Job, A Mere Man

Job 40:3-4

The Lord spoke to Job, Then Job answered the Lord, "I am unworthy--how can I reply to You? I put my hand over my mouth."

Job realized how unworthy he was, he had no standing to accuse God or even to defend himself. He had nothing to say to the Lord God of the Universe. He understood that God was the beginning and end of everything and all-good and all-wise; and himself only a man. 

No matter what happens, whether I see good times or trouble and sorrows, God is still in His Heaven, and I am still here on Earth, waiting on Him to accomplish His purposes in His time.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Reconciliation With God

Romans 5:10

For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!

When my bank sends me my statement, I will go through my checkbook register and reconcile it to the statement. If they don't agree on the balance, I don't tell the bank to change the statement, I change my checkbook register. The bank statement is the standard, and the error is in my register. When I correct the mistake, then it agrees with the statement. 

God has reconciled us to Himself. He is the standard and we have made the errors. He forgives our sins through the price of our debt being paid on our behalf by Christ, He corrects our errors, and makes us right with Him, righteous. He writes our sin on Jesus' side of the register, then, to balance the books, He writes Jesus' righteousness on our side. Jesus didn't deserve to pay, and we don't deserve to receive. That's G.R.A.C.E.: God's Riches At Christ's Expense. His mercy is not giving us the punishment we deserve, and His grace is giving us His riches that we don't deserve. 

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Sin and Righteousness

II Corinthians 5:21

God made Him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

Jesus became sin: That means He took upon Himself our very sin-nature, the root and fountainhead of every sin from the least to the very greatest. He did not die for individual sins, but He took the whole basket, and everything in it. While He bore our sin-nature on the Cross, the sun refused to shine, and the Earth could not withstand without the sun, so after three hours it upheavaled and God used the earthquake to rip the curtain in half from top to bottom, revealing the Holiest of Holies to the common people, letting us know that we no longer need any priest or go-between to get to God, each one of us can enter into His very throne room through what Jesus accomplished on the Cross.

So that we might become His righteousness; not to do right things, but be righteousness. Jesus became sin and died; we become righteousness and live, to live out that righteousness. We are to work out in our attitudes, actions and words that great salvation that God has worked into us. To live His righteousness.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Stop What? Start What?

40 Days of Purpose:

Day 4 Question

What is the one thing I need to stop doing today?

What is the one thing I need to start doing today?

I need to stop defending myself and making excuses. This is a habit I started in childhood, and I have continued to practice it in my adulthood. Today I determine not to defend myself and stop making excuses and blaming others for my choices; instead to admit my fault, my guilt, that I only am to blame, and confess it as the sin it is.

I need to start listening, really listening to what my cherished ones are telling me, to listen between the lines to the emotions, pains and wounds that they are suffering, and find my own responsibility in causing the hurts they feel. Only then will I be able to see how God will be able to heal their hearts and minds and emotions, maybe even through me.

O my Father, open my ears and heart to really hear what is on the hearts of those speaking to me, especially those who are dearest to me. Teach me to love them the way You have loved me, and to be a help to them as You heal them.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Changing Others

Proverbs 27:22

Though you grind a fool in a mortar, grinding him like grain with a pestle, you will not remove his folly from him.

O my Father, I know that I can never change another person. I can only invite and inspire them, to influence them, and even teach them if they are teachable. Please, teach me to apply this wisdom of Yours in my daily life, and not try to change those I care about. Show me how I can inspire them to seek You and how to graciously invite them to Your table.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Tumors?

I Kings 5:6,9

When the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant, God afflicted them with tumors, tumors in the groin.

What would affect the human body to grow tumors? Radiation? Electro-magnetism? Why did they affect the Philistines? Why were the Israelites, and especially the Levites, immune to these tumors? This is a very curious phenomenon that is recorded here.

If anyone reading this blog has any ideas, please comment. Thank you.

The Prodigal

Luke 15:11-32

I read again the story of the lost son. My older daughter has shared with me that she felt like that prodigal son's older brother, since I let my younger daughter come back home. In that story, the father represented God, and did nothing wrong; the one in the wrong was the older brother, in not appreciating what he already had, and being jealous and resentful of his little brother. And my older daughter has "never" accepted her sister. But I am not God, and so I recognize that I have not done righteously toward my older daughter. Lord, please show me my fault, how I have wronged my children, and how to make amends to them to heal our relationships.

Even so, come. Lord Jesus!

(Note: This is my journal entry of several years ago. Much has passed "under the bridge" since that time. God is faithful and answered my prayer in ways I did not expect.)