Since I can remember, I have always been an old soul. I can recall when I was in my late teen years, being drawn to the Old Testament and, most specifically, to Jeremiah and Isaiah. I loved how they interpreted and shared the Lord's voice over Israel. However, I do recall thinking, "Man, the prophets are so truthful and tell it like it is...
"God rewards all growth with pruning.” –Bill Johnson “But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.” –Hebrews 10:32-34 ESV [dropcaps type='circle' color='' background_color='' border_color='']I[/dropcaps] know less now about the mysteries of God than I did as a Bible college student—luxuriating in the company of the enlightened...
[dropcaps type='circle' color='' background_color='' border_color='']P[/dropcaps]racticed readers know that a story is as good as its first chapter, sometimes its first paragraph. To understand our story within the arc of God’s narrative, the concept doesn’t change: we look to the beginning of the story to understand its end. In the first book of the Bible, we meet a seventeen-year-old Joseph who has just revealed two dreams he received from the Lord, which prophesy of his unique calling. This news rouses his older brothers’ jealousy. They, in turn, sell him into slavery, which is the means by which Joseph fulfills his prophetic dream and...