A lesson to learn from Job

When you begin reading the book of Job, you realize that he was fairly wealthy for the time that he lived in. According to some estimates, Job is the oldest book in the Bible, so his story is almost five thousand years old. In chapter 1 it tells of his wealth and his character:

Job’s Character and Wealth
(James 5:7-12)

1There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. And this man was blameless and upright, fearing God and shunning evil. 2He had seven sons and three daughters, 3and he owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man of all the people of the East.

4Job’s sons would take turns holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

5And when the days of feasting were over, Job would send for his children to purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for all of them. For Job thought, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice.

For the place and time in which he lived, he was very wealthy. But when God brought Job to the attention of Satan, God allowed him to take all of his wealth away at first. Because Satan said that God had a hedge of protection around Job, so even when all of his wealth and his children were taken from him Job still didn’t blame God for it. Here is exactly what Job said when the news of his wealth and his children being taken from him: 21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

He was still praising the Lord for his wealth and for the taking away of his wealth and his children. We need to learn a lesson from this especially during this day and time. Our breath and our health are given to us by God each hour of every day. He could stop our heart at any time because He is God, but if you are reading this He hasn’t done so yet. God loves you and every other person on Earth and He gives and takes or allows things to be taken for a reason. Sometimes it may be that He has something better planned for you, and sometimes it may be to teach you something.

When we seek to live our lives to honor Him and we want things which may not honor or bring glory to God then we shouldn’t be surprised when He answers our prayers with a “no” or by allowing something to be taken away from us. Life works that way sometimes and if you belong to Jesus and He belongs to you then your blessings are given by His command. Sometimes this also applies to things which are taken from you or that you aren’t allowed to have. We don’t know why until something else comes to take its place. Keep your faith in God and praise Him for the good things and the not so good things as well.

God’s Word is your guide

Make sure that you read it during good times or bad.

Come closer to God…

How can I be a better person?

If you will try to be compassionate and wise, not in your mind but more like Jesus was while He was teaching His disciples, then you will be a better person because of it. God doesn’t need us to do things for Him but He does so many things for us every minute of every day. Most of them we don’t even realize that He is doing it, but if you will be receptive to His Spirit you will see them. Why is it that most Christians are impatient? We expect God to instantly give us what we ask for but He isn’t a genie, God answers your prayers and requests in His time and for His glory. He will make you a better you when you follow Him every day, but when you get impatient and do things your way don’t complain when it doesn’t work out the way you hoped.

If you seek Me, you will find Me.

Work as if you are working for Jesus

Do you imagine God in your image?

There is a quip or a saying which is attributed to Voltaire and it may hold true in our culture today. It goes like this: “God created man in His own image, and man has been trying to repay the favor ever since.” Since we must do this at least some in our lives, I wonder how God feels about the exchange? When we make God in our image or as much like us as possible it tends to degrade Him into a brat and a whiner like we are. Think about all of the complaints which the Israelites lobbied against Moses and God when they were in the wilderness. It is no wonder that God almost wiped them out and wanted to start over with Moses. But Moses pleaded with God on their behalf and they were spared, at least the majority of the group was. Some were killed or buried when the ground swallowed them after the golden calf incident.

For heaven’s sake, they created an idol to be their “god” less than a week after God gained their freedom for them after 430 years with all of the plagues and miracles which He wrought to get Pharaoh to let them leave. He purified the waters to give them to drink, He brought water from a rock in the desert twice to take care of their thirst and their livestock. When they asked for meat instead of manna, He blew in quail in such numbers that they had more than enough to eat.

I am very thankful that God is not like us in any way. Oh, He is kind and compassionate and He has far more patience than any human could possibly have. But, if God were like we imagine Him to be I don’t think the world and the rule of mankind would’ve lasted as long as it has. God loves each of us far more than we can understand or imagine and He has done it since before our ancestors were born, all the way back to the beginning of His Creation and before that even.

Using your imagination to think up a “supreme being” that you can live with and worship is a very dangerous thing to do. For one, you are a practical idol worshiper when you do that. Because “your god” fits your ideas and your way of thinking just so you can feel comfortable when you pray and worship him. Your imaginary god is NOT the God of the Bible nor is he the God of Creation. Your god is someone that you created in your own mind. Your god will not get you into Heaven but he will pave a very slippery slope into hell just fine.

The second of the ten commandments says: “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below”. This is not a suggestion, it is a commandment from Almighty God. I pray that all of you who read this will seek out the God of the Bible and His Son, Jesus for your salvation. There are no second chances after death so you had better make up your mind while you can.

Life is short…

Make sure of your eternity while you can. Life is truly short in relation to eternity, learn your wisdom from God’s Word and seek your salvation in Jesus Christ.