Jan
28
No Complaints
Filed Under Devotional
Written by Kelly
- Pray
- Read Job 10:1-12
“I loathe my very life; therefore I will give free rein to my complaint and speak out in the bitterness of my soul.” Job 10:1
- Observe
Job believed that complaining against the God who held your life in his hand was suicidal. Having written it that way, I think that Job was right. I have been treating complaining as if it were no big deal, just normal. Well, it is normal right now; I am surrounded by it and have been swept into it. This is one of the ways that I have been conforming to the world. It is time for me to stop being conformed to this world.
- Do
Lord Jesus, renew my mind and set me free from the habit of complaining.
- Share
Jan
27
Blind Judges
Filed Under Devotional
Written by Kelly
- Pray
- Read Job 9:21-35
“When a land falls into the hands of the wicked, he blindfolds its judges. If it is not he, then who is it?” Job 9:24
- Observe
I have a brother who insists that Job’s troubles came from Satan, and not from God. And yet, God Himself claims to be the one who ruined Job “without any reason” (Job 2:3). Clearly, Satan was involved and, clearly, God was in control. When God answers Job later, He does not say that Job falsely accused God of blindfolding judges; God does not declare that he is innocent of all this evil. Instead… well, we’ll get to what God did say in due course. In the meantime…
- Do
Ask God to remove any blindfolds from our human judges, so that we may have justice.
- Share
Jan
26
Don’t Speak, Listen
Filed Under Devotional
Written by Kelly
- Pray
- Read Job 9:11-20
“Even if I were innocent, my mouth would condemn me; if I were blameless, it would pronounce me guilty.” Job 9:20
- Observe
Actually, Job IS innocent (v21), but he is saying that IF he could summon God and IF God would listen, then Job would probably still mess up his speech while trying to defend himself, and so condemn himself with his own words.
Job is in despair and sees no way out of his suffering. Yet he longs for God to answer, instead of following his wife’s advice to “curse God and die.”
- Do
Praise God for speaking to you about the way of salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord.
- Share
Jan
25
Speak Well
Filed Under Devotional
Written by Kelly
- Pray
- Read Job 9:1-10
“Then Job replied:
‘Indeed, I know this to be true. But how can a mortal be righteous before God?’” Job 9:1-2
- Observe
So, what Bildad said was true, but not helpful to Job. That would explain God’s condemnation of Bildad’s words.
- Do
Ask God to help you today to move beyond just speaking the truth into speaking the truth in love.
- Share
Jan
24
Dead or Alive?
Filed Under Devotional
Written by Kelly
- Pray
- Read Job 8:1-10
“Ask the former generations and find out what their fathers learned” Job 8:8
- Observe
At first, I thought this was some sort of communication with the dead, but then i realized that Bildad was talking about the ‘preceding’ (still alive) and not the ‘former’ (no longer alive). I think the NIV translators failed to realize the implications of deadness in the English phrase ‘former generations’. Then again, maybe the Hebrew does imply the deadness, too. I think this is an important distinction. I do not want to falsely accuse Bildad of advising a seance with the dead.
- Do
Look up the Hebrew behind the phrase ‘former generations’ in Job 8:8.
- Share
My personal research showed the following:
‘former’ Strongs #8037 ri’son = before in time and/or higher in importance
no implication of deadness necessary depending on how much time is involved.
Jan
23
Much Attention
Filed Under Devotional
Written by Kelly
- Pray
- Read Job 7:11-21
“What is man that you make so much of him, that you give him so much attention,” Job 7:17
- Observe
Job recognized that the reason he was alive was because of God’s active intervention. He is wondering why the Creator of the whole universe even bothers to pay such close attention to man.
This makes me wonder if he did not know the story of Genesis that was passed down to Moses. In it, it clearly states, “God made man in his image.” This explains God’s interest in man.
- Do
Stop pretending that God does not care about every single decision that you make. Consult Him on every single decision that you make.
- Share
Jan
22
Be Honest
Filed Under Devotional
Written by Wyatt
More than once I’ve heard our pastors go on a little rant about the disease of Christianese. This is the problem where people who have been saved for some time seem to learn the “language” and that’s the only way they can speak around other Christians (and sometimes around anyone!). It’s especially bad in prayer groups when some folks seem to think that we need to either speak with a Christian dialect or punctuate every sentence with “Lord God” or “Father God”.
There are no magic words used to speak to God. There is no checklist for the proper prayer. In fact, I suspect God is not a fan of those prayers. He listens to your heart and that’s what He wants to hear in your prayers. If you’re sugar-coating it or holding back, it’s not honest. We’re screwed up people most of the time and there’s nothing wrong with telling Him exactly how you are feeling, what you are thinking, and what you need from Him.
“O LORD, God of my salvation,
I have cried out day and night before You.
Let my prayer come before You;
Incline Your ear to my cry.
For my soul is full of troubles,
And my life draws near to the grave.
I am counted with those who go down to the pit;
I am like a man who has no strength,
Adrift among the dead,
Like the slain who lie in the grave,
Whom You remember no more,
And who are cut off from Your hand.
You have laid me in the lowest pit,
In darkness, in the depths.
Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
And You have afflicted me with all Your waves. Selah” Psalm 88:1-7
That’s a Psalm. It goes on, too. The whole Psalm reads that way. Read the heading on that Psalm. That was written to be sung in the temple. That is an honest prayer. That is raw emotion and pain crying out to God.
Give up the Christianese. It’s like Esperanto and will only impress those who are already fluent. Pray how you feel, what you think, and what you want.
Be honest. He already knows anyway.
Jan
21
Leadership
Filed Under Devotional
Written by Wyatt
Reading through the books of Kings and Chronicles is like a frustrating roller coaster ride. You’re thrilled to read about the kings that follow God and make great efforts to cleanse the land of idolatry and clean up the temple in Jerusalem. You’re horrified to read about kings who don’t just dabble in sin, but dive in with both feet and drag the entire country with them. Up and down you go.
There are some great lessons in there, though. Recently I was reading about King Jehoshaphat and the way he started to reform the morality of Judah.
“Then he set judges in the land throughout all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, and said to the judges, ‘Take heed to what you are doing, for you do not judge for man but for the LORD, who is with you in the judgment. Now therefore, let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take care and do it, for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, no partiality, nor taking of bribes.’
[...]
And he commanded them, saying, ‘Thus you shall act in the fear of the LORD, faithfully and with a loyal heart: Whatever case comes to you from your brethren who dwell in their cities, whether of bloodshed or offenses against law or commandment, against statutes or ordinances, you shall warn them, lest they trespass against the LORD and wrath come upon you and your brethren. Do this, and you will not be guilty. And take notice: Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of the LORD; and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, for all the king’s matters; also the Levites will be officials before you. Behave courageously, and the LORD will be with the good.” 2 Chronicles 19:5-7, 9-11
What great guidelines for any leader!
1. Recognize that you are leading and managing for God, not for yourself. (v6)
2. Be honest and of high integrity when in a position of leadership. (v7)
3. Be loyal to God. (v9)
4. Guide others when they stray from God’s will. Warn them so you are not guilty. (v10)
5. Be courageous. (v11)
Act this way when you lead. Look for these traits when you are helping to pick leaders. Jehoshaphat nailed it.
Take note.
Jan
20
Sleepless
Filed Under Devotional
Written by Kelly
- Pray
- Read Job 7:1-10
“When I lie down I think, ‘How long before I get up?’ The night drags on, and I toss till dawn.” Job 7:4
- Observe
Job’s sores are well known to Sunday School kids. But, his lack of sleep is less well known. Satan was very thorough in his efforts to make Job curse God. In general, Satan does not need nearly as much effort to make me give up and stop obeying God.
- Do
Ask God to increase your resistance to discouragement.
- Share
Jan
19
What to Believe
Filed Under Devotional
Written by Kelly
- Pray
- Read Job 6:24-30
“But now be so kind as to look at me. Would I lie to your face?” Job 6:28
- Observe
This is the crux of the problem with Eliphaz’ argument: he is calling Job a liar and has nothing for evidence except his declarations about the nature of God. On the one hand, we need to accept the word of men of good reputation like Job. On the other hand, what if that challenges our belief in a good God? This is the dilemma posed in the book of Job: what do you do when honest men report experiences that challenge your beliefs about the one true God? Eliphaz called the honest man a liar. What should he have done? How about simply saying, “I do not understand. This makes no sense to me right now.” ?
- Do
Walk humbly before your God, willing to have your understanding of Him corrected.
- Share
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