Daily Devotion

[Banned?]

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2, 2010
For He Is Good

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
— Psalm 118:1


From the depths of heartbreak and loss, the Bible tells us that Job worshiped: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21).

If you only worship the Lord when you feel like it, then you are not going to worship very often. There always will be something, whether it is tragedy looming, an illness, or problems with your children. Whatever it is, we still should praise God, regardless of how we feel. After all, the Bible does not say, "Give thanks unto the Lord when you feel good." Rather, it says, "Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!" (Psalm 118:1).

God was there for Job, and He will be there for you. He who stirred up the storm is the hiding place in it. He who allowed the storm has been in it himself. Whatever comes into your life has been either created or allowed by God. God did not create Job's suffering, but He allowed it. We don't know the reason, but we do know that good things came out of it.

At the end of the Book of Job, we read that what Job lost was restored and then some. Even so, it wasn't a tidy ending like we might see in a Hollywood movie. Job had suffered. Job grieved the sons and daughters he lost. Yet God was with him through it all. God gave him the strength to get through it, and he will give us the strength to get through our tragedies as well.

Worship God because He is worthy of your worship—regardless of your circumstances. That is what Job did, and that is what we need to do.

[Sylvie]

You're forcing me to use a magnifying glass! Pretty pink, but pretty pale! LOL!

[Banned?]

It shows, to me, as regular text when I post from advanced
BRB

[Banned?]

THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 2010 From Tragedy to Victory

We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy.
— James 5:11 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=51&search=James+5%3A11)



It is easy for us to read Job's story and critique him at certain points. But we need to keep in mind that Job never read the Book of Job. He didn't know it would turn out well in the end. He didn't know about the conversations between God and Satan. He didn't know why everything was happening. All he knew was that one day, it all was going beautifully, and the next day, the bottom dropped out with no real explanation that he could see. Yet Job persevered in his faith and integrity.

We are told in James 5:11, "We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy." God's plan finally ended in good, but Job could not see that midstream.

There are things about life that we don't understand. God can bring good out of bad. It doesn't mean that bad becomes good, because bad is bad. But it does mean that God can bring good despite bad, and our tribulations can bring forth good things. As Hebrews 12:11 says, "No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it's painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way."

Before disciplining a child, a parent sometimes will say, "This will hurt me more than it will hurt you." Meanwhile, the child is thinking, Yeah, right! That is how we feel when we are being disciplined or are going through hardship. It hurts. But it also brings forth something good.

God can take the greatest of tragedies and turn them into the greatest of victories.

[Banned?]

FRIDAY, JUNE 4, 2010 Big God, Small Problems

Then the Lord said to Job, "Do you still want to argue with the Almighty? You are God's critic, but do you have the answers?"
— Job 40:1–2 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=51&search=Job+40%3A1-2)



When Job went before the Lord, as any person should do when they are suffering, he asked the question why. And there is nothing wrong with asking why. I have asked why many times. There is nothing wrong with asking why as long as you don't get the idea that God somehow owes you an answer. Even Jesus, hanging on the cross, said, "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?" (Matthew 27:46).

We don't always know why. And I don't even think there is anything wrong with saying, "I don't like or agree with this plan." In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed, "My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine." (Matthew 26:39). Go to God with your whys. Go to God with your doubts. Go to God with your struggles. But ultimately, we need to say to the Lord, "Yet I want your will to be done, not mine."

Job asked a lot of questions, and then he started giving his opinions and trying to explain things away. Finally, God had enough. He asked Job, "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding" (Job 38:4). Effectively He was saying, "Well, Job, you are such an expert now! Will you tell me what is going on? I don't remember seeing you around when I was creating the planets."

God never told Job why. Instead, He just revealed more of himself to Job. More than an explanation, what we really need is an encounter with God—a revelation of God. Because when we see God for who He is, we see our problems for what they are. Small God, big problems. Big God, small problems.

[Banned?]

Friday, June 4
God Our Refuge
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
Psalm 91:1
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Recommended Reading
Exodus 15:1-21 (http://www.turningpointonline.org/site/R?i=qdM68YvDPL3u8m9b6xvAGQ..)

</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> In the 1950s, at the height of the Cold War, many families built underground fallout shelters in their back yards as a defense against a nuclear attack. Not many people know that the United States government built a massive bunker beneath the famous Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, large enough to house the entire Congress so the government could continue to function in case of attack. It was a secret for 30 years, only revealed to the public in 1992--and was never used.
There's nothing wrong with taking precautions against approaching dangers. But a time of danger is fast approaching against which no human defense will be able to stand. During the coming Tribulation, judgments from heaven will be released more powerful than any nuclear attack. But there is a refuge: God Himself. Those who belong to God through faith in Christ will be removed from earth before the Tribulation. Make Him your "dwelling place" and "no evil shall befall you" (Psalm 91:9-10).
How do you make God your refuge and hiding place? By trusting in His Son, Jesus Christ, through faith.
Only he who can say, "The Lord is the strength of my life" can say, "Of whom shall I be afraid?"
Alexander MacLaren

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Psalms 9:1-16:11 (http://www.turningpointonline.org/site/R?i=q9fnh1Nw-7X299KHBgW1gw..)

[Banned?]

Unshakeable Faith

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.
— James 1:2


God is in control of all circumstances that surround the believer. The devil can do nothing in the life of the believer without the express permission of God. But why would God give that permission? Because Satan's attacks will show what you are made of.

A faith that cannot be shaken is a faith that has been shaken. And if your faith is real, it will even endure through the worst of circumstances, because character is not made in crisis; it is revealed. For example, when tragedy struck Job, we find him worshiping God, but we find his wife saying, "Are you still trying to maintain your integrity? Curse God and die" (Job 2:9). Trials, temptations, and crises separate the wheat from the chaff, the true from the false, and the real from the unreal.

Suffering helps us grow spiritually and makes us stronger in our faith. James reminds us, "For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing" (James 1:3–4).

Suffering takes our faith from the realm of theory to reality, and suffering brings glory to God. Anyone can be happy when the sky is blue and the sun is shining. But when a storm is hitting, it is a different matter. Satan claimed that Job only worshiped God because God was blessing him. But Job proved that he really did love God, because he worshipped Him before, during, and after the crisis.

God allowed the tragedy in Job's life to strengthen his faith and to prove Satan wrong—and Job passed the test with flying colors. What a rebuke to the enemy. And what a powerful example for us today.