February 1, 2013 Trsut God's Law

Read Psalms 19-20 Trust God’s Law Ps 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. YOU can trust God’s law. I know, your inclination is to pull back. You see law as too demanding and too restrictive. But the law is one way God loves you. Yes, it is vital and life-giving to know what is wrong and what is right in God’s sight. Such love tells you the truth. Sadly, many people prefer to live life in the gray areas. For example, it’s okay to be a little late for work. But keep it up, and you will have no work. Or it’s okay to cheat on your spouse. But keep it up, and you’ll have no spouse. Or it’s okay to sneak a peek at the naked woman on the internet. Keep it up, and you’ll have a destructive addiction. Or it’s okay to not take the Sabbath. Keep it up, and you’ll get no rest for your soul. Or it’s okay to steal those few dollars. Keep it up, and you’ll lose your freedom. Or it’s okay to ignore the fulfillment of God’s law, Jesus. Keep it up, and you’ll have no life—ever. Living in the gray area takes you into the darkness of sin. Living in God’s black and white law leads to the eternal light of life. Thank God for his great love to give you his perfect law made complete in Jesus Christ. Trust God’s laws. They will lead you to his truth for life each day. They will lead you to Jesus, into life forever. It’s Truie! Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

February 1, 2013 God's Life Laws

Read Psalms 19-20 Trust God’s Law Ps 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. YOU can trust God’s law. I know, your inclination is to pull back. You see law as too demanding and too restrictive. But the law is one way God loves you. Yes, it is vital and life-giving to know what is wrong and what is right in God’s sight. Such love tells you the truth. Sadly, many people prefer to live life in the gray areas. For example, it’s okay to be a little late for work. But keep it up, and you will have no work. Or it’s okay to cheat on your spouse. But keep it up, and you’ll have no spouse. Or it’s okay to sneak a peek at the naked woman on the internet. Keep it up, and you’ll have a destructive addiction. Or it’s okay to not take the Sabbath. Keep it up, and you’ll get no rest for your soul. Or it’s okay to steal those few dollars. Keep it up, and you’ll lose your freedom. Or it’s okay to ignore the fulfillment of God’s law, Jesus. Keep it up, and you’ll have no life—ever. Living in the gray area takes you into the darkness of sin. Living in God’s black and white law leads to the eternal light of life. Thank God for his great love to give you his perfect law made complete in Jesus Christ. Trust God’s laws. They will lead you to his truth for life each day. They will lead you to Jesus, into life forever. It’s Truie! Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

January 31, 2013

Read Psalms 16-18 Focus on the Gift Ps 18:49-50 Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O LORD; I will sing praises to your name. 50 He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever. HOW’S your “praise quotient” today? Are you focusing on the struggles, or are you focusing on the blessings? The struggles seem to take the front row seats in our minds, don’t they? We consider what we don’t have instead of what we have. We think of what could have been instead of what is. We consider, “Why can’t I?” instead of “What are my options?” David, who wrote this psalm, had many opportunities to consider what could have been. He had a very difficult life. Some struggles came in his own sin. Other struggles came from Saul, other enemies, and his own family. But David did something amazing. Amid these struggles, he considered how God had blessed him. He placed God’s love and kindness above all things. He understood God’s promise to care for his family forever. In what ways has God showed his unfailing promise, his forever kindnesses to you? One way is the heaven-bound way. He sent his Son to die for you, so that you and your family will receive his kindness forever. When you’re considering your struggles, consider God’s “unfailing kindness”. Focus on the gift and praise the LORD among the nations. It’s True! “Unfailing” is eternal.

January 30, 2013 He Has Been Good to You

Read Psalms 11-15 He Has Been Good to You Psalms 13 1 How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? 3 Look on me and answer, O LORD my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death; 4 my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall. 5 But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. 6 I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me. HOW MIGHT you feel that God has forgotten you? Those feelings come when a friend suffers from serious disease. Or perhaps you deal with depression, and you can’t seem to enjoy life. Maybe you are trapped economically, and no end of the bills is in sight. Will God keep you in those places forever? I can’t answer how God will release you from harm. The psalmist here was writing from a foreign land where God had sent his people into exile. He missed God’s presence and wondered if God be with them again. Then look at his attitude change. When he expressed his trust in God, he began to praise God. He had not seen the end of the exile, but he focused on God’s love, salvation and goodness. This praise attitude is a great thing to have in your heart. Praise him for his love, and you will feel his love. Praise him for his goodness, and you will feel good with him. Praise him for his salvation, and your heart will sing to the Lord. Yes, freedom from your sorrows begins when you center your life on God’s eternal goodness for you. Live with a song of grateful love in your heart for your God who saves and makes new. It’s True! How good it is to say good things.  

January 28, 2013 Praise Him

Read Psalms 8-9 Praise Him Psalms 8:1 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. 3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: 7 all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. 9 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! DO YOU want to feel special? Then take time to read this Psalm for the next 8 days—8 days of Psalm 8—about 90 seconds each day. What would that do for you? I don’t know. Perhaps you would look upon the morning sun and evening stars and think of God the creator. Perhaps you would be mindful that’s God’s glorious existences is above all the heavens. Perhaps you would hear in children’s voices their praise of God as they say their bedtime prayers. You might see, most of all, how valuable you are amidst all of creation. Made just a little lower than the angels, the God of creation has created you to be his own. The One whose hand shaped the universe has shaped you. The One whose mind conceived the wonder of the universe of unlimited beauty has conceived you, and he calls you, “Mine.” It’s True! You are of extremely high value to God.

January 27, 2012 Wonderful Right Gift

Read Psalms 1-7 A Wonderful Right Gift Ps 7:11 God is a righteous judge, a God who expresses his wrath every day. KIND OF a scary verse, isn’t it? Aren’t the psalms all about peace, comfort and strength in God? Actually, they’re about those things and much more. The Psalms show in poetic strength the vast truth of God who created perfection and now seeks to restore his broken world into his perfection. In this purpose he does comfort, strengthen and bring peace to our lives. He also demands we are perfect before him. How do we get perfect? Only in God’s mercy is it possible to escape the wrath described here. Many people who say they believe in God think that “being as good as I can be” is good enough to go to Heaven some day. Don’t believe it. The only one who is “right” is God, “a righteous judge…who expresses his wrath every day.” We can only escape the wrath, when we are right before him. Do you see the connection between “right” and “wrath”? The smallest virus can cause deadly diseases. A small black mark on a brand-new white shirt can make the shirt useless. The slightest sin makes God’s righteousness wrong. Perfect right cannot accept any amount of wrong. But the psalmist knew something very wonderful. God’s wrath leads to hope! Yes, when we understand God cannot tolerate our errors, we turn to the pure solution, the blood of Jesus. In God’s mercy, we become right with God when we understand our own good is not good enough. (1 Thess 5:9-10 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.) It’s True! This wonderful gift God is for you!

January 26, 2013 Humbling, Isn't It?

Read Job 42 Humbling, Isn’t It? Job 42:5-6 My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. 6 Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes. WHEN WE live within the normal boundaries of our lives, it is easy to say to God, “This is what I want. You’re a loving God. I’m sure you are happy to give me what I want.” Job has been saying something like that to God. Job seems to be justified in his despair. After all, he was blameless before God. He was blameless, that is, until he began to question God and try to claim he was right and God was wrong. Job wasn’t willing to humble himself to the one who “gives orders to the morning, or shows the dawn its place” (Job 38:12). He was judging the One who judges. We can easily do that, can’t we when there seems to be no response to our prayers. After all, he teaches us to pray. Even commands we have faith in him to deliver what we want into our lives. But as we pray, “Our Father in heaven, holy be your name…your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” we are acknowledging God as our sovereign Father, and we are praying his Kingdom purposes to unfold into our lives from his perfect presence. Yet we don’t trust God’s answers to our prayers. We judge God when he delivers something other than what we “ordered”. What Job, God’s prophets, and Jesus’ disciples came to understand, was that following God required complete humility. They learned they had to give up every sense of their own will for the Father’s will. Be humble before God. Live in praise that the Sovereign Lord, cares for you so deeply “he humbled himself and became obedient to death” (Phil 2:8). It’s True! How humbling it is to know God humbled himself to death for you.

January 25, 2013 Above All

Read Job 41 Above All Power Job 41:1 “Can you pull in the leviathan with a fishhook or tie down his tongue with a rope? 2 Can you put a cord through his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook? 3 Will he keep begging you for mercy? Will he speak to you with gentle words?” I’M thinking Michael W. Smith’s song “Above All”. The first vese is: Above all powers Above all kings Above all nature And all created things Above all wisdom And all the ways of man You were here Before the world began The song celebrates God’s eternal power, worshiping God as the one who is above all he has created. In Job 40-41, the words of Job remind you of the untouchable power of the almighty God through the image of a large animal. The description today reminds you of a Terrasauras Rex. Some commentators feel it is a reference to the crocodile found then in some waters of the Mideast. At any rate, in the image of an untouchable animal, the message is that no man can will God’s actions. Thankfully God is not a raging animal to terrify you. In fact, his will is to conquer the raging devil who desires to destroy you. As you, like Job, might wonder sometimes, “Why is life so hard?” questioning God’s will for your life, I’d like you pause and consider the chorus of Above All. Crucified Laid behind a stone You lived to die Rejected and alone Like a rose Trampled on the ground You took the fall And thought of me Above all Above all your knowledge and understanding, the eternal all-powerful God into life’s hardest places to die for you, to rescue you from the terrifying destructive devil. God is above all sin, all harm, all destruction. God is eternal, and he invites you to confess him as Lord that you enter into his gentle eternal life. It’s True! God’s power is above all.

January 24, 2013 Submission

Read Job 40 Submission? Job 40:7 Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. 8 Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself? YOU are arguing with a friend, and if you sense you might be losing the argument, you shift into a new attack – even a personal attack because you “need” to win. The most important aspect of your view of right and wrong is for you to say, “I’m right.” Right is winning. You will not submit to your friend even if your friend is right. In a like manner, Job has essentially said, “Surely, God you are wrong. You are unjust in the ways you’ve treated me.” Job’s sense of right was to prove God wrong. Do you live that way? One of the biggest reasons people stay away from God’s Word, from his church and from a relationship with God is that they don’t want to hear, “You’re wrong.” Instead we often use life’s circumstances to condemn God. The common cry, “Why, God?” comes from our lips when hard things happen even if your decisions have caused the hard things. Amazingly, people who are in jail will even condemn God even though their criminal actions have imprisoned them. But admit it. You may not be in jail but you imprison yourself in the prideful prison called, “I’m right.” You’ll do that sometimes in subtle ways—“I’ll skip prayer today.”—and sometimes in defiant actions—“I’m never going back to church. The sermon made me feel I was wrong!” Yes, we are adept at telling God, “I’m right.” Blame someone, anyone but don’t blame yourself. Surely you’re smarter than God, aren’t you? It’s True! Submission is an admission, “God, you are God.”

January 23, 2013 Majesty

Read Job 39 Majesty Job 39:26 “Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom and spread his wings toward the south? 27 Does the eagle soar at your command and build his nest on high? 28 He dwells on a cliff and stays there at night; a rocky crag is his stronghold.” I HOPE you take some time to read Job 38 – 39. (You can click on this link http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job+38&version=NIV if you don’t have a Bible near you.) There are many ways in the Holy Scriptures that God reminds mankind he is the majestic Creator. Through floods and plagues to judge, through miracles and prophets to save, through His resurrection from the grave and in his promise to come again, God acts in his majestic power to show he has the power and will to save you. Now God comes to Job, the man in distress, and in essence He tells Job to stop and remember that all the majesty of the animals, the sea and the weather are from His hand. God dramatically challenges Job to guard his words because Job’s life is in God’s majestic hands. Are you aware that God’s majesty is for your life? When you are distressed or wonder, “What’s next?” do you consider how wonderful and freeing it is to turn to the majestic God who has so creatively formed the universe? As you consider that you are in God’s majestic hands, speak to Him with words of repentance and submission. Offer to Him your worship. Then see how your life will change when you truly consider, “God’s majesty has formed me.” It’s True! The Lord’s majesty is all around you, even in the mirror.

January 22, 2013 Should You?

Read Job 38 Should You? Job 38:1-2 Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm. He said: 2 “Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?” WHAT do you think about authority? In other words, how do you respond when people ask questions that might point to some things that challenge you? For example, do you like it when I ask, “Do you spend time reading the Bible every day?” or “Do you pray for your children and spouse?” or “Have you forgiven the person who makes you angry?” I really don’t know anyone who likes to be challenged to do things they don’t do. I know how uncomfortable I get when someone reminds me of my “should list”—you know, “You should do this. You should do that, Bob.” Conflict comes when I know what I should do, but instead I decide repeatedly to put the “should’s” aside with “I would if only…” “I would exercise more if only I had the time.” “I would take more time to call my mom if only I were a better son.” You see, that’s what it comes down to, doesn’t it—being better. I know I can be better, but in the sin of my nature inherited from Adam I prefer to say, “Who me? Why are you judging me?” I see every word pointing me to my “shoulds” as judgment on my life. Certainly I don’t want anyone judging what I do. I’ll figure it out and respond in my time and my way. For many pages, Job has been declaring he was right and God was wrong. Now God has stepped in to ask him, “Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?” God is about to give Job his “should list” and Job will dare not say, “I would if only.” It’s True! There is only one time to do what you should do.

January 21, 2013 Submission Admission

Read Job 38 Submission Admission Job 38:3-4 Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me. 4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?” YOU GET a traffic ticket, and you are sure you have been wronged. You request your day in court, and you spend hours rehearsing your speech to be sure you clearly state your innocence. Then the day comes. You stand before the judge. There is an aura of authority in the courtroom. You know immediately that if you have any chance at being heard and found innocent, you must submit to the court’s authority. Job had been waiting for this moment. He was sure he was right, and God was wrong. Then God speaks, and immediately the authority and power is all God’s. Job, the mortal man, understands he is in the midst of the eternal power of God. If he is to be found innocent and then receive God’s blessing once again, he knows he must submit to God’s supreme authority. That’s really hard when life is hard, isn’t it? We love to say, “Thank you, God.” But we hate to say, “Your will be done, God.” when it comes to dealing with difficulty. We are grateful our God is sovereign when he guides good things to us. We struggle mightily against his sovereignty when he directs difficulties to us. Job wasn’t innocent, and neither are you and I. The guilt goes when we know to turn to God and submit to his judgment and salvation. Ultimately Job’s blessed life will be restored because he will come to understand that God is sovereign in all things, and he is not. It’s True! It is good to confess, “I’m sorry.”

January 20, 2012 With Him

Read Job 35-36 With Him Job 36:4 For truly my words are not false; One who is perfect in knowledge is with you. ELIHU speaks to Job, his friend who is in distress, with an assuring truth. God’s perfect knowledge is available to Job. God is with him. Is it not a wonderful feeling to know the love of someone you love is always with you? My wife and I went through a time in our lives when we often traveled in our different jobs. Sometimes one would come home and the other would leave. We were barely with each other during certain weeks, but our love relationship kept us with one another wherever we were. We could be with each other when we were apart because we committed to each other when we were together. We expressed our love to one another as we parented, worked around the house, went to church and attended the kids’ events. Being with each other meant we worked through the relationship challenges. Staying in the challenges, we grew to be more with each other as our love and trust for each other grew. Do you feel as if you’re home and God is traveling on business somewhere else? Do you step into church or a Bible study or sit down to read your Bible, and wonder, “God, why aren’t you with me today?” What does it take to feel God’s presence to trust He is with you? The thing is, you need to commit your love to Him. The Lord of Heaven and earth wants to be the love of your life. He loves you. Love Him back. Learn about Him. Learn from Him. Stay with Him, and you will turn to clearly see He is with you in all things. It’s True! God is with you.

January 19, 2012 Praise the Lord

January 18, 2012 Do You Hear?

Do You Hear? Job 33:14-18 For God does speak — now one way, now another — though man may not perceive it. 15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men as they slumber in their beds, 16 he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings, 17 to turn man from wrongdoing and keep him from pride, 18 to preserve his soul from the pit, his life from perishing by the sword. DO YOU ever consider how amazing it is that God speaks to you? I know. Most of us don’t even think he does. But this scripture is very clear that God communicates to you in several ways for the express purpose of preserving your soul from the pit, your life from perishing by the sword. How many times, though, do you consider God’s communication to you? In the reading of this devotional moment, for example, do you think I’m communicating with you? Or do you think God is communicating with you? I truly hope it’s the latter. I write this to help you know God’s communications for your life, to help your life and to save your life from harm, even “the pit” Hell. I pray what I write leads you to read the whole chapter from which each devotion comes. I hope the chapter reading leads you to read a second chapter or to uncover new truths that God wants to communicate to you. I pray you turn a listening heart, mind and soul to the Great Communicator. From the throne of Heaven he has declared his love for you. Everything about God exudes the communication, “I love you.” as he tells you what and what not to do to live with him now and forever. Receive his communication. Be saved to his truth. It’s True! God communicates life.

January 17, 2012 What's God Doing?

What’s God Doing? Job 32:8 But it is the spirit of Almighty God that comes to men and gives them wisdom. THE QUESTION often comes to me from someone in need: “What is God doing?” Often the question is an expression of hopelessness, confusion and doubt. Even more challenging, the question is often an expression of, “I feel God doesn’t care.” What do we do, then, when someone comes to us and asks that question? What do we do when we want that answer? Job was incredibly frustrated with his broken life. His friends had definitive solutions for his despair. But the truth is, they were focused on Job. Perhaps to answer this question, “What is God doing?” we need to focus on God. That’s what Elihu, the youngest person in this “counseling session” does as he says, “But it is the spirit of Almighty God that comes to men and gives them wisdom.” The answer to “What is God doing?” is to respond with, “Let’s get to know God more in his Word, the Bible.” I know that this sounds simplistic to so many and challenging to all. “The Bible is hard to understand.” Or “It’s not relevant.” Well, it’s not really hard to understand. And it is relevant. Sit down and read your Bible. Spend some time with God’s Word and listen to him. Sit down and pray for the Holy Spirit to open your mind to God’s truth. Read God’s Word with someone else and talk about it. Rest in him, and receive his truth. As I often say, there will always be things of God we cannot know. But seek God’s wisdom, and you will know better how to answer, “What is God doing?” Joyously, the answer always is, “He’s bringing you closer to him.” It’s True! The Bible is written by the Living God. 

January 16, 2012 The Highest Value

The Highest Value Job 31:24-28 “If I have put my trust in gold or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security,’ 25 if I have rejoiced over my great wealth, the fortune my hands had gained, 26 if I have regarded the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor, 27 so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand offered them a kiss of homage, 28 then these also would be sins to be judged, for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.” DO YOU trust gold, or do you trust God? In other words, do you only feel safe when your bank account is secure, and your work is going well? A good job that pays for what you need is necessary and good, of course. God has given work to his people through the ages to experience his blessings and to know his security in that way. Job, though, makes a very important point: the Supreme God must be your security. Job says if he has “offered a kiss of homage” – an act of worship – to his wealth, the sun, the moon, and anything from God, he would be guilty of sin. As Job attempts to understand his suffering, he is attempting to see through God’s eyes how he might have sinned. One of the common sins is putting our wealth above God. In essence it is worshiping what He has created for you, instead of worshiping him as your Creator. Focus on the Creator’s power. Trust Him is your ultimate security because in an uncertain life you can be certain of this: one day you will enter into death, and your wealth will do you no good. You must be secure in God. It’s True! All is worthless compared to your eternal life.

January 15, 2012 Journey Toward God

Journey Toward God Job 30:24-31 “Surely no one lays a hand on a broken man when he cries for help in his distress. 25 Have I not wept for those in trouble? Has not my soul grieved for the poor? 26 Yet when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, then came darkness. 27 The churning inside me never stops; days of suffering confront me. 28 I go about blackened, but not by the sun; I stand up in the assembly and cry for help. 29 I have become a brother of jackals, a companion of owls. 30 My skin grows black and peels; my body burns with fever. 31 My harp is tuned to mourning, and my flute to the sound of wailing.” YOU likely didn’t open this devotion to read about distress. But I think it’s important to look for a moment at Job’s great pain and suffering to deal with the things that oppress us. Job had lost his family, possessions, health, position, and good name. He views his suffering as greater than anyone has ever had to face, and he’s asking the “W” questions: “Where are you, God?” “Why is this happening to me?” “What are you going to do about it, God?” “When will this end?” “Will I ever be whole again and happy?” Do you ever ask the “W” questions? How do you find the answers? First, examine your life. Most of the time, you have distress because you have sinful habits. Be willing to check your distress against God’s Word then adjust your life into His life. Second, if your distress is not the result of sin, (as Job), know there are times when God, for his own purposes (as with Job), puts a test into your life. Faithfully stay with God, and he will build your faith. Your response to distress can separate you from God or draw you closer. What direction do you want to go? It’s True! Your faith journey takes faith in God.

January 14, 2013 Passionate with God

Passionate with God Job 29:1-6 Job continued his discourse: 2 “How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me, 3 when his lamp shone upon my head and by his light I walked through darkness! 4 Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house, 5 when the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me, 6 when my path was drenched with cream, and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil.” WHAT DO YOU want your life to be? We have here an incredible picture of Job’s life of love for God and his longing to feel God’s love once again. It is also a glorious picture of the kind of relationship God desires to have with you. How do you feel about being God’s own? “Okay?” “Sometimes up, sometimes down.” “Great.” “Awesome.” “Unbelievable!”? I hope it’s of the latter traits. That’s what Job had experienced—and he wants it back. Before Job’s trials, Job’s life with God was very, very good. He desires to again know God is watching over him because God’s wisdom lead Job to do right. He wants to walk out of his darkness into God’s brilliant and true light. Job wants desperately to experience God’s intimate friendship again because, as a great, close friend, God blessed his house. All of this wonderful praise and longing for his God is Job’s way of saying, “I love God with all my heart, my soul and my mind. I want him to love me back.” Job misses God. But in truth, God is right there loving Job. One day Job will stop focusing on his trials and once again see God’s passionate love for him. It’s True! Look past life’s trials, and you will see God’s great love for you.

January 13, 2012 God's Will

God’s Will Job 27:2-3 “As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice, the Almighty, who has made me taste bitterness of soul, 3 as long as I have life within me, the breath of God in my nostrils, 4 my lips will not speak wickedness, and my tongue will utter no deceit.” JOB’S words sound good, don’t they? He says he will not speak in a wrong and deceitful way, even though God denies him justice. But I ask, “Does Job think he’s bigger than God?” I ask because of Job’s words, “who has denied me justice, the Almighty, who has made me taste bitterness of soul.” Who is Job to declare that God acts unjustly or incorrectly? What does Job know about God’s eternal ways to declare him unjust? After all, Job only sees God from his own life’s perspective. In contrast, God has an eternal view of all life, and he alone can determine how his will is to be done on earth. Yes, Job has suffered beyond his understanding, but even in his suffering he must believe in his heart and confess with his mouth that the Lord of the universe is the Lord of his life. If he expects his life to always be good from his own point of view and rejects God’s will for his life, he will be bitter of soul. In contrast, when Job considers eternity, his soul will cheer God, even in sorrow and disease, because the eternal God has Job’s eternal life in his hands. What do you think? Can you allow the Lord to be Lord of your life? Will you rejoice in him and be glad for your eternal life, even if your earthly life faces enormous challenges? It’s True! The eternal God promises to save you from death. Rejoice.

January 12, 2013 In God's Power

In God’s Power Job 26:13-14 His Spirit made the heavens beautiful, and his power pierced the gliding serpent. 14 These are just the beginning of all that he does, merely a whisper of his power. AT TIMES my wife and I have had the opportunity to help some people with some material needs. The things aren’t a very big deal to most of us, but a small amount of help can be a huge help to people at certain times in their lives. Many people live in hopeless desperation of things ever being good for them. Our prayer for each person is that they do see God’s power at work to provide and care for them, and they begin to live in a true hope of his power to heal their despair. What happens when the hard things come into your life? Do you despair, or do you hope? God’s Word teaches that what seems to us to be impossible despair is always within his power to redeem. Too often I hear the phrase, “God doesn’t give you more than you can handle.” But the truth is he does give you more than you can handle because he wants you to turn and trust him to handle it! Job not only describes the power of God, he describes how the Spirit creates and changes, how he intervenes and alters even the heavens. Pause and consider that the sky is beyond comprehension. Anything to do with astronomy’s numbers is inconceivable. But guess what! God is bigger than that. He has formed the countless stars. The universe is his, and so are you. Now, are you willing to talk to God about your problem? In despair do you think he’s too small to help you? Then think the power of God and pray to receive his power into your life. It’s True! God’s power is bigger than your despair.

January 11, 2012 God's Right

God’s Right Job 24: “Why does the Almighty not set times for judgment? Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?” IT’S EASY, isn’t it to have a short term view of life? In Job’s ongoing debate with his friends, he continues to view his life from, “I’m a righteous man, and I’m suffering.” while he looks around and sees his life in contrast to, “So many around me are wicked and they are prospering.” As Job asks, “Why, Lord?” certainly he reflects a question you may often ask, “Why, Lord, don’t you make things right!?” Without an answer, you go on living with somewhat of a chip on your shoulder, thinking, “If I were God, I’d straighten out those depraved people around me! They’d either “get with it” or I’ll get rid of them!” But thankfully neither you nor I are God. We’re way too human to be able to make any kind of right decision for anyone else. God’s intent is to save the wrongdoer. He has established a purpose and a process to bring His ways fully to the earth once again. He is the only one qualified to be the judge of mankind’s eternal soul because he is the only perfect Lord. In his perfection, he will judge at the right time, and he will judge in the right way. You have no power to do such things. You have only the power to live in the truth and to offer the truth to the wicked around you as you trust in Jesus. Be content in your role to seek God and to honor him. Share his love with others. Correct them properly as you must, but never be in judgment. God will take care of that in his perfect time. It’s True! God is the only holy judge.

January 10, 2012 A Talk With God

A Talk with God Job 23: 3-7 If only I knew where to find him; if only I could go to his dwelling! 4 I would state my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments. 5 I would find out what he would answer me, and consider what he would say. 6 Would he oppose me with great power? No, he would not press charges against me.” “LIFE” has really closed in on Job. The Lord has allowed Satan to kill his children, destroy all of his possessions and inflict a hideous disease of boils over his body. Job is certain that if he had a face-to-face conversation with God, he would convince the Lord that he is a good man, undeserving of such terribly difficult circumstances. Do you ever tell God, “I don’t deserve this!” You can’t understand why you deal with so much “junk” in life. “This isn’t what I want!” Surely, if you could have a sit-down conversation with God, he would see what a good person you are and make life right, wouldn’t he? Actually, he wouldn’t, not necessarily. The truth is, (Mark 10:18) “No one is good — except God alone.” Yet, in his love and his mercy God opens his ears to hear you. Jesus teaches his disciples to pray “your will be done”, and God’s Word clearly tells you it is God’s will that forms and shapes events. Because we are not “good” there will be junk in your life. But because God is good, he will remove the junk in his will and in his time when you invite him in to carry it away. You God through those great conversation tools of prayer and worship. The Bible clearly tells you that when you faithfully turn to God, faithfully you will travel through the junk into the Lord’s comfort and strength. It’s True! A heart open to God is a junk-free heart.

January 9, 2013 Who Do You Follow?

Who Do You Follow? Job 21:14-16 “Yet they say to God, ‘Leave us alone! We have no desire to know your ways. 15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him? What would we gain by praying to him?’ 16 But their prosperity is not in their own hands,so I stand aloof from the counsel of the wicked.” MANY people I know and perhaps you do, too, are content to live their lives apart from God. They are often successful people from the world’s view and seem to have a good handle on their work, finances and relationships. These are the kind of people Job is referring to here. Job recognizes their worldly success, but then points to their unbelieving hearts. He wants nothing to do with such people because they disdain God’s counsel for their lives. That’s a very important lesson for all of us. There may be people in our lives whom we admire because of their business savvy, or possibly they are a good leader in a civic organization or in a political organization. But it is critical to know: Who leads them? If they are entrenched in the world’s self-thinking, believing everything they have and who they are is of their own making, then you must know that this is Godless thinking. One reason for Jesus’ miracles was to teach us that God is the one who provides all things. Who is your mentor? From whom do you seek counsel? Be sure it is one who truly knows all things come from God. It’s True! Isaiah 44:24 "This is what the Lord says — your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the Lord, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself.”

January 8, 2012 Do Right

Do Right Job 20:27 “The heavens will expose his guilt; the earth will rise up against him. 28 A flood will carry off his house, rushing waters on the day of God’s wrath. 29 Such is the fate God allots the wicked, the heritage appointed for them by God.” THE LESSON of Job 20 is that a person’s wicked ways may bring different forms of wealth and gain, but ultimately a wicked person and his possessions will be destroyed. It’s easy to look around and see how this is so as you likely know someone who advances through life with cunning and deceit. You likely wonder, “Why are they so successful as they disobey God’s ways?” And many times, you will see their “success” fall apart as their wickedness overwhelms them. Sometimes their ill-gotten gains may last through their lives, but the Bible is clear their eternal life will be everlasting torment. It’s easy to judge against “those wicked people” isn’t it? But what do we do about the wickedness in our lives? Yes, we may devoutly read the Bible every day; we may pray, and we may help our neighbors in need. But isn’t it easy for wickedness to slip into our lives? Perhaps we cheat God on our tithes this week because the bills are a little higher than expected. Maybe we carry around some unforgiveness because of some hateful remark someone made to us. Perhaps we don’t like what we read in the Bible because it’s just “too hard” to do. Possibly we avoid correcting our children because “it’s easier” to avoid the conflict. In other words, wickedness—opposing and ignoring God’s Word—shows up in many forms. It may seem good for a while to cheat on your tithe, hold a grudge, ignore the Bible or postpone discipline for your children, but eventually these things will bring disaster upon you. Judge your own life. Take the right steps and do the right thing. It’s True! Wickedness is what we prefer to do—God changes your preferences.

January 7, 2013 See Your Saviior

See Your Savior and Rejoice! Job 19:20-26 I am nothing but skin and bones; I have escaped with only the skin of my teeth. 21 Have pity on me, my friends, have pity, for the hand of God has struck me. 22 Why do you pursue me as God does? Will you never get enough of my flesh? 23 Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll, 24 that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or engraved in rock forever! 25 But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last. 26 And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God! I AM AWED at Job’s pain, Job’s agony, Job’s loneliness, Job’s desperation, Job’s isolation, and Job’s sickness. I am awed at Job’s hope. “I know my Redeemer lives.” How incredible is that? This is centuries before Jesus! This is the New Testament in the Old Testament. This is the foundation of our lives. Jesus lives. Jesus saves! Oh, to know this truth in the deepest darkness of our lives changes everything. To know this, we turn from gazing in fear at the empty tomb to see the joyous reality of our risen Lord waiting open-armed to embrace us. When you see your Savior, the fear goes. Joy blasts its way in, and we have no room for sorrow or pain or fear. We have only room for joy and hope. Lift up your head today, my friends. Smile and rejoice. Your Redeemer lives! It’s True! Your Redeemer is yours.

January 6, 2012 What You Know What You Do

What You Know-What You Do Job 18: 20-21 “Men of the west are appalled at his fate; men of the east are seized with horror. 21 Surely such is the dwelling of an evil man; such is the place of one who knows not God.” WHAT do you do with what you know? You know what to do to drive your car from point A to point B, don’t you? You know all things you must do to start the car and head in the right direction, don’t you? If you need to know where to go, hopefully you’ll learn that before you leave, or you’ll have directions from some human or electronic “direction-giver”. But to get to where you want to go, you have to do what you know, don’t you? Likewise, going with God to where he wants you to go each day requires you know some things, doesn’t it? You must know who he is, what he has done, what he can do, and what he requires of you to be a person who faithfully follows him. I ask, then, “What do you do with what you know of God?” The verses above conclude a passage in Job 18 that describes the isolation and destruction of not doing what you know of God, going about life as you desire, not as God desires. You might think the word “evil” is too strong in identifying those who ignore God. But it’s right on. Evil is ignoring what you know about God. When you turn from what you know, your life will be void of God. People from west to east will see the separation and destruction in your life as they watch you live apart from God, and they will be grieved. It’s True! God wants you to know him and do what you know.

January 5, 2012 God's Prayer Care

God’s Prayer Care Job 16:19-21 Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high. 20 My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God; 21 on behalf of a man he pleads with God as a man pleads for his friend. DO YOU sometimes feel that no one understands you, that you have no place to go to safely share your distress and worries because people simply do not understand you are dealing with some really hard issues? Or are your friends giving you “advice” that is more condemning than helpful? These are the emotions in Job’s heart as he speaks these words above. As his friends condemn his attitude, he realizes he can’t count they are too eager to offer solutions—unwilling to pray for Job, intercede for him before the throne of God. Job realizes his only intercessor is God himself. Job shows he has put all his hope for any fair defense before God upon God in heaven. He has no hope for anyone on earth to defend him. One of your great blessings in your faith in Jesus Christ is to know that God the Son and God the Spirit do intercede for, pray for you. Hear the assurance of: 1 John 2:1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense — Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. And Romans 8:26 the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. Are you frustrated no one seems to hear and know your troubles? Be assured God the Son and Spirit are praying for you. It’s True! You are under God’s prayer care.

January 4, 2012 The Father's Comfort

The Father’s Comfort Job 15:11 Is God’s comfort too little for you? Is his gentle word not enough? WHAT was the first thing God did when Adam and Eve sinned? When he went to them in their nakedness—pure before sin, now shameful after sin— “the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.” (Gen 3:21) God first comforted his broken creation. He has been doing so ever since. Job’s friend, Eliphaz, was asking Job, “Is God’s comfort too little for you? Is his gentle word not enough?” He was hoping Job would seek God’s comfort in his deep torment. Job, though, was too confused about God. Bewildered in his agony, Job saw God as his crusher, not comforter. Job was too deep in his despair to see God’s care. But God had allowed Job to suffer great grief. How could God comfort him? That’s the question we all ask. Where is God’s comfort in the disappointment, despair and darkness of our days? Why does God allow such bad things to happen? Doesn’t he care? The place you can look to find your answers and the Father’s comfort is to find the Son’s cross. When you look to see Jesus hanging on that awful tree, you will see agonizing suffering. You will see deep darkness. You look there, and you will see sin’s penalty. Then get this. You look to the cross, and you will see the Son’s victory. You look to the cross, and you will see the Father’s comfort over you eternally. Job didn’t have the cross to look upon. But he had a Father God who would comfort him in his great distress when he would say to the Father, “I need you.” It’s True! Your suffering Savior has brought the Father’s comfort to you.

January 3, 2012 Worship Him

Worship God Job 13:22-23 Now summon me, and I will answer! Or let me speak to you, and you reply. 23 Tell me, what have I done wrong? Show me my rebellion and my sin. “WHAT DID I DO?” Did you ever ask that question when your parents punished you? Or perhaps you said something like this, “I was just having fun. I didn’t mean to ….” Usually in those circumstances we knew what we had done wrong even though we proclaimed ignorance or innocence of wrongdoing—of sin. Job is really struggling with what is happening. He truly wants to know, “What did I do?” The opening lines of this story describes Job as “blameless—a man of complete integrity.” (Job 1:1) There are no accusations against Job. The only one who has accused Job is Satan – and that accusation is for the purpose of tempting him to turn from worshiping God. But in his anguish of understanding the great calamities in his life, Job still worships God. That is clear in this scripture today. Job is willing to hear God’s voice. Job is willing to hear what sin he has committed. Job wants to know, so he can be right with God. That is the point where many of us stop short of worship. We may often be eager to praise him for the ways he’s blessed us and sometimes to even praise him for the ways he strengthened us through difficult times. But we are seldom ready to say to God, “Show me my sin.” If we truly see our sin in the truth of the Living God, we will have to change, to adjust our lives to God’s ways. We’re often unwilling to do that, aren’t we? That is worship—responding to the truth of the Living God. Whatever issues are in your life, be open to what he shows you. Ask his forgiveness. Seek his truth and worship him. It’s True! Worship is only complete when you cleanse your soul of sin.

January 2, 2013 Vast and Personal

Vast and Personal Job 11:5-6 How I wish God would answer you! 6 He would tell you there are many sides to wisdom; there are things too deep for human knowledge. God is punishing you less than you deserve. DO YOU want to know everything? I do. I want to know everything about the things that interest me. I want to be an expert on life, and I’d love to be an expert on God. I want to know exactly what he’s up to and why he’s “up to it”. Or wait a minute. Do I really? If I knew all about God, I don’t think I’d honor him and worship him as much as I do. If I knew why God caused that storm, or why that person died on the mission field, or why I’m blind, or why my brother’s blind or why “everything that is, “is”, I don’t think I could separate God from the world. Did you ever think someone was really cool—he or she was kind of mysterious? Then you had the opportunity to meet that person and to get to know them as a “real” person? Somehow he or she is not quite as “up there” as before you knew them, are they? They become real, and you see them in all their humanity. If God is who he says he is, and I fully believe he is Creator of the world, Savior of Sin and Spirit of Truth—to name a few—we cannot completely know him. Job’s friend is right, there are things to deep for human knowledge. Be glad in that. Rejoice your God is above your understanding. Understand, too, that in all his knowledge, he will take care of you. It’s True! God is beyond your total knowing, and God is very, very personal.  

January 1, 2013 Discovering Jesus

Discovering Jesus Genesis 1:1-3 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. WHERE’S a better place to begin a year than at the beginning of time as we know it? Here is the moment when God began to form the world with all of his marvelous creativity. Out of a dark void, he created the wondrous variety of plant and animal life, vibrant displays of colors and spectacular landscapes we enjoy today. And what is the foundational element of all God’s beauty? It is light. Light gives you sight. As the dawn’s light reveals out of the darkness the world around you each day, the light of God reveals to you none other than God. Light enables you to see. Light enables you to know. Light made the difference at creation, and light makes the difference today. A long time (by our timekeeping) after that creation time, Jesus would come and proclaim, “I am the light of the world.” Wow! That claim is not a metaphorical claim; it is Jesus’ claim that he is God. Jesus is telling you that when you see him, you will have a foundational understanding for everything else. That’s what the bible is about—God showing himself to you. God’s Word displays the pure and wonderful revelation of salvation that Jesus brings to your sin-darkened life. I pray you have a desire this year to discover how the Light of the World shows himself clearly and deliberately to you. Clearly seeing the Light of the World, you will see his hope, peace, joy and love that will make a great and wonderful difference in your life. It’s True! The Light has come. Receive him and be glad.