“Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came everyone from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.
13. So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spoke a word unto him, for they saw that his grief was great.” I’m going to assume that you know something about the book of Job. It is one of those biblical narratives that we hear a lot about because of its unusual nature. In the book, God allows Satan to rip Job’s life apart by causing him to lose everything, including all ten of his children and all of his wealth. The gist of the narrative is that Satan thought he could make Job curse God, and God knew that Job would remain steadfast throughout the ordeal – which he ultimately did but, not before he asked a lot of questions and agonized over his ordeal. In the midst of Job’s suffering came his three friends: Elliphaz, Bildad and Zophar. Here is where we will see that we do not need to be like Job’s friends. In verse 13, we note that these three friends came to Job in the first place to comfort him. They got off to a good start, because for the first seven days they sat with Job and did not say a word. The lesson here is that as long as Job’s friends kept their mouths shut and just shared their presence with Job, they did fine. The problem with them arose when they began to run their mouths and try to make Job repent. They were trying to convince Job that he was being punished by God for all of the sins that he had committed. Let me give you one example of a “word of comfort” from Job’s dear friend Eliphaz: “Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? Or where were the righteous cut off? Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity; and sow wickedness, reap the same.” (Job 4:7-8) Wow! How is that for comfort? He couldn’t have been further from the truth. Here is what God said to Satan about Job in Job 1:8: “And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and upright man, one that fears God and escheweth evil?” We should think before we speak, because words, unfortunately, cannot be called back into our mouths. Sometimes it is just best to keep our mouths shut and just be a friend. Job’s friends purported to speak for God, when they were really just giving their own opinions of what God was doing in Job’s life. I have discovered that I have a hard enough time determining what God is doing in my life without trying to figure out what he is doing in the lives of others. We need to be careful when we speak for God, because we may just be speaking for ourselves. We need to think long and hard before we give advice to suffering friends, particularly in the spiritual realm. We might think that we know the mind of God for that person, but we may not. What could Job’s friends have done for Job that would have been better than what they did, and for which they had to repent? (Read Job 42:7-10) They could have just stood by him as they did at first and kept their mouths shut. They could have just prayed for him silently and vocally, and asked God to relieve their friend. They could have just let Job talk about his troubles without giving their self-righteous feedback. They could have heard Job’s complaints and not give their judgments about them. They could have just been his friends – period. The lesson for us is that we are to just love our friends, pray for them and help them when we can. When we can’t say something helpful, it might be a good idea to follow what Job’s friends did in Job 2:13, and do not say a word. Bro. Joe
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“Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.”
I’ve heard it said that “hell ain’t half full.” Well, here is it is in the Bible, in a way. lol It is also written here that “the eyes of man/woman are never satisfied." This can go in several directions. What I saw in it was that human greed knows no limits. To put it mildly, the Bible is tough on greediness, or covetousness. The Bible does not teach that is wrong to have wealth. It does teach that wealth should not have us. This is illustrated for us in 1 Timothy 6:10: “For the love of money is the root of all (kinds of) evil: which while some have coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” When we love money more than we love God or people, we are treading on dangerous ground. We have plenty of evidence that greed ruins people. Coveteousness will hamper our relationship with God. Hebrews 13:5: “Let your conduct be without covetousness; and be content with such things as you have: for He has said, I will never leave, nor forsake you.” Greed does not feed our faith. It makes us forget that we should ultimately depend on God. We forget that Jesus has promised that “He will never leave us nor forsake us.” We can become dependent on what we have to give us the security that only God can give. He will not leave us, but worldly wealth can be lost. I have read that a lot people who had put their whole livelihood into their wealth, when the stock market fell in 1929, committed suicide. Of course, if greed hampers our relationship with God, it also hampers our relationship with people. Greed has destroyed families. I have known people who were wealthy, but did not let that rule their lives, and their lives were stable. They put their money to good use and did not hoard it to their hurt. Of course, there are many stories of how greed and wealth have destroyed lives. The tenth commandment deals with this: “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s.” (Exodus 20:17) We need to guard against greediness – covetousness - at all costs. Our eyes should be satisfied with such as we have. Don’t let what you have in the bank, what property you have, or whatever else there might be, rule your mind and heart. Love God and love people. Don’t allow Satan to destroy your life with covetousness. Bro. Joe “But as touching brotherly love you need not that I write unto you: for you yourselves are taught of God to love one another. 10. And indeed you do it toward all the brothers which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you brothers that you increase more and more. 11. And that you study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your hands, as we commanded you. 12. That you may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that you have lack of nothing.”
I know that we need a verbal witness, but if our lives do not measure up, our verbal witness will be muted. Paul was encouraging the Thessalonians to live up to their faith, and to be good witnesses. The things that Paul dealt with in this passage can help us live witnessing lives. In verse 9, Paul encouraged the Thessalonians, and us, to remember that they/we are to love each other, and to love all people. It is interesting that he used the Greek for brotherly love at the first of the verse, but the last word for love is agape (ahgahpay) – God’s kind of love. We are to love as brothers and sisters, but we are also to love as God loves. It is certain that we will not love perfectly as God does, but we are to love people at both levels – brotherly love and God’s kind of love. If we don’t love people we cannot possibly live witnessing lives. In verse 11, Paul wrote that they should live a “quiet life and mind their own business.” This might seem to work against becoming involved in people’s lives and witnessing to them. He did not mean that they were to become loners, and stay away from people. He was reminding them of the kind of lives they should live if they were going to witness to the world. If we want to live a witnessing life, we need to be careful what we say (“study to be quiet”), and about what we say about, and to people (“mind your own business”). It is one thing to become involved in people’s lives and ministering to them in the name of Jesus, it is quite another thing for us to be nosy and gossip about other people. Evidently, there was a problem with this in Thessalonica, and it must have been hurting the church’s witness. In verses 11b and 12, Paul reminded them that they needed to be industrious in their living (“work with your own hands”). There was a problem in Thessalonica with people who had quit working because they were looking for Jesus to return at any time. Paul reminded them in both letters to Thessalonica that this is not the right way to do it. We are to live productive lives until Jesus comes again. This is part of our witness. Here is how it is translated in the NIV: “…work with your own hands, just as we told you, 12. So that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.” The pertinent words here are: “so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders.” I think that you will agree that Paul has given us good advice about living a witnessing life. Bro. Joe “And lest I be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8. For this thing I sought the Lord three times, that it might depart from me. 9. And He said unto me, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
Paul was given an unknown “thorn in the flesh” from Satan to humble him. He wanted it removed, but Jesus reminded him that His grace was sufficient to handle this situation. Jesus’ strength is “made perfect in weakness.” We have the power of Christ to help us to live above whatever “thorns” Satan might use to hamper us. Let me share with you two of my “thorns,” which are probably also yours. Sometimes I am my own thorn. (You might as well admit it.) For example, Satan will zero in on my doubts and fears to hamper my Christian growth and witness. What I have found that the best thing to do when my doubts and fears start to get the best of me is to go directly to prayer and seek the strength of the grace of Jesus to help me overcome them. When Satan assails me with the temptations to sins of the flesh, so to speak, I MUST go immediately to Jesus. My ability to overcome the sins of my mind and my flesh is made possible through the strength that Jesus gives. I can know the strength of the grace of Jesus by submitting my weaknesses to Him. This can be true for you. There is, indeed power in prayer. Sometimes people are my thorn. I think that Satan works overtime in his temptations in the matter of “other people.” He will use this thorn to ruin relationships in the workplace. He will also use this temptation to ruin relationships in church. Face it, we get on one another’s nerves sometimes, and this happens as much in church as it does at work. A person who is obnoxious to us at work is as obnoxious at church. I have found in these cases that I MUST take these people to prayer. I don’t mean a “quickie” prayer, but that I MUST pray for them daily until I look at them differently. Sometimes I have discovered that I was also obnoxious to them. Don’t let Satan ruin your relationships at home, at work at play or at church. Ask for the strength of the grace of Jesus to help you overcome. You will discover as much about yourself in this exercise in prayer as you do about the other person. (Just saying!) I think that you will agree that the two thorns that I dealt with here are also thorns in your life. If Jesus overcomes these thorns, I think that He will overcome a lot of our problems with ourselves and with other people. You will probably agree. Bro. Joe “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."
. The kingdom of God is not to get bogged down about arguments about dietary laws, but it is comprised of righteousness, joy and peace. Righteousness, peace and joy are made possible by the Holy Spirit. This means that the Holy Spirit is the catalyst for righteousness, peace and joy. If we are left alone, we can mess these three things up like we do everything else. But the Holy Spirit makes them possible, real and viable in our fellowship in the kingdom of God, and in our witness to the world. The promise of the Holy Spirit was a paramount promise of Jesus to His disciples.This promise was given in John 14:16-18; “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter (Holy Spirit), that He may abide with you forever. 17. Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it sees Him not, neither knows Him; for He dwells with you and shall be in you. 18. I will not leave you comfortless for I will come to you.” A further promise of Jesus was given in John 16:13-14: “Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever you shall hear, that shall He speak, and He will show you things to come. 14. He shall glorify me: for He shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.” Righteousness, peace and joy will reign in the Kingdom of ‘God because of the guidance of the Holy Spirit. That is why Paul wrote that these three virtues were “in the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit gives us kingdom righteousness, which is the righteousness of Jesus. He gives us kingdom peace, because it is the peace of Jesus. He gives us kingdom joy, because it is the joy of Jesus. All of these virtues were promised by Jesus, and the Holy Spirit will give them to us. One of our great problems in the work of the Lord is that we try to accomplish these things in the flesh instead of in the Spirit. In that way, righteousness becomes self-righteousness, peace becomes false peace, and joy becomes temporary happiness and fades away as everything done in the flesh fades away. We need to surrender to the guidance of the Holy Spirit to guide us into real kingdom righteousness, real kingdom peace and real kingdom joy. Bro. Joe “For by (Jesus) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him and for Him: And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church; who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead: that in all things He might have preminence.”
Notice that Jesus is to have preeminence (first place) in all things. This is comprehensive, isn’t it? Jesus is not just to have first place at church but in the home, at work, at school, etc. Why are we to give Jesus first place? Colossians 1:16-18 tells us why. Jesus should have first place in our lives because of who He is. First, He is the One created all things in heaven and in earth. People do not usually think of Jesus as the creator, but that is what Paul wrote. He created everything from the greatest thing in the universe to the smallest atomic particle. Second, He created all things for Himself. “All things were created by Him and for Him.” Jesus is not just the Lord of our lives; He is the Lord of the whole universe. For example, Jesus created our solar system for Himself. Every star in the heavens belongs to Him. All of what we call space belongs to Him. Third, He is the One who holds it all together: “by Him all things consist.” This is a word of great comfort. If Jesus can hold the universe together, doesn’t it stand to reason that He can hold our lives together? Seeing all this, giving Jesus first place does make sense, doesn’t it? Jesus should have first place in our lives because of what He is. First, Jesus is the “head of the body, the church.” This is not a reference to the building that we worship in but a reference to our lives. We are the church. The church that you are a member of does not belong to the members, it belongs to Jesus. Jesus told Peter in Matthew 16:18: “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.” Jesus is to have first place in matters in our churches. Second, Jesus is the firstborn from the dead.” This simply means that in His resurrection Jesus defeated death for us. Jesus died on the cross as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Three days later He arose. All of this happened to Jesus in order for us to be “saved by grace through faith” in Him. We did not do this for ourselves. There is no such thing as a “self-made” Christian. Jesus died for our sins, rose again, and is alive at the Father’s right hand now; therefore, He should have first place in our lives. Third, to get back where we began, all of this was done “that He might have preeminence.” He does not want to have first place for His sake. After all, He already has first place throughout the universe. We need for Jesus to have first place in our lives. We will be better Christians, indeed, better human beings when we give Jesus first place in our lives. Does Jesus have first place in your life? Does Jesus have first place in your family? Does Jesus have first place in your life where you are employed, or where you are in school? Does Jesus have first place in your church? Do yourself a favor and give Jesus first place in everything. Bro. Joe “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
We shouldn’t overlook the word “surely.” It can also be translated as “only” or “yet.” The whole point of the word is that we can surely depend on what is to follow. When the Lord is our shepherd, His goodness and mercy shall always be with us. God’s goodness in our lives doesn’t mean that everything after we are saved will be good. It means that God’s goodness with us helps us to live through the good and the bad in joyful anticipation of what He is doing, and will do, in our lives. “Mercy” is also translated as “loving kindness.” This is just a reminder that the Lord loves us, and that we can depend on His kindness. This is not the view that a lot of people have of God because they have not experienced His mercy and loving kindness through Jesus Christ. God’s goodness and mercy have been with me through all of the various health trials that I have experienced over the last few years. One author, whose name I do not remember, wrote that he had two angels who followed him every day of his life. He was referring to God’s goodness and mercy. I want to take brief look at “all the days of my life.” This is what we might call a “lifetime guarantee.” Before He ascended to the Father, Jesus told His disciples, and, us: “Lo I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” (Matthew 28:20b) In Christ, we never walk alone. He is with us every day with His goodness and mercy to enrich our lives, make us better witnesses and, for that matter, better human beings, who share His goodness and mercy with the world. David added: “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” He was probably referring to the tabernacle, or, later, the temple, where the Lord dwelt among His people Israel. This was his way of saying that He would be close to God and that God would be close to him, not just in his earthly life, but in eternity. The way I see this, it is a two-fold promise: (1) As already written above, we have a guarantee of the Lord’s presence in our earthy lives. (2) We have a guarantee that we will dwell in His presence in heaven. Through Jesus Christ, the Lord’s presence is pervasive in our lives. This is a fitting way for this psalm to end. It began with the Lord as our shepherd in our lives, meeting our needs, leading us in paths of righteousness, restoring our souls, leading us through “the valley of the shadow of death,” anointing us, leading us through His goodness and mercy, and giving us a guarantee that that we would be with Him forever. You can’t get any better than that!!! Bro. Joe “Thou preparest a Table before me in the presence of my enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.”
The shepherd would go before the sheep and rid the pasture (table) of anything that might harm them. This is just as Jesus does for us. This is what John 10:9 teaches us: “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture.” Jesus went before us on the cross to clear the way for us to be saved and to feast on God’s riches. In Jesus, we have a feast of prayer, worship, and of the word of God to sustain us and enable us to live productive lives. We live daily in His presence as He promised. This feast was prepared “in the presence of my enemies.” When we face the troubles and temptations of life, we can still feast on the riches of God’s grace. Satan, temptation and evil are always present around us. Jesus does not want us to deny that there is an enemy, but that He will enable us to overcome him. We call it “deliverance.” There will never be a time when we will not have enemies, but there is a never a time when we do not have Jesus and the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us and give us victory in spite of them. Do not let Satan rob you of the feast of joy and worship that is yours in Jesus. He will be in your home, your workplace and your place of worship. He wants to destroy your witness and your testimony. Jesus has prepared a way for you – take it!!! Pray and seek the face of God and receive the deliverance that only He can give. Now, we come to the anointing: “He anointeth my head with oil.” The “oil” represents the Holy Spirit at work in our lives. Through Jesus, we have an anointing from God. 2 Corinthians 6:20-22 explains this anointing: “For all the promises of God in Him (Christ). Amen unto the glory of God by us. 21. Now He which establishes us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God. 22. Who hath also sealed us and given us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.” Each person who has been saved through faith in Jesus Christ, has been anointed by God with the Holy Spirit. Just as the oil refreshed the sheep and healed some of their wounds, so the Holy Spirit refreshes us, heals us and empowers us to serve the Lord. Without that anointing we would have no power to serve God. As you face each day, and in whatever that day might bring, you have the Holy Spirit with you refreshing, leading and guiding you through whatever you may encounter. Stop reading here and stop and praise God! Through your faith in Jesus Christ, you can take this verse personally. Bro. Joe “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”
There were places that were really “valleys of the shadow death” in the wilderness of Palestine that sheep could wander into that could be lethal. But I think that David also used it metaphorically for “valleys” that we could go through in our lives, in which we would need the Lord’s guidance. I thought of the valley of illness, the valley of the death of loved ones, the valley of the fear of death itself. The list could go on and on, just suffice it to say that we go through valleys in our lives. When we go through those valleys, we need to have the attitude of David: “I will fear no evil.” I interpret this to mean that I do not have to live in dread of the valleys that I will encounter. This does not mean that no evil will occur in our lives. It is the nature of the fallen world in which we live, and Satan will add his evil work to the mix. We can meet life’s evils without fear. How? David added: “for thou art with me.” We do not have to walk in the “valley of the shadow of death” alone. This is a solid biblical promise. We should always be aware that no matter what we have to face in life, we have the promise of the presence of God. Jesus promised His disciples, and us, that when He returned to the Father, He would send the Holy Spirit as our Comforter. Dread does not have to take over our lives. I should add here that the Lord is with us through all of those things that we fear. He doesn’t always lead us around them. His grace is always sufficient!!!! David mentioned the “rod” and “staff” of the Lord as instruments of protection. The rod was a club to beat back wild animals, and the staff had several uses to help and protect the sheep. The Lord will protect us through the valley. When I think of the Lord’s protection through life’s trials, I always go back to the promise given Israel in Deuteronomy 33:27a: “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms…” This is still true today! However we define the Lord’s protection, we can be assured that He has not forsaken us. We can meet all of life’s valleys, or trials, because the Lord has promised that He will not leave nor forsake us. (For further insight on God’s protection, read Ephesians 6:13-18.) You do not need to dread whatever you are facing today if you are trusting in the Lord to be with you and to guide you through. That is the promise of Psalm 23:4. Take it personally! Bro. Joe “He makes me to lie down in green pastures: He leads me beside still waters.”
This verse tells us something about the relationship between the sheep and the shepherd, and our relationship with our Shepherd. The first thing that we notice is that “He makes me lie down.” This is a statement about obedience. Sheep know that the shepherd has their best interests at heart and they obey what the shepherd tells them to do. It should be the same with us and our Shepherd. We need to always remember that the Lord loves us and has our best interests at heart. We should obey Him because we can trust Him. We need to remember the admonition from Romans 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” As sheep intrinsically trust their shepherd, we should trust our Shepherd. Second we notice where the shepherd tells the sheep to lie down “in green pastures.” The sheep knew that “green pastures” were a source of food. This gave the sheep a sense of security and contentment. In referring to Himself as the “Good Shepherd” in John 10:7-9, Jesus said: "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep, 8. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will go in and out and find pasture.” Through trusting Jesus, we come to “green pastures” where we find peace and contentment in the midst of the storms all around us. We need to get this down in our minds and hearts: We can trust Jesus to make our lives richer and more meaningful if we will just trust and obey Him as the sheep obey their shepherd. We will go through difficult times, but He will lead us through them. Believe me, I could write a whole book on this subject. Finally, we notice that the shepherd “leads me beside still waters.” The shepherd knows that sheep are afraid of a swiftly moving stream. He is also aware that their thick coat of wool would cause them to sink and drown. He leads them to either a well, or a pool. If need be, the shepherd would dig a trench from the swift stream and make a still pool for the sheep to drink from and to lay down beside. Jesus leads us “beside still waters” and gives us the “peace that passes all understanding.” (Philippians 4:7) The gist of this verse is that we have a Heavenly Shepherd, who leads us to what is best in life, if we will trust andA obey Him. Bro. Joe |
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