I Know that my Redeemer Lives

Scripture: 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. My heart faints within me! Job19:25-26

Observation: Job wishes he could write a book about his experience. Why? So he could tell everyone of his belief that his redeemer lives. In spite of all the pain and suffering he still believes he will see God. What is remarkable about this is that in Job's day, the theology of the afterlife was still developing. These people believed that the grave was the end. So Job is declaring his belief in God as his redeemer, even if that redemption or vindication comes "too late". Job is confident that God will vindicate him, even if it is after Job is long dead and gone. His hope is greater than rescue; it is redemption. It is a trust in God that goes beyond God fixing his life.

Application: I hold strongly to Christ as my redeemer. I know that he will one day recuse me from out of this earth. But do I trust him to do what is right even if it is after possible benefit to me? Do I trust him beyond the fixing of the situation?

Prayer: God, help me know that my redeemer lives today, and at the last he will stand upon the Earth.

Filled with Joy

Scripture:    And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. Acts 13:52

Observation:   In the midst of persecution and being kicked out of the city, the disciples are able to shake the dust off their feet and leave.  But they leave full of joy and the Holy Spirit.  There is a powerful connection between the filling of the Spirit and attitude.   

Attitude is not something I produce, but the Spirit produces in me.  It is not about bucking up, putting on a good face, but connecting with the Spirit and letting him drive my joy.  Then, even in the midst of tough times, I can have an inner joy and peace and maintain control of my attitude and responses.

Application:  God has been speaking to me recently about attitude.  Specifically, the attitudes he wants me to have and not have.   Today, I hear him reminding me that the source of my attitude is not my own willpower, but hinges on my connection with his Spirit.

Prayer:  Today, I have a day planned to pray and think about my life.  I pray that it would be a day of reconnecting with the Spirit, letting you fill and control my life.  I pray I will leave this day refreshed and filled with the joy of the Spirit.

My Birthday Blog

Scripture: "Behold, God will not reject a blameless man, nor take the hand of evildoers. He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouting. Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked will be no more." Job 8:20-22

Observation: Bildad offers Job an explanation for his suffering, namely that Job must have done wrong and his suffering is a punishment from God. He asserts that truly righteous people will not suffer and truly unrighteous people will be punished. Yet Job will argue and ultimately reject this counsel as unbiblical. He will arrive at this conclusion: God and God alone dictates the course of people's lives.

Bildad's counsel is sound in every way except one: it is unbiblical. Logically, religiously, ethically, we expect karma. Good gets blessed and evil gets punished. So if we see blessing or punishment, then we should be able to assume good or evil. But that is not always the case. Sometimes suffering befalls good believers. Sometimes grace and patience comes to evil doers. The bottom line is that God's ways are higher than our ways.

Application: I like to live in a world where blessing and punishment are clearly connected to my behavior. That if I work hard enough and live good enough, I can control my own destiny. That I can avoid pain if I try hard enough. But that was not true for Job and it is not true for me. Yes, generally blessing comes to the righteous and difficulty to the unrighteous, but I must trust God in what he deems He needs to bring my way. This is true in my own life and in the life of my church. I need to be careful about assigning reasons behind why some gins have or have not happened. Without blaming God, I must ultimately trust God and seek him and submit to him.

Prayer: Make me like Job and not Bildad. Help me submit to your sovereignty in my life and model that to others, rather than go down Bildad's blaming road. Help me shift my trust from my own ability to secure your blessing to your ability to decide what is best for me.

Praying for My Kids

Scripture: And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually. Job 1:5

Observation: Job was a blameless man, blessed with wealth, health, and a happy family. He had ten kids, who celebrated life and God with a daily feast. Each one of his 7 sons took a day of the week to host the feast. And in all of this, Job rose daily to pray for his kids, in case they got a little out of hand in their celebrations and committed a sin. Bottom line: Job prayed for his kids daily, he interceded on his kids behalf.

Application: Jessica and I talked last night about how it was important for us to be praying for our kids, for protection and God’s work in their lives. I do not know what this so easily slips our mind, but it often does. Job reminds me here of the crucial task of praying for my kids. Tomorrow, Jessica and I are going to sit down and talk more about how we can implement this in our lives and be more intentional about rising to pray for our family.

Prayer: God, forgive me for my prayerlessness when it comes to my kids. Teach me how to “offer sacrifices” for each of my kids before you regularly, so that you may fully work in their lives.

"The Hand of the Lord was Upon Me"

Scripture:  I took courage, for the hand of the LORD my God was on me, and I gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me. Ezra 7:28

Observation:  Ezra sees the hand of God at work in his life.  The king has granted permission and given resources for the temple to be restored.  Ezra sees this as the moving of God and the fulfillment of prophecy.  And in this, he sees that God's hand is upon him.  This gives him courage to act and gather leaders who will act with him.

Application:  often we are hesitant to be bold in life, feeling that we do not have the right to do this or that.  We fear being perceived as arrogant, or filled with hubris.  It seems that some christians equate courage with cockiness, and that humility=passivity.  But there are times when we can trust the hand of the Lord is upon us, and act with courage.  I feel I am in a season of this in my life right now. While this does not mean I am always right, it does mean I sense the moving of God in this time of history.  Like Ezra, I want to bless God, act with courage, and gather leaders around me to go up and follow God's hand.

Prayer:  God, I bless you, the God of my fathers.  Thank you for continuing to move.  Help me discern your hand, to humbly seek your moving, that I might act with courage to do what needs to be done.        

What Do You Want Me To Do For You?

Scripture: “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” Luke 18:41

Observation: Jesus comes upon a blind beggar, who cries out for Jesus to have mercy on him. Then Jesus asks him this question, “What do you want me to do for you?” At first, this seems like a question with an obvious answer. But the beggar could have been asking for a few coins. He could have asked for comfort, maybe a night off of the street. Jesus asks to get this man to specifically state what he wanted. And what he wanted was huge—healing of his sight. Only the Lord could do this. This beggar had the desperate faith to ask for the impossible.

Application: When I am praying, I need to really ponder Jesus’ question, “What do you want me to do for you?” What am I really asking for? Am I asking for a simple solution, the removal of a problem? What faith stretching request am I really bringing to him? And am I prepared to ask for more than a few coins, but for the impossible?

Prayer: God, as I pray, help me pray much larger and bolder. Show me where my prayers are small.