We've reached the end of Genesis. What does this last chapter have in store? It's a microcosm of the entire book of Genesis. The common theme amongst the "greats" in Genesis is they operated by faith, and out of a response to Him, not them.

Genesis 49 reads a bit like someone reading their will. Only in this will, it shapes the future of the tribes of Israel. Each one is given a blessing fitting to them. Romans 12 tells us that we are to use our gifts according to the measure of faith that God has given us. Your gift is your gift and when unsure, do the givens (Romans 12:9-13).

Fathers are obsessed with passing on something to their children. Most of the time it's an inheritance of some kind, a property, car, or possession of some kind. In these touching last few chapters of Genesis, we see the Patriarch Israel passing on his wisdom on trusting God and His promises. What we take from this is that God is with me, is greater than me, and we leave God as our legacy.

Sometimes the problems around us seem overwhelming and stop us from doing anything. But if we learn anything from the life of Joseph and to an extent, his father Jacob, it's that we simply do what we can and remember that it's a sojourn type of life. We don't stay here, and we need to live with eterntiy in mind.

Things change. That's a given. But how do we respond when God changes things in our lives? Do we have the bandwidth to deal with it or does it derail us completely? It's what we dig into today as we look into Genesis 46 and how Jacob responds to changes.

The brothers of Joseph receive the most powerful gift: forgiveness. That same gift is available to us through Jesus. When we experience that forgiveness, we proclaim what we have seen and heard. Our hope is that you experience the gift of forgiveness this Christmas season.

Guilt is a powerful thing. Entire lives can be defined by guilt. There is only one thing that can help us live in a life of freedom from guilt and all of Josephs brothers are about to find out what that is in Chapter 44.

When we face a famine, the quickest way out isn't always the right way out. God has a plan and a purpose in our pain. Joseph and the brothers are on the way to reconciliation because of everything that's happened before this chapter. We can find hope in that.

We see guilt playing a major role in Genesis 42. 10 brothers can't escape what they've done no matter how much time has passed...and their past catches up to them. We're reminded through this story that Jesus wants our past, present and future.

Ever feel like a victim or God's forgotten about you? Take heart in knowing that God works everything out for our good according to HIS purpose. Joseph rises the ranks after he interprets Pharaoh's dream.