Guilty

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Guilty Conscience

 

Genesis 42:21

"And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us."

In the story above, Joseph's brethren had come to buy corn in the land of Egypt. There was a great famine in the land, and the only country that seemed prepared for the famine was Egypt.  What Joseph's brethren did not know was that he was second in command in Egypt.  They did not know that they would have to deal with him.  When they came into his presence, he recognized them and accused them of being spies. What is amazing about this verse is that they immediately thought this was happening because of what they did to Joseph.  All of these years passed, and they were still carrying a guilty conscience about what they did to him.

Every action that you do leaves a mark on your conscience.  I like to illustrate it this way; whatever you do on your computer leaves a mark on the hard drive.  No matter how hard you try to erase those marks, they will always be there.  Likewise, no matter how hard you try to forget your actions, you will always have the marks of your actions on your conscience.  Everything you do is writing a mark on your conscience.

Not only does every action leave a mark on your conscience, but also every action has a way of coming back.  You may think that once you do your action that it is done, but what you don't understand is that it will eventually come back.  I have learned that those actions of which you are ashamed tend to come back at the most inopportune times.  You may feel that your actions are in the past, but the consequences of your actions will come back.

When you do wrong, you would be wise to immediately deal with it if you don't want to continually deal with a guilty conscience.  Wrong must be dealt with immediately.  If it is not dealt with immediately, then you will always be looking over your shoulder wondering when it will be found out. Instead of living with a guilty conscience, deal with it so you can have a clear conscience.

The best way to live life is to live in such a manner that you can face anybody at any time.  If you will do right, then you will never have to avoid people. If you do wrong and immediately get right with people, then you will not have to avoid those people whom you have wronged when you see them.  

There is nothing worse than having to plan your life to avoid people.  Live in such a manner that at any time you can come across the paths of people and be excited to see them.  If you live right, you can do this. If you do wrong and immediately get it right, you can look people in the eyes and know you are right.  But, if you harbor your wrong, you will always be looking over your shoulder wondering when people will find out.  Don't live your life that way, live it with a clear conscience.

Dreamer

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The Dreamer

 

Genesis 37:5

"And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more."

One of the great attributes about Joseph was that he was a dreamer.  As a young man he had dreams for the future. When you compare Joseph to his brethren, you will see that he had more initiative than they.  Maybe the reason Joseph's brothers did not like him was because he made them feel guilty about their lack of dreams.  Though Joseph's brothers did not like his dreams, it was his dreams that drove him through the hardships of life, and because he never gave up, he eventually experienced his dreams.

Everybody should have a dream.  One of the reasons I am concerned for this present generation is because of its lack of dreams.  When you ask the average person what they want to do in the future, most have no dreams to talk about.  If you have no dreams, then you will go nowhere. It is imperative that you start getting some dreams in your life.  It is imperative that you get a dream to drive you.  If you have no dream, then you will have nothing to drive you through the hardships of life.

When you do have dreams, it is important that you understand that everybody won't be excited about your dreams.  When Joseph told his brethren his dreams, they were jealous and outright hateful.  You must realize that your dream is exactly that, your dream.  Because it is your dream, and because your dream affects your life, most people will not be excited about your dreams for your life.

Furthermore, be careful to whom you choose to tell your dreams. Joseph told his dreams to his brethren only to experience their hatred.  When you have a dream, only tell your dreams to those who you know really want you to excel in life.  I have found that most of the time it is better to keep my dreams to myself.  Most people won't be as excited about my dreams as I am, therefore I must learn to keep them private until they come to fruition.

Moreover, don't let hardships dampen your dream.  Between the dream and the dream coming to reality, you will find hardships will try to kill your dream.  Don't let your hardships be a dream killer.  Instead, let your dreams be the motivating factor that drive you through your hardships.

Lastly, keep working towards your dream until it happens.  I have often said that I am living the dreams of my youth.  When I was a youth I dreamed about doing what I am doing now.  No matter what came my way, I continued to work towards my dream.  Christian, whatever you do, work towards your dream until it happens.

It is important that everyone becomes a dreamer.  Every successful person is a person who dreamed. Success doesn't happen by accident, it happens because someone had a dream.  Get a dream for yourself.  Make sure your dream is something that would make God happy, and then work towards making that dream reality.

Mending

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Mending Strained Relationships

 

Genesis 33:1

"And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids."

Anytime you enter into a relationship with a person, you always have the chance of experiencing hurt. In fact, it doesn't matter how "perfect" your relationship with a person is, you will have times of hurt and disagreement with that person.  When this happens, you will find that your relationships will be strained.  At this point you must be careful not to allow that strained relationship to progress into a hated relationship.  If you don't deal with the cause of the strained relationship, then you could end up with a bitter relationship.  Life is too short to allow circumstances to strain relationships.  Whenever your relationship is strained with someone, quickly work to repair it so that you don't lose a good friendship.

Jacob and Esau certainly had a strained relationship.  Jacob deceived Esau so many times that their relationship as brothers was hurt.  In the verse above, you see that Jacob and Esau were about to meet each other again. Jacob thought that Esau was coming to get revenge, so he prepared himself to limit his casualties.  Yet, what is interesting is that Esau was coming to mend a strained relationship.  Though many times Esau gets no praise, he was the one who reached out when it should have been Jacob.  Because Esau reached out and tried to mend their strained relationship, it gave Jacob an opportunity to right his wrongs.

If you are going to mend a strained relationship, you must stop avoiding the person you have wronged.  As humans we tend to avoid being uncomfortable.  It is uncomfortable to have to face someone whom we have wronged, but if you are going to mend a strained relationship, then you will have to eventually face that person.  Avoiding the person in a strained relationship will do nothing to heal the hurts. Someone has to be willing to reach out and try to mend the relationship.

When you finally come face to face with the person with whom you have a strained relationship, then admit your guilt.  Yes, most likely there was wrong on both sides, but you must be the bigger person and admit your wrong whether or not they admit theirs.  Your goal is to mend a strained relationship, and you will never mend it until someone admits guilt.

Furthermore, after you have admitted your guilt, you should then try to do what you can to right your wrong. Again, let me remind you that it is not about what the other person does, it is about what you are trying to do. It is your responsibility to try to make right what you did wrong.  You will never be successful in mending a strained relationship unless you make your wrong right.

Next, to heal the hurt and further repair the strained relationship, give some gifts to that person.  I'm not saying you have to do it all at once, but find some things that person likes and periodically give them gifts.  It is amazing how you can change a person's perception of you when you give them gifts.

Last, remember that time is a great healer. As you follow the steps above, you will find over time that whatever caused the strained relationship will simply be a bump in the road of life.  Years down the road you both will look back at it and realize how insignificant it really was and will be thankful that you didn't allow it to ruin a good relationship.  Work the steps above and allow time to heal your strained relationship.

Which Way?

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Which Way Should I Go?

 

Genesis 24:27

"And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren."

Have you ever been at a point in your life when you didn't know which way to go? I can testify that I have been at that place many times.  There are times when you wish that God would audibly speak to you so you could make the right choice.  If you are like me, I really want to do right, and I don't want to make a decision that would ruin what the LORD is doing through my life.  No doubt, one of the hardest things to do in life is make a decision on which way you should go.

In Genesis 24, I find that God gives a guideline to help us in choosing which way to go.  The story is about Abraham's servant looking for a bride for Isaac.  Abraham gave him some guidelines for which he expected his servant to follow in finding a bride for Isaac.  In this story, the servant made three statements that will help us in deciding which way we should go when making decisions.

First, always choose the LORD's way. Notice the Scriptures says in the verse above, "I being in the way..."  This "way" was the LORD's way.  Whenever you must make a decision, always choose the LORD's way.  You may ask, "What is the LORD's way?" The LORD's way is found in the Scriptures.  The Scriptures are very clear in many areas as to what we should and should not do.  Whenever you must make a decision, you should first look to the Scriptures to find out what they say about your decision.  Many times you don't need to pray, for the Scriptures have already made clear what you should do.  When the Scriptures have already made clear what you should do, then you don't need to pray about it because God never changes His mind.  If you will walk in the way that the Scriptures command, then you will be happy with that way.

Second, when making decisions, always choose the right way.  The Scriptures say in verse 48, "And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son." Notice the servant said, "...in the right way..." There are times in life when you must choose between two rights.  Sometimes either decision is right, and when this happens it makes it that much harder to make a decision.  When faced with a decision, always choose the way that is more conservative.  I rather error on the side of right than on the side of left.  When you must make a decision, be sure it always is more right.

Last, when making decisions, always choose the prosperous way.  It says in verse 56, "And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the LORD hath prospered my way..." The word "prospered" is talking about accomplishment.  When making a decision, not only must you choose the LORD's way, and the right way, but also choose the way of accomplishment.  Whichever decision will accomplish more right without leaving the LORD's way or the right way is the way you should go.  If the decision of accomplishment means you must leave the right way or the LORD's way, then don't choose the way of accomplishment.  Accomplishment should only be done while walking in the LORD's way and the right way.

These three guidelines will help you in choosing which way you should go. The next time you are faced with a decision of which way to go, apply these three principles and you will find the decision much easier to choose.

Double life

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A Double Life

 

Genesis 19:14

"And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law."

In the verse above, Lot found himself in a tough predicament. God warned Lot that He was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah.  Because these cities were going to be destroyed, and because Lot's family lived in these cities, God showed mercy upon him by allowing him the chance to bring his family out of the cities before their destruction.  Herein lies the problem, when Lot went to his daughters and sons-in-law, "...he seemed as one that mocked..." In other words, they looked at the life that he lived around them and compared it to how he lived when the preachers came to his house, and they thought it was a joke.  The reason they thought it was a joke was because his private life told a different story than his spiritual life. He was living a double life.

The true test of your Christianity is what your family says about you.  You may be able to fool everyone in your church, but your family sees you at your best and worst.  Your family sees what you try to hide from the church people.  Your family sees what television programs you watch.  Your family sees what websites you visit. Your family sees your attitude towards people when you are not around them.  Your family sees the true love of your life. They know whether or not you truly love the LORD.  You may be able to fool others, but you cannot fool your family.

Herein is the problem, if your private life does not match your public life, then you can be guaranteed to lose your family.  Christian, this is why you should be real.  This is why you should make the Christian life the real you.  You have children who are watching how you live, and they will more than likely copy what you do at home more than what you do in public.  Oh, don't get me wrong, there are some children who simply rebel against their parent's lifestyle, but you have a very little chance of your children turning out right if you don't make your private and public life the same.

Let me ask you, if I were to go to your family and ask them how good of a Christian you truly are, what would their answer be?  Would you be ashamed if they told me what you are truly like?  Better yet, if God sent His angels to your house and you had to go to your children like Lot did, would your children think that you are joking?  It is very important that you don't live a double life.  For the sake of your family you need to be a real Christian.  For the sake of your future grandkids, you need to be a real Christian.  For the sake of Christ, you need to be real.

Look at your life and see if you can find any area in which you are living a double life.  If you can find an area where you are living a double life, then work on changing that so that your family can see a person who is real and the same all the time.  When your family sees that you don't live a double life, then they will know that the Christian life is more than just lip service.  When they see it is more than lip service, then you will have a better chance of influencing them to live right themselves.