Joseph: A Man of Dreams

Genesis 45: 1 - 11 (NIV): Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, "Have everyone leave my presence!" So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh's household heard about it. Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph! Is my father still living?" But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence. Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come close to me." When they had done so, he said, "I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. "So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. Now hurry back to my father and say to him, 'This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don't delay. You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me--you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.'

This passage is the climax of Joseph's story. It is told in the second half of the book Genesis. Most people are familiar with the basic plot: Joseph was his father's favorite and he didn't mind reminding his older brothers of that. So they sold him as a slave to an Egyptian caravan. He ends up a house slave to a man named Potiphar. You'll recall that Potiphar's wife lied about Joseph and he was thrown into prison. Through extraordinary circumstances, he was later released and became second only to Pharaoh in all of Egypt. This is when his brothers came to request food, not knowing of Joseph's rise to power.
This story is a great example of God using terrible circumstances for his ultimate purposes. Joseph was in a seemingly hopeless situation, but what happens to him is truly remarkable. He not only leaves slavery and prison to become a ruler over Egypt, he also saves his family -- and his people -- in the process.
One reason this story is so encouraging is that Joseph was treated horribly by his brothers, deceitfully by Potiphar's wife, unfairly by Potiphar, and God allowed it because he could see the big picture. He had a plan that there was no way Joseph could see. Joseph was forgotten by the cupbearer for two years while he was in prison, but God didn't forget about him. Paul says that God works all things for the good of those who love God and are in his will (Romans 8:28). Joseph's life is a stellar example of that.
It's good to put some perspective on Joseph's life. He suffered for about 15 years, but he ruled in Egypt for 80 years. When we find ourselves in absolutely hopeless circumstances, we don't have to despair, we can look at stories like this one and see that God is up to something good, even if it doesn't feel like at the time.

Don't Look Down on Others

Galatians 2: 11 - 16 (NIV): When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? "We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

What an amazing passage! Imagine if you were the "new kid" in a brand-new religion, and you confronted the religion's leader right to his face in front of the group. But that was what Paul did. Peter had stopped eating with Gentile Christians because some Jews had arrived and scolded him for it. Paul, who was also a Jew, called him out on it. There are no classes of people in Christianity. We are all equal in God's eyes - and we should be in our own. It is a temptation to look down on others for whatever reason, but true Christianity makes no allowance for that. I think it makes us feel better about ourselves to think of others as sinners or wrong.
Legalism was a problem in Paul's day and it still is today. Yes, the church should stand against sin, but legalistic churches are those that look down on outsiders as sinners who aren't as good as them. Legalistic churches emphasize do's and don'ts instead of grace. Legalistic churches emphasize rules and regulations instead of having a relationship with God. Jesus died so you could be a child of God, not so you could toe the line laid down by some chicken-breath preacher.
In Antioch, Peter was looking down on Gentiles because someone said they weren't as good as him. Paul put a stop to it. Jesus ate with sinners and didn't look down on anyone. If anyone had the right to look down on others, it was Jesus, but he didn't. Yet, legalistic people tend to see themselves as more righteous than others.
Paul points out that following the Law cannot save us and never could. Only faith in Christ can do that. It was true in the Old Testament and it is true today. Before Christ, people were saved by faith that the Messiah would come. We are saved by faith that he did come.
If someone demands that you follow his rules to be righteous, tell him that you are already right with God because Jesus made you that way.

The Newness of Christ

Matthew 9:14 - 17 (NIV): Then John's disciples came and asked him, "How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. "No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."

These are John the Baptist's disciples questioning Jesus about fasting. Fasting means not eating to remind us to pray about something. We fast to show God we are serious and that we desperately need an answer. Jesus associated fasting with mourning in this passage. The time, then, for fasting and praying is now, while we await Jesus' return.
Jesus uses the illustrations of pouring new wine into an old wineskin, and sewing a new patch on an old garment to tell us that Christianity is not just a sect of Judaism, it is a whole new faith, open to all who believe. Jesus was saying that it was time for Judaism to morph into something completely new. He proved this by fulfilling some 350 Jewish prophecies. Remember, he said he didn't come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it.
These illustrations also tell us that Christianity is not just a band-aid when we need heart surgery. God is not interested in patching up your life - he wants to give you a whole new one!
C. S. Lewis tells a wonderful story of a man who calls a carpenter because the eaves of his house need fixing. The carpenter comes and takes a look, then takes a wrecking ball and smashes the house to the ground and builds a completely new one in its place. That's what Jesus does. He doesn't come along and try to fix up your life, he crucifies your old self and makes you a new person. Anything short of that doesn't work.
You can't pour un-fermented wine into a skin that has already been stretched out. It will burst it as the gases expand during fermentation. And an unshrunk cloth will shrink when you wash it, and tear away from an already-shrunk garment, and ruin it. So, trying everything else and throwing a little praying into the mix will leave you unsatisfied. Being partly committed to God will leave you unfulfilled. Give yourself completely to God and see if you don't discover a joy you never knew before. Pray believing and don't look back.
Paul says we are new creatures when we are in Christ. Jesus says we are born again. You might think of us as butterflies instead of caterpillars.

The Incredible Walk of Faith

Jesus had just received bad news. Someone told him that his cousin, John the Baptist, had been murdered by Herod. Jesus wanted to be alone to pray. But the crowds found him so he sacrificed his agenda to minister to them. He even miraculously fed them. Then, he sent his disciples on ahead and finally spent some time by himself. That's where our study begins, in Matthew 14: 22 - 33 (NIV):

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."
"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

Often, we are frightened when Jesus comes walking into our storms. But we needn't be. When Jesus arrives, that's the best thing ever, but often we are afraid because of our lack of understanding. True, you don't expect to see a man walking across a lake in the middle of the night, but the more we get to know Jesus, the more we realize that anything is possible with him.
Peter's reaction shows us his personality. He wanted in on the action. He wanted to walk on the water, too, and he became only the second person in history to do so. Remember, there was a storm blowing winds and waves, but Peter realized that it was better to be out in the danger with Jesus than in a safe spot without him. In Peter's incredible walk of faith, he did fine at first, then he began to think about where he was and what he was doing. That caused him to doubt and he began to sink. You think, you sink! In life's storms, don't look around at your circumstances, keep your eyes focused on Jesus. Peter realized he was going under and cried out the shortest prayer in the Bible.
At least Peter gave it a try. You must commend him for that. The other disciples weren't interested in leaving the boat. They weren't interested in leaving their comfort zone. How often do we miss out on seeing God work in our lives because it's outside our comfort zones? Sometimes you have to step out of the safety of the boat to take a real walk of faith. And if you do and get in over your head, just cry out to Jesus like Peter did. He'll save you.
There's one more point to this story that I don't want us to miss: Jesus accepted worship from the disciples at the end of this story. He didn't rebuke or correct them. Only God should be worshiped and Jesus was showing that he is God when he allowed them to worship him. Now, get out of your comfort zone and show the world that life is full of miracles for those who have faith in God.

Humble and Victorious

I love reading the letters of Peter for so many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that he touched Jesus, ate with him, and slept beside him (Peter was married, but the disciples went with Jesus on trips around Galilee and to Jerusalem.) Peter heard Jesus' teaching with his own ears, saw him crucified, and saw him after the resurrection. When he wrote his letters, he was an elder, meaning he was mature in years, yes, but specifically a leader in the church. Today's study is from 1 Peter 5: 1 - 11 (NIV):
To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ's sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers--not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Peter writes to the church leaders and urges them to lead by example. Our actions speak so much louder than our words. We can say all of the right things, but it's the way we behave that shows what we truly believe. Church leaders should not be power-hungry or greedy, but instead, should have a servant's heart, wanting to help others. Peter could still remember Jesus telling him to "feed his sheep", and he's urging all church leaders to do the same. Our example? None other than the Chief Shepherd himself. (And Jesus died for his sheep!)
But even if we are not an official leader in our church, Peter has great words of advice and encouragement for us. He pleads with us to be humble. This is the one trait we must possess to be used of God. He cannot use people who are full of pride. (In this case, a proud person is one who looks down his nose at other people and says, "I'm doing it my way and I don't care what God wants.")
A humble person is submissive to authority. He respects and listens to people who are more mature. A humble person doesn't think he has all the answers. He puts others first, loves people, and realizes that we're all in this together.
Now for one of my favorite verses. A great memory verse. "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." Notice this verse follows his reminding us to be humble. A proud person says he doesn't need God, but a humble person gives God all of his cares, worries and anxiety. A humble person knows he needs God and cries out to him. Go ahead, cry out to God, he loves you more than you can imagine. He is crazy about you!
And while you are at it, ask God for help defeating your enemy the devil. The devil is real - he is our enemy and he is seeking someone to devour. He will steal, kill, and destroy. (John 10:10). He is like a lion on the prowl. Please don't try to outsmart him - you aren't smart enough to outwit an angelic being. Don't ignore him or pretend he doesn't exist. He will destroy you, but he is a defeated enemy and he knows it. How do we beat him? Peter says to resist him, standing firm in the faith. Paul says to put on "your armor" (Ephesians 6). We defeat him with God's power, not ours. We beat him by resisting his lies and standing firm in our faith.
Peter ends this passage on a wonderfully encouraging note. We may have to suffer for a time, but one day, God is going to lift us up and make us strong. He is going to restore us and give us a crown of glory that will never fade away. Stand firm, be humble, and hang in there!

The Heart of the Gospel

Rome was known for it's great road system. So Christians call five verses in the book Romans that lead us to salvation the "Roman Road". Today's Bible Study, Romans 5: 1 - 9 (NIV), takes a look at the passage surrounding the middle verse of the Roman Road:
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!
The verses on the Roman Road are 3:23, 6:23, 5:8, 10:9-10, 10: 13. Since this is the middle verse, you could call this passage the heart of the Gospel. Let's take a look at the verses in this passage.
First, Paul reminds us that it is faith that makes us right with God. Hebrews 11:6 says we must have faith to please God. Jesus said faith is the one work that God requires from us (John 6: 28, 29). James 2:17 says true faith is not just a thought, but will move us to action.
Then, in verses 3 - 5, Paul says that our sufferings produce perseverance which leads to character, which results in hope. In other words, the events of life can strengthen our faith, and that gives us more and more hope in God. Suffering is never pleasant at the time, but it can cause us to become more mature and maturity helps us realize the hope that God's love gives us.

Now the passage gets to the heart of the Gospel: that God loves us so much that he came and died for us - even while we were his enemies. He died for us while we were sinners who did not believe in him or even know him. That's an amazing truth - that's amazing grace! What this tells us is that God's love is unconditional. We did not and cannot earn his love.
It is important for us to know this because it reminds us that God loves everyone and we cannot earn more love than anyone else. Even while we were under God's wrath, he still loved us enough to die for us. So we should never look down our noses at another person. God loves that person as much as he loves you! It also shows us how to love each other like God does: unconditionally.
This brings up an interesting question: If we can't make God love us more than he already does, why try? The answer is, we want to obey God and we want him to be proud of us. Jesus said we will obey him if we love him (John 14:15). We know God loves us, but do we love him back?
Any good parent loves his children whether they are good or bad, but I want to be a child that makes God proud. How about you - are you God's child? Then make him proud!

Hope in Times of Trouble

One of my favorite scriptures for encouragement is Lamentations 3. Jeremiah wrote this about 600 years before Christ. Jerusalem had been overtaken by Babylon and the people had either been killed or taken as slaves. Jeremiah had been trying to warn the people, but they wouldn't listen. So, he wrote a funeral dirge to express his feelings. Here is part of what he wrote beginning in verse 16 (NIV):
He has broken my teeth with gravel; he has trampled me in the dust. I have been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is. So I say, "My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the Lord." I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
Have you ever felt like God had broken your teeth with gravel? That he had trampled you into the dust? It's the way we feel when life has taken a really bad turn. We feel sad and discouraged. We feel that God is mad at us or has forgotten us. We would probably feel this way if another country conquered us and turned us into their slaves. This is what Jeremiah was going through. We would probably blame God, just like Jeremiah did. And the more he thought about his situation, the more depressed he became. Again, we can certainly identify with that.
But then, this passage takes a wonderful turn. Jeremiah remembers that God is good and that God loves him. He writes some of the most hopeful and encouraging words ever written: "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." These words gave him hope. Hope is one of the most wonderful gifts that our faith gives us. Things may be bad now, but there is always hope if we trust in God. We may be down, but we're not out. God's mercies are new every morning - in other words, they never fail. He loves us unconditionally all the days of our lives and he will never leave us or forsake us. He isn't mad at us and hasn't forgotten us. It just feels that way sometimes. God is faithful to those who believe even when we are unfaithful.
Jeremiah said in verse seventeen that he had forgotten what prosperity was. But now he realizes that God is his portion. This may be a reference to Aaron not receiving a portion when the land was divided among the tribes. God had instead told Aaron that HE would be his portion. Friendship with God is more than we will ever need and more valuable than any possession we will ever own.
Finally, Jeremiah remembers that God keeps his word. It is good to wait for God's salvation. It is good to put our hope and trust in him. We only hurt ourselves when we try to take matters into our own hands and try to earn our own right standing with God. The Messiah took care of that once for all; now we simply must put our trust in him. Jeremiah was waiting for the coming Messiah, we are waiting for his return. And because of God's great love, we have hope. We can know that it's going to be more than okay.