May 8
Upon suggestion from some of our older members, I am going to start to include short devotionals on the back of our printed sermon copies, as we did during Lent. To help organize the project, I'm going to pick out a passage or short quote from the biblical books in order for the next 9+ weeks.

Joseph and forgiveness-Gen. 50 I just spoke to someone who has held a political grudge for over 40 years. that seems to me to keep and old wound too fresh in the freezer section of our memory. Joseph spent his adult life in a foreign land due to the jealousy of his brothers. With their father dead, the brothers fear that Joseph will now not be inhibited in extracting revenge, even though he has made it clear he has forgiven their deep wrong. the fundamental base of forgiveness is to let go of the right to revenge. when that happens, the pain of the incident starts to drain away as well. At v. 20, his perspective is important. He knows that did wrong, but God was able and willing to work it for the good. In the end, god is not bound to our wrongs; God can transform them.