January 16, 2017 – Genesis 12-15 – The Plan is in Motion

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Genesis 12-15. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read His Word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

What Does This Passage Say?

• This is perhaps one of the most pivotal points in the entire Bible. In Genesis 3 we watched as man sinned. In Genesis 6 the world was so sinful God decided to send a flood. In Genesis 11 the world had tried to be like God and know the things of God so they created a tower. Sin is nasty part of the human condition. Sin separates us from God. But here in Genesis 12 God puts into motion his plan to redeem all of mankind.
• God calls Abram to follow Him, to move to a new land … a land God will give to his descendants. If Abram does this, God promises to bless all people on earth through him (v. 3). Basically, God is saying to Abram that one day, one of his offspring will be born that will redeem mankind. As Christians, we know that offspring to be Jesus.
• Seventy-five-year-old Abram listens and follows God to the promised land. But, he doesn’t remain there. Abram is a shepherd, driving large herds of sheep. Depending on the time of year and the others shepherds, he had to go where the water and grasses were. This causes him to end up in northern Egypt. It is here in Egypt that Abram makes his first mistake in this life of following God.
• Abram’s wife, Sarai, also his half-sister (different mothers, this is something unheard of in our society, but not uncommon in theirs), was beautiful. Abram knew that sixty-five-year-old Sarai was desirable and men have killed other men to claim their wives. So, he lies. Just as he predicted the king takes her as his wife. But God protects Abram and saves the day and all is restored.
• When Abram left his homeland, he took his nephew Lot with him. Because Abram had a large herd of sheep and Lot had a large herd of sheep the two separate. Lot took the better land and settled in the region of Sodom and Gomorrah. It was during this time that Lot got caught up in raid and was taken captive by the raiders.
• It is here that uncle Abram comes in and saves the day. Not only does he and the large number of men born into his household (a good reminder to us that Abram was wealthy) save Lot, but they also save the day for the cities on the plain, returning all that was lost.
• When Abram returns everything, he meets a king and priest of the one true God. In response to what God had done through him, Abram offers the first recording of a tithe given in the Bible.
• Because of his faith, God comes to Abram and builds on the covenant. It is here that we are introduced to the protection God is going to give His people. It is here that circumcision is introduced. Its is here that promises to bless this childless couple with multitudes of offspring.

What is This Passage Teaching?

• There are a lot of themes in these four chapters. But one stands out to me … God promised to world saving work through Abram … and no matter what ways he messed it up … God protected His promise.

How Can I Apply this Passage to my Life?

• We serve a powerful God. God is a God who protects those He loves. Sometimes we may struggle with this. Sometimes we may wander does God even love me or care about me. Does God get upset with me. Is God ready to write me off. And the answer is no. One theme we are going to see as we keep reading through the Bible is that the people God uses in some amazing ways are really messed up and flawed people. If God could use them, and allow them to tell the story of His Word, then what will He be willing to do through your life. You are never beyond redemption. God loves you and will protect you as often as you need. 

January 12, 2017 – Job 32-34 – Wisdom with Age?

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Job 32-34. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read His Word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

What Does This Passage Say?

• This is perhaps one of the sections in Job that I struggle with the most. There is some argument as to whether Elihu’s speech is even an original inclusion into the narrative of Job (Some argue it was added at a later time). Scholars still do not agree on this. However, it is in the book and we will treat it as original.
• Elihu has been sitting here listening all along. He has not spoken because he believes youth should take a back seat to the wisdom of age. However, the three friends accuse Job without offering him aid and Job seems to have self-pride before God. This angers Elihu. No longer can he bottle up his words. So he begins to speak, astounded that Job would stand before God the way he believes Job has.
• Elihu takes two of Job’s arguments into consideration … That Job is innocent and that God is Job’s enemy. While Elihu complains about the three friends and their words … in reality he ends up saying nothing too different than they have already said. While what he says may have some truth, again this is not overly helpful to Job in his suffering.

How Can I Apply this Passage to my Life?

• In the opening words of Elihu we find that he was willing to yield to the wisdom that often comes with age. When he hears things that don’t make sense, or he even believes is wrong, he can keep quiet no longer. There is wisdom that comes with age. I know today I am much wiser than I was 15 years ago, why? Because I have more life experience and I have learned more over the years. I also know that there are things that I know that some older and yet wiser than me do not know. Yes, there is wisdom in age, but that doesn’t mean youth does not allow for any wisdom. What we must do is always share wisdom, whether older or younger, with gentleness and respect. 

January 11, 2017 – Job 29-31 – Job Rests His Case

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Job 29-31. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read His Word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

What Does This Passage Say?

• Job is now done debating with his three friends. You can almost sense a shift in tone as he begins to think about life before the calamities struck. Life was good. God had blessed. Men honored him. You can almost sense that Job is happy, if for just a brief moment in time. Job knew and understood that he was a good man. Notice, recognition is not the same thing as arrogance.
• But Job moves on, just as life continues to move on. And now, the people he treated so kindly, those whom he had helped time and again, are nowhere to be found. Instead of helping Job in his time of need, they mock him. Not only does he suffer the mocking of those around him, but God is silent. Job hurts and yet Job doesn’t even hear from God. At best this perplexes Job.
• As Job concludes this final speech he turns to the way he has lived his life. His friends have accused him of sin, but Job knows that is not the case. Sure, there have been moments of sin, after all Job is human. But his desire has never been to sin. He has worked hard to live a life that honors God. He knows that God could weigh his sin and Job would come out victorious. Job says all this to silence his critics. He knows he stands righteous before God. With this Job stops talking.

What is This Passage Teaching?

• When you are suffering, where do you turn? What does your focus become? After talking and listening Job has come to a very good place. He has looked back on the blessings and he has looked at his current situation. He knows he stands before God righteous. He knows he stands before God as a faultless man (as much as one can be). This is where we should all strive to be. Will there be sin in our lives? Absolutely. Will there be moments we don’t always live up to be the people we want to be? Yes. Will there be times in life we look back and see how life was better? I am confident. Will there be season of life where people mock us and look down on us? Perhaps. What we must do is continue to look forward and try our best, while we may not always understand, to stand righteous before God. 

January 10, 2017 – Job 24-28 – Who is God?

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Job 24-28. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read His Word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

What Does This Passage Say?

• Here in chapter twenty-four Job responds to Eliphaz. Remember from our reading yesterday, Eliphaz had a misconception about God … Job’s sin, whether public or private was the cause of Job’s hardship. Job continues reminding Eliphaz that perhaps this is not how God works. Sometimes in life, God allows the one who moves the boundary stone to prosper. Sometimes in life, God allows the hungry to remain hungry. Is it fair? Not at all. What Job is doing here is asking God why. Eliphaz blames it on sin. Job isn’t convinced, so He asks God why. Job understands why when sin is involved, not necessarily when sin isn’t.
• Once again Bildad speaks. This time his speech is silent and his speech is poor. While what he says may be true on some level, it does in no way help comfort Job in his misery and with his questions. In fact, many scholars believe Bildad’s understanding of God falls in line with many Islamic beliefs and teaching about God.
• Job then responds for the eighth time … this time, like the others, is lengthy. This speech is full of sarcasm directed towards his friends who have failed to bring him God’s comfort in his time of need. In doing so, Job speaks from a hurting heart, some great insights into the greatness and the grandeur of God.

What is This Passage Teaching?

• This section of our reading reminds us to keep our eyes focused on God through the hard times. However, what is important is to keep our hearts and minds correctly focused on God. Our moments of hurt and struggle are not a time to be tossed back and forth by every different concept of who God is. What we must do is focus on the one true God, the God we learn about in His World. Eliphaz, Zophar, and Bildad were misinformed about who God is, and because of this they offered no real comfort. True comfort comes from knowing the one true God.

How Can I Apply this Passage to my Life?

• Ask yourself, “Who is it that I cry out to? What do I know about God? Is what I know really who God is?” This is incredibly important. Having a clear picture of who God is will help you understand the comfort and care He is going to provide in your life. 

January 9, 2017 – Job 21-23 – In the Beginning

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Job 21-23. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read His Word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

What Does This Passage Say?

• In our reading today, Job is astounded that his friends continue to blame him and offer no comfort in his time of need. All along Job has held true to be a man who did everything he could to honor God. However, his friends, especially Eliphaz, believe that all that has happened to Job is a direct result of his sins.
• That is precisely where Eliphaz goes here. Job has defended his life … but Eliphaz does not believe him. If it isn’t a sin that we can all see, then it must be a hidden sin. A sin that Job has kept out of sight in the privacy of his own home and his own life.
• Eliphaz believes this because he has a preconceived notion about who God is and why God allows bad things to happen to good people. He believes God’s punishment is because God is judging us for our sins. If Job does not have public sin, then he must at the very least have private sin.
• Job, is bitter, Job is hurting, Job is confused by what God has allowed to happen, but he knows his heart, he knows that he hides no sin, that he stands before God admitting his sins and seeking forgiveness for them. While Job may hurt, he remains faithful to God.

What is This Passage Teaching?

• This passage, along with the book of Job is a good reminder that we all come to God with preconceived ideas about who He is. To some God is a bully on an ant hill with a magnifying glass waiting to smite those who step out of line. To others God is love without justice, and there is no way a loving God would send someone to Hell because of sin. To some we have an incomplete picture, because we have failed to read the whole of Scripture and failed to connect all the dots. This is where Eliphaz is at and it puts him in a very dangerous position.

How Can I Apply this Passage to my Life

• Take a few moments to pray and seek God’s wisdom in your heart and mind about the preconceived ideas you have about God. Perhaps a simple activity would be to make a list of the attributes and characteristics of God you believe are true. Ask God to help you remove the misconceptions and to see Him for who He truly is. 

January 8, 2017 – Job 17-20 – In the Beginning

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Job 17-20. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read His Word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

What Does This Passage Say?

Job is a man with a broken and crushed spirit. He is hurting. He is crying out to God asking for the promises of God, but at the same time revealing to his counselors why he feels and responds the way he does. He is hurting. He is feeling immense pain and he isn’t sure how to fully cope with it … other than to turn to God.

Bildad responds. Perhaps what Bildad says is accurate about God and about the wicked. We know in eternity much of what he says does play out. But again, while it sounds good, I know God’s response later on, and I am not fully sure what to do with it.

Job knows that he is hurting, and he knows he has had questions for God and about God, but he also knows he has not arrogantly blamed God. He does not get why his friends wont sympathize with him. Instead they keep reproaching him. Again, Job does not find this helpful. Job knows who God is, he calls Him his redeemer, and he puts full trust in him.

Our reading today ends with Zophar responding once again. Again Zophar puts much of the blame on Job for his accusatory approach to God. Unfortunately, Job’s three friends are missing Job’s heart in his words.