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Feb. 8th, 2012 01:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tinpraGod Is in Control
by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Job 12:1--25
Frankly, I admire Job's guts. I'm pleased he doesn't cave in and say, "Well, maybe you're right, Zophar. You sound like those other two guys, so I'm not going to disagree and fight you on this." No way! The strong rebuke of Zophar is met by an even stronger resistance from Job. This, by the way, is the only way to deal with a legalist. They, too, are like roaches! You leave them alone and let them have their way, they proliferate. They attract others. And before you know it, the legalists take over. Bullying their way into leadership is their favorite approach. And if they can't bully, they take their ball and bat and go elsewhere (thank the Lord). They leave.
There was a time in my life when I allowed legalists to take more control of me than they should have been allowed. I'm making up for lost time now. Age has its benefits. I've learned the hard way, you need to fight fire with fire when bullies are determined to take charge. Job would have nothing to do with that! He put the stop to Zophar like Paul resisted the legalistic Judaizers and "did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour" (Galatians 2:5).
When Job finally does speak, he says, in effect, "Okay. That's enough." He stood up to them. I, for one, greatly admire Job for not sitting there any longer taking it on the chin.
Job declares, "It is all about our God! It is the inscrutable, Almighty God who is in charge of all things. Don't you think I know that?" And what a creative way to say it! "The God I serve takes delight in undoing human activities and in dismantling human enterprises, and in the process, executing His miraculous undertakings. He alone is in full control."
Job is making it clear that God alone is the One before whom he bows, and in doing so he implies, "I'm not sure you've ever met Him. Don't bully me. While I don't know why I'm suffering like this, I can tell you that somehow and in some way the God of heaven, the silent God, the One who seems to be absent from my perspective, is still in control."
Would you be able to say the same thing if you were in Job's situation?
A Disappointing Discovery
by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Job 14:1--22
Will it be well when God examines your life, or will it be a disappointing discovery? I can't speak for you because I have no idea. But I do know "we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad" (2 Corinthians 5:10). Is that going to be a disappointing discovery, or will it be well with you? Probing thought, which is why I've urged you to give these questions such serious consideration.
Look at Job 14:14: "If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my struggle I will wait until my change comes."
Here's what I'd like you to think about: When you die, where will you live again? Will it be with the Lord or away from His presence forever? The choices are heaven or hell. Will it be eternal bliss filled with joy and relief and the rewards awaiting God's people? Or eternal judgment, away from God and all those things you hold dear? Only you can determine which.
C. S. Lewis wrote this:
C. S. Lewis was no intellectual pushover. His words deserve serious consideration. Problems have a way of multiplying. The good news is---that's true only in this life---"How frail . . . how few our years . . . how full of trouble." But once we're in our Lord's presence, all that changes.
However, should you choose to ignore this opportunity to secure such hope, the alternative results will be dreadful beyond imagination. Come to think of it, that kind of future would make Job's trials seem like a piece of cake. Who wants a destiny like that? Don't go there!
1. C. S. Lewis, A Grief Observed (New York: Harper & Row, 1961), 17-18. C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. 1961. Extract reprinted by permission.
Needed Grace
by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Job 15:1--35
"That's it, Job! It's your arrogance!" Eliphaz backs away and stares at him with that glare, saying, again, "You are getting exactly what you deserve!" The style of communication Eliphaz employs is not that unusual to those who lack grace. It may not always be this brutal, but haven't you noticed this tone when you're around people who evidence no grace? When you're down, they kick you. When you're drowning, they pull you under. When you're confused, they complicate your life. And when you're almost finished, they write you off. Other than that, they're pretty good folks.
It is easy to forget the grief Job was trying to get past---the shocking loss of his adult children. Releasing the vise grip of grief that comes from a sudden death takes an enormous toll.
I can't help but think of that when I see Job, as he sits there enduring this, awash in his grief, trying his best to believe his ears---that this man who was once a friend is saying such graceless words. I'm left with one thought: "Lord, if you are teaching us anything through Job's endurance, teach us the value of grace. Teach us about demonstrating grace. Show us again that grace is always appropriate. Always needed.
The person sitting near you in church next Sunday, the lady pushing that cart in the grocery store, the one who's putting gas in his car at the next pump, the man behind you at the movies, waiting to buy his ticket, the student across from you at school. You have no idea what that person is going through. If you did, chances are you'd be prompted to show grace or to say a few encouraging words even quicker. Remember this please: grace is always appropriate, always needed!
"Amazing grace---how sweet the sound!"
Excerpted from Charles R. Swindoll, Great Days with the Great Lives (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2005). Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc
by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Job 12:1--25
Frankly, I admire Job's guts. I'm pleased he doesn't cave in and say, "Well, maybe you're right, Zophar. You sound like those other two guys, so I'm not going to disagree and fight you on this." No way! The strong rebuke of Zophar is met by an even stronger resistance from Job. This, by the way, is the only way to deal with a legalist. They, too, are like roaches! You leave them alone and let them have their way, they proliferate. They attract others. And before you know it, the legalists take over. Bullying their way into leadership is their favorite approach. And if they can't bully, they take their ball and bat and go elsewhere (thank the Lord). They leave.
There was a time in my life when I allowed legalists to take more control of me than they should have been allowed. I'm making up for lost time now. Age has its benefits. I've learned the hard way, you need to fight fire with fire when bullies are determined to take charge. Job would have nothing to do with that! He put the stop to Zophar like Paul resisted the legalistic Judaizers and "did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour" (Galatians 2:5).
When Job finally does speak, he says, in effect, "Okay. That's enough." He stood up to them. I, for one, greatly admire Job for not sitting there any longer taking it on the chin.
Job declares, "It is all about our God! It is the inscrutable, Almighty God who is in charge of all things. Don't you think I know that?" And what a creative way to say it! "The God I serve takes delight in undoing human activities and in dismantling human enterprises, and in the process, executing His miraculous undertakings. He alone is in full control."
Job is making it clear that God alone is the One before whom he bows, and in doing so he implies, "I'm not sure you've ever met Him. Don't bully me. While I don't know why I'm suffering like this, I can tell you that somehow and in some way the God of heaven, the silent God, the One who seems to be absent from my perspective, is still in control."
Would you be able to say the same thing if you were in Job's situation?
A Disappointing Discovery
by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Job 14:1--22
Will it be well when God examines your life, or will it be a disappointing discovery? I can't speak for you because I have no idea. But I do know "we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad" (2 Corinthians 5:10). Is that going to be a disappointing discovery, or will it be well with you? Probing thought, which is why I've urged you to give these questions such serious consideration.
Look at Job 14:14: "If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my struggle I will wait until my change comes."
Here's what I'd like you to think about: When you die, where will you live again? Will it be with the Lord or away from His presence forever? The choices are heaven or hell. Will it be eternal bliss filled with joy and relief and the rewards awaiting God's people? Or eternal judgment, away from God and all those things you hold dear? Only you can determine which.
C. S. Lewis wrote this:
There's no doctrine which I would more willingly remove from Christianity than the doctrine of hell, if it lay in my power. But it has the full support of Scripture and especially of our Lord's own words; it has always been held by Christendom and it has the support of reason.¹
C. S. Lewis was no intellectual pushover. His words deserve serious consideration. Problems have a way of multiplying. The good news is---that's true only in this life---"How frail . . . how few our years . . . how full of trouble." But once we're in our Lord's presence, all that changes.
However, should you choose to ignore this opportunity to secure such hope, the alternative results will be dreadful beyond imagination. Come to think of it, that kind of future would make Job's trials seem like a piece of cake. Who wants a destiny like that? Don't go there!
1. C. S. Lewis, A Grief Observed (New York: Harper & Row, 1961), 17-18. C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. 1961. Extract reprinted by permission.
Needed Grace
by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Job 15:1--35
"That's it, Job! It's your arrogance!" Eliphaz backs away and stares at him with that glare, saying, again, "You are getting exactly what you deserve!" The style of communication Eliphaz employs is not that unusual to those who lack grace. It may not always be this brutal, but haven't you noticed this tone when you're around people who evidence no grace? When you're down, they kick you. When you're drowning, they pull you under. When you're confused, they complicate your life. And when you're almost finished, they write you off. Other than that, they're pretty good folks.
It is easy to forget the grief Job was trying to get past---the shocking loss of his adult children. Releasing the vise grip of grief that comes from a sudden death takes an enormous toll.
I can't help but think of that when I see Job, as he sits there enduring this, awash in his grief, trying his best to believe his ears---that this man who was once a friend is saying such graceless words. I'm left with one thought: "Lord, if you are teaching us anything through Job's endurance, teach us the value of grace. Teach us about demonstrating grace. Show us again that grace is always appropriate. Always needed.
The person sitting near you in church next Sunday, the lady pushing that cart in the grocery store, the one who's putting gas in his car at the next pump, the man behind you at the movies, waiting to buy his ticket, the student across from you at school. You have no idea what that person is going through. If you did, chances are you'd be prompted to show grace or to say a few encouraging words even quicker. Remember this please: grace is always appropriate, always needed!
"Amazing grace---how sweet the sound!"
Excerpted from Charles R. Swindoll, Great Days with the Great Lives (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2005). Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc