Tell it the truth. Look at the temptation Joseph faced. V. 6 “Now Joseph was well built and handsome [I don’t know how they knew that but somebody knew that and wrote it down.] After a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, ‘Come to bed with me.’ [how old was Joseph? 17, 18? 19? – a young man.] but he refused. ‘With me in charge,’ he told her, ‘my master does not concern himself with anything in the house. Everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you because you are his wife. [Then he told the temptation the truth.] How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God.’” He just looked it straight in the eye and said, “This is the truth. This is a wicked thing. This is a sin against God.”

Temptation comes and says, “Why don't you cheat on your wife? It would be so exciting. It would make you happy. It’s what you really need.” Tell it the truth. Look it right in the eye and tell it the truth and say, “Are you kidding me? That’s a wicked thing. That’s going to tear me apart. That’s going to tear my family apart. That’s going to tear my faith apart. How could I do that?” Tell it the truth.

Temptation comes to you and says, “You deserve it. You’ve had a tough week. Go out and get drunk this Friday. You need it. You need to relax.” Tell it the truth. Look it straight in the face and say, “That just makes my life empty. That just makes me sick the next day.” Tell temptation the truth.

Temptation comes to you and says, “You’re in a little trap here. You’ve got a little problem. The easiest way out of this is tell a lie. That’ll get you right out of it. You won’t have to deal with any hassles. Just lie. That will work.” Tell the temptation the truth. “Every time I lie it puts a barrier between me and the people that I love the most and the Lord that I love.” Tell it the truth.

Temptation is going to come, but luckily you and I have a lot of truth to tell temptation. I encourage you at the area of your greatest temptation, find some verses in God’s word that you can say back to that temptation. That’s the strategy that Jesus taught us when it comes to temptation. Find some verses in God’s word that deal with the temptation that you face. If you’ve got a temptation, there’s a verse in God’s word to fit with it. Tell the temptation the truth. If you have to read the whole Bible before you find a verse that fits, that’s ok. It won’t hurt. Whenever you’re tempted, start reading the Bible to find the verse that fits. You’ll be through this book in a week or two. It won’t take long!!!

3. Consider the consequences. You might even make a list. When Satan brings temptation into our life, he always says this is going to make you happy and we start to buy into it in our minds and start to think the wrong direction. Set down with a piece of paper and write down all the things that would happen if that sin of adultery were found out. What it would do to you, to your wife/your kids. Write them all down and scare yourself to death.

You’re thinking, “What if it isn’t found out?” What if the temptation never is found out?” That’s worse! You might make yourself a list of all that would happen if it never were found out. The guilt that you’d have to live with, the pain that you’d have to live with, the secret that you’d have to live with, the hurt that would bring to your life and your relationship with the Lord. Make a list. Consider the consequences.

Charles Spurgeon said about temptation: “Learn to say no. It would be of more use to you than being able to read Latin.” That’s the truth. Who cares about Latin? One word. “NO!” Only God can empower that NO in our lives through His spirit within us, through His word. He can empower that. Joseph teaches us a few simple tips on how.

Discipleship Journal (the magazine) did a little survey on temptation. The top nine temptations in this survey that believers face:
9. Lying,
8. Gluttony,
7. Envy,
6&5. Tie between anger and bitterness and sexual lust
4. Laxiness
3. Self centeredness
2. Pride
1. Materialism

If you look at that and think, “I haven’t faced any of those temptations in my life,” take another look at “Pride”.

The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 10 that every temptation that we face is common to every one of us. If you’ve got a temptation I’ve probably faced it too. Maybe not in the same form, maybe not in the same way but we all have the same common temptations. Don’t think that you’re strange or weird because you’re tempted to do the wrong thing. We’re all tempted. But praise God! He’s given us strategies in His word and His spirit within us to help us to overcome those temptations that especially we face during those times when we’re waiting on a dream.

In this survey, the people who responded said what helped them overcome the temptation and what brought about the temptation.

81% said they were most tempted when they neglected time with the Lord.
57% said they were most tempted when they were tired.

What helped to overcome temptation?

1. 84% said prayer, talking to God about the temptation. Jesus said “Talk to me about your temptations. Pray that you won’t be led into temptation.” Have you done that recently? Talked to God about the temptations in your life? Prayer was the number one answer to what helped to overcome that temptation.

2. Avoiding compromising situations. You don’t want to get into a compromising situation and then try to pray. The percentage goes way down when you try that strategy.

3. 66% said Bible study helped them the most.

4. 52% said being accountable to somebody else.

Those are just some advice from other believer who face temptation like you and I and it helps us to see how God can help us overcome. Resist the temptation.

** Learn to survive the setbacks.

They’re going to happen. You’re on your way down. You’ve reached the bottom. You’re in Potiphar’s house. You’re leading slaves. You’re facing temptations. You’re saying No to temptations. But then look what happens. Genesis 39:11 “One day he went into the house to attend his duties and none of the household servants were inside. She [Potiphar’s wife] caught him by his cloak in her hand and said, ‘Come to bed with me.’ He left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house in his undergarments [which were longer undergarments than we wear] When she saw that he’d left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house she called the household servants. ‘Look! This Hebrew has been brought in to make sport of us. He came in here to sleep with me and I screamed and when he heard me scream for help he left his cloak beside me and he ran out of the house.’ She kept his cloak beside her until the master came home and she told him this story. When the master heard the story saying, ‘This is how your slave treated me,’ he burned with anger.”


The law back in Egypt said that Joseph could have been killed for this. The fact that he was just thrown into prison may mean that Potiphar was just as mad at her as he was at Joseph. He really knew what was going on. That’s a thought about what might have happened.


“Joseph's master took him and he put him in prison where the king’s prisoners were confined.” He’s at the bottom already. He’s a slave. Now he’s a prisoner-slave. Would you call that a setback? A setback when you’re at the top and you go a little notch down but you can still see the top of the mountain that’s a little bit of a setback. But when somebody knocks you all the way to the bottom of the mountain and then they dig a hole for you and they throw you down. That’s a setback!

You and I have a choice. Will we wallow in sel-pity and discouragnment or will we rise again. Will we choose to make the best of our cirmcustances beliving that God is in control and God has a plan or will we become cyical and critical? Whever you are in life, remeber this - know this: God is not done with you. God still has a dream for your life. Don't give up on it.

I love you gusy. Stay faithful. Stay the course.

DAY #116: Genesis 39:1-23

BACKGROUND:

After the important digression in the family history of Judah (chapter 38), the narrative returns to Joseph who had prospered under God and had become the attendant or steward over Potiphar’s household. Potiphar was captain of the guard for Pharaoh. This Pharaoh was probably Sesostris II (1897-1879 b.c.). Joseph’s presence was also the means of God’s blessing on Potiphar.

Yet God tested Joseph with Potiphar’s wife to see if he was obedient. When she tempted handsome Joseph, he refused to go to bed with her for that would be a sin against both God and his master. He then deliberately and wisely sought to avoid her daily advances by refusing even to be around her. His refusal was strengthened because he was convinced that God had called him to a special task—he had seen evidence of that in his rise from slavery. If one is to fulfill God’s plan, he cannot sin against the God who will bring it about.


Potiphar’s wife, humiliated by Joseph’s refusal of her, fabricated a lie to accuse Joseph of assaulting her. She showed to her household servants and then to Potiphar the garment that Joseph left when he fled from her persistent advances. This was the second time Joseph’s clothing was used to bring a false report about him. In both cases he had been serving faithfully. But in both cases Joseph ended up in bondage.


Joseph prospered in prison by God’s favor. As a result, the jailer put Joseph in charge of the prison. Joseph had prospered under God in Potiphar’s house and was put in charge, and here again he prospered under God and was put in charge. Four times, this chapter affirms, the Lord was with Joseph - verse 23 is our memory verse this week. As you memorize it, be reminded that God is faithful. He will not abadon you - ever. He is always by your side.


This chapter shows that Joseph was a faithful servant of God. With the dreams of prosperity in his memory (37:6-7, 9) he remained loyal to God rather than yield to temptation at the first glimpse of his rise to power. Wise rulers recognize that allegiance to God is the first requirement of an ideal king. Israel too would learn that she should remain faithful to the Lord in spite of the consequences, which included the suffering of the righteous.



SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)

So, Joseph gets the dream. Then immediately comes point number two. It always comes immediately when you get a God given dream.

#2. THE TESTING OF THE DREAM.

If it’s God given, Satan doesn’t want you to have it. It’s going to change the world. If it’s God given, God wants to test it so it can be strengthened and refined. From both sides you’re going to get testing of the dream. Dreams will always face tests. And Joseph's faced at least three of them.

1. Test of denial. You’ll face that. You’ll have people who say, “That’s not God’s dream for your life. Where do you get that?” The test of denial. Someone who just says, “That’s not true.” Why do people deny your dreams?

One, because they don’t have any dreams of their own. There are some people who don’t have any dreams and people who do have dreams frighten them. That’s why the brothers were so frightened. They had no God given dreams and here’s somebody who did and they realized what that dream meant. There are some people, when you share a God given dream, it scares them to death because they don’t have any dreams of their own.

A second reason is there are some people who don’t want a God given dream. It’s not that they don’t have a God given dream. It’s that they don’t want a God given dream of their own. The number one reason for this is disappointment. When you and I have been disappointed in a dream that we have and someone else comes along and shares a dream, our natural reaction to them is to put down their dream. Why? Because we’ve been hurt. We’ve been disappointed. It’s a natural feeling we have in our lives. We’ve got to watch out for that. I remember when Sharon and I were waiting for children and we’d hear that someone else, their God given dream for a child had come into their lives, the natural reaction, honestly, was not to rejoice with them. That wasn’t our natural reaction. The natural reaction was, “They obviously aren’t as spiritual as we are, don't pray as much as I do. So why is God giving them this dream?” This happens all the time. So you and I need to be careful not to quench others dreams when this happens. And we need to realize that other people who have been disappointed in life will try to quench our God given dream.

That’s why denial comes in. So often when you share a dream, instead of people being excited about it like you’d expect, they’ll try to quench it. That’s test number one.

#2. Test of doubt. It’s not just saying that it’s not true but saying, “I don’t know if God really wants this.” You can see in the reactions of the brothers and of the father and the family all the different expressions that doubt can take. Hatred to questions to rebuke. You’re going to face doubt whenever you have a God given dream.

The third test is the worst of all. It’s most unexpected if you’ve never heard anyone tell you this. If you have a God given dream, it’s really from God, most likely it’s going to face the

#3. Test of destruction. It’s going to look like that dream gets totally wiped out. There’s no way that it can come true. It happens to Joseph. 37:12 we hear the story. Joseph was still 17. His father sends him about 30 miles north to the fields of Shechem to find out how his brothers and the flocks are doing. The last time Joseph had gone out to see how his brothers were taking care of the flock he’d brought back a bad report to the father so the relationship isn’t going too well. And after two dreams the brothers are mad at him. They see Joseph coming from a long distance. As they see him coming, they say, “Here’s an idea. Here’s how we can take care of this problem. Let’s kill him. If we kill him the problem will be gone.” Then someone else says, “We can’t kill him. He’s our brother. Let’s sell him. Then we can make money out of this. That’s a lot better way to go.” That family had a few problems!

And they sell their brother as a slave. They take that multicolored coat, the richly ornamented robe that was the symbol of the fact that he was loved more than any of the others and they put blood on it and take it back to the father and they say, “Jacob’s dead. He’s gone.”

The family starts to disintegrate. We’re going to see what happened to this family because of thee actions. For now, we’re going to follow through on Joseph and what happened to him.

He’s sold into slavery. Remember, he’s had a dream. He was going to rise up above his brothers, above his father and mother. He was going to be a ruler. A great dream! Yet the first step in the fulfillment of this dream is he becomes a slave. Could anything be further from his God-given dream? Destruction.

Joseph is put in a place that seemed as far away from God’s dream for his life as possible. Does that make sense to you? It makes sense to God. It makes sense when you understand the life of faith.

Why do dreams face tests? To provide answers. When dreams face tests we find out whose dream it really is. When dreams face tests, we find out if it’s my idea or God’s will. How do our dreams past the test?

** When I face the test of denial, the answer is commitment. When someone denies the dream it’s an opportunity for me to express a new and fresh commitment to God and to that dream.

** When I face the test of doubt, the answer is scripture, God’s word. For Joseph God’s word was the dream, he had to go back to the dream again for God’s word. But we have a Bible to look at. We can look at this Bible to find the answers for God’s dream for our lives. Dreams are personal so when people react with doubt at our dream we often react with anger. One of the common things when people doubt our dream, especially if it’s someone important to us – a parent, brother, sister, close friend, pastor – is an angry reaction of “I’ll prove them wrong.”


What happens then is our dream turns into a vendetta. Instead of following God’s dream for our lives we’re trying to prove somebody else wrong. That’s no way to find God’s will for our lives. Instead of saying, “I'm going to prove somebody else wrong” or instead of allowing somebody else’s doubts to cause you to admit defeat and give up, there’s a better test. It’s the test of scripture.

God given dreams always have to past the test of scripture. What does God’s word say? Does it strengthen this dream or are there some things here that make me begin to doubt this is God’s dream for my life. When you take a God-given dream and you start to read through God’s word with that dream on your mind saying, “Lord, if it’s right, show me. If it’s wrong, show me.” When you start to ask people you respect who know the word, “Is this a God given dream, does it fit with scripture?” one of two things are going to happen. You’re either going to find out it’s not God’s dream or it is. And if you find out it is, the test of scripture does two great things. First of all it adds authority to your dream and it adds assurance to your dream. If you get God’s authority you know you have something to say. But also you know you have an inner assurance.

What if it doesn’t pass the test? Let’s say you’ve got a God given dream (you think) for fast food Japanese food. Nobody’s doing this. This is God’s dream for my life – sushi in a sack. A God-given dream. You’re thumbing back through the book of “Hezekiah” someday (I know there’s no such book) and you find a little known verse that says, “Thou shalt not sack sushi.” It’s there. It just flies out at you. What do you do? What do you do when your dream and God’s word don’t match?

We do what many of us do. We try to change God’s word. “It doesn’t really mean what it said. In the context that this was written, sushi was different in that day than it is today.” All these things we say.

If you have what you believe is a God given dream and you’re reading God’s word and He shows you clearly that it’s not His will for your life, what do you do? You fall on your knees and you praise God! You thank Him that He saved you from the hurt and the heartache that the dream would have taken you into. Praise Him for His word. Humbly say, “My ways aren’t Your ways. You have higher ways than I do. I need your direction for my life.” You should be more thankful than anything for those times in your life when God says, “That is not the way to go.” Think of the heartache He’s going to save you. Don’t try to change His word. Let His word change and mold your life. It’s tough when it’s a dream though, because dreams are so personal. But let His word change and mold your life.

** When I face the test of Destruction - what happens when it seems like the dream has been wiped out? Everything that you were building on to make this dream happen God knocked all the cards down. What do you do then? You ask yourself the question, “Am I willing to wait for the dream?” Then you ask, “How long?’ The answer is time. Usually God’s dreams take some time to fulfill. They’re not very often instantaneous things. They take time to fulfill. When it seems like there’s no possible way for this dream to happen in your life, God has you right where He wants you. That’s the very moment He can show us it’s His dream done His way in His power and no other way.

Ponder these things today. I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course.

DAY #115:Genesis 37:1-36

BACKGROUND:

The story of Joseph begins. Any serious reading of God's word and God's hero's must include the life of this incredible man - it is foundational to our faith. Joseph is introduced as an obedient 17-year-old son who brought back a bad report about his half brothers (he did not bring a bad report about his full brother Benjamin). The substance of this report is not given. Though doing this has never been popular, it shows that Joseph was faithful as a servant. Naturally his brothers... hated him for this.


The lad was also honored by Jacob who gave him a richly ornamented robe, probably a multicolored tunic. This seems to signify that Jacob favored him above the rest with the intent of granting him all or a larger portion of the inheritance. WHY? Maybe because Joseph was the firstborn of Rachel, Jacob’s loved wife. Yet Jacob should have remembered what parental favoritism does to a family. It had separated him from his mother, and it would separate Joseph from Jacob.


God confirmed Jacob’s choice of his faithful son by two dreams. In a dream God had announced to Abraham the Egyptian bondage in the first place; in a dream God promised protection and prosperity for Jacob in his sojourn with Laban; and by two dreams God predicted that Joseph would rule over his family.


These dreams and caused Joseph's brothers to hate Joseph all the more. They were clearly jealous of him. Sensing that Joseph was to be elevated to prominence over them, the envy and hatred of his brothers took action. Rather than recognize God’s choice, his brothers set on a course to destroy him. Their actions, though prompted by the belief that they should lead, shows why they should not have led.


SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)

Genesis 37 talks about the life of a dreamer. Three important things about God’s purpose and plan for our life. Every one of us needs these three things.

1. We need to be directed by principles. I’ve got to have some principles to direct my life. Those are found in God’s word.

2. I need to be driven by purpose.

3. I need to be energized by a dream in my life.

If we’re just directed by principles and you don’t have any purpose in life, you become like a pharisaic rule keeper. All you know how to do is to do what somebody told you to do. You keep the rules but there’s no overarching purpose to your life. If all you have is a purpose for life but you don’t have God’s principles behind that purpose, then you’d do anything it takes to get to that purpose and that always ends in disaster. But if you have principles and a purpose but you don’t have a dream to energize it, you’re sort of like a 100-year old marathon runner. You know the goal and you know how to get there but you’re not sure you have the energy to take each step of the way.

Have any of you ever felt like that about God’s plan and purpose for your life? What energizes your life for the rest of your life? A God-given dream. And there’s no one better to teach us about God given dreams than Joseph. We all need a dream to motivate our life. If you’ve ever felt, “I know what’s right to do. I know what I should be doing. But I just don’t feel like doing it today.” Some of you need to hear God speaking a dream into your heart beyond your present expectation of what He can do in your life. You need Him to just explode the idea of what He could do in your life. Others of you need to recognize the dream that’s right around you. Some of you parents, your God-given dream, believe it or not, is your kids. What you do in their lives and what you give into their lives, God’s going to change the world through them. You need to recognize the God given dream that’s right there.


As our story opens we find Joseph in Israel with his family. He’s about 17 years old. He’s living in the town of Hebron. He’s living with eleven brothers and one sister. (How would you liked to have been that one sister?) But actually it was the one brother, Joseph, who got in the most trouble in this family. This is the story of dreams. This is the story of how dreams begin. Joseph is the story of how dreams develop. Joseph's life is the story of how dreams are realized. And Joseph's life is the story of how you live your dream once you reach it.

We’re going to take take this entire week to tell this story. We’re going to build it around how dreams happen in your life and my life and the lessons God can teach us in the life of Joseph. At the end of the week, I want to share some dreams that God has given me for our church.

#1. God teaches us through Joseph's life some lessons about GETTING THE DREAM.

If you start to read Joseph's life you’ll find out that he’s a very different man than his father Jacob. Genesis 37:2 Joseph, a young man of 17, was tending the flock with his brothers. He brought his father a bad report about his brothers. That’s not a good idea, this sibling rivalry thing. “Now Israel [Jacob] loved Jacob more than any of his other sons because he had been born to him in his old age and he made a richly ornamented robe for him and when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them they hated him.” Then Joseph had a dream.

The difference between Jacob and Joseph is very easy to describe. Jacob was a schemer. Joseph was a dreamer. That’s the difference. They’re very different people. Most of us can relate to Jacob. We look at Jacob and think, “That’s me. Those are the things I face in my life. That’s the struggles I face. That’s the struggles I’ve been through.”

You’re not going to feel quite the same way about Joseph. We all relate to Jacob but we can all be inspired by Joseph. Jacob is a person we look at and say, “That’s where I am.” Joseph is a person we look at and say, “that’s where I’d like to be.”


Joseph had a dream in v. 5 and he told it to his brothers and they hated him all the more. Why? Listen to the dream: “This is the dream I had. We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheave rose and stood upright while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.” Great dream, Joseph! Your brothers felt great about this! “His brothers said to him, ‘Do you intend to reign over us?’ And they hated him all the more because of the dream he said he’d had.”.


There are some immediate reactions. First of all Joseph has an immediate reaction in v. 5. He has the dream and the first thing he does is share the dream. That’s a reaction. That’s what many of us want to do. As soon as we get a God given dream we want to share it with anyone and everyone, especially with somebody who was in the dream like Joseph's brothers. Do you think it was a good idea for Joseph to share this dream with his brothers? Not a good idea! But we often make this mistake. We share the dream with the wrong people at the wrong time. Even when it’s a God-given dream. We’re so excited about it and we just want somebody to know. We share the dream with the wrong people at the wrong time and all of a sudden they immediately start to try to quench the dream in our lives. If it’s a God given dream, it’s going to last. Have you ever had that experience of somebody trying to quench your dream?

Joseph shared the dream, that was his reaction.

Jacob had a little bit different reaction. V. 10-11 “When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, ‘What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down before you?’ His brothers are jealous of him but his father kept this matter in mind, kept thinking about it.” Jacob rebuked the dream. Jacob, a man who had two dreams himself, hears about the two dreams his son Joseph had had and asks, “What are you talking about?” He couldn’t see in his own child’s life the very things that God had done in his life. It’s easy for us to miss that isn’t it, parents? God’s doing in our children’s lives the very thing He’s done in our lives and we miss it. Jacob certainly did. But he didn’t entirely miss it. The Bible says he did keep the matter in mind. He thought about it.

Then there was a third reaction, the brothers. Jacob shared the dream, Jacob rebuked the dream, and the brothers hated the dreamer. They didn’t care about the dream; they just went straight for Joseph. They hated him. They were jealous of him. It’s interesting how Jacob had set up in his family the very thing that he’d experienced as a boy. As a boy, he and his brother Esau had been separated from each other because the parents favored one over the other. Here’s Jacob repeating the pattern in his own family. Here’s Jacob who was the younger of the brothers and who does he love the most? The younger of the brothers. He loves this one more than the others and it separates him from all the rest of the sons in the household.

Joseph and Jacob and the brothers, all had different reactions to this dream. I want to give you something to watch for as we study the life of Joseph this week, a question to think about. Which of these three are going to be most used of God to accomplish, to begin the process of accomplishing this God given dream? Is it going to be Joseph and some decision he makes? Is Jacob going to turn around and begin to see the light and do something that encourages Joseph to begin to go in the right way? Who’s it going to be?

It’s going to be, believe it or not, the brothers. The ones who hate him. The ones who are furthest from God’s will in this thing are going to be the ones most used of God to begin the process of accomplishing this dream. God’s amazing that way. He can take the worst things that Satan tries to throw at us and turn them around for His good. Notice as we go through this story how God uses the brothers to begin this process of making the dream come true.

Think this week. pray this week. Dream this week. What is God's plan and purpose for you. What's the vision for your life and marriage and family? What's the big picture? Where are you headed?

I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course.

DAY #114: 1 Corinthians 13:8-13

BACKGROUND:

All the spiritual gifts will eventually disappear, but love will last forever. On this earth, outside of heaven, everything is imperfect. No matter how much people may know, they know only a little. No matter how much prophecy is given, it still reveals little. Not until the arrival of God’s Kingdom (the end) will everything be made perfect and complete.

At that time, all the special gifts of the Spirit will disappear. Because gifts are given for the building up of the body of Christ, they will no longer be needed. The body will be complete, and God’s Kingdom will have arrived. Yet love will continue, because love is the very essence of God himself. “God is love,” wrote John (1 John 4:8, 16). God’s love caused him to reach out to undeserving humanity and send a Savior. His love saved people and will bring them into his Kingdom to be with him forever. The Kingdom rests on God’s love.


The contrast between believers’ spiritual understanding now, when they know only a little, and their lives in the future Kingdom, when everything will be made clear, is illustrated in human terms. A child talks, thinks, and reasons like a child. His or her understanding is incomplete. But when a child grows up, he or she matures in speech, thought, and reason, putting away childish things. So now believers know only a little, like children, but one day they will be able to put their present understanding behind them because they will understand clearly.

By way of further metaphor, believers’ present spiritual understanding is like a reflection in a poor mirror. They see very poorly now; what they know is partial and incomplete. While believers’ knowledge is still growing and maturing, God already knows each person completely. Instead of boasting about their spiritual gifts, the Corinthian believers should realize that these gifts were nothing compared to what they would experience in heaven.


SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)

Romans 14:19 (Living Bible) “In this way aim for harmony in the church and build each other up.” God places a high premium on unity and harmony in the church. He talks almost more about unity in the church than anything else. God can overlook a lack of facilities and poor programs and a lack of leadership and no money. But one thing God will not bless in a church is conflict or disharmony.

In Romans 14 it talks about how to build each other up as the secret of building a loving church. The first half of the chapter deals with having the right attitude toward each other. We’re going to kind of skip over that. It talks about disputable matters. Those are things that Christians who are well meaning disagree about. Have you discovered that Christians even though they say, “I believe the Bible from cover to cover,” still disagree on stuff? It’s obvious. There are a lot of thinks Paul calls disputable matters. He talks about having the right attitude toward people in the church when they disagree with you over minor issues.


In Romans 14, Paul gives us six ways that we are to build each other up rather than to tear each other down.

#1. The first was we build each other up is BY COMMITTING OURSELVES TO BUILDING EACH OTHER UP. Decide and choose and say, “From this day forward I’m going to make as one of the goals of my ministry regardless of what ministry I’m involved in specifically but one of the goals of my ministry is to build up everybody around me.” Can you imagine if just the group sitting in this room would commit themselves to “I’m going to build up everybody that I come in contact with”? What that would do to the morale of our church! Let’s say if the 35- 450 people of COV began to write letters – one note a week – saying, “I appreciate you,” to somebody in our church, what kind of impact would that have on the morale of our church? Building others up. He says make it your goal.

2. The second way we build a loving church is BY RECOGNIZING THE VALUE OF EVERY PERSON. v. 15b “Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died.”

They may be obnoxious and they may be immature and you may disagree with them, but Christ died for them. And don’t you forget it! When you start to get upset with somebody in your area of ministry or somebody in the church or me or anybody else, just remember: Christ died for that person. That shows how valuable they are. That shows how important they are. What right do I have to hurt people that Christ died for? The answer is, I don’t have the right. I don’t have that right to hurt people that Christ died for. Realize that everybody’s important to God.

#3. We build up the church and build up each other BY KEEPING OUR FOCUS ON WHAT’S REALLY IMPORTANT. V. 16 “Don’t allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and is approved of men.”

He’s saying food, drink – these things are not the burning issues of life. The essence of Christianity is not external but internal. We can put up with a lot of external quirks and faults and faux pas and things like that when we focus on the things that are internal.


The Bible makes very clear that it is a sin to disrupt the church. So no matter how important the issue is, if you disrupt the church because of it, you’re sinning. It’s real clear. Over and over it says preserve the unity at all costs. When the world looks for a Christian what they ought to be able to say is not “They’ve got every jot and title crossed.” But they ought to be able to see righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. That’s what a believer is. You can be straight as a gun barrel doctrinally but be just as empty spiritually. Focus on what’s really important.


#4. The fourth step on how to build a loving church and have unity and harmony and build each other up is BY LIMITING OUR LIBERTY OUT OF LOVE FOR EACH OTHER. V. 20 “Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It’s better not to eat meet, drink wine, or do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.”

Refuse to do anything that will cause your brother to stumble. When my liberty limits the work of God, then we’ve got a problem. Paul is saying if I need to limit the way that I dress, fine. I’ll limit the way that I dress. I’m not doing it out of legalism. I’m doing it because I want to minister to people. Their soul is far more important than my liberty. He says, “I limit my liberty out of love for each other.”

Paul says in Romans 14 “Be considerate. Don’t just accept each other but accommodate each other.” Galatians 5:13 says, “You my brothers were called to be free but don’t use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature. Rather, serve one another in love.” You need to do the loving thing. That is the mature thing. Serve one another out of love. We learn to limit our liberty out of love.

#5. BY NOT FORCING MY OPINION ON OTHERS. I believe and as long as I’m pastor here, we will not make disputable issues a test of fellowship. “Believe as I believe, think as I think, drink as I drink, do as I do, Only then can I fellowship with you. Be like me!” Don’t force your opinion on others.

Romans 14:22 says, “So whatever you believe about these things, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves.” On disputable matters, keep them between you and the Lord. Enjoy your freedom but don’t flaunt it. Enjoy your freedom but enjoy it in privacy. Don’t flaunt it and don’t force it on others. Be considerate.
I can practice my freedom without parading it.


Jesus frequently did things that the Pharisees disapproved of. They were hard core legalists. He went ahead and did them anyway. That was not a stumbling block. They were unpleaseable.


#6. BY LIVING BY FAITH. “The man who has doubts is condemned if he eats.” If you have doubts you’re condemned because your eating is not from faith. And whatever doesn’t come from faith is sin. What he’s saying here is you need to be convinced in your own mind. What you need to do, if you’re going to mature as a believer, is develop some biblical convictions and say this is what I believe. When in doubt don’t . But if you can do it in faith, then forget it. Don’t worry about it. Maintain a clear conscience. “Happy is the m an who can make his decisions with a clear conscience.”

The Result of building each other up. V. 5+ “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ.” That’s the result – a spirit of unity. The church is unified “So with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” That’s the second result. God is glorified because unity brings glory to God. When Christians are divided, it’s a bad testimony to the world. When Christians are united, it’s a beautiful testimony. When the leadership of this church, setting in this room, is unified, it is a testimony to the world.

Accept other people as Christ accepted us, which he says in v. 7, “Accept one another just as Christ has accepted you in order to bring praise to God.” How did Christ accept us? Unconditionally. Nonjudgmentally. To accept each other as Christ accepted us means to accept them in the way that Christ accepts you. It is not based on performance.

Romans 14:13 shows us that there are four marks of a unified church. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” These four words – the four marks of the unified church: 1) Joy; 2) Peace; 3) Hope; 4) Power. That’s the kind of church I want to be a part of.

Let's build that kind of church at COV. I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course.

DAY #113: 1 Corinthians 13:7

BACKGROUND:

After explaining what love does not do, Paul listed four positive attributes of love. Love never gives up, but willingly protects others. The word in Greek means “cover” or “hide by covering.” This does not refer to hiding hurtful sin but to protecting someone from embarrassment, gossip, or any other such harm. When believers love one another, they refuse harmful gossip and protect one another from those who would try to inflict harm.


Love never loses faith. It is willing to think the best of others. It does not mean that believers must be gullible, trusting everyone; instead, it means that they are willing to think the best as opposed to the worst of others. Love gives the benefit of the doubt. With real love, believers can deal with conflict lovingly. When everyone willingly thinks the best of everyone else, people are freed to be honest and open.


Love is always hopeful. Believers who love look forward, not backward. They seek for growth and maturity in the church, knowing that God is working in every person.
Love endures through every circumstance. Believers who love are active and steadfast in their faith. They hold on, no matter what difficulties they face. Hardship and pain do not stop love. When believers persevere, they face suffering within the body. They face persecution. They hang on when the going gets tough. They strive to save their marriages despite disappointment, to continue to trust God despite setbacks, and to continue to serve God despite fear or sorrow. When believers truly persevere, nothing can stop them.


SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)

Christians are neither higher nor lower than other people. Someone has said, "The ground is level at the foot of the cross." And all Christians have the privilege of being intimate members of God's family.

You are to learn from others and to encourage one another. There is a certain chemistry that takes place as Christians get together to build each other up. This cannot be accomplished if you are isolated from other Christians.

From His the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." Ephesians 4:16

God desires that every believer be a functioning member of a local church-a local "body" or "family" of believers. Let's look at several foundational passages that show our church relationship to one another.

#1. MEMBERS OF ONE-AOTHER "So we who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another." Romans 12:5


#2. DEVOTED TO ONE-ANOTHER "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love." Romans 12:10


#3. HONOR ONE-ANOTHER “Honor one another above yourselves” Romans 12:10


#4. BE OF THE SAME MIND WITH ONE-ANOTHER “Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus” Romans 15:5


#5. ACCEPT ONE-ANOTHER “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” Romans 15:7


#6. ADMONISH ONE-ANOTHER “And concerning you, my brethren, I myself am also convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to admonish one another.” Romans 15:14


#7. SUBMIT TO ONE-ANOTHER “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” Ephesians 5:21


#8. SERVE ONE-ANOTHER “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom to an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” Galatians 5:13


#9. BEARING WITH ONE-ANOTHER “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” Ephesians 4:2


#10. ENCOURAGE ONE-ANOTHER “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11


What's the point? Christians are to build up and edify one another. No one is meant to go it alone in this thing called the Christian Life. God’s design is that every Christian be a functioning part of the body of Christ; that every Christian contribute to the process. Practice these one-another's today.

I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course.