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.