{"id":757,"date":"2025-01-04T10:44:30","date_gmt":"2025-01-04T16:44:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/?p=757"},"modified":"2025-01-04T10:44:30","modified_gmt":"2025-01-04T16:44:30","slug":"11-lord-teach-me-to-forgive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/2025\/01\/04\/11-lord-teach-me-to-forgive\/","title":{"rendered":"11 – Lord, Teach Me to Forgive"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” da_disable_devices=”off|off|off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” da_is_popup=”off” da_exit_intent=”off” da_has_close=”on” da_alt_close=”off” da_dark_close=”off” da_not_modal=”on” da_is_singular=”off” da_with_loader=”off” da_has_shadow=”on”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_heading title=”Lord, Teach Me to Forgive” _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” title_font=”Georgia|700|on||||||” title_text_align=”center” title_font_size=”42px” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_heading][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_image src=”http:\/\/h4you.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/young-man-angry-scaled.jpg” title_text=”youth problems” _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-40px||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

By Terance Clark \u00a0 \u00a0 January 4, 2025 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a07 Minute Read<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ inline_fonts=”Georgia” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

\n

Week 11<\/o:p><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

This Weeks Passage: Genesis 44:18 – 47:27<\/o:p><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

There is an underlying theme in the book of Genesis that encourages us and even teaches us how to deal with forgiveness and repentance.\u00a0 It’s as if this foundation needs to be laid out at the very beginning of the scriptures if one is to have any chance of success in life.\u00a0 There is nothing more difficult for us to do than to say I’m sorry or to forgive someone who has wronged us.\u00a0 As I write this, I stand on the verge of my 62nd birthday in 2025 and I have discovered the greatest enemy to my heart and the one that can possess my soul is bitterness from those who have hurt me in life.\u00a0 The older one gets the more pain one has experienced and the greater opportunities for one to build a stronghold of isolation and solitude against even the very people we love.\u00a0 How many of us can acknowledge that we know someone who lives in isolation as a result of the pain they’ve experienced from those around them.<\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||0px|||” inline_fonts=”Georgia” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n

\n

The Theme of Genesis is How to Overcome Deception<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This week we look at the culmination of the Genesis story, one which requires reconciliation and healing, as Joseph reveals himself to the brothers who thirty years prior had sold him into slavery.\u00a0 At this point we have seen Jacob deceive his father and steal his brothers blessing.\u00a0 We’ve experienced Laban’s deceitful act of exchanging Jacob\u2019s bride for her sister.\u00a0 Tamar has deceived Judah into providing what he had refused to do on his own, and the ten brothers sold their brother into slavery, and that brings us to the conclusion of the story as Joseph conceals his own identity from them in another deceptive act, so that they could deal with the pain they’ve caused the whole family.\u00a0 What a book!\u00a0 The story is just getting started.<\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” inline_fonts=”Georgia” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n

“Every one of us could write a book on the wrongs <\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

committed against us<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/span>“<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”27px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-25px||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ inline_fonts=”Georgia” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

Every one of us could write a book on the wrongs committed against us.\u00a0 When we are offended, we can easily feel justified in holding resentment and anger against those who have hurt us.\u00a0 Only the love of God can help us to forgive those who have wronged us, but there is a sentence against us when we fail to forgive others, we find ourselves chained and locked in a prison cell of emotional baggage and pain without the possibility of parole or pardon, only forgiveness sets us free.\u00a0 That is why in the story of Joseph and his ten brothers we find the three keys for repentance and reconciliation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

In the story of Tamar, it is the first time in the bible that someone acknowledges their wrongdoing and accepts responsibility as we see Judah change his course.\u00a0 It helps him as he now also accepts responsibility for the actions against his brother Joseph.\u00a0 In Joseph we see his plan to walk his brothers through the process of repentance.\u00a0 Step one was to acknowledge they had hurt him and done wrong which they acknowledge when he first put them in prison for three days.\u00a0 Step two is the commitment to never do it again which we see occur when the brothers are at home with their father and take ownership to not let Benjamin experience what Joseph did.\u00a0 They took responsibility.\u00a0 Finally, the last step is when they were put in the same position again, they chose to do the opposite of what they had done before.\u00a0 In repentance, I can only take responsibility for what I have done, I cannot make anyone else own up to what they’ve done.<\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ inline_fonts=”Georgia” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

“How often are we trying to solve a past issue or offense<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/span>“<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ inline_fonts=”Georgia” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

Relationships are complicated.\u00a0 When it’s family it’s even more complicated because it comes with those we are closest to.\u00a0 If we could stop and ask ourselves the question, do I feel this way because of this event or another one that occurred in the past.\u00a0 How often are we trying to resolve a past issue or offense or even feeling we were treated wrong and therefore we continue to treat this present situation in light of past experiences.\u00a0 As we start the new year of 2025 can I offer you a suggestion.\u00a0 Let it go!\u00a0 All of it.\u00a0 Stop trying to figure people out and just accept them for who they are baggage and all.\u00a0 Let go of all expectations and resolve to just enjoy family and friends for whatever you have and whoever they are.\u00a0 Life is too short to be stuck carrying needless baggage. I’m not saying to stay in toxic relationships, I’m saying to keep the door open into the lives of others as they grow and heal so that you can make a difference and bonds are not lost.<\/span><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.26.0″ _module_preset=”default” inline_fonts=”Georgia” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n

Finding a Way to Reconcile<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Joseph found a way to reconcile with his brothers without ever blaming them.\u00a0 Even when they did acknowledge their acts against him, he continued to downplay it choosing instead to see it as the plans and purposes of God.\u00a0 God is not asking us to remove blame from others, but He is asking us to let Him help us to forgive others and find ways to keep relationships intact.\u00a0 I don’t think we’ll find anything in this life harder to do and that is why we must continue to pray Lord, teach me to forgive.<\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Terance Clark \u00a0 \u00a0 January 4, 2025 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a07 Minute Read Week 11 \u00a0 This Weeks Passage: Genesis 44:18 – 47:27 \u00a0\u00a0 There is an underlying theme in the book of Genesis that encourages us and even teaches us how to deal with forgiveness and repentance.\u00a0 It’s as if this foundation needs to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":758,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"1080","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=757"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":778,"href":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/757\/revisions\/778"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/h4you.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}