Forgiving Like God Forgives

Genesis 45 describes the dramatic reconciliation between Joseph and his brothers. After being sold into slavery, Joseph has risen to the number two position in Egypt. He can destroy or forgive his brothers. His response shows us both how God forgives us and how we should forgive others (Ephesians 4:32).

Here are three lessons about forgiveness.

1. We must forgive confidentially, see verses 1-2. He dismissed the Egyptians. They didn't need to know about the family feud. Aren't you glad God doesn't blab our business all over the universe?

2. We must forgive mercifully, see verse 5-8. DON'T GIVE THEM WHAT THEY DO DESERVE. Don't keep score, don't demand justice and punishment. God forgives and forgets, we should too.

3. We must forgive graciously, see verses 9-11. DO GIVE THEM WHAT THEY DON'T DESERVE. Be affectionate, generous,

What to Do When Someone Hurts You

How do we respond when we suffer unjustly? We should learn from Jesus. He was a Man of Sorrows. No one has suffered more than Him. His close friend Peter denied Him.

Based on the example of Jesus we should take these seven actions.

1. When someone hurts us we should include them (Mark 16:7)
2. When someone hurts us we should speak well of them. Jesus still referred to him by his positive nickname, Peter the rock (Mark 16:7, Matt. 16:17-18).
3. When someone hurts us we should pursue them. We cannot wait for them to come to us, we must go to them (Luke 24:34, Matt. 5:23-24, 18:15).
4. When someone hurts us we should honor them (Luke 24:34, 1 Cor. 15:5).
5. When someone hurts us we should serve them (In John 21 Jesus helped Peter with fishing and served him breakfast).
6. When someone hurts us we should restore them (John 21).
7. When someone hurts us we should forgive them. To fail to forgive is to minimize the blood of Jesus and maximize the work of Satan. The devil is an accuser (Rev. 12:10). When we refuse to forgive others we participate in Satan's darkness and open ourselves up to his evil (Eph. 4:26-27, Matt. 18:34).

Honoring Law Enforcement

Jack Moore, pastor of First Baptist Church Fisherville TN, gave this timely message. Based on Romans 13:1-7,

1. Everyone is to obey the authorities, 1a
2. God has appointed all authorities, 1b
3. To resist the authorities is to resist God, 2a
4. Resisting authority brings judgment, 2b-4
5. Chrisitans should set the example, 5-7

And if we don't honor law enforcement, Dr. Jerry Vines warns

• We will have anarchy in the culture
• We will have apostacy in the church.

How to be Popular

Mordecai was popular because according to Esther 10:3 he did two things:

1. He sought the welfare of his people.
2. He spoke peace to all the people.

It seems pretty simple, but it is a good reminder.

1. Serve people.
2. Say pleasant things.

Because let's face it, there are too many self-serving individuals who say ugly things.