"Listen To Me" (One of Job's Accusers)

"In this you are not right, and I will show you why....Mark this well, Job, and listen to me....Keep silent and I will show you wisdom."  (Job 33, NLT)

James 3:17 tells us, "But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield," or, "willing to listen, full of mercy and good fruits.  It is...without hypocrisy."  The Amplified says, "It is unwavering, without [self-righteous] hypocrisy, [and self-serving guile]."  Notice, "willing to yield."  This is not the "wisdom" of Elihu. 

Elihu reveals himself when he says, "....I will show you....I will show you...."  Moreover, many of his statements reveal to me classic condescension.  His true self, however, is revealed at the end of the Book of Job when, "The Word of God," affirms Job by saying to Eliphaz, "I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not been right in what you have said about Me, as my servant Job was."  Notice that Jesus just ignores Elihu.  And, in an apparent contrast to Elihu's assertion about Job, "....you are not right," The Triune God says that Job was indeed, "....right in what (he) said about Me...."

"Keep silent and I will show you wisdom."  If you ever run into anyone who says this to you, flee.  A person who has wisdom, or is "smart," or "intelligent," or "perceptive" does not have to tell me.  "....Willing to listen."  This is not as Elihu, who said to Job that he had been "listening" to him.  All Elihu was doing was just waiting to jump into the conversation.  He had come to his conclusions about Job long before he spoke.  He was not "listening;" he was just waiting his turn to, "....show you wisdom."  This is far too frequently the nature of "sharing."  Too often it is not listening; it is just waiting.

An amazing fact about our Lord Jesus Christ is that when He was just a boy, the One Who alone is, "Before Abraham was, I Am," the Very, "Alpha and Omega," sat before and listened to many whom He would later call, "hypocrites," and asked questions.  Yes, God listened!  Maybe I should learn more of this.

Father, in Jesus' Name, I pray any "wisdom" I may have will be, "the wisdom from above...."  Amen.
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Truth about the "Paris Climate Accord" at:   jhs58.blogspot.com 

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2

"Take Away My Distress"

"Answer me when I call, O God who declares me innocent.  Take away my distress.  Have mercy on me and hear my prayer." (Psalm 4:1, NLT)

The word translated here as, "distress," is from a Hebrew word which means, "narrow, tight," or, restricted.  One dictionary defines distress as, "great pain, anxiety, or sorrow; acute physical or mental suffering, affliction, trouble."  Most do not need a dictionary's help in defining it.

There is something, however, which I would like you to consider today.  Far too many people attempt to battle debilitating, "distress," on their own, never sharing with anyone their deepest, "distress."  But isn't a privilege of being a member of, "the Body of Christ," the wonderful fellowship which we have in Jesus Christ and with the Brethren?  And remember that the Word for fellowship in the Bible means, "a participation in."  Perhaps no one can "participate in" our, "distress," quite to the degree as we do, but there is something about, "a participation in," viz., the great Fellowship of and in the Church which it would do all well to at least "investigate."  It just could be one of the most neglected of the "means of grace."

A great revelation in the Bible is that all humanity can have in Jesus Christ The Very One Who has, "a participation in," our lives, the joys as well as the, "distress."  The various translations of Isaiah 53 tell us of Jesus, that He was, "a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief....It was our weaknesses He carried; it was our sorrows (sicknesses, diseases) that weighed Him down."  All of this glorious victory which Jesus is to us was "released" in, "the Blood of His Cross."  And because of Jesus' Death and Resurrection, the Church now has a great weapon in the battle against, "distress."  So don't try to "go it alone," my friend.  Never forget that in the, "participation in," the Redeemed, the Church of Jesus, whether in huge gatherings, or over that cup of coffee, we also have a victory over, "distress."  We are "here" for each other.   ;

Father, in Jesus' Name, I thank You for the provision in You and Your Church to, "Take away (any) distress."  Amen.
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Even though we have had to make our arrangements for the Berlin Missions quite early over the past few years, please remember us in your prayers for the next mission, October 28-November 15.

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2

"The Aroma of Christ"

"But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction." (2 Peter 2:12, ESV)

This is a perfect description of Bill Maher.  I heard him talking with a Christian on the radio the other day, and he consistently railed on the Living Triune God.  Our text, from one of today's readings, was appropriately timed, "....irrational animals, creatures of instinct (literally, 'according to nature, merely animal'),.. blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant...."  Maher's reference for his, "merely animal," tirade about God was taken from the Bible.  He complained of "wars of annihilation," judgment upon homosexuals, women marginalized, and a host of other rants.  I could only think of my own testimony.

The very Words which Maher maligned are the very Words which saved my life.  All of the numbering of the tribes of Israel, all of the "wars of annihilation," the Levitical laws, the, "unless you repent, you will all likewise perish," everything which humanists reject, make fun of, are still to me, and I pray will always be until my last breath, "Wonderful Words of Life."  As Moses said, "They are your life."

I will not argue "my case" with anyone.  What Jesus did and continues to do for me in His Words is what the Bible calls, "spiritually discerned."  This is true of, "the faith of Jesus," in general.  Argument which is from brain to brain will always fail you.  Our Lord Jesus told us in my Gospel reading for yesterday, "If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead."  This is true of Maher and his kind.

You and I as lovers and followers of Jesus are bearers of His Presence everywhere, in church meetings, rallies, missions, the office, factory, schools, the home, EVERYWHERE.  Fill yourself with, "the Words of God," and no one will ever be able to cause you to doubt unto defeat.  Rather, we will be living testimonies to the "searching ones."  People in whom Jesus Christ lives are described in another one of today's readings, 2 Corinthians 2:14-17, "But thanks be to God, Who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere.  For we are the aroma (not argument) of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.  Who is sufficient for these things?  For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ."

Father, in Jesus' Name, no matter what You have said or ever will say, I believe You.  Amen.

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2