Be Faithful...Like Joseph

 Genesis 39:9-10

"No one is greater in this house than I am.  My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife.  How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?"  And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.

Have you ever done the right thing, and things still didn't go well for you?  What are some of the temptations that you face day after day?  Are you able to withstand them every day, or do you lose that battle some days?

Joseph was faced with constant, daily, temptations and attacks on his faith and faithfulness to God.  Joseph recognized the favorable position God had given him despite being a slave.  His response to Potiphar's wife shows a level of maturity that we wouldn't expect from Joseph at this point of his life.  In the previous chapters it seems like Joseph, a young man of 17, was a spoiled brat.  This response to Potiphar's wife reveals that Joseph had a level of maturity that his brothers lacked: spiritual maturity.

Despite Joseph's shortcomings as the "favored brother", it seems that he loved God and tried to live according to his commands.  He would have been well schooled in the covenant and commands that God gave Abraham.  He would even have been familiar with the history of Noah and Adam.  After all, they were his descendants.  His response to Potiphar's wife shows clearly the depth of Joseph's faith and his dedication to the one true God, because I don't know many 17 year-old men who would have turned down this opportunity.

How about you?  When is the last time you resisted temptation because you realized that to give into it would be to sin against God?  This response of Joseph is so powerful for us, if we will remember it and use it, because this is how we should answer every temptation that comes along.  All sin is wicked and it is something we do against God.  

Unfortunately, all of us sin every day.  We do not stand up to it like Joseph did in this situation.  Usually we are more like Joseph in Genesis 37:1-11, indulging our selfishness.  Thankfully, God knows that we can't stand up to sin and temptation on our own.  That's why he sent Jesus.  Jesus did resist every temptation.  Jesus lived the perfect life that we can't live.  He died the death we deserve.  And he raised from the dead, in the flesh, on third day to conquer death for us.  Because of Jesus we are no longer slaves to sin and death.  We have been redeemed by God through Jesus.  Therefore we have been reconciled to our heavenly Father for all eternity.  It is all because of Jesus.

Hebrews 2:14-18

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil--and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.  For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants.  For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.  Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

God bless

Jason Fredrick

Guard Yourself Against Negative Associations

Genesis 37:21-22

When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands.  "Let's not take his life," he said.  "Don't shed any blood.  Throw him into this cistern here in the desert, but don't lay a hand on him."  Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.

Have you ever been part of group sin?  It can be easy to get caught in this trap when a group of people decide together to do something wicked, illegal, or hurtful to another person.  

The time in my life when I was most susceptible to this was in high school.  It seems like those high school years are when most people have their worst ideas.  When I remember back to "going along with the crowd" and doing something stupid in high school, I also remember having the thoughts, "What are we doing?  Why are we doing this?"  Unfortunately, I usually didn't have the courage to speak up like Reuben and try to stop what was going on.

Reuben probably wasn't more forceful in trying to rescue Joseph from the schemes of his brothers because he knew how much they all hated Joseph.  He probably reasoned that they wouldn't listen to him and  they might even turn on him.  Despite being the oldest, he was probably right.  He knew what his brothers were capable of.  Jacob's sons were not delicate little flowers.  They were hardened vicious warriors.  That was necessary for them to survive and and thrive in the harsh climate in which they lived and worked.  If you want to gain a better understanding of Joseph's brothers read Genesis 34 and how they avenged their sister after she was raped by Shechem.  They valued vengeance above justice.

What about you?  Have you ever displayed courage in a situation like this?  Have you ever been part of a group that schemed to carry out some vile sin and had the courage to say something, or at least walk away from the group and not be a part of what they were planning?  (Share your experience in the comment section below.)

As you have grown up and become an adult, hopefully, you have chosen your friends with more discernment than I did in high school.  You probably don't have to think very hard to see how associations have influenced you in your life.  Both for good and for bad.  I encourage you to eliminate the associations in your life that are negative and destructive.  Sometimes this is difficult for different reasons:  they're your family, they're your coworkers, they're your softball team, you've been friends your whole life, etc.

If you have thought of someone who is a negative influence in your life, but they are also one of the people that I just listed above, you have some tough decisions to make:

1. End the relationship immediately.
2. Have a crucial conversation and change the nature of the relationship.  Become the influencer instead of being the influenced.
3. Stop going along with stupid ideas.  Take a stand and refuse to be a part of group sin.  Most people won't carry out stupid ideas without a partner-in-crime.
4. Apologize for the part you have played in enabling that person to indulge their sinful nature.  Then stop being that enabler.
5. Continue on the way it has always been and stay trapped in a life of sin and rebellion.

While some of your negative associations need to be ended immediately, not all of them do.  If you are courageous enough to have some difficult conversations and take a strong stand on not being a partner to willful sin, you can work to turn those negative relationships into great and meaningful friendships.  You have to lead.  You have to be the one who measures every idea and decision against the guage of God's Word.  You have to be the one who teaches others to think through their actions in the light of Scripture.

A good starting point is to be like Reuben.  The ultimate goal is to be like Jesus.

God bless

Jason Fredrick