“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you...”  (Jeremiah 1:5)The older I get, the more at peace I am with things that are beyond my control. In fact, I almost prefer it that way. Those are the situations that, for me, are easier to completely trust God with the outcome. If it’s out of my control, I can’t mess it up!So much of our childhood falls into that category. We didn’t choose our parents, ...  Read More

Childhood dreams....we all have them. Ask a child about their dreams and you will get a myriad of answers. Some dream they are pop stars, and some dream they are in a land filled with toys. Some dream of candy or unicorns or Barbie. There is no limit to what children dream. I love how they view the world through an unblemished filter. However, some childhood dreams can be prophetically sent by God...  Read More

We’ve all experienced relationship conflicts at some point in our lives. Many times, that conflict comes from within our family. In our childhood, conflict presents itself in various forms - with our parents, siblings, or other relatives. In Genesis 37, Joseph experiences conflicts with his brothers. Because their father seemingly loved Joseph more than his brothers, they hated him [37:3-4]. Scrip...  Read More

Our eight year old son so badly wants to skip ahead in life and be a man. He stands in front of the mirror holding his chin, slowly turning his head from side to side, in search of stubble. He gallantly enters the room, parading about, when he’s found peach fuzz growing on his arms or legs. Some days, he’ll nonchalantly walk by holding a suitcase while donning a mustache that he scribbled on using...  Read More

Joseph’s plight at the hands of his jealous brothers was ugly. From being the carefree, younger, favored child of Jacob to becoming a slave...no matter the ebbs and flows of his positions in Egypt, he was still a slave. Comparatively, Joseph’s new life was heart wrenching - a fate he in no way deserved. In his mind, his family was lost forever. He was not torn to pieces by a ferocious animal as hi...  Read More

If possible, share a meal together as a group at least once during this study. Fellowship over a good meal has a way of bonding us together in a very special way, especially if we are intentional to really listen to one another. • How did God use the things that were out of your control in your childhood to mold and shape you?• What did God deposit in and through your early years that is now beari...  Read More

From the outside looking in, Joseph’s life doesn’t look like it was blessed and directed by God.After all, the story we find in Genesis describes the joy and excitement of the favored son of Jacob.  Joseph had dreams that were given to him by God, but his decision to reveal those dreams to his brothers and parents would ultimately lead Joseph into a world of betrayal, slavery, and imprisonment.Jos...  Read More

 “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the kno...  Read More

“Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You.”(Psalm 119:11)“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”(Psalm 119:105)I turned sixty years old four years ago, and my son-in-law, Adam, asked me, “On your sixtieth birthday, what are the top three pieces of advice you would give me?” I said I would have to think about two and three, but I immediately knew my re...  Read More

“In Your presence is fullness of joy...”(Psalm 16:11)God meets us in our desperation. There I was, a seventeen-year-old boy, in Cleveland, Ohio, recovering from my fifth open heart surgery. Four days had already passed, and it was getting late.  My parents had just enough time to catch the last shuttle to their hotel. They reluctantly said their goodbyes, and I found myself alone. I’m looking at m...  Read More

“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.”(Psalm 62:5,6)I’ll never forget encountering these verses from Psalm 62. I’d read this psalm many times before, but not yet in this way. This particular day, my heart was heavy with pain and desperately seeking the Lord’s comfort and direction. Eyes searchin...  Read More

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”(1 John 3:1)When Jesus taught us to pray, He said, “Our Father”, not “my Father!” Yes, “Our Father!” God is Our Father (Matthew 6:9) and as born again believers, we are His children and members of His Holy Family (1 John 3:1-2). As family members of God, it is so important we asse...  Read More