Exodus 19-21: If you have never read the Bible in Chronological order I highly recommend doing that one year. It puts things into context and you are able to see why God sometimes did what He did or said what He said at that time. Today’s reading is a prime example. The Hebrew Children had just come from slavery in Egypt. They had been there for a few generations. All this generation of people knew was the Egyptian way of life. In that culture they worshiped many gods. Pharaoh was the greatest, but there were many smaller ones. That is what the plagues were all about is defeating one after the other. So when God gives the 10 Commandments and starts with He is the ONLY God and you should have no other gods before Him, it made total sense. That is all they had known was other gods. When He tells them not to fashion any gods out of clay, stone, wood or any other thing, it is because they had seen that so often and it made sense to them to pray to a god of their making. Even not taking His name in vain was a reminder that He was not like their other gods that sometimes worked and sometimes didn’t. He was sovereign and cold be trusted. He reminded them to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy because they were not a god and they needed physical rest. They also needed a day to focus on Him and His goodness and His provision. They needed to know God not turn to other things.

We too need to remember that He alone is God. We don’t need to lean on other worldly things. Those things like their gods will let you down because they have no power. They may suffice at the time, but they do not care about you like your loving Heavenly Father. He cares for you! Revere His Name. Don’t curse using it. Choose to honor Him as God. It is the foundation of life that will not allow you to fall apart with the storms of life come.

The Hebrew Children were in for some big storms. Some would really rock their world. Some chose not to trust Him. BUT others did, and today we read of their faithfulness as an example for us to follow.

Exodus 14-18: As I read the scripture today what jumped out at me was that God was introducing Himself not just to Egypt, but to His own people. To Egypt we know He was reminding them that He was God alone and He had overpowered any gods they held on to. Eventually defeating Pharaoh himself.

But to Israel this bunch of Hebrew people who had their identity in being slaves He was reminding them who He was and who they were as a result. He told them, He was God and He would fight for them. All they had to do was stand still and watch Him. As He parted the Red Sea and kept the Egyptian army at bay He was declaring His power to take care of them! The Hebrew nation walked through on dry ground while the Egyptians sank to their demise.

He declared He would be their Healer if only they would obey. He would not put on them any of the plagues that they had seen in Egypt.

He declared Himself their Banner as they faced yet another enemy in Amalek. As long as Moses held his arms up the Hebrew nation would win. When he put his arms down they would struggle in battle and lose. Aaron and Hur held his arms up and eventually the enemy was defeated. God declared Himself their Banner and He gave them victory.

All of these names describe the character of who God is. It is in His DNA and that hasn’t changed. To those who call on His Name He is our defender, provider, healer, banner and so much more. Just as God was presenting Himself to this nation of people, He longs to present Himself to you and me as well and to remind us that He is the Great I Am. He is everything we need!

Exodus 1-4: Have you ever looked at someone and thought, “Well I would have never thought they would be a leader.” Maybe it was someone in your graduating class that just did not seem to be the most likely to succeed and yet God chose them to rise to the occasion. I wonder if people did not feel this way about Moses.

He was a boy Israelite baby born in a day when the Pharaoh was trying to kill all males his age. Yet he was saved and rescued by the daughter of Pharaoh. He was raised until he was 40 in Pharaoh’s palace and educated as an Egyptian. At 40 he killed and Egyptian who was beating an Israelite. He thought no-one saw what had happened. He fled to Midian to get away from punishment. He stayed in Midian for 40 years. At the age of 80 he was called by God to lead Israel back to the Promised land.

You just read that correctly. He was 80 before he was ready to step into the leadership role God had for him. Even then he had all kind of reasons why he could not lead. And yet God chose him with all of his imperfections.

How about you? Have you been telling God all of the reasons you can’t or won’t lead? Has your age, your history, or even your ability been reasons you gave?

Maybe the reason God put Moses’ story in the Bible is to remind us that God can and will use anyone He chooses. He is the one who says who is qualified. He is the one who allows us to go through hard times to prepare us for the trek ahead. He alone knows what we truly are capable of.

No matter whether you were chosen The Most Likely to Succeed by your classmates or not, when God says you are His man or woman for a specific job, listen and obey! It may take a burning bush to convince you, but God knows the best plans for you!

Job 40:6-42:17; Psalm 29: When reading the story of Job we focus on the years of his distress, but did you know that he lived 140 years after that? Yes during those years I am certain that the lessons he had learned in the dark days changed his path.

God began to build back Job’s life. He began to build back relationships. Don’t you know it would be tempting after people had turned their backs on you to just turn your back on them when things got better. What a lonely life he would have had and probably much shorter had he held on to bitterness. Instead he forgave and renewed those relationships.

His wealth returned. He received back double from God all that he had lost. When finances are tight it is easy to get down on yourself and feel like you are a failure. Job remembered who he was dependent on. God had given and God had taken yet Job still blessed His name. God was showing satan and those around Job what true faith in God looks like.

God had taken Job’s children. I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose all of your children all at once. The temptation would be to be angry with God. Not Job. He trusted God. God gave him 10 more children. Some ask why God did not double the number of children. Maybe it is because the other 10 who had died would meet him in heaven and he would have all 20 there thus it was a doubling.

What should all of this mean to me? That God is sovereign and days may look dark today, but if we trust the Father, brighter days are ahead. We can’t allow the sin of bitterness, anger, or even lack of trust to keep us from where God ultimately wants to take us. The best really is yet to come. Hold on. It is not hopeless. Don’t give up or give in. Life is worth living. You can and will make it. Look up. Look around you. God’s testimony of His faithfulness is all around you. Trust Him!

Job 37-40:5, Ps.19: Our culture has a new word picture when someone has spoken definitively about something they “drop the mic.” In these passages God definitely speaks with a definitive voice and in the end all are left speechless. In total God asks Job 70 rhetorical questions through chapters 38-41. Job’s only response is to put his hand over his mouth.

Job’s pain was great but God’s power was greater. Job’s questions were valid, but God’s authority and wisdom made them seem meaningless. In the end I love how the text book The Essence of The Old Testament: A Survey by Ed Hindson and Gary Yates puts in, “God does not explain the rationale or the reason behind Job’s suffering and He reveals no compulsion to justify His actions before Job. God reminds us, as He did Job that He is God and we are not.”

Later in the commentary they write, “Job remains a powerful example for all of us who struggle with the seemingly insurmountable questions of life, only to fall in faith, exasperated, into the arms of God.”

Wow, what a grand picture that sums up the book of Job. Exasperated, faithfully falling into our Master’s arms. Oh how He longs for us to stop asking all of the questions, look at who He is and what He has done through creation, the world around us, the history presented to us in the word and to realize This Same God loves us and is for us. We may never know the whys but we can know The Who. He is faithful and can be trusted even when we are hanging on by a thread.

Job 29-32: Have you ever known someone who at one time held a place of great honor then due to life or circumstances beyond their control they leave the position. That person might have had the ear of important people and then they no longer do. I wonder if Job did not feel this way. At one time his word carried great weight. Now due to loss of possessions, children and even his own health his word was no longer respected.

As I read what Job said about falling from a place of respect my thoughts went to people who have lost jobs or even retired. So many at one time were people of influence. Then they come home and find themselves struggling because they haven’t changed. They still have the knowledge, experience, and and wisdom they had in days gone by. Yet those who at one time respected them no longer do. I wonder sometimes if this isn’t exactly how people feel when they are older.

As believers, how should we respond to those who might have lost jobs.positions or have retired and are again? One of the ways we can honor them is just to see them and treat them with respect. I wonder if many times these people don’t feel like they are invisible. To have someone see them and make them feel special esteems them. To listen to them and value their opinion is so important. Even asking them for insight into a specific project you are working on can make them feel like the knowledge they have is not being wasted. Whether or not you take their advice just listening and allowing them to have input does mean a lot.

I wonder if Job’s community had reached out to him the way he had reached out to them in the past if his story would have read much differently. if he had felt like he had someone in his corner or someone who honored him and respected his word. We can’t change everyone’s life, but we can live in such a way that we see and respect those who need a helping hand whether great or small.

Job 22-24: When you read the book of Job you hear his friends over and over speak the theology that if you sin you come to a bad end and that wicked people do not prosper. Somehow some in our world have bought into that theology and thought pattern, but if you look around in our world today you can quickly see that though that sounds good, the pattern just doesn’t hold. God does allow evil to continue and there are people acting in sin that prosper. So how is a believer supposed to process all of this?

Don’t follow their pattern! Though they are prospering, there will come a payday one day. Here is how Job put it.

Job 24:21 “They wrong the barren, childless woman,
and do no good to the widow.
22 Yet God prolongs the life of the mighty by his power;
they rise up when they despair of life.
23 He gives them security, and they are supported,
and his eyes are upon their ways.
24 They are exalted a little while, and then are gone;
they are brought low and gathered up like all others;
they are cut off like the heads of grain.

When the end time comes their end will definitely be different from the life of one who is a believer. Their final destination is a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth according to Matthew 8 and 13.

I don’t understand why, but God in His sovereignty has allowed Satan to be Prince of the power of the air.
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:1–2)

God has allowed sin to reign here on earth For A TIME! One day God will say enough and the power God has given Satan and sin will cease. Because God has all authority in Heaven and Earth He will then take control and sin, death and even Satan will no longer be around God’s children.

So hold on sweet friends. Even though we see darkness around us, we know the end of the story. Have right theology and thinking. Yes sin does have power today but not for always and sinners do prosper, but to what end. If you are struggling with evil being rewarded remember the end has not yet come. Until then God is still in control and the best thing for us is to do life like God says. Yes we will go through hard times, but it is to make us stronger and for His be glory.

Job 10-13: Suicide is a huge challenge for people from children up to seniors. Life seems to get so overwhelming and death looks like a place to rest. I don’t think Job was suicidal, but he raises questions many considering suicide think about. “Why was I born. I hate my life. Why won’t it all go away? When will I wake up and it all be over? What have I done? How can I go on?”

I know for many of you suicide seems a foreign concept, but I have talked to people from all walks of life that admit to thinking about it once. Here are some things that these people had in common.
They were physically tired
They were emotionally tired
They were overwhelmed by their current situation seeing no way of escape
They thought no one would miss them or that their absence would make it better or easier for someone else
Some could be reasoned out of it
Some just needed a listening ear and truth spoken
Some had need of a doctor to help them

As I read our passage today it reminded me that Job had all of these things going on in his life yet he found his purpose and meaning in something much deeper. He lived to please God. He longed to be in right standing with him. When his friends were not enough, God was. When he felt he had to defend himself, he knew he was standing before God humble and willing. He did not have all of the right answers. I am not sure he was even asking all of the right questions. He did express his frustration and hurts. That is not forbidden. He did acknowledge his own physical pains and question what he was to do.

Hurt and pain are part of life and we are all subject to that. Just because we are a child of God doesn’t mean life will be easy. Far from it. That is also why his friends’ theology was wrong. Christians do hurt. Christians do suffer. Life is not easy just because you are obedient. We live in a fallen world. Sickness, pain, loss are all a real part of this world. BUT we don’t suffer as those without hope. We know that God is still in control and our present suffering is nothing compared to the glory that is to come. God chooses our time to come to this earth and our time to depart. We can’t take that into our own hands, and what seems to be falling apart today may indeed just be falling into place. Trust Him. You are going to make it through whatever you are facing. Now rest, eat right, allow God the time and space to work it out.

Job 6-9: One of the most challenging things about going through a hard time is feeling you are all alone. When Job was going through his losses and sickness he expressed those same feelings and he had friends around him. The alone feeling may just be because it is so hard for others to understand or comprehend all you are going through. They want to help, but don’t know how. Then there are other times when friends really aren’t there. Here is how Job put it.

Job 6:21 “For you have now become nothing;
you see my calamity and are afraid.”

Seeing what someone is going through and having fear is a response repeated more than we want to admit. Many times we don’t know what to say so we stay away. Other times we believe we will say the wrong thing and offend so we leave a wide birth. Fear takes on many forms and keeps us from being able to just be there for someone who needs us.

In Job’s case he felt like people stayed away because they feared him asking them for something. He had lost everything and now even his health was affected. They may have thought he would ask for finances or even favors. If he had been sinful they may just not have wanted to be pulled into his downfall.

It is evident Job’s friends did not understand his calamity and those who had at one time respected him now treated him with disdain.

What can we learn from this? When friends are hurting they need you. Don’t allow fear or not understanding keep you away. When friends get sick or have great loss, they need our friendship then as much or more than when things were good. You don’t have to have all of the answers. Sometimes just a prayer for strength is what they need. Don’t feel the need to explain things. Some things just have no explanation. I have often said chocolate fixes many things. Take them brownies or their favorite candy bar and just be with them. It is not about our wisdom, but our presence.

Love them well without fear. “Perfect love casts our fear.” We love others because He first loved us. In these cases. we are given the opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Don’t miss that blessing.

Genesis 47-50: Have you received a blessing from your parents? In Old Testament days parents would give a blessing to their children and grandchildren before they died. In Genesis 48 Jacob blessed Joseph and his sons.
48:5And he blessed Joseph and said,
“The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,
16 the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys;
and in them let my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”

Passing on a blessing can alter the course of one’s life. I remember as a child my own father holding both of my hands, looking me in my eyes and saying. “Page, I love you. I have always loved you and always will. I may not always agree with the decisions you make, but I will always always love you.”

Through the years I have seen good times and hard times, but in all that time I knew one thing for sure. My parents truly loved me. I was theirs. My mom used to tell my brother “Remember whose name you carry.” A reminder to each of us is that God loves us as well. We carry His name and our life should reflect that. The blessing of the Father is on us. He longs for us to walk daily in His presence and know His strength.

I will forever be grateful to my earthly father and my Heavenly Father for the assurance of their blessing on my life. If you haven’t blessed your children, why not pray about that today. Then when the time is right speak words of strength and encouragement to them. You never know what a difference it could make in their lives.