Gen. 42:21-22 - Then they said to one another, "Truly we are guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us, yet we would not listen; therefore this distress has come upon us." 22 Reuben answered them, saying, "Did I not tell you, 'Do not sin against the boy; and you would not listen? Now comes the reckoning for his blood."                                       NASU

•  The Cause of their Guilt 

Jacob's sons are in a dilemma. They sold their brother, Joseph, into slavery years ago. They had taken his coat of many colors and stained it with animal blood and then lie to their dad, Jacob, about what had happened to Joseph. 
 
Now years later, there had been a famine and Jacob sent his sons to Egypt to buy grain. This is when Joseph sees his brothers. He recognizes them but they don't recognize him. Joseph has them placed in prison and accuses them of being spies. He leaves them in prison for three days and tells them they must leave one of the brothers in prison, travel home and bring their younger brother to Egypt to prove they are telling the truth that they are not spies.

•  The Guilt of the Past Returns 

Now is when their guilty consciences remember what they had done to Joseph, their brother, and they believe this is why this disaster is coming upon them. We probably have all done some thing in our past that periodically comes back from time to time to haunt us.
 
The two best ways I know to overcome a guilty conscience if you have hurt someone:

1. Apologize and ask for forgiveness from the hurt person.
2. Apologize and ask for forgiveness from God if the hurt person cannot be contacted.

After their father, Jacob, dies the brothers send a message to Joseph asking him to forgive them. Gen. 50:16-17 -"Your father charged before he died, saying, 17'Thus you shall say to Joseph, "Please forgive, I beg you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they did you wrong."' And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father." 
 
The brothers asked Joseph for forgiveness and it was granted to them.

• The Hope We Have In Christ 

When your conscience brings up your past, remind yourself that you're not that person any longer. That person died and was buried in the watery grave of baptism. Jesus was and is the perfect sacrifice that atones for the sins of mankind. The best way to defeat your guilty conscience is to be born again.
 
I am not perfect now, but thank God I am not what I used to be nor am I what I want to be.  I want to do what 2 Pet. 3:18 says, "…grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
 
Like the sign says, "Under Construction: God isn't finished with me yet." We really need to memorize this statement. We are under construction. God is working on us and will continue to work on us as long as we are on this earth and will let Him.

• Guilty Conscience About Something Done After Your Baptism?

Incase you didn't know, Christians aren't perfect and sometimes our guilty consciences come from things we have done even after we have become a Christian. You may have done something that hasn't hurt anyone but yourself so you don't have to ask for anyone's forgiveness.

People have told you, "To let it go." You wish you could but everything you have tried isn't working. 

So what should be done in those situations? I would say, "You need to remember what God has done for you. He has forgiven you, so forgive yourself." 

• I Am Plagued By Feeling Guilty Constantly

Some people have a personality that dwells on the past, and if you are a Christian who is constantly fighting your past mistakes, then by all means you need to dwell on God's ability to forgive you of your sins.

• Christians Have The Same Enemy As Jesus

Christians must remember that we have the same enemy as Jesus had when He was on earth. The enemy constantly wants to bring up your past mistakes.
 
I like this saying, "When the devil wants to remind you of your past, remind him of his future." 

God is going to CRUSH him one day as it says in Romans 16:20 - "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you."  
 
If you want to dwell on something, dwell on what God has done for you and what He will do to the devil. 

Think About This:
 
Your conscience is not the voice of God; it is a gift from God.

Stay Pumped,

Gary A. Serago      
    ​

​Psalm 103:10 - He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.

• What? Wait Just A Minute!

How can you say Ps.103:10 is the greatest verse in the Bible? Many people say John 3:16 is the greatest verse in the Bible or Psalm 23 where the Lord is my Shepherd. What gives you the right to make this bold claim?

I am glad you asked. It is my opinion.

This is the USA. Where we are allowed to have different opinions, or at least we used to be when I was maturing in life. This doesn’t have to be the greatest verse for you.
Go read God’s Word and discover your own “greatest verse”.

• How Did It Become Your Greatest Verse?

Maybe it had to do with the way I was feeling at the time I read it.
I have started a “prayer walk” here at Fairway Christian Church on Friday mornings where I work. I was sharing with our walkers this scripture verse before we began our walk.

My thoughts were zeroed in on this concept that God doesn’t deal with me according to my sins and I was immediately flooded with thankfulness. Oh, those ugly sins I have committed in my life. Any one of them would be enough to send me to Hell for all eternity and then I read this verse and it says, “God doesn’t deal with me according to my sins, nor repay me according to my iniquities.”

• So Now You Know

I am not sure what next week’s verse will be. Maybe next week’s verse will be the greatest in the Bible. You see as long as we continue to read God’s Word and His Word continues to speak to us we might see any verse that speaks to us that day as the Greatest Verse in the Bible.

Is there anything wrong with having a favorite verse? No.

Is there anything wrong with our favorite verse changing? No.

What is the most important thing here is that we continue to read God’s Word and allow it to speak to us. As it speaks to us may we allow it to change us so we can be the best version of ourselves.

• Ezra Said It This Way

 Ezra 7:10- For Ezra had firmly resolved to study the Law of the Lord and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.

It seems in life from time to time we look to others for an example of how to live. If you are such a person then please allow me to present to you, Ezra.  For he had made up his mind (firmly resolved) to study the Law of the LORD.
There is a great example for all of us to imitate.

• The Apostle Paul Said It This Way

2 Tim. 2:15 - Study and do your best to present yourself to God approved, a workman [tested by trial] who has no reason to be ashamed, accurately handling and skillfully teaching the word of truth (Amplified Version).

My advice and please hear my heart when I say this to you today, read God’s Word because you know it is God’s Love Letter to you from Him.

Think About These:

The Bible is the only book whose author is always present when one reads it.

A Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t. - Charles Spurgeon

Stay Pumped,

​Gary A. Serago

Minister of God's Word
 
FYI:  I have been teaching on Wednesday nights at Fairway Christian Church. The lessons have been about lesser known Apostles, Overcoming Suffering, and Matthew 24 about the destruction of Jerusalem, and Jesus' 2nd Coming. I am attaching a link for anyone interested in watching the lessons I have taught the last few months.    

https://vimeopro.com/user45356398/wednesday-night-bible-studies
 
Also, these lessons are "Live Streamed" on Wednesday evenings at 6 pm (EST). I would love for you to join us.

Hebrews 8:12 – “For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

• God’s Forgiveness

I am sure we all have said, “I completely forgot!” Generally, forgetting something leaves us a little embarrassed. There are somethings we really don’t want to forget, like our spouse’s birthday, or our wedding anniversary.

Sometimes at work we may forget an appointment, or an assignment. We may forget to return a phone call or reply to an email. Sometimes forgetting something may even hurt someone’s feelings.

The Hebrew passage above will not cause anyone’s feelings to get hurt because of forgetfulness. God says He is going to forget our sins and no one is complaining. He is going to totally forget our sins. They are erased from the hard-drive.

There is no way we want God to remember our sins. We are overjoyed to know our sins have been forgiven by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

• No Other Blessing

We have received a lot of blessings in our lifetime but none greater than the forgiveness of our sins. We sinned against God and yet God is the One who initiates the way for us to receive forgiveness from Him.

God never forgets anything except those things He chooses to forget.

Without God choosing to forget our sins we would all be in a world of trouble. Now that is Mercy, getting what we do not deserve. We don’t deserve to be forgiven, but we get to receive it through our Savior Jesus Christ.

• Christmas Season

As we enter into our Christmas season may we always remember Jesus was born to fulfill a purpose and the purpose was to accomplish a way for sinful man to be forgiven of our sins.

The reason Jesus was the greatest gift given to this world is because through Him humans are able to receive forgiveness of their sins. He was not simply a baby born in a manger. He was born to grow, never sin, and then offer His life on the cross of Calvary for us.

Jesus having fulfilled His purpose allows God to forgive us.

Have a Merry Christmas Season!

Think About This:

The moment you asked for forgiveness, God forgave you. Now do your part and leave the guilt behind.

Stay Pumped,

Gary A. Serago

Minister of God's Word
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