One Year Bible, August 27

JOB 23:1 - 27:23                                                                                                                   
WHERE IS GOD? The bitterest pain of all, in the time of testing, is the inability to discern God's Presence. I could pray and beg for mercy and help if I thought He would hear me. It is a test of faith - when we can't see Him in front of us, behind us, or at either side of us. No matter where we look, God just isn't there! BUT HE CAN SEE US!  This is a test!  Our ability to cling to God, stay faithful, hold fast.  And when faith is tested in the fire of adversity and "abandonment", we come forth like pure GOLD, with selfish impurities flushed out. Not only that, but Job said that the fire of adversity had softened his heart.  We can be hemmed in by darkness, but still know that God can see us perfectly.

WHY DOESN'T GOD JUDGE EVIL IN THE WORLD?   Job would argue against anyone who thought God was not interested in the affairs of men.   These "rebel against the Light" and so may even be in the Church!   But someday they will be "taken away" (like in Noah's flood).

BILDAD #3: Job's friends are whipped and running out of fuel. Bildad still does not understand HOW a man can be just before God. Job MUST be wrong!

JOB'S DEFENSE:  Job sarcastically dismissed Bildad's last speech as unhelpful and lacking authority.   When people argue against God, it is usually because they want you to believe them instead.   How many lives has Bildad changed?   Bildad's arguments are just too stupid to deserve an answer.

CONTRAST TO THE GREATNESS AND GOODNESS OF GOD:  "Hell is naked before Him..." "Destruction" is the Hebrew word "Abaddon" , who is the "Detroyer".   He rules the locusts and is the symbol of barrenness and utter destruction.   God also "suspended the earth upon nothing."   (This was stated in an age when people thought the earth rested on the shoulders of Atlas). "By His Spirit He has beautified the heavens."  That makes God the Creator and Ruler of hell, earth, and heaven. 

WHAT WOULD JOB GAIN BY BEING A HYPOCRITE?  It is NOT true that all suffering is the result of sin.   However, it IS true that a disregard for God and God's laws has consequences in this life.   Job made a decision that he would not JUSTIFY his friends' judgment by losing his integrity.

RESPONSE:   James 5:10-11 tell us that it is Job's PATIENCE that we are to remember.  This "patience" is NOT "long-suffering", but "ENDURANCE with constancy."  Job never railed on his tormentors, though he was sarcastic at times.   He never whined about all his losses.   Not once, did he say that life wasn't fair!   He clung to God and waited for his vindication.   Job's greatest torment was that he couldn't see any signs that God was still with him.   But, even so, he declared his faith that God was IN CHARGE.    Which brings me to another question: Who was actually responsible for all Job's pain?  There are some who believe that this event actually was spread out over a year! 365 days of being sick, feverish, alone but for a bitter wife and friends he could have done without - - - grieving inside for the loss of all his children, isn't sure he should pray because obviously God isn't there!   I find it amazing that when we feel abandoned, we are actually the center of attention from God and don't know it!   I had a pastor once who called the suffering of Job, a "left-handed compliment".  GOD WAS SHOWING HIM OFF TO THE HEAVENLIES!  "Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man." (Job 1:8)

2 CORINTHIANS 1:12 - 2:11                                                                                           
The book appears to cover several topics, but that is because Paul is showing us "the God of ALL comfort".   God is all-sufficient, all-powerful, and has all authority.   In any situation, God is enough.

"YES" AND "NO":  God does not make promises and then break them. We shouldn't either, even if it is inconvenient to keep them!   After all, the Gospel is ONE GRAND AFFIRMATION.  It is God's Truth that stands firm without inconsistencies or ambiguities.   The Gospel can withstand study, investigation, all doubts, and any questions we might have.  Jesus is the fulfillment of all that God has promised. The goodness and greatness of God is an established fact that will never waver.

"THE EARNEST OF THE SPIRIT":  Long-term proof of the affirmation of God's promises is the indwelling Spirit of God. His presence in us is proof that we will also "inherit" all the rest of God's promises. The Holy Spirit marks us out as belonging to God - puts His seal on us - it is like an engagement ring, proof of the coming marriage and intimacy.   The Spirit Himself IS our "earnest" - down payment - the guarantee of full payment.  Payment "in full" for what?   That we will, IN PRACTICE, reflect the image of Jesus as the Holy Spirit enacts and empowers all the promises in us of giving us His joy, His endurance, His faith, His righteousness, His compassion, etc. etc.

DISCIPLINE THAT LEADS TO REPENTANCE:  Punishment that does not correct and restore (in the church) is wrong.   NOT to discipline at all is just as wrong, because it doesn't protect the church from scandal and it does a disservice to the guilty party.   Church discipline must be done with love and "in the presence of Christ".  A scandal in the church gives the devil opportunity to discredit Jesus Christ (It is not just unforgiveness that gives opportunity to the devil.).  The devil finds his opportunity in the incompetence of the church to deal with immorality in its midst in a redemptive way. The devil takes opportunity through legalism and unloving Pharisaism, or through despair or even self-pity over being caught in sin.   And, too, the devil can use this to strain relationships in the church and start dissensions.

RESPONSE:   When I first received the Holy Spirit, I was so joyful and excited that I assumed that I had gotten all there is to get! I didn't know that that was just a "down payment"! I also didn't know that the Holy Spirit had declared war on my flesh. Any other territory that the Spirit of God has taken in my life, was taken at spearpoint. My flesh is stubborn, rude, territorial, stupid, and resistant - and the first few years were pretty miserable. But, He has also given me His overwhelming joy, His wonderul grace, His sufficiency and fullness, His energy, His strength, His compassion, His mercy, His kindness - - - and I could go on and on.  And I know that He will never run out of more and more. 


PSALM 41:1-13                                                                                                                    
If I Care for the poor:
1. "The Lord will deliver me in the time of trouble."
2. The Lord will preserve me, "that he faint not in his troubles."
3. The Lord will keep me alive. Prolong my life and days.
4. "I shall be blessed upon earth: " God shall enrich me.
5. I shall not be delivered unto the will of my enemies,-never to their full desires, though often into their hands.
6. "The Lord will strengthen me upon a bed of languishing," God will overturn my bed and dump me out!

PROVERBS 22:5-6                                                                                                                  
A perverse man brings "thorns and thistles" (adversity) on himself.

By prayer and observation, we first understand the "bent" of the child - his temperament, his destiny, his calling.   Other than that, these are PROVERBS, and that means these are probabilities, not promises.  The Bible is full of godly men whose children were awful!

RESPONSE:  Whenever I get sick, I think about God dumping me out of bed.  I don't think I'd like that.