Emmanuel Okoro (aka MrLift)

My own vs our own   "But Onan knew that the child wouldn't be his, so whenever he slept with his brother's widow he spilled his semen on the ground so he wouldn't produce a child for his brother. (Gen.38.9 MSB) Growing up you hear people say "my own and our own' is not the same thing. I didn't understand it until much later. There is an adage that says, 'it is the other person's buttocks that tears the mat'. Meaning, when others want to sit on your mat, you refuse them saying you do not want the mat to be torn.  That is the lesson in our text today. How we treat others versus how we treat ourselves. The Bible says Er, the firstborn of son of Judah offended God and he was killed (see Gen. 38.7) and then the onus fell on his brother Onan to raise a seed for Er but every time he slept with Er's widow - Tamar, he would spill his semen on the ground so he wouldn't produce a child for his brother.  The only reason he spilled his semen is beca

The difficult route  "In Egypt the Midianites sold Joseph to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials, manager of his household affairs. [Gen.37.36] God does not always lead us in a straight, easy-going, trouble free route to the place of our destinies. He sometimes takes us through the difficult route.  Case in point, would it not have easier to deliver the three Hebrew boys, was it necessary to let go through the fire? What about Daniel, what was the point of the lion's den or couldn't Jesus have died a normal death, did he have to be shamed, go through the pain and the cross?  God did not lead Israel from the slavery of Egypt through the easy route.  "It so happened that after Pharaoh released the people, God didn't lead them by the road through the land of the Philistines, which was the shortest route, for God thought, "If the people encounter war, they'll change their minds and go back to Egypt." (Exod.13.17)  Could Joseph have become the Prime

Go and see...  "He said, "Go and see how your brothers and the flocks are doing and bring me back a report." He sent him off from the valley of Hebron to Shechem." (Gen.37.14)  Imagine if you will as a parent, sending your child off to fetch something and you were expecting the child back but that would be the last time, you would see that child. Just thinking about it leaves me shaken up.  Joseph will not return to this land and that will be the last time his beloved father would see him in a long while. Painful as this was, we know that it was God Who was at work. When you are submitted to God, and seeming painful events overtake you, do not despair, trust that God knows what God is doing. Joseph told is brothers that God was behind it. And that should help somebody deal with guilt and self blame.  "But don't feel badly, don't blame yourselves for selling me. God was behind it. God sent me here ahead of you to save lives. God has sent me here to keep

Children get jealous but fathers, ponder "Joseph 's brothers envied him and were jealous of him, but his father observed the saying and pondered over it." (Gen.37.11 AMP) The difference between a child and an adult is as clear as day and night. The difference is seen in both their thoughts and actions. Length of days do not guarantee maturity but you need length of days in order to mature. Children act before thinking, adults think before they act.  The act of thinking, pondering is trait possessed mainly by adults. The Bible says while Joseph's brother were being envious and jealous, their father Jacob pondered over the matter. To think is a lost act. We live in a fast paced world that requires quick actions. But the impact of our actions are solely dependent on depth of our thoughts.  God is mighty in deed because He is first great in counsel (seeJer:32:19) Gods ways are higher than ours because His thoughts are higher than ours. Elevate your thought life and you wi

Hate don't stop us "He had another dream and told this one also to his brothers: "I dreamed another dream--the sun and moon and eleven stars bowed down to me!" (Gen.37.9)  Hate don't stop us. Hate is a negative emotion, it motivate a lot of people to do the wrong thing. You can hardly do the right thing motivated by hate. Hate don't motivate us and hate don't stop us.  The story of Joseph is a clear example for us. He had a dream for which his brother hated him. For some, the hate of others would have been reason enough to not dream again, to quit. People have stopped laudable projects because some other people are not with them on it or because they do not see to eye on the matter.  Like Joseph you must not let their hate stop you. You may say, "well it is not hate per se, but they do not encourage me or they do not believe in me". Do not let them stop you. As long as you know that God is in it with you.  The Apostle Paul says it this way: &quo

The legacy sons "Meanwhile Jacob had settled down where his father had lived, the land of Canaan." (Gen.37.1)  Who starts a sentence with 'meanwhile' unless it was contracted with an earlier stated idea. Jacob, we are told settled where his father Isaac had lived. Which also was where Abraham lived. But the blessings of the first born had passed not to Esau but to Jacob. This may account for why Jacob was in such a hurry to get back home.  Eusa and his family however, had to relocate from the vicinity.  "Esau gathered up his wives, sons and daughters, and everybody in his household, along with all his livestock--all the animals and possessions he had gotten in Canaan--and moved a considerable distance away from his brother Jacob."(Gen.36.6) But when we pick up the story in verse 2, this time it continues with Joseph.  "This is the story of Jacob. The story continues with Joseph, seventeen years old at the time, helping out his brothers in herding the fl