Birds sing the most beautiful songs. It is so amazing the diversity of creation. The sound of the wind and waves. The songs of the small birds. The laughter of children.
Our lives are so fleeting. One moment we are here and the next we are gone.
So why do we do what is wrong? It should not be: Do what ever you want for soon you will be gone.
For every moment we have is a blessing from God. So show God how thankful we are. Live a life where God is upon our hearts and loving our neighbors is in our actions.
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
I teach problem solving and logic a lot. And I always want my students to know what they think and why. Why do they believe what they believe. Why do they have their opinions. If they can defend them. To know when to doubt what they are being told. To know when someone else is manipulating them with words.
The wisdom of man has become an idol for us today. We listen and obey what "a better" has told us. We don't inform ourselves of the truth, because we are told what it is.
But, the wisdom of God destroys our faith in our own hands. And in the faith in the hands of man.
You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish; you have blotted out their name forever and ever. ... The nations have sunk in the pit that they made; in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.The Lord has made himself known; he has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.
When I was in High School it was 'cool' to wear t-shirts with symbols of the Soviet Union. It still is today I suppose.
The sad part of this is that no one ... NO ONE ... in history murdered more people than the Soviets. Upwards of 60 million men, women and children were crushed under the wheels of that monstrosity.
Though that nation has been destroyed, and someday will only be remembered as a byword, men still lust after the same evil. They lay the same nets as the monsters of the past. But, do not expect them to succeed forever. The evil that they seek after will come back upon them. And it is not surprising that those who choose to surround themselves with evil will have that evil destroy them. It is what evil does.
Arise, O Lord! Let not man prevail; let the nations be judged before you! Put them in fear, O Lord! Let the nations know that they are but men!
... who does not put out his money at interest ...
What real profit is there in doing good only to get a return? There is no gain towards becoming a better person if we only give to get a tax write-off. Or if you give to get the accolades of praise.
Don't give anything of yourself ... time, money, sweat, blood ... with the understanding you will get it back and more. Give because it the right thing to do.
And now the LORD answers Job. Eventually God told Job all that happened from the beginning of this story. Or we obviously wouldn't have the first few chapters.
But for now what answer does Job get? ... "I'm God. Period."
It all really boils down to that essence of truth. We are dealing with I AM. Hold up your hand and look at it. The details of all that you see. Everything you have ever done. Holding your children. Striking in anger. All that you are. Only by the will of God are you here. With a simple breath and desire it could all be gone. And by His amazing love our soul will continue for eternity.
No matter the situation you find yourself in ... remember. Remember the love of a Dad who takes the punishment deserved by you. Remember the love of a Dad who, through His infinite will, sustains your life and your eternal soul. Our LORD is the great I AM.
Make them bear their guilt, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against you.
I used to struggle with the above. I used to think that I would be praying AGAINST someone with those words. But, being a Dad I now understand the idea of consequences.
Many people will not change unless they are humbled. I've mentioned before about needing to soften our hearts. And I can think of two ways ... We try to tenderize our own hearts or God will tenderize our hearts with adversity.
They received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
This is an invitation to judge me.
Never read or listen to anything without examination when someone is speaking about the LORD. God wants a personal relationship with you so don't allow someone to stand in between you and Him. I don't believe in a holy interpreter. I believe in the LORD.
So many came before me that had a greater relationship with God than I. Yet I will weight their words and actions against the Word and against what I know to be true about God. I say to do this because I am a man. And I know my heart. They were men as well who had the same heart of flesh. Even Peter was corrected by Paul.
Zophar: But the eyes of the wicked will fail; all way of escape will be lost to them, and their hope is to breathe their last.
Job: The tents of robbers are at peace, and those who provoke God are secure.
So who is right?
We see pain and suffering in the world. We experience them.
Job is crying out for an answer. And at times we take the way of his friends ... If you are suffering it is because you deserve it. But, that doesn't have to be true. You may be suffering and there is no wrong being punished in you.
The only way to truly have a hope of knowing what is going on is to struggle with God. To wrestle with Him. To talk and listen. To live. To try.
For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.
And in all of our suffering we have Christ. Who stood upon the earth and bore the pain, felt the temptations, cried the tears, lived the life, and made the sacrifice.
And in our flesh we shall see Him with our own eyes. And have comfort.
Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.
As salvation for Job came from looking forward to Christ. From seeing through his pain to Christ standing in heaven as the witness who testified for him on high. Our salvation comes from Christ as well.
Our sins may be forgiven, but we must strive to live a life worthy of His name. How small of a thing it is to live a life of thankfulness. God poured out the gift of salvation for me ... I can not spit upon that. I must live a life that honors it.
And I will fail.
But, I must remind myself daily ... and try daily.
... and said to the judges, “Consider what you do, for you judge not for man but for the Lord. He is with you in giving judgment. Now then, let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Be careful what you do, for there is no injustice with the Lord our God, or partiality or taking bribes.”
How much more justice would be in our culture today if the law was still based on the above. That those in the jury and those in the robes had the fear of the LORD upon them. There really is no injustice with the LORD and neither should we act unjustly.
Once it was true that men understood truth and justice came only from God and that everyone answers to Him. And all laws had to conform that the justice of God. Then just over 100 years ago that changed. It changed from the justice of God to laws being based on previous decisions and cases. And the wisdom of man and "case law" became the disaster we have today.
I wonder when God calls us to labor for the victory and when we are called to stand back and watch His hand work. The easy example is that you don't stand in the street praying: "Oh LORD. Deliver me from the bus rushing down the street to kill me!" The answer is obviously: "MOVE!"
Thinking about this I guess my only idea was to trust in God and go out to battle. If His hand works a miracle ... stand and be amazed. If He calls you to fight ... fight with all that you have.
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
Love each other as you love your family. For your children are of your blood and you love them. Your parents are of your blood and you love them. And you brothers and sisters are of your blood and you love them (sometimes).
But, as Christians we are family by the Blood of Christ. A blood that is deeper and stronger than the flesh of which we are made.
When I was a kid I dreamed of being a super hero. Saving the day and all that. You faced villains and still came out on top. Or maybe the heroic death that everyone remembers.
One part of that dream was that it never dealt with the personal pains and sacrifices that the real living breathing hero lives with. The loss of a father to war. The police office having to deal daily with the worst emotional traumas of humanity. Cleaning up the bodies of a mother and child after the drunk driver ran them down.
Getting a double portion from God means that you will be on the front lines. To those that God gives much ... much is required.
Pray that we may be people that God requires much of.
... the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around ...
Sometimes is takes a little perspective. The mountains in our lives can be daunting. You look up and never expect to conquer them. You feel the weight of your sins in life. You see the difficulty of raising a family in a world that is set against God. You can taste the hate rolling off those aligned against God.
Well, I suppose that would be cheating. It isn't like we don't have the entire Bible. We can read ... we can listen ( as I hope you are by coming here ) ... we can learn about Christ and all that He accomplished for us.
Our road to Emmaus is just the time we choose to sacrifice to God in learning His word. All together, by the time I finish this, it will only have been about 70 hours of my time to listen to ALL of God's Word.
... by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord.
Do you ever think that when you sin you have utterly scorned the Lord? Anger, scorn, sexual sin, adultery, murder. We tend to think of those as being "between us". That there is a victim of the sin and a sinner. Not often do we stop to think that by sinning we are utterly scorning God. We spit in the face of His sacrifice on the cross.
I wonder how often we would sin if the gateway to get there was standing before Jesus on the cross ... and spitting on Him as we walk by to fulfill our desires.
If only I were in charge how different things would be! Yes everyone would have a free home. You would not pay anymore taxes ... that would be only for those that have taken from the poor. We all will ride unicorns that eat rainbows and save the rain forest.
I was trying to be funny, but beware of those that speak well and promise good things. Their heart is usually only upon themselves.
Pride comes before the fall. The Jebusites felt that Jerusalem was so safe that the blind and lame could fight off David. They were wrong.
Myself, I like to argue ... a lot. And part of that is a pride that I have in figuring out what is right or wrong in a debate. It is my job ( teaching mathematics / logic classes ) and I really like to break down things until I know the why's and how's.
But, pride is a very dangerous thing. Having honorable pride in what we do is a good thing. It drives you to work hard and do well. Having a false pride based on past experience can lead laziness and a fall.
Who am I. That is on my mind a lot. It is so hard to access yourself honestly. To not lift yourself up and to not cut yourself down. Just to be honest in looking at where you are, who you are, and what you have done.
I know my weakness and my strengths. And sometimes they are one in the same. O LORD God ... just ... lead me.
While listening to the parables of the lost sheep and coins I was thinking about the times I lost something at home. You are running around the house getting angry and upset over not finding it. You rip open the curtains to let in more light and shake bags upside down. Take the covers off the bed and the cushions from the couch. Get on the floor and rub your hands on the carpet to see if you can feel it. Yell at the kids in case one of them took it.
And then the feeling you get when you find it. The release you feel in your stomach at finally having it in your hand. It is like you can breathe again.
Or ....
may be it is like this ....
We were at the mall ... And I lost track of my son.
My heart hit my stomach and I got scared and angry and ... I can't even find the words. I thought maybe he went to the restroom. I go in and look under each of the doors.
Not there.
As I go out I notice that the door next to the restrooms that leads outside is propped open ...
That isn't supposed to be like that.
Now I'm really angry and scared. Heading back down the hallway I see a play area with a corner that is kind of hidden. Looking over the wall ...
There he is.
NOW I can't describe the feeling of ... completeness ... that I felt just looking at him.
I suppose that is what God feels when we come home.
There is a funny song by Berkley Hart called Elvis Einstein. The song is about an old man that finds a baby abandoned in a dumpster. The old man thinks that to make it in life you need to be pretty, smart, have money and friends. So he names the baby Elvis Einstein Rockefeller Jones. The rest of the song has the baby getting his name changed as he is moved from place to place.
As far as the name Nabal ... I pray that my wife will NEVER have to intercede on my behalf because I am a fool.
And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him.
I can't list all the pain that I see going on around me at times ... pain that hits on the outside of my life. Cancer, death of a child, death of a wife, death of father, broken marriages, broken lives, addiction. All things that only others and friends have experienced ... so far.
I wish I had the perfect answer to give when they ask where God is when they are in pain.
All I can think of is the stream back where I grew up in Ohio. At times it flowed it and at times it dried up. I have wonderful memories of it and painful memories as well. But, it was my stream. Where I played with my family splashing in the water and later got stuck knee deep in mud until I felt like I lost a pint of blood to mosquitoes. Where I saw and learned about life and death.
The knowledge we get is not just of good. Rather it is the Knowledge of Good AND Evil. The only answer I can think of as to why? ...
It rains when it rains. But, here is my hand. Take it and I'll help as best as I can.
When you give people a second or third chance to change do you give them the tools to change?
I would never expect to get a good crop in poor soil if I used no manure or fertilizer. If you keep coming back expecting someone to change ... it would be better if you stayed with them and nourished the soil of their life instead.
At our house we can hear the cows bellow when their calves are separated from them. At first mother and calf are together during the later parts of winter. But, when the calves are old enough they are taken away and we can hear the mothers bellowing out most of the night. It is a rather lonely sound.
When the Philistines sent back the Ark of the LORD they ...
... took two milk cows and yoked them to the cart and shut up their calves at home. And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart and the box with the golden mice and the images of their tumors. And the cows went straight in the direction of Beth-shemesh along one highway, lowing as they went.
The Philistines wanted to know if it was God who was working against them. And every year as I hear the mothers lowing for their calves ... I think of God.
That is why I at times go through my doubts and struggles with God. I live by my brain ( I'm a teacher of mathematics ) and the wisdom of man is foolishness to God. And the wisdom of God is foolishness to man.
We as a people want to have human leaders rather than God as our leader. They are tangible and we can point out all of their foolishness. We can hate them or we can love them. Yet, in the end they are only men. And all the evils I am tempted with ... they feel, and tend to act on, as well.
I believe it is better to not pray for the success of our leaders. Rather to pray for their salvation and for God to burden their hearts for good.
No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.
Ever tried to drive straight while turning your body and looking behind you? It's really really hard. People tend to drift left or right just by turning their heads, let alone their entire body.
I see my salvation like that. I can't be driving for the LORD if I'm trying to look back at where I've been.
But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.
This is one of the reasons I wanted to do this Bible study. To keep the Word of God near me. To keep God close in my life is to keep His Word close in my life. If I don't talk to God ( pray ) or listen to God ( the Bible and listening during prayer ) how can I grow as a Christian.
If my mind is continually on me ... I will live a rather sad life.
But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked; you grew fat, stout, and sleek; then he forsook God who made him and scoffed at the Rock of his salvation.
And that is how I see my nation today. Forsaking the LORD. Scoffing at our own salvation. We are fat with wealth and we think of ourselves as oh so sleek and beautiful. We sacrifice for that which is not God and seek out abominations to perform. But, that way is a suicidal mindset. For on this path ... God will not rest with us anymore. His face will turn and we will know He is God.
What are all the fears you have that keep you from telling others about God? For me it is fear for my standing with my co-workers. Or how others will see me. Or of losing my job.
Oh Lord ... I pray for the courage to speak what you would have me to say.
Speaking the truth isn't always easy. Many times we don't want hear it and we fear others if we would say it. Before Israel two men stood for God and all the people wanted to kill them. Kill them for not saying what THEY, the people, wanted to hear.
Speaking truth will have consequences and we should not use the truth as a stick to beat people. And we should not hold it back from them with the false hope that a soft lie will smooth things over. Speak the truth in love and let God work on their hearts.
What are the tassels in my life? Well here are a few things that remind me of God ...
One: Never place anything on my bible. I remember that from my parents when they gave me the bible I still use today. Every time I look at my bible I remember that and, sometimes, have to take stuff off of it.
Two: My phone. I've turned my phone/pda into a reminder. I keep my prayer list on it. I have all of the bible in audio and text.
Three: Dead plants. Every time I see dead plants I think of spring and burning them. And how the LORD will gather us up and burn up all the waste of our life.
