Some people are easy to love. They have qualities we admire, and they make us feel good when we are around them. In these relationships love is a "two-way street." We love them, and they love us back. But sometimes we find ourselves in the confusing position of trying to love someone who does not love us or loves us less than we love them. No matter how hard we try, we are unable to win their heart. In these sad scenarios love is only a "one-way street." This is painful under any circumstance, but the level of pain grows exponentially when the person rejecting us is a member of our family. Parents, children, spouses and other relatives "ought" to love us because we belong to them. Yet, in some cases, try as we will, the situation never seems to change. This was the emotional reality for ten of Jacob's 12 sons. From childhood they were forced to face the bitter truth that their father loved two of their brothers far more than the rest of them. In our study for today, we observe a remarkable attitude in some or all of these rejected sons. The jealousy of their younger years has disappeared, and they have clearly chosen to love their father even though he has not changed his feelings toward them. Somehow they accepted their circumstances and chose to love an old man too broken to love them back. Since many of us also find ourselves loving people who don't love us back, we'll try to learn some of the lessons these ten sons must have learned.

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Joseph's discernment not only turned Pharaoh's confusing dream into a plan for Egypt's future but was also instrumental in his own personal healing. His brothers' betrayal wounded him deeply, as did 13 years of slavery and prison. Yet as we read through these chapters describing his life, we see him emerge whole and successful in spite of his past. What was it that allowed him to break free from those years of suffering and betrayal when so often people remain crippled by their past for a lifetime? Though there are certainly many more explanations than the three we will consider here, these areas of discernment were surely involved and will still bring healing to us today just as they did to Joseph.

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Today we will focus on a very important aspect of human relationships, especially as it applies to marriage: our mental habits. If we look behind the main events of this chapter, we observe a marriage in trouble. Potiphar's wife has grown disloyal and disrespectful toward her husband to the point that she is aggressively pursuing other men. She has fallen into some negative mental habits which will produce greater unhappiness for both of them. Has he earned her contempt? Maybe, but whether he has or hasn't, her response can only make their marriage worse, not better. After observing Potiphar's marriage, we will turn to Philippians 4:6-9 in order to allow Paul to teach us the power of positive mental attitudes on our marriage and other important relationships.

The subject of spiritual gifts is a mystery to many people, even some Christians. Some deny such gifts exist at all, and others admit they may exist but believe that if they do they must beiong to only a few very special people. They assume normal Christians can't expect spiritual gifts to be a part of their everyday lives. Yet, the Bible teaches something very different. It tells us every Christian has been given the Holy Spirit to live inside them , and since He is the Source of all spiritual gifts, believers should expect to receive His supernatural help whenever they need it. In today's lesson we'll observe the important role spiritual gifts played in Joseph's life, and then we'll reflect on how they can play an important role in ours as well.

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We are going to see today that Joseph was failed by every human source in his life. But God didn't need a human source to take care of Joseph. This godly man is a tremendous example to us of God's faithfulness. Joseph knew his source. He looked to God for his help. We make a terrible mistake when we look to people, or to our own wisdom or our own sources. Where do I go when I need help? Do I look to myself and say I can fix this; I can handle this. But life itself shows us the challenges and the needs are too big for me. If I expect people or myself to handle things, I will be disappointed becasue people don't have the resource I need; nor do I. The real problem isn't the people; it is that I looked to the wrong source.

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On two occasions in this chapter Moses tells us that the Lord "prospered" Joseph: first, as a slave in Potiphar's house (vs 2,3) and, second, as a prisoner in the royal jail (v 23). In view of what most of us consider the word "prosperity" to mean, it might strike us as strange or even humorous to apply that word to a slave or a prisoner. But Moses doesn't seem to see any conflict between God "prospering" Joseph and the harsh circumstances under which he was living. So we'll look more closely at this period of Joseph's life in order to discover how God defines prosperity. Then we'll try to identify why God prospered him. And finally, we'll apply this lesson to ourselves by asking the question, "What must I do so the Lord will prosper me?"

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Have you ever considered what would have happened to Joseph in Potiphar's house if he had yielded to the temptation of Potiphar's wife? In this episode we'll focus closely on character and why it's so important as it relates to Joseph and our lives. We'll also discuss how Joseph responded to temptation to learn how we can respond too.

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Someone was determined to prevent Joseph's dreams from coming true. In fact, they were willing to kill him if that's what it took to stop those dreams. But God was the One who gave him those dreams, so God was able to outsmart Joseph's enemies and cause the dreams to come to pass. That's one of the great things about God: He can cause all things, even evil attacks, to work for His glory and the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Ro 8:28). Joseph's life is a perfect example of this truth. His brothers hated the prophetic promises God had given him, and they decided to kill him before the promises could come to pass. But as we read what happened to Joseph, we see that God was victorious over his enemies and, in time, even drew those enemies to repentance. We, too, have enemies determined to prevent God's dreams from coming true, so we have much to learn from Joseph.

To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation, email us at info@lifelessonspublishing.com and ask for your copy at no charge!

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.