Still In God’s Hands

During my first year of seminary, I listened as a new friend described her life. Abandoned by her husband, she was raising two small children alone. Earning just over minimum wage, she had little chance of escaping the poverty and dangers she described in her neighborhood.

As a father, I was moved by her concern for her children, and asked, “How do you handle all of this?” She seemed surprised by my question and replied, “We are doing all we can do, and I must leave them in God’s hands.” Her trust in God in the midst of trials reminded me of Job’s trust (1:6-22).

A year later, she phoned and asked if I would come be with her at the funeral home. Her son had been killed in a drive-by shooting. I asked God for words to comfort her and for the wisdom not to try to explain the unexplainable.

Standing with her that day, however, I marveled as again and again she comforted others—her confidence in God unshaken by this terrible blow. Turning to me as we parted, her final words were a poignant reminder of the depth of her faith: “My boy is still in God’s hands.” Like Job, she “did not sin nor charge God with wrong”(v.22).

We too can develop an unshakable faith by daily walking with the Lord.

O the peace I find in Jesus, Peace no power on earth can shake, Peace that makes the Lord so precious, Peace that none from me can take. —Beck

Nothing can shake those who are secure in God’s hands.

http://odb.org/2012/10/09/still-in-gods-hands/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+odb%2Ffeed+%28Our+Daily+Bread%29

“O that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat! I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments.” Job 23:3, 4

Was not job in the same spot where we often are? If this aged patriarch had not known what it was to be shut up in his mind, harassed and distressed, and well-nigh overwhelmed with the attacks of the wicked one, he would not have said, “O that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat! I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments.” Has that ever been, is it now, the genuine feeling, the real experience of your soul? Do look into your heart, you that fear God. Do look for a moment, if you have never looked before, at the work of grace (and where are you, if you have never looked at it?) and consider if you know any of these matters. Did you ever, in a feeling of darkness, gloom, bondage, and distress of soul, cry (I do not say the words, it is the feelings we want, let the words go), “‘O that I knew where I might find him!’ Lord, I do want to find thee; my soul longs after thee; I want a taste of thy blessed presence; I want to embrace thee in the arms of my faith; I want the sweet testimonies of thy gracious lips; ‘O that I knew where I might find thee!’ I would not care what I went through.” If so, then these very things shew that you have the fear of God in your souls, and the teaching of the Spirit in your hearts. You are where Job was, and if you know something of what Job speaks here, “O that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat!”–if that is the desire of your soul, you have Job’s religion, you have job’s experience, you have Job’s affliction in this matter, and you will have Job’s deliverance, Job’s joy, Job’s peace, and Job’s salvation. Job’s God is your God, and you will be where Job now is, bathing your ransomed soul in all the glory of the Lamb.

http://devotionals.ochristian.com/j-c-philpot-daily-portions.shtml

 

Have You Come to “When” Yet?

The Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends —Job 42:10

A pitiful, sickly, and self-centered kind of prayer and a determined effort and selfish desire to be right with God are never found in the New Testament. The fact that I am trying to be right with God is actually a sign that I am rebelling against the atonement by the Cross of Christ. I pray, “Lord, I will purify my heart if You will answer my prayer— I will walk rightly before You if You will help me.” But I cannot make myself right with God; I cannot make my life perfect. I can only be right with God if I accept the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ as an absolute gift. Am I humble enough to accept it? I have to surrender all my rights and demands, and cease from every self-effort. I must leave myself completely alone in His hands, and then I can begin to pour my life out in the priestly work of intercession. There is a great deal of prayer that comes from actual disbelief in the atonement. Jesus is not just beginning to save us— He has already saved us completely. It is an accomplished fact, and it is an insult to Him for us to ask Him to do what He has already done.

If you are not now receiving the “hundredfold” which Jesus promised (see Matthew 19:29), and not getting insight into God’s Word, then start praying for your friends— enter into the ministry of the inner life. “The Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends.” As a saved soul, the real business of your life is intercessory prayer. Whatever circumstances God may place you in, always pray immediately that His atonement may be recognized and as fully understood in the lives of others as it has been in yours. Pray for your friends now, and pray for those with whom you come in contact now.

http://utmost.org/have-you-come-to-when-yet/

Judge Rightly

After a national news magazine posted an online story listing my community as one of the top-10 dying cities in the nation, local citizens were outraged. They registered their indignation, pointing out evidence to the contrary. One resident went to great lengths to disprove the harsh judgment. He recruited local citizens to show up downtown and appear in a video that showcased the vibrancy of our community. The video received international attention, and the news magazine admitted it was wrong. But the organization that had done the “research” stood by the conclusion, even though it was based on limited criteria.

Their self-defense surprised me because their careless conclusion seemed indefensible. But then I thought of how common it is to make faulty judgments based on minimal information. One of the classic biblical examples is that of Job’s friends. They wrongly concluded that because a series of tragedies happened to him, Job had sinned.

In the end, God defended Job and offered a startling conclusion. He didn’t rebuke his friends for judging Job but for speaking falsely about Himself (Job 42:7). This is a humbling reminder that when we make careless judgments about others, we are sinning against God.

Lord, please restrain my lips when I’m tempted to say what I shouldn’t say about people made in Your image. Use my words to bless and not harm. May I reflect Your heart.

If you are a Christian, remember that people judge your Lord by you.

http://odb.org/2012/06/19/judge-rightly/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+odb%2Ffeed+%28Our+Daily+Bread%29

A question with no answer

“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.” — Job 42:3

There are many different reactions to tragedy, but one response is universal — asking why. Job, like everyone else, tried to understand God’s ways. Why do bad thing happen to good people? Why do the wicked experience so much good?

While Job’s friends insisted that Job must have sinned, he knew – and we know from the text – that he hadn’t. Most of the book is dedicated to Job and his friends trying to answer the timeless question for which an answer has never been found.

Finally, God Himself appeared to Job and answers his question with another question:  “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?  Tell me, if you understand” (Job 38:4). Translation:  “Why in the world would you expect to understand My ways? You are finite, I am infinite! I am the creator, you are the creation. Can a painting understand the artist that painted it?” Job acknowledged his limited knowledge and said, “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.” And with these words, Job found comfort at long last.

It is natural and human to try to understand the world around us. But there are many times that we just can’t make sense of it. In our generation one of the hardest things to come to terms with is the ruthless murder of six million innocent people at the hands of the Nazis.

Rav Israel Meir Lau, the former Chief Rabbi of Israel, is a survivor of the Holocaust.  In his recently published memoirs he writes:

“I am a believer — and I will remain so until my dying day . . . The question for which I have not found an answer remains the question of why. Why did it have to happen? Why was my brother Milek, may God avenge his death, torn from our mother to go to his death, while I was separated from her and lived? I will never know, but this will not diminish my faith . . .”

Rav Lau explains that when King Solomon declares that “ The Lord said that He would dwell in thick darkness” (1 Kings 8:12), he is saying that sometimes the Divine Presence rests within a domain that is hidden, concealed behind a screen of mystery. Sometimes we can’t understand. But that’s okay. Just because we don’t understand God doesn’t mean that we can’t have faith in Him. We trust that the Creator knows what He is doing. The masterpiece is being painted even if we can’t yet appreciate its beauty.

Comfort is not found in knowing all the answers. It is found in knowing that we don’t have to.

http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/a-question-with-no-answer

WHY DO THE RIGHTEOUS SUFFER?

A couple of weeks ago, my pastor was preaching about the trials of Job, and he was telling the old story of how Job went from one trial to another, one affliction to another.   His friends thought he had sinned, and kept telling him to admit what he had done wrong, and ask God for forgiveness, and his wife told hime to curse God and die.  But through it all, Job stood strong in his faith, never failing God, or his belief in him.  He kept on serving God to the best of his ability, no matter what  came his way.  We all know the story of how it was God allowing Satan to do all this to Job, because Satan thought he could find a way to make Job turn from God, but God knew Job’s heart, and knew how dedicated Job was to him, just as he knows each of our hearts.

About a week after that sermon, I was riding in my car, listening to the radio, and a similar message was on Focus on the Family, about why Christians have to suffer, so you know that caught my attention.  I thought to myself, “Why do I have to be driving, instead of at home, so I can get my Bible, and turn to the passage they were talking about?”  I tried to remember the passage,  because I knew I wouldn’t be home for a while, and I prayed to God for him to remind me, and you know what?  He did!  It’s 2 Corinthians 1:4, 7, 9, and 11.  Each of these verses explains four different reasons why Christians suffers.  Read each part of the verse, and the answer to the suffering is followed by the word “that“.

⁴ Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

⁷ And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.

⁹ But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:

¹¹ Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf.

We suffer afflictions, and tribulations, so that we can help others in their time of need.  The Bible says we are going to suffer for the call no matter what, and we should expect that. (1 Thessalonians 3:3-5)  Another thought you may want to remember about suffering for Christ is, if Christ, being Holy, came down from Heaven, leaving all that he had, to walk this earth and set the example for mankind, died on the cross for our sins, suffering in agony and alone, being rejected by many, after being brutally beaten, are we any better than HE?

HE is royalty, but HE left HIS royal home in Heaven to die for us unworthy sinners.  We are never going to be worthy of what he did for us.  We will never repay the price, never be able to thank Jesus enough for giving HIS life for us, as the ULTIMATE sacrifice for SIN.  HE did it because HE knew it was the ONLY WAY to reconcile us back to GOD!  So many people turn their backs to on Jesus, thinking they have plenty of time, and the next instant, they are in etenity forevermore.  I would hate to face God, and hear him say to me, “DEPART FROM ME, I NEVER KNEW YOU!“  This is something everyone needs to really think about, and not wait another minute before giving their hearts to God.

THE SUFFERING HERE FOR CHRIST IS MINIMAL, AND THE REWARD IN HEAVEN IS BOUNTIFUL, COMPARED TO THE ETERNAL SUFFERING YOU WILL HAVE IN HELL IF YOU DON’T GIVE YOU HEART TO GOD!

DON’T WAIT TOO LATE!  JESUS LOVED YOU SO MUCH, HE STRETCHED OUT HIS ARMS AND DIED FOR YOU!

What if you had nothing to lose?

”At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart.  The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised’.” — Job 1:20–21

The book of Job provides us with a stunning example of courage in the face of adversity. Who is not touched by Job’s faith in the face of unfathomable tragedy? Just as he finished learning that he had lost all of his worldly possessions, he discovered that he had also lost every single one of his children.  All on the same day!

Job went from being the wealthiest and most blessed man on the planet to being an example of destitution and loss. His response is startling. He did not curse God and he did not question Him.  Instead he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”

In a moment of clarity, Job realized that he never really had anything to lose in the first place. Every human being enters this world with nothing and he/she will leave with nothing. Anything acquired in the meantime is a gift, but oh-so-very temporary.

Thousands of years later, these words were echoed in the powerful words said by the late CEO and co-founder of the Apple computer company, Steve Jobs. In a commencement speech given at the Stanford University, Jobs said, “All external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure, these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

Job and Jobs are making the same point. We come to this world with nothing and we leave with nothing. But that’s not depressing; that’s inspiring. Knowing that we have nothing to lose is comforting, and even empowering.

Because the moment that we let go of our physical attachments and petty concerns, we are free to focus on what really matters. We are free to try new things and to risk failure. We can go after our dreams! Failure is not nearly as scary when we have nothing on the line.

What would you try if you knew that you had nothing to lose?

http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/already-naked

Exposing the Enemy by Dee Dee Wike

Last week was the week from hell, literally. Now that I look back on it I realize that much of the anger I felt, the sleeplessness I experienced, and the distractions that kept me from ministry were an attack by the enemy who seeks to steal, kill, and destroy anything and anybody who proclaims the Good News of salvation and hope through Jesus Christ.

I have long felt that much of the rebellion we see in our children is nothing less than the enemy’s attempt to keep the next generation of believers from ever reaching the point of salvation or reaching their peers for Christ. Satan is masterful and cunning and will even go so far as to use our children to hinder our own service and ministries. In recent days I have seen an escalation of Satan’s attacks on the health of several members of my church family and I know that it is because we are proclaiming Christ and exposing the enemy for the true devil he is. Lest you doubt it, Satan is alive and well and working on planet earth to do all in his power (and make no mistake, he is powerful) to see that no one comes to a saving knowledge of Christ and that those of us who do, live as defeated, ineffective Christians.

To those who would say that old people get sick and die, young people get cancer because of environmental or genetic causes, or that bad things happen simply because we live in a fallen world, I would say you are correct. But I also know that Satan uses such things as illness, financial strain, rebellion, and addiction to stop us dead in our tracks or divert us from God’s purpose for our lives. We see evidence of his activity in the book of Job, when God allows Satan to take everything from his servant Job but his very life. Satan destroyed Job’s children, his livestock, his wealth, and his health. Job’s friends blamed his sin for all Job’s trouble. Job questioned God, even as we would. But in the end, God asserted his omnipotence and once Job acknowledged his sovereignty, God renewed his blessings and restored prosperity to Job, blessing the latter part of Job’s life more than the first (Job 42:12).

In Luke 22:31-32 Jesus said, “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” No attack of the enemy is unnoticed by the God who has already defeated him. If you feel the weight of oppression in your circumstances and sense that there is something bigger at work than ordinary illness or adversity, you may well be under the attack of our enemy. But faint not! Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father interceding for the protection of his own from the enemy (John 17:9, 15). Jesus tells us, “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy” (Luke 10:19).

As a believer, you are a child of the Lamb, subject to persecution and attack simply because of whose you are. “They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings — and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers” (Revelation 17:14). No matter how closely you may walk with the Savior, know that Satan will do all in his power to steal, kill, and destroy any evidence of Christ in you. But as a saved child of God you can rest in this blessed assurance from Christ himself: “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28). Not even Satan!

http://devotionalchristian.com/exposing-the-enemy/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DevotionalChristian+%28Devotional+Christian%29