Between the Old and the New Testament, there are 400 years of silence. As hard as it is for us to comprehend 400 years, the Bible tells us that’s how long God’s people waited to hear Him speak. At the end of the Old Testament, God spoke through the prophet Malachi – and then nothing. God went silent. It’s hard to imagine such a long time, but for the people who had seen God’s miracles firsthand, 400 years must have felt like an eternity. And the longer God was silent, the worse things got. It certainly seemed as though God had forgotten both His people and His promises.

Can you relate? When God goes silent, it doesn’t take long until we assume God must have forgotten about us. Suddenly we begin to take matters into our own hands – walking away from God in the process. But, God is always at work in our waiting. Waiting reminds us who is ultimately in control and prepares us for what’s next.

Are you in the midst of a season of waiting? Maybe it has been a very long and incredibly frustrating few months or years. You feel as though God has forgotten you; you’re beginning to doubt. Don’t lose hope – God is at work in the waiting. Even during the most challenging seasons, God wants to point us to Jesus. Jesus, the only one who can perfectly and completely fulfill the deepest longings of our hearts.

If you’re seeking hope – look to Jesus. Seeking comfort – look to Jesus. If you’re feeling unfulfilled and dissatisfied – look to Jesus. Jesus is the ultimate hope and joy even when the wait feels like 400 years. Through Jesus, the wait is over as our souls find rest in the promise of God fulfilled!

Pastor William Del Casale

Job makes an observation in the above verse about the great speed by which our lives pass. In his despair at losing his children, he does not see any good as the days go by. His situation will change later when he is restored and he has more children. For us though, Job’s statement is a stark reminder of the brevity of life. Those of us who are older are more cognizant of how quickly time passes, but it is hard for the young to notice this phenomena as their perspective leads them to believe that they have all the time in the world.

Like the surprise of the prey as it is caught up in the eagle’s talons, we too will inevitably be caught up by time. As Christians, the end of life here on earth is just the beginning of eternity in the physical presence of God. Until that time, God has a purpose and a calling for our lives. He has a work that He wants to complete in us (Philippians 1:6). Lord, may we yield to Your work in our lives, and may we be mighty instruments of Your will accomplishing the work that You have set out to do through us.

Jeff Mericle

Paul prayed joyfully and regularly for the Ephesians after he heard of their faith and their love for the saints. His first request in v. 17 is that God would grant them “the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,” and this request is clarified in v. 18 where he reveals just how this spiritual knowledge is transferred to believers: the eyes of our understanding must be enlightened.

For anyone to grow in the wisdom and the knowledge of God, the eyes of our heart must be opened to receive this revelation. Before we were saved, Satan was blinding our eyes (2 Corinthians 4:4). After we are saved, we can still become blind, like the Laodiceans. Since the devil and our human frailties all are working together to blind us, we should be vigilant to pray consistently that God would actively open the eyes of our understanding so we can continue to grow in grace.

So fellow pilgrim, do you yearn for the wisdom and knowledge of God for yourself, or for your spouse, children, and coworkers? Paul has given us not only the words to pray, but the reason why we should pray. God must open our eyes to see Him.

Tom Day

Arthur W. Pink said that, “The Law of God [Ten Commandments] is an expression of His love, a manifestation of His mercy, a provision of His grace.” Deuteronomy 33:2-3 confirms this truth that “God’s fiery law” is because “He loves the people.” Pink goes on to say, “While divine love provided the Law, the prime purpose of God in giving it was that His authority should be maintained. Israel must be brought to see that they were under His government.”

By providing this people with the Mosaic law, they would be able to feel safe, they would be able to own property, and there would be provisions that allow them to enjoy life rather than take from it. The law of sin, that we instinctively operate by, is a law that hinders our freedom and places us in bondage and in opposition to the God we are accountable to.

As Christians under grace and not the Mosaic law, we have an even greater relationship under God’s governing — Christ living inside of us, directing us on the path that leads to life. The 10 commandments have not been replaced by Christ, but rather made possible for us to live out because of Christ. God’s instruction for His saints is always to keep us out of bondage, and as a redeemed people of Christ, may we view His instruction to us as a provision of grace that grants us more freedom, not less.

Pastor Jason Witt

The story of Joseph is one that we are all familiar with. We go to this story when confronted with sin. We tell ourselves, we have to be like Joseph and run. Joseph had the proper perspective of who he was. He knew what his position was in the office he held. He respected his master and all of the power that came with the position. He also understood where he stood before a Holy God. Notice what he says, “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”

If Joseph were to commit this sin, he would not only be sinning against his master who gave him the position he held, but more importantly it would be sinning against God. This serves as a good reminder to me when I sin. My sin is not only against those who I sin against but more importantly, it’s against God. This should drive us to think about what we’re going to do before we sin the next time.

If today you find yourself struggling with sin, ask yourself the same question Joseph did, “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” and run from it knowing that God makes a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Joshua Navarro

Jesus Christ came to this earth for the purpose of fulfilling the will of the Father, which was to bridge the gap between Himself and mankind. But the problem was that men were all sinners separated from God and until that sin was dealt with that gap would not be bridged. So that’s why Jesus came, to pay for our sin. He said in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

So, praise the Lord when we put our faith in the fact that Jesus Christ died on the cross for all our sins and we believed, we received forgiveness of those sins and in that moment we were born again. God’s Spirit came to live inside of us and we were regenerated, redeemed, and justified. This is a free gift that we do not deserve; this is the love, mercy, and grace of Almighty God.

What a good thing to remember today, and a great thing to share with someone who is still separated from God.

Pastor Doug Hardin

In verses 1-5, James describes our bent to leave the Lord and pursue our selfish desires by befriending the world. Friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God, it is a direct rebellion and a position that states you do not trust that God is for your ultimate good. What amazes me is God’s response to our betrayal, “He gives more grace.” God’s grace is always greater than our sin and it is not even close. Grace blows sin out of the water, it crosses the finish line, goes home, takes a shower, changes, eats a sandwich, and then sin crosses the finish line.

When we fully grasp God’s grace, it changes us to our core. We are no longer proud people, rather we humble ourselves before a righteous God who is rich in grace. Words cannot fully express the greatness of our God!

For the King,

Pastor Daniel Batistelli

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Do you remember saying this when you were younger? Words can’t hurt me, but physically I can be hurt. Now that you’re older, how much have you seen this not to be true? Our words and other people’s words hurt!

That is what Solomon is saying here. Your words have an effect on people and it will either be a like a sword or a knife that stabs someone or it provides health or life for those that hear your words. Anger, frustration, bitterness, and wild emotions can cause us to have words like swords that only damage and wound. The Lord would have us be wise with what leaves our mouth and encourage, direct, and love others. I challenge you today, consider your words and how you speak to others!

In Christ,

Pastor Sean Boehm

Here’s a good way to start your day. Spend some time in prayer and let your request be, “Lord help me to follow this command in everything I do today.” So why, in Jesus’ own words, is this the first and greatest command? Because God knew when He originally gave this to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 11:13 that if they would love Him first and keep that as their focus, everything else would fall into place.

That principle hasn’t changed through the ages and still stands true today. Love God with every part of who we are and all the other aspects of our lives (relationships, finances, employment, etc…) will fall where they belong. Not that we won’t have trials and testing along the way but our consistent love for God will see us through those times.

Praying for strength to obey that First Commandment,

Pastor Gerard Deleeuw

As a Children’s Pastor, I hear much from the kids I teach about things they are learning in school. They are being taught evolution from a young age before they can form an argument. Their only defense might be Genesis 1:1, In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Yet that simple argument, when paired with the verse above, is more than enough.

Evolutionary scientists continually try to refute the first verse of the Bible because if they can get young ones to question the Scriptures from the very beginning, those same kiddos will have doubts about the rest of the book. Yet God says here in Job, “Were you there when I formed the earth?” Because He was!

God’s question here is to Job himself, who had built himself up as a holy man and was starting to question God’s motives in all of the troubles sent his way. God’s answer throughout Job 38-through-41 doesn’t explain what He did, it just defines what He is – a powerful God who has all of the answers. That should be enough for us and it should be enough for our kids.

Worshiping the Creator,

Pastor Ron Kitchell