January 31 - Job 40:6-42:17

Year Through the Bible

Good morning everyone,

Well here we are, the final chapters of Job. Yesterday we read a series of startling questions God put to Job. Today as we begin in chapter 40, the first phase being ended, God’s speech continues. Verse 7 God says to Job, “Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.”

 You know what, that sounds pretty scary and exciting at the same time, at least to me anyway. But one day my friends, each and every one of us will stand before and be questioned by the Lord God Almighty. In 2 Corinthians and in Romans we are told, “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” Did you get that? Every one of us! He will ask “Child, why did you do this? Why did you not do that?” And we will have to answer. What you do today, is what you will answer to God for when you meet Him face to face. This is important stuff so I am going to repeat that; What you do today is what you will answer to God for when you meet him face to face. Every move you make, every breath you take, God is watching you. (sounds like it should be a song) Seriously though, I think about that every time God says to me, “Honey, please go ask that person over there if they know about my love for them, tell them about my truth.” Honestly that is W A Y out of my comfort zone, so too many times I have cringed as I pretend I didn’t hear that request, like that is even possible, knowing I will be asked about it some day. To my credit, lately, no matter how uncomfortable it may cause me to be, I do make it a point to say, “Yes Lord and I just go for it,” because  I don’t know about you but I totally want to hear Him say to me, “Well done, good and faithful servant” when it is my turn to answer questions from God.

As Christians, our responsibility to God is to obey Him, to trust Him, and to submit to His will, whether we understand it or not. When we do, we will feel God’s strength and courage. We will know, without a doubt, God is right there in the midst of what ever season we are living. 

In chapter 42 Job says to God, “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” After which, Job’s life was restored. The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. Beautiful! Right?

I would encourage you and remind myself, to not keep God in a box. Let your eyes see what your ears have heard, let your mind try to wrap around how big, how great, how mighty our God is.  Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all…

January 30 - Job 38:1-40:5

Good morning everyone,

Awesome reading today!! I absolutely love, love, love it when God is actually doing the speaking. It resounds with power, it makes me feel so special and I just sit up and pay special attention and say, “Yes sir.” :-) You know? Don’t get me wrong, all of God’s inspired Word is super special, but when God himself takes time to speak directly to us; to you and to me, well I am so blessed by it. There use to be an ad on television (and I will be dating myself) that said, “When E. F. Hutton talks, people listen.” May I suggest that when God speaks, that is exactly what we should do; Listen up! 

We’re told that God rolls in with a storm, that out of a whirlwind He spoke. Now keep in mind, there is still a crowd of people hanging around to see how this exchange of dialog will end. Also, there is still Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar and Job who are now done talking just sitting there, pondering along with Elihu who has most likely taken his seat again in the crowd, as he too is finished talking.  Now, we’re not told that everyone heard God addressing Job, but we’re not told they didn’t either. So imagine, if you will, standing there, everybody’s done talking and you’re wondering what will happen next. You’re looking at that storm that is getting closer and closer. Perhaps you’re thinking, “it’s all over now, I should go home, the wife probably has dinner ready.” When what appears to be out of nowhere, God’s voice booms, you can feel it reverberating through your body it is so powerful, He says, “Who is it that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words?” Oh my word! How long would it take you to throw Job under the bus? Right? Be honest here. I’m talking immediately, trembling, “It was Job, he’s right there!” Okay I’m a coward :-/

Well God asks Job a series of huge questions. “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?” “Who marked off its dimensions?” “Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place, that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it?” Imagine yourself taking the earth by its edges, like you would a throw rug and shaking the wicked out of it. What?! 

“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail, which I reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and battle?” Remember when God helped Joshua fight his battle? We’re told, “The Lord hurled large hailstones down on them, and more of them died from the hail than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.” Awesome!

So many  great questions God puts to Job. One I really liked today was, “Where does light come from, and where does darkness go?” It begs the question, “Where, indeed, does the dark go when you turn on the light?” Hmmm ….

Question after question, rhetorical of course, but then God said, “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!” Job answered the Lord: “I am unworthy—how can I reply to you? I will cover my mouth with my hand.  I have said too much already, I have nothing more to say.” God’s Word totally humbled Job. I love that. Oh that I could be more humble more of the time.

I asked myself, what can we take from this Scripture today? Well I see that Job had been sitting there, in his pain and suffering, questioning God. Wondering why is he going through all of this, longing for God to answer him. However, when God comes, He doesn’t come “to answer” Job but more to the point God as “The answer.” He is the peace that transcends all understanding. His mere presence, His power, His love immediately calmed Job. 

We are not unlike Job. We too have a tendency to ask God, “Why?” to experiences we will never get an answer to, this side of heaven. But if we allow Him, God himself, will be our Answer. Make sense? God created it all, and it is all perfect, we need to know that. If we would just trust in God, live His plan, our lives, even with heartache, will know and feel an unbelievable peace and love not to be matched in this life time. So, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” This peace is so blissful, it’s euphoric, let go friends, and let God. Amen?

Have a great day ad to God be the glory.

God bless you all …..

January 29 - Job 35:1-37:24

Good morning everyone,

Today, in our reading, Elihu continues to express his opinion about the awesome power of God. Once again I encourage you to use your mind’s eye to see this scene. Job is in miserable condition. He has lost an unhealthy amount of weight, he is probably just a skeleton of a man, he has also lost most of his hair. His entire body is covered with these totally gross, oozing sores which he is scraping with a broken piece of pottery while he sits, probably criss-cross applesauce, on a heap of ashes. His three “friends” are sitting there with him in their fine clothing, satisfied with the “encouragement?” and  “advise” they have bestowed upon him. Meanwhile, this entire exchange of dialog has, in all probability, drawn an audience. People, passers by, curious of what’s going. 

Elihu, you’ll remember, was there in the crowd from the beginning and witnessed all that had been said back and forth, by Job and Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar, holding his tongue until they had finished. Now Elihu, in his conclusion, alludes to the rain, the clouds and the thunder. Keep in mind, God is just about ready to speak, and so there was probably a real storm a brewing off in the distance. The sky was darkening, the wind was beginning to pick up bringing with an air of excitement, of anticipation while swirling the sand about in tiny dust devils that dance in and out of the crowd. Can you see all this? Elihu points to this storm, he draws attention to it as he stresses God’s sovereignty over all nature, reminding us God is in control. Amazing picture, very cool!

Elihu says, “How great is God—beyond our understanding!” Indeed! How great is our God! Each and every day, as Christians we read our Bibles, anxious to know more and more about our Abba who loves us. Longing to be closer to our strength, our protector, our friend. And while we can certainly have some, and a growing, knowledge of Him and have an eternal relationship with Him, we can never know all God knows, or even come close to answering all life’s questions. He is much too big. That’s one aspect I really love, no matter how many times you read the Bible, how well you think you know it, if you will allow God, he will show you something new each time. Reveal new truths as you grow in Him, depend on Him.

Friends, our God is so amazing! Lean on Him. Ask him to strengthen you through all that He has you experiencing this season and every season in your life. We need those experiences, don’t pray them away. Instead, fall to you knees and look to the sky and pray He will make your back stronger to carry the load He has allotted you. Isaiah 41:10 promises us, “fear not, for I am with you;  be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” God wants to be your strength. Surrender to Him in your weakness and let Him show Himself strong. Remember if God brings you to it, He will bring you through it! Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …..

January 28 - Job 32:1-34:37

Good morning everyone, 

Today as we continue through Job, I would encourage you to use your mind’s eye to get a vision for what this scene looks like. Job and his friends have all been sitting in a fairly public place and their dialog, which undoubtedly included the raising of voices in emphasis was impossible to not notice. Curious bystanders have stopped, perhaps propping themselves up on a wall or copping a squat on a nearby rock to listen in. 

Now, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar are done speaking, they have nothing more to say. Job himself is sitting there in silence at this point, however, amongst the crowd sat Elihu, who was just about ready to burst for want to speak. Elihu was a younger lad, apparently unknown to the others as he listed his bloodline to be the son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, making him a descendant of Abraham. Elihu is pretty annoyed with what he has heard. Four times he talks about his wrath being kindled however to his credit, he was most respectful in allowing the “older” gentlemen to finish what they had to say before he jumped right in.

Elihu introduces a new point of view, stating that Job’s suffering would not go away until he  realized his present sin.  He maintained that Job wasn’t suffering because of sin rather he was sinning because of his suffering. Make sense? He pointed out that Job’s attitude had become arrogant as he tried to defend his innocence and that suffering is not meant to punish us as much as it is meant to correct and restore us. 

At the end of chapter 33 Elihu says to Job, “If you have anything to say, answer me; speak up, for I want to vindicate you. But if not, then listen to me; be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.” Hmmm, I say. Since Job did not speak up when Elihu offered him the opportunity, this young whipper snapper continued on. The primary point of his speech in chapter 34 is to defend God’s righteousness against Job’s complaint. Elihu especially emphasizes the fact that God does not show partiality in judgment. He seems to fear that Job would or perhaps had already rejected God’s discipline of suffering. If so, Job would face God’s final punishment of death, an end Elihu hoped could be avoided. 

You know, aside from his arrogance and a little bit of false witness, Elihu spoke well. It for sure was a learning experience for the boy. Agreed? I think what we can take from this is, pain has a purpose and none of us are immune. Every hero in the Bible suffered at one point, and who suffered more than Jesus? If Jesus suffered, which he did voluntarily, God surely suffered, as well. But, again, that is the process of redemption. The question is; How will you cope with it? Will you turn away from God in anger or will you allow the experience to draw you closer to our God, our Abba?

Psalm 73:28 says, “But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.” Friends, keep God close, make Him your hearts desire. Believe in His unfailing love and His perfect, though sometimes painful, plan. “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …..

January 27 - Job 30:1-31:40

Good morning everyone,

Today in our reading we come to the final two chapters of Job’s speech before he speaks with God. He is weary and confused. A man who was once wealthy and respected by all is now being taunted by even the young folks. In 30:9-15 we read that they mock him with vulgar songs. They provoke him, and they spit in his face. They spit in his face!! Who gets to do that? It makes me so angry to read those words. Why do some people feel like they are so much better than others? It is incredibly pathetic and sad when one person has to bring another down in an effort to make themselves look better, bigger or stronger. The bully does not realize that their youth, strength and perceived power are shore lived, one day all too soon, they too will be old and weak and one day they, like everyone else, will bow a knee to God and they will “have some splainin’ to do Lucy”. At any rate, Job is humiliated, beyond exhaustion, you can just feel how done with it all he is. In chapter 31 Job basically gives his closing argument, wagering his future standing pleading, “If I have done certain things then I ought to be punished greatly.”  Job won’t speak again until he is met by the Lord.

Job had declared that he did not try to hide his sin, as people often do. The fear that our sins, whether today’s or those of our youth, will be discovered leads us to be deceptive. To skirt around the truth or down right lie so that we will appear good to others. President Lincoln once said, “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”  The Bible tells us, God can never, as in not ever, be fooled either. God sees your heart.

1 Samuel 16:7 says, “But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” and 

Luke 16:15 tells us, “He said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God's sight.”

Since it is our hearts God is examining, it begs the question; Shouldn’t we be more concerned with our souls than anything else? Of course we should! If we would give as much care to our hearts as we do our hair, teeth, makeup; if we would give as much time to our God as we do sports, TV, our screens, I dare say that we would be much more like Christ! We prepare our bodies and our surroundings to make the best possible impression upon those who see us, but are we forgetting to prepare our hearts for the One who sees and knows our every thought? When as Christians we become more interested in our bodies, toys and teams than in our souls, well, priorities have been misplaced.

I live in a state where right now, and even for most of last year, every other car and house is flying the number 12 flag big and proud. Where, cars are painted and fences are etched with the Seahawks logo. Where, seriously 9 out of every 10 people are wearing blue and green from painted fingernails, to colored hair, to stenciled on faces, even tattooed on their bodies, and all of them wearing Seahawks clothing. I have heard them shouting with joy to one another down the streets of their neighborhood with every score, crazy with jubilance over a win. Now, don’t get me wrong, while I am not an avid football fan, it is fun to see the home town team do so well, to go all the way, but . . . but what I long for, what I would really love to see is a day when we as Christians would rally up and share the joy of the Lord that is in our hearts and have it look as exuberant as that. You know what I mean? “John 3:16” and the fans go WILD!!! I know I am not alone out there. A day when it is “Praise God!” banners flying from the rooftops, and the entire state wearing “Jesus is King” jerseys and t-shirts. A day when His name is freely and joyfully shouted from our hearts to any and all who can hear and then echoed back by another. That makes sense … right? 

Where is you're heart today? If you are masking any sin, replacing God with any sort of idol, I would encourage you to cry out, “Change my heart, O God. Make it ever true. Change my heart, O God. Let me be like You.” He will honor that and release the chains that bind you. He loves you, every minute of every day, unconditionally. Amen?

Have a very good day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …

January 26 - Job 26:1-29:25

Good morning everyone,

This morning as we begin reading, Job is once more shaking his head with a rebuttal to Bildad, telling him he’s got it all wrong. Job maintains he has not compromised his integrity and with the longest speech in this book of Job, six chapters, Job will share a few more of his thoughts.

I love in chapter 28:12-28 where Job speaks to wisdom and understanding. He queries, “But where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell? No mortal comprehends its worth; it cannot be found in the land of the living. The deep says, “It is not in me”; the sea says, “It is not with me.” It cannot be bought with the finest gold, nor can its price be weighed out in silver.” Then he goes on to say, “God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells ….. The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.”

The word “fear” can mean many different things. It can refer to the terror one feels in a frightening situation, it can mean respect, in the way a servant fears his master and serves him faithfully. Fear can also look like the admiration or awe a person feels in the presence of greatness. Probably for most, the fear of the Lord is a combination of all of these but having said that, I truly believe the fear of the Lord is loving God so much you just want to please Him. It is a fear of hurting Him or making Him sad when our behavior is less than Christlike. Make sense?

It begs the question; Do you fear the Lord? Do you humbly trust God? Do you lay your life before Him and say, “Not my will Abba but Yours be done.”? Some of you may think you do, you even say the words but what you really mean is, “Your will can be done Lord as long as it follows my plan.” But I suggest to you, a better life, a peace that surpasses all understanding awaits those who will surrender their will to God. Who will take the time to know God, who will have a relationship with Him, who will get quiet and listen to His still quiet voice.

1 Kings 19, “Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” 

Friends, listen for the whisper. You want to hear the whisper, it’s amazing . . . it is beyond amazing! It is like a whiff of of heaven or at least what I believe heaven will be like. It leaves you hungry, starving, searching for more it leaves you fearing the Lord. But don’t take my word for it. Draw close to Jesus and experience it for yourself, and know, really, really know, how great is our God. Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …..

January 25 - Job 22:1-25:6

Good morning everyone,

Today we begin our reading with Eliphaz giving his third and final speech to Job. While he says nothing new in this speech, he does get more specific. He can not accept Job at his word and get past his belief that Job’s suffering is God’s punishment for some secret evil deed Job has committed, suggesting several possible scenarios. 

Job’s response to that is, that if there was sin for which he could repent he would, declaring his confidence in his integrity and God’s justice. However, may I suggest to you that, as mere humans, we are always likely to have sin in our lives; sin we can not control because of thought, sin we don’t even know about because God’s bar is set so high and our performance level so imperfect. Make sense? But as Christians and sincere believers in God’s truth, all of our sins are forgiven. Not because of anything we can do. Oh no! God knew we could’t pay the price so He sent His one and only son to dwell among us, teach us, and ultimately die for us.

Jesus obediently paid the price, which by the way was death, for our sins. He was humiliated then tortured and then hung on a cross to die so that we can live. Jesus, secured with nails through his hands and feet to a wooden cross, spoke to the Father and said, “Tetelestai, meaning "It is finished”. A word of triumph, a cry of victory, He had completed what He had come to do. Offering …. friends, did you get that?, He offered, He was not forced to, but He offered himself fully to God as a sacrifice on behalf of humanity. I believe Him, Christ Jesus, to be the noblest person who ever walked the face of this earth. I bow down to Him. I get tears in my eyes when I think about all He gave for me, all He went through for you. Thank you Jesus!

And then Luke 23:46, “speaking in a loud voice, Jesus said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” These last words of Jesus from the cross show his absolute trust in God. It was an announcement, not a request, He was headed home. When darkness consumes our lives, it takes faith even to talk to God, even if it is to complain to him, Job knew that.

We all know that life can get really hard and/or hurtful but it is so important to stay in communication with God. Let Him be your strength. Hmmm, here is a little “inside Pam’s private world”  I’ll share with you today. When I was growing up I went to a parochial school for a few years and of course it was mandatory we memorize Scripture. To this day when the Lord has me traveling, for a season, through a dark valley. A time when doubt and fear try to creep in and I can feel the enemy shoving me around as he whispers lies in my head, there are many verses from God’s holy Word that I draw on for strength. I also like to go to my hymnal and pray some of my favorite old hymns. I do love the new music in church but there is nothing like the heartfelt experience that was written down and put to music so many years ago. They are so rich, so poignant, I love them. I also love to The Apostles Creed. I feel grounded when I read it. Like a small child standing next to their strong, protective father who is ready and willing to see me through all life’s challenges. I know most of you already know it, but for those of you who don’t, this is The Apostles Creed:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary. 

He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. 

On the third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. 

From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead. 

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.  Amen

It doesn’t matter what you say to God when you are frightened, angry, confused, sad or anything else. It just matters that you do talk to Him. Call on Him. He waits to hear from you. Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …..