2019-01-04
Genesis 45:11 NKJV
The dream God gave Joseph was not about feeling good because he was now the number two guy in Egypt, but about positioning him to feed his family and the world in time of famine. Don’t miss the point here. When God gives you a dream, it will bless you – and others. The Bible says, “God so loved the world” (John 3:16). God’s plan is not to make you an icon, but an instrument to fulfill His will. From Joseph’s family would come the Redeemer of the world, but his family was being threatened with extinction. So God put a plan in place which involved Joseph interpreting Pharaoh’s dream and being elevated to the throne so that His plan could be accomplished. And here’s another thought. Joseph’s story proves that a God-given dream will change your attitude toward others, including those who mistreat you. It will make you more gracious, loving, and forgiving. Remembering how they betrayed him, Joseph’s brothers trembled as they stood before him realizing he held their fate in his hands. But he refused to retaliate, or even utter a word about what they’d done. Listen to what he told them: “I will provide for you.” Instead of revenge, he wanted the relationship restored. He looked beyond their actions and saw God at work in all He’d been through. “You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day” (Genesis 50:20 NKJV). How you treat others, especially when you’re in a position of strength, determines how God will treat you.
Soul food: Isa 8-11; Luke 1:26-38; Ps 10:1-11; Prov 1:10-16
2019-01-03
Genesis 37:5 NKJV
The story of Joseph teaches that success can cause others to mistreat you. Not everyone will celebrate your success, including some of those closest to you. When Jesus’ fame began to spread, the first people to reject Him were from the town He grew up in. It caused Him to say, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country” (Matthew 13:57 NKJV). The Bible says of Joseph, “His brothers envied him” (Genesis 37:11 NKJV). There it is – envy! When God blesses you, those who feel left out may target you. Some may feel more worthy and deserving, and that your blessing came at their expense. That’s how Cain felt when he murdered his brother Abel. That’s how King Saul felt when David killed Goliath and the people sang, “Saul has killed thousands, but David has killed tens of thousands” (1 Samuel 29:5 GNT). Shortly afterwards Saul started throwing spears at David. And the spear never left his hand until it plunged into his own heart. That’s because envy is like a boomerang; it comes back to hurt the one who throws it. When their father threw a party to celebrate the homecoming of his prodigal son, the older brother said, “These many years I have served you…yet you never gave me a…feast” (See Luke 15:29 AMPC). He made three mistakes we often make: (a) He compared himself to his brother. (b) He exposed his brother’s sins and shortcomings. (c) He failed to appreciate the extent of his father’s love for him and the blessings he had bestowed on him. So learn from his mistakes.
Soul food: Isa 4-7; Luke 1:11-25; Ps 90:7-17; Prov 1:5-9
2019-01-02
Genesis 37:9 NKJV
If you’ve already fulfilled the dream God gave you, ask Him for another one. A bigger one. The Bible says, “Joseph dreamed another dream.” And the second was bigger than the first. In the first dream he saw sheaves of wheat on the ground bowing down to him, but in the second dream he saw stars in the heavens bowing down to him. Ask God to lift your sights and cause you to aim higher. But a note of caution: Before God will give you another dream, He will watch to see what you do with the one He gave you. “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin” (Zechariah 4:10 NLT). Great endings usually start with humble beginnings. “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time” (1 Peter 5:5-6 NKJV). If your dream is to prosper financially, it’s in harmony with God’s promises (See Deuteronomy 8:18; Isaiah 48:17; 2 Corinthians 9:8; 3 John v. 2). But there are three scriptural conditions you must meet in order for your dream to be fulfilled: (1) You must be willing to honor God with your present income (See Malachi 3:8-10). (2) You must be willing to share what you have and meet the needs of others (See Proverbs 11:25). (3) You must practice fiscal discipline rather than squandering what God gives you on reckless spending and impulse buying (See Proverbs 21:20). When you meet His conditions, God promises to bless you and fulfill the dream He has given you for your life.
Soul food: Isa 1-3; Luke 1:1-10; Ps 90:1-6; Prov 1:1-4
2019-01-01
Genesis 42:9 NKJV
The dream God gave Joseph sustained him through experiences that would crush many of us. He was resented by his family, repeatedly tempted by his boss’s wife, then thrown into prison for thirteen years for a crime he never committed. Yet at his lowest points God was with him, arranging each step he took and positioning him to fulfill his calling as the deliverer of his people. The psalmist talks about the strange way in which God led Joseph: “Then he sent someone to Egypt ahead of them – Joseph, who was sold as a slave. They bruised his feet with fetters and placed his neck in an iron collar. Until the time came to fulfill his dreams, the Lord tested Joseph’s character” (Psalm 105:17-19 NLT). Your gender does not limit God, and your age is no problem to Him. Society may glamorize youth and marginalize old age, but your season of life doesn’t limit God. But in order to have confidence that God will fulfill your dream, you must know that it was born of His Spirit: “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:8 NKJV). Your dream cannot be born out of your unmet ego needs, or a selfish desire to have the same level of success as someone else, or your need to “prove” something to someone like your ex, or your family, or your boss, or your peers, etc. Check the source of your dream, because when God is the source, He will provide all the resources necessary to fulfill it. Do you have a dream? No? Ask God to give you one!
Soul food: Rom 13:12-14:19; John 1:1-14
2018-12-31
2 Chronicles 29:5 NKJV
In Scotland they have a New Year’s tradition that involves cleaning out your house, dumping the old ashes from your fireplace, and paying off your outstanding debts. It’s about clearing out the old to make room for the new. And from time to time you must clean your spiritual house too. The Bible says, “Carry out the rubbish.” Why? Because over time wrong attitudes, shoddy workmanship, and bad habits creep in and blind us to what’s important. Sheila Coleman says: “Ten years ago I cleaned house from top to bottom. I dusted every nook and cranny…scrubbed the bath and every sink until they shone. I even took a toothbrush to the grout in the kitchen. That house had never been so clean. And today – ten years later…it’s still clean. I’ve never had to pick up another duster…vacuum…or wash the kitchen counter…and my house looks as clean as it did that day, right? WRONG! We continually need spiritual housecleaning because we live in a dirty world. Just as our homes…cars and clothes have to be maintained…our hearts – our spiritual homes – need to be cleaned on a regular basis. Not once a week or once a month, and certainly not once every ten years, or once in a lifetime. We need to let God have His way in us every day, to clean us up and renew us…Is there a room in your ‘house’ you haven’t allowed Him to clean? If it’s been a while since God did a thorough heart-cleaning, make this your prayer: Lord, clean my heart so You can live and shine through me.”
Soul food: Job 39-42; Luke 2:51-52; Ps 139:13-24; Ecc 11:7-10
2018-12-30
Judges 6:25 NLT
When the angel of the Lord called Gideon, he was threshing wheat at the bottom of a winepress, trying to hide the grain from the Midianites (See v. 11). That’s interesting, because God was about to use him to destroy the forces of Midian and liberate Israel. But before he could do so, there were a few family dynamics to be dealt with – like the altar his father built to a false god called Baal. It had been in the family for years. So God said, “Pull down your father’s altar to Baal…Then build an altar to the Lord your God” (vv. 25-26 NLT). Understand this: Things like anger, addiction, abuse, and affairs may be part of your family history, but they don’t have to be part of your future. Not only will God heal your heart and hurts, He will use you to heal the hearts and hurts of your children. The generational garbage can stop here and now. You don’t have to give your kids what your ancestors gave you. Bring it out into the open and lay it before the Lord. Revealing leads to healing. And if having a mature Christian counselor helps, get one! “Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think” (Romans 12:2 NLT). No, it won’t happen overnight. Damage done to you in the formative years of your life will take time to heal, and God will work with you day by day until He has made you whole. But let the healing begin. Rise up in faith, take control of your life, and declare: “It ends with me, and it ends here and now.”
Soul food: Matt 6:5-15; Dan 6:1-16; James 5:13-18; 1 Thes 5:16-18
