Are You Teachable?
Today’s Passage – Psalms 21 – 25
Second Milers also read – 1 Peter 4 – 2 Peter 2; Psalms 96 – 100; Proverbs 20
Scripture Memory for June – Psalm 139
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 55:17
Read a previous post from this passage – “Mountaintop or Valley?”
“Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.” – (Psalm 25:4-5)
It’s really a very simple question, isn’t it? Are you teachable? Can God shew you and lead you as He did David, and countless other men and women in the Bible? I would like to pull some thoughts out of this Psalm that I believe will help us identify some of the problems that most of us have in learning from God. In order for God to teach us, there are some attributes that must be present in our lives:
1 We must first be saved
God will instruct a lost man regarding salvation, but in order for a man to really get to know God, he must first have trusted Christ as his Saviour.
“What man is he that feareth the LORD? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose. … The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.” – (Psalm 25:12, 14)
2 We must be submissive
By this, I mean that we must be humble. Most people cannot learn, because their pride causes them to think that they already have all of the answers. God cannot teach the man that is full of himself. None of us knows all that God wants to teach us. We must keep our hearts open to new truths constantly, from the mouth of God and from the instruction of people that God places in our lives. Someone once said, “Every man is my teacher”. That is a true statement. We can learn something from everybody.
“The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.” – (Psalm 25:9)
As you read through this Psalm, you will notice that David recognizes that he is nothing without God. Notice how often he asks for forgiveness. Keep in mind that David is seen as a king in the eyes of men, but he knows that the only true king is God.
3 We must be starving for God
God will not instruct those that do not desire to be instructed. As you read through this Psalm, and others penned by David, you can easily see his hunger for God. He wanted all that God would give him.
“O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;” – (Psalm 63:1)
“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” – (Matthew 5:6)
One of the characteristics of true spirituality is that a person will remain teachable throughout his life. We never arrive. In fact, the closer we get to God, the more we realize that we are still very far away; and the more we become like God, the more we recognize that we have fallen short in so many ways. Stay teachable: always growing, learning, and drawing closer to Him.
Posted in Thoughts from Psalms by Phil Erickson with 1 comment.
Just For Ladies by Camille Stahl
Today’s Passage – Psalms 17 – 20
(Second Milers also read – James 5 – 1 Peter 3; Psalms 91 – 95; Proverbs 19)
Scripture Memory for June – Psalm 139
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 51
The Study of Women in the Bible
This Week – Noah’s Wife
Good morning and welcome back to “Women in the Bible”. This week we will be looking at an obedient and faithful women of God with no name – Noah’s wife.
“These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.” (Genesis 6:9)
“But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee.” (Genesis 6:18)
With the fall of Adam and Eve, the world became more and more evil. In Genesis 6, the Bible tells us that it repented the LORD that He created man and He was going to destroy it, but Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. So God told Noah what He was about to do and asked Noah to build an ark. I don’t know about you but if my husband came home and told me that, well!
A Faithful Woman
Noah’s wife was a Godly wife with much faith in both God and her husband. She stood behind her husband, while the rest of the world mocked him. She must have felt isolation when her friends and other family members walked away from them. She was committed to serving her family for many years in building a huge boat and supplying it with thousands of animals. Oh yeah, and living on it for a year. She was about to preform a task which no other woman was asked to do.
Where did she get great faith from? Maybe it the result of serving God for many years. It could have been because God provided for her family in the past, and she knew she could trust Him in the future.
How can we develop such great faith? Simple, spend time with God. When we take time each day to study His word and talk to Him, we learn to hear that still small voice. We grow closer to Him and learn His way for our life. Trusting and obeying Him in the small things, gets us ready for the things that seem to “BIG”.
A Righteous Woman
She trained her boys to love the Lord. She taught them to pray. She told them about and Adam, Eve, Cain, and Abel and the consequences they suffered. They helped with building the ark and the wives they select also entered the ark. I believe she worked hard training her sons and did a great job. Remember the rest of the world was wicked in the sight of the Lord.
We also should teach others about God. How? By example. Being an example is louder then words.
If they see you pray, they will pray. If they see you do whats right, they will do whats right. Will they mess up? Yes!, but we still should do all we can.
A Compassionate Woman
News about the ark spread quickly. People came from a far to see them building a boat in the middle of dry land. For 100 years she begged and pleaded with them to serve the Lord, but no one listened. They laughed and mocked as they heard the story of the coming rain. I can only imagine how she felt knowing their fate as she pleaded with them to trust in the Lord. Yet she stayed by her husband’s side to finish the work of God. Her heart must have crushed, when she heard the cry’s and screams of the people outside the ark. The waters became, deeper and deeper until —- a hush.
How can we be a compassionate woman?
“There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.” – (Luke 16:19-26 KJV)
Need I say more. We learn John 3:16 and Psalm 23 but I believe these should be verses we repeat to ourselves everyday. If we keep the fire of hell in the front of our minds, it will be very easy to be compassionate to all around us. I ask myself, who is getting on the ark because of me? I will ask you, who will be on the ark because of you?
A Busy Woman
Noah’s wife had 3 sons. That in itself will keep any woman busy, but lets remember the times in which they lived. There was no electric which means, no washer, dryer or dishwasher. No cars or store to buy anything. They had to grow their own food and kill the meat gather wood for a fire to cook. As more and more trees were needed, they had to travel to acquire them. While on the ark, she had to help with taking care of the animals. The list goes on and on. With all she had going on in her life she still had time for God. We know this because the Bible says the Noah found grace in the sight of the Lord. He was a just man, perfect in his generations, and he walked with God. If Noah’s wife was not a Godly woman, she would have never stayed with her family while they were getting ready to enter the ark.
How can we keep our lives in order and still have time for God?
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these thing shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33)
Although we ladies of today are busy, God should be a priority. If Noah’s wife did not keep focused on God, she wouldn’t have lived the life she did. Even Jesus instructed Martha to be careful not to miss what was important. Martha complained about her sister Mary not helping because she was sitting at the feet of Jesus.
As ladies, no matter if you are young or old, married with children or not, the most important thing we can do for our families is to sit at the feet of Jesus. I hope to see you there!
Thank You
1 John 5:13
Posted in Guest Posts by Phil Erickson with 2 comments.
Does God See?
Listen to yesterday morning’s message by Evangelist Taylor Gillespie. There is 15 minutes of singing by Vessels of Honor, a tour group out of West Coast Baptist College before the message.
Today’s Passage – Psalms 9 – 16
Second Milers also read – James 1 – 4; Psalms 86 – 90; Proverbs 18
Scripture Memory for June – Psalm 139
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 48:1 & 2
“He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.” – (Psalm 10:11)”
The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD’S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.” – (Psalm 11:4)
“For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.” – (Psalm 11:7)
“For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.” – (Proverbs 5:21)
“The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.” – (Proverbs 15:3)
“For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.” – (1 Peter 3:12)
The simple answer is yes – He sees. I believe the Scriptures referenced above make that clear, and there are many other verses we could include. Yet, little man thinks that somehow his actions and his thoughts are hidden from the eyes of God, but He sees it all. There is both a negative and a positive side to this principle. The negative, of course, is that God is aware of every evil though that we contemplate, and every sinful thing that we do. The positive side, however, is that God also sees all of the things that we have done for His glory. Whether any man ever sees it or not is not important. We know that God knows, and we also understand that God will reward us for all that we do for Him. Just a thought.
Posted in Thoughts from Psalms by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
Kiss the Son
Today’s Passage – Psalms 1 – 8
Second Milers also read – Hebrews 10 – 13; Psalms 81 – 85; Proverbs 17
“[11] Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. [12] Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.” – (Psalm 2:11-12)
I have enjoyed our reading in the Book of Job but I am also excited now that we are exploring the Psalms. My though this morning comes from the second Psalm. In this Psalm we get a glimpse into Heaven and we hear from the throne of God; but we also have a view into the earth where we see that the rulers of this world have set themselves in rebellion against God. In verse 4 we see that God laughs at this. Who does little man think he is in comparison to an almighty God. The rulers of this world may think that they have power and authority, but few of them realize that it was God that gave them their power, and God could remove it at any time.
As we get closer to the end of this present age we will see the mighty men of this earth become more brazen in their fight against God. At times it may seem that God is absent or even powerless to fight back; but don’t lose heart, He is in full control of His universe, and His patience with the rulers of this present world is quickly running out.
God’s warning to the kings of the earth holds true for the common man as well. He tells us to “serve the Lord with fear” and to “kiss the Son”. If you have not yet received Christ as your Savior you need to “kiss the Son” by receiving the forgiveness that only He can give you through His shed blood on the cross of Calvary. If you are saved, you still need to “kiss the Son” by living your live in complete submission to His will.
Posted in Thoughts from Psalms by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
And I Caused The Widow’s Heart To Sing For Joy – The Saturday Morning Post by Pastor Ted Stahl
Good morning! My wife was listening to, and reading, her Bible a few days ago. It’s good to have a wife who loves God, and loves His Word. As I listened, Job chapter 29 was being read. The narrator said, “…and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.”
Now losing a child is the second devastating event that could happen to a person. If you lose a child, you don’t go through that pain alone. But, if you lose a spouse… that has to be the number one bummer of a lifetime. But Job caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.
Chapter 29 gives us a little glimpse of the type of man Job was. Verses 12 through 17 tell us, “Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him. The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem. I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame. I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out. And I brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth.”
God called Job, His servant. How the Lord described Job is found in Job 1:8: “And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?”
There was nobody like Job. He was complete, and upright. He feared God, and hated evil. How would God describe you? Would He call you His servant? I think about the example that Jesus gave us in John chapter 13, “He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all. For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean. So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” (John 13:4-17).
We should be more like Job, who caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. We should be more like Jesus in our attitude towards others: our servitude. Can you imagine what the world would be like if Christians cared about each other? Lifted each other up? Edified each other? There would be an abundance of hearts singing for joy.
Peace. (John 13:17).
Posted in Devotions by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
Gird Up Thy Loins Like A Man
Today’s Passage – Job 36 – 38
Second Milers also read – Hebrews 2 – 5; Psalms 71 – 75; Proverbs 15
Scripture Memory for June – Psalm 139
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 34:6
“Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.” – (Job 38:3)
It is now God’s turn to speak. God hasn’t said anything in this book since His earlier conversation with Satan; and the humans in the story were not privy to that conversation. All of this talk that has been going on since chapter 2 has been by people who really had no idea of the true circumstances regarding the calamity that Job was facing. They were clueless. Job’s friends were accusing Job, and Job was defending himself. They were all speaking on behalf of God; yet much of what they said was not true. However, now we will hear from the Source. God is speaking, and we know that everything that God says is true. By the way, you get the idea from the tone of this passage that God is not very happy about all that has been said. It kind of reminds me of a time when I was much younger and I was rebuked by an authority figure in my life. He had some things to say to me, and I was going to listen. God will take 4 chapters to basically remind Job and his friends that He is God, and they are merely humans.
As we read chapters 39 – 42 together tomorrow, pay close attention to God describing Himself, and His magnificent, omnipotent power. Between now and then, however, think a little bit of how much we are like Job and His friends. We are just little humans, trying to understand an infinite God. Let’s start thinking of ourselves as we really are. We are not much. We are pretty small and insignificant in the big scheme of things. And while we are at it, let us also start trusting God’s wisdom in allowing the things that have happened to us in our lives.
Posted in Thoughts from Job by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
That Which I See Not
Today’s Passage – Job 33 – 35
Second Milers also read – Titus 2 – Hebrews 1; Psalms 66 – 70; Proverbs 14
“Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more: That which I see not teach thou me: if I have done iniquity, I will do no more.” – (Job 34:31-32)
While reading this morning, my attention was drawn to the phrase made by Elihu in Job 34:32 – “That which I see not, teach thou me.” That is a great little nugget of truth, and I believe it is something we should pray to God on a regular basis. There is so much about ourselves that we do not see. We are quick to spot, and point out, the flaws of others; but the truth is, we are often blind to our own faults. I think that the first step to recognizing and correcting specific things about ourselves is to acknowledge in a general way that we have a problem with self-perception. We often have a much higher opinion of ourselves than reality would justify. We need to be open to allowing God, and some trustworthy friends perhaps, to help us with our spiritual eyesight.
A passage in the New Testament that speaks somewhat about this subject is James 1:22 – 25
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”
I think it would be a good practice for us to come to God on a regular basis, and confess to him the sins that we already know about, and are fully aware of; but I also think it is wise to ask God to reveal to us some things that perhaps we do not see. His Word, of course, is the greatest exposer of these hidden truths about ourselves:
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” – (Hebrews 4:12)
We will never be without fault, but we can allow the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit of God, and some godly counselors, to point out and correct some things about our lives that are interfering with our ability to relate to others, and may possibly be hindering our effectiveness in fulfilling His will.
Just a thought.
Posted in Thoughts from Job by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
What Are You Looking At?
Today’s Passage – Job 30 – 32
Second Milers also read – 2 Timothy 2 – Titus 1; Psalms 61 – 65; Proverbs 13
Scripture Memory for June – Psalm 139
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 25
“I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?” (Job 31:1)
In our reading we have been following the conversation between Job and his friends. Job has been declaring hi innocence: not that he claims sinlessness; but he does contend that his sins were open and confessed to God, and that he was not living a double life. His friends, however, are sure that Job must have some heinous secret sin in his life. In this chapter Job seems to be answering a charge regarding his fidelity. Perhaps the underlying accusation was that Job was an adulterer. Job’s answer in chapter 31 is that he had been faithful, not only in not touching that which is forbidden, but in not looking on another woman besides his wife.
In our culture the accepted instruction is, “you can look, but you just can’t touch”. Funny, my wife never bought into that line of reasoning. The fact of the matter is that looking might just lead to touching. Job said that he made a covenant, a commitment to himself and his eyes not to think (let alone look) upon a maid. David said something similar when he said that he would set no wicked thing before his eyes.
Men, we need to do the same thing regarding the opposite sex. We need to determine to keep our eyes and our minds on that which is pleasing to the Lord. Turn off the TV if you have to; get rid of the internet if you must, but do what you have to do to keep yourself from sinning against your God and your wife. It is wise to know your limitations and put up some fences to protect yourself. A little accountability will go a long way. And ladies, your not exempt from this either. Your lusting may not be for the opposite sex per say, but I am sure you have your weak areas as well. Maybe with you the struggle involves seeing things at the mall that you can’t afford. We all need to make this same covenant that Job made to keep us from seeing and thinking about the things that we know are not part of God’s perfect will for our lives.
Posted in Thoughts from Job by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
THE STUDY OF WOMEN IN THE BIBLE By Camille Stahl
Today’s Passage – Job 27 – 29
Second Milers also read – 1 Timothy 4 – 2 Timothy 1 ; Psalm 56 – 60; Proverbs 12
Scripture Memory for June – Psalm 139
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 25
Listen to the Sunday Evening message by Evangelist William Jeffcoat.
Good morning. For the next few months, on Tuesday’s, I will be blogging about women of the Bible. I pray that you would continue to follow the Preacher’s blog each day as we study God’s word. Today we will start at the beginning with Eve
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” – (Genesis 1:27-28)
“Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.” – (Genesis 3:1-20)
Eve. Her name is only mentioned four times in the Bible, but so many lessons can be learned by her life. She drank pure water and breathed the cleanest air. She had a perfect relationship with her husband. She lived in a beautiful garden and ate the best food. Every animal live in harmony. No death, sickness or any other problems. God walked with them everyday, and there was nothing to distract her from learning God’s word. God supplied for ALL their needs. Both Adam and Eve knew how much God loved and took care of them. But did Eve really learn God’s word? Did she really understand what God had provided for her and her husband?
I think Eve was crushed when Cain killed Abel. She realized that she had brought a sinful man into the world. Her terrible deed in the garden became even more clear to her. Each person born would sin, not only by choice, but also because of an inner urging. Everyone would face an unending battle between good and evil, all because she couldn’t resist the devil’s woo.
As I stated at the first, we are starting at the beginning and we can learn many different lessons from Eve, so let me leave you with these basic thoughts:
1. Read your Bible everyday. We need to know what God says. It’s us walking with God as Adam and Eve did. We need to stay close to God. Just like the sheep who stray away from the shepherd are easy targets, so are we when we stray to far from God.
2. Memorize God’s word. The devil is always tempting us with his crafty ways. He twisted scripture not only with Eve, but also Jesus when Jesus was in the wilderness (Matthew 4:6). If he did with them, he will with us.
3. When tempted by satan, go to God immediately. I believe if Eve would have called on God when satan came by, God would have fought the battle for her.
4. Pray everyday. Besides our spouses, our children are the most important people in our lives. We should lay them on the altar before the Lord each day and try to be the best example we can be. Remember Cain, Eve’s first born. He had a rebellious spirit like mom and dad.
5. Attend all church services. Adam and Eve were with God everyday.
We say that God is not there like he was with them, but the Bible says in Matthew 18:20: For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
In closing, I want to encourage you to strengthen your relationship with the Lord with these basic steps. Encourage others to do the same. There is no better blessing then to live for the Lord.
Thank You
I John 5:13
Posted in Guest Posts by Phil Erickson with 2 comments.
Gold
Today’s Passage – Job 22 – 26
Second Milers also read – 2 Thessalonians 3 – 1 Timothy 3; Psalms 51 – 55; Proverbs 11
Scripture Memory for June – Psalm 139
Lisen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 25
Read an older post from this passage – “Did You Have Your Breakfast This Morning?”
“But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” – (Job 23:10)
“Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:” – (1 Peter 1:6-7)
There are several great, golden nuggets of truth in the Book of Job, and many of them are in today’s passage. I thought this morning about the statement made by Job in chapter 23, and verse 10. Job is going through the worst trial in his life. I think it would be safe to say that no other man in history was put to the test like Job. Many people have suffered the loss of health, and many others have endured the death of a child, and still more have gone through tough financial situations; but who can say that they have had to face the loss of everything they owned, and all of the children they loved, and then had to suffer through perhaps the most painful health condition known to man, all within the same time frame. Job could certainly stand alongside any man on earth, and win the “pity party” comparison. Yet, Job knew that when it was all over,that God would bring him through to the other side of the trial; and he also knew that the trial would make him a better man.
All men will endure the hardships of trials, but to experience suffering for no apparent reason can be especially difficult. Job did nothing to deserve the treatment that he was receiving at the hand of Satan, but God would use Job’s suffering to accomplish a few wonderful things. First, He would prove to Satan that there are some men who will retain their integrity, even under the most difficult of circumstances. Second, though Job was a good man, even a great man when compared among men, this trial would make him a still better man. I believe Job had a better understanding of the greatness of his Creator, and also a better grasp of his own frail humanity, as a result of this ordeal. But perhaps the greatest thing that God would reveal to us through Job’s trial, is that we can trust God. He won’t allow us to go through something that is greater than our ability to glorify Him through. He loves us. He doesn’t punish, but He does correct us at times through the trials and sufferings of life. Sometimes the trials are a direct result of sin, but they are often just God’s way of bringing us to the next level of faith. And if we will allow God to have His way in our lives, we too can come forth as gold; better servants, and better sons: more equipped to represent Him as the ambassadors of His glorious gospel.
Posted in Thoughts from Job by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.