Genesis 50:15-21

Joseph Reassures His Brothers

¹⁵ When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?" ¹⁶ So they sent word to Joseph, saying, "Your father left these instructions before he died: ¹⁷ 'This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.' Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father." When their message came to him, Joseph wept.

¹⁸ His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. "We are your slaves," they said.

¹⁹ But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? ²⁰ You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. ²¹ So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

How Character Breeds Perspective

John Maxwell

REF: Genesis 50:15-21

Joseph puts his entire life in perspective in the final chapter of Genesis. During the height of a terrible famine, his brothers come before hims and bow down, just as he had predicted decades earlier. But instead of using his enormous power to punish them, he said, "You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive" (Gen. 50:20).

How does one develop such a godly (and rare) perspective? What enabled Joseph to refrain from exacting the kind of vengeance most of us would be tempted to dish out in similar circumstances? One word: character. Because Joseph had spent years in God's character-building course, he could maintain a proper perspective and use his power to bless his brothers rather than curse them.

How a leader deals with the circumstances of life tells you many things about his character. Crisis doesn't necessarily make character, but it certainly does reveal it. Adversity is a crossroads that makes a person choose one of two paths: character or compromise. Every time he chooses character, he becomes stronger, even if that choice brings negative consequences (remember why Joseph ended up in prison?) The development of character is at the heart of our development as leaders.

If you want God's perspective on life, then make sure to develop your character. It's the only way, as Joseph reminds us.

Open Their Eyes to the Light

Kenneth Copeland

"If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)

Since God doesn't save anyone against their will, does it really do any good to pray for people who consciously refuse to receive Jesus as Lord?

Yes. Yes! YES! IT DOES!

You see, in spite of the fact that most all unbelievers who have purposely refused to receive Jesus as Lord think they've made that decision of their own free will, the truth is, they haven't. The Word of God says they've been blinded by Satan. He's blocking their perception of the truth. So their decision hasn't been freely made at all.

That's important for you to grasp. Because through the prayer of intercession, you can interfere with the satanic forces and help take those blinders off! You can also change circumstances with your prayers and help create situations that will bring them in contact with the Lord. You're well within your spiritual rights when you do that.

I prayed with a friend of mine once who'd been praying for his lost brother for years. Jesus said in Matthew 12:29 to first bind the strong man and then enter his house and spoil his goods. So we said, "You spirit blinding the eyes of ______________, you stop what you are doing to keep him out of the kingdom of God. In Jesus' Name, you stop NOW!"

Jesus also said in Matthew 9:38, "Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that he will send forth labourers into his harvest." So we prayed, "Lord, send someone to ____________ with the Word of God. You know who he will listen to. We claim _____________ for the kingdom of God. We believe we receive his salvation and deliverance. In faith we praise You for it."

In almost no time at all his brother called him. "What have you been doing up there?" he asked. "In the past few days, everybody I've come across has started preaching to me!"

Our prayers had interfered with the forces Satan had been using to blind this man to Jesus and created the circumstances to bring him into the kingdom. Sure enough, within a few days, he was born again.

Use this same prayer for your loved ones and believe when you pray and you'll see the same results.

Don't sit by and let the devil take your friends and loved ones without a fight. Pray. Pray! PRAY! Come against the "god of this world." Take off the blinders and open their eyes to the glorious gospel of God.

Scripture Study: 2 Corinthians 4:1-7

The Pitfall of Being Entrepreneurial

1 Chronicles 13:9-10 - When they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark, because the oxen stumbled. The Lord's anger burned against Uzzah, and He struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark....

There are good things we can do, but only God-things we should do. Those activities not born out of the Spirit will result in wood, hay, and stubble. What seems good in our eyes may be an abomination in God's eyes. For instance, if you decide to build an orphanage but God has never directed you to do so, then that work will not be seen as good by God; it was born out of your own strength, even though it was a "good work."

The most difficult challenge a Christian businessperson will ever have is to know what things to be involved in and what things not to be involved in. Many businesspeople have a great ability to see opportunity. What appears to be a "slam dunk" may come back to haunt us if God never ordains us to enter that arena.

There are many good things we can be involved with. However, there are God-things we are supposed to be involved with. Uzzah was a good man in David's sight. It was a time of celebration, and David and the people were transporting the ark of God. However, the ark hit a bump, and Uzzah reached for the ark to hold it steady. He touched the ark, and he immediately died. David became very upset with God about this situation; he questioned whether he could serve God.

God's ways are not our ways. The most important quality God desires to develop in us is our dependence on Him and Him alone. When we begin to make decisions based on reason and analysis instead of the leading and prompting of the Holy Spirit, we get into trouble with God. David later learned the importance of this principle in his own life. This encounter was one of the stepping-stones in his pilgrimage. David was an extraordinary entrepreneur. He ran the nation very successfully, but he, like each of us, had to learn the difference between "good things" and "God-things."

Are you involved in anything in which God has not directed you to be involved? Do you seek God about every decision, every action before you take it? This is where God wants you and me to be. Ask Him to show you how to walk with Him in this way.