Dare to Dream
“What I could control was knowing I was never alone, I was loved.”
“It’s not the situation, it’s the God of the situation.”
Philippians 4:11 (NIV)
I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
Philippians 4:12 (NIV)
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
Philippians 4:13 (NIV)
I can do all things through him who gives me strength.
Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV)
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave nor forsake you.”
Genesis 42:1-2 (NLT)
When Jacob heard that grain was available in Egypt, he said to his sons,
Genesis 42:1-2 (NLT)
“Why are you standing around looking at one another? I have heard there is grain in Egypt. Go down there, and buy enough grain to keep us alive. Otherwise we’ll die.”
Genesis 42:3 (NLT)
So Joseph’s ten older brothers went down to Egypt to buy grain.
Genesis 42:6 (NLT)
Since Joseph was governor of all Egypt and in charge of selling grain to all the people, it was to him that his brothers came. When they arrived, they bowed before him with their faces to the ground.
Genesis 42:7 (NLT)
Joseph recognized his brothers instantly, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them.“Where are you from?” he demanded.“From the land of Canaan,” they replied. “We have come to buy food.”
Genesis 42:8 (NLT)
Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they didn’t recognize him.
Genesis 42:9a (NLT)
And he remembered the dreams he’d had about them many years before.
Genesis 44:30 (NLT)
“And now, my lord, I cannot go back to my father without the boy. Our father’s life is bound up in the boy’s life.
Genesis 44:31 (NLT)
If he sees that the boy is not with us, our father will die. We, your servants, will indeed be responsible for sending that grieving, white-haired man to his grave.
Genesis 44:32 (NLT)
My lord, I guaranteed to my father that I would take care of the boy. I told him, ‘If I don’t bring him back to you, I will bear the blame forever.’
Genesis 44:33 (NLT)
So please, my lord, let me stay here as a slave instead of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers.
Genesis 44:34 (NLT)
For how can I return to my father if the boy is not with me? I couldn’t bear to see the anguish this would cause my father!”
Genesis 45:1 (NLT)
Joseph could stand it no longer. There were many people in the room, and he said to his attendants,“Out, all of you!”So he was alone with his brothers when he told them who he was.
Genesis 45:2 (NLT)
Then he broke down and wept. He wept so loudly the Egyptians could hear him, and word of it quickly carried to Pharaoh’s palace.
Genesis 45:3 (NLT)
“I am Joseph!” he said to his brothers.“Is my father still alive?” But his brothers were speechless! They were stunned to realize that Joseph was standing there in front of them.
Genesis 45:4 (NLT)
“Please, come closer,” he said to them. So they came closer. And he said again,“I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into slavery in Egypt.
Genesis 45:5 (NLT)
But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives.
Genesis 45:6 (NLT)
This famine that has ravaged the land for two years will last five more years, and there will be neither plowing or harvesting.
Genesis 45:7 (NLT)
God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors.
Genesis 45:8 (NLT)
So it was God who sent me here, not you! And he is the one who made me an adviser to Pharaoh - the manager of his entire palace and the governor of all Egypt.”
Genesis 47:27 (NLT)
Meanwhile, the people of Israel settled in the region of Goshen in Egypt. There they acquired property, and they were fruitful, and their population grew rapidly.
Genesis 50:14 (NLT)
After burying Jacob, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had accompanied him to his father’s burial.
Genesis 50:15 (NLT)
But now that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers became fearful. “Now Joseph will show his anger and pay us back for all the wrong we did to him,” they said.
Genesis 50:16-17 (NLT)
So they sent this message to Joseph: “Before your father died, he instructed us to say to you:
Genesis 50:16-17 (NLT)
‘Please forgive your brothers for the great wrong they did to you - for their sin in treating you so cruelly.’ So we, the servants of the God of your father, beg you to forgive our sin.”
Genesis 50:16-17 (NLT)
When Joseph received the message, he broke down and wept.
Genesis 50:18 (NLT)
Then his brothers came and threw themselves down before Joseph.“Look, we are your slaves!” they said.
Genesis 50:19 (NLT)
But Joseph replied, “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you?
Genesis 50:20 (NLT)
You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.
Genesis 50:21 (NLT)
No don’t be afraid, I will continue to take care of you and your children.”So he reassured them by speaking kindly to them.
Ephesians 4:4 (NLT)
For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.
Ephesians 4:5-6 (NLT)
There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,One God and Father of all,Who is over all, in all, and living through all.
1 Corinthians 11:23 (NIV)
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread,
1 Corinthians 11:24 (NIV)
And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
1 Corinthians 11:25 (NIV)
In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
1 Corinthians 11:26 (NIV)
For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.