We come to the last chapter of Job. We learned from the first chapters that Job had a list of things that happened to him. He and his three friends tried to make sense of it, but still face the Lord’s rebuke. When Job finally realized that God is God and nothing escapes Him, he says the above verse.
Job heard of God and knew of God but now because of everything that has happened, he can see Him clearly. Sometimes that is the case with us, isn’t it? We think we know God and we think we know why He is allowing for this to happen. But what we can’t see is the reason why God allows us to go through various trials. Romans 8:28 tells us “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
I’ve heard of you, but now I see You.
Joshua Navarro
Earlier in this chapter, the Lord had explained to the prophet Jeremiah that ruin and sorrow would soon come to Israel because of their refusal to repent. And Jeremiah would be the one to deliver God’s message to the people.
In his anguish over the judgment about to fall and the vile reception he would receive as the messenger of God, Jeremiah dug in deeper and expressed his full dependence upon God and upon God’s word.
This verse reminds me to ask myself, “Has reading the Bible become just another task that I need to get done? Does God’s word bring rejoicing to my heart, or is Christianity just the philosophy that I ascribe to?”
Today, join me in prayer and in action. Prayers that the Lord would reveal to us the deep treasures of His word; actions that involve our participation in reading and digesting every line of scripture that meets our eyes. Believer, you and I are called by His name. We are His children (John 1:12). Let’s be hungry to know our Heavenly Father better every day.
Jeff Deal
As you live your life as a child of God, you can know that there are going to be times when God is going to correct you. If you are walking in a way that is unworthy of the Lord, you may hear the still, small voice of God leading you back. As you read the Scriptures, you’ll find reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness, or the Lord may issue correction in a situation or trial. In these moments, the proper response, if you are wise, is to respond to His correction as a good thing.
Remember, God is not beating you down. Jesus was bruised in your place. He disciplines you because He loves you. It’s for your protection, not your rejection, because Jesus was forsaken in your place. Jesus was pierced, crushed, and wounded, taking our punishment so that we might be in this place where we are so loved by our Heavenly Father that He would correct us when we go astray. “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” 1 John 3:1
Pastor Doug Hardin
We are told in Hebrews 4:12 that the word of God is living and powerful. Here we see that our faith comes from the hearing of God’s word as well. Here is the question. If someone doesn’t believe the Bible to be true, does God’s word lose power? We know that the preaching of the cross of Christ is foolishness to those who are perishing. Also, we shouldn’t cast God’s word before swine. Still, that doesn’t change the effectiveness and power that we see in Scripture when it falls onto the ears of anyone willing to hear. Do you have someone to share with that doesn’t believe the Bible to be worth anything? That’s ok! Share God’s word with them anyway and see the power that we have in the word of God. Let that power of God’s word wash over your heart and mind today. We serve the Lord of all things!
Blessings,
Pastor Sean Boehm
There was a particular famous Christian from some years back who wrote a whole laundry list of reasons why paying taxes was illegal and thus refused to pay them. He ended up in jail and his ministry was greatly hindered.
Joseph told Pharaoh in the above verse to charge the people 20 percent tax on produce to be able to provide for the upcoming difficulties ahead.
The reason God says to pay our taxes is because ultimately He’s the provider and even if we were charged a 100 percent tax rate, He’d still find a way to provide. Even if our leaders are not as wise as Joseph, God is not limited by governments or paychecks. So next time we find ourselves grumbling about taxes, we need to remember to put our trust in God.
God is my provider,
Pastor Ron Kitchell
What is your confidence level in God today? Do you believe He is capable to see you through any situation? Solomon has a spiritual breakthrough as he examines the “”vanity” of life and gives us three aspects of God’s eternal actions. God’s actions are permanent, “it shall be forever.” God’s actions are effective and complete, “nothing can be added to it.” And God’s actions are totally secure, “nothing taken from it.” This should give us great confidence and, as the writer puts it, the purpose is that no matter what we face, we will fear God. That’s not the cringing of a slave before a cruel master, but the submission of an obedient child to a loving parent. If we fear God, we need not fear anything else, for He is in control.
Relying on Him,
Pastor Gerard Deleeuw
Boldness is a result of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Paul here tells the Thessalonian believer that even though it had cost him and those with him plenty to share the Gospel of Jesus, his boldness did not wane even in conflict. The word “boldness” here speaks of being frank, outspoken, assured, confident, and having a plainness of speech. How the world around us needs that kind of witness today! Those who share the good news of Jesus with boldness. How about it? Pray that today God may set before you an open door to minister the Gospel with boldness. I will be praying for you today as well.
Go tell it on the mountains…
Pastor Jack Abeelen
The enemy’s job is to get you to distrust God. He sends one fiery dart after another to tempt you so that you disobey God’s Word. He wants to get you to believe that God is holding back joy from you, or that a particular sin will make you feel better if you just indulge a little. These fiery temptations can produce some immense heat when it comes to making a decision on who we will trust. Will we trust God and His ways or will we trust in the enemy’s honey-dipped lies?
Here Paul tells us to take up the shield of faith and this shield represents our basic daily trust in the Lord. Every living soul puts their faith or trust in something or someone every day of their lives. Right now I trust that my keyboard won’t start sparking and my fingers get burned. That might be a lame illustration, but it’s true.
A great deal of our spiritual success comes from simply putting our faith in God. Trusting in His word not just with our mouths, but with our actions. Our actions prove our faith and when we truly trust God, then we will do what He says. And those honey-dipped lies that Satan shoots at us to cause us to doubt, they will be quenched by the truth.
Pastor Jason Witt
These words are the apex of Jesus’ high-priestly prayer spoken just hours before He was arrested in the garden of Gethsemane. They disclose the heart of Jesus for all of us who have trusted in His name. More than anything else, Jesus wants us to behold and enjoy His glory. It is what we were made for. It is God’s great purpose for everything.
There are many reasons why we may have initially come to Jesus. We may have come because of the many benefits of salvation: heaven instead of hell, pearly gates, golden streets, or seeing grandma again. Or perhaps we were weighed down by the guilt of our own sin, and chose Jesus out of a healthy fear of hell. One of the motives behind my own decision at the age of five or six was just a desire to please my parents.
But as we come to know the Bible and mature in Christ, we come to see how beautiful and compellingly glorious He is—and how unworthy we are. We come to treasure Jesus more than any other thing in the world. We begin to see Him as infinitely valuable, worthy of our love, deserving the highest praise, and our deepest sacrifice. Acting upon this realization is what it means to store up treasure in heaven.
When we see Jesus face to face in all His glory, and the prayer of Jesus is finally answered, the heavens will resound with the joyful praises of His bride. Let us live today in light of this future glory.
Tom Day
As Isaiah is called to be a prophet, he has a vision. We can read about it in the verses before the one above. When Isaiah came face to face with the Lord, he realized that he was a sinner. He realized that the Lord is holy and perfect. He knew that he was not worthy to speak to the Lord because of his sinfulness. If we are familiar with this section of scripture, we know that a seraphim flew to him and placed a hot coal in his mouth, saying, “Your iniquity is taken away, your sin purged.”
Isaiah had it right. We can’t just come to the Lord on our own. We need to have our iniquity taken away and our sins purged. God is Holy and we can’t approach Him any other way. The good news is that He sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins. Because of this, He casts our sins as far as the east is to the west (Psalm 103:12). We can now come boldly into the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16).
Joshua Navarro
