Entranced By The Music

  July 27, 2023
  Daily Reading – Job 21-25 / Acts 21:18-40

 GOD’S WORD:

Job 21:12-14 They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ. They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave. Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        I love music. Well, most of it anyway. I love to play music, sing it, listen to it, and watch others who perform it. I am not alone. The music industry is one of the most lucrative businesses in the world. It creates millionaires and destroys lives. Wait, did that last statement make sense? Yes, it does. For everyone who makes it in the music industry, there are untold thousands who chase that dream, only to find no pot of gold at the end of their rainbow. It has cost them relationships, hardships, and even for many, their eternal life. And even those who make it often allow the wealth and fame to cost them eternal joy. This is not only true of music, but any little bobble that the world and the devil dangle before man, taking their eyes off God and eternity, while instead chasing after an earthly dream. It might be wealth, popularity, immoral habits, or even something as simple as another person someone has become infatuated with. Whatever it is that takes your attention off this reality. There is a God, there is an end of this life, and someday everyone is going to meet both of those realities.

        Job 21:12-14 speaks of this truth. Before you know it, life is over. It may come tragically at any age. Or a person may live to be well over one hundred. Still, life always ends in a moment. One breath you are here with the living on earth, the next you are off into eternity. What matters is what you did here to prepare for that eternity. 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        It is like the old Pied Piper story. People follow life’s pretty music. That is, until the music stops. Then what? For the believer, the music never stops. God has put a new song in your heart that the world will never understand until they come to know Christ.

What song plays in your heart?

 

Expectations Of God

  July 26, 2023
  Daily Reading – Job 17-20 / Acts 21:1-17

 GOD’S WORD:

Job 19:25-26 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        In two short verses, Job says so much about his trust in God. He first says; “I know.” He did not say, I hope, he said, “I know.” The book of Job is one of the oldest books written. Job, closer to creation than any of us, knew there was and is a real God. Everything around him, all he possessed, and all of his eternity was structured around his undying faith in this one God. He then calls him “My Redeemer.” A person does not need a redeemer unless they realize they are lost. Job understood that God was going to redeem his sinful life someday and called God his redemption. Job continues by saying, “Liveth.” Job had a clear understanding of a living God who resides in heaven above. He was not worshiping some hunk of wood or carved stone idol. Nor did he put faith in a God who was dead. He knew that the God he believed in was, is, and always would be very much alive. Next, Job speaks of eternity to come. He prophesies that there will be a day when this same God would reclaim His earth, and step foot here on it. Finally, Job acknowledges that his body here on earth, very well may die. However, he does not believe this body is who he is. Job knew that he was inside that body, and even if it was to decay in the ground, he personally would still see God.

        Job’s expectations of God, his understanding of God, are then spelled out in the rest of God’s Word to be accurate. It is evident, Job knew God. 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        Oh, what unwavering faith. During what may well be the worst trials on earth, Job still trusts in God. He has lost much of his earthly wealth. His wife and friends have turned on him. Yet, Job looks to God with eternal expectations.

Where have you placed your eternal hope?

 

Encouraged By Silence

  July 25, 2023
  Daily Reading – Job 13-16 / Acts 20

 GOD’S WORD:

Job 13:5 O that ye would altogether hold your peace! and it should be your wisdom.

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        Several years ago, we had a gentleman in our church who had Alzheimer’s Disease. This dear saint of God could not remember a lot of things. However, there were a few old jokes and one liners he would repeat over, and over again. One of them was, “It is better to keep your mouth shut and let people think you are stupid, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.” He would tell me that and then just laugh and laugh. I am not sure if he was talking about my preaching, or just wanted to share that thought on his mind. Still, when I read today’s verse in Job 13:5, it reminded me of him. 

        Job’s friends had come to be a comfort to him. To try to cheer him up during his time of deep sorrow and wow. Yet, it seemed as though everything they said was just making things worse. He begins this chapter by telling them that they are just saying things he already knows. He has read and heard all this before, and what they are saying is of no value at all. In other words, you are not really helping me guys. He goes on to say that what they are saying really does not apply to his situation. They are like a doctor who comes to help a person get over an ailment but has no idea what to do when he gets there. It would be better, he said, if you would just be quiet. You would appear to be wiser saying nothing at all. Sometimes people do not need to hear our words as much as they need to know we are there and praying for them.

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        There are times when people need wise counsel. Usually, when they are ready to accept it, they ask for it. However, there are many times when people just need a good friend to be there for them. We do not always need to have an answer.

Have you ever needed such a friend?

 

Exacting God’s Mercy

  July 24, 2023
  Daily Reading – Job 9-12 / Acts 19:23-41

 GOD’S WORD:

Job 11:5-6 But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee; And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        I recall hearing my dad say to me on several occasions. “Well son, you should have listened to me, I told you this would happen. So, you got exactly what you deserve.” Now I know you probably think that was when I was a little boy. However, the truth is, I remember hearing that from him as a teen and young adult. Whenever something went sideways in my life and I was complaining about it to my dad, he would just be honest and tell me, you got what you deserve. Just another way of reiterating what the Bible says when it says, “whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

        The Bible speaks a lot of the sowing and reaping rule. In Ps. 126:5 it says, “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.” Hosea 10:12 says, “Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy;…” In Hosea 8:7 we’re told, “For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind:…” Even later in Job it says in Job 4:8 “Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.” However, when you read Job 11:5-6 we see with God this principle is not always true. You see, God treats each of us with Mercy and Grace. He does not give us what we deserve. In fact, He laid what we deserve on His Son Jesus at Calvary. Therefore, this statement is still true today. “Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.” 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        What a blessing to know, God knows us better than we know ourselves. If He were to repay us daily according to what we deserve, we would all be in trouble. For those who reject Christ’s payment for their sin, someday they will receive the wages of their sin.

How great is God’s love?

 Developing

 July 22 & 23, 2023
 July 22 – Daily Reading – Job 5-8 / Acts 19:1-22
 July 23 – NO READING

 GOD’S WORD:

Job 5:17 Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        When I was younger, I would do things my dad felt needed correcting. If talking with me did not get the job done, he would often take other steps to burn into my mind that this was not going to be tolerated. I remember one time when he was about to spank me for something I had done, he said, “You know son, this really hurts me as much as it does you.” To which I responded, “then don’t do it, I hate to see you hurt yourself.” As you can imagine, my quick wit was not so appreciated at the moment. And my mother breaking out laughing seemed to make matters worse. Looking back at the times my parents corrected me for my misbehaving, I realize now that they did so out of love. They were trying their best to help me develop an obedient heart to those in authority over me.

        In our verse today it says, “Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:” God’s correcting in our lives may not be enjoyable in the moment. However, His dealing with us in this way is showing His love and care for us. In Job 8:20-21 it says, “Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man, neither will he help the evil doers: Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing.” God’s correction is not designed to discourage us, nor to destroy our lives, but rather to lovingly developing our character.  

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        Solomon repeats this wisdom. Prov. 3:11-12 says, “My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.”

Has God shown you this love?

THE WEEK IN REVIEW:

        God’s Word is a great guiding light for our lives. We would all do well to Delight ourselves in it daily. As we have seen in:

● Dedication
● Declaration
● Destiny
● Danger
● Devoted
● Developing

      To Delight In what God says, means we understand that it was given to us for our good. That understanding should draw us back to the Bible often.

       Enjoy today with your church and hear what God has prepared in the heart of His man for you this week.

   See you tomorrow.  

 SUNDAYS:

       Today we suggest you read and study whatever the Lord has laid on your Pastors heart. Whatever scripture he uses for today’s messages were given to him by God for your specific needs.

Delight