A Wounded Spirit

Job 1

In Job 1, we get a peek behind the scenes. God and Satan have a conversation. Satan said that he had been walking all over the earth (Job 1:7). The Apostle Peter put a different spin (probably more accurate) on what Satan does when he's "walking around" (1 Peter 5:8).

God asks Satan a question. "Have you considered My servant Job...?" Of all the people on the planet, God singled out Job.

God can see into our hearts. He sees who we really are. The way God singled out Job made me think of another person who was singled out, because King Jesus could see into his heart as well. In Revelation 2:13. Jesus was dictating His letters to the churches, and in the letter to the church in Pergamum, He singled out Antipas. He called him "My faithful witness...". Because Jesus could see into his heart, just as clearly as God saw into Job's heart. Real love. Real faithfulness. He saw obedient hearts in these men. He saw a willingness to go as far as it took to please their Master. And these qualities were honored by The King. (1 Samuel 15:22).

So Satan, being the accuser, pointed his boney finger at Job. "Well, of course he is faithful to You. You made him rich. The guy lives on easy street. Take all that away from him and he'll curse Your Name." (Job 1:10-11)

Here is something that I don't think we should miss. The devil is the adversary. He is pure evil. God gave him permission to take all that Job had. He did. He took it all. But here is the part that helps us to see who we're dealing with. Why we should cling even closer to our Savior and King. He killed Job's children.

When Job got the news of his children, he tore his robe and fell on the ground and worshiped God. (Job 1:20-21)

Wow. I know most of us ask ourselves if we would have it in us to respond like that. Because our Wise Father could see into Job's heart, He knew Job would never curse Him. Job loved Him.

God can see in all of our hearts. He knows what is in there, even the stuff we don't let anyone else see.

God is AWESOME!

Experience Required

1 Peter 5:8-9

God never meant for anyone to be alone in their suffering. He will not leave His children in despair (Deuteronomy 31:6).

We have been given the Holy Spirit so that we are never alone, and when things get so bad that we don't know what to say, He will say it for us (Romans 8:26).

We do not always have bad experiences because of something we did or didn't do. Sometimes our bad experiences are for someone else's benefit. (John 9:1-3)

That is one reason, among many, that God instituted the church. He gave us a support system. Christ Jesus commanded us to love one another (John 13:34) and we are to bear one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2).

It is in this support system that we can see God's genius at work. No matter what kind of bad things are happening, there is someone in your church who has been there and understands. And in your experiences, you will have the tools to help someone else go through something that you have been through. To help someone bear their burden.

God is AWESOME!

Never Beyond Hope

Psalm 51:17

I had a conversation with a friend at work today. We discussed whether or not we thought Judas went to heaven.

One train of thought led to the question of predestination. Was Judas an example of someone who had been created for destruction (Romans 9:21)?

He betrayed Jesus. His name will always be synonymous with treason and betrayal. But he later understood that he was wrong. His heart was broken over what he had done. It was something he could not live with (Matthew 27:3-5 and Acts 1:16-20).

I was struck with a thought. Could Judas have been an example that no one is beyond redemption? That no matter what you have done, you can still be saved? Is Judas someone we can point to and say, "See? Not even that is stronger than God's grace."

I suppose we will have to wait until we get to Heaven for a conclusive answer to this question.

The Apostle Paul said it best, "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39)

Thank You, Father, for Your grace and Your love that is beyond our understanding. Thank You for the hope that You hold out in Christ Jesus."

God is AWESOME!

The Real World

Acts 17

In the course of a conversation I was having with my wife, I jokingly quoted a line from one of the Shakespear plays we all had to read in school. And that, of course got the gears creaking around in my little head.

I started thinking of the Apostle Paul. By all accounts, he was a very smart and well educated man. I've even heard that he was one of those 'beautiful mind' types and that he had the equivalent of several doctoral degrees. Suffice it to say that he was a very smart man.

I think that's why God chose Paul to go to Athens. That was, at the time, the hub of intellectualism. Who else could have gone toe to toe with some of the greatest minds of the time.

I think in Acts chapter 17, we can see the value of a well rounded education. Paul was able to speak intelligently to the men in Athens, even quoting their own poets (Acts 17:28).

God put a mind and a thirst for knowledge in us for a reason. The more we learn and read, the more we can see the depths of God's absolute genius. He gave such beautiful gifts to different people who discover ways to inspire us and ways to look into deep space and who can find the words to describe or the skill and imagination to draw and paint God's glorious creation.

God is AWESOME!

The Best of Both Worlds

Psalm 4:8

It's funny how the most unlikely things get the wheels turning in my little head. I was listening to a local classic rock station, and some song lyrics reminded me of how wonderful our Jesus is and how wonderous His love (Jude 1:24).

When we leave this world and enter into the next, we are promised absolute peace and safety. While we are still in this world though, we are promised something different (John 16:33).

Christ Jesus left us with ways to experience peace and joy in the midst of our troubles (Philippians 4:4-7). He gave us His peace (John 14:27).

I am looking forward to the day that there are no more days. Just us and our Father and King in eternity, as we were meant to be (Revelation 21:1-6).

Thank You, Father, for the tribulation that drives us closer to You. Thank You for leaving us with a peace that cannot be understood and a joy that cannot be extinguished and for the hope that is in Christ Jesus.

God is AWESOME!

Three in One

Deuteronomy 6:4

My wife and I had a conversation about the trinity the other night that lead to some very good questions. Questions like what is the trinity? and is there one God in three Persons or are there three separate entities who are as one?

I believe in the Triune God (one God in three Persons). God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Not, as some (I believe) false teachers assert, three separate entities.

Jesus was born from a virgin, just as the prophet Isaiah said (Isaiah 7:14). Isaiah said that He would be called Immanuel, which means God with us (Matthew 1:23). So, Jesus is God wrapped in flesh (John 1:1 and John 1:14). It had to be God who came, because there was no other sacrifice pure enough to cover all of the sins of all the world (Exodus 12:5). He had to do it Himself, just like when God swore an oath, He would swear by His own name, because there is no higher name by which to swear (Isaiah 45:23 and Jeremiah 22:5).

So we see that the Father and the Son are one and the same (John 10:27-30 and John 14:6-9).

What about the Holy Spirit? Many people think the Holy Spirit is solely a New Testament person. That He didn't arrive on the scene until the day of Pentecost. Not true. The Holy Spirit, or the Spirit of God, has been around as long as God, because He is God. He is spoken of many times throughout the whole bible. In Exodus, Bezalel was filled with God's Spirit (Exodus 31:2-3). King David was filled with the Spirit of God from the day he was anointed king by Samuel (1 Samuel 16:13). And John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit before he was even born (Luke 1:13-15).

We worship one God in three persons, otherwise, we would be idolaters (Exodus 20:2-3).

Difficult to understand? Yes indeed! Our God is eternal, He has depths that are unsearchable by fallen, finite minds like ours (Isaiah 55:8-11). But that is the wonderful thing about how God operates. The more we obey, the more we search, the more we meditate on His word and pray, the more of Himself He will reveal to us, the stronger He will make our understanding of who He is.

God is AWESOME!