The Spirit of Joseph

I'll share some of the Bible Pathway thoughts that have touched me in January:
"You may weep as you read the biography of Joseph--foreshadowing Christ. Both are objects of special love by their fathers; hated by their brethren; rejected as rulers over their brethren; conspired against; sold for silver; condemned though innocent; and raised from humiliation to glory by the power of God. Joseph remained faithful to God, even with compassion forgiving his brothers.
"...in time, God wonderfully blesses all who are faithful to Him. When we remain faithful to Christ and allow Him to be Lord and Master of our lives, God will wonderfully bless us too.
"One of the great needs today among Christians is to demonstate the spirit of Joseph. When one knows the God of Joseph, it really doesn't matter that we are misunderstood, unjustly maligned, or cruelly abused. With a heart filled with love, we can say; As for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good (Gen. 50:20).
"Avoid the poison of bitterness by realizing the Lord is working through your offenders and your circumstances to express His love."
"Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled" (Heb. 12:14,15).

We've all, at one time or another, been "misunderstood, unjustly maligned, or cruelly abused." But how we react to those instances proves what's really on the inside. And just because we don't lash out and retaliate in obvious anger doesn't necessarily mean we're not secretly harboring bad feelings down deep inside. When those hard times come and some individuals seem to take pleasure in hurting us or those we love, we've got to be certain that the blood of Jesus Christ washes ALL seeds of bitterness out of the secret places in our heart.
"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you" (Eph. 4:29-32).
Which one of us is deserving of the blood Jesus shed to purchase our salvation? Christ forgave us of our sins when there was nothing we could possibly do to be worthy of such a gift. We, then, must turn around and forgive others their trespasses against us. The Lord's Prayer says, " And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" (Matt. 6:12). It sounds to me like God will forgive us in relation to how we forgive others. If we refuse to forgive our debtors, will God forgive us? I don't want to take any chances! I want my conscience to be clear and my Unforgiveness Bank to be EMPTY. I know far too many people (and even many professing Christians) who have made way too many deposits in their Unforgiveness Bank Account, and they don't ever make any withdrawals. That's one bank account that needs to be closed out, once and for all! Amen!