dreams

You Have Many Callings!

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.” – John 15:16 Did you know that you have many callings? A lot of us go through life with the mistaken idea that there’s just one major thing we’re supposed to do, but this is not the case. Most of us have many callings and each one prepares us for the next. For example, we looked at the story of Joseph, and for the last couple of days, the life and trials of Jesus. I really don’t believe we would have seen Joseph leading the nation of Egypt without his experience at Potiphar’s house. Nor do I believe that Jesus could have so completely redeemed our suffering without choosing to first suffer with us

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God’s Presence in a Prison

“Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt. Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined. The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them. After they had been in custody for some time, each of the two men—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison—had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.” – Genesis 40:1-5 Yesterday, we looked at how Joseph repeatedly endured hardship and unjust persecution, even while trying to do everything right! After Potiphar’s wife accused him of raping her, he was sent to prison, and in just

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The Price of the Prize

“Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him. When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him. Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more.” – Genesis 27:3-5 We can learn a lot from the story of Joseph in the Old Testament, so for the next couple of days, we are going to look more closely at his life. I’m sure many of you are familiar with the account, but it begins when Jacob’s 11th and favorite son, Joseph, had a couple of peculiar dreams. Unfortunately, his siblings were already jealous of their 17-year-old kid brother because he was his dad’s

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Death to Self is not Death of Self

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” – Ephesians 2:10 Yesterday, we discussed what it means to die to ourselves, so today, I want to point out what that doesn’t mean. Unfortunately, many of us who were raised in the church learned that death to self means death of self, but this is not the case. There is an important distinction to be made here that keeps us from falling into the trap of legalism and self-condemnation.  Death of self teaches that I don’t matter and that all of my desires are bad or wrong. In other words, it crucifies me as an individual. This, however, is not how God designed it to be. He created each one of His children uniquely and with a purpose, and as the Bible states, we are His handiwork,

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Stubborn Where It Counts

“To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.” – Romans 2:7 Have you ever been told that you’re stubborn? I sure have — in fact, I’ve heard it many times. And though most people tend to think such a description is a bad thing, I really don’t see it that way. There are certain areas of life in which it’s beneficial to be persistent and tenacious, especially when it comes to achieving goals and doing the right thing; however, there’s a catch. We should be stubborn for good things but soft toward people. In other words, be stubborn for our vision but soft toward our team, and stubborn for our jobs but soft toward our families. Though mules are thought to be obstinate and unyielding, they are also sweet and compassionate, and this is how we should be as well.

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