Last post on Genesis 37:1-4 we saw how both Joseph and Jesus’ brothers saw they were their father’s/Father’s favorite and how they envied them. We also saw how both Jesus and Joseph have a heart for their respective fathers.
In this post we’ll learn about Joseph’s dreams. Then after the story of Joseph’s dreams, we’ll discover how to learn what dream God has in mind for you.
Genesis 37:5-11
When his brothers saw he was their father’s favorite, they envied him, to the point where they couldn’t speak a kind word to him.
Around this same time, Joseph had a dream. He shared it with his brothers, with great excitement, I imagine, after which, they hated him all the more. He said, “Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”
His brothers said to him, Do you intend to set yourself up to reign over us? Will you rule over us?
And they hated him even more because of his dream and what he had said.
Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
When he told his father about the second dream, his father rebuked him, What kind of dream is that? Will your mother and I and all your brothers bow down to the ground before you?
His brothers were jealous, but his father, though he rebuked him, kept the matter in mind and secretly wondered if there might not be something to these dreams.
Dreams:
Jesus very plainly states, the Old Testament scriptures “testify about me.” And that, Moses “wrote about me.” (John 5:39-40, John 5:45-46) We see it here in the story of Joseph. Like Joseph, Jesus had a dream given to Him by God. Joseph’s dream was to ultimately rule and reign in government. Jesus’ dream was to sacrifice Himself for all of humanity, then to rise up and ultimately rule and reign over everyone and everything, over all there is, at the right hand of the throne of God.
I’m going to give you 7 steps to help you learn what God’s dream is for you, but, before I do, I want to point out God’s dream for Joseph was only recognized by Joseph. His brothers derided him for it. And God’s dream for Jesus was only recognized by Jesus. In fact, when Jesus shared His dream, the religious establishment rejected Him, His own disciple Peter rebuked Him, and even after His dream was finished, after the resurrection, His disciples didn’t recognize Him at first.
So when God gives you your dream, don’t be surprised if you and God are the only two who recognize it. But don’t let that deter you. It didn’t deter Joseph. It didn’t deter Jesus. And as long as you follow the 7 steps below, don’t let it deter you.
So the question I want you to ask yourself right now is, “What is God’s dream for me? And how can I verify that dream is what God desires for me, in the most successful way possible.”
7 Steps to Learning God’s Dream for You:
1) Give Thanks and Praise
What a secret this is to successful prayer about any matter. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name, Psalm 100:4 tells us. When you’re entering into His presence to ask Him to give you the precise dream He has for you, first give thanks for prayers already answered, and for those dreams, however small, which have already happened for you.
2)God’s Word
Immerse yourself in God’s word. Soak up God’s perspective of you and the world around you. Seeing yourself and the world through God’s eyes is one of the most powerful things you can do. In this life we see as through a glass darkly, at best, but God’s word is a lamp for your feet and a light for your path. (1 Corinthians 13:12, Psalm 119:105) Time in His word correlates with enlightenment regarding His will.
3)Go Pray
When Peter received his vision on the rooftop, he was in a quiet place, in prayer. (Acts 10:9-13) When John received the great revelation, he was in a quiet place on the island of Patmos, and he was “in the Spirit.” (Revelation 1:9-10) When Nebuchadnezzar demanded his dream be interpreted, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah prayed for revelation, and received it. (Daniel 2:17-19)
So turn off the TV, close the cover of your laptop, put your phone in another room, and carve out quiet time for you to pray for God’s revelation concerning what dream He has in mind for you. Over and over again we see in scripture, people in a quiet place, very intentionally seeking to hear from God.
4)God’s People
After Jesus ascended and left the disciples, they were without their leader for the first time in several years. They needed direction. So what did they do? They gathered together. They were all together in one place when God made it obvious for them, what to do next. (Acts 2:1)
So find people who love God with everything they have and hang out with them as much as possible. Go to church. Ask questions about the dreams of those who are more godly than yourself. Pray with people who love God with all their hearts, minds, and souls about what God wants for your life. Hanging with people who love God with everything might be the most important part of learning what God’s specific dream is for you.
5)Give Love
As we’ll see later, God’s dream for Joseph was to save millions of people from a devastating famine. God’s dream for Jesus was to save all of mankind from their failures, and their inherent faults and flaws, and to reconcile us to God.
You probably noticed, in both dreams, given to Joseph and Jesus, serving others is central to the dream. I’m not saying you have to be a savior of the world, but how others are blessed by your dream provides great indication of whether or not your dream is simply a self absorbed means of selfish gratification or is truly the dream God has in mind for you.
After all, you have to recognize, “If in my dream I do not have love, I am nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:2)
6)Great passion
God designed you for your dream, and your desires and passions are central to that design. So if you hate high humidity, bugs, and camping in the jungle, your dream probably doesn’t involve missionary work in Africa. I’ll never forget reading about how one of the big considerations for Chuck Smith choosing to pastor a church in Costa Mesa was the great surfing available in that area. In fact, the first time he decided to teach through the entire Bible was partly because he needed enough material to keep him in Costa Mesa where he could continue to surf.
A big consideration of whether or not your dream is truly from the Lord is, how well it fits with your passions and desires.
7)Give Thanks
“Well we already gave thanks in step 1,” you might be saying.
Give thanks again. Only this time give thanks, in faith, for what the Lord is going to do.
Moving forward with an attitude of hope, expectation, and thanksgiving is key to successfully receiving and living out God’s dream for you. Besides, one thing you know for sure is to give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
I’m not proposing this as some kind of formula for learning God’s dream for you. God can’t be confined to a formula. But look through scripture and see if it isn’t true. Those who received their dreams and revelation from God were 1) thankful, 2) spent time in God’s word (or even wrote some of God’s word) 3) prayerful, 4) hung with people who loved God with their whole heart, 5) lovers of God and people, 6) passionate, and 7) faithful.
There is no formula but it’s undeniable these seven steps are modeled in scripture.
Your dream becomes your story:
What a phenomenal story resulted from Joseph receiving and living out God’s dream for him.
And what an amazing story was born from Jesus receiving and living out God’s dream for Him.
You have to ask yourself, “What story will be told about my life? When people tell my story, what will they say?”
“He watched a lot of TV?”
or
“He was amazing at that MMOG, RPG, or at that first person shooter game?”
or
“His Minecraft creation was the best I’ve ever seen?”
Or will your story be one of value from God’s perspective:
“He went to work everyday and did his job with integrity and honor, as unto the Lord.”
or
“He lived out God’s word, as a father and husband.”
or even,
“He loved the Lord his God with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his mind.”
or even,
“He dared great adventures, for Christ. He swung for the fence, for Him.”
or even,
“That guy really loved people like Jesus.”
You see, in the end, finding and choosing to follow God’s dream for you, will determine what story will be told of you.
Try those 7 steps for a couple of months, see what happens to your life.
Live out the dream God has designed uniquely for you.
Photo at the top of the blog post by Francesco Ungaro on Pexels.com
Love Like Jesus: How Jesus Loved People (and how you can love like Jesus) now available on Amazon!
Love Like Jesus begins with the story of how after a life of regular church attendance and Bible study, Bennett was challenged by a pastor to study Jesus. That led to an obsessive seven year deep dive. After pouring over Jesus’ every interaction with another human being, he realized he was doing a much better job of studying Jesus’ words than he was following Jesus’ words and example. The honest and fearless revelations of Bennett’s own moral failures affirm he wrote this book for himself as much as for others.
Love Like Jesus examines a variety of stories, examples, and research, including:
Specific examples of how Jesus communicated God’s love to others.
How Jesus demonstrated all five of Gary Chapman’s love languages (and how you can too).
The story of how Billy Graham extended Christ’s extraordinary love and grace toward a man who misrepresented Jesus to millions.
How to respond to critics the way Jesus did.
How to love unlovable people the way Jesus did.
How to survive a life of loving like Jesus (or how not to become a Christian doormat).
How Jesus didn’t love everyone the same (and why you shouldn’t either).
How Jesus guarded his heart by taking care of himself–he even napped–and why you should do the same.
How Jesus loved his betrayer Judas, even to the very end.
With genuine unfiltered honesty, Love Like Jesus, shows you how to live a life according to God’s definition of success: A life of loving God well, and loving the people around you well too.
“Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”
Jesus Christ, John 1:51
How Jesus Loved People:
What a seemingly random comment Jesus makes here. Just before, He was affirming Nathanael as an Israelite, and commending him for his genuineness, honesty, and faith (See previous post Jesus Christ and Criticism: How Jesus Responds to a Cynic), when He suddenly switches gears and shares this scripture from Genesis 28:10-19.
In Genesis 28, Jacob stops for the night at a place called Luz and, using a rock for a pillow, goes to sleep. He has a very vivid dream there in which he sees a stairway going from the earth to heaven, and the angels of God ascending and descending on it. There above the top of the stairway stands God Himself.
But Jesus says to Nathanael, he’ll see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.
What’s the meaning of this statement?
What Jesus is sharing here is the answer to a mystery. The stairway, the one connecting us here on earth with God above, the stairway that connects heaven and earth, the stairway providing us with access to God, is, Jesus Christ Himself.
That’s what Jesus is sharing with Nathanael.
Jesus loved Nathanael enough to share this amazing truth with him, that God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:17) He sent Jesus Christ to be Nathanael’s stairway to heaven.
Jesus expressed His love for Nathanael by sharing this truth with him. And I love how He did it. At this early juncture in Jesus’ relationship with Nathanael, He didn’t launch into a long explanation of how the atonement for sin requires the shedding of blood, and how Nathanael must count the cost of following Jesus before becoming His disciple, and how he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. (Matthew 16:21)
Yes, all of this is eventually shared, but in the beginning, after starting off with affirmation of Nathanael, and commendation for Nathanael, Jesus shares in a very brief and simple manner, a hint of who He is: the Son of Man, the conduit between heaven and earth, the One Who connects men with God.
Jesus is the way the truth, and the life. (John 14:6)
He is the Stairway to heaven.
“So that’s how Jesus did it. How do I do it?” You might be asking.
How You Can Too:
It’s easy — just drop hints.
One time, for my mother’s birthday, we did this scavenger hunt thing. She thought she was going out for a casual dinner with my wife Kathy and I. But as soon as we showed up, I handed her a piece of paper with a clue written on it. She followed the clue which took us to a destination where two of her grandkids were waiting to give her a gift. These two grandkids also gave her another clue, sending her to a second destination where two more unexpected grandkids were waiting with a gift, and another clue, sending her to another destination. This went on until the whole thing ended at her favorite restaurant where she enjoyed dinner with all of us. She was blown away! (If you’re interested you can see the “Incident Action Plan” for this birthday celebration at the end of the post)
It’s about the clues.
You see, to love people like Jesus did, you need to be a clue dropper. As you go through your week, you’re going to find opportunities for you to drop hints concerning Jesus’ identity. Opportunities will present themselves for you to share, briefly and simply, as Jesus did with Nathanael, about who Jesus is, or about Jesus’ love, or about His mercy, or His generosity. Look for moments when you can share clues about how He’s impacted your life. Keep an eye out for occasions when you can share about how He’s blessed you. You don’t have to launch into a long explanation, necessarily.
To love people like Jesus did, keep an eye out for these opportunities. Opportunities to share anything that will hint at who Jesus is.
An opportunity to share a clue about Jesus with people, is an opportunity to love people the way Jesus loved people.
2:00
Meet at dad and mom’s/Uncle kurt and Aunt Kathy’s
Dad/Uncle kurt – Pick up G’ma Judy – 3:10 PM
3:20
Ashland Fire Station 1
Clue: In the car to your son’s vocation
But instead of Medford, an Ashland Station
Gift: Karla’s gift
3:30
Food Co-op
Clue: Now to your favorite food store location
A shortened version of the word cooperation
Favorite People: Gabe & Charise
Gift: Juice Bar Coupon
3:40
Varsity Theatre
Clue: Don’t be late it’s time to go
We don’t want to miss your favorite show
Favorite People: Nate & Anastasia
Gift: Varsity Gift Certificate
3:50
Paddington Station Eclectic Emporium
Clue: We’re not taking a train but going to a station
The name of which rhymes with Addington
Favorite People: Kody, Sophia, Hayden, Sienna
Gift: Paddington Station Gift Certificate
4:00
Pangea Cafe
Clue: Almost done with clues and maps
To your favorite place for Grills & Wraps
Favorite People: Kass, Miriam, Owen
Gift: Pangea Gift Certificate
4:10 PM
Pasta Piatti Restaurant
Clue: Off we go to your final destination
A restaurant who’s country is a boot shaped location
Favorite Person: Kathy
Gift: Dinner
Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.
“Come and see,” said Philip.
When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”
“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”
Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.”
John 1:45-50
How Jesus Loved People:
Cynical! That’s Nathanael’s attitude toward the news, Philip had “found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote…”
“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael responded.
At the time, Nazareth didn’t have the best reputation as a city. It may be Nathanael’s cynicism and criticism was understandable. However, to Nathanael’s credit, though he has some tough questions, he decides to accept Philip’s invitation to “Come and see” for himself.
Nathanael’s decision had far greater impact than he realized at the time.
Imagine with me how different Nathanael’s life would have been, had he focused on what he perceived to be a flaw in Philip’s conclusion. Had he remained focused on his own critical perception of problems in the scriptures, rather than the opportunity to develop a relationship with the Messiah, Nathanael would have missed out on the most important three years of his life! His misplaced focus would have resulted in eternal consequences.
But Nathanael doesn’t do that. He’s cynical, yes, critical, sure, maybe even negative on Philip’s report about Jesus, but he moves toward Christ anyway.
And now, watch this. Watch how Jesus responds to Nathanael’s negativity.
“Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!” He says enthusiastically as He sees Nathanael approaching.
“Behold, an Israelite…” The very first words out of Jesus’ mouth are words affirming Nathanael as an Israelite, as one of God’s chosen people.
“…in whom is no deceit!” (or guile as the King James Version renders it) This was a play on words by Jesus. He was referring back to Jacob. Jacob, who was renamed Israel by the Lord, was a man known for his guile and deceit. You may remember Jacob tricking his blind father Isaac out of his older brother’s blessing. One of a number of instances where Jacob used deceit and guile to get his way. So here we see Jesus, rather than defending Himself against Nathanael’s cynicism, using this play on words to emphasize Nathanael’s genuineness and honesty.
Nathanael, recognizing Jesus knew how he felt about a prophet coming from Nazareth, says, “How do you know me?”
“Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Jesus replies.
At which point Nathanael answers, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
And Jesus answers back, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” Jesus commends Nathanael for his faith.
How You Can Too:
You know, Jesus could have responded to Nathanael with a whopping come back.
“You obviously don’t know Who (with a capital W) you’re talking to, or, what you’re talking about. I wasn’t even born in Nazareth, I was born in Bethlehem, the precise place where God promised the Messiah would come from. Maybe you should get your facts straight before you pop off with a criticism. I was going to include you in a group of eleven people who will turn the world upside down, and influence the entire planet for eternity, but with that attitude, well you can just forget it!”
But that’s not what Jesus did. Instead He met Nathanael’s negativity and cynicism with grace and love. Jesus, rather than defending Himself, responds to Nathanael’s attitude by affirming his position as one of God’s chosen, by emphasizing his honesty, and by commending him for his faith.
Jesus took Nathanael’s negative and turned it around to a positive.
It’s so easy to respond to someone who has a negative attitude toward you, with defensiveness, or by returning the negative with a negative shot right back, or by ignoring the person. But if you want to love people the way Jesus did, always look for whatever positive you can find, there’s always something, and start there.
If you add value to people the way Jesus did, they’ll be attracted to you and to what you have to say. If you take value away from people, even if you’re well meaning, people will withdraw from you and what you have to say.
So…
Always, always, always start every single interpersonal interaction by finding and emphasizing the positive.
Old man: “If you can’t give your all with the little things, don’t expect bigger things.” (Lecrae on Twitter)
Pat Summitt retired today as the coach of the University of Tennessee women’s basketball team. She’ll go down in history as one of the greatest coaches of any sport of any gender. She’s won 8 National Championships and has taken her team to an equally ridiculous 22 final four appearances.
38 years ago Pat Summitt took the position of women’s basketball coach for 250 bucks a month. She had to drive the team bus herself. She even had to do the team laundry.
Do everything, even the small things, as unto the Lord. (Colossians 3:17)
“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin…”
I love God – for me to even say something like that seems strange. What could it possibly mean for me to love God. Furthermore, I’m no stranger to being angry or even hating God. I have unanswered questions about suffering and death. This world hasn’t been nice to me, and I am a very “blessed” person. When I hear about the suffering of my friends or contemplate the typical life for the poor of this world, where is God? Today at lunch I was thinking about suffering and injustice. In a short [lunch] break between the insanity of phone calls and anchor-bolts, steel plates, quick scribble calculations, I somehow found enough stillness to focus on some thoughts from the the 40th chapter of the book of Job. I didn’t read much, but I read slowly.
Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm: “Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. “Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself?
I thought, “woah, that’s right, I’d be silly to judge God” The book of Job has a special place in my heart. This world doesn’t always make sense to me. But, I love being soft to God – a soft heart is a sort of humility that emanates with trust enough to say, “Ok, God, your ways instead of mine.” Anyway, the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. I’m also learning that Jesus is my wisdom, understanding, and my righteous.
I’m not sure how I can say, “I love God.” But it might have something to do with the experience of my ability to say to God, “I want (to want) your ways instead of mine.”
“To be Christian means to forgive the inexcusable.” -CSLewis
Two teens shove a shopping cart over a wall from an upper level, 50′ above an unsuspecting 47 year old woman. The cart lands on top of her, puts her in a coma, and blinds her in one eye.
And she forgives them!
I was both inspired and blown away by this article. Inspired by her ability to forgive and blown away by the realization that I sometimes struggle to forgive people for far more trivial transgressions.
Jesus is worthy to receive honor and glory and praise, whether I feel like it or not. He alone is your God, the only one who is worthy of your praise. (Deuteronomy 10:21 NLT) He is worthy.
Relationship with Jesus is not about how I feel. It’s about who He is.
Singing to Him or about Him, reading His word, praying, visiting Him at His house, everything we do toward building a relationship with Him, is about Him, not me, not you.
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!”
Content for this article was taken from the new book “Love Like Jesus: How Jesus Loved People (and how you can love like Jesus)”. For more articles included in the book go to Love Like Jesus Book. Love Like Jesus is due to be published in 2018.
“Sir, let me explain how I see this issue. Your supreme weapon is killiing. My supreme weapon is dying. Here is how it works. You know that my sermons on tape have spread all over the country. If you kill me, those sermons will be sprinkled with my blood. Everyone will know I died for my preaching. And everyone who has a tape will pick it up and say, ‘I’d better listen again to what this man preached, because he really meant it: he sealed it with his life.’ So, sir, my sermons will speak 10 times louder than before. I will actually rejoice in this supreme victory if you kill me.”
Later, Tson found out another officer said, “We know that Mr. Tson would love to be a martyr, but we are not that foolish to fulfill his wish.”
Tson: “I stopped to consider the meaning of that statement. I remembered how for many years, I had been afraid of dying. I had kept a low profile. Because I wanted badly to live, I had wasted my life in inactivity. But now that I had placed my life on the altar and decided I was ready to die for the gospel, they were telling me they would not kill me! I could go wherever I wanted in the country and preach whatever I wanted, knowing I was safe. As long as I tried to save my life, I was losing it. Now that I was willing to lose it, I found it.”
“As long as I tried to save my life, I was losing it. Now that I was willing to lose it, I found it.”
Your life:
I think all of us are presented with precisely the same issue as Joeseph Tson. We’re afraid of dying, not a physical death, but a social one. We’re afraid if we sell out for Jesus Christ we’ll lose friends, or at the very least, suffer embarrassment. But in the end, we have the same choice as Tson. We can keep a low profile, and waste our life with inactivity for Christ, or we can place our life on the altar, and decide we’re ready to die for Him.
The thing is, like Joseph Tson, once you decide you’re ready to die, socially speaking in your case and mine, for Christ, once you just let go of your social life saver, you’re free! I’ve experienced this myself and observed it in others. It turns out your fear of social death is in your head. Yes there’ll be some awkwardness during the transition, but tell me what transition is without awkwardness! And tell me of anything in life worthwhile that doesn’t require transition!
Like Joseph Tson, you’ll be amazed at the freedom you enjoy, once you decide to place your life on the altar. Once you give yourself over to Christ.
So don’t be afraid of dying.
Live free.
For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.
Joseph Tson is the former president of The Romanian Missionary Society in Wheaton, IL. He was the pastor of Second Baptist Church in Oradea, Romania until 1981, when he was exiled by the Romanian government.
Newly released book by Kurt Bennett, now available on Amazon!
Love Like Jesus: How Jesus Loved People (and how you can love like Jesus)
Love Like Jesus begins with the story of how after a life of regular church attendance and Bible study, Bennett was challenged by a pastor to study Jesus. That led to an obsessive seven year deep dive. After pouring over Jesus’ every interaction with another human being, he realized he was doing a much better job of studying Jesus’ words than he was following Jesus’ words and example. The honest and fearless revelations of Bennett’s own moral failures affirm he wrote this book for himself as much as for others.
Love Like Jesus examines a variety of stories, examples, and research, including:
Specific examples of how Jesus communicated God’s love to others.
How Jesus demonstrated all five of Gary Chapman’s love languages (and how you can too).
The story of how Billy Graham extended Christ’s extraordinary love and grace toward a man who misrepresented Jesus to millions.
How to respond to critics the way Jesus did.
How to love unlovable people the way Jesus did.
How to survive a life of loving like Jesus (or how not to become a Christian doormat).
How Jesus didn’t love everyone the same (and why you shouldn’t either).
How Jesus guarded his heart by taking care of himself–he even napped–and why you should do the same.
How Jesus loved his betrayer Judas, even to the very end.
With genuine unfiltered honesty, Love Like Jesus, shows you how to live a life according to God’s definition of success: A life of loving God well, and loving the people around you well too.
The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”
John 1:43
How Jesus loved people:
Jesus found Philip. Have you ever thought about that? In this particular case, Jesus, didn’t passively wait for someone to approach him, He sought the person out. He went to the trouble to find Philip and didn’t ask, but told him, “Follow me.”
How you can too:
It’s pretty amazing what we go through at the fire department to find people. After the usual job announcement and advertisements, we ask all our members to be sure to ask anyone they know who is especially talented to apply. Then we narrow down the applications to 40. Then we do a physical agility, then an assessment center evaluated by Captains that includes three or so exercises: maybe a biographical presentation, a hands-on mechanical aptitude exercise, and an interview. This narrows it down to 3-12, depending on the number of vacancies, for the interview with the fire chief and a few other chief officers. After that there’s a very thorough background investigation, then a psych exam, and finally a medical physical. (fortunately I was hired before the psych exam requirement, otherwise I wouldn’t have made it) It’s very intense. But, we hire great people which has resulted in our fire department becoming a great organization. In fact I believe hiring decisions are the most important decisions made by an organization. Finding the right people is important.
I used to think the Lord wanted me to love everyone, to the maximum, as much as I could. I even had a thing about working hardest on those relationships that were the toughest. But the result was I tended to burn out and didn’t love any one person outside my family very deeply. What Jesus did was to very intentionally seek out Philip and choose him as a person to love at a greater level than most other people. Philip was one of the twelve. For the last two plus years of Jesus’ life:
1) He spoke to the masses
2) He trained the 72 (Luke 10)
3) He discipled the 12 (Matthew 10)
4) He mentored the 3 (Matthew 17:1, Mark 5:37, Mark 14:33)
You do have to love everyone, even your enemies, but you don’t have to have them for dinner, or teach them a Bible study, or take them on vacation with you. Most people in your life will be loved at a fairly basic level. But there are Philips around who will follow you if you take the trouble to find them and engage them in a way that says, “Follow me.” If you take the trouble to look around, there are people in your life, friends of the family, nephews (if you’re a man), nieces (if you’re a woman), coworkers, people at church, who you can connect with and enjoy being around, who will be drawn closer to Christ if they have a relationship with you.
Find a few of these people.
Jesus discipled the 12 and mentored the three, but He wasn’t married, and you may be. Jesus didn’t have children, and you may have. Your wife and kids, they definitely qualify as those who you love and lead in Christ on a deeper level. But even if you don’t have a wife or children, the number of people you engage at a deeper level will most likely be fewer than 12, simply because you’re not Jesus Christ. That number may be 7, or 5, or 3, or 1. That’s just fine — everybody’s different.
The point is, to love people like Jesus, prayerfully seek out those people you believe you can connect with. The ones the Lord would have you engage with at a greater level.
Philip is waiting out there. He’s waiting to enjoy a richer, deeper, relationship with Christ as a result of a close friendship with you.
I’m reading about Don Piper who was crushed in a head on collision with an 18 wheeler, was dead at the accident scene for 90 minutes, and then revived when a pastor, who happened to be passing by, felt lead to pray for him. He gives an amazing account of what those 90 minutes were like. He says he went to heaven. (90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper)
The good and the bad for Don.
Good: He was permitted to experience heaven for 90 minutes.
Bad: He was permitted to experience heaven for 90 minutes.
Now that he’s alive he finds himself physically devastated and in constant excruciating pain. Pain all the morphine in the world won’t touch. Having had a taste of heaven, he longs to go there, and he struggles with the difficulties of remaining in this life on earth.
Then he does something that changes everything. He gives his whole life over to God. And the great thing about giving your whole life over to God is He gets all of it — even the heartbreaks and pain.
The great thing about giving your whole life over to God is He gets all of it — even the heartbreaks and pain.
From that point, his whole life turned around.
So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
“You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” (John 5:39-40 emphasis mine)
“But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me.” (John 5:45-46 emphasis mine)
Jesus is saying here, the scriptures are all about Him. And, in our Genesis study, in chapter 37, we’re about to enjoy a beautiful Old Testament picture of Jesus’ life in the story of Joseph. The picture is so compelling, God devotes a full quarter of the book of Genesis to Joseph alone. He is one of only two main characters in the Old Testament for whom there is no mention of sin (Daniel is the other). We’ll see Joseph greatly humbled as Jesus was greatly humbled, but, in the end, greatly exalted — as Jesus was greatly exalted. It’s impossible to read of him and not see the striking parallels between his life and Christ’s. All of the Old Testament testifies of Jesus but it may be that nowhere else is it more obvious than in the story of Joseph.
Here comes that dreamer! Joseph’s brothers said to each other. Let’s kill him, this one who dreamed of us bowing down to him. After, we’ll lie to our father about what became of him. Then we’ll see what happens to his dreams.
They hated Joseph, even as Jesus’ brothers hated him. The only problem with their plot was that Joseph’s dreams weren’t really Joseph’s dreams, they were God’s dreams. So when they plotted to kill him, to put a stop to those dreams, they might as well have tried to stop the wind from blowing, or the sun from shining, or the rain from falling. They were God’s dreams and God’s dreams always come to pass.
Satan plotted to kill Jesus to stop God’s dream for His Son. And on Friday, it appeared he was successful.
But on Sunday…
I am so glad for Jesus’ resurrection. I am so thankful He’s alive and available to enter into a relationship with me. I’m so blessed He’s there for me to communicate with. I’m filled with faith because He validated all His teachings and promises by dying and rising again. I’m so grateful His claims of divinity were confirmed.
God’s dream for His Son was realized, as God’s dreams always are.
I’m so very thankful.
He is risen.
But I’m also thankful for something else. I’m thankful Jesus not only rose from the dead Himself, but He brings others back from the dead as well.
While Jesus is on His way to heal the daughter of Jairus the synagogue ruler, people meet Jairus on the road and tell him, Your daughter died, so, why bother Jesus with it anymore?
Jesus overhears this, leans over, and tells Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
Then He grabs Peter, James, and John, and goes to Jairus’ house where people are already mourning his daughter’s death by wailing and crying. Jesus says, Why all the fuss? She’s not dead, she’s just sleeping. But they laughed at Him.
So He sends everybody out of the room except for her father and mother, and the three disciples, He takes her by the hand and says, “Talitha koum!” which means, Little girl, get up!
Right away she stands up and starts to walk around. Of course everyone’s blown away. And get this, Jesus gives strict orders not to tell anybody about what happened. (Mark 5:35-43)
Jesus brings people back from the dead.
In my own life I can’t tell you how many times I had a problem, the kind of problem where anguish wells up inside of you. I found myself praying with everything I had, asking Christ to raise something from the dead. And He did.
Maybe you’re someone who’s feeling dead right now, or near death, or your project is dead, or your marriage is dead, or your job is dead. Maybe there are people around you who are wailing and crying. Maybe there are people around who laugh at you whenever you talk about hope.
Take heart because Jesus specializes in these situations. He’s Someone good to have in your corner. Someone good to have a relationship with, the kind of relationship where you can call on Him if you’re in trouble. You may need Him to bail you out. You may need Him to raise you, or your relationship, or your whatever, back from the dead. You may need to pray, to ask Him, with everything you have, to bring something back from the dead.
And anytime you ask for help, the better you know the person, the easier it is to ask.
So my advice to you? Get to know Him well and remain close to Him, for the rest of your life. You never know when you might need Him to say, “Talitha koum!”
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7 Steps to Your Dream — Genesis 37:5-11
Last post on Genesis 37:1-4 we saw how both Joseph and Jesus’ brothers saw they were their father’s/Father’s favorite and how they envied them. We also saw how both Jesus and Joseph have a heart for their respective fathers.
In this post we’ll learn about Joseph’s dreams. Then after the story of Joseph’s dreams, we’ll discover how to learn what dream God has in mind for you.
Genesis 37:5-11
When his brothers saw he was their father’s favorite, they envied him, to the point where they couldn’t speak a kind word to him.
Around this same time, Joseph had a dream. He shared it with his brothers, with great excitement, I imagine, after which, they hated him all the more. He said, “Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”
His brothers said to him, Do you intend to set yourself up to reign over us? Will you rule over us?
And they hated him even more because of his dream and what he had said.
Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
When he told his father about the second dream, his father rebuked him, What kind of dream is that? Will your mother and I and all your brothers bow down to the ground before you?
His brothers were jealous, but his father, though he rebuked him, kept the matter in mind and secretly wondered if there might not be something to these dreams.
Dreams:
Jesus very plainly states, the Old Testament scriptures “testify about me.” And that, Moses “wrote about me.” (John 5:39-40, John 5:45-46) We see it here in the story of Joseph. Like Joseph, Jesus had a dream given to Him by God. Joseph’s dream was to ultimately rule and reign in government. Jesus’ dream was to sacrifice Himself for all of humanity, then to rise up and ultimately rule and reign over everyone and everything, over all there is, at the right hand of the throne of God.
I’m going to give you 7 steps to help you learn what God’s dream is for you, but, before I do, I want to point out God’s dream for Joseph was only recognized by Joseph. His brothers derided him for it. And God’s dream for Jesus was only recognized by Jesus. In fact, when Jesus shared His dream, the religious establishment rejected Him, His own disciple Peter rebuked Him, and even after His dream was finished, after the resurrection, His disciples didn’t recognize Him at first.
So when God gives you your dream, don’t be surprised if you and God are the only two who recognize it. But don’t let that deter you. It didn’t deter Joseph. It didn’t deter Jesus. And as long as you follow the 7 steps below, don’t let it deter you.
So the question I want you to ask yourself right now is, “What is God’s dream for me? And how can I verify that dream is what God desires for me, in the most successful way possible.”
7 Steps to Learning God’s Dream for You:
1) Give Thanks and Praise
What a secret this is to successful prayer about any matter. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name, Psalm 100:4 tells us. When you’re entering into His presence to ask Him to give you the precise dream He has for you, first give thanks for prayers already answered, and for those dreams, however small, which have already happened for you.
2) God’s Word
Immerse yourself in God’s word. Soak up God’s perspective of you and the world around you. Seeing yourself and the world through God’s eyes is one of the most powerful things you can do. In this life we see as through a glass darkly, at best, but God’s word is a lamp for your feet and a light for your path. (1 Corinthians 13:12, Psalm 119:105) Time in His word correlates with enlightenment regarding His will.
3) Go Pray
When Peter received his vision on the rooftop, he was in a quiet place, in prayer. (Acts 10:9-13) When John received the great revelation, he was in a quiet place on the island of Patmos, and he was “in the Spirit.” (Revelation 1:9-10) When Nebuchadnezzar demanded his dream be interpreted, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah prayed for revelation, and received it. (Daniel 2:17-19)
So turn off the TV, close the cover of your laptop, put your phone in another room, and carve out quiet time for you to pray for God’s revelation concerning what dream He has in mind for you. Over and over again we see in scripture, people in a quiet place, very intentionally seeking to hear from God.
4) God’s People
After Jesus ascended and left the disciples, they were without their leader for the first time in several years. They needed direction. So what did they do? They gathered together. They were all together in one place when God made it obvious for them, what to do next. (Acts 2:1)
So find people who love God with everything they have and hang out with them as much as possible. Go to church. Ask questions about the dreams of those who are more godly than yourself. Pray with people who love God with all their hearts, minds, and souls about what God wants for your life. Hanging with people who love God with everything might be the most important part of learning what God’s specific dream is for you.
5) Give Love
As we’ll see later, God’s dream for Joseph was to save millions of people from a devastating famine. God’s dream for Jesus was to save all of mankind from their failures, and their inherent faults and flaws, and to reconcile us to God.
You probably noticed, in both dreams, given to Joseph and Jesus, serving others is central to the dream. I’m not saying you have to be a savior of the world, but how others are blessed by your dream provides great indication of whether or not your dream is simply a self absorbed means of selfish gratification or is truly the dream God has in mind for you.
After all, you have to recognize, “If in my dream I do not have love, I am nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:2)
6) Great passion
God designed you for your dream, and your desires and passions are central to that design. So if you hate high humidity, bugs, and camping in the jungle, your dream probably doesn’t involve missionary work in Africa. I’ll never forget reading about how one of the big considerations for Chuck Smith choosing to pastor a church in Costa Mesa was the great surfing available in that area. In fact, the first time he decided to teach through the entire Bible was partly because he needed enough material to keep him in Costa Mesa where he could continue to surf.
A big consideration of whether or not your dream is truly from the Lord is, how well it fits with your passions and desires.
7) Give Thanks
“Well we already gave thanks in step 1,” you might be saying.
Give thanks again. Only this time give thanks, in faith, for what the Lord is going to do.
Moving forward with an attitude of hope, expectation, and thanksgiving is key to successfully receiving and living out God’s dream for you. Besides, one thing you know for sure is to give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
I’m not proposing this as some kind of formula for learning God’s dream for you. God can’t be confined to a formula. But look through scripture and see if it isn’t true. Those who received their dreams and revelation from God were 1) thankful, 2) spent time in God’s word (or even wrote some of God’s word) 3) prayerful, 4) hung with people who loved God with their whole heart, 5) lovers of God and people, 6) passionate, and 7) faithful.
There is no formula but it’s undeniable these seven steps are modeled in scripture.
Your dream becomes your story:
What a phenomenal story resulted from Joseph receiving and living out God’s dream for him.
And what an amazing story was born from Jesus receiving and living out God’s dream for Him.
You have to ask yourself, “What story will be told about my life? When people tell my story, what will they say?”
“He watched a lot of TV?”
or
“He was amazing at that MMOG, RPG, or at that first person shooter game?”
or
“His Minecraft creation was the best I’ve ever seen?”
Or will your story be one of value from God’s perspective:
“He went to work everyday and did his job with integrity and honor, as unto the Lord.”
or
“He lived out God’s word, as a father and husband.”
or even,
“He loved the Lord his God with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his mind.”
or even,
“He dared great adventures, for Christ. He swung for the fence, for Him.”
or even,
“That guy really loved people like Jesus.”
You see, in the end, finding and choosing to follow God’s dream for you, will determine what story will be told of you.
Try those 7 steps for a couple of months, see what happens to your life.
Live out the dream God has designed uniquely for you.
Swing for the fence, for Him.
In Christ’s name.
References:
Bible Gateway
Blue Letter Bible
Walton, Matthews, Chavalas. (2000). IVP Bible Background Commentary, Old Testament
Matthew Henry
John Piper
Chuck Smith, (2001) Living Water
Jon Courson
Photo at the top of the blog post by Francesco Ungaro on Pexels.com
Love Like Jesus: How Jesus Loved People (and how you can love like Jesus) now available on Amazon!
Love Like Jesus begins with the story of how after a life of regular church attendance and Bible study, Bennett was challenged by a pastor to study Jesus. That led to an obsessive seven year deep dive. After pouring over Jesus’ every interaction with another human being, he realized he was doing a much better job of studying Jesus’ words than he was following Jesus’ words and example. The honest and fearless revelations of Bennett’s own moral failures affirm he wrote this book for himself as much as for others.
Love Like Jesus examines a variety of stories, examples, and research, including:
With genuine unfiltered honesty, Love Like Jesus, shows you how to live a life according to God’s definition of success: A life of loving God well, and loving the people around you well too.
A life of loving like Jesus.
(Kindle, hardcover, and paperback now available on Amazon.)
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Posted on April 26, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, Genesis, I Wish Someone Had Told Me This When I Was Young
dream, dream come true, dream interpretation, Genesis 37 Bible study, Genesis 37:5-11, Genesis 3:7, help me God, Joseph's dream, success
Who is Jesus? Hints and Clues – John 1:51
Who is Jesus? (Photo credit: layoutsparks.com)
How Jesus Loved People:
What a seemingly random comment Jesus makes here. Just before, He was affirming Nathanael as an Israelite, and commending him for his genuineness, honesty, and faith (See previous post Jesus Christ and Criticism: How Jesus Responds to a Cynic), when He suddenly switches gears and shares this scripture from Genesis 28:10-19.
In Genesis 28, Jacob stops for the night at a place called Luz and, using a rock for a pillow, goes to sleep. He has a very vivid dream there in which he sees a stairway going from the earth to heaven, and the angels of God ascending and descending on it. There above the top of the stairway stands God Himself.
But Jesus says to Nathanael, he’ll see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.
What’s the meaning of this statement?
What Jesus is sharing here is the answer to a mystery. The stairway, the one connecting us here on earth with God above, the stairway that connects heaven and earth, the stairway providing us with access to God, is, Jesus Christ Himself.
That’s what Jesus is sharing with Nathanael.
Jesus loved Nathanael enough to share this amazing truth with him, that God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:17) He sent Jesus Christ to be Nathanael’s stairway to heaven.
Jesus is the stairway.
Jesus is the way. (John 14:6)
Jesus is the connection to God.
Jesus expressed His love for Nathanael by sharing this truth with him. And I love how He did it. At this early juncture in Jesus’ relationship with Nathanael, He didn’t launch into a long explanation of how the atonement for sin requires the shedding of blood, and how Nathanael must count the cost of following Jesus before becoming His disciple, and how he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. (Matthew 16:21)
Yes, all of this is eventually shared, but in the beginning, after starting off with affirmation of Nathanael, and commendation for Nathanael, Jesus shares in a very brief and simple manner, a hint of who He is: the Son of Man, the conduit between heaven and earth, the One Who connects men with God.
Jesus is the way the truth, and the life. (John 14:6)
He is the Stairway to heaven.
“So that’s how Jesus did it. How do I do it?” You might be asking.
How You Can Too:
It’s easy — just drop hints.
One time, for my mother’s birthday, we did this scavenger hunt thing. She thought she was going out for a casual dinner with my wife Kathy and I. But as soon as we showed up, I handed her a piece of paper with a clue written on it. She followed the clue which took us to a destination where two of her grandkids were waiting to give her a gift. These two grandkids also gave her another clue, sending her to a second destination where two more unexpected grandkids were waiting with a gift, and another clue, sending her to another destination. This went on until the whole thing ended at her favorite restaurant where she enjoyed dinner with all of us. She was blown away! (If you’re interested you can see the “Incident Action Plan” for this birthday celebration at the end of the post)
It’s about the clues.
You see, to love people like Jesus did, you need to be a clue dropper. As you go through your week, you’re going to find opportunities for you to drop hints concerning Jesus’ identity. Opportunities will present themselves for you to share, briefly and simply, as Jesus did with Nathanael, about who Jesus is, or about Jesus’ love, or about His mercy, or His generosity. Look for moments when you can share clues about how He’s impacted your life. Keep an eye out for occasions when you can share about how He’s blessed you. You don’t have to launch into a long explanation, necessarily.
To love people like Jesus did, keep an eye out for these opportunities. Opportunities to share anything that will hint at who Jesus is.
An opportunity to share a clue about Jesus with people, is an opportunity to love people the way Jesus loved people.
It’s an opportunity to bless people.
And it’s an opportunity to be blessed, yourself.
Try it and see.
References:
Bible Gateway
Jon Courson
Birthday Scavenger Hunt
1:00 Synchronize watches
2:00
Meet at dad and mom’s/Uncle kurt and Aunt Kathy’s
Dad/Uncle kurt – Pick up G’ma Judy – 3:10 PM
3:20
Ashland Fire Station 1
Clue: In the car to your son’s vocation
But instead of Medford, an Ashland Station
Gift: Karla’s gift
3:30
Food Co-op
Clue: Now to your favorite food store location
A shortened version of the word cooperation
Favorite People: Gabe & Charise
Gift: Juice Bar Coupon
3:40
Varsity Theatre
Clue: Don’t be late it’s time to go
We don’t want to miss your favorite show
Favorite People: Nate & Anastasia
Gift: Varsity Gift Certificate
3:50
Paddington Station Eclectic Emporium
Clue: We’re not taking a train but going to a station
The name of which rhymes with Addington
Favorite People: Kody, Sophia, Hayden, Sienna
Gift: Paddington Station Gift Certificate
4:00
Pangea Cafe
Clue: Almost done with clues and maps
To your favorite place for Grills & Wraps
Favorite People: Kass, Miriam, Owen
Gift: Pangea Gift Certificate
4:10 PM
Pasta Piatti Restaurant
Clue: Off we go to your final destination
A restaurant who’s country is a boot shaped location
Favorite Person: Kathy
Gift: Dinner
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Posted on April 25, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, How Jesus Loved People - How You Can Too
Genesis 28, I am the way and the truth, Jacob's ladder, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John 14:6, John 1:51, No one comes to the Father except through me, who is Jesus
Max Lucado Country Music Song: Story of Joseph
Has it ever occurred to you the story of Joseph sounds like a country music song?
Apparently it did to Max Lucado…
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Posted on April 23, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, Genesis
Genesis, Genesis 3:7, joseph, Max Lucado Country Music Song: Story of Joseph
Jesus Christ and Criticism: How Jesus Responds to a Cynic
Love Like Jesus (photo credit http://whowillyouserve.blogspot.com)
How Jesus Loved People:
Cynical! That’s Nathanael’s attitude toward the news, Philip had “found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote…”
“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael responded.
At the time, Nazareth didn’t have the best reputation as a city. It may be Nathanael’s cynicism and criticism was understandable. However, to Nathanael’s credit, though he has some tough questions, he decides to accept Philip’s invitation to “Come and see” for himself.
Nathanael’s decision had far greater impact than he realized at the time.
Imagine with me how different Nathanael’s life would have been, had he focused on what he perceived to be a flaw in Philip’s conclusion. Had he remained focused on his own critical perception of problems in the scriptures, rather than the opportunity to develop a relationship with the Messiah, Nathanael would have missed out on the most important three years of his life! His misplaced focus would have resulted in eternal consequences.
But Nathanael doesn’t do that. He’s cynical, yes, critical, sure, maybe even negative on Philip’s report about Jesus, but he moves toward Christ anyway.
And now, watch this. Watch how Jesus responds to Nathanael’s negativity.
“Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!” He says enthusiastically as He sees Nathanael approaching.
“Behold, an Israelite…” The very first words out of Jesus’ mouth are words affirming Nathanael as an Israelite, as one of God’s chosen people.
“…in whom is no deceit!” (or guile as the King James Version renders it) This was a play on words by Jesus. He was referring back to Jacob. Jacob, who was renamed Israel by the Lord, was a man known for his guile and deceit. You may remember Jacob tricking his blind father Isaac out of his older brother’s blessing. One of a number of instances where Jacob used deceit and guile to get his way. So here we see Jesus, rather than defending Himself against Nathanael’s cynicism, using this play on words to emphasize Nathanael’s genuineness and honesty.
Nathanael, recognizing Jesus knew how he felt about a prophet coming from Nazareth, says, “How do you know me?”
“Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Jesus replies.
At which point Nathanael answers, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
And Jesus answers back, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” Jesus commends Nathanael for his faith.
How You Can Too:
You know, Jesus could have responded to Nathanael with a whopping come back.
“You obviously don’t know Who (with a capital W) you’re talking to, or, what you’re talking about. I wasn’t even born in Nazareth, I was born in Bethlehem, the precise place where God promised the Messiah would come from. Maybe you should get your facts straight before you pop off with a criticism. I was going to include you in a group of eleven people who will turn the world upside down, and influence the entire planet for eternity, but with that attitude, well you can just forget it!”
But that’s not what Jesus did. Instead He met Nathanael’s negativity and cynicism with grace and love. Jesus, rather than defending Himself, responds to Nathanael’s attitude by affirming his position as one of God’s chosen, by emphasizing his honesty, and by commending him for his faith.
Jesus took Nathanael’s negative and turned it around to a positive.
It’s so easy to respond to someone who has a negative attitude toward you, with defensiveness, or by returning the negative with a negative shot right back, or by ignoring the person. But if you want to love people the way Jesus did, always look for whatever positive you can find, there’s always something, and start there.
If you add value to people the way Jesus did, they’ll be attracted to you and to what you have to say. If you take value away from people, even if you’re well meaning, people will withdraw from you and what you have to say.
So…
Always, always, always start every single interpersonal interaction by finding and emphasizing the positive.
Even when it’s someone who’s on the attack.
Always.
Every time.
Without exception.
You’ll be blessed by their response.
They’ll be blessed when you share Christ.
References:
Bible Gateway
Craig S. Keener, (1993) IVP Bible Background Commentary, New Testament
H.A. Ironside, (2006) Expository Commentary, John
Jon Courson
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Posted on April 20, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, How Jesus Loved People - How You Can Too
About Jesus, Bible Study John 1, how to respond to criticism, Jesus Christ and Criticism, Jesus Responds to Cynic, John 1, John 1:45-50, who is God, who is Jesus
Pat Summitt: The Day of Small Things
Pat Summitt (Photo credit: The Klown Times)
Young man: “Yeah but, why do I have to…?”
Old man: “If you can’t give your all with the little things, don’t expect bigger things.” (Lecrae on Twitter)
Pat Summitt retired today as the coach of the University of Tennessee women’s basketball team. She’ll go down in history as one of the greatest coaches of any sport of any gender. She’s won 8 National Championships and has taken her team to an equally ridiculous 22 final four appearances.
38 years ago Pat Summitt took the position of women’s basketball coach for 250 bucks a month. She had to drive the team bus herself. She even had to do the team laundry.
Do everything, even the small things, as unto the Lord. (Colossians 3:17)
References:
Bible Gateway
Lecrae on Twitter
L.A. Times
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Posted on April 19, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, I Wish Someone Had Told Me This When I Was Young
Pat Summitt, the day of small things, Zechariah 4:10
I Love God
God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength -1 Corinthians 1:25 (Photo credit: JulieMenken)
I Love God
by Mark Dachille
I thought, “woah, that’s right, I’d be silly to judge God” The book of Job has a special place in my heart. This world doesn’t always make sense to me. But, I love being soft to God – a soft heart is a sort of humility that emanates with trust enough to say, “Ok, God, your ways instead of mine.” Anyway, the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. I’m also learning that Jesus is my wisdom, understanding, and my righteous.
I’m not sure how I can say, “I love God.” But it might have something to do with the experience of my ability to say to God, “I want (to want) your ways instead of mine.”
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Posted on April 18, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, I Wish Someone Had Told Me This When I Was Young
1 Corinthians 1:25, Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, by Mark Dachille, God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength, I Love God, Job, Mark Dachille, Would you condemn me to justify yourself?, Would you discredit my justice?
Teens toss shopping cart onto woman from 50′ up. Victim Forgives.
Two teens shove a shopping cart over a wall from an upper level, 50′ above an unsuspecting 47 year old woman. The cart lands on top of her, puts her in a coma, and blinds her in one eye.
And she forgives them!
I was both inspired and blown away by this article. Inspired by her ability to forgive and blown away by the realization that I sometimes struggle to forgive people for far more trivial transgressions.
You can read the whole story at Victim Forgives Teens Who Blinded Her – GOOD REPORT.
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Posted on April 16, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study
forgive, Forgiveness, love your enemies, Matthew 5:44-45, shopping cart, teens, woman forgives
Feelings
(Photo Credit: http://www.jesus.ch)
Jesus is worthy to receive honor and glory and praise, whether I feel like it or not. He alone is your God, the only one who is worthy of your praise. (Deuteronomy 10:21 NLT) He is worthy.
Relationship with Jesus is not about how I feel. It’s about who He is.
Singing to Him or about Him, reading His word, praying, visiting Him at His house, everything we do toward building a relationship with Him, is about Him, not me, not you.
Relationship with Jesus is not about how I feel.
It’s about who He is.
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Posted on April 16, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, I Wish Someone Had Told Me This When I Was Young
Feelings, Jesus, Jesus Christ, love Jesus, Relationship with Jesus is not about how I feel, Revelation 5:12, Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!
Pastor Offers to Die: “Your supreme weapon is killing, my supreme weapon is dying.”
“Sir, let me explain how I see this issue. Your supreme weapon is killiing. My supreme weapon is dying. Here is how it works. You know that my sermons on tape have spread all over the country. If you kill me, those sermons will be sprinkled with my blood. Everyone will know I died for my preaching. And everyone who has a tape will pick it up and say, ‘I’d better listen again to what this man preached, because he really meant it: he sealed it with his life.’ So, sir, my sermons will speak 10 times louder than before. I will actually rejoice in this supreme victory if you kill me.”
Later, Tson found out another officer said, “We know that Mr. Tson would love to be a martyr, but we are not that foolish to fulfill his wish.”
Tson: “I stopped to consider the meaning of that statement. I remembered how for many years, I had been afraid of dying. I had kept a low profile. Because I wanted badly to live, I had wasted my life in inactivity. But now that I had placed my life on the altar and decided I was ready to die for the gospel, they were telling me they would not kill me! I could go wherever I wanted in the country and preach whatever I wanted, knowing I was safe. As long as I tried to save my life, I was losing it. Now that I was willing to lose it, I found it.”
Your life:
I think all of us are presented with precisely the same issue as Joeseph Tson. We’re afraid of dying, not a physical death, but a social one. We’re afraid if we sell out for Jesus Christ we’ll lose friends, or at the very least, suffer embarrassment. But in the end, we have the same choice as Tson. We can keep a low profile, and waste our life with inactivity for Christ, or we can place our life on the altar, and decide we’re ready to die for Him.
The thing is, like Joseph Tson, once you decide you’re ready to die, socially speaking in your case and mine, for Christ, once you just let go of your social life saver, you’re free! I’ve experienced this myself and observed it in others. It turns out your fear of social death is in your head. Yes there’ll be some awkwardness during the transition, but tell me what transition is without awkwardness! And tell me of anything in life worthwhile that doesn’t require transition!
Like Joseph Tson, you’ll be amazed at the freedom you enjoy, once you decide to place your life on the altar. Once you give yourself over to Christ.
So don’t be afraid of dying.
Live free.
[Image via Klearchos Kapoutsis – Creative Commons]
Resources and related articles::
ToEveryTribe.com
Joseph Tson is the former president of The Romanian Missionary Society in Wheaton, IL. He was the pastor of Second Baptist Church in Oradea, Romania until 1981, when he was exiled by the Romanian government.
Randy Alcorn, Josef Tson: What His Suffering for Christ in Communist Romania Taught Him, and Can Teach Us, Eternal Perspective Ministries, June 24, 2022
Source: ToEveryTribe.com, fall 2009 Newsletter
Newly released book by Kurt Bennett, now available on Amazon!
Love Like Jesus: How Jesus Loved People (and how you can love like Jesus)
Love Like Jesus begins with the story of how after a life of regular church attendance and Bible study, Bennett was challenged by a pastor to study Jesus. That led to an obsessive seven year deep dive. After pouring over Jesus’ every interaction with another human being, he realized he was doing a much better job of studying Jesus’ words than he was following Jesus’ words and example. The honest and fearless revelations of Bennett’s own moral failures affirm he wrote this book for himself as much as for others.
Love Like Jesus examines a variety of stories, examples, and research, including:
With genuine unfiltered honesty, Love Like Jesus, shows you how to live a life according to God’s definition of success: A life of loving God well, and loving the people around you well too.
A life of loving like Jesus.
(Kindle, hardcover, and paperback now available on Amazon.)
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Posted on April 12, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study
For whoever wants to save their life will lose it but whoever loses their life for me will find it, Joseph Tson, Matthew 16:25, pastor offers to die, supreme weapon dying, your supreme weapon is killing my supreme weapon is dying
Finding Philip
Photo Credit: Wholly Dependent (Kavadoy.com)
How Jesus loved people:
Jesus found Philip. Have you ever thought about that? In this particular case, Jesus, didn’t passively wait for someone to approach him, He sought the person out. He went to the trouble to find Philip and didn’t ask, but told him, “Follow me.”
How you can too:
It’s pretty amazing what we go through at the fire department to find people. After the usual job announcement and advertisements, we ask all our members to be sure to ask anyone they know who is especially talented to apply. Then we narrow down the applications to 40. Then we do a physical agility, then an assessment center evaluated by Captains that includes three or so exercises: maybe a biographical presentation, a hands-on mechanical aptitude exercise, and an interview. This narrows it down to 3-12, depending on the number of vacancies, for the interview with the fire chief and a few other chief officers. After that there’s a very thorough background investigation, then a psych exam, and finally a medical physical. (fortunately I was hired before the psych exam requirement, otherwise I wouldn’t have made it) It’s very intense. But, we hire great people which has resulted in our fire department becoming a great organization. In fact I believe hiring decisions are the most important decisions made by an organization. Finding the right people is important.
I used to think the Lord wanted me to love everyone, to the maximum, as much as I could. I even had a thing about working hardest on those relationships that were the toughest. But the result was I tended to burn out and didn’t love any one person outside my family very deeply. What Jesus did was to very intentionally seek out Philip and choose him as a person to love at a greater level than most other people. Philip was one of the twelve. For the last two plus years of Jesus’ life:
1) He spoke to the masses
2) He trained the 72 (Luke 10)
3) He discipled the 12 (Matthew 10)
4) He mentored the 3 (Matthew 17:1, Mark 5:37, Mark 14:33)
You do have to love everyone, even your enemies, but you don’t have to have them for dinner, or teach them a Bible study, or take them on vacation with you. Most people in your life will be loved at a fairly basic level. But there are Philips around who will follow you if you take the trouble to find them and engage them in a way that says, “Follow me.” If you take the trouble to look around, there are people in your life, friends of the family, nephews (if you’re a man), nieces (if you’re a woman), coworkers, people at church, who you can connect with and enjoy being around, who will be drawn closer to Christ if they have a relationship with you.
Find a few of these people.
Jesus discipled the 12 and mentored the three, but He wasn’t married, and you may be. Jesus didn’t have children, and you may have. Your wife and kids, they definitely qualify as those who you love and lead in Christ on a deeper level. But even if you don’t have a wife or children, the number of people you engage at a deeper level will most likely be fewer than 12, simply because you’re not Jesus Christ. That number may be 7, or 5, or 3, or 1. That’s just fine — everybody’s different.
The point is, to love people like Jesus, prayerfully seek out those people you believe you can connect with. The ones the Lord would have you engage with at a greater level.
Philip is waiting out there. He’s waiting to enjoy a richer, deeper, relationship with Christ as a result of a close friendship with you.
Find him.
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Posted on April 10, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, How Jesus Loved People - How You Can Too
disciple, Finding Philip he said to him “Follow me.”, how Jesus loved people, John 1:43, Mentor
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you — 1 Peter 5:6-7
90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper
I’m reading about Don Piper who was crushed in a head on collision with an 18 wheeler, was dead at the accident scene for 90 minutes, and then revived when a pastor, who happened to be passing by, felt lead to pray for him. He gives an amazing account of what those 90 minutes were like. He says he went to heaven. (90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper)
The good and the bad for Don.
Good: He was permitted to experience heaven for 90 minutes.
Bad: He was permitted to experience heaven for 90 minutes.
Now that he’s alive he finds himself physically devastated and in constant excruciating pain. Pain all the morphine in the world won’t touch. Having had a taste of heaven, he longs to go there, and he struggles with the difficulties of remaining in this life on earth.
Then he does something that changes everything. He gives his whole life over to God. And the great thing about giving your whole life over to God is He gets all of it — even the heartbreaks and pain.
From that point, his whole life turned around.
References:
Bible Gateway
90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper
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Posted on April 9, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study
1 Peter 5:6-7, 90 Minutes in Heaven, anxiety, Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you, Don Piper, give yourself to God, Surrender Yourself to God
Back From the Dead
Christ’s Empty Tomb
Speaking to the Pharisees, Jesus said,
Jesus is saying here, the scriptures are all about Him. And, in our Genesis study, in chapter 37, we’re about to enjoy a beautiful Old Testament picture of Jesus’ life in the story of Joseph. The picture is so compelling, God devotes a full quarter of the book of Genesis to Joseph alone. He is one of only two main characters in the Old Testament for whom there is no mention of sin (Daniel is the other). We’ll see Joseph greatly humbled as Jesus was greatly humbled, but, in the end, greatly exalted — as Jesus was greatly exalted. It’s impossible to read of him and not see the striking parallels between his life and Christ’s. All of the Old Testament testifies of Jesus but it may be that nowhere else is it more obvious than in the story of Joseph.
Here comes that dreamer! Joseph’s brothers said to each other. Let’s kill him, this one who dreamed of us bowing down to him. After, we’ll lie to our father about what became of him. Then we’ll see what happens to his dreams.
They hated Joseph, even as Jesus’ brothers hated him. The only problem with their plot was that Joseph’s dreams weren’t really Joseph’s dreams, they were God’s dreams. So when they plotted to kill him, to put a stop to those dreams, they might as well have tried to stop the wind from blowing, or the sun from shining, or the rain from falling. They were God’s dreams and God’s dreams always come to pass.
Satan plotted to kill Jesus to stop God’s dream for His Son. And on Friday, it appeared he was successful.
But on Sunday…
I am so glad for Jesus’ resurrection. I am so thankful He’s alive and available to enter into a relationship with me. I’m so blessed He’s there for me to communicate with. I’m filled with faith because He validated all His teachings and promises by dying and rising again. I’m so grateful His claims of divinity were confirmed.
God’s dream for His Son was realized, as God’s dreams always are.
I’m so very thankful.
He is risen.
But I’m also thankful for something else. I’m thankful Jesus not only rose from the dead Himself, but He brings others back from the dead as well.
While Jesus is on His way to heal the daughter of Jairus the synagogue ruler, people meet Jairus on the road and tell him, Your daughter died, so, why bother Jesus with it anymore?
Jesus overhears this, leans over, and tells Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
Then He grabs Peter, James, and John, and goes to Jairus’ house where people are already mourning his daughter’s death by wailing and crying. Jesus says, Why all the fuss? She’s not dead, she’s just sleeping. But they laughed at Him.
So He sends everybody out of the room except for her father and mother, and the three disciples, He takes her by the hand and says, “Talitha koum!” which means, Little girl, get up!
Right away she stands up and starts to walk around. Of course everyone’s blown away. And get this, Jesus gives strict orders not to tell anybody about what happened. (Mark 5:35-43)
Jesus brings people back from the dead.
In my own life I can’t tell you how many times I had a problem, the kind of problem where anguish wells up inside of you. I found myself praying with everything I had, asking Christ to raise something from the dead. And He did.
Maybe you’re someone who’s feeling dead right now, or near death, or your project is dead, or your marriage is dead, or your job is dead. Maybe there are people around you who are wailing and crying. Maybe there are people around who laugh at you whenever you talk about hope.
Take heart because Jesus specializes in these situations. He’s Someone good to have in your corner. Someone good to have a relationship with, the kind of relationship where you can call on Him if you’re in trouble. You may need Him to bail you out. You may need Him to raise you, or your relationship, or your whatever, back from the dead. You may need to pray, to ask Him, with everything you have, to bring something back from the dead.
And anytime you ask for help, the better you know the person, the easier it is to ask.
So my advice to you? Get to know Him well and remain close to Him, for the rest of your life. You never know when you might need Him to say, “Talitha koum!”
He is risen.
[Image via James Emery – Creative Commons]
[HT ChristianBeliefs.Blogspot.com]
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Posted on April 7, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, How Jesus Loved People - How You Can Too
back from the dead, Easter, Jesus, Resurrection
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