January

Romans 5:6-8 

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 

Philippians 2: 3-8 

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 

J.O.Y. 

One of the recent sermons I heard was on why relationships, any kind, break down. The usual culprit is communication or the lack of communication. I admit I’m guilty of thinking someone can read my mind and know what I need. The thing is that relationships, whether they be with your spouse, your children, or your friends, takes effort. To communicate takes effort, especially for those who have a hard time expressing their emotions. Yet sometimes it’s not just communication, but more about attitude and having too much of it, or about humility and not having enough of it. Love is sacrifice and what greater picture of sacrifice than the cross. Christ laid down his life for you and me and He didn’t do it to gain anything from us. He did to save us. He did to offer us something. That’s the kind of love I want in my friendships and my family. Love is sacrifice. That means we sacrifice our time, energy, interests, resources, and things we desire. That doesn’t mean we sacrifice our principles, but we humble ourselves for those we love. It’s how I want to learn to love people, and how I want to be loved. Somewhere between the desire to love sacrificially to actually doing it, I get in the way. We can speak efficiently, but words are worthless when action doesn’t follow. How do we measure love? Surely not merely by feelings or words, but by actions right? Words can be very powerful and can speak to your soul. Yet words gain their power when they are put into action. When the president speaks, he speaks with authority and power. But what if what he says never happens? Then the power of those words is lost. God says He loves me. But He proved it by saving me from eternal death. He gave up something precious to Him to show how much He really loves me. If what He gave up wasn’t precious to Him, then it wouldn’t be a sacrifice, would it? Yet it was a huge sacrifice for God to give up His son. So, is that what love is, the giving up of something I value? Sacrificing what I value to better the other person? 

      Humility plays a key role in sacrifice. How can we give up what we value for someone else unless we are humble? Humility is putting others before me. I remember the J.O.Y. we are supposed to practice. Jesus, Others, and You. It’s not that hard to know to put Jesus first, but many times I practice JYO. Others are last and where is the sacrificial love in that? This is exactly what Christ did for us. He put God first and then all of us next. That’s how He was able to be nailed to the cross and die knowing what His death would bring for you and me. That is True love. He said He loves me and He showed it. 

     Real love is not usually what is portrayed in the movies. It’s not always easy or fun or happy. Sometimes it is hard, time consuming, and taxing. Love pushes through feelings, but it doesn’t stop with them. Do you think Jesus felt like having nails hammered through Him? I doubt it, but He was not letting His feelings be His guide of what needed to be done. He was being led by Love. True love did not start with fairy tales. True love did not start with the Bible. The Bible was the result of True love already existing and proving that Love for us. 

     I want to live True love daily. What makes it hard is my own selfishness and wanting my own ways. The beauty about sacrificial love is that it not only benefits the receiver, but the giver as well. There is a transformation that takes place deep in our hearts when we choose to love as Christ did. He transforms our hearts to be more like His. Yet it is a daily choice and daily process. Christ did it for you and me in the most painful way imaginable and yet He did it out of His pure love for us. How will you love this New Year? If there is any resolution you and I will make this year, let us make sure it is True Love.

We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren…..let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. 

1 John 3: 16,18

  

December

Ruth 1:3-10, 14-18

Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left with her two sons. They took for themselves Moabite women as wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. And they lived there about ten years. Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was bereft of her two children and her husband. Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the land of Moab, for she had heard in the land of Moab that the Lord had visited His people in giving them food. So she departed from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me. May the Lord grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband.” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. And they said to her, “No, but we will surely return with you to your people.” …. And they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. Then she said, “Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the Lord do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me.” When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.

Love that speaks 

      Ruth is a short book in the Bible, but in such few words, it shares the sweet love story of two people that met under difficult circumstances. Ruth was a widow and had no children. She had the choice to go back to her people and her homeland, yet she chose to stay with her mother-in-law, Naomi. That decision had a mighty impact on herself, on Naomi, on Boaz, and on the lineage of Christ. She may not have been aware of this powerful decision, but she knew that her life was not meant to go back to what she was. Naomi was a godly woman and Ruth had lived with her for 10 years while she was married to her son. She must have noticed a difference in the way Naomi lived and worshipped. She willingly followed Naomi back to Bethlehem to make a new life. Naomi was a widow herself and was grieving the loss of her only sons. She knew exactly what Ruth was going through. At a time of grief and uncertainty, they became a comfort to one another. As you read the whole story, you notice that Naomi was bitter and heartbroken about her losses, yet in the midst of this she did not neglect Ruth’s well being. Because they were both poor, Ruth tried to find food in the fields that the harvesters left behind. She did not care how this looked or the fact that she was in a position lower than even servants. In a sense she was a beggar coming up behind the hired help looking for food. She and Naomi needed to survive. God saw her servant’s heart and so did the owner of the field, Boaz. Boaz not only was godly and generous, but also related to Naomi. I greatly encourage you to read the entire book. In it you will see how kind and compassionate Boaz was to his servants. He treated them with respect. This was a glimpse of his integrity and his fear of God. Ruth could have picked any field, but as she was gleaning, she ended up in Boaz’s field and he happened to notice her. Coincidence? Unlikely! God is always in the middle of everything and He was all over this. Boaz provided more than enough food for Ruth to take back. When Naomi realized what was going on, she had Ruth do something that may seem strange to us. She told Ruth to lay down at Boaz’s feet after he fell asleep. Boaz is asleep by his harvested grain. She came secretly, uncovered his feet, laid down and waited. He awoke suddenly and realized there was a woman lying at his feet. Let’s read what happened next:

So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law had commanded her. When Boaz had eaten and drunk and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came secretly, and uncovered his feet and lay down. It happened in the middle of the night that the man was startled and bent forward; and behold, a woman was lying at his feet. He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth your maid. So spread your covering over your maid, for you are a close relative.” Then he said, “May you be blessed of the Lord, my daughter. You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first by not going after young men, whether poor or rich. Now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you ask, for all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence. (Ruth 3:6-11) 

Ruth is not being scandalous, but in fact she is being quite humble. When she tells Boaz to ‘spread your covering’ she is essentially asking him to take her as his own, to provide, to protect, and to marry her. Boaz honors and respects her and does marry her. She is provided for her as well as Naomi. Her loss became her gain more than she could have imagined. Her servant’s heart led her to find food in the fields which in return led her to her provider. 

     As sweet as this love story is, it is only a hint of the love story we share with God as His children. He longs ‘to cover’ us with Himself, to be our Protector, our Provider, and our Savior. Ruth can teach us two very important lessons. First, we don’t go back to who we used to be before Christ. She chose to leave behind her old self, her old beliefs, and lifestyle. Second, we must know who we are in Christ. Ruth was a woman of humility. She knew her place, but also her value. She was a woman of virtue and yet recognized that she needed a provider. She came to Boaz in humility with respect and honor. She didn’t see herself lower than Boaz, but she came to him giving him a higher place. I hope you see the difference. Jesus desires us to give Him ourselves completely that He may transform us into something new. Ruth became a new person. She had a new last name, a new home, and was completely loved. She eventually became a mother. She had a life more abundant that she had before. Jesus wants to do that for you and me. You may have already given your life to Christ and need to remember the abundance He has provided for you. You may be someone that does not trust that Christ can really transform your life into something new. I am living proof that He does and He continues to sanctify and renew me in His image every day. For this I am grateful and like Ruth, I am honored to be covered by Christ.

Thus must we by faith apply ourselves to Jesus Christ as our next kinsman, that is able to redeem us, come under his wings, as we are invited and beg of him to spread his skirt over us. 

-Matthew Henry-

November

Psalms 111:10 

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever. 

James 3: 13 -18 

Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. 

The Good and the Bad

     I’d like to think that I am wise and full of discernment, but when I sin and make a bad decision, I am reminded that I’m not there yet. According to James, I am to show my wisdom by my good behavior and deeds. Oops! This isn't always true of me. In case you were wondering, I do unwise things sometimes and my behavior doesn't line up with my knowledge. Knowledge is information. We can choose to gain great knowledge or live without it. When I am making a big purchase, I've learned that the informed consumer is the best one. If I know all about the product, I can make an informed decision and be satisfied that I made the best choice possible. Making that knowledgeable decision based on the information I acquired is called wisdom. Wisdom is knowing what to do with the knowledge I have. Yet good wisdom doesn't just come naturally does it? As I read James 3, it says there is wisdom that is not good and not from above. This kind of earthly wisdom does not have to be learned or sought after. Unfortunately it comes pretty natural to us. This is why God calls it earthly and natural. 

     There is so much packed in those verses in James. The first thing I want to bring to our attention is the fact that we show our good behavior in the gentleness of wisdom. What exactly does gentleness of wisdom mean? It suggests that wisdom is not harsh and arrogant. Have you ever known someone that maybe wise and yet the way they choose to act on their wisdom isn't so sweet? Being gentle is being humble. Look at the next verse. As I read this passage over and over I get the idea that if we are bitter and selfish, it’s very difficult to have gentleness of wisdom. He says that bad or natural wisdom is bitter jealousy, selfish ambition, arrogant, and untruthful. Personally I wouldn't call any of these wise, but I think we get his meaning. Look how else he describes this wisdom. It is earthly, natural, and demonic. Wow! It makes me shudder to think that sometimes I act out of bitterness or arrogance and I’m living out demonic and earthly wisdom. We act out of what we know and what we believe. The good news is that we can change what we know and what we believe. 

     The next few verses we have heavenly and earthly wisdom compared. I made it into a list and I think it gives us a good picture of how they play it out in our lives. I've taken this list straight from the passage. 

Heavenly Wisdom:                                 Earthly Wisdom: 

Gentle                                                    Bitter
Order                                                     Jealous
Pure                                                       Selfish
Peaceable                                            Arrogant
Reasonable                                         Untruthful
Merciful                                                Disorder
Good fruits                                          Unfaithful

Unwavering 

Without hypocrisy

Do you know notice anything about the heavenly list? It is very similar to the fruits of the Spirit that is mentioned in Galatians 5: 22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” As a believer, we already have the Spirit of God living inside of us therefore we have all these fruits in us to make wise choices from. We have to practice through the Holy Spirit to be loving, peaceful, gentle and so forth. It’s acting out our wisdom in gentleness. There is no way we can do this without the spirit of God. Our flesh is extremely strong and will carry out what we naturally know whenever it can. I think you would agree with me. 

      Behavior can be adjusted and modified. When we decide to practice out the Heavenly wisdom, we are being wise and understanding as God desires us to be. I mentioned earlier that wisdom is knowing what to do with the knowledge we have. We must strive to gain godly knowledge. This comes straight from God’s Word. If we want to be wise, it’s very simple. Read the Bible, do what it says, and share it with others. Living out the Christian life is not complicated and not rocket science; it’s just a matter of committing our lives to God and then carrying out that commitment. I am not naïve, I know that it’s harder than it actually sounds, but sometimes we make it more intense than it needs to be. When we are not sure, here is what James encourages us to do: 

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. (James 1:5-6) 

God is more than ready to help us, but we just need to ask Him in faith. I want to make decisions that are wise and glorify God. I am fully aware that I am not able to make those wise decisions without His help and His heavenly wisdom. I must seek that wisdom in the Bible and ask for it in prayer. Communion with God is where I grow in wisdom. If the beginning of wisdom really starts with God, then why would we go seek it anywhere else? 

Proverbs 1:7

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction. 

Proverbs 2:6

For the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding. 

Ecclesiastes 7:12

For wisdom is protection just as money is protection, But the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the lives of its possessors.

October

Matthew 6:9-10 

“This, then, is how you should pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 

Jesus did not pray that you would be taken out of the world, and what He did not pray for, you do not need to desire. -Charles Spurgeon- 

A country not our own 

     There have been times in my life where I have thought that if Jesus would just come, it would be a lot easier. But I have to admit that during each time, it was a selfish desire. It was usually because I was in some situation I didn’t know how to deal with or wanted to end. It’s hard to imagine anything beyond this physical world. As I say that, I realize that as a believer I’m supposed to long for heaven, to desire it, but I will confess that in my everyday life, I’m not always thinking of heaven. I’m thinking of this week, of today, and what I need to do to accomplish my present tasks. I’m a planner and without realizing it sometimes, I am planning many days in advance for all kinds of things. Some of you know exactly what I mean if you are a planner as well. I think ahead about what I need to do for next week, or what I am going to make for that party, or what I need to wear for that event, and so on. The reality is that I am planning for everything but being face to face with Christ. I am either way into this world or not enough into living ‘heaven on earth’. Anybody with me? 

     Jesus said that we should be praying for heaven on earth. Anything we should be praying for usually means we should be living it, too. I confess I am not always living heaven on earth. To me, the term ‘heaven on earth’ is not just actions but a mind set, an eternal mind set, one that can see beyond this world and into the next. Here’s Paul take on it:

For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. (Philippians 3:19-21) 

We are already citizens of heaven if we confess with our mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that He is the son of God. Paul says that there are enemies of the cross and their minds are set on earthly things. If you are secured in Christ, you are not an enemy of the cross, but I have to wonder how much do you and I live as an enemy of the cross because our hearts are set on earthly things? I will confess that more than I’d like to admit, I have an earthly perspective instead of an eternal one. I am working on storing treasures on earth more than treasures in heaven. I know that it’s a daily decision I have to make to have and keep that eternal mind set. Without consistent time with God, with believers, and the church, it’s pretty hard to live the godly life that Christ desires for us. And if I can be so bold to say that I miss God’s blessings here on earth when I live as if I belong to this earth instead of heaven. 

     In the Hall of Faith in Hebrews, the author speaks of those believers who longed for heaven and lived heaven on earth. 

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. …Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:13-14, 16) 

They were longing for a country they had never been to or seen, but they knew that they belonged there and not in this world. The realities of this life are such a distraction from the country that is mentioned in Hebrews, and yet the realities of this life should be evidence that we have to rejoice that there is another world that we belong to. In fact, we should rejoice that ‘this’ isn’t just it. Our plans, our families, our toys, and activities are but a glimmer of the world that awaits us. Even if I can’t fully grasp or understand this concept, I can still take joy in it because it’s mine as a child of God. Whatever pain and heartache we receive in this world, stays in this world and where we are going, it cannot follow. 

     Many of you know that my birthplace is India. In high school I became a citizen of the United States. I’m Indian by birth and American by law, which creates a third category all its own which I label as Indian American. I am not fully Indian or fully American. I practice and live with both cultures combined. We are enemies of the cross by birth and citizens of heaven by His death. We are living with both cultures, a little bit of hell and a little bit of heaven. We’ve got renewed minds, but the same bodies. We have to decide how we live each day, enemies of the cross or citizens of heaven and only you and I can make that choice for ourselves. 

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord…..Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
Ephesians 5:8-10, 15-16

September

Proverbs 17:22 

A joyful heart is good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones. 

Psalms 116:17 

To you I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and call upon the name of the Lord. 

Are you a sensitive soul? 

     As fallen creatures, we are very sensitive of our physical bodies. How we look, how we feel, and what we can and cannot do. When I am sick or injure myself, I am sensitive to that part of my body. Just last week I grated a small part of my hand. Yes you heard me right. I was grating cheese and it slipped and took my flesh with it. It’s still healing and still hurts. Everything I do with that hand is done with precaution. When something brushes up against the wound, I feel it. I’ve been nursing that wound very carefully. Even a paper cut causes some discomfort!
     I’m not sure if I’m this sensitive about my spiritual health. If I am lacking or unhealthy spiritually would I even know it? Would it cause me any discomfort? I certainly hope so, don’t you? It doesn’t take very long for our spiritual health to decline. Many things are competing to feed us and we have to choose wisely what we will eat to nurture our souls. Sometimes there are medications that numb our pain but don’t actually aid in the healing process. If we have a wound and merely apply a band aid over it, it only hides the wound. Our spiritual fixes can be the same. Instead of real healing we put a band aid over our spiritual issues. Being sick spiritually can be a number of things. It can mean being in a spiritual rut where you feel that your time with God or with people is stale. Maybe it means that you’ve fallen away from the discipline of prayer or reading the Bible. It could also mean that you just don’t ‘feel’ God’s presence right now. You feel far away from Him. It can also mean you are disobedient and in sin. No matter the spiritual wound or issue, covering it up or ignoring it is never the answer. Isolating yourself is never good and a good indication that you maybe something is wrong. Plastering a smile for something amiss in the heart only goes so far. This is not what God desires from us. He always wants our hearts and our hurts to be bare before Him. If you don’t tell the doctor what it is that ails you how can he properly help you?
     Psalms reveals an amazing assortment of emotions from fear, anger, jealousy, praise, and joy. I think this book is a gift to the human soul because we can truly relate to the emotions, the circumstances, and can find comfort for our own situations. What you will notice most in Psalms is the amount of praise lifted up. The book itself can be called the ‘The Book of Praises’. This is not by chance, but there is a very good reason why praise is offered so generously to God through this book. There is something mysterious brewing within us when we can come as we are to God and pour praise from hearts. Our hearts maybe hurting, empty, callous, or without concern and yet the praise lifted up despite our hearts are a sweet aroma to God. He takes this offering and speaks directly to our wound. I dare you to try this.
     Praise isn’t the cure all for our spiritual wounds or even sin, but it is a good first response to start the process. Its set our focus first on Christ alone. To praise Him shouldn’t be empty words and if you can’t find the words then praying Psalms is a magnificent way to express your heart. To offer up praise and thanksgiving for what God has done and for the people around you helps transform your perspective to seeing more than yourself and your problems. When we don’t feel God or we have some other spiritual wound, our tendency is to fill that gap we feel with something that will make us feel better. That ‘something’ can be a number of things, but the thing only it should be is God Himself. Whatever your issue maybe, He is the only answer. Drawing to Him is the response that is necessary. Praise nudges us to that place of nearness. Your words do not have to elegant, in fact God is concerned about your heart, not how broad your vocabulary maybe. The Lord proclaims in 1 Samuel 16:7 that “God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” God is very concerned about your spiritual health. Faithfully reading the Bible, faithfully praying, serving, and being in godly fellowship should be part of our daily life. There is a reason God speaks to us about all these things because it promote growth in our life, in our faith, and it is a protections from becoming stale or stagnant in our walk with God. Remember that many things are competing to fill our time, to fill any space we are not using wisely. The Enemy has no concern for you except to keep you from growing in God and from fellowship with the Lord.
     Paul challenges us in this act of praise in Philippians 4: 4-7. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Don’t miss the promise in this verse. Read that last verse. Bringing our hearts to God in prayer, in supplication and thanksgiving brings peace that surpasses our understanding. This peace actually guards our hearts and minds. Our hearts and our minds wander so easily, wouldn’t you agree? We have to continually come to God so that we are guarded. Today is the day you and I praise Him, thank Him, and find peace that surpasses our understanding. That peace is only found in Christ and absolutely nothing else. Our physical bodies are sensitive to any ailment no matter how small, as should be with our spiritual health. I want to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and His leading. He always lead you to praise Christ and we should never decline that opportunity. There is great reward in praising Christ and as Paul has told us, there is great peace as well.

August

Ephesians 3:17-19  

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.   

God is so complicated  
 
     Do you ever think about how God can be so simple in His love for us and at the same time His love isn’t so simple to understand? In fact, I find that although I feel His love at times, or read about it, or see it in others, when I try to understand it, I can’t. I realize that there is much more packed in those 4 letters than I can see, feel, or hear. His ways are not like our ways and He is so complex and so complicated in every possible way. God isn’t difficult, but He is difficult for us to understand in our small minds. When things are wonderful and prayers are answered the way I hoped, His love is easy for me to see and even feel. Everything is just rosy and I could count the ways of how His love is perfect, kind, and generous, but it’s harder to have the same reaction when prayers are deferred and I have no idea what He’s doing. It’s harder for me to express His love or even see it when all I feel is pain or confusion.  
     Job is a perfect example. God loved Job, really and truly loved him. This is how God describes Job: “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.”(Job 1:8) You have to understand this love before you can understand Job’s pain. In the midst of what happened to him, we have to always remember that it was because of how much God loved Job that tragedy struck him in the most horrific way. We saw God’s sweet mercy and love clearly when it came to Hannah’s story. His love was easy to see, easy to read, and honestly easy to feel. Yet with Job I have to really try hard to see God’s true love. To be honest, it’s hard for me to wrap my mind around it. Why does God’s love have to be so hard and complicated in some situations like Job’s? Why did God allow such tragedy to strike when He loved Job so much? I can’t completely answer a tough question like that, but I do want us to try and see that in the heart of calamity, lies His abundant love.    
     Job has everything. He’s got wealth, land, many sons and daughters, a wife, and a home. He’s respected among the city and even among his servants. God has blessed him abundantly and in the midst of all this, he loves the Lord. He really is a blameless and upright man who fears God. God described Job correctly. What Job doesn’t know is that God and Satan are about to have a conversation that is going to rock his world. Let’s listen in and see what takes place.

“The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.” Then Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.” Then the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him.” So Satan departed from the presence of the Lord.” (Job 1:8-12)

A few more conversations like this and Job has lost his sons and daughters, his servants, his animals, and his health. All that he has left alive is his wife. Can you imagine? Do you see God’s love in this anywhere? At this point of his story, I will be honest and say that not only do I not see His love, but I really feel angry. But forget about me, how does Job respond? “Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” (Job 2:10) Job knows that God’s love is in the midst of this somewhere. He may not see it, but he refuses to curse God. He does choose to accept this as something from God. The rest of the chapters in Job are about his thoughts, emotions, and his struggles to make sense of this disaster. I encourage you to read it and see how God responds. His story is a good reminder of how small we are and how big God is and that God’s love runs much deeper than we can comprehend. Though Job struggled to understand what was happening, he did not forsake God. What God said about him in the beginning remained true till the end. That’s how I want my stories to end. That at the end I remain true to my God. Even if I can’t see or feel His love in my pain, I trust and believe it covers me completely. If He has the power to raise me from the dead, then surely He can raise me from every kind of pain, sorrow, and conflict.  
     Think through your own tragedies or difficult circumstances. Did you see God’s love evident? It might have been after the crisis calmed down and you could clearly see that God was working and taking care of you. Perhaps you saw it from the beginning or not till weeks later. The bottom line is that whether or not we can see it with our own eyes or feel it, we have to trust that His love is under, in, and on top of the disaster we are facing. Do you truly believe what Romans 8:28 says? “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” He works the catastrophe out for good in some miraculous way. Why? Because His love was involved from the beginning. His love allows the conflict and most definitely ends the conflict. Yes, God’s love can be complicated to comprehend, but it’s not complicated to be loved by Him. I believe I have quoted these words before, but I believe they are powerful to leave with you once again. This is a demon speaking about those who trust God (Enemy) even though it doesn’t make sense. That’s how I want to be described and how I want to live. 

“Our cause is never more in danger than  

when a human, no longer desiring,  

but still intending, to do our Enemy’s will,  

looks round upon the universe from
 which every trace of Him seems to have vanished,  

and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.”

~ C.S. Lewis-Screwtape Letters ~

July

Hebrews 4:16 
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Daniel 2: 17-18 
Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven.

2 Corinthians 12: 9-10 
And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

The Fellowship of the Believers

     Last month we had a glimpse into the life of Hannah and we saw what her prayer life consisted of and how God transformed her heart through it. After receiving the one thing she prayed for, she willingly gave it back to the Lord. That’s the kind of power I want to experience over and over in my life. The kind where my heart completely aligns with God’s will and purpose and it bleeds through my daily life. The power emerges from bowing low and praying high. In the past few weeks, this power has become very real in my life and the life of my family. We have gone through some difficulties that seemed, quite frankly, hopeless, but we continued to pray and cry out to God. I have to admit, I wondered if He was listening because when I wanted Him to come through, He didn’t. Yet in a matter of days, literally hours, I saw God’s power working and changing hearts. It was almost unreal. Yet it was very real and my prayers, my family’s prayers became reality. God doesn’t always answer this quickly, but the enormity of the power that is stirring behind our prayers is overwhelming and many times forgotten.
     Being able to approach the Throne of Grace, the place of prayer, is a gift. We are communicating with God, speaking with Him, crying to Him, and sometimes screaming out, but it is simply humbling ourselves in front of a righteous, powerful, but extremely loving God. In the passage above, Daniel and his friends and the rest of their people, have been taken captive by Babylon. They are in service to the king and Daniel has been asked to interpret a dream the king has had that the wise men of Babylon cannot understand. What is Daniel’s response? He asks his closest friends to pray for him. His friends pray and plead on his behalf. God answers their prayer that very night. I truly believe that the most powerful and intimate action a person can take towards a friend is prayer. Praying for a friend and praying with a friend is very intimate and sweet. We have to share what’s going on in our life and our heart when prayer is usually involved. That person gets to know you intimately so they know how to pray for you. I believe this is a side effect of praying for people, but a great side effect. Daniel and his friends were intimate friends because of their prayer life together and their circumstances. Prayer is a common bond I share with those that are closest to me. We pray for each other and we pray with each other. In our American culture, showing weakness is not looked highly upon, and yet admitting our weakness is where we find God’s strength. If we can’t be real with people, then who do we be real with? In a sense we have to be weak and vulnerable with one another to share our hearts. I need others praying on my behalf. The Holy Spirit works amazingly in me through other’s prayers just as much through my own prayers. The Holy Spirit works in you when others pray for you. We are affected by each other’s prayer. James 5:16 reminds us that we should “therefore confess our sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” Pretty powerful stuff, eh?
     Prayer isn’t just about our weaknesses or struggles, but if prayer is communication, then we also get to praise God for the joys in our life. We also saw last week of Hannah’s joyous words of praise over Samuel being born. He was her answered prayer and her response was correct. If my pain draws me to cry to God, then my joy shall draw me to praise Him. He should be my response in and to every situation. Prayer is fellowship with God and with friends. I hope as you are cultivating and strengthening your prayer life with Christ that you are also nurturing your prayer time with friends. He desires that we commune with other believers, that we share our hearts, our weaknesses, and joys. This is how we grow. Hebrews 3:13 says “But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called ‘Today,’ so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” Prayer is part of that encouragement. If the Holy Spirit is in you and in them, then how can you and they not be blessed, encouraged, rebuked, or sharpened? In fact, we should expect this each time we come together. And yet how much more does the Spirit testify to each other’s hearts when we pray together?

“God’s conquering days are when the saints have given themselves to mightiest prayer…..
The secret of success in
Christ’s kingdom is the ability to pray.”
~ E.M. Bounds ~