Presenting Biblical Truths

Joab's Fire Chapter 22 Discussion Question

2012-02-13T11:11:00.000-08:00

Are there times when God is silent?

Read Job 31:35.

"Oh that one would hear me! behold, my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me, and that mine adversary had written a book."

When Job suffered, he defended himself with an accounting of his good works (Job 29-30).

Job 29:12 "Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him."

Doesn't that sound like many today? "Oh, I've done so much for the poor and for the environment."

Job 29:14 "I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem."

Doesn't that sound like someone who says, "I go to church each Sunday and teach my kids right from wrong. I don't drink, I don't smoke, and I don't cheat my neighbor."

And yet, Job agonized over not receiving an answer from God.

What should our response be when God seems silent?

Wait
Be still and know God
Continue to walk in obedience
Continue to pray
Continue to search God's Word
Above all BE PATIENT

Joab's desire for God to answer him raised questions in Dixon's mind. What were these questions?

Why wouldn't God answer a righteous man like Joab?
Dixon even questioned Joab's integrity - did he start the fire?
Who can truly know God?

People watch us and how we respond to hardships. Trials reveal the depths of our faith. What we do under those circumstances will have an effect on those around us.

What is your trial saying about your faith, and what is your reaction to your hardship saying about God to those around you?

Read Hosea 6:6

"For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings."

How can we show mercy when we are the ones going through the trial?

By how we respond to people - those who criticize us, or judge us, or despitefully use us, or who might irritate us when we are hurting.
By looking past ourselves to their needs. Even when we are going through a trial, if we can set aside our hurts for a moment and look at how another might be hurting, we can extend to them the mercy God is showing us at that time. And, often when we do this, it helps give us some relief.

How can we show the knowledge of God during our trial?

First, stay in God's Word
Remain faithful in prayer
Let the peace of God prevail in you - stop thinking negative, rest in the Lord, trusting Him to take you through the fire.
Our answers to people's questions - We don't have to be holier than they. It is all right to admit that we are hurting, but through our words, we can show them where our trust lies.

Consider Psalm 3. This was written when David fled from Absalom his son. Note, that David did not react to Absalom, or to any of his enemies, by seeking vengeance. He was a great example of trusting God by turning the other cheek, of being willing to endure hardship for the well-being of even his enemies.

"Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me. Many there be which say of my soul, there is no help for him in God. Selah."

David admits he's got a problem. He admits that he is suffering at the hand of those that hate him.

"But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head."

David acknowledges that God is his shield. Does that mean God is stopping the fiery darts? No. Does it mean that David will not suffer an attack from the enemy? No. It means that David is secure behind God. Whatever the onslaught is, David can trust God to protect him. I think it is important to note that we, as humans, tend to look at the physical aspect of life. What we see or touch or smell or hear. We forget, often, that there is another dimension of greater magnitude than our physical senses can discern. The spiritual dimension.

Paul talks of it in Romans 8:38-39.

"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

And again in Ephesians 6:12.

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

Our flesh happens to be a battle ground. We might feel physical pain. We might be tempted in our flesh. However, the victory is not found in the flesh. Victory is found in faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for our redemption from our sins.

So, yes, we suffer. But because of our faith in Jesus Christ, we are shielded. The enemy may attack our flesh. He may tempt us. But he can never defeat us, because Christ's shed blood covers us, like a shield.

Ephesians 6:16 "Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked."

Note in this verse that God says "the fiery darts of the wicked." That includes people who are wicked, not just Satan, not just the devils or rulers of darkness.

Let's go back to Psalm 3:3.

"But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head."

David ran from his son. He ran from Saul. He, a valiant warrior, killer of Goliath and of the thousands. Why? Because he considered God his glory.

Yes, in the flesh, David was probably a skillful fighter. But he didn't seek his own glory. He sought God's. He didn't take things into his own hands. He waited for God. In all honesty, I struggle with this. I have a tendency to run ahead of God. Waiting on Him is not my strong point. But I know that when I do, the end results blow me away. To God be all glory, honor, and praise.

In conclusion:

Waiting on the Lord is key to revealing our faith. Yes, people may question why we are not taking action. Yes, they may lay blame. Yes, they may even desert you. But God won't. Our answer is not in this world. Our answer is not in this dimension. Our lives are vapors. We are blind to what goes on beyond our limited vision. Only when we trust God can we navigate through this physical life, through the enemy's realm.

Was there a time in your life where God seemed silent, but when you look back, you can see where He was working or perhaps the lesson He wanted you to learn?

Joab’s Fire Chapter 21 Discussion Questions

2012-01-31T13:07:00.001-08:00

In this chapter, Abbadon works deceit. Playing on what little Dixon knows of God and the bitterness he has against Him, Abbadon describes God in a way that would appeal to Dixon.

How very typical of Satan. By using a person's own emotional reactions to life and God to distort that person's view of God, Satan attempts to turn that person away from the Almighty and Sovereign Lord Jehovah.

Praise God for His great patience, mercy, and grace.

Despite how wretched and rank-smelling we are in our sin, the great Creator, Lord of the vast universe and King of all, proved His love for us by taking our sin upon Himself at the cross. If He loved us enough to do this, He loves us enough to see us through our troubles.

This All-powerful, All-knowing, Omnipresent God is interested in each of us, and while He doesn't promise to take us out of the water or out of the fire, He does promise to be with us. We must trust that He knows how to use even the worst of situations to purify our faith.

Read Job 40:6-9.

"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? Has thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?"

Interesting to note that God answers Job with the same accusation-type statements as Job had for God in chapter 10:4-5. Job says:

“Hast thou eyes of flesh? Or seest thou as man seeth? Are thy days as the days of man? Are thy years as man’s days, that thou enquirest after mine iniquity, and searchest after my sin?"

In other words, Are you a man that you can understand how a man feels? And God says in 40:9, “Hast thou an arm like God? Or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?”

Job, in his anguish, had an inaccurate perception of God. He questioned God's justice and understanding based upon his own understanding of God.

We lack understanding of who God is. We are minute in our intellect and incapable of knowing all His ways. Thus we must live by faith.

Read Acts 17:22-28.

"Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.

"For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an alter with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.

"God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;

"Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;

"And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

"that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from everyone of us:

"For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring."

We only need to look at the vastness and the greatness of creation to know that God is superior to us. How dare we think evil of Him.

God is not a big 'sugar daddy' in the sky. God is not here to cater to our every want and desire.

God does not need to listen to us. He does not need to provide for us. He does not need us at all.

However, God has chosen to love us. He has chosen to be merciful to us. He has chosen to give us grace.

How vain of us to think that we can demand anything from Him.

And yet, He tells us that we can ask anything of Him. He tells us to bring our requests before Him. He does desire to help us...we who are less than worms when compared to God.

If we could grasp how utterly despicable we are in our sin (past, present, and future), we might begin to grasp the magnitude of His sacrifice when He took upon Himself our sins and died on the cross in our place.

Have you ever held a baby on your lap who soiled his diaper, his clothes and you? Imagine every baby in the world sitting on your lap doing this and you might have a clearer picture of what Christ bore on the cross for us.

If we measured our situation in life against the stench of our sin and the tremendous love God showed us when He took that stench upon Himself, maybe we'd not find our situation quite so unbearable.

If we could learn to let the tremendous gift of salvation overwhelm us, perhaps we'd not be so troubled by our circumstances. Then no amount of devastation would cause us to falter in our faith because God has done the greatest work ever, He has shown us the greatest love ever, in that He gave us salvation.

He, who is far greater than us, while we were in a wretched state, our sins a foul stench, He sought to make us His. He sought us out and drew us to Him with loving arms, with eagerness, with great compassion and sacrifice He made it possible for us to be His children and be forever in His glorious presence.

This time on earth is less than a drop in the bucket of eternity. And yet, God promises us that He will be with us through it. He's not even going to leave us for an instant...for the time it takes that drop to hit the bottom of the bucket.

I John 3:1-2 "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."

Let's look at some of the promises God has made to us:

Isaiah 40:31 "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

Isaih 41:10 "Fear not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."

Isaiah 43:2 "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned: neither shall the flame kindle upon thee."

John 14:1-3 "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that were I am there ye may be also."

John 14:13-14 "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it."

Hebrews 13:5-6 "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me."

Revelations 2:10 "Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."

Revelations 21:6-7 "And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son."

When the walls are closing in on us, when it seems we will be defeated and our troubles are overwhelming us, we need to remember that we already have the victory. Even the worst case scenario on this earth, for us who believe, cannot touch our eternity.

We can be beaten, burned at the stake, dragged naked from town to town through snow and freezing temperatures (as was done to some women in the 17th century), homeless, without money or a job, and still we are victorious because of what God has made us through His Son and has given us for eternity.

So what can we do in our darkest hour?

Remember who we were before we met our Saviour - our wretched state of sinfulness
Remember at what great cost God reconciled us to Him
Remember this time on earth is fleeting
Rejoice in our salvation
Look not at the whirling storm of circumstance around us but at our great Creator and powerful Heavenly Father.
Read the Bible, meditate on His promises, pray, be thankful and surrender it all to Him.

Joab's Fire Chapter 20 Discussion

2012-01-25T09:32:00.001-08:00

In times of great sorrow and anguish we have a place of safety in the Lord, but we must be willing to go there and treasure that place as better than any other.

Job 10

v2-3 "I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; show me wherefore thou contendest with me. Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked?"

Here we find Job questioning God's actions. He wants God to reveal to him why God is "seizing him by the hair" or "rending his clothes" which is the picture meaning of the Hebrew word for contendest.

Job's language is one of bitterness. "Is it good for you to oppress, to despise the work of your hands and favor the counsel of the wicked?" (verse one Job says he will speak from the bitterness of his soul and here we see him doing so).

Remember that Job is being tested.

If you have ever had an accident where you had lost the ability to walk and then were in therapy, you would know how painful and difficult each step is. This is Job's step of faith. It isn't easy. It is painful. And it is necessary for his walk with the Lord. He has to do this before he can continue with the Lord. A painful step but a necessary one. So yes, he's complaining. He's fighting it. He's crying and screaming and not wanting to go forward because it seems impossible.

But let's keep looking at Job's thoughts.

V 4-6 "Hast thou eyes of flesh? or seest thou as man seeth? Are thy days as the days of man? are thy years as man's days, that thou inquirest after mine iniquity, and searchest after my sin?"

Job questions whether God really understands Job's situation. Have you ever said similar things to God? "You just don't understand, God." And note that it is linked to Job's sense of guilt. Job might be thinking about something he had done that in the eyes of some may have been questionable. Job, in essence, is searching himself to see if there is sin, but not with a perfect eye. He doesn't understand why God, who knows everything about Job, would treat him as such. Job doesn't believe that he has done anything to deserve what he is getting. Job, in verse 15, is full of confusion.

In all of this, what does Job want from God? An explanation as to why God is treating him in this way. And of course, he wanted it to end.

What did Sarah Black in Joab's Fire long for? Comfort, to return to her life in Ontario.

What did her momma symbolize? Comfort and security, peace, a good life.

Where do you retreat to in times of great sorrow and stress?

Do you disappear in a bottle?
Do you delve into comfort foods?
Do you have a favorite pillow you hug?
Do you indulge in a favorite movie?
Do you have a favorite book?
Do you have a trail you hike, a favorite place in nature?
Do you go to a party?
Do you go dancing?

Read Philippians 4:11-12 "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need."

Sarah knew wealth, and now she was experiencing poverty. Not quite homeless, but close enough. Her mind longed to return to the place of safety and comfort she once found in her mother.

Psalm 118:5-9 "I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place. The LORD is on my side: I will not fear: what can man do unto me? The LORD taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes."

Sometimes it seems like such a pat answer to hear, "Just trust God." But the act of trusting God is SOOOO difficult.

The best place to run to when you're feeling all is at lost is to the foot of the cross, where by grace Christ made it possible for you to become the child of the Almighty, All-powerful, Lord Jehovah. Go to where you can pray and read the Bible and worship God. Where you can do as James tells us in James 4:7-10.

"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up."

What great promises these verses offer us:

That the devil will flee when we submit ourselves to God and resist the devil.
That God will draw close to us when we draw close to Him.
That when we look at our hands and hearts and cleanse them (that is, consecrate--declare sacred--ourselves and abstain in the future from wrongdoing) before God, when we acknowledge who we are as sinful, double minded, pitiful creatures and who God is as perfect, holy, and almighty--when we humble ourselves before God--He will lift us up.

When I worked in British Columbia, I would go to the Golden Ears Park to a rock overlooking the Upper Falls. There, I would settle surrounded by the majesty of God's creation--the mountains, the valley, the river, the falls--and commune with God. It was the perfect place.

Today, I find anywhere is fine, because God is always with me, but often I curl up in my green chair with my Bible when no one is around. There I can sing to the Lord, I can pray and pour out my heart, and I can read and be comforted.

Though God might be silent, His presence is still there. There's a difference between God's silence and absence, and God's silence but His presence. If we have believed in our heart that Jesus is the Son of God who died for our sins, was buried, and rose again, God will never leave us. However, there are times when the communion with God is not there, because we have entertained sin.

Sometimes, He simply remains silent for a period, even as He was with Job, so that we can work on that painful step of faith. He pushes us out of our comfort zone and stands back, waiting, watching, wanting us to see that yes, we can trust Him even in that darkest hour, even when we walk through hellfire...we can take that step, even when we feel deserted by Him.

Job said, in the midst of all his pain and anger and confusion, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him." (Job 13:15).

Job didn't lose faith. He still trusted God. And God still saw him, still knew all about him and what he was enduring. Job had walked an upright life and in this verse we see him determining to maintain that way before God.

We are in an even better position than Job, because when we are saved, we receive his Holy Spirit permanently. God's presence is always there for us, and so is His comfort. I have been in some dark places in my life, but always, in my darkest hour, in my greatest need, He was there, and when I sought Him, His Holy Spirit did comfort. The situation might not have gone away, but His presence made the situation seem a little less overwhelming.

Rather than running to other sources of comfort, wouldn't it be much better to run to the ultimate source of comfort? Even in His silence, trusting in God is far better than drink or food or movies or books or any other place we go to get away from our situation.

Yes, it takes work to resist the temptation to seek comfort elsewhere, but the work is worth it in the end. There is no greater place to be than in the presence of God.

Joab's Fire Chapter 19 Discussion Questions

2012-01-23T10:10:00.000-08:00

When we demonstrate mercy to our brother or sister in the Lord, we make the Gospel appealing to the unsaved.

In the last chapter, Dixon left the soddy angered over the way Nathaniel and Barty treated Joab. Nathaniel had indicated he'd been listening to Abbadon, who suggested that Joab was experiencing this because of some hidden sin.

We then looked at the churches of Galatia. When Paul first took the Gospel to them, they’re attitude toward him was one of grace and mercy. When the Judaizers came and told the churches they needed to do this and that, in essence saying that Paul hadn’t spoken the whole truth, they followed the Judaizers.

Paul’s response was, “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?” Gal 4:16. It would seem, therefore, that armed with ‘new information’ on how one was to be saved the churches of Galatia took on a judgmental attitude toward Paul and his teaching.

We learned last week that our response to someone who suffers should not be to despise them and judge them. When we judge another we are not esteeming them. We are holding ourselves above them. When we judge a brother or sister, holding them to a standard we set, we enslave ourselves to that standard as well, even as a judge must obey the laws he upholds. Our respond should be in humility and with love.

Love looks for the good and doesn’t dwell on problems. Love, while it rejoices in truth, thinks no evil. If we recognize that we have weaknesses too, and choose to love our friend that suffers, we’ll have a better testimony before the world.

In chapter 19, Joab chastises Nathaniel and Barty.

Who was Joab concerned with in this chapter? Dixon

What did Joab want from his friends? Comfort

Let’s go back to Galatians.

In Galatians 5:13 Paul writes: “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve on another.”

When we accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour, we are no longer bound to the law, and do not have to pay the fine for our sins…which is death. We are freed. We can now choose to do right without living in fear of, if we do wrong, we will go to hell. That is a result of God’s grace and mercy.

Just as we have received that grace and mercy, so we should extend it to our sister in the Lord. Does this mean we do not correct someone when we know the fault? No.

Read Galatians 6:1-3

“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.”

First, we need to know what that fault is. We shouldn't automatically assume a fault. We mustn't listen to heresay, believe it, and then conclude a person suffers because of what we heard said was a fault or weakness.

Then we need to have a spirit of meekness, being careful that we don’t fall into temptation.

What might we be tempted by?

to commit the same sin or have the same fault as the one we attempt to help.
Pride. To consider ourselves better Christians than the man we seek to help.

Sometimes we are not aware that we do this. We go into the "counseling" session and talk about how we have gone through the same problem and how we didn't allow ourselves to struggle as our friend is. Or we start patting ourselves on the back for such wise words coming from our mouths, and forget to give God the glory.

When we have set out to restore that friend in a spirit of meekness we are able to help him.

But here, in our story, neither Nathaniel nor Barty know what sin Joab may have committed. They can’t restore, they can only assist, comfort, love.

The churches of Galatia showed Paul compassion when he was with them. They desired to help him in his infirmities. It wasn’t until after they listened to those who spoke against Paul and the truth did they acted as though Paul was their enemy. At least, this is how it seems.

How often have we treated someone as an ‘enemy’ shunning them because we have judged that their situation is a result of their sin, even when we do not know what that sin might be, when we’ve listened to gossip instead of truth?

How does this look to those who are not saved?

Romans 2:4 tells us that it is God’s goodness that leads us to repentance. His goodness entails kindness and graciousness.

If we desire to have a right testimony before the world, we need to treat our fellow Christian with the same kindness and graciousness—the same goodness. That is how we reflect God in our lives.

Joab's Fire Chapter 18 Does Our Testimony Stand the Test?

2012-01-20T08:49:00.000-08:00

When we stand in judgment of a suffering brother (or sister) in the LORD, how will unbelievers view this?

ungracious?
hypocritical?
judgmental?

Does how we respond to another's suffering affect our testimony to the unbeliever? Yes.

How did Sergeant Dixon, an unsaved man, respond to Nathaniel's accusations of Joab? He got angry and said, "Enough."

Nathaniel had been listening to gossip and drawing his own conclusions as to why Joab suffered. He assumed Joab was guilty of something, and therefore what Joab suffered was God's judgment.

Nathaniel probably thinks he's helping Joab. His intentions are to get Joab right with God...the problem is he doesn't know for sure Joab was 'wrong' with God to begin with...only assuming it. How often have we done the same?

How often do we twist a situation or something someone says, and determine that person has sinned, or is in someway lacking in knowledge of how to be right with God? Woe is us when we take on the role of superiority, when we think we have a superior knowledge of God over another--especially when we don't know, can never know, all the facts.

In Romans 14:10 Paul writes:

But why doest thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

"Set at nought" means to utterly despise, to find contemptible, to least esteem.

The parable of the praying pharisee and publican in Luke 18:9 "And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others." The Greek word 'despised' in this verse is the same as the one used for 'set at nought'. By the way, who was justified in this parable? The publican.

Romans 14:3 says, "Let not him that eateth despise not him that eateth not: and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth."

I Corinthians 16:11 says, "Let no man therefore despise him: but conduct him forth in peace, that he may come unto me: for I look for him with the brethren." Paul was exhorting the Corinthians to accept Timothy.

Galatians 4:14 says, "And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus."

How do we respond to another's suffering? Maybe they have fallen into temptation through a trial and sorrow because of sin. Our heart toward that person shouldn't be one of condemnation (especially if we do not know that person's heart), because we too are sinners.

What if we do know the sin? Restoration happens when we acknowledge the sin, but look to love that person even as Christ loves us, though we sin.

Yes, a person must repent and sometimes suffer consequences, but with prayer, a watchful eye and a ready hand, we need to be prepared to grasp their hand when they reach out for help out of their sin.

No gossip. That's judging. Just love.

When someone is hurting, whether by someone else's sin or their own or just a trial, they must endure, and we need to watch our reaction.

Come with me to Galatia, a region of Asia Minor. Prior to visiting this region, the Apostle Paul had a sharp dispute with Barnabas regarding John Mark, who had left them on an earlier mission trip.

Paul chose Silas and began his travels. I'm sure he hurt some from the dispute, but God was gracious, and Paul was able to return to some of the cities he'd witnessed in before, confirming the churches. I wonder if people asked, "Where is Barnabas?" And he would have to retell the story. If I were him, it would feel like reopening up a wound every time I would have to tell the story.

Paul finds Timothy, a young man that would become very close to him. I'm certain Timothy was a comfort to Paul.

The apostle then travels to the region of Galatia, north of the cities of Lystra and Derbe and the other places he'd been with Barnabas. Wherever he went, he would deal with opposition. He would deal with people who found fault with his apostleship, questioning whether he truly had the authority to say what he said.

While in Galatia, Paul shares the Gospel and the freedom we have in Christ.

Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as ye are: ye have not injured me at all. Galatians 4:12

Paul through infirmity in the flesh, preached to them the Gospel. We don't know what that infirmity was. We can assume by verse 15 that it had something to do with his eyes. Paul expressed how they did not despise the temptation, or trial, he experienced which was in his flesh (verse 14).

When we experience such physical trials we can easily behave in ways we wish not, lashing out in anger out of frustration or pain, not serving another the way we should, and so on.

But Paul said these people of Galatia received him and would have "done anything" to help him.

This was how they responded.

Note: in Galatians 4, Paul is chiding them for allowing themselves to be under bondage again by turning to the observations of "days, and months, times, and years" (v. 10).

In other words, putting themselves back under the law (v. 21), not under grace.

In Romans 14, we read how we are not to judge each other, thus despising our brothers.

The people of Galatia, when the accepted Paul did not despise him, though perhaps because of his physical infirmities they could have. They could have judged those infirmities as a result of Paul not following the law, as the Judaisers would have him do. No, the Galatians esteemed him.

When we judge another we are not esteeming that person. We are holding ourselves above them and often do so because they do not measure up to what we have set up as right and good. We think a Christian shouldn't eat meat and they think they should. We then despise them because they are not agreeing with us.

Paul challenges the Galatians with respect to the setting up of laws as measures of your Christianity...as appeasements to keep in God's good graces. They were being told they had to do this, that, and the other thing. By listening to these legalistic positions, they were despising Paul and what he said. Galatians 4:16 he says, "Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?"

He told them they were no longer under the law but free.

When we judge another, we not only are putting that person under the law in our minds, but ourselves as well. (Spend some time reading Matthew 7:1-2).

When Paul was with the Galatians, they did not judge him.

BUT

Others came along and taught them things, putting the Galatians back into captivity, working against Paul's teaching, thus making them to treat Paul like an enemy.

This is what Nathaniel did to Joab. He listened to Abbadon, let the thoughts Abbadon raised ruminate in his heart, and then treated Joab like an enemy.

When we judge a brother or sister, holding them to a standard we have set as 'the sign of a true Christian', we enslave ourselves to that standard. Are we sure this is where we want to be?

Stop judging. Stop gossiping. Stop hinting that the person suffering is somehow a wretched sinner not worthy of grace. Because so is your state.

Better we humble ourselves and act in charity--in love--so that we do not hurt the person we are tempted to judge and despise.

7For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.

8For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.

9For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.

10But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

11For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.

12So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

13Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.

Romans 14:7-13

Joab's Fire, Chapter 17 - We Can't Change God

2012-01-17T09:34:00.000-08:00

I have been delinquent in posting our Bible study notes for over a month, and I hope you can forgive me. With the Christmas season now past, I will be getting back on my feet.

So let's pick up where we left off, Joab's Fire chapter 17.

We are not so great that we can change God. However, God is so great that He can change us.

1. Have you ever closely examined your motivations for serving God? Consider Malachi 1:6-7:

A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?

Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible.

Hoo. Note, they did not ask about whether the bread was polluted, rather they asked how did they had polluted God.

The priests were to offer the bread of God (see Leviticus 21-22). Catch the significance of this. Jesus is the bread of life. They knew what God was saying. The physical bread wasn't the issue. What they thought, their attitude toward serving God, was. "In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible."

In the following verses of Malachi 1, God lays out how they have fallen short of the service to which they were called. They had offered imperfect sacrifices.

2. In what ways can we offer polluted and imperfect worship and service to God?

impure or selfish motivations
pride
complaining about how things are done
questioning authority

We can be complex creatures having multiple motivations for what we do, sometimes deceiving ourselves into believing we are serving for the right reason. Sometimes we serve God in order to receive an answer to our prayers. We start attending church more faithfully, start reading our Bible, start praying more frequently. These are good things, but we can't change God. We aren't to bargain with Him.

However, God can change us. He can strip away the wrong desires: the pride, the selfishness, and so on. And if we are willing, He can help us love Him more, thereby changing us to become rightly motivated to serve Him.

NOTE: Serving Him boils down to pleasing Him and giving Him glory. It's not about how many souls we lead to the LORD--that's the Holy Spirit's work. It's not about tasks performed and accomplished. IT IS about simply loving Him enough to sacrifice everything for Him. Even our deepest desires.

3. Can 0ur motivations ever be 100% pure and holy? When we recognize that we are easily deceived and tempted, we can humble ourselves before God.

In James 4, James tells us how imperfect motivations come from the lusts that war within us. Consider verse 6:

But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

Notice He doesn't respond to his accusation of our being ruled by lusts with a number of laws. Rather, He wants us to submit to Him, our Holy Father. Let's look at verses 7-10:

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

The list God does give us:

Resist the devil
Draw near to God
Cleanse our hands
Purify our hearts
Sorrow over our sin
Humble ourselves

Then God will lift you up.

Let's look at David. He's been confronted by the prophet Nathan about his sin with Bathesheba.

Psalm 51:4 shows us how he submits to God.

Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

Psalm 51:11 shows us how he desires to draw near to God.

Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

David saw God remove His spirit from King Saul. No doubt, he's considering what happened to the former king.

We see David desiring to be cleaned and purified in Psalm 51: 2, 7 and 10 (take your Bible and look them up). We know that he sorrowed over his sin (verses 1 and 17). And this psalm reveals to us his humbled state. Oh, that we would learn to do the same.

In Job 1:5, we see Job's reason for sacrificing for his sons.

It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.

Interesting to note that Job's wife told him to curse God and die, yet Job saw the importance of offering sacrifices to cover their sins. He knew their relationship with God could be restored even if they sinned.

We see no indication God despised Job's offerings. In fact, God sees him as a perfect and upright man.

However, Job himself expressed his fear in Job 3:26, thereby revealing a crack in his faith. A crack that needed to be restored.

There is nothing wrong with performing good deeds. We must do these.

However, we must also be careful not to put trust in our good deeds as a way to keep from experiencing trouble, as though by our works we can make God bless us and keep us from harm.

Our reaction to trouble, whether a result of our own sin or an attack of Satan, reveals to the world the depth of our faith. In the eyes of the world, our reaction is a reflection of God--distorted or otherwise.

If trouble comes from our sin, then our humility, shown by our willingness to accept the consequences, and a fervent repentance shown by our passion now turned to pleasing God through our worship and love for Him will cause some to consider how great our God is.

If trouble comes by some other way (an attack of Satan on our lives, perhaps) then our humble acceptance and faith in God's presence in our lives will cause some to be in awe of God--especially if we give Him glory for any good, and continue with a heart of gratitude and thankfulness.

While God does bless those who walk with Him, those who seek to live a righteous life before Him, we mustn't presume that God owes us those blessings just because we perform certain rituals or work good deeds. Then we are treating Him like a good luck charm.

No, we shouldn't try to bargain with God. We can't change God by our good deeds, but God can change us.

Joab's Fire Chapter 16 Discussion

2011-12-05T05:50:00.001-08:00

In this chapter, Sarah Black sits in the soddy, listening to her burned husband quote passages of Job in his fevered state. She's reached her limit, and yells, "Silence!" Then, just as Joab quoted Job, so she quotes Job's wife, "Why don't you just curse God and die?"

Can you see the resemblance between Sarah's loss and that of Job's wife?

Like Job's wife, Sarah has lost her son and all her possessions in rapid succession. Job's wife lost her children, their livelihood was destroyed and her husband's physical state left him incapable of providing for her. Both Sarah and Job's wife face an uncertain future.

What do these two women's words reveal to us about their state of mind and heart?

They are at the end of their faith. They are angry with God. In chapter 2, we saw how Sarah loved her house and how she had risen to a position of respect and perhaps envy in Surbank. We are shown her pride.

After her son is killed, their farm is destroyed by fire, and her husband is left with terrible burns. Sarah's world falls apart. Her pride teeters at the top of the pile of rubble this world values and, she is about to come toppling down.

At this point, Sarah has a choice. She can accept what God has allowed into her life, even as Job did in Job 2:10.

"...What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?..."

OR she can be as Job's wife and despise God and Job for what had befallen her.

"Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die."

Sarah chooses the latter.

When you hurt, have you ever lashed out in anger at an innocent person? You're not truly angry with the person but with the situation you have found yourself in.

From the perspective of a listener, Sarah's words point to condemnation her for having a lack of faith, but she is not the only one who has spoken words that lead to condemnation. When Peter followed Jesus after his arrest, he denied Christ and spoke words that would cause his heart to condemn him.

The fact is Christians sin. We say things we should never say. We do things we should never do. We think thoughts we should never think.

But Romans 8:1 says:

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

There is a difference between condemnation and consequences.

For anyone who is born again, eternal condemnation will not happen. Christ paid the price and His shed blood covers us. We will not experience eternal condemnation.

But if we sin, we will suffer consequences. Sometimes that consequence is simply broken fellowship with God. Sometimes it is a struggle against bitterness of heart. More often than not, it has a much broader affect than an inward one--it affects those around us and brings us great shame, perhaps leaving our lives in a shamble.

How we deal with that sin, and the consequences of that sin, will reveal the condition of our heart, the quality of our repentance, and our knowledge of God.

Even as Christians, we can have proud hearts. We can become adulterers by our desire to be friends with the world and placing the things of this world ahead of God.

James 4:4-5 says:

"Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?"

Sarah placed in her heart her home and her farm, and perhaps even her son, above God. How do we know this? Because when she lost it all, she was angry with God.

So now her sin is revealed. The fall came. Is her relationship with God destroyed forever?

No. Praise God, He loves us and desires a close relationship with us.

We may commit the worse sin ever, but God still desires to be reconciled to us. Peter denied Christ, but Christ reinstated him in John 21. While God desires reconciliation, do we with Him?

I have listened to many people who have sinned (even myself). Some become angry with the church or pastor who dared to hold them accountable. Some become angry with God because they have suffered for their mistakes. Some say they know they are forgiven, that they are saved, but are unwilling to forgive themselves, and therefore find it difficult to move ahead with their walk with the Lord.

What of the state of our repentance? Often our repentance comes from a fear of loss. We quickly repent because we don't want to suffer the consequences of our action. Sometimes we repent because we are told that is what we are to do, but we stall at that point, unable to move forward with our relationship with God. Sometimes we don't repent at all.

When we truly repent, we recognize there will be consequences, that we deserve those consequences, and we are willing to accept those consequences. If we are able to accept the consequences, and continue to worship God, we demonstrate humility. We demonstrate an understanding of our lowly position, brought on by sin, and the vastness of God's mercy and love to even desire a right fellowship with Him. We demonstrate that God is judge, and as judge, He has the right to execute justice as He sees fit.

We may never be allowed to serve God in the same way we did before. Our sin may have resulted in our inability to minister to or witness to the person we offended, but if we have confessed to God and humbly repented, being willing to accept what He allows as the consequence, we can have our fellowship with God restored. While people may not be able or willing to forgive us, the Almighty God is capable of true forgiveness.

We may sin and fall, but God forgives. Does this mean we can return to that sin? No. True repentance means we will turn away from the sin, desiring to never be held captive by it again. We'll do all we can to fight against it, because our fellowship with God is of greater importance to us.

Even if we lost much as a result of our sin, we can still please God from the moment we repent. We may not be allowed to do some of the things we could have done before we sinned, but in our character, in our humility, in our worship we can bring God pleasure.

God loves you. God desires you to fellowship with Him. You were created for His good pleasure. As Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery:

"...Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more." John 8:11b

Look for God's mercy and grace. Hope for it. But be willing to accept the consequences and be willing to worship God anyway.

"But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded." James 4:6-8

Our fellowship with God must be of greater importance to us than any fellowship we have with man or this world. We obtain that fellowship when we humbly submit ourselves to God. Then our knowledge of God increases in beauty and comfort.

Praise be to God, our Lord and Saviour, for blessing us with forgiveness. "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." Psalm 51:17

For further study, read Psalm 51 and see how David turned to God.

Joab's Fire Chapter 15 Discussion

2011-11-16T09:36:00.000-08:00

In this chapter Dixon interrogates Abbadon, hoping to discover positive proof that Abbadon started the fire, but none is found. Abbadon then turns the table and hints at knowledge of a past war crime Dixon committed with respect to the Duck Lake Massacre. Dixon recalls what his hatred of Louis Riel led to and how it caused him to act foolishly.

Last week, we looked at Job's response to his prattling friends. We saw his self-righteousness, and his desire to return to a time when everyone respected him, not doubting his 'spirituality' or his close relationship with God.

Have you ever despised someone, as Dixon did, to the point that you sought to do him wrong? Have you ever been so frustrated with someone that you've lashed out at them, as Job did?

Sometimes we don't realize we are seeking to harm someone who has in some way offended us. Sometimes we simply break fellowship (or as they said in the 19th Century, "cut them"), or we say things behind their back, or we reply to them sarcastically. The list can go on.

Anytime we have ill-will toward another we have tremendous potential to do that person harm through our actions or words.

I've been reading Calvin and Hobbes with my son. In this one strip, Calvin calls a girl a nasty name. She goes away in a huff. His conscience pricks him, and he discusses the matter with his stuffed tiger, Hobbes. He decides he needs to apologize to the girl, but the girl is not very receptive. After exhorting a great deal of self-control to keep from saying more offensive things, he admits to her that he should not have called her names. She accepts his apology, and Calvin takes off to play. The girl then shouts after him, suggesting that she felt he needed to grovel a little more.

Aren't we all like that little girl sometimes? Not willing to accept an apology because we feel the person hasn't felt the full pain of remorse necessary to deserve our forgiveness. Whoa. Can you imagine if God treated us the same way? Wanting those who have hurt us to experience that pain is the same as seeking revenge.

In I Samuel 24, David is given the opportunity to slay Saul, the very man who sought to kill David. But David's heart smote him for even cutting off the skirt of Saul's robe. He says to men:

"The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD's anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD." I Samuel 24:6

Later, when he confesses to Saul what he did, David says:

"The LORD judge between me and thee, and the LORD avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee." I Samuel 24:12

How does David's response compare to Dixon's response to Louis Riel? David trusted God to avenge him.

Dixon hated Louis Riel and sought to bring the rebel harm. Is there a better way to obtain justice than to seek revenge? When David had the opportunity to harm King Saul, he didn't take it. He let God take care of it.

In I Samuel 25, David is presented with another opportunity to seek revenge. This time of Nabal, a "churlish" man who would not extend hospitality to David, even though David and his men had protected the man's land and shepherds. David set out to take revenge, but Nabal's wise wife, Abigail, stopped David.

Read Abigail's words:

"Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send. Now therefore, my lord, as the lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the LORD hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thin own hand, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal....for the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the LORD, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days.

"Yet a man is risen to pursue thee and to seek thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling. And it shall come to pass, when the LORD shall have done too my lord according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel; that this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that thou has shed blood causeless, or that my lord avenged himself: but when the LORD shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thine handmaid." I Samuel 25:25-31

David repented and blessed her and said:

"For in very deed, as the LORD God of Israel liveth, which hath kept me back from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely there had not been left unto Nabal..." I Samuel 25:34

God gave him away out. Later in the chapter we learn that "the LORD smote Nabal, that he died" (I Samuel 25:38).

Revenge is never for us to take, no matter how strong our inclination. Trusting God when others do us or our loved ones harm can be a tremendous challenge. As Abigail pointed out to David, doing so can leave a mark on our lives.

Joab's Fire Chapter 14 Discussion

2011-11-08T09:07:00.000-08:00

In this chapter, Sarah Black believes God has turned His back on her family and wonders how God could do this to them. She longs to return to her former life in Ontario, just as Job longed to return to his former life in Job 29.

Mrs. Clumpit comments on the unpredictability of the prairie weather. A statement reflecting our lack of control over the elements. After all, we are not God.

We possess some knowledge of God. Some knowledge we forget and some we chose to forsake. In times of hardship, we cling to what we do know. Yet, we must be prepared to acknowledge the great void in our understanding in order to receive what God wants to reveal to us.

In Job 25, Bildad attempts to declare to Job the sovereignity of God before whom man cannot be justified.

Tired of their prattling, Job stiffens his back and spews out what he knows. I don't know about you, but I have done the same. My ire rises to eruption when someone says to me, "Now Lynn,..." with the intention of telling me something I already know. Say that to me and be prepared for the cannon blast I'll give you. Sorry. I know it is not right, but that is what I do.

In Job 26, Job declares all that he knows of God:

God is everywhere
God is creator
God is unsearchable

In Job 27, Job declares his righteousness and tells his friends, "I will teach you..." (v. 11). In essence, he professes to know more about God than they do and perhaps more than he really does.

In Job 28, he speaks of his understanding of the natural things and acknowledges that wisdom and understanding come from God.

I understand Job's position here. I feel I have a certain understanding of God. I don't want someone whom perhaps I don't feel has a full grasp of the situation or whose viewpoint, doctrines, or values are not in full agreement with me, telling me what I already know or speaking what I think they know not.

The problem is the fire for that cannon comes from the pride within me and it is ignited by the words of another , which I interpret as arrogance on their part. The reaction isn't right, whether my interpretation of the situation is or isn't.

We all have a certain knowledge of God. We're at different stages in our faith and in our understanding. And it is from that point, God desires to move us forward, but first, sometimes He has to reveal to us what we do not know.

Look at Job 38:1-3.

"Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me."

God is about to reveal to Job what he doesn't know about God.

Let's look at the background of this for a moment.

A whirlwind in Scripture is a tempest or storm, perhaps with the strength of a hurricane. For me, I think of it as a tornado, having personally seen the power and destruction of one. This is a frightening experience. A great picture of the power of God.

Imagine being Job and seeing this, having just experienced destruction already.

In Job 1, he learns of the Sabeans killing all his oxen, asses, and servant tending them;
then "fire from God" burns his sheep the the servants tending them;
then the Chaldeans steals his camels and kills the servants tending them;
then a great wind collapses his son's house on his children.

Wouldn't you be afraid at this new tempest from which God speaks?

God says, "Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?"

Ooh. God's direct, isn't He? To darkeneth counsel means to hinder the truth. In other words, Job's defense--his cannon blast, "I will teach you..." was hindering God's counsel.

My cannon blasts have done the same. Yes, perhaps at the moment of the blast I am a victim or I am standing in defense of my actions or words or feelings. In the eyes of some, I might even be justified. But I know that the blast hurt another and hindered God's counsel. Whose to say what the person receiving the blast might be suffering from? What she might be struggling with?

Maybe her words were without knowledge, but the spirit of my blast was wrong. It darkened God's counsel.

When we are hurting, lashing out may be a natural response, but it isn't right.

God continued to tell Job what Job could not know. He rebuked him. Job did have some understanding of God, but he had much to learn.

From this study, I am humbled. I have learned that I do more harm when I retaliate to someone's words then if I humbly accept them, even if I do not agree or believe them to be wrong.

We may have been rebuked by God, but we can have a right response to Him. Read Job 42:1-6.

"Then Job answered the LORD, and said, "I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee. Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. 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."

Note how Job repeated God's words. He answers God's question, "Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?"

He acknowledges God's challenge to answer Him. "I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me." Perhaps he repeats these words in the pain of realization that he had no right to demand God answer him (see Job 31:35).

He's confessed, and now he repents.

From trials we learn how weak we are, how frail our life is. We can stand in pride and resist God, refusing to hear from Him. Or we can be like Job, and humble ourselves.

Justifying ourselves is so easy to do when we hurt. It's a form of protection, a type of shield, though flimsy. Peace doesn't come by justifying ourselves. Usually it brings contention and hurts those who are trying, perhaps through their own frailties, to comfort us or help us find a reason or solution.

How we respond to others words, whether they are right or wrong can either hinder God's work or give room for Him to do miracles in another's life.

God forgave Job and restored to Job twice as much as he had before. Maybe in this life we will not have that restoration, but we will in Heaven. Still, there is something to be said about letting go, of not clinging to what we had in the past, as Sarah was, as a source of hope. When we let go of the past, let go of our striving, and let go of our lives, we find peace. In God's discourse to Job, we see we have no control, but we see God does. We need to let go of our 'righteousness' and of our ideas of what we need, and let God lead us...stop striving with Him.

Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

Psalm 16:11

Joab's Fire Ch 13 Q2 Self-Righteousness.

2011-10-25T08:47:00.001-07:00

Have you ever been caught in your own self-righteousness?

When I started work at a ranch camp I hadn't met all the board and didn't know what they did for a living. One evening we were "chewing the fat" around the table and for some reason, which I cannot remember, I blurted out, "Why do all plumbers wear their pants so low that you can see their cracks when they bend down?"

Some roared with laughter while others gasped in great shock and alarm. A kind person leaned over to me and pointed across the table. "I'd like to introduce you to someone who is one of our board members. He is a plumber."

I was mortified. Caught in my own self-righteous judgment that all plumbers were uncouth. I'm thanking the Lord that this man was very gracious and forgave me for my rude outburst.

There have been many times in my life when I thought or spoke in such a manner that demonstrated I considered myself a much better person than another or too good to be with another. I am ashamed that I have behaved that way, and if I have ever done this to you, I hope you will be kind enough to forgive me.

In John 9, we read about a man whom the disciples assumed was blind because of someone's sin.

Read verse 3:

Jesus answered, "Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him." (v.3)

What did Jesus say was the reason for the man's blindness? So that God's works should be made manifest in him.

Jesus heals him. He heals the blind man on a Sabbath day.

Read verse 16:

"Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day."

What were the Pharisees' conclusion about Jesus because He did something they considered, by their traditions, a sin? That Jesus could not be of God.

But we know that Jesus was the Son of God.

Have you ever seen someone do something that is not consistent with your tradition and therefore deemed that person a sinner?

Where I grew up, a coyote is called a "Ky-ute." As a youth, I took such great offense to anyone saying, "coyote," that I immediately considered such a person to be a "greenhorn" or a "city-slicker"---the worst kind of ignorant human you could be, at least that is what I thought.

Now look at me. I'm one of those "city-slickers," and I married the worst kind of "greenhorn": someone from Ontario, Canada who dares to call a Ky-ute, a coyote. God truly does have a sense of humor.

Proverbs 16:2 says:

"All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits."

Sometimes we talk the talk, but we don't walk the walk.

Let's face it. It's not easy to walk the walk. It means getting our feet and hands dirty and willingly associating with people we might consider sinners who deserve their lot in life.

We think of ourselves as basically good people. Have all our ducks in a row. Go to church three times a week. Tithe regularly. Do what we think is expected of us.

Then we meet up with a "sinner."

This "sinner," we'll call her Loulu, was led to the Lord by a street ministry from a community church in San Francisco. For whatever reason, Loulu finds her way to American Canyon, pushing her shopping cart, full of all her belongings, including the trappings of rape, drug use, prostitution, alcohol, and other things that have been a part of her life.

Loulu passes by our church with its nice steeple and the friendly sign that says, "Where Burdens Are Lifted." She stops. She doesn't know much about churches except that the lady who told her Jesus had died for her sins, was buried and rose again would want her to go. LouLu decides she will go to this church.

So she heads down to the recycling center to submit the bottles and cans she'd collected and gets just enough money to go to the thrift store to purchase a dress. She'd seen people at fancy churches in San Francisco, and they were always dressed up, so she knew she would need to wear a dress to church.

After another day hunting through trash cans, she collects enough bottles to buy a Bible at Walmart. Not sure which one she should purchase, she takes the cheapest, which happens to be a NIV Bible.

One more night sleeping behind the trash bins near Walmart, and it is Sunday morning. She's both excited and nervous. She sneaks into the restroom at Walmart, changes into her new dress, a bright red one that looks like a prom dress castaway, and washes her face, neck, legs, and hands. She attempts to brush her hair, but decides in the end to put on the hat she'd found in the bins at the apartment complex nearby.

With one last look in the mirror, she heads out the door and pushes her shopping cart, with all the burdens life has given her, to 117 Theresa Avenue. She stops and sees all the nice cars go into the parking lot. Then she sees all the pretty people getting out of the vehicles, laughing and chattering with one another as they move to different doors.

She looks at the possessions in her cart. There's the blanket her boyfriend gave her the first night he raped her. There's the fancy bottle from the friend who shared his vodka with her. There's the package of needles the social worker gave her so she could safely shoot herself up. Shame speeds across her face, and she begins to shake. Perhaps she shouldn't go. Perhaps she really isn't worthy of this Christ the nice person told her about.

Drawing in a deep breath, she says, "No. I'm going to do this." So she parks her car in the Napa Junction School parking lot, adjusts her ill-fitting dress, lifts her chin, then marches down the street toward Calvary Baptist Church.

Two women see her come. One winces, then turns to visit with a friend. The other smiles broadly and walks toward her, welcoming her.

The first woman enters her classroom and takes her normal seat. The second woman takes Loulu and tells her to sit down right beside the first woman, then sits down beside Loulu.

The first woman wrinkles her nose, because Loulu smells like she hasn't taken a bath in months, which of course, she hasn't.

The second woman chatters away with Loulu, talking about the weather, asking where Loulu is from.

The class begins and the teacher asks everyone to turn to John 3:16.

Loulu's eyes grow wide. She starts flipping pages in her Bible and looking about, wondering what John 3:16 meant.

The first "good" Christian woman cringes. The second opens her Bible to John 3:16 and shares it with Loulu.

When Sunday School is over, everyone gets up, starts shaking hands and walking away. The first woman, pushes passed Loulu, flagging down a friend. The second woman turns to Loulu, "Would you like to come with me to our worship service? We meet in the other building."

When the service is over, the second woman invites Loulu out for lunch, and listens to Loulu's story, helps Loulu find a place to stay for the night, and begins the long work of helping Loulu grow in the Lord.

Which woman are you? I have to admit that I've been a little of both at some time or another. I'm ashamed to admit there are days I've come to church not wanting to be friendly.

There has been other times when I've attempted to be friendly, but haven't gone far enough. Sometimes opportunity hasn't allowed for this. Other times it is simply because I haven't wanted to take on the responsibility of befriending a needy person. Shame on me.

I've even used the excuse that I'm not qualified to disciple that person - their problems are too big for me; I don't know how to relate to their problems. Shame on me.

You don't need to experience another person's life in order to understand basic human emotions: fear, joy, love, sadness, surprise, anger.

You don't have to be a trained counsellor to listen or to pray or to teach someone from the Bible. You simply need to have that relationship with God first.

The road to 'right living' for Loulu, our homeless lady, will not be easy. She'll suffer and struggle. We would need to be patient and help her along the way. We might have to visit her in rehab or jail. More than anything, we'd have to let the Holy Spirit guide us as we reach out to her.

What about those people who are in our church that we are acquainted with? Are we doing anything to be their friend, their Good Samaritan?

Mrs. Kirkland, in Joab's Fire, knows Sarah Black is a good woman. Mrs. Kirkland even defended Joab, but she does nothing, initially, to help them.

Later on, we will learn that she is embarrassed when she meets Sarah in Mrs. Clumpit's parlor.

Mrs. Kirkland knows what Christian Acts are, but she's unwilling to put them into practice. Perhaps she is too wrapped up in her own little world...her own struggles with her husband. Let me give you a tip, we don't have to be perfect to pray or lend a hand to someone in need.

Perhaps Mrs. Kirkland is afraid of getting involved in something she can't handle. It is true that we are not all capable of dealing with all things. Not everyone of us can be all things to all people...that would make us God, which we most certainly are not.

But we might start asking God, what would He have us do? When we see someone, we might ask Him to show us how we might help them. If He shows us, gives us opportunity to do good, then we'd better do it.

This summer, I failed at being a friend. I allowed the busyness of life to keep me from reaching out when I should have. I've prayed and asked for God's forgiveness, and He has. Then He went about cleaning house. :)

I am a naturally shy person. My husband and I both admit to approaching life with the notion that people automatically hate us. And that is wrong thinking. Maybe they do automatically hate us, but that shouldn't keep us from loving them.

Loving doesn't mean all gushy feelings - though those aren't wrong to have. Loving is action. Loving another means sacrifice.

Now as a wife and mother, my first priority is to my husband and children. To my husband, I must be a helpmeet. Which right now, when he has been in so much pain and in so much stress, means doing all I can to help him cope. To my children, I must nurture, train, and guide, which is what you do when you disciple another person. This means that I not only care for their physical needs, but I care for their emotional and spiritual needs as well. Part of caring for their spiritual needs is showing how to be like the Proverbs 31 woman:

"She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy." (v.21)

"She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness." (v.26)

Abbadon trapped Mrs. Kirkland in her self-righteous attitude. He taunted her. What would he say about your Christian walk?

Joab's Fire Chapter 12 Discussion Question 2

2011-10-18T13:06:00.000-07:00

In this chapter, Dixon comes into the restaurant where the crowd is discussing the latest news: the fire on the Black's property. While Mrs. Clumpit chides them, Abbadon jumps in with his perspective of humanity.

Abbadon tills the ground to lay the seeds of doubt and questioning in the minds of the townspeople.

Q. 2 How did the patrons of Mrs. Clumpit's restaurant respond to Abbadon? The people begin to voice the thoughts they already had.

Dixon then goes to the Richards boarding house across the street. He attempts to find out the movements of Abbadon from Mrs. Richard. How did Mrs. Richard respond to Abbadon? She acts like a silly woman, all but in love with the man. She was "twitter pated".

Let's turn to II Corinthians 11:12-15.

We will look at two issues with respect to our response to the suffering of our neighbors.

1. Who we listen to and what we hear;
2. What we do.

In this passage Paul commends himself to the church of Corinth.

v. 12 "But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we."

Abbadon found occasion to defame Joab. How did he do this? By raising questions about Joab's integrity.

Often people who stir up people against another begin by raising questions about the person's integrity. The Pharisees tried to trip Jesus up with questions they thought for sure would cause Him to stumble. When they couldn't succeed, they outright lied about him.

v. 13 "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ."

Abbadon is a deceitful worker.

Let me take you to another man in the Bible that Jesus rebuked. In Mark 8, Jesus asks the disciples who they think He is. How does Peter answer? "Thou art the Christ."

Now Peter had some perceptions of who Christ is. I imagine Peter at this time thought like many of the Jews: Christ had come now to establish a kingdom and rule in a manner we see human rulers rule. It was a case of not understanding the Scripture with respect to God's timing. In Mark 8:31 we see Christ correcting this, telling them of what will happen to Him.

Peter takes Jesus and rebukes Him. Can you imagine rebuking God? Yet, Peter had a perception, and what Jesus was saying didn't match that perception.

Note Jesus response in v. 33.

"But when he turned about and looked on his disciples..."

Did you ever wonder what Jesus was thinking at that moment. He loved those disciples. He knew what was about to happen--a most horrible thing that would bring them all down, shatter their beliefs, shatter their lives. I think He was concerned about what they just heard and what they were thinking.

Peter needed to be rebuked.

because he exalted himself above Christ.
because he was speaking what he didn't understand.

By exalting himself above Christ, Peter acted as Satan, who exalted himself above God. Jesus said, "Get thee behind me Satan," the very words He spoke in Luke 4:8 to Satan during His temptation.

Sometimes we say things that are good and right, then turnaround and say things that are wrong, just like Peter.

How can others know whether what we say is right or wrong?

Ask more questions
Go to the source
Compare what they say with Scripture
Examine their relationship with the person

Sometimes we can't determine. Sometimes we don't know why things happen or why someone is saying what they are saying. What then?

I Corinthians 13:5 says that love "thinketh no evil."
I Corinthians 13:6 tells us that love "rejoiceth in truth." Sometimes the truth isn't nice. However, difficult truth can be kinder than lies. Truth leads to confession and repentance and ultimately to establishing or returning to a right relationship with God.

We need to be careful not to judge others when we don't have all the information. To be quite frank, we rarely, if ever, have all the information. More often than not, we have distorted information, one-sided information, and downright lies. We've all seen the sitcoms where the show reflects the two different perspectives of the characters and how very different they are.

When Lazarus died, Jesus wept. I believe to some extent He entered into the sorrow of those who mourned.

Romans 12:15

"Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep."

Part of brotherly love and not judging is to enter into the sorrow or the joy of the party in question. Does this mean that we allow ourselves to be fooled? No. An expression of a false emotion is usually a cover up for a real emotion and the truth behind the story.

For example, have you ever been with someone who was startled then lashes out in anger? Is anger the true emotion? No. Fear is. They are hiding their fear behind the anger.

We are not God and therefore cannot know the mind of another person, but God has given us the power of observation and an imagination. Use those for good.

So, what should we do when we see another suffer?

listen
have compassion - put yourself in that person's place
pray and ask God what you can do to help
Ask the person how you might help - don't fail to do good when it is in your power to do it. Proverbs 3:27 "Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it."

Sometimes we can't do something to help another, but we can always pray. We can always keep up with them, asking them about their situation - perhaps via email, Facebook, telephone call. Then, perhaps the time will come when you can help. Be ready to do it.

How Do I Do More When I Already Feel Overwhelmed?

2011-10-12T08:33:00.000-07:00

Our Wednesday night Bible Study last week landed on the question, "Does Hell really exist?" in the ABCs of Christian Growth.

Toward the end of the session, Pastor stepped down from the platform to our level and leaned up against the altar table. Speaking to us like he would a group of friends he exhorted us to grasp the concept of Hell. It is a real place. Real people are going there. Eternity is not a game or an ideology or a dream.

I left that night saying to the Lord, "You know I know Hell exists. You know I don't want people to go there, but how do I do more when I already feel overwhelmed?"

"And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: . . . yet turn not aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart; and turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain. For the LORD will not forsake His people for His great name's sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you His people. Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and right way: Only fear the LORD, and serve Him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things He hath done for you." I Samuel 12:20-25

"Fear not." This past several months, I've had opportunity to fear the loss of friends, the loss of prestige, the loss of favor, the loss of position in the eyes of man. Each day I found the Lord met my need. Even when He seemed silent, He remained faithful. I knew what needed to be done, and I did it. I had no cause to fear.

"Turn not aside from following the LORD." Fearing man's opinion of you or what people might say or do can keep you from following the Lord. Fearing retaliation can inhibit your ability. I knew what I needed to write. I knew what I needed to say, not because I'm so wise, but because I had God's Word, the Bible, to help me know what God expected of me. God seemed silent during July and August, but that didn't mean He wasn't there. That didn't mean I should stop following His Word. I needed to press on, do what is right, and follow the LORD. Feelings are unreliable.

"Serve the Lord with all your heart. And turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain." My heart can so easily be swayed. Serving the Lord with all my heart means setting aside anything or anyone that hinders me.

There are many things I enjoy in life which are not evil or wrong, but if those things keep me from serving the Lord, then they are not good.
There are many people whose company I enjoy, but if they hinder me from serving God with all my heart, I must guard myself from them. No, that doesn't mean I'm dropping friends and family, but some people tear me down. Their constant focus on negative things, complaining, whining, even under the facade of 'prayer' or 'caring exhortation,' hinder my service.
God gave me children and a husband to serve. When I serve them, I serve Him.
God gave me a church family to minister to, when I serve God with all my heart, my interactions with that church family will be directed toward pleasing God, not toward tearing down others.
God gave me a church with ministry opportunities. I serve Him when I give my best to these ministries at every opportunity.
God gave me the desire and aptitude to write. When I write things that please Him, I am serving Him. Such an urgency beats in me, telling me time is short. No longer can I take pleasure in writing silly little pieces for fun. There's nothing wrong with those silly, little pieces, but now, with this understanding of the spiritual crisis our world faces, I don't have time to write these things.

"For the LORD will not forsake His people for His great name's sake." I know this to be true. I walked this summer in faith. I could not see Him; I could not feel Him; but He was there. He had not forsaken me. And when my trial was over (well, it isn't quite over but close enough), He showed me how He carried me through the desert and how He'd prepared me for each test of faith. He had not forsaken me.

"God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you." Wow, prayer, a difficult instrument of war: powerful in the right hands; useless when not accompanied by faith. How can the enemy most easily cause us to fall? By keeping us from praying. Samuel saw the necessity of praying for Israel. I see the necessity of praying for those I contended with this summer and fall, and for my family and my church. Many battles have been won on the knees of praying, faithful believers.

"I will teach you the good and the right way." God has given us the Bible so that we can know His good will and the right way to live. I must used Scripture as my compass.

"Only fear the LORD, and serve Him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things He hath done for you." Calling to remembrance all of God's goodness, His plan of salvation, His provision, His Holy Spirit, (the list could go on forever) empowers us. During these months of battle, I drew comfort from the times when I saw God's hand in my life, in my work. And amazingly, when I felt close to giving up, God reminded me that He was at work.

How do I do more when I'm overwhelmed? I don't. But God does. God knows my heart. I have His Word. I must cast aside that which is not necessary, and pick up my cross and follow Him.

No, I can't save people from Hell. That's God's job. I can serve Him in whatever capacity He enables me to and not go after vain things that cannot profit or deliver. That's my job.

I do believe this summer God cleaned house. Things that were hindering me, stealing my time from what was most important, got removed. Were those things bad? No. I struggled with them. I wanted them to work. But they were not God's plan for me. By the end of the summer I was ready to cast them out with a vengeance.

Do I still have things or people that hinder me? Oh yeah. In fact, I have one that has knotted my stomach for weeks. I've been praying. I've been battling. This will not be easy. It will require a different course than some other issues, but God will not forsake. God will enable, because God loves me and wants me to serve Him. All praise and glory belong to Him.

Joab's Fire, chapter 11 discussion question 2

2011-10-10T08:34:00.000-07:00

This chapter will set the stage for the next few chapters where we will study the friends of Job and Joab: how they responded, and how we can respond to people who are hurting.

Mrs. Clumpit brought blankets and stew for the Blacks. She attended to their needs. Sergeant Dixon wanted answers in order to bring about justice. The doctor didn't want to give Sarah Black false hope. Friends are important during a time of crisis. They can provide encouragement and hope, even if we feel we are in a hopeless situation.

If we deserve punishment for our sins, and our sinful nature, are we hopeless?

No! Not if our faith and trust is in Jesus Christ.

Titus 1:1-3 says:

"Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;
"In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
"But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour."

Chapter 2 of II Thessalonians focuses on the hope we have in Christ.

v.2. "That ye be not soon shaken in mind,..."

The rapture will happen maybe or maybe not in our lifetime.

v. 14 "Whereunto he called you by our Gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."

v. 15 "Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught whether by word or our epistle."

v. 16-17 "Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work."

Does God love us? Yes.

What has He given us?

everlasting consolation
and good hope through grace.

According to verse 17, what are we to do?

Let God comfort your hearts;
let God establish you in every good word and work.

How do you do this?

Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind.
Have a relationship with God that is God-directed.

When we have this knowledge and comfort, we are able to give to those who are in need. If we have the hope of eternal life, we need to share that hope with those who are without hope.

Go with me to Paul's cell in Jerusalem.

According to Acts 23:1-4, Paul's day in Jerusalem had not been a good one. He had stood before the council of priests and professed to have lived in good conscience before God.

Ananias, the high priest, had Paul struck on the mouth, and Paul retaliated:

v.3 "...God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?"

I picture Paul angry. His nerves knotted so tight he was like a catapult pulled down and ready to fling a boulder at the first show of force against him.

In v.4 he is rebuked by those that stood by and in v. 5 he repents.

That night, I wonder if Paul sat in his cell, shoulders rounded, head hanging low, feeling a failure for speaking out the way he did. I know I would have.

v. 11 "And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome."

Why did Paul go to Jerusalem? He knew what would happen to him there. People prophesied and even close friends through the Spirit told him he should not go up to Jerusalem (Acts 21:4 "And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days: who said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem").

And yet Paul was determined to go.

Read Acts 21:13.

"Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."

He could not be persuaded.

Look at how deep his love was for his people in Romans 9:3.

"For I would wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh."

Paul determined to give his testimony before those who hated him and sought to kill him for Christ's sake.

It wasn't about Paul.
It wasn't about being a martyr.
It wasn't even about standing up for what is right.
It was about giving those people the chance to at least hear the Gospel and have a chance to accept it.
It was about giving those who persecuted him, who despitefully used him, a chance to have the hope of eternal life.

Often when we are faced with trials, we react emotionally. We are not so brave and stumble in our answers. Perhaps we even apologize for our faith.

Still, God loves us. Still He will come and stand beside you and encourage you.

Do we have a hope? Yes, if we have called on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, believing that He died for our sins, was buried, and rose again.

We have a hope that not only will we have eternal life, but that we will also have His comfort here on earth.

That comfort comes through our personal relationship with Him. The stronger the relationship, the stronger the comfort.

How do you strengthen that relationship?

Love Him more than the things and people of this world.
Build that love through daily prayer, praise, and Bible study
Dig into God's Word - make it the focal point of your life - make it your compass - directing you on your journey.

Mrs. Clumpit knew hardship hit the Blacks. How did she respond? She saw the need and set out to meet it, without judgment, determined to not give up and to give them hope.

Did she wait to be asked for help? No.

Like Paul, her love for the Blacks went beyond her personal needs and safety. She had a business to run. She had customers to serve. She didn't have to come, but she came, even before she knew of Joab's burns.

We need to love as deeply as Paul loved his kinsmen and his brothers and sisters in the Lord if we are to meet the lost and encourage a sister in Christ to stay in the fellowship of believers.

Are you willing to die to your television, die to your novels, die to the urge to have a nap, or diet to anything that keeps you unnecessarily preoccupied in order to reach out to a friend in need? Are you willing to sacrifice personal gain in order to help a friend gain eternal hope?

If you are saved, you have hope. Are you willing to share that hope with others?

Joab's Fire: How Does Man Compare with God?

2011-10-03T13:20:00.000-07:00

Man is a created being. God is eternal—He always was, and He always will be. He is the creator of all.

Man is limited; God is all knowing, all present, all powerful.

Man sins. God does not.

Psalm 139 says:

“O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. Thou has beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.”

Each Christian who has endured a trial has become more aware of who God is and who he is, a person created by God but now sinner deserving death yet redeemed by Christ's blood. We will never know God to the extent that He knows us. It’s just not possible.

When we humble ourselves and acknowledge God’s greatness, we can experience His tremendous mercy—a mercy that endures forever and in every situation.

Mercy demonstrates God’s zeal toward us, His desire to show us His love, even though we don’t deserve it. When we recognize that we are sinful creatures, that we are born in sin and are of a sin nature, and when we recognize that God is holy and righteous, the fact of His mercy toward us is augmented. In this understanding of our nature and of His character can we see hardships as God’s mercy when it drives us to repent and draw near to Him?

I Peter 1:8 says:

“That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:”

Trials increase our faith in God.

Through Paul’s life he encountered people who wandered from their faith. Listen to what he tells Timothy in I Timothy 1:19-20:

“Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.”

Did Paul want those men to be destroyed? No. He wanted them to learn something important for their relationship with God…not to blaspheme.

Throughout the history of Israel, God allowed bad things to happen to them in order to bring them back to Him. He didn’t leave them to be destroyed. In His mercy, He used whatever was necessary to bring them back to Him. That is love. That is mercy.

Let’s not forget, when we face trials, that we will see God’s mercy, if we turn to Him, if we keep our focus on Him.