The Power Of God's Word

Psalms 19:7-9---The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.

You are reading this devotion today because you believe God's word is a need in your life. This passage in Psalm 19 gives a picture of what a great need it is. In all this world, there is one perfect thing, the word of God. It revives our soul. When you are downcast and need to find hope, the word of God is the source of hope. It will revive your soul. If you are a simple trusting soul, where should you turn? The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy. Man will always disappoint. Not one man, other than Jesus, has completely trustworthy counsel. Where can you go for true joy? Happiness will come and go, but the truth of God's promises to you will give you an inner joy that will endure all circumstances of life. If you need clarity to see the way things really are, you need the radiant light of the Word. It illuminates the motivations of men. It illuminates the motivations of our own hearts. Without the Word of God, our hearts would easily deceive us. The Word shines the light of truth on our thoughts and reveals whether they are from, our flesh or the Spirit. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. In the Word, we see the just judgment on those who turn from God and rebel against Him. We see the treachery of and cunning of man's own heart. The fear of our just God keeps us from playing around with the idea of compromising with sin. Every word of God is pure. You can trust every verse to be completely righteous. Sometimes our carnal mind gets confused by expressions in the Word. We struggle to accept what is written. But if we dig deeper, we will find every word to be altogether righteous. Where else could you go to find all these wonderful things? The man or woman who does the same for you is a man or woman full of the Word of God. They have had their mind renewed by the Word of God.

The Heavens Declare The Glory Of God

Psalms 19:1-3---(To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.) The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.

David looked up at the night sky and saw a declaration of the glory of God. With the Hubble, we can see even more wondrous and amazing sights far beyond the range of David's eyes. But we have a different response. We have the audacity to think we have figured God out. Even macro-physicists have to include God in their equations. The more we discover the less we realize we know. Today you will find a majority of astronomers believing there must be a God. One astronomer wrote that to find an argument against the existence of God, he had to go to another department. Yet the average person on the street has the impression that astronomers have it all figured out as a natural process. Let's hope that more astronomers will speak up about their lack of understanding of all that they see so that our perceptions will be corrected. One of the sad byproducts of city life is that the stars can barely be seen. Our skies are so polluted that we have hidden the declaration. To replace that effect, we have the pictures from the Hubble continuing to come in as it shoots picture after picture of wonders full of color, design, and phenomena that causes us to wonder. It doesn't need to be translated into French or Russian. It speaks in every language. It displays the knowledge of an infinite Creator who set laws and order and design. When you see those pictures, listen to God.

The Glory We Behold

Psalms 8:3-5---When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

The clear night sky is awe-inspiring. One of my favorite places is a canyon lake far from big cities. The night sky appears to be entirely filled with stars. The band of the Milky Way glows with the light of a million stars. We count the shooting stars until we fall asleep. Now we know so much more about the enormity and complexity of that night sky than David did. It should awe us even more when we consider that our God set all that in place. He decreed the laws by which it all functions. Man is increasingly wondering at the mysteries and beauty we see there. Considering that seemingly infinite space and vast number of worlds, what is man that God is mindful of us? He thinks of each of us continually. Why? What a great priority He has placed upon us as small as we are. He made us a little lower than elohim. The Hebrew word is used for God or angelic beings, and that is why you find some variations in the translation. You could say "a little lower than God", since we will judge angels and they are sent to minister to us. The author of Hebrews chose "angels". Either way, it seems that David is in awe of the position God has given man in the order of creation. As small and insignificant as we seem, He has put great priority on us, crowning us with glory and honor. That makes our sin all the more abhorrent. To think that we would rebel against the Almighty, our Maker, who gave us such a lofty position, shows the depravity of our ingratitude. What is man? We are so honored and offered such glory that our minds can scarce conceive it. Look up into the night sky.

The True King Is Coming

Psalms 2:6-8---Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
Many of the psalms look forward in time to the first and second coming of Jesus. Because Jesus is referred to as 'the son of David', there are things written about Solomon that are ultimately fulfilled in Jesus. In the second psalm, God is speaking to the nations of the world that refuse God's instruction. They rebel against His loving decrees. But God is not threatened at all. In fact, He laughs. If all the nations of the earth were to join together to fight against Him, it would not disturb His peace one bit. Then God declares where His sovereign will have placed all authority to rule, in His Son. The Son was with God from the beginning, but there is a point in human history when he is born of a woman. The birth in Bethlehem was one of the most amazing and supernatural events to ever take place. God stepped into a human body. The Son was willing to set an example for man and redeem man through His own obedient death on the cross, so God has given Him the right to rule the kingdoms of the earth. One day He will no longer allow man to rebel. The freedom to mock God and His laws and cause the people to suffer will no longer be allowed. Those rulers who would rebel will face the rod of iron. Man keeps trying to make the perfect government. The perfect government is coming.

Meditate On God's Word

Psalms 1:1-3---Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

The book of Psalms is a collection of songs of praise. Originally, they came in five different books. Many of them were penned by David. In them, we find expressed the heart cry of man in nearly every situation. No matter what you are going through you can find a psalm that relates to your situation. I turn to them when I am discouraged, for they often begin with complaint and end in praise. The first psalm warns us not to keep company with evil people. We are told not to listen to their counsel, stand in their way or sit in their seats. The word 'blessed' is translated 'happy' in some newer renderings. Blessing implies the goodness of God will be with such a person. Look for these beatitudes throughout Scripture. If the Word gives us instruction as to what to do to find God pouring out His goodness on us, we should give careful attention to that instruction. You will be blessed if you avoid bad company. Man has a natural tendency to gravitate toward mocking and complaint. Don't! Instead, delight in God's word. Think on it day and night. If you will take some time each day to be in the company of the Word, and let Him speak to you, you will have a thought to dwell on that will build you up instead of tearing you down. Avoiding the mocking sinner and filling your mind with God's instruction will cause you to be blessed. In typical Hebrew style, the psalmist expands on what it means to be blessed in a simile. You will be like a tree that bears fruit planted by a stream. You won't dry out. You will prosper in everything you do. What a picture! What a promise! If you believe it, then you should act on it. Take time each day to delight in the Word of God. Take a thought with you through the day.

God Will See You Through All Things, Trust Him

Job 42:5-6---I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

Job had been questioning God, but now it is God's turn to question Job. The substance of God's questions ask Job that if he lives in a world full of things beyond his understanding, why should he be able to figure out what God is presently doing in his life? Such a wonderful Creator should be trusted by His creation to do what is in their best interest. Job entered into a new relationship with God. Up until that time he had heard of God through others lives and stories. Now he saw God with his own eyes. He has the same reaction that everyone does. He saw the holiness of God and by contrast, his wretched condition. But didn't God say Job was righteous? No, God said there was no one on earth like him (1:8). Compared to other men he is blameless and upright. Compared to God he is a sin-sick man with a sin-infested nature. Job learned genuine humility from this encounter. The manifest presence of God blows away any deceptions of our own goodness. We need God's manifest presence in the church today to see our real condition. God restored everything that Job had lost and then doubled it. There is one notable exception. He had as many children as he originally had. Why is that? Why weren't they doubled? Besides being hard on his wife, they really were doubled. He never lost the first set of children. They merely moved to heaven before Job did. He now has 20 children, even though ten are in heaven. Things are not always as they appear. The book of Job is an exhortation to trust God no matter what you are going through.

God Can Question You

Job 40:6-8---Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?

Once Job had finished justifying himself, his three friends said no more. A younger man then spoke up. He told Job the thing that he had done wrong was to justify himself rather than God. The young man, Elihu, insisted that God's character was unquestionable. Then God showed up. He had a few questions to ask Job. His questions served one purpose, to show that God is all-knowing and we are not. We can't question what He allows because we have so few facts. He sees every aspect of the past, present, and future. How dare we question the character of the Almighty who moment by moment gives us life! If there was a sin in Job's response to his condition, it was to justify himself and thereby accuse God. In justifying himself, he was saying that God had made a mistake. True, his friends drove him to it, but he yielded to the temptation to make himself look good, and by contrast, said that God was doing something wrong. "Would you condemn me to justify yourself?" God asked. In times of difficulty, when we cannot understand the reason or purpose for the struggle in our lives, we can count on the integrity and justice of God. The one thing we dare not do is say God is unjust in His dealings with us. Would you discredit His justice? We must proceed in faith, knowing that our understanding is limited and His understanding is infinite.

Who Or What Is Your god?

Job 31:24-25, 28---If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence; If I rejoiced because my wealth was great and because mine hand had gotten much; This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge: for I should have denied the God that is above.

Job continued his defense before his friends. He told how he always helped the needy and took good care of his workers. He said that he was consistent to do those things because he had a fear of God. He knew God required it of him, and that he would be judged if he did not. As we look at Job's defense, few of us can say that our lives come anywhere close to Job's. Yet, the real standard is not Job but Jesus Christ. Thank God for sending His Son to be the sacrifice for our sins. In the passage today, Job says that he did not trust in his great wealth. Jesus told us it was very hard for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God. Job seems to have been one of the few who could be trusted with wealth but not rely on it for security. He recognized that provision came from God. Though he labors to earn income, God is the Provider. How many of us can be just as secure when our bank accounts are bottoming out as when they are bulging? That can only come when we see God is our security regardless of how much we possess. He did not even rejoice over his wealth. It is one thing to be thankful and another to find joy in something. Our joy should always be the presence of God in our lives. When wealth becomes our reason for rejoicing we are turning it into an idol that takes God's place. Job said that both trusting in wealth for security and finding your joy in wealth were both sins to be judged. Both are unfaithfulness to God. Dear reader, pause and consider if wealth has taken God's place in your heart as the reason you rejoice. Let us guard our hearts so that we are not seduced by wealth to worship another god. In this passage, he groups this sin with worship of the sun and moon, other gods. If you have fallen in this area of making wealth a god, confess your sin, and put God back in His rightful place in your heart. See that He alone is your security and your greatest joy.

Make A Covenant With Your Eyes

Job 31:1, 9,11-12---I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid? If mine heart have been deceived by a woman, or if I have laid wait at my neighbour's door; For this is an heinous crime; yea, it is an iniquity to be punished by the judges. For it is a fire that consumeth to destruction, and would root out all mine increase.

In Job 31, Job began to list the things that he had been faithful with. His friends seem to have thought there must have been some hidden sin somewhere. Job resisted declaring the specifics of his righteousness up to this point, but since they insisted, he began to list all the areas he had already gone over in his own heart. The first one that was mentioned is lust. Job recognized the destructiveness of lust and made a covenant with his eyes not to look on a girl lustfully. He recognized it as a fire that burned to Destruction. He had probably witnessed that fire in the lives of young men in the city in which he lived. He learned from their sad stories. In the world today, there are a million excuses to ignore this wise direction. Even though society considers it wrong to consider women as objects, it sets a double standard in flaunting women's bodies in clothing design, in entertainment, and even in its contests for the best woman of an area. If a man had difficulty in the days of Job when women were covered with robes, what are they to do in this day and age? We can do the same as Job. Look at the eyes, the windows of the soul. Refuse to contemplate the person as anything other than an eternal soul that is loved of God. This is as good a plan today for men as it is for women. Don't joke about a desire for the body of another. It is not a laughing matter. It is a fire that burns to Destruction. There are so few that set an example in this area today. It is considered prudish or religious.

Refined / God's Always Got Your Back

Job 23:10-12---But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined. Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.

Job's friends continued to insist that he was being punished for his sin. They kept telling him that the wicked are always punished and the righteous are always blessed. Job told them that this was just not true. Many wicked live in prosperity and die in peace. Many righteous suffer without a cause that can be determined. He told them their counsel was not true. We'd like to think that judgment for the wicked is always swift and observable, but God often reserves judgment for the Day of Judgment. Job had a firm conviction that he had not intentionally committed anything for which the Lord would deal with him like this. He had retraced his actions, thought through his life, and not been able to find anything for which God would be disciplining him. How few of us can make the same statement! Of course, he had sinned, but he had not intentionally rebelled against God's will. Instead of punishment, he now saw this as a refining process, just as gold is refined by fire. We will see this idea again throughout the Scriptures, but this is the first mention of it chronologically. What words is Job referring to when he speaks of 'the words of God's mouth'? He may have had an oral report of Adam to Abraham but as yet there were no written accounts that we know of, with the possible exception of the Book of Enoch. Did Job once hear the still small voice of God? He complained that no matter which direction he turned God was not to be found. Perhaps he had found God in the past in that voice within his heart, but now the heavens were silent. He treasured the words of God more than his daily food. That was what led to such a righteous life. There will be times in our life when we are walking with God and yet we do not hear His voice. We must proceed by faith, knowing He is refining and teaching the child upon whom He has fixed His love.

Our Redeemer Is Alive And Well

Job 19:25-27---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: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.

Job's friends continued to insist that Job face up to the sin that had caused his miserable condition. Job continues to tell them he can't find one. Of course, he was not perfect, nor is anyone. He couldn't find an issue to repent of. There are times when we suffer the consequences of other's sins. There are times when there may be a heavenly battle over us, such as this case with Job. What did Job cling to through it all? What kept him from following his wife's advice and cursing God? He trusted in the perfect character of God. He knew that God was his Redeemer. That is the Gospel. Though these ancient people had an only oral tradition to go on, Job knew God was his Redeemer. He also knew that one day his Redeemer would physically stand upon the earth. Even though he died and rotted away, he believed he would see that day. He longed for it because then he knew he would then understand what it was all about. You may have sorrow in your life that you cannot find the reason or plan of God in. You can't see any good that comes from it. Do as Job did and put your hope in the day when you will see God. God will ever be perfect and just. You can be sure that there are reasons for all things, and that they are good reasons. He is sovereign over all. Evil is not without boundaries. All things will have meaning and purpose. Place your hope in the day you will see Him face to face and all your questions answered.

Setting Your Sight On Eternity

Job 14:14-15---If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.

Job continued to proclaim his innocence, and his friends continued to insist that he had to have some secret fault. At first, Job said no one can stand before God and if God gave man an audience, man would not be able to speak. Later, however, he asked if there could not be some mediator. There is a Mediator that will stand between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. In the middle of Job's complaint, he spoke the words of the passage for today. Though the people of Job's time did not believe in the afterlife, Job uttered these words in a way that fit with New Testament theology. Job's earlier words show he saw death as an end of being, and so we interpret the change here to mean his healing and restoration. "Will man live after death?" In the light of the New Testament, we answer "Yes!" to his question. Our days upon earth are hard service, but our transformation, our metamorphosis, is coming. God will call with the sound of the Last Trump, and we will answer. He will long for the creatures His hands have made. The Son will come to receive His bride, and the marriage feast will begin. Since the Holy Spirit crafted the words, we have the wonderful hope hidden within Job's imperfect understanding. In spite of the difficulties we face in life and the tests that God allows to come our way, we have the hope of our transformation and the call of God to those He longs for. Cling to your hope through times of trial.

Just Keep Trusting God

Job 9:2-4---I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God? If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand. He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered?

Job's friends came to comfort him and sat silent for seven days. What can you say to a friend who has endured such loss? Finally, Job spoke of his misery. He wished he had been stillborn. He considered his pain greater than the joys he experienced in life. Good people may experience situations in which they despair of life itself. Then his friends made an all too common mistake. They tried to counsel him in his grief. One insisted that he must have sinned. Job replied that he was not aware of any specific sin, and if he did not intend to sin, wouldn't God find mercy to forgive. The other friend insisted no one is perfect before God. Our verse today is Job's reply. Of course, we are not perfect in his sight. How can anyone be righteous before God? If we were to have a debate with God, we couldn't really respond to any of God's questions. No one can stand before the Almighty and say He has not been righteous in all His acts. Still, Job did not understand what he was going through. Why should all this trouble be allowed to strike him? He could not see the heavenly conflict or understand how good would come from such suffering. It will be another 30 chapters before his eyes are opened and he submits quietly to the sovereignty of God. What can we learn from this passage today? Sometimes the best thing is to say nothing but weep with those that weep. There will be times in our lives that we have no explanation for suffering. Endure, and believe that God is working all things out for the good of those that love Him and are called according to His purpose. There are times when we are teaching angelic beings about love for God and trust in His character and sovereignty. Satan refused to believe Job could continue to have faith in God, but Job proved him wrong. Though he voiced the fact that he did not understand what God was doing, he never doubted the integrity of God.

Be A Witness For God With Your Response To Trouble

Job 2:4-5, 10---And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

After Job lost everything but his wife and yet retained his integrity, God asked Satan if he was now convinced of Job's love for God. Satan told God that any man would curse God if his health were taken from him. God gave permission to take his health but not his life. Job was afflicted with boils head to foot. He used a piece of broken pot to scrape the boils. Then his wife told him it was not worth it to try to remain right with God, "just curse Him and die". Sometimes we get poor advice from a spouse because they don't want to see us suffer. Eternity is of much greater value than temporal relief from pain. Job answered her with an expression that we would do well to consider, "Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" Is God only allowed to be Santa Claus? Can He never bring difficulty? Will we be so brazen as to say that we know better than God what is needed in our life? We thank Him for the things we perceive to be good, but should we not thank Him for trouble, knowing He has allowed it for a purpose? Job did not sin with his mouth. His heart may have been beginning to question, but his testimony remained solid. Here too, we can take a tip from Job. Be most careful of what you express to others during difficult times. We can teach them to have faith in God or to doubt God. Our response is a witness that can encourage faith or doubt. It is at these times that we are most tempted to let the wrong expressions slip from our lips as we seek sympathy from those around us. We want them to feel our pain.

Bless The Lord No Matter What!

Job 1:20-22---Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

We can scarcely imagine all that calamity striking in one day, though some readers have had the one thing that was dearest to them taken. Losing all is losing all regardless if it is little or much. Surely Job's greatest loss was that of his children. To lose even one child is worse than imaginable. How do you react to adversity? When we read Job's reaction, we see that God was correct in His assessment of Job. I've never seen anyone react without even a "Why God?" Job will come to that later. If you are wondering why Satan allowed his wife to live, it is because she told him to curse God and die. It was about to get even worse, as Satan does not wish to admit defeat and longed to turn Job against God. Job's response was to worship. His answer is quoted at funerals, but it should be considered throughout our lives. We came into the world without physical things and we will leave without them. There has never been a moving van following a casket. The Egyptians tried, but all those treasures sit in museums. If our children go first, we will meet them one day, but our earthly treasures will go to others. Praise the name of the LORD. Praise Him for His wisdom in bringing us to the things that last and separating us from the temporal. How attached are you to the things that you will leave behind?