Job 33:6-7 - Elihu Speaks

In these verses, Elihu says to Job, "I am just like you before God; I too have been taken from clay. No fear of me should alarm you, nor should my hand be heavy upon you."

What strikes me in this is the word fear. I am reminded of Jesus' words in Matthew 10:26-28 where we are told not to fear man but to fear God.

Yet too often I find myself in the fear of men. I fear criticism or rejection from those I love and respect.

What I have found through the years is that this is precisely the trait that enables bullies to exist. While I am no longer in danger of the bully that will beat me up to take my lunch money, there are yet bullies with which I have to contend.

The airwaves are full of such bullies; the political pundits are prone to becoming bullies. Whether they lean left or right, the bullies force their opinion on others and for the most part real substantive discussion is lacking. Less dangerous, but still using the same M.O., are the sports radio personalities. They are less dangerous because sports do not determine the direction of our government.

Then there are the corporate bullies who force themselves and their opinions on others while climbing the ladder. The force behind the bully's opinion lies in his political skill and not in the merit of the idea. Often the bully forces an idea through that is detrimental to the company and hurts the people with which he works. By the majority of his coworkers not wanting to make waves or risk the displeasure of those higher up in the chain, the bully gets his way.

To avoid the fear of man, I must fear God. Not cower-in-the-corner fear but a fear that holds God in respect and awe. Fortunately, while he is a God to be feared, he has also demonstrated himself to be loving and approachable. He is to be approached with respect and honor, but he is to be approached. When I allow myself to be focused on God, then I am able to set aside my fear of man. If I am in the center of God's will, if I am confident in his pleasure in my walk, then it is easier to let the opinions of others go past with little impact.

Job 31:4 - God Sees

In Job 31:4, Job says, "Does he not see my ways and count my every step?

The implied answer is yes, God does see. Not only does God see what we do, he knows our thoughts and attitudes.

Two thoughts come to mind in response to this.

First, God sees when we do the right thing even if no-one else does. Am I doing things for God's approval or for man's?

The second thought is that it is not enough to refrain from acting on my evil thought, the thoughts must be brought into submission to God through the transforming of my mind. (Romans 12:2).

Seeking God

I was recently asked the question, "can people seek God for the wrong reasons." My answer is below:

Jeremiah tells us, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13, NIV). Other verses that encourage us to seek God are: Deut. 4:29, Psalm 105:4, Isaiah 55:6, Hosea 10:12, Luke 11:10 and Acts 17:27

To one extent or another, we all seek God for the wrong reasons. Our sinful nature is deceptive and we all struggle with pride and selfishness. Because of this, we often seek God for what he can do for us. None of us seeks God from a pure motive. If you have any doubt of this, read Romans 7 where the Apostle Paul outlines his struggle against the flesh.

The good news is that God has shown us the way that we will find him. We must approach God in humility and repentance through the work of Jesus on the Cross. Jesus is the only way to God (see John 14:6). As we approach a Holy God, our perspective on what we really need gets changed. As we begin to see ourselves the way God sees us, the seeking becomes more about who God is and less about getting my needs met.

So, while one may begin to search for God for the wrong reasons, he will find that during the search his heart is changed and he begins to seek God for the right reasons. We may start seeking because we feel incomplete or damaged, but we progress toward seeking God for who he is. We may begin to seek God for what he can do for us, but we progress to seeking God to be near him. We begin to understand that we are created to be in fellowship with God, a fellowship that was broken by the sin of Adam. We progress toward seeking God to have that fellowship restored. It is a love relationship that seeks the other because of the value of the other, not because of what the other does for him.

Those who do not have their hearts changed in this way during the seeking, will not find God. To submit to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is the only means of coming into fellowship with God. Those who refuse to submit to Jesus may find religion, but they will not find God.

Job 24: 23-24 - God is Watching

The most difficult question to answer is, "why does God allow _________?" Bad things happen and it is difficult or impossible, in our limited view, to accurately determine why God allowed that event and how it fits into God's plan for humanity.

A related question is why God seems to turn a blind eye toward those who perpetrate evil. In Job 24:23-24, Job tells us that while it seems as though evil men are getting away with it, they will eventually come face to face with the God we worship and seek to obey. God's "eyes are on their ways (v. 23)" and in the end, "they are gathered up like all others (v. 24)."

They don't get away with it. God sees. Perhaps this is why we should pray for our enemies. They are our enemies because they do not know the God we worship. They are also enemies of God and as such we should pray that they repent and seek God's forgiveness and become friends of God.

Job 16:16-17 - My prayer is pure?

How many of us can claim with Job, "my face is red from weeping, deep shadows ring my eyes; yet my hands have been free of violence and my prayer is pure"?

To keep our hands free of violence, we must keep our thoughts free of violence. When I am affronted, do my thoughts turn to getting even by putting the other in his place? In Luke 6:28, Jesus tells us to bless those who curse us. Paul provides a similar command in Romans 12:14.

If that were not difficult enough, in Matthew 5:44, Jesus also tells us to pray for those who hurt us.

My take-away is that no matter what happens, I am to control my thoughts, actions and prayers, keeping in mind the eternal perspective and having an earnest desire for the salvation of the one doing the persecuting. In myself I do not have the strength to do this, yet, if I focus on Jesus, as it says in Hebrews 12:1-3, then perhaps, I may get it right.

Perfect Love and Omniscience

The thought struck me this morning, that it is a good thing that in God omniscience is coupled with perfect love.

To know all things without being perfect in love would result in Hell. There have been stories about what it would be like to read minds. Usually, the one who is given this ability figures out pretty quickly that it is a curse rather than a blessing.

It is only perfect love which can provide a means of dealing with all the knowledge about people. I rest in the belief that even though God knows the darkest parts of me, his perfect love (coupled with infinite wisdom) provides a path for this darkness to be exposed to the light of his grace.

For me to know all the darkest parts of people would either overwhelm me or provide an opportunity for my flesh to gain an advantage.

Thank God that as believers, who are indwelt by the living God, we can love others with God's love and not rely on our own ability to love. We also have the promise in James 1:5 that God will provide wisdom when we lack it. 1 Peter 4:8 tells us that love covers a multiple of sins. Let us love one another.

Job's Friends

In Job 8:6, Bildad the Shuhite reveals the core of his argument. His reasoning goes something like this:

1. God is righteous and will always act righteously
2. God rewards those who follow him in acting righteously
3. Job is being punished, not rewarded
4. Therefore, Job must not be righteous

Yet we know from a reading of the entire book that this logic is faulty. Job is righteous and is not being punished.

This is a challenge to me because it is too easy to judge people without knowing the whole story. Sure, since we are all imperfect, we contribute to our own misery in some ways, but when I see someone in a really difficult situation, I should not immediately assume that it was because of bad choices that they are suffering.

Job - 1:1 - Fear and Shun

The description of Job begins with "he feared God and shunned evil" (Job 1:1). In James 4:7 we are told to submit to God and resist the devil.

It strikes me that the order of these actions is important. Without a proper fear and submission to God, there is no point in trying to resist the devil or shun evil. Without God I am powerless over sin, evil and certainly cannot resist the devil.

Submission to God implies a cross. Jesus said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." (Matthew 16:24, NIV) Submission to God requires that my flesh be mortified, as in killed, as in dead. I must surrender control to God. It is only when God is in control that the devil can be resisted and evil can be shunned.

I like the line from the movie Luther. When he felt himself to be under attack and failing, Luthor's mentor taught him to repeat the prayer, "I am yours, save me." This is a good prayer for us all.

The Methodist Church's Stand on Homosexuality

I recently was given a copy of a paper written by one who presumes to speak for the United Methodist Church on the issue of homosexuality and the Bible. I was not shocked or surprised to see that his conclusion was that the Bible does not condemn homosexuality.

I will not do a point-by-point rebuttal of the arguments used in the paper, but suffice it to say that to reach this conclusion, the author ignored three things:

1. He ignored the plain reading of the texts. The very term arsenokoitas found in 1 Cor. 6:9 and 1 Tim. 1:10 (arsen - man, koitas - sexual intercourse) is graphic and describes the homosexual act. Also, a plain reading of Rom. 1:26-27 would bring the conclusion that God condemns the homosexual act.

2. He ignored 3000 years of Jewish Tradition concerning the interpretation of OT regulations concerning sexuality. No conservative Jewish scholar was cited in the paper.

3. He ignored almost 2000 years of church tradition. No conservative Christian scholar (by conservative I mean one who holds a high view of Scripture and takes Scripture to be the ultimate authority) was cited.

To come to the conclusion that same sex union is acceptable to God, the author does some incredible exegetical gymnastics. His method of interpretation shows a disregard for the inspiration and authority of Scripture. He seeks to find justification for something that he wants validated but does so in a way that results in exegetical dishonesty. I am reminded of the words of the serpant in Genesis 3:1 "did God really say?"

So what should the church do in response to the homosexual community? We should interract with the homosexual as we would any other lost person. We need to demonstrate the love of God to him/her with the goal of introducing him/her to Jesus.

Apart from Christ, we all have a predisposition toward sin. We each choose different means of expressing our sin. Homosexuality is one such expression. We need to be gracious to all sinners and not condemn the sin of homosexuality louder than any other, nor should we show any animosity toward homosexuals.

It is possible to love the homosexual without validating his/her homosexuality.

Genesis 3:17 - PAINFUL Toil

When I have read this verse in the past, the emphasis always seemed to be on the word toil. Beginning with Adam, mankind would have to toil to get his daily sustenance.

This morning, the thought struck me that the emphasis should be on the adjective "painful." Before the Fall, Adam was charged with keeping the garden; he was to tend it, which implies work. From this I conclude that toil is not a product of the Fall, painful toil is.

The reason it would be painful is that the toil would be less productive than it was before the fall. Adam would now have to contend with weeds (thorns and thistles) and he would have to contend with disease of the crops. He would have to work harder than ever before to realize less produce. This would result in physical pain, the pain of hard labor.

I can imagine that as Adam worked in the fields, seeking to overcome these handicaps, he would remember what it was like before the Fall. He would remember how well the plants grew, how every small effort he invested provided a perfect result. He would remember the vitality he felt in tending the Garden. He would remember that God was present with him while he worked.

Jesus said, in Matthew 5:4, that those who mourn are blessed. In some sense we are all longing for the Garden, longing for the effects of sin to be removed from ourselves and our world. We have painful toil because we know it could have been different and will eventually be different. But not yet.