“Despite our efforts to keep him out, God intrudes. The life of Jesus is bracketed by two impossibilities: "a virgin's womb and an empty tomb". Jesus entered our world through a door marked:

"No Entrance" and left through a door marked "No Exit."

Pete Larson author of "Rex Appeal"

Pharaoh has a dream, the cupbearer has a brain wave, Joseph has a shave and hey presto, he's now the second most powerful man on the planet - never, never, ever give up - don't entertain the thought, don't write the resignation and whatever the enemy asks you to sign shred it immediately.  

Another simple, but powerful verse - Genesis 41:14 'When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh.'  After all his years of trouble, injustice and misrepresentation the only thing that Joseph needs to change is his outer appearance and not his inner attitude - he had kept his heart, spirit and attitude all spotless.  Whatever you are going through don't let it get in on the inside!

If you were called to greatness today would you be ready?!

There are some haunting lines in Scripture and Genesis 40:23 competes with the best when the writer casually states: 'The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.'  If this isn't sore enough, he then opens chapter 41 with the power of understatement by informing the reader, 'When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream.'  

Imagine the emotion, frustration and general annoyance in Joseph's tortured thoughts as he sees his ticket to freedom apparently be flushed down the cupbearer's forgetful mind. He had served this guy's dream ushering in his freedom and in response he asks for a simple favour, 'mention me to Pharaoh.'  Maybe this was moment when his flesh got the better of him and he felt he could ask for earthly favours on the back of Divine insight and service.  Whatever the reason, God makes him wait another two years!  Now two years in anyone's world is long, but when you are staying in Cairo's Maximum Security prison 'long' is taken to new lengths.  

While you are waiting to be discovered remember some simple things:

Keep working

Keep serving

Keep sloshing

Keep pure

Keep dreaming

Wherever you are and whatever you feel stuck in please remember that in a single moment two years later Joseph was elevated from Prisoner 3410 to Prime Minister by a divinely inspired performance on Egypt's Got Talent - Pharaoh loved it!

Joining with the other senior staff today for a day of vision casting and development.  These are the days that we were made for and that make leadership worthwhile - it's where the leader truly belongs!  John Ruskin encapsulates the power of vision with these riveting words:

"The greatest thing a human ever does in the world is to see something and tell others what he saw in a plain way.  Hundreds can talk for one who can think, but thousands can think for one who can see.  To see clearly and tell others clearly is poetry, prophecy, and religion all in one."

Vision is clearly the driving factor of any team, corporation or church and it must be guarded with intense jealousy.  Here's to potentially a great day!

Love this

Onwards from AKQA on Vimeo.

Rob Bell takes a lot of unnecessary flak!  Seriously, there seems to be a number of Christians who have very little to do with their time but to scan any preacher looking for microscopic fibres of heresy - the evangelical Taliban!  Of course there has to be a place for the preservation of sound doctrine, but there can be, even within evangelicalism, the room for creative expression of lasting truth and I think Rob Bell does this with style.  

Rob's latest book 'Jesus Wants to Save Christians' may not be the framework for a 'New Christians' Course' probably as it doesn't intend to play such a role. What it does is to examine some familiar Bible passages and themes such as The Fall and the Exodus and marries them with stirring application to very relevant issues such as globalisation, abuse of power and the need for an expression of an 'anti-Egypt' church.  

While saying this I need to reserve some caution as I still haven't finished the book and the next chapter is entitled, 'Genital-Free Africans'!