I hope you’ll be able to join us this coming Sunday [11th January] for our first meeting of 2009. We’ll be beginning our new teaching series on the life of Joseph on of the true giants of the book of Genesis. Joseph’s life affords us the opportunity to remind ourselves of some foundational truths that, if appropriated will stand us in good stead as we embrace the challenges of 2009 as we must not abandon in the dark what God showed us in the light.

Joseph’s story is a story about character one of the great troubles in the charismatic world is that we have a great number of characters but we have so few people with character. It is interesting to note that of the 16 qualifications for leadership as described in the Pastoral Epistles 15 of them have to do with character only one to do with gifting (a leader must be apt to teach cf.1 Tim 3:2; Ts 1:9) “Character is the ability to carry out a good resolution long after the mood in which it was made is passed.” It takes character not to give up on your dreams because of opposition.

Joseph’s dream came to him when he was a 17 year old boy. Yet his dreams became a source of great trouble for him. In fact it’s fair to say that for a season his dream must have felt more like a nightmare than a pleasant dream. But, and this is key to understanding the way that God works with us God not only allowed it “God meant it for good”. The trials and the troubles that he endured were designed to season the dreamer not to destroy his dreams. Character is fashioned in the furnace of affliction; and for sure it is only “Goods of poor quality that are produced cheaply.” Hold onto that when dreams fade.

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 4th, 2009 at 5:47 pm by Paul Anderson Walsh and is filed under Diary. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.