Podcasts about curse god

We have seen the example of Jeremiah and how his prayer life saw him through the sorrow of God's wrath. Now, we turn to Job and see how his prayer life made him famous for his enduring faith. "Behold, we count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful."James 5:11Job was a successful man; he was a wonderful father, but overall, he was a pious man. This is evidenced by his reaction to losing everything."And it came about, when the days of feasting had completed their cycle, that Job would send and consecrate them, rising up early in the morning and offering burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, "Perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." Thus Job did continually."Job 1:5"Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD." 22 Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God."Job 1:20-22"Then his wife said to him, "Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!" 10 But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?" "In all this Job did not sin with his lips."Job 2:9-10After being overwhelmed by the tedious attacks on his integrity, Job declared he would strut in like a prince to God Almighty and demand an answer; he was about to face his Almighty Creator. Our So what?Job's prayer life gave him endurance and comfort beyond our apprehension. Treasured ones of God, pray, pray, pray through all God's work in your life; therein is the abundant life promised, knowing Him.Next time, we will learn the one lesson Job needed to learn to bring his life to an abundance of joy.Brethren, let's pray for one another."What a man is on his knees before God, that he is and nothing more." Robert Murray M'Cheynee Donation link:https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=G9JGGR5W97D64Or go to www.freerangepreacheronprayer.com and use the Donations tab.Assistant Editor: Seven Jefferson Gossard.www.freerangepreacheronprayer.comfreerangeprayer@gmail.comFacebook - Free Range Preacher MinistriesInstagram: freerangeministriesAll our Scripture quotes are drawn from the NASB 1977 edition.For access to the Voice Over services of Richard Durrington, please visit RichardDurrington.com or email him at Durringtonr@gmail.comOur podcast art was designed by @sammmmmmmmm23 InstagramSeason 007Episode 026

What does true hospitality look like? In this powerful sermon, Rachel unpacks how Jesus radical hospitality transforms livesespecially through one extraordinary encounter between Jesus and a woman society had cast aside. She challenges us to move beyond mere entertainment and embrace gospel-shaped hospitality, where love, grace, and interdependence create space for encountering God. Join us as we explore how Jesus mission wasnt just about teaching or miraclesit was about eating and drinking with people, inviting them into His presence. What if our tables could be places of transformation too? Listen now and be inspired to open your home, your heart, and your life to experience the reality that God is truly among us. To catch up on the latest sermons from Deep Creek, go to iTunes, Spotify ordeepcreekanglican.comand check out the website for more info about whats happening. We are a welcoming and growing multigenerational church in Doncaster East in Melbourne with refreshing faith in Jesus Christ. We think that looks like being life-giving to the believer, surprising to the world, and strengthening to the weary and doubting. Read the transcript Scripture Reading (James 5:720) Be patient then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. Dont grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Jobs perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple Yes or No. Otherwise you will be condemned. Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray.Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins. (This is the word of the Lord.) Introduction Well, this is the last in a series from the Book of James, but well actually be considering the entire message of the book. If you havent been here for the series, thats absolutely fine youll still get plenty out of the text today. At the moment, my social media feed seems to be full of fact-checking videos. When someone in authority says things about, maybe, medicine or demographics or how things are in the world, someone else pops up over the top of that video and talks about whether the facts being shared are accurate whether the speaker is interpreting the information properly, whether the evidence is really there. I dont know that I ever expected wed need this rise of fact-checking when authoritative figures speak. It might be the news or whatever, but suddenly we do need fact-checkers. And of course, we went through a period on social media where little flags would come up saying, we dont think that this actually tells the facts (that feature has apparently been removed on some platforms). Its a strange world where we know the power of words, and yet its so easy to disagree about whether those words convey truth. We might find information being presented to us, but truth is another thing altogether. The Book of James is very concerned with the power of words and the truth of those words. Its concerned with how we respond to the powerful Word of God, and also how our own words reflect the fact that weve had the powerful Word of God implanted in our lives. We see at the beginning of James that Gods Word is powerful to save and to guide. As we get towards chapter 3, we see that our words are powerful for good or ill we can really damage people, community, and situations by what we say. And now in chapter 5, we see the intersection of those two things: Gods Word is powerful, our words are powerful, and our words to God are exceedingly powerful for ourselves and others. But the foundation of all of this, for James, is the powerful, growing, life-giving action of the Word of God. He uses language like this in chapter 1: He chose to give us birth through the word of truth. Then he calls all believers to humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Not simply telling you about God, but this Word that God has revealed about Himself not simply a book, but Gods revelation about Himself in Jesus Christ (the Good News about who He is, who we are, and how we can be together) and this Word can save you. Of course, the risk of telling people that the Word of God saves you is that we can feel like once weve heard the Word, were good. Its done its job; weve listened, weve sat here (Megans gone on and on), and were good. But James says, no, no, thats not actually listening that God requires. Do not merely listenand so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Whoever looks intently into the perfect law (James often uses law, word, and truth interchangeably) that gives freedom, and continues in it not forgetting what they have heard but doing it they will be blessed in what they do. (In other words, hearing Gods Word isnt enough; we must do it.) The Word of God is able to save and give you new birth, and as you live it out, you actually flourish you are blessed. James then concludes the letter with the words we heard today: My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins. James knows that we live in a world full of information, and that we have power to convince people of just about anything. (People have said about me, she could sell ice to Eskimos. That means its hard to know because of a convincing tone whether the information someone is conveying is actually truth.) But James centers on three words truth, law, and word as the core of Gods action in our lives. So when we use our words, ultimately the most powerful thing we can do on earth is to bring people to the truth. And when you do that, you cover over a multitude of sins, because the truth is the message about Jesus gift of forgiveness, grace, and eternal life. So James wants us to know that if Gods words have been so powerful as to save us, then our words must be full of grace, integrity, and hope. We saw in chapter 3 the damage that can be done by the negative use of words. (Like a forest fire set off by one tiny spark, our words can cause damage: gossip, rumors, slander, cruelty, deceit destroying relationships and community.) But now, as we come to the end in chapter 5, James starts to talk about using our words in a positive way the power of positive words. Patience in Suffering The first thing he addresses is our patience under suffering and how we speak during that suffering. Be patient then, brothers and sisters, until the Lords coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lords coming is near. Dont grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door. In the midst of their trials (and James has never glossed over the fact that being a Christian may lead to deprivation, alienation, doubts, questions, hardship he started the very letter with, Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds.) he sees the need for patience. Just like the Israelites moving from Egypt to the Promised Land: that time in the wilderness was meant to strengthen them, to give them a legacy of trusting God for everything. God was always faithful. And so, just as a farmer knows the rains are coming, they had to be patient on this journey because the Judge is at the door Jesus is coming. But you know what happens when youre having a hard time? You tend to look around for anyone or anything that can become the target of your sense of unease, dis-ease. (I dont know if youve ever had to say this: Im sorry for what I said when I was hungry. In our household, that tends to be Sunday afternoons Meghan coming home around 1 PM, and I have actually had to text Phil, Im coming in hot. Like, just have the carbohydrates on the table, dont talk to me, Im going to need something. And those Tim Tams that I told you to save oh, they better still be there!) Weve worked it out now; they are there, because weve had some good family meetings about this recently, clarifying expectations and making sure nobody is grumbling. James knows that when youre under pressure under pressure as a family, as friends, as housemates, as a church (financial pressure, persecution, interest rates, whatever it is) you look around and you grumble and fight, pushing your frustrations outwards. I find that Im often looking for something to retrofit my bad feelings into. Im looking for an excuse to be grumpy at something, and that thing isnt even whats making me feel bad but Ill pretend it is so I can vent it. James is saying: you will go through hard times as a community. Do not grumble at each other (like the Israelites did, even though God was faithful). The Lord is coming, and you will be provided for. So then he moves on: Okay, if youre not going to grumble, can you instead speak graciously under that pressure? Can your words be full of integrity and hope even when times are hard? He gives us an example of patience in suffering: Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. They persevered under suffering but continued to speak rightly about God. (Thats not to say they didnt complain about their circumstances to God. We know Jeremiah, who endured all kinds of physical, emotional, and social suffering, was very honest with God. Elijah spoke very frankly with God: Im the only one left; Youve left me here! And God said, Youre hungry have a nap and a snack, and now lets talk.) The prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord persevered in speaking rightly about God and His mission on the earth, and in speaking rightly to God, bringing their struggles to Him. Youve also heard of Jobs perseverance and seen what the Lord finally brought about (The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.). Job, too, is an example of someone who did not sin in what he said, even though he was under great suffering and trial. We know this because he was told by his wife, Curse God and die. His friends told him he was speaking wrongly about God that he shouldnt be asking Why is this happening? or claiming to be righteous. In the end of the book, God says to Jobs friends, You have not spoken rightly about Me, as has My servant Job. So as Job persevered under suffering, he maintained the ability to speak rightly about God and about his situation, and to speak rightly to God about his situation. James says if you do that, youll come to know that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy. If Gods words have been so powerful as to save us (the message of Jesus), then our words must be full of grace, integrity, and hope. Speaking with Integrity Above all, James says, do not swear not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. (Hes not talking about using foul language here; he means dont say, I swear by heaven or on my grandmothers life that something is true.) All you need to say is a simple yes or no. Otherwise you will be condemned. Having a community that always speaks truth is essential to God growing His kingdom on the earth absolutely essential. Jesus spoke to the leaders, and throughout Jamess letter you find heaps of connections to Jesus Sermon on the Mount. This teaching on oaths is one of those connections. In Matthew 5 Jesus said: Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made. But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is Gods throne; or by the earth, for it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair black or white. All you need to say is simply Yes or No; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. (I think I sort of can make one hair black or white but I have to pay a lot of money!) Providing backing for your words actually undermines their truthfulness. If you feel the need to say, Ive got heavens backing for this truth Im telling you, then what are we to think about what you say normally? And what happens if it turns out not to be true? Its greatly risky to claim any sort of divine power behind your words because if you break that oath and youve called on God to back you up, well, maybe He wont be too pleased. If youve broken it, youve associated the truthful, holy God with your deceit. Jesus says you need to simply say yes or no. Are you a person of integrity or not? Why would you need to call on something that you have absolutely no power over? Instead, just be a person who speaks out of the integrity of your heart. Jesus goes on to say in Matthew 12: The mouth speaks what the heart is full of. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that everyone will have to give an account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned. Jesus isnt proposing a different measure of salvation here; Hes saying that our words show whether our heart is truly connected to God. Your words show whether the Word of God thats been given to you that could save you, that could give you new birth has really done that. Your verbal integrity shows that you are a friend of God and not of the world. James wants his community to be people of the utmost integrity in their speech. And its so important, especially for a new church thats telling the world we speak the truth. This message about Jesus is the truth! Yet if we then say other things that arent true, what will the world think? (Fast forward 2,000 years and you can see what the world thinks.) And what if we want to be open to the work of the Spirit among us open to everybody having a go at understanding what the Scriptures mean for us today but we cant be sure people are speaking the truth? Then, boy, youd have to shut things down to the narrowest little channel, with one leader at the front, and put all your hope in them being the only one to say things from God. No we need to speak honestly and truthfully. Of course well come at things from different perspectives (thats okay); we gather around the word of truth together and we dont deceive. We come to God and say, show us, and Hes given us plenty of Scriptures to help in that regard. Verbal integrity is central to Christian community. So, to recap: Gods Word is powerful to save and to guide. Our words are powerful for good or ill. Our words to God are powerful for ourselves and others. So, James concludes: Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James says the best use of our words, in good times and bad, is always to involve God. There is nothing too small, nothing too big, nothing too good, nothing too bad our words are not simply to go on the horizontal; we are always invited (indeed, it is Gods intention) to involve Him with our words in everything. Of course, when its something small, you might think, does it really matter? Well, if youve done the Prayer Course or read anything by Pete Greig, he often talks about how if you are in the habit of bringing everything to God, then you start to see Gods answers in the small and the big, and gratitude wells up in you. I think your language to other people then becomes more gracious and hopeful as well. I believe James would say that your expectation about God in your words is everything. Recently I lost a necklace. Id taken it off when we went swimming and put it in the car. I thought at the time, This is risky youre not going to remember where you put it. I do lose things a bit (I could probably put that on my diagnosis sheet), and it really struck me; I thought, Is this wise? Is this a good spot? Whats going to happen? Anyway, when I went to find it again, the only thing I could think was, Megan, you lose things all the time and you put it in a really risky spot. I couldnt even bring myself to look in the safe or obvious places; I was convinced: you took a huge risk (you do this all the time), so its gone. Of course, Phil went and found the necklace in a really easy spot just in the little side-door pocket no problem. Meanwhile I was imagining wild scenarios: Did I put it in a shoe? Did it fall out on the ground? It was madness. My expectation while looking for it was basically, I always lose things; Im probably not going to find it, and I wasnt even going to look in the obvious spot because I assumed it wouldnt be there. James says we are so like that when it comes to prayer. Were great at making our spreadsheets and plans, but we dont think to go to prayer. We think, Well, I havent really found answers to my prayers in the past I always lose things and so we dont do it. But James says: just do it with everything. When youre in trouble, pray (pray for yourself you dont have to wait for someone else). When youre happy, sing songs of praise (if youre doing that outside of church, just make sure no ones around unless youre really great at singing, then, you know, put it on the internet!). James wants us to know that in the midst of all the human wisdom we can glean from his book (and you dont have to be a Christian to find incredible wisdom in Jamess advice to speak rightly and avoid hypocrisy anybody can learn from the fact that one word can cause huge damage), the distinctive thing about Christianity is that we expect God to answer prayer that we can access God for ourselves and for others. (As Phoebe told me, shes seeing a lot of people saying, Id vote for Jesus; Im not a Christian, but I would vote for Jesus. I love what Jesus stands for. I completely agree imagine what incredibly compassionate policies we might see! But people often dont realize that Jesus also talked about the weirdest stuff: Connect with God. Pray. Expect God to answer. Know that God is a good Father and will give you everything you need.) So as much as we might say Jesus would have great social policies, the truly distinctive thing about Christianity is that we expect that God will answer prayer that we can access God for ourselves and for others. Conclusion This year were calling ourselves to Start Right. God wants us to know that His Word is powerful, and that we are to treasure what we have to soak ourselves in the Word as much as we can, to talk about it, and to talk to God about it. And as we are planted in Him, we must use our words rightly, noticing how we speak to each other here and moving beyond just avoiding the negative. Its not only about saying, Im not going to say bad things, but actually making a positive contribution: Im going to speak truth. Im going to speak hope. Im going to speak grace. Im not going to grumble. And finally, were going to talk to God. Prayer is really the only thing. Im pretty good at making things on Canva and keeping spreadsheets (though updating them and keeping my files consistent not so good). But without prayer, what do those efforts amount to? To quote Pete Greig again: Without prayer, Alpha is just advertising a religious product. Without prayer, church planting is just rolling out outlets for a franchise for the religiously inclined. Without prayer, our works in social transformation are just (lets be honest) second-rate social work. Without prayer, we might feel religious, but we dont have a relationship an interactive encounter with the living God. So this year, as we seek to have people know (and for ourselves to know) that God is really among us, it comes down to this: involving God in every single aspect of our lives. Talking to Him, listening to Him, praising, seeking help, and getting others to help us in prayer as well. Now, Im going to pray for us, and as the band comes up I want to ask you to consider whether you would like God to give you a greater hunger for prayer this year. Only you know if thats something you need. Im not going to ask anyone to stand up or raise a hand, but I am asking you to make a commitment to God that youre seeking a greater hunger, and that if He gives it to you, you will act on it. So lets pray. Almighty God, Your words are powerful, and we always want to respond to them. For those of us who need to respond in this way, Lord, we ask that You would see us and our great desire to involve You to have an interactive, encountering relationship with You through prayer. For those of us making that commitment, Lord, we now ask that Your Holy Spirit give us a greater hunger for prayer in 2025. And Lord, where You pour out Your Spirit and give us a hunger for prayer, may we not ignore or abuse that gift, but act to slake that thirst and meet that hunger by praying. May it be our gift to the world, to ourselves, to this church. And may we find ourselves so deeply in love with who You are our faith refreshed and our confidence in Your power immensely grown this year. Amen.

How do we respond to lifes challengeswith grumbling or with patience? In this sermon from the Book of James, we explore the power of words, the call to integrity, and the life-changing impact of prayer. James reminds us that just as a farmer waits for rain, we too must trust in Gods timing. Whether we face trials, joy, or uncertainty, our words and prayers matter. Join us as we reflect on starting right this yearanchored in faith, truth, and the power of Gods presence. To catch up on the latest sermons from Deep Creek, go to iTunes, Spotify ordeepcreekanglican.comand check out the website for more info about whats happening. We are a welcoming and growing multigenerational church in Doncaster East in Melbourne with refreshing faith in Jesus Christ. We think that looks like being life-giving to the believer, surprising to the world, and strengthening to the weary and doubting. Read the transcript Scripture Reading (James 5:720) Be patient then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. Dont grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Jobs perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple Yes or No. Otherwise you will be condemned. Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray.Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins. (This is the word of the Lord.) Introduction Well, this is the last in a series from the Book of James, but well actually be considering the entire message of the book. If you havent been here for the series, thats absolutely fine youll still get plenty out of the text today. At the moment, my social media feed seems to be full of fact-checking videos. When someone in authority says things about, maybe, medicine or demographics or how things are in the world, someone else pops up over the top of that video and talks about whether the facts being shared are accurate whether the speaker is interpreting the information properly, whether the evidence is really there. I dont know that I ever expected wed need this rise of fact-checking when authoritative figures speak. It might be the news or whatever, but suddenly we do need fact-checkers. And of course, we went through a period on social media where little flags would come up saying, we dont think that this actually tells the facts (that feature has apparently been removed on some platforms). Its a strange world where we know the power of words, and yet its so easy to disagree about whether those words convey truth. We might find information being presented to us, but truth is another thing altogether. The Book of James is very concerned with the power of words and the truth of those words. Its concerned with how we respond to the powerful Word of God, and also how our own words reflect the fact that weve had the powerful Word of God implanted in our lives. We see at the beginning of James that Gods Word is powerful to save and to guide. As we get towards chapter 3, we see that our words are powerful for good or ill we can really damage people, community, and situations by what we say. And now in chapter 5, we see the intersection of those two things: Gods Word is powerful, our words are powerful, and our words to God are exceedingly powerful for ourselves and others. But the foundation of all of this, for James, is the powerful, growing, life-giving action of the Word of God. He uses language like this in chapter 1: He chose to give us birth through the word of truth. Then he calls all believers to humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Not simply telling you about God, but this Word that God has revealed about Himself not simply a book, but Gods revelation about Himself in Jesus Christ (the Good News about who He is, who we are, and how we can be together) and this Word can save you. Of course, the risk of telling people that the Word of God saves you is that we can feel like once weve heard the Word, were good. Its done its job; weve listened, weve sat here (Megans gone on and on), and were good. But James says, no, no, thats not actually listening that God requires. Do not merely listenand so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Whoever looks intently into the perfect law (James often uses law, word, and truth interchangeably) that gives freedom, and continues in it not forgetting what they have heard but doing it they will be blessed in what they do. (In other words, hearing Gods Word isnt enough; we must do it.) The Word of God is able to save and give you new birth, and as you live it out, you actually flourish you are blessed. James then concludes the letter with the words we heard today: My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins. James knows that we live in a world full of information, and that we have power to convince people of just about anything. (People have said about me, she could sell ice to Eskimos. That means its hard to know because of a convincing tone whether the information someone is conveying is actually truth.) But James centers on three words truth, law, and word as the core of Gods action in our lives. So when we use our words, ultimately the most powerful thing we can do on earth is to bring people to the truth. And when you do that, you cover over a multitude of sins, because the truth is the message about Jesus gift of forgiveness, grace, and eternal life. So James wants us to know that if Gods words have been so powerful as to save us, then our words must be full of grace, integrity, and hope. We saw in chapter 3 the damage that can be done by the negative use of words. (Like a forest fire set off by one tiny spark, our words can cause damage: gossip, rumors, slander, cruelty, deceit destroying relationships and community.) But now, as we come to the end in chapter 5, James starts to talk about using our words in a positive way the power of positive words. Patience in Suffering The first thing he addresses is our patience under suffering and how we speak during that suffering. Be patient then, brothers and sisters, until the Lords coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lords coming is near. Dont grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door. In the midst of their trials (and James has never glossed over the fact that being a Christian may lead to deprivation, alienation, doubts, questions, hardship he started the very letter with, Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds.) he sees the need for patience. Just like the Israelites moving from Egypt to the Promised Land: that time in the wilderness was meant to strengthen them, to give them a legacy of trusting God for everything. God was always faithful. And so, just as a farmer knows the rains are coming, they had to be patient on this journey because the Judge is at the door Jesus is coming. But you know what happens when youre having a hard time? You tend to look around for anyone or anything that can become the target of your sense of unease, dis-ease. (I dont know if youve ever had to say this: Im sorry for what I said when I was hungry. In our household, that tends to be Sunday afternoons Meghan coming home around 1 PM, and I have actually had to text Phil, Im coming in hot. Like, just have the carbohydrates on the table, dont talk to me, Im going to need something. And those Tim Tams that I told you to save oh, they better still be there!) Weve worked it out now; they are there, because weve had some good family meetings about this recently, clarifying expectations and making sure nobody is grumbling. James knows that when youre under pressure under pressure as a family, as friends, as housemates, as a church (financial pressure, persecution, interest rates, whatever it is) you look around and you grumble and fight, pushing your frustrations outwards. I find that Im often looking for something to retrofit my bad feelings into. Im looking for an excuse to be grumpy at something, and that thing isnt even whats making me feel bad but Ill pretend it is so I can vent it. James is saying: you will go through hard times as a community. Do not grumble at each other (like the Israelites did, even though God was faithful). The Lord is coming, and you will be provided for. So then he moves on: Okay, if youre not going to grumble, can you instead speak graciously under that pressure? Can your words be full of integrity and hope even when times are hard? He gives us an example of patience in suffering: Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. They persevered under suffering but continued to speak rightly about God. (Thats not to say they didnt complain about their circumstances to God. We know Jeremiah, who endured all kinds of physical, emotional, and social suffering, was very honest with God. Elijah spoke very frankly with God: Im the only one left; Youve left me here! And God said, Youre hungry have a nap and a snack, and now lets talk.) The prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord persevered in speaking rightly about God and His mission on the earth, and in speaking rightly to God, bringing their struggles to Him. Youve also heard of Jobs perseverance and seen what the Lord finally brought about (The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.). Job, too, is an example of someone who did not sin in what he said, even though he was under great suffering and trial. We know this because he was told by his wife, Curse God and die. His friends told him he was speaking wrongly about God that he shouldnt be asking Why is this happening? or claiming to be righteous. In the end of the book, God says to Jobs friends, You have not spoken rightly about Me, as has My servant Job. So as Job persevered under suffering, he maintained the ability to speak rightly about God and about his situation, and to speak rightly to God about his situation. James says if you do that, youll come to know that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy. If Gods words have been so powerful as to save us (the message of Jesus), then our words must be full of grace, integrity, and hope. Speaking with Integrity Above all, James says, do not swear not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. (Hes not talking about using foul language here; he means dont say, I swear by heaven or on my grandmothers life that something is true.) All you need to say is a simple yes or no. Otherwise you will be condemned. Having a community that always speaks truth is essential to God growing His kingdom on the earth absolutely essential. Jesus spoke to the leaders, and throughout Jamess letter you find heaps of connections to Jesus Sermon on the Mount. This teaching on oaths is one of those connections. In Matthew 5 Jesus said: Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made. But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is Gods throne; or by the earth, for it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair black or white. All you need to say is simply Yes or No; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. (I think I sort of can make one hair black or white but I have to pay a lot of money!) Providing backing for your words actually undermines their truthfulness. If you feel the need to say, Ive got heavens backing for this truth Im telling you, then what are we to think about what you say normally? And what happens if it turns out not to be true? Its greatly risky to claim any sort of divine power behind your words because if you break that oath and youve called on God to back you up, well, maybe He wont be too pleased. If youve broken it, youve associated the truthful, holy God with your deceit. Jesus says you need to simply say yes or no. Are you a person of integrity or not? Why would you need to call on something that you have absolutely no power over? Instead, just be a person who speaks out of the integrity of your heart. Jesus goes on to say in Matthew 12: The mouth speaks what the heart is full of. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that everyone will have to give an account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned. Jesus isnt proposing a different measure of salvation here; Hes saying that our words show whether our heart is truly connected to God. Your words show whether the Word of God thats been given to you that could save you, that could give you new birth has really done that. Your verbal integrity shows that you are a friend of God and not of the world. James wants his community to be people of the utmost integrity in their speech. And its so important, especially for a new church thats telling the world we speak the truth. This message about Jesus is the truth! Yet if we then say other things that arent true, what will the world think? (Fast forward 2,000 years and you can see what the world thinks.) And what if we want to be open to the work of the Spirit among us open to everybody having a go at understanding what the Scriptures mean for us today but we cant be sure people are speaking the truth? Then, boy, youd have to shut things down to the narrowest little channel, with one leader at the front, and put all your hope in them being the only one to say things from God. No we need to speak honestly and truthfully. Of course well come at things from different perspectives (thats okay); we gather around the word of truth together and we dont deceive. We come to God and say, show us, and Hes given us plenty of Scriptures to help in that regard. Verbal integrity is central to Christian community. So, to recap: Gods Word is powerful to save and to guide. Our words are powerful for good or ill. Our words to God are powerful for ourselves and others. So, James concludes: Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James says the best use of our words, in good times and bad, is always to involve God. There is nothing too small, nothing too big, nothing too good, nothing too bad our words are not simply to go on the horizontal; we are always invited (indeed, it is Gods intention) to involve Him with our words in everything. Of course, when its something small, you might think, does it really matter? Well, if youve done the Prayer Course or read anything by Pete Greig, he often talks about how if you are in the habit of bringing everything to God, then you start to see Gods answers in the small and the big, and gratitude wells up in you. I think your language to other people then becomes more gracious and hopeful as well. I believe James would say that your expectation about God in your words is everything. Recently I lost a necklace. Id taken it off when we went swimming and put it in the car. I thought at the time, This is risky youre not going to remember where you put it. I do lose things a bit (I could probably put that on my diagnosis sheet), and it really struck me; I thought, Is this wise? Is this a good spot? Whats going to happen? Anyway, when I went to find it again, the only thing I could think was, Megan, you lose things all the time and you put it in a really risky spot. I couldnt even bring myself to look in the safe or obvious places; I was convinced: you took a huge risk (you do this all the time), so its gone. Of course, Phil went and found the necklace in a really easy spot just in the little side-door pocket no problem. Meanwhile I was imagining wild scenarios: Did I put it in a shoe? Did it fall out on the ground? It was madness. My expectation while looking for it was basically, I always lose things; Im probably not going to find it, and I wasnt even going to look in the obvious spot because I assumed it wouldnt be there. James says we are so like that when it comes to prayer. Were great at making our spreadsheets and plans, but we dont think to go to prayer. We think, Well, I havent really found answers to my prayers in the past I always lose things and so we dont do it. But James says: just do it with everything. When youre in trouble, pray (pray for yourself you dont have to wait for someone else). When youre happy, sing songs of praise (if youre doing that outside of church, just make sure no ones around unless youre really great at singing, then, you know, put it on the internet!). James wants us to know that in the midst of all the human wisdom we can glean from his book (and you dont have to be a Christian to find incredible wisdom in Jamess advice to speak rightly and avoid hypocrisy anybody can learn from the fact that one word can cause huge damage), the distinctive thing about Christianity is that we expect God to answer prayer that we can access God for ourselves and for others. (As Phoebe told me, shes seeing a lot of people saying, Id vote for Jesus; Im not a Christian, but I would vote for Jesus. I love what Jesus stands for. I completely agree imagine what incredibly compassionate policies we might see! But people often dont realize that Jesus also talked about the weirdest stuff: Connect with God. Pray. Expect God to answer. Know that God is a good Father and will give you everything you need.) So as much as we might say Jesus would have great social policies, the truly distinctive thing about Christianity is that we expect that God will answer prayer that we can access God for ourselves and for others. Conclusion This year were calling ourselves to Start Right. God wants us to know that His Word is powerful, and that we are to treasure what we have to soak ourselves in the Word as much as we can, to talk about it, and to talk to God about it. And as we are planted in Him, we must use our words rightly, noticing how we speak to each other here and moving beyond just avoiding the negative. Its not only about saying, Im not going to say bad things, but actually making a positive contribution: Im going to speak truth. Im going to speak hope. Im going to speak grace. Im not going to grumble. And finally, were going to talk to God. Prayer is really the only thing. Im pretty good at making things on Canva and keeping spreadsheets (though updating them and keeping my files consistent not so good). But without prayer, what do those efforts amount to? To quote Pete Greig again: Without prayer, Alpha is just advertising a religious product. Without prayer, church planting is just rolling out outlets for a franchise for the religiously inclined. Without prayer, our works in social transformation are just (lets be honest) second-rate social work. Without prayer, we might feel religious, but we dont have a relationship an interactive encounter with the living God. So this year, as we seek to have people know (and for ourselves to know) that God is really among us, it comes down to this: involving God in every single aspect of our lives. Talking to Him, listening to Him, praising, seeking help, and getting others to help us in prayer as well. Now, Im going to pray for us, and as the band comes up I want to ask you to consider whether you would like God to give you a greater hunger for prayer this year. Only you know if thats something you need. Im not going to ask anyone to stand up or raise a hand, but I am asking you to make a commitment to God that youre seeking a greater hunger, and that if He gives it to you, you will act on it. So lets pray. Almighty God, Your words are powerful, and we always want to respond to them. For those of us who need to respond in this way, Lord, we ask that You would see us and our great desire to involve You to have an interactive, encountering relationship with You through prayer. For those of us making that commitment, Lord, we now ask that Your Holy Spirit give us a greater hunger for prayer in 2025. And Lord, where You pour out Your Spirit and give us a hunger for prayer, may we not ignore or abuse that gift, but act to slake that thirst and meet that hunger by praying. May it be our gift to the world, to ourselves, to this church. And may we find ourselves so deeply in love with who You are our faith refreshed and our confidence in Your power immensely grown this year. Amen.

In this episode of The Crosswalk Devotional, we address the common struggle of seeking answers when life’s challenges leave us questioning God’s plan. We’ve all had moments when we want to understand the “why” behind our circumstances. Together, we’ll explore biblical perspectives on doubt, the importance of trusting God even when we don’t have clarity, and how to find peace amidst uncertainty. Join us as we share stories of faith, encourage each other in our questions, and discover the transformative power of surrendering our need for answers to God. Join the Conversation: We’d love to hear from you! What questions have you brought to God in your life, and how have you found peace in the unknown? Share your experiences with us on social media @LifeaudioNetwork or via email. What challenges have you faced in trusting God without having all the answers?

Pastor Damaris Solis brings this week's message, “This is My Confidence." Key Verses: John 16.33 NIV: ““I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”” Mark 5:.25-34 NIV: “And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?' ” But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”” Job 1.20-22 NIV: “At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.” Job 2.3-6 NIV: “Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.” “Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life. But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.” The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.”” Job 2.9-10 NIV: “His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!” He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.” Mark 2.3-5, 10-12 NIV: “Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”” Daniel 3.15-18, 25NIV: “Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?” Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty's hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”” Sermon Topics: Anxiety, Perseverance, Confidence If you enjoyed the podcast, please subscribe and share it with your friends on social media. For more information about PNEUMA Church, visit our website at mypneumachurch.org.  Connect with Us: Instagram: https://instagram.com/mypneumachurch YouTube: https://youtube.com/mypneumachurch Facebook: https://facebook.com/mypneumachurch Time Stamps: 00:00 - Introduction 00:30 - Welcome 02:11 - John 16.33 NIV 03:40 - This is My Confidence

Iyov Ch.2 - yesterday he lost his family and possessions, today his body is afflicted and yet he refuses to curse God.Calev teaches today's chapter providing insights on the books structure and historical composition as well as a breathtaking correspondence between the friends of Iyov and Ross, Jennifer, Chandler, Monica and Phoebe. Text here:https://www.sefaria.org/Job.2?lang=bi

Today we started reading the book of Job, this is one of the most challenging books of the Bible for us to understand.  Today's chapters are the only ones in which the word satan occurs and the ESV Bible we use has a footnote that in the Hebrew this word means “the adversary” and one can find many verses in the Old Testament where it is translated that way. ( For eg. 1 Sam.29 v.4; 2 Sam. 19 v.22; 1 Kings 5 v.4; 11 v.10,23,25 &c and the adversary is named – it is a specific human being) We are inclined to agree with those who see this book, although based on a real historical person and event, as written as a drama or play to teach a spiritual lesson.  We will be reading it for the rest of this month and its climax in the last chapter relates back to the first 2 or 3 chapters and we need to see this to get a full and balanced picture of the message this holy book has for us.  This adversary, says to God, “all that a man has he will give for his life. But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face”[2 v.4,5] But ‘Satan' is wrong!  Then Job's wife, in a sense, becomes an adversary telling him to “Curse God and die”. But he says to her, ‘You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil.” [v.9,10] We can perceive that God allows the bad experiences in life on occasions to test us out, to shape our character.  No sailor learns to sail if the sea is always calm. Think of the mixture of events that shaped David's character after his great faith in slaying Goliath.      When we come to the end of the book (Ch. 42 v.1-6) we see the events of the first 2 chapters in their total context with the early ‘disasters'.   In the end Job has dramatic contact with God leading to a deep appreciation of his position before God and a relationship with God that he never previously possessed..  All he had lost is restored to him – and more.  We see this as a picture of the blessings in store after the resurrection.  If life is all smooth sailing, with no challenges to our faith, we will not develop an urgent sense of the need to develop a full relationship with God and His Son.  Also, we will not achieve a true sense of humility and submission to God's will  Can we say to God, like Jesus did, “not my will, but yours be done” [Luke 22 v.42]  The book of Job has valuable lessons for the really diligent reader: hopefully that includes you.

“Curse God and die.” Why does the author of Job relate the apparent despair of Job's wife? What purpose does she play in the message of the book?

Sunday October 6thProper 22 Year B RCLJob 1:1; 2:1-10Psalm 26 Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12Mark 10:2-16The CollectAlmighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.Old TestamentJob 1:1; 2:1-10There was once a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.One day the heavenly beings came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil. He still persists in his integrity, although you incited me against him, to destroy him for no reason.” Then Satan answered the Lord, “Skin for skin! All that people have they will give to save their lives. But stretch out your hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, he is in your power; only spare his life.”So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and inflicted loathsome sores on Job from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. Job took a potsherd with which to scrape himself, and sat among the ashes.Then his wife said to him, “Do you still persist in your integrity? Curse God, and die.” But he said to her, “You speak as any foolish woman would speak. Shall we receive the good at the hand of God, and not receive the bad?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.The PsalmPsalm 26Judica me, Domine1 Give judgment for me, O Lord,for I have lived with integrity; *I have trusted in the Lord and have not faltered.2 Test me, O Lord, and try me; *examine my heart and my mind.3 For your love is before my eyes; *I have walked faithfully with you.4 I have not sat with the worthless, *nor do I consort with the deceitful.5 I have hated the company of evildoers; *I will not sit down with the wicked.6 I will wash my hands in innocence, O Lord, *that I may go in procession round your altar,7 Singing aloud a song of thanksgiving *and recounting all your wonderful deeds.8 Lord, I love the house in which you dwell *and the place where your glory abides.9 Do not sweep me away with sinners, *nor my life with those who thirst for blood,10 Whose hands are full of evil plots, *and their right hand full of bribes.11 As for me, I will live with integrity; *redeem me, O Lord, and have pity on me.12 My foot stands on level ground; *in the full assembly I will bless the Lord.orOld TestamentThe GospelMark 10:2-16Some Pharisees came, and to test Jesus they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of...

The greatest empire in the world destroyed itself quickly when it gave itself to do two things. 1) Destroy the lives of innocent babies and 2) Curse God's chosen people; the Jews. There are lots of lessons we can learn from this and every one of them are important.

Ralston College Humanities MA   Dr. David Novak is a distinguished professor at the University of Toronto, renowned theologian, and esteemed rabbi. He has authored numerous books, delivered the prestigious Gifford Lectures, and bridges ancient philosophical traditions with modern ethical issues. Recorded live at Ralston College in Savannah, GA in November of 2022. Dr David Novak—Professor of Philosophy and Jewish Studies at the University of Toronto—offers a lecture on the Book of Job followed by an extended question and answer session with students enrolled in Ralston College's Master's in the Humanities Program. In his lecture, Dr Novak explores the complex position of Job in the canon of Jewish scriptures, surveys diverse scholarly accounts of the concluding passages of the book, and offers his own interpretation of Job's “face-to-face” interaction with God, one that emphasizes direct knowledge over abstract understanding and finds in the book's conclusion a vision of the resurrection of the body.    —   00:00 Introduction 08:20 Dr. David Novak's Lecture on the Book of Job  53:25:00 Question and Answer Session with Ralston College Students and Dr. Novak  54:45 Question: Does Job's Vision Occur Before or After Death? 59:40 Question: Why are Job's Friends Punished for Their Conceptual Understanding? 01:03:00 Question: How Does This Align With the Belief That No One Can See God and Live? 01:09:05 Question: What is the Purpose of the Dialogues Between Job and His Friends? 01:13:05 Question: Did Job's Friends Hear God's Voice During the Appearance? 01:14:55 Question: What is the Significance of God Doubling Job's Possessions? 01:15:30 Question: Is There a Visual Aspect to God's Response to Job, or Is It Only Auditory? 01:15:30 Question: What Does it Mean for God to Make a Bet with the Adversary? 01:19:10 Question: Is Job's Refusal to Curse God a Prerequisite for His Later Vision? 01:25:15 Question: What Do You Make of the Relationship Between Satan and God? 01:29:05 Did God Use Job to Prove a Point to Satan, Knowing the Outcome? 01:31:20 Question: Can Man Question God and Express Grievances? 01:35:40 Question: Does Elihu Suggest People Perceive God Through Suffering and Visions? 1:41:30 Question: How Has Your Belief in Providence Impacted Your Life? 01:44:45 Closing Remarks —   Authors, Ideas, and Works Mentioned in this Episode:    The Book of Job The Book of Ezekiel The Book of Leviticus  The Book of Esther The Book of Ecclesiastes Robert Gordis, The Book of God and Man: A Study of Job  mashal (משל)—Hebrew, “parable” Katagoros (Hebrew—קָטִיגור; Greek—κατήγορος)—”accuser”  Fredrich Nietzsche Johann von Rist, “O Traurigkeit, o Herzeleid”  G.W.F. Hegel Richard Rorty Reinhold Niebuhr, The Nature and Destiny of Man  Leo Strauss  Plato, Republic  Yehuda Haleri  Aristotle Thomas Aquinas The Book of Isaiah  via negativa  John Rawls Eric Gregory  Chaim ibn Attar Tzimtzum (צמצום)    —   Additional Resources    David Novak    Dr Stephen Blackwood    Ralston College (including newsletter)   Support a New Beginning    —   Thank you for listening!  

God has given us everything we need for living a Godly life. In view of this, make every effort to respond to God's promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self control. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. So dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things and you will not fall away. 2 Peter 1:3,5,8,10 NLT   THE FIRST RUNG THAT -  WE DILIGENTLY ADD TO OUR LIVES FAITH   THE SECOND RUNG -  THAT WE DILIGENTLY PURSUE MORAL EXCELLENCE   THE THIRD RUNG -  THAT WE DILIGENTLY GROW IN KNOWLEDGE …and moral excellence with knowledge… 2 Peter 1:5 NLT   THE FOURTH RUNG IS WE DILIGENTLY PURSUE SELF CONTROL   My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry… James 1:19   THE FIFTH RUNG IS WE DILIGENTLY PURSUE PERSEVERANCE   One day the members of the heavenly court came to present themselves before the Lord, and the Accuser, Satan, came with them. “Where have you come from?” the Lord asked Satan. Satan answered the Lord, “I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that's going on.” Then the Lord asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.” Satan replied to the Lord, “Yes, but Job has good reason to fear God. You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. Job 1:6-12   You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is! But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face. All right, you may test him,” the Lord said to Satan. “Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don't harm him physically.” So Satan left the Lord's presence. Job 1:6-12   One day when Job's sons and daughters were feasting at the oldest brother's house, a messenger arrived at Job's home with this news: “Your oxen were plowing, with the donkeys feeding beside them, when the Sabeans raided us. They stole all the animals and killed all the farmhands. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”While he was still speaking, another messenger arrived with this news: “The fire of God has fallen from heaven and burned up your sheep and all the shepherds. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.” While he was still speaking, a third messenger arrived with this news: “Three bands of Chaldean raiders have stolen your camels and killed your servants. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.” While he was still speaking, another messenger arrived with this news: “Your sons and daughters were feasting in their oldest brother's home. Suddenly, a powerful wind swept in from the wilderness and hit the house on all sides. The house collapsed, and all your children are dead. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.” Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship.   Job 1:13-20   God may be giving you exactly what you need it just looks different than what you thought.   Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That's why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2nd Corinthians 12:8-10   Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4 NIV   Persevering through trials brings maturity to your relationship with God   MOST BELIEVERS NEVER WALK IN THE PROMISES OF GOD BECAUSE THEY WANT TO BYPASS THE REFINEMENT OF GOD!   These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. 1 Peter 1:7   Then the Lord asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil. And he has maintained his integrity, even though you urged me to harm him without cause.” Satan replied to the Lord, “Skin for skin! A man will give up everything he has to save his life. But reach out and take away his health, and he will surely curse you to your face!” “All right, do with him as you please,” the Lord said to Satan. “But spare his life.” So Satan left the Lord's presence, and he struck Job with terrible boils from head to foot. Job scraped his skin with a piece of broken pottery as he sat among the ashes. His wife said to him, “Are you still trying to maintain your integrity? Curse God and die.” But Job replied, “You talk like a foolish woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” So in all this, Job said nothing wrong.  Job 2:3-10   The Lord is close to the brokenhearted. Psalms 34:18   WE PERSEVERE NO MATTER OUR CIRCUMSTANCES   And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty. Philippians 4:11-14   WE ARE FAITHFUL AND WE PERSEVERE WHEN NOTHING CHANGES Hope means that we must trust and wait for what is still unseen. For why would we need to hope for something we already have? So because our hope is set on what is yet to be seen, we patiently keep on waiting for its fulfillment. Romans 8:24-25 TPT     Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;  perseverance, character; and character, hope. Romans 5:3-4   3. PERSEVERANCE STARTS SMALL AND BECOMES MONUMENTAL   Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel and bowed low to the ground and prayed with his face between his knees. Then he said to his servant, “Go and look out toward the sea.” The servant went and looked, then returned to Elijah and said, “I didn't see anything.” Seven times Elijah told him to go and look. Finally the seventh time, his servant told him, “I saw a little cloud about the size of a man's hand rising from the sea.” Then Elijah shouted, “Hurry to Ahab and tell him, ‘Climb into your chariot and go back home. If you don't hurry, the rain will stop you!'” And soon the sky was black with clouds. A heavy wind brought a terrific rainstorm. 1 Kings 18:42-45   No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:37-39 4. PERSEVERANCE LEADS TO RESTORATION   When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before! Then all his brothers, sisters, and former friends came and feasted with him in his home. And they consoled him and comforted him because of all the trials the Lord had brought against him. Job 42:10-11   GOD DOESN'T EXPECT PERFECTION BUT HE DOES DESIRE PROGRESSION Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works. James 2:26   When I was living among you, you lived in responsive obedience. Now that I'm separated from you, keep it up. Better yet, redouble your efforts. Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God's energy, an energy deep within you… Philippians 2:12-13 MSG   It's about persevering, one day at a time   "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34

Can We Worship Through The Struggle?Job 1:20-21 “Then Job arose, tore his robe, shaved his head, and fell on the ground and worshiped. He said, “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.”I thought this was an interesting verse in Job. This verse came right after Satan's first attack on Job. Job has just learned that all of his oxen and donkeys were taken away from him, and the people who took them struck down the servants with swords. Then he learned that his sheep and the servants who took care of them were burned to death. As if that wasn't enough another servant came in and told them all his camels had been captured and his servants had been killed with a sword. And then, to top it all off, a servant came and told him that his sons and daughters were eating and drinking over the older brother's house when a powerful wind swept in and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on the young people, so they died.This is one of the amazing things about Job. He is so faithful. I am not sure about you but if I learned that I had lost everything, my first instinct would not be to worship. I do love to worship but I don't feel like I would be able to worship immediately. He had just found out that not only did he lose all physical things, but he lost all of his children as well. I feel like I would need to go through a period of being angry at God. I would also be angry in general. I would be sad, which I am sure Job was sad.I don't think my first thing to do would be to worship the Lord and say, “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.” Can you believe Job was blessing the Lord just minutes after finding out that his children had died? I knew he never blamed God; that is why he got into this predicament in the first place. He was such a good servant and the enemy tried to tell God it was because God blessed him so much.I wonder if we would be this faithful. I wonder if we worship the Lord for all the blessings he gave us. Are we what some would call fair-weather friends with the Lord? We are there for Him when all is going well, and yet we blame Him at the first sign of trouble. Do we get angry and scream at Him when we lose our job or our car? What do we do when we lose our children?Job didn't just lose one of his children to a deadly disease. He didn't just lose one of his children to suicide or murder. He lost all his children at the same time. Job went from being the father of seven sons and three daughters to being childless. I can't imagine the pain he must have been feeling, and yet the first thing he did was worship the Lord. Not only did he worship the Lord, but he also said, “What the Lord gave, the Lord can take away.” He is acknowledging that God is the almighty one and that everything Job had came from Him. He is acknowledging that all we have comes from the Lord.I just can't get over Job's faith. Satan did not stop here with this first attack. Satan came back and infected Job with terrible boils from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Job was still worshiping the Lord. His wife told him he was a fool. She said to him, “Are you still holding onto your integrity? Curse God and die!”  Job replied, “You speak as a foolish woman speaks. Should we accept only good from God and not adversity?” Throughout all that Job went through He did not sin once with what he said.This is remarkable. I can totally understand what Job is saying when he says that God gave us everything we have, and so He has a right to take it away. I also agree that if we accept the good from God, we must accept the bad, too. However, I agree with Him in the place I am at right now. I haven't lost any children. I haven't lost my home or all my belongings. I don't know what I would do if I had to go through what Job had to go through.Job truly loved the Lord. He trusted the Lord fully. I love that the first thing he did was to worship the Lord. I have talked with you many times about how important praise is and I think this is such a good example of how praise and worship can help get us through anything. I don't think that Job understood what was going on. I don't think He knew God's plan, and I don't think He knew how blessed he would be afterward. It would have been easier for Job to go through all he went through if he knew there was an end in sight and that he would be so blessed afterward.However, God doesn't always reveal His plan to us. He leaves us guessing and wondering, and this is where we can lose hope. We can lose hope, or we can praise Him and worship HIm and trust that even though we don't know what His plan is, we trust He has one and that it is for our good. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” We can stand on this promise. We can rest assured that even though we may be going through a terrible time right now, God has got us in the palm of His hand and He will work all things for our good in His time.I love that Job worshiped the Lord, but he wasn't always happy. My sister pointed out the other day that when people usually talk about Job, they make it seem like he was full of joy while he was suffering. This is not the case. He was frustrated and confused. He called out to the Lord for help and expressed his confusion to the Lord. He even told the Lord it would have been better if he had never been born.I am talking about Job today, not to make you feel bad about how you are handling your difficult situation. I am telling you about Job today to remind you that even though you are in a difficult situation, even though you are angry, frustrated, and confused with the Lord right now, you can still worship Him. You can be angry with Him and yet not blame Him. You can be angry with Him for what you are going through and yet praise Him for the unknown way He will work this for your good.Romans 8:28 says, “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.” We can rest on this promise, too! We can stand on it and declare it in those times when we aren't sure how God will save us from our situation or how He will bring us through it. God is good. If we can find a way to worship him in the hard times, as Job did, then we will find those hard times just a bit easier. One way to do this is to make a worship playlist, and when the enemy starts trying to get you to blame God for your troubles, listen to the playlist and remind yourself of how good God truly is. Remind yourself of all the times He has blessed you in the past. One great song to listen to when the enemy is trying to whisper lies in your ear is “The Devil Is A Liar” by Colton Dixon. If you aren't sure what praise and worship songs would be good, you can check out my playlist called Walk Boldly With Jesus Favorites on Spotify. It has many great songs for whatever you are walking through right now.Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless everyone listening to this episode. Lord, help us praise you in the hard times. Help us to trust that You are good and that You have good things planned for us even when we can't see them, even when we don't understand why we have to walk through this really hard time. Help us to believe you will restore us double on the other side of this hard time just as you did for Job. Lord, help us to see you in all the little things while we are going through a hard time. Help us not to feel abandoned. Help us to feel your presence and to know you are walking through this hard time with us. We love you so much, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and Jesus's holy name. Amen!Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. If this podcast is a blessing, would you consider sharing it with others or donating? There is a link below to donate, and if you want to share it, you can click on the three dots at the top of the screen, and it will say share episode. You can text it, email it, or send it to someone on Facebook Messenger. Whatever is easiest for you. I truly appreciate your help and your support. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day!Today's Word from the Lord was received in January 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today's Word from the Lord is, “I am all-powerful. So, move forward in faith and trust. My power can overcome everything. There is nothing for you to fear. I am your God. I love you.” www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

Rabbi David Fohrman and Imu Shalev study the tale of the blasphemer, a dark and puzzling episode buried deep in Leviticus. The details of this story are scarce: an anonymous man provokes a fight in the Israelite camp, curses God, and ultimately is stoned to death as punishment. But a close read of these few short verses sends Rabbi Fohrman and Imu on a surprising journey, raising provocative moral questions about God's judgment and uncovering an unlikely connection between the condemned blasphemer and one of the Bible's greatest heroes.For more information about our upcoming course on Midrash click here. When registering for this course you automatically become a member of the Patrons Circle. Click here for more information on becoming a Patron and its perks. A Book Like No Other is a product of Aleph Beta, and made possible through the generous support of Shari and Nathan Lindenbaum. Aleph Beta is a Torah media company dedicated to spreading the joy and love of meaningful Torah learning worldwide. If you loved this episode and are already a member of Aleph Beta, log in to alephbeta.org to listen to upcoming episodes. We'll even give you a private RSS feed so you can keep listening to A Book Like No Other on your favorite podcasting app. Feel free to email info@alephbeta.org if you have any trouble. And if you're not a member…what are you waiting for? Go to alephbeta.org/subscribe and become a member to access this new season of A Book Like No Other, as well as our full library of over 1,000 videos and podcasts. Click here to subscribe.

Job is experiences unspeakable suffering but also despair. Job's wife even tells him to "Curse God and die." But Job stands on this hope: "For I know that my redeemer lives and at the last he will stand on the earth." This is Job's solid ground for hope. Resurrection is the solid ground of hope for the Christian both in the world and in our lives. Resurrection isn't just emotional consolation but actual restoration. Beyond answers, it's what we really want and need.

In this Bible Story, Satan makes a second attempt to break Job. Satan removes his health, and Job is faced with his wife and friends, who tragically fail to comfort him. This story is inspired by Job. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is Job 2:9 from the King James Version.Episode 58: Once again Satan comes into the presence of The LORD, and once again God praises His servant Job, pointing out that even though He allowed Satan to take away everything he owned, Job still praised God. So Satan tries again to break Job, this time by taking away his health. Covered in boils and in grief, Job sits outside mourning his loss and praying to God. His friends arrive to comfort him, but, just like what can happen to us today, the conversation turns towards words of blame instead of comfort. But even in his anger, Job still does not curse God.Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world's greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max BardProducer: Ben GammonHosted by: Pastor Jack GrahamMusic by: Andrew Morgan SmithBible Story narration by: Todd HaberkornSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Of all the questions in life that go unanswered, it's often the question of why. Everyone listening to this podcast episode has asked this question. Why? Why did this happen? Why am I going through this? Since this is a universal question, it brings up another great question: As Christians, how do we respond when we don't understand?Main Points:1. Who among us hasn't had some kind of unexpected, disappointing experience that sends our minds into overdrive with questions of confusion? A family member cuts off communication without explanation; health gains are reversed; a company relocates unexpectedly; a life-altering accident happens. How do we respond, when we don't understand?2. May we not forget, that our sovereign God has a plan and a purpose that we don't always see at the moment. Trust in His character that He is a good and loving Heavenly Father. His plan, His purpose, and His path for our lives are right.3. Through the strength God provides us, let's maintain our faith. Let's hold onto His promises. May we have the courage to bless God on our difficult days. Let's worship, not only in the good times but also in the bad. Regardless of our circumstances, the name of the Lord is to be praised.Today's Scripture Verses:Job 1:20-22 - “At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.”Job 2:9 - His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!”Job 2:10 - “He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”  In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.”Quick Links:Subscribe to The 5 Minute Discipleship NewsletterDonate to support this podcastLeave a review on Apple PodcastsGet a copy of The 5 Minute Discipleship JournalConnect on SocialJoin The 5 Minute Discipleship Facebook Group5 Minute Discipleship on Instagram

James 5:11 We don't know exactly what James' readers were facing, but clearly it was tough for them to live as Christians. They needed to persevere. Amid all the temptations, distractions and persecution, they needed to hang in there for God. Job is a classic illustration of this. Everything went catastrophically wrong for him. He lost his children, his possessions and his health. He had the indignity of being struck with boils and his wife, seeing him sitting in the dust, scratching at his sores, exclaimed, “Are you still trying to maintain your integrity? Curse God and die” (Job 2:9). But he wouldn't. He put up not only with his suffering but also with his hopeless companions, whose misguided thinking added another crushing layer to his agonies. However, he didn't give up. He was confident in God and, in the end, God rewarded him generously. We would love God to fix our difficult situations, and remove all our problems. But there are many times in life when God calls us simply to endure, promising to accompany us and strengthen us as we do so. William Carey was the father of the modern missionary movement. He went to India in 1793 and during his time there faced a succession of problems and setbacks, including a major fire that destroyed years of his work – but he kept going. He once said to his nephew: “If after my removal anyone should think it worth his while to write my life, I will give you a criterion by which you may judge its correctness. If he gives me credit for being a plodder, he will describe me justly.
Anything beyond this will be too much. I can plod. I can persevere in any definite pursuit. To this I owe everything.” Whatever we are facing today, God wants to us keep plodding on. Question What have you learned from those tough situations that you have had to endure? Prayer Thank you Lord that you will never leave or forsake me. Thank you that I can be sure that you will be right beside me, whatever I have to face. Amen

Rabbi David Fohrman and Imu Shalev study the tale of the blasphemer, a dark and puzzling episode buried deep in Leviticus. The details of this story are scarce: an anonymous man provokes a fight in the Israelite camp, curses God, and ultimately is stoned to death as punishment. But a close read of these few short verses sends Rabbi Fohrman and Imu on a surprising journey, raising provocative moral questions about God's judgment and uncovering an unlikely connection between the condemned blasphemer and one of the Bible's greatest heroes.A Book Like No Other is a product of Aleph Beta, and made possible through the generous support of Shari and Nathan Lindenbaum. Aleph Beta is a Torah media company dedicated to spreading the joy and love of meaningful Torah learning worldwide.If you loved this episode and are already a member of Aleph Beta, log in to alephbeta.org to listen to upcoming episodes. We'll even give you a private RSS feed so you can keep listening to A Book Like No Other on your favorite podcasting app. Feel free to email info@alephbeta.org if you have any trouble. And if you're not a member…what are you waiting for? Go to alephbeta.org/subscribe and become a member to access this new season of A Book Like No Other, as well as our full library of over 1,000 videos and podcasts. Use coupon code BLNO2 for a 30 day free trial with a monthly membership OR $18 off an annual membership. Click here to subscribe. To access the brand new season of Rabbi Fohrman's podcast, A Book Like No Other, click here to subscribe to Aleph Beta. As a special gift for Into the Verse listeners, we'll give you the first month FREE, when you sign up for an annual subscription. Just use the coupon code ITVFREE. Already a member? Enjoy A Book Like No Other here.What did you think of this episode? We'd genuinely like to hear your thoughts, questions, and feedback. Leave us a voice message – just click record, and let your thoughts flow.Follow us on your favorite social media.

Rabbi David Fohrman and Imu Shalev study the tale of the blasphemer, a dark and puzzling episode buried deep in Leviticus. The details of this story are scarce: an anonymous man provokes a fight in the Israelite camp, curses God, and ultimately is stoned to death as punishment. But a close read of these few short verses sends Rabbi Fohrman and Imu on a surprising journey, raising provocative moral questions about God's judgment and uncovering an unlikely connection between the condemned blasphemer and one of the Bible's greatest heroes.A Book Like No Other is a product of Aleph Beta, and made possible through the generous support of Shari and Nathan Lindenbaum. Aleph Beta is a Torah media company dedicated to spreading the joy and love of meaningful Torah learning worldwide.If you loved this episode and are already a member of Aleph Beta, log in to alephbeta.org to listen to upcoming episodes. We'll even give you a private RSS feed so you can keep listening to A Book Like No Other on your favorite podcasting app. Feel free to email info@alephbeta.org if you have any trouble. Go to alephbeta.org/subscribe and become a member to access this new season of A Book Like No Other, as well as our full library of over 1,000 videos and podcasts. Use coupon code BLNO2 for a 30 day free trial with a monthly membership OR $18 off an annual membership. Click here to subscribe.

Rabbi David Fohrman and Imu Shalev study the tale of the blasphemer, a dark and puzzling episode buried deep in Leviticus. The details of this story are scarce: an anonymous man provokes a fight in the Israelite camp, curses God, and ultimately is stoned to death as punishment. But a close read of these few short verses sends Rabbi Fohrman and Imu on a surprising journey, raising provocative moral questions about God's judgment and uncovering an unlikely connection between the condemned blasphemer and one of the Bible's greatest heroes. A Book Like No Other is a product of Aleph Beta, and made possible through the generous support of Shari and Nathan Lindenbaum. Aleph Beta is a Torah media company dedicated to spreading the joy and love of meaningful Torah learning worldwide. If you loved this episode and are already a member of Aleph Beta, log in to alephbeta.org to listen to upcoming episodes. We'll even give you a private RSS feed so you can keep listening to A Book Like No Other on your favorite podcasting app. Feel free to email info@alephbeta.org if you have any trouble. And if you're not a member…what are you waiting for? Go to alephbeta.org/subscribe and become a member to access this new season of A Book Like No Other, as well as our full library of over 1,000 videos and podcasts. Use coupon code BLNO2 for a 30 day free trial with a monthly membership OR $18 off an annual membership. Click here to subscribe.

It’s the first sci-fi thriller through the lens of faith, The Shift. In the ancient book of Job, Job walks the narrow way and is blessed in every way. But Satan accuses Job: “God, Job’s an upright man only because you give him what he wants. I’ll bet if you take it all away from him, he’ll turn his back on you.” And God allows it. That’s the inspiration behind the new sci-fi thriller, The Shift starring Neal McDonough from Minority Report, Kristoffer Polaha from Wonder Woman 1984, Sean Astin from Lord of the Rings and Liz Tabish from The Chosen. Perry talks with producer Ken Carpenter about what drew him to The Shift, (creating a film with deep wrestling and doubt), how we resist the temptations of the enemy, creating faith adjacent films that don’t have easy answers, the crazy ending to Psalm 88 and Bono’s take on Christian music. Perry also talks with Ken about the amazing cast of The Shift and wrestling with pride as we create art for God’s honor.Support the show: https://give.moodyradio.org/fall-share?v=def&appeal=MRWM&_gl=1%2a142i9we%2a_ga%2aNTE4MTE5MmUtY2U1Yy00YmQ3LWU4MmUtNjEwYTQ5YzAyODRj%2a_ga_4WH1937046%2aMTY5NTExODEwMS4yOTkuMC4xNjk1MTE4MTAxLjYwLjAuMA..&_ga=2.197426156.215784306.1695059984-1182841406.166859587See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 119:89–176 Psalm 119:89–176 (Listen) Lamedh 89   Forever, O LORD, your word    is firmly fixed in the heavens.90   Your faithfulness endures to all generations;    you have established the earth, and it stands fast.91   By your appointment they stand this day,    for all things are your servants.92   If your law had not been my delight,    I would have perished in my affliction.93   I will never forget your precepts,    for by them you have given me life.94   I am yours; save me,    for I have sought your precepts.95   The wicked lie in wait to destroy me,    but I consider your testimonies.96   I have seen a limit to all perfection,    but your commandment is exceedingly broad. Mem 97   Oh how I love your law!    It is my meditation all the day.98   Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,    for it is ever with me.99   I have more understanding than all my teachers,    for your testimonies are my meditation.100   I understand more than the aged,1    for I keep your precepts.101   I hold back my feet from every evil way,    in order to keep your word.102   I do not turn aside from your rules,    for you have taught me.103   How sweet are your words to my taste,    sweeter than honey to my mouth!104   Through your precepts I get understanding;    therefore I hate every false way. Nun 105   Your word is a lamp to my feet    and a light to my path.106   I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,    to keep your righteous rules.107   I am severely afflicted;    give me life, O LORD, according to your word!108   Accept my freewill offerings of praise, O LORD,    and teach me your rules.109   I hold my life in my hand continually,    but I do not forget your law.110   The wicked have laid a snare for me,    but I do not stray from your precepts.111   Your testimonies are my heritage forever,    for they are the joy of my heart.112   I incline my heart to perform your statutes    forever, to the end.2 Samekh 113   I hate the double-minded,    but I love your law.114   You are my hiding place and my shield;    I hope in your word.115   Depart from me, you evildoers,    that I may keep the commandments of my God.116   Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live,    and let me not be put to shame in my hope!117   Hold me up, that I may be safe    and have regard for your statutes continually!118   You spurn all who go astray from your statutes,    for their cunning is in vain.119   All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross,    therefore I love your testimonies.120   My flesh trembles for fear of you,    and I am afraid of your judgments. Ayin 121   I have done what is just and right;    do not leave me to my oppressors.122   Give your servant a pledge of good;    let not the insolent oppress me.123   My eyes long for your salvation    and for the fulfillment of your righteous promise.124   Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love,    and teach me your statutes.125   I am your servant; give me understanding,    that I may know your testimonies!126   It is time for the LORD to act,    for your law has been broken.127   Therefore I love your commandments    above gold, above fine gold.128   Therefore I consider all your precepts to be right;    I hate every false way. Pe 129   Your testimonies are wonderful;    therefore my soul keeps them.130   The unfolding of your words gives light;    it imparts understanding to the simple.131   I open my mouth and pant,    because I long for your commandments.132   Turn to me and be gracious to me,    as is your way with those who love your name.133   Keep steady my steps according to your promise,    and let no iniquity get dominion over me.134   Redeem me from man's oppression,    that I may keep your precepts.135   Make your face shine upon your servant,    and teach me your statutes.136   My eyes shed streams of tears,    because people do not keep your law. Tsadhe 137   Righteous are you, O LORD,    and right are your rules.138   You have appointed your testimonies in righteousness    and in all faithfulness.139   My zeal consumes me,    because my foes forget your words.140   Your promise is well tried,    and your servant loves it.141   I am small and despised,    yet I do not forget your precepts.142   Your righteousness is righteous forever,    and your law is true.143   Trouble and anguish have found me out,    but your commandments are my delight.144   Your testimonies are righteous forever;    give me understanding that I may live. Qoph 145   With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O LORD!    I will keep your statutes.146   I call to you; save me,    that I may observe your testimonies.147   I rise before dawn and cry for help;    I hope in your words.148   My eyes are awake before the watches of the night,    that I may meditate on your promise.149   Hear my voice according to your steadfast love;    O LORD, according to your justice give me life.150   They draw near who persecute me with evil purpose;    they are far from your law.151   But you are near, O LORD,    and all your commandments are true.152   Long have I known from your testimonies    that you have founded them forever. Resh 153   Look on my affliction and deliver me,    for I do not forget your law.154   Plead my cause and redeem me;    give me life according to your promise!155   Salvation is far from the wicked,    for they do not seek your statutes.156   Great is your mercy, O LORD;    give me life according to your rules.157   Many are my persecutors and my adversaries,    but I do not swerve from your testimonies.158   I look at the faithless with disgust,    because they do not keep your commands.159   Consider how I love your precepts!    Give me life according to your steadfast love.160   The sum of your word is truth,    and every one of your righteous rules endures forever. Sin and Shin 161   Princes persecute me without cause,    but my heart stands in awe of your words.162   I rejoice at your word    like one who finds great spoil.163   I hate and abhor falsehood,    but I love your law.164   Seven times a day I praise you    for your righteous rules.165   Great peace have those who love your law;    nothing can make them stumble.166   I hope for your salvation, O LORD,    and I do your commandments.167   My soul keeps your testimonies;    I love them exceedingly.168   I keep your precepts and testimonies,    for all my ways are before you. Taw 169   Let my cry come before you, O LORD;    give me understanding according to your word!170   Let my plea come before you;    deliver me according to your word.171   My lips will pour forth praise,    for you teach me your statutes.172   My tongue will sing of your word,    for all your commandments are right.173   Let your hand be ready to help me,    for I have chosen your precepts.174   I long for your salvation, O LORD,    and your law is my delight.175   Let my soul live and praise you,    and let your rules help me.176   I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant,    for I do not forget your commandments. Footnotes [1] 119:100 Or the elders [2] 119:112 Or statutes; the reward is eternal (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 2 Job 2 (Listen) Satan Attacks Job's Health 2 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 3 And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.” 4 Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” 6 And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.” 7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes. 9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?”1 In all this Job did not sin with his lips. Job's Three Friends 11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. 12 And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. 13 And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great. Footnotes [1] 2:10 Or disaster; also verse 11 (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 23 Isaiah 23 (Listen) An Oracle Concerning Tyre and Sidon 23 The oracle concerning Tyre.   Wail, O ships of Tarshish,    for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor!  From the land of Cyprus1    it is revealed to them.2   Be still, O inhabitants of the coast;    the merchants of Sidon, who cross the sea, have filled you.3   And on many waters  your revenue was the grain of Shihor,    the harvest of the Nile;    you were the merchant of the nations.4   Be ashamed, O Sidon, for the sea has spoken,    the stronghold of the sea, saying:  “I have neither labored nor given birth,    I have neither reared young men    nor brought up young women.”5   When the report comes to Egypt,    they will be in anguish2 over the report about Tyre.6   Cross over to Tarshish;    wail, O inhabitants of the coast!7   Is this your exultant city    whose origin is from days of old,  whose feet carried her    to settle far away?8   Who has purposed this    against Tyre, the bestower of crowns,  whose merchants were princes,    whose traders were the honored of the earth?9   The LORD of hosts has purposed it,    to defile the pompous pride of all glory,3    to dishonor all the honored of the earth.10   Cross over your land like the Nile,    O daughter of Tarshish;    there is no restraint anymore.11   He has stretched out his hand over the sea;    he has shaken the kingdoms;  the LORD has given command concerning Canaan    to destroy its strongholds.12   And he said:  “You will no more exult,    O oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon;  arise, cross over to Cyprus,    even there you will have no rest.” 13 Behold the land of the Chaldeans! This is the people that was not;4 Assyria destined it for wild beasts. They erected their siege towers, they stripped her palaces bare, they made her a ruin. 14   Wail, O ships of Tarshish,    for your stronghold is laid waste. 15 In that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, like the days5 of one king. At the end of seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute: 16   “Take a harp;    go about the city,    O forgotten prostitute!  Make sweet melody;   

In this Bible Story, Satan makes a second attempt to break Job. Satan removes his health, and Job is faced with his wife and friends, who tragically fail to comfort him. This story is inspired by Job. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is Job 2:9 from the King James Version.Episode 58: Once again Satan comes into the presence of The LORD, and once again God praises His servant Job, pointing out that even though He allowed Satan to take away everything he owned, Job still praised God. So Satan tries again to break Job, this time by taking away his health. Covered in boils and in grief, Job sits outside mourning his loss and praying to God. His friends arrive to comfort him, but, just like what can happen to us today, the conversation turns towards words of blame instead of comfort. But even in his anger, Job still does not curse God.Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world's greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.This episode is sponsored by Medi-Share, an innovative health care solution for Christians to save money without sacrificing quality.Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max BardProducer: Ben GammonHosted by: Pastor Jack GrahamMusic by: Andrew Morgan SmithBible Story narration by: Todd HaberkornSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All of us deal with anxiety or fear of some kind, and to some amount, for some period of time. As I was studying for NLP certification, I came across this: "Based on metaphysical thinking, there is only one real emotion on the planet--- love. All negative emotions are derivatives of fear." part of my work then is to help people be rid of fear, whether via NLP, or just by being a friend. Our fears can range from what someone said to me recently: "I'm feeling a little out of control," to something as extreme as in the Bible: Job 2 verse 9: "Then said his wife unto him, doest thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God and die." He was really going through some stuff and she was done with it.  Some of our fear takes the form of stage fright. Some is just regular old--- and I mean regular old, though it can be crippling--- anxiety. Some fear is well-founded and some is not. Most of it will put us in a state of fight or flight, and spending a lot of time there will destroy your body, your mind, and your relationships. Anxiety / fear of any kind, and excitement, are almost physiologically identical. As far as your body is concerned. They're the same thing. So what's the difference? What makes one shut us down and the other one get us all jazzed about what's about to come? The answer is all in your head, literally. Here are some things that will help you find excitement, in place of fear and anxiety.  I can help you find excitement and hope for the future. Go to natewalkercoaching.com, click on the contacts page, and tell me how I might be of assistance. There are great things that you and I can do, and great tools that I have available to help you. Referenced article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5149447/

Old Testament: Job 2–4 Job 2–4 (Listen) Satan Attacks Job's Health 2 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 3 And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.” 4 Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” 6 And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.” 7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes. 9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?”1 In all this Job did not sin with his lips. Job's Three Friends 11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. 12 And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. 13 And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great. Job Laments His Birth 3 After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 And Job said: 3   “Let the day perish on which I was born,    and the night that said,    ‘A man is conceived.'4   Let that day be darkness!    May God above not seek it,    nor light shine upon it.5   Let gloom and deep darkness claim it.    Let clouds dwell upon it;    let the blackness of the day terrify it.6   That night—let thick darkness seize it!    Let it not rejoice among the days of the year;    let it not come into the number of the months.7   Behold, let that night be barren;    let no joyful cry enter it.8   Let those curse it who curse the day,    who are ready to rouse up Leviathan.9   Let the stars of its dawn be dark;    let it hope for light, but have none,    nor see the eyelids of the morning,10   because it did not shut the doors of my mother's womb,    nor hide trouble from my eyes. 11   “Why did I not die at birth,    come out from the womb and expire?12   Why did the knees receive me?    Or why the breasts, that I should nurse?13   For then I would have lain down and been quiet;    I would have slept; then I would have been at rest,14   with kings and counselors of the earth    who rebuilt ruins for themselves,15   or with princes who had gold,    who filled their houses with silver.16   Or why was I not as a hidden stillborn child,    as infants who never see the light?17   There the wicked cease from troubling,    and there the weary are at rest.18   There the prisoners are at ease together;    they hear not the voice of the taskmaster.19   The small and the great are there,    and the slave is free from his master. 20   “Why is light given to him who is in misery,    and life to the bitter in soul,21   who long for death, but it comes not,    and dig for it more than for hidden treasures,22   who rejoice exceedingly    and are glad when they find the grave?23   Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden,    whom God has hedged in?24   For my sighing comes instead of2 my bread,    and my groanings are poured out like water.25   For the thing that I fear comes upon me,    and what I dread befalls me.26   I am not at ease, nor am I quiet;    I have no rest, but trouble comes.” Eliphaz Speaks: The Innocent Prosper 4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: 2   “If one ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?    Yet who can keep from speaking?3   Behold, you have instructed many,    and you have strengthened the weak hands.4   Your words have upheld him who was stumbling,    and you have made firm the feeble knees.5   But now it has come to you, and you are impatient;    it touches you, and you are dismayed.6   Is not your fear of God3 your confidence,    and the integrity of your ways your hope? 7   “Remember: who that was innocent ever perished?    Or where were the upright cut off?8   As I have seen, those who plow iniquity    and sow trouble reap the same.9   By the breath of God they perish,    and by the blast of his anger they are consumed.10   The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion,    the teeth of the young lions are broken.11   The strong lion perishes for lack of prey,    and the cubs of the lioness are scattered. 12   “Now a word was brought to me stealthily;    my ear received the whisper of it.13   Amid thoughts from visions of the night,    when deep sleep falls on men,14   dread came upon me, and trembling,    which made all my bones shake.15   A spirit glided past my face;    the hair of my flesh stood up.16   It stood still,    but I could not discern its appearance.  A form was before my eyes;    there was silence, then I heard a voice:17   ‘Can mortal man be in the right before4 God?    Can a man be pure before his Maker?18   Even in his servants he puts no trust,    and his angels he charges with error;19   how much more those who dwell in houses of clay,    whose foundation is in the dust,    who are crushed like5 the moth.20   Between morning and evening they are beaten to pieces;    they perish forever without anyone regarding it.21   Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them,    do they not die, and that without wisdom?' Footnotes [1] 2:10 Or disaster; also verse 11 [2] 3:24 Or like; Hebrew before [3] 4:6 Hebrew lacks of God [4] 4:17 Or more than; twice in this verse [5] 4:19 Or before (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 44 Psalm 44 (Listen) Come to Our Help To the choirmaster. A Maskil1 of the Sons of Korah. 44   O God, we have heard with our ears,    our fathers have told us,  what deeds you performed in their days,    in the days of old:2   you with your own hand drove out the nations,    but them you planted;  you afflicted the peoples,    but them you set free;3   for not by their own sword did they win the land,    nor did their own arm save them,  but your right hand and your arm,    and the light of your face,    for you delighted in them. 4   You are my King, O God;    ordain salvation for Jacob!5   Through you we push down our foes;    through your name we tread down those who rise up against us.6   For not in my bow do I trust,    nor can my sword save me.7   But you have saved us from our foes    and have put to shame those who hate us.8   In God we have boasted continually,    and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah 9   But you have rejected us and disgraced us    and have not gone out with our armies.10   You have made us turn back from the foe,    and those who hate us have gotten spoil.11   You have made us like sheep for slaughter    and have scattered us among the nations.12   You have sold your people for a trifle,    demanding no high price for them.13   You have made us the taunt of our neighbors,    the derision and scorn of those around us.14   You have made us a byword among the nations,    a laughingstock2 among the peoples.15   All day long my disgrace is before me,    and shame has covered my face16   at the sound of the taunter and reviler,    at the sight of the enemy and the avenger. 17   All this has come upon us,    though we have not forgotten you,    and we have not been false to your covenant.18   Our heart has not turned back,    nor have our steps departed from your way;19   yet you have broken us in the place of jackals    and covered us with the shadow of death.20   If we had forgotten the name of our God    or spread out our hands to a foreign god,21   would not God discover this?    For he knows the secrets of the heart.22   Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long;    we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. 23   Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord?    Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever!24   Why do you hide your face?    Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?25   For our soul is bowed down to the dust;    our belly clings to the ground.26   Rise up; come to our help!    Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love! Footnotes [1] 44:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term [2] 44:14 Hebrew a shaking of the head (ESV) New Testament: Luke 8 Luke 8 (Listen) Women Accompanying Jesus 8 Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them1 out of their means. The Parable of the Sower 4 And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” The Purpose of the Parables 9 And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 10 he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.' 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. 14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience. A Lamp Under a Jar 16 “No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. 17 For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. 18 Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.” Jesus' Mother and Brothers 19 Then his mother and his brothers2 came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. 20 And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” 21 But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.” Jesus Calms a Storm 22 One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out, 23 and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. 24 And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. 25 He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?” Jesus Heals a Man with a Demon 26 Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes,3 which is opposite Galilee. 27 When Jesus4 had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” 29 For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.) 30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. 32 Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned. 34 When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 36 And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed5 man had been healed. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him. Jesus Heals a Woman and Jairus's Daughter 40 Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. 41 And there came a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus' feet, he implored him to come to his house, 42 for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. As Jesus went, the people pressed around him. 43 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians,6 she could not be healed by anyone. 44 She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased. 45 And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter7 said, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing

Old Testament: Job 2–4 Job 2–4 (Listen) Satan Attacks Job's Health 2 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 3 And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.” 4 Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” 6 And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.” 7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes. 9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?”1 In all this Job did not sin with his lips. Job's Three Friends 11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. 12 And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. 13 And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great. Job Laments His Birth 3 After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 And Job said: 3   “Let the day perish on which I was born,    and the night that said,    ‘A man is conceived.'4   Let that day be darkness!    May God above not seek it,    nor light shine upon it.5   Let gloom and deep darkness claim it.    Let clouds dwell upon it;    let the blackness of the day terrify it.6   That night—let thick darkness seize it!    Let it not rejoice among the days of the year;    let it not come into the number of the months.7   Behold, let that night be barren;    let no joyful cry enter it.8   Let those curse it who curse the day,    who are ready to rouse up Leviathan.9   Let the stars of its dawn be dark;    let it hope for light, but have none,    nor see the eyelids of the morning,10   because it did not shut the doors of my mother's womb,    nor hide trouble from my eyes. 11   “Why did I not die at birth,    come out from the womb and expire?12   Why did the knees receive me?    Or why the breasts, that I should nurse?13   For then I would have lain down and been quiet;    I would have slept; then I would have been at rest,14   with kings and counselors of the earth    who rebuilt ruins for themselves,15   or with princes who had gold,    who filled their houses with silver.16   Or why was I not as a hidden stillborn child,    as infants who never see the light?17   There the wicked cease from troubling,    and there the weary are at rest.18   There the prisoners are at ease together;    they hear not the voice of the taskmaster.19   The small and the great are there,    and the slave is free from his master. 20   “Why is light given to him who is in misery,    and life to the bitter in soul,21   who long for death, but it comes not,    and dig for it more than for hidden treasures,22   who rejoice exceedingly    and are glad when they find the grave?23   Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden,    whom God has hedged in?24   For my sighing comes instead of2 my bread,    and my groanings are poured out like water.25   For the thing that I fear comes upon me,    and what I dread befalls me.26   I am not at ease, nor am I quiet;    I have no rest, but trouble comes.” Eliphaz Speaks: The Innocent Prosper 4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: 2   “If one ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?    Yet who can keep from speaking?3   Behold, you have instructed many,    and you have strengthened the weak hands.4   Your words have upheld him who was stumbling,    and you have made firm the feeble knees.5   But now it has come to you, and you are impatient;    it touches you, and you are dismayed.6   Is not your fear of God3 your confidence,    and the integrity of your ways your hope? 7   “Remember: who that was innocent ever perished?    Or where were the upright cut off?8   As I have seen, those who plow iniquity    and sow trouble reap the same.9   By the breath of God they perish,    and by the blast of his anger they are consumed.10   The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion,    the teeth of the young lions are broken.11   The strong lion perishes for lack of prey,    and the cubs of the lioness are scattered. 12   “Now a word was brought to me stealthily;    my ear received the whisper of it.13   Amid thoughts from visions of the night,    when deep sleep falls on men,14   dread came upon me, and trembling,    which made all my bones shake.15   A spirit glided past my face;    the hair of my flesh stood up.16   It stood still,    but I could not discern its appearance.  A form was before my eyes;    there was silence, then I heard a voice:17   ‘Can mortal man be in the right before4 God?    Can a man be pure before his Maker?18   Even in his servants he puts no trust,    and his angels he charges with error;19   how much more those who dwell in houses of clay,    whose foundation is in the dust,    who are crushed like5 the moth.20   Between morning and evening they are beaten to pieces;    they perish forever without anyone regarding it.21   Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them,    do they not die, and that without wisdom?' Footnotes [1] 2:10 Or disaster; also verse 11 [2] 3:24 Or like; Hebrew before [3] 4:6 Hebrew lacks of God [4] 4:17 Or more than; twice in this verse [5] 4:19 Or before (ESV) New Testament: Colossians 1:1–20 Colossians 1:1–20 (Listen) Greeting 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 To the saints and faithful brothers1 in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. Thanksgiving and Prayer 3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant.2 He is a faithful minister of Christ on your3 behalf 8 and has made known to us your love in the Spirit. 9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks4 to the Father, who has qualified you5 to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. The Preeminence of Christ 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by6 him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. Footnotes [1] 1:2 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters [2] 1:7 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word sundoulos, see Preface [3] 1:7 Some manuscripts our [4] 1:12 Or patience, with joy giving thanks [5] 1:12 Some manuscripts us [6] 1:16 That is, by means of; or in (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 44 Psalm 44 (Listen) Come to Our Help To the choirmaster. A Maskil1 of the Sons of Korah. 44   O God, we have heard with our ears,    our fathers have told us,  what deeds you performed in their days,    in the days of old:2   you with your own hand drove out the nations,    but them you planted;  you afflicted the peoples,    but them you set free;3   for not by their own sword did they win the land,    nor did their own arm save them,  but your right hand and your arm,    and the light of your face,    for you delighted in them. 4   You are my King, O God;    ordain salvation for Jacob!5   Through you we push down our foes;    through your name we tread down those who rise up against us.6   For not in my bow do I trust,    nor can my sword save me.7   But you have saved us from our foes    and have put to shame those who hate us.8   In God we have boasted continually,    and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah 9   But you have rejected us and disgraced us    and have not gone out with our armies.10   You have made us turn back from the foe,    and those who hate us have gotten spoil.11   You have made us like sheep for slaughter    and have scattered us among the nations.12   You have sold your people for a trifle,    demanding no high price for them.13   You have made us the taunt of our neighbors,    the derision and scorn of those around us.14   You have made us a byword among the nations,    a laughingstock2 among the peoples.15   All day long my disgrace is before me,    and shame has covered my face16   at the sound of the taunter and reviler,    at the sight of the enemy and the avenger. 17   All this has come upon us,    though we have not forgotten you,    and we have not been false to your covenant.18   Our heart has not turned back,    nor have our steps departed from your way;19   yet you have broken us in the place of jackals    and covered us with the shadow of death.20   If we had forgotten the name of our God    or spread out our hands to a foreign god,21   would not God discover this?    For he knows the secrets of the heart.22   Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long;    we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. 23   Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord?    Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever!24   Why do you hide your face?    Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?25   For our soul is bowed down to the dust;    our belly clings to the ground.26   Rise up; come to our help!    Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love! Footnotes [1] 44:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term [2] 44:14 Hebrew a shaking of the head (ESV) Proverb: Proverbs 21:25–26 Proverbs 21:25–26 (Listen) 25   The desire of the sluggard kills him,    for his hands refuse to labor.26   All day long he craves and craves,    but the righteous gives and does not hold back. (ESV)

Morning: Job 1–3 Job 1–3 (Listen) Job's Character and Wealth 1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. 2 There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. 3 He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. 4 His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed1 God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually. Satan Allowed to Test Job 6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan2 also came among them. 7 The LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 8 And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” 9 Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? 10 Have you not put a hedge around 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. 11 But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” 12 And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. Satan Takes Job's Property and Children 13 Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, 14 and there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, 15 and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants3 with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 16 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 17 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 18 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, 19 and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” 22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong. Satan Attacks Job's Health 2 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 3 And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.” 4 Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” 6 And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.” 7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes. 9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?”4 In all this Job did not sin with his lips. Job's Three Friends 11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. 12 And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. 13 And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great. Job Laments His Birth 3 After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 And Job said: 3   “Let the day perish on which I was born,    and the night that said,    ‘A man is conceived.'4   Let that day be darkness!    May God above not seek it,    nor light shine upon it.5   Let gloom and deep darkness claim it.    Let clouds dwell upon it;    let the blackness of the day terrify it.6   That night—let thick darkness seize it!    Let it not rejoice among the days of the year;    let it not come into the number of the months.7   Behold, let that night be barren;    let no joyful cry enter it.8   Let those curse it who curse the day,    who are ready to rouse up Leviathan.9   Let the stars of its dawn be dark;    let it hope for light, but have none,    nor see the eyelids of the morning,10   because it did not shut the doors of my mother's womb,    nor hide trouble from my eyes. 11   “Why did I not die at birth,    come out from the womb and expire?12   Why did the knees receive me?    Or why the breasts, that I should nurse?13   For then I would have lain down and been quiet;    I would have slept; then I would have been at rest,14   with kings and counselors of the earth    who rebuilt ruins for themselves,15   or with princes who had gold,    who filled their houses with silver.16   Or why was I not as a hidden stillborn child,    as infants who never see the light?17   There the wicked cease from troubling,    and there the weary are at rest.18   There the prisoners are at ease together;    they hear not the voice of the taskmaster.19   The small and the great are there,    and the slave is free from his master. 20   “Why is light given to him who is in misery,    and life to the bitter in soul,21   who long for death, but it comes not,    and dig for it more than for hidden treasures,22   who rejoice exceedingly    and are glad when they find the grave?23   Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden,    whom God has hedged in?24   For my sighing comes instead of5 my bread,    and my groanings are poured out like water.25   For the thing that I fear comes upon me,    and what I dread befalls me.26   I am not at ease, nor am I quiet;    I have no rest, but trouble comes.” Footnotes [1] 1:5 The Hebrew word bless is used euphemistically for curse in 1:5, 11; 2:5, 9 [2] 1:6 Hebrew the Accuser or the Adversary; so throughout chapters 1–2 [3] 1:15 Hebrew the young men; also verses 16, 17 [4] 2:10 Or disaster; also verse 11 [5] 3:24 Or like; Hebrew before (ESV) Evening: Acts 7:1–19 Acts 7:1–19 (Listen) Stephen's Speech 7 And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” 2 And Stephen said: “Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.' 4 Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. 5 Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child. 6 And God spoke to this effect—that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years. 7 ‘But I will judge the nation that they serve,' said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.' 8 And he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs. 9 “And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him 10 and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. 11 Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. 12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. 13 And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh. 14 And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all. 15 And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers, 16 and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem. 17 “But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt 18 until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph. 19 He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive. (ESV)

Job received lots of advice about his bad situation: “Curse God and die.” “Confess and repent.” But today, we see a new approach: “Stop and think.” Learn more about the full podcast, and support the mission to read the Bible like it makes a difference, at outloudbible.com.Check out outloudbible.com for helpful study resources, and learn how to join the Patreon community in support of Outloud Bible Project. Want to jump straight to the Patreon page? Check it out at https://www.patreon.com/outloudbible

Job 1–3 Job 1–3 (Listen) Job's Character and Wealth 1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. 2 There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. 3 He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. 4 His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed1 God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually. Satan Allowed to Test Job 6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan2 also came among them. 7 The LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 8 And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” 9 Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? 10 Have you not put a hedge around 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. 11 But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” 12 And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. Satan Takes Job's Property and Children 13 Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, 14 and there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, 15 and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants3 with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 16 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 17 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 18 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, 19 and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” 22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong. Satan Attacks Job's Health 2 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 3 And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.” 4 Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” 6 And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.” 7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes. 9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?”4 In all this Job did not sin with his lips. Job's Three Friends 11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. 12 And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. 13 And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great. Job Laments His Birth 3 After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 And Job said: 3   “Let the day perish on which I was born,    and the night that said,    ‘A man is conceived.'4   Let that day be darkness!    May God above not seek it,    nor light shine upon it.5   Let gloom and deep darkness claim it.    Let clouds dwell upon it;    let the blackness of the day terrify it.6   That night—let thick darkness seize it!    Let it not rejoice among the days of the year;    let it not come into the number of the months.7   Behold, let that night be barren;    let no joyful cry enter it.8   Let those curse it who curse the day,    who are ready to rouse up Leviathan.9   Let the stars of its dawn be dark;    let it hope for light, but have none,    nor see the eyelids of the morning,10   because it did not shut the doors of my mother's womb,    nor hide trouble from my eyes. 11   “Why did I not die at birth,    come out from the womb and expire?12   Why did the knees receive me?    Or why the breasts, that I should nurse?13   For then I would have lain down and been quiet;    I would have slept; then I would have been at rest,14   with kings and counselors of the earth    who rebuilt ruins for themselves,15   or with princes who had gold,    who filled their houses with silver.16   Or why was I not as a hidden stillborn child,    as infants who never see the light?17   There the wicked cease from troubling,    and there the weary are at rest.18   There the prisoners are at ease together;    they hear not the voice of the taskmaster.19   The small and the great are there,    and the slave is free from his master. 20   “Why is light given to him who is in misery,    and life to the bitter in soul,21   who long for death, but it comes not,    and dig for it more than for hidden treasures,22   who rejoice exceedingly    and are glad when they find the grave?23   Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden,    whom God has hedged in?24   For my sighing comes instead of5 my bread,    and my groanings are poured out like water.25   For the thing that I fear comes upon me,    and what I dread befalls me.26   I am not at ease, nor am I quiet;    I have no rest, but trouble comes.” Footnotes [1] 1:5 The Hebrew word bless is used euphemistically for curse in 1:5, 11; 2:5, 9 [2] 1:6 Hebrew the Accuser or the Adversary; so throughout chapters 1–2 [3] 1:15 Hebrew the young men; also verses 16, 17 [4] 2:10 Or disaster; also verse 11 [5] 3:24 Or like; Hebrew before (ESV)

Job 42:7-17 (NIV) – [7] After the LORD had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. [8] So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” [9] So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the LORD told them; and the LORD accepted Job's prayer. [10] After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before. [11] All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the LORD had brought upon him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring. [12] The LORD blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. [13] And he also had seven sons and three daughters. [14] The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. [15] Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers. [16] After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. [17] And so he died, old and full of years. The Way of Redemption 1. Repentance Job 19:13-14 (NIV) – [13] “(God) has alienated my brothers from me; my acquaintances are completely estranged from me. [14] My kinsmen have gone away; my friends have forgotten me.” 2. Restitution Luke 19:8-9 (NIV) – [8] But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” [9] Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 3. Reconciliation 4. Restoration Job 2:9 (NIV) – [9] His wife said to him, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? CURSE God and die!” Job 2:4-5 (NIV) – [4] “Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life. [5] But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely CURSE you to your face.”

Of all the questions in life that go unanswered, it's often the question of why. Everyone listening to this podcast episode has asked this question. Why? Why did this happen? Why am I going through this? Since this is a universal question, it brings up another great question: As Christians, how do we respond when we don't understand?Main Points:1. Through the strength God provides us, let's maintain our faith. Let's hold onto His promises. May we have the courage to bless God on our difficult days. Let's worship, not only in the good times but also in the bad. Regardless of our circumstances, the name of the Lord is to be praised.2. May we not forget, our sovereign God has a plan and a purpose that we don't always see at the moment. Trust in His character that He is a good and loving Heavenly Father. His plan, His purpose, and His path for our lives are right.3. I know for many of you, these are potentially difficult words to hear. Your circumstances may be painful to endure. They were for Job too. Yet, in the times we cannot understand God's plan, let's trust a God who has our lives and our future in His hands.Today's Scripture Verses:Job 1:20-22 - “At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.”Job 2:9 - His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!”Job 2:10 - “He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”  In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.”Quick Links:Subscribe to The 5 Minute Discipleship NewsletterDonate to support this podcastLeave a review on Apple PodcastsGet a copy of The 5 Minute Discipleship JournalConnect on SocialJoin The 5 Minute Discipleship Facebook Group5 Minute Discipleship on Instagram

Job 1–3 Job 1–3 (Listen) Job's Character and Wealth 1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. 2 There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. 3 He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. 4 His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed1 God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually. Satan Allowed to Test Job 6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan2 also came among them. 7 The LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 8 And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” 9 Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? 10 Have you not put a hedge around 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. 11 But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” 12 And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. Satan Takes Job's Property and Children 13 Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, 14 and there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, 15 and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants3 with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 16 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 17 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 18 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, 19 and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” 22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong. Satan Attacks Job's Health 2 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 3 And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.” 4 Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” 6 And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.” 7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes. 9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?”4 In all this Job did not sin with his lips. Job's Three Friends 11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. 12 And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. 13 And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great. Job Laments His Birth 3 After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 And Job said: 3   “Let the day perish on which I was born,    and the night that said,    ‘A man is conceived.'4   Let that day be darkness!    May God above not seek it,    nor light shine upon it.5   Let gloom and deep darkness claim it.    Let clouds dwell upon it;    let the blackness of the day terrify it.6   That night—let thick darkness seize it!    Let it not rejoice among the days of the year;    let it not come into the number of the months.7   Behold, let that night be barren;    let no joyful cry enter it.8   Let those curse it who curse the day,    who are ready to rouse up Leviathan.9   Let the stars of its dawn be dark;    let it hope for light, but have none,    nor see the eyelids of the morning,10   because it did not shut the doors of my mother's womb,    nor hide trouble from my eyes. 11   “Why did I not die at birth,    come out from the womb and expire?12   Why did the knees receive me?    Or why the breasts, that I should nurse?13   For then I would have lain down and been quiet;    I would have slept; then I would have been at rest,14   with kings and counselors of the earth    who rebuilt ruins for themselves,15   or with princes who had gold,    who filled their houses with silver.16   Or why was I not as a hidden stillborn child,    as infants who never see the light?17   There the wicked cease from troubling,    and there the weary are at rest.18   There the prisoners are at ease together;    they hear not the voice of the taskmaster.19   The small and the great are there,    and the slave is free from his master. 20   “Why is light given to him who is in misery,    and life to the bitter in soul,21   who long for death, but it comes not,    and dig for it more than for hidden treasures,22   who rejoice exceedingly    and are glad when they find the grave?23   Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden,    whom God has hedged in?24   For my sighing comes instead of5 my bread,    and my groanings are poured out like water.25   For the thing that I fear comes upon me,    and what I dread befalls me.26   I am not at ease, nor am I quiet;    I have no rest, but trouble comes.” Footnotes [1] 1:5 The Hebrew word bless is used euphemistically for curse in 1:5, 11; 2:5, 9 [2] 1:6 Hebrew the Accuser or the Adversary; so throughout chapters 1–2 [3] 1:15 Hebrew the young men; also verses 16, 17 [4] 2:10 Or disaster; also verse 11 [5] 3:24 Or like; Hebrew before (ESV)

We return to the book of Job for another one-off sermon. We consider Job's 2nd chapter and see Job clinging, by faith, to -his integrity-, even when he is afflicted bodily and his wife tells him to curse God and die. We will discover how a saint can lose all things and suffer even the reproach of his own kith and kin -friends and family- while holding fast to Christ with faith. Job 2-9-10.

In last week's episode, Laura Graber shared the story of being molested by her father and the fear and tension that was in their home. Many of those who've been abused struggle with debilitating anxiety and fear, which are exacerbated by hyper-vigilance. Laura struggled with the fear of taking a shower, being alone, and other situations. She turned to the medical community, and at one point she was taking as many as 11 pills a day, none of which helped. In this broadcast, Laura shares how God led her to overcome anxiety and fear. Laura Graber, Part 2 – Overcoming Fear, Anxiety, and Panic Attacks - Transcript ANNOUNCER: This radio program is PG-13. Parents strongly cautioned: some material may be inappropriate for children under the age of 13. Jesus's mission was to comfort those who mourn, bind up the broken hearted, proclaim liberty to captives, and open prison doors for those who are bound. For those who want more than status quo Christianity has to offer, Blazing Grace Radio begins now. And here is your host, Mike Genung. MIKE GENUNG, HOST, BLAZING GRACE RADIO: Hey, Mike Genung here. And welcome back to Blazing Grace Radio. Glad to have you along. Last week we talked with Mrs. Laura Graber from James Port, Missouri, and she shared how she grew up with a father who was basically sexually abusing her, and did a lot of horrible, traumatic things growing up. There was fear, and hyper vigilance, and if you've missed that show I'd encourage you to go online and listen to that first one. And before I start talking with Laura again, I want to introduce a question that many believers have when they're suffering. And we can go back to the book of Job for this because God allowed Satan to sift Job like few people in history have been sifted. Where Job lost ten kids in one day - I think it was seven sons and three daughters - killed in one day. He lost his business, and then he was left with the wife saying, "Curse God, and die." And then if you read through the book of Job, a lot of his questions are "God, why? What are you doing? Why'd you allow all this?" And that is a key question in life. So Laura, my friend, welcome back to the program. LAURA GRABER: Thank you, Mike. MIKE: And where we left off last week, as you had said, that you were bitter towards God for the things you grew up with, with your dad, and you mocked Christians. And how did you resolve the why question? "Why, God, did you allow this to happen to me?" LAURA: It took several years of, I mean... okay, so I should back up a bit. Like most of my preteens and teenage years, I was... I was very angry and bitter at God. And I remember, you know, hearing my siblings or different people talk about God. And in my mind, I made fun of them. I viewed Christians as weak. And I always told myself, you know, the moment I can get away from my dad and move out of this house, you know, I would... I would never let anyone hurt me like that again. I would never, you know, live like this again. So it was at the age of 20. I went with my cousin to church... haphazardly. And that day the sermon was on how much God loves us, the love of God, that he gave his son, and just, you know, all the aspects of that. And I remember walking out of church that day and I looked up at this guy and I was like, "I'm going to give you one chance, and you'd better not screw this up." I... it was, yeah. I'm [laughs] not your typical conversion story. MIKE: [chuckles] LAURA: Over the next several years I... my relationship with God grew. I mean, I'd be reading my Bible, I'd be praying, I started going to church. My life started changing. My physical aspects of it. But there was still a part of me that always in the back of my mind, like, I couldn't completely trust God. Because I didn't have an answer to explain the first 17 years of my life. I didn't know how to come to grips with that, like, how... what was in that. So I thought I was a Christian, you know. I thought I was a believer. Life was relatively well. I got married and then we had our struggles in our marriage, and it wasn't until probably, well, the wives retreat 2018 was pivotal. You shared, you spent some time in prayer and you shared a Bible verse with each of us women to take home with us. And this verse, I know it was the Lord, but it's in Deuteronomy 31 where it's, "Be strong and courageous, Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will never leave you or forsake you." And I remember that last night at the retreat, just being in my bed and just sobbing. Because I just had this picture that God was with me all those moments as a little girl. He saw what was happening. And over the next year, like, things kept on coming back to my mind just here or there of, like, "Wow, like, God was there in that." I remember, you know, someone showed up maybe in the middle of one of my dad's angry rants, like a neighbor to visit, or, you know, like, I got away from my dad here, or, you know, this happened that interrupted this from happening. And I just, like... slowly, like, God kept on bringing them to my mind. And even today, sometimes I... it's not as much today but definitely in that next year or two of just like realizing, like, God was there. He hadn't left me. And as an adult, I can see more and more where He did call my dad to repent him, He did send things in my dad's life. You know, my dad faced a close call with death, and different things like that. That should have woke him up, but he kept on choosing to live a life of sin, and be a slave to Satan, through all of that. But God was actually there in those moments. And I had just... I was blaming God for not changing my circumstances, instead of realizing that it was my dad's free will choice to be living in that sin and to rebel against God. And he was the one that... yeah. My anger need to be directed toward him more so than God, because God was there. So that was extremely healing for me to recognize, you know, of all the times that maybe horrible things did happen, but then all the times that God intervened at just the right times, and also sent help and relief, and protected me. He protected me profusely in different areas and instances that there's no way to explain except it was the Hand of God protecting me. MIKE: Mmm. So it sounds like he didn't answer the why, but he said, "I was there and I've always been with you." LAURA: Yeah, yeah. And that to me was like, you know, I... today now, I know that there's been a work done in my heart. And I have giftings, like, through the Holy Spirit working in me that I probably wouldn't have if I wouldn't have lived through all those things. But for me, the biggest thing was understanding that God is sovereign, and He actually has good for me, you know? After so many years of just thinking there's nothing good in this life, much less than God being good, like, understanding today at a much deeper level, like He has good for me and He didn't just, he's not going to let all those years of pain just go to waste. It's not going to just be a, "Oops!" like, "My bad! That shouldn't have happened." He's going to use it somehow. It's going to glorify Him. And I've already seen it glorify him, you know, in different areas in the life of being able to relate with people, or understanding maybe what someone else is going through that I wouldn't be able to if I wouldn't have walked through that. So he has already used it. I still don't know why fully, but I can fully trust that God is good and that He's sovereign and there's going to be good in it. And when I ever, if that day ever comes, that I do understand why completely... yeah, that would be great to know. But I don't battle with it anymore, because it doesn't matter. Because... I mean, it does matter, but it doesn't because God's sovereign. MIKE: Well, a couple pieces there. First off, you're glorifying Him right now by sharing your story in public. So when we share brokenness that's when God shines through the cracks. And so I love what you're doing, and being able to willing to share And so and I also believe that he takes every drop of suffering if we're willing to cooperate with him and he redeems it for his purposes. LAURA: Amen. Amen. MIKE: So it's wonderful to see you come to that place, and you're not even 30 years old, is that right? LAURA: I'm not. I'm 27 [laughs] MIKE: So you figured a lot out at a young age. That's great. LAURA: [laughs] I'm not sure if I figured it out, or have had to learn lessons the hard way, but God has been faithful to just continue to show me His truth. MIKE: Wow. LAURA: Very faithful. MIKE: And I know from my own personal experience we all have our days where we run into a concrete wall and say, "Oops, wasn't supposed to do that!" LAURA: Amen. MIKE: So you talked about transferring your bitterness to your dad. Did you come to a place of being able to forgive him? LAURA: I did. It was... I thought I had forgiven him. I could be around him. I still had this, like, big pit in my stomach when I'd see him at the gas station and, you know, I'd just wait in my car till he was gone, then I'd go inside. But I kept telling myself, "I've forgiven him, and I've read books and forgiveness, and I've talked with counselors about forgiveness," and, you know... like, all of that seemed so... I had done everything I'd been told to do, I guess. And I thought that I had forgiven him. But what really... I don't know, brought it to a deeper forgiveness - if that's the correct way to say it - was when things in my marriage... we started struggling, and the pornography, and the anger and stuff started happening in my marriage. And it was, like, I had to face the very fears of, "What if my life will always be like this?" You know, "What if it's like when I was a child?" Seeing aspects of that become my reality as a wife, as an adult, and having, like, through that God in his great mercy... like I can't even express His great mercy and all of that, to just gently be able to help me relive some of the things as a child and like, fully grieve those things, and being able to say, like... I wrote a letter to my dad. It took me couple months and I just wrote everything that he'd ever done toward me, or had hurt me, or let me down, or betrayed me, or just anything I could possibly think about. All the things I would say to him today if I could. And I remember just I had that letter in my drawer for a long time, and finally, one day - through something that had happened in my marriage - being able to just, like, sit and read that letter out loud. I was alone in my house, and I just read it out loud, and I pretended like I was reading to my dad. And I just sobbed. It was really, extremely painful. But after that, I can honestly say I can meet up with my dad somewhere. I can hear his name and I don't just instantly recoil in my stomach. I... what happens with him is between him and God. I don't need payment for what he did. I don't. He's never even said, "I'm sorry." And that used to be a big thing for me. And today it's like, that's not okay, but it is okay, you know? I don't even need an "I'm sorry," from him. Like, God will deal with him and will take care of him. And I pray for his salvation. I pray for God to have mercy on him because I don't want to see him being punished for the sins that he did commit. But I can genuinely say, yeah, he's free as far as I'm concerned. He doesn't need to pay for what he did and that's huge for me, to be at that place. MIKE: Yeah, we can... we have a choice between, "I'm going to hold on to forgiveness," or, "I'm going to choose to grab on the bitterness again." LAURA: Yeah. MIKE: So let's let's talk about fear, and anxiety, and spiritual warfare. Because those three are bound together often, and the enemy knows how to piggyback on fear or anxiety and attack with fear darts. And you grew up with a lot of hyper vigilance, and fear, and looking over your shoulder. And so what does that journey look like? And what have you been through? What has worked? What has not worked? LAURA: I honestly didn't realize how much fear and hyper vigilance that I lived with till a couple years ago. It was so normal for me. I was a highly active person, I worked a lot, was just busy all the time. And, like, that fear would... I mean, I was... I didn't go outside alone after dark, even as an adult. Like, I didn't even sleep alone in my house as an adult. Like, I just had... I was trapped with a lot of fears and anxieties. Anxieties about things that, you know, like, something as simple as taking a trip to Walmart to buy groceries, you know? I'd be watching people around me, someone watching me as someone following me to my car. Like, just, like, living in constant panic and fear. Showering. You know, there was a week when I had to force myself to shower because... just frozen in fear. Like, I lock all the doors leading back to the bathroom, the front door, the back door. And you know, just I had to shower when I was home alone, and just lots of fears and a lot of different areas. And I always just told myself, you know, "I'm healing, I'm overcoming it." You know, "There's going to be a day when this gets better," you know, "This is going to get better." And it did. And I think I had to walk through that journey of, you know, I did find healing a little bit here, and a little bit there, and all of that. But I did a lot of different counselings and also, like, you know, prayers and rebuke Satan, and then just - and I think all those things were helpful. They were helpful. But it all came to screeching halt in 2022. Or it was '21. It was '21, yeah. My husband left for a nine month program for sexual addicts and I was left alone in my house. So with there was a lot of trauma and things happening before he left. But after he left I completely lost my mind. The next two to three months I had panic attacks all day long throughout the night. I never knew what would trigger them. I couldn't even really work. I had a part-time job at that point. I spent a large part of my days, like hiding at my mom's house or a sister's house and just like my insides just shaking. I had anxiety that was... it was so intense I can't even put it to words. I got a medication, I got on a lot of different pills, I tried everything. I was finally taking like 11 to 12 pills a day, like, morning and evening, and sometimes at noon. Drinking, you know, a lot of, like taking a lot of, like, magnesium. Just things to calm me down. I take a bath before I went to bed at night. For several weeks on the end, I couldn't sleep for more than 20 minutes - MIKE: Mmm. LAURA: - during the night, and I'd wake up - be awake for several hours of panic attacks, and finally be able to sleep again for a little bit. It was, it was horrible. I cried out to God just over and over, like, "Just let me wake up from this nightmare!" Because it was... it was the most horrible thing I think, that I've ever had to walk through my life. And it's, like, somehow in those two to three months does all that fear and anxiety came tumbling out. And there was a pill that helped. I mean, it would help somewhat, but it didn't. There was... I tried to lean on people. I tried to lean on, you know, distracting myself, trying to busy myself. I tried every avenue possible. And once again, in God's grace, he didn't let anything work well. I mean, it worked maybe for an hour or whatever. I mean, I was getting massages. I was doing whatever I could just like calm my body down. Like just calm down. And finally, in all of that, there was only one place that I could go finally at the way end. And that was to trust God completely. And I remember, like, the week that me and God just hashed it out all week it felt like, when things slowly started changing. And I'm not saying that anxiety, and fear, and those things, "Oh, just trust God more." I'm not saying that in a flippant way. I think I had to have that, you know, 15 year journey, 20 year journey, 25 years, whatever number you want to put on it. I was 26 at the time when it happened, to finally... I'd be in my house by myself after dark. Like, being able to sleep peacefully, and just completely trusting that God was the only thing that was keeping me safe. And whatever he desired for me, for my life, I would accept. Whatever glorified him, I would accept. I started showering with all the doors unlocked, and I remember one day I was like, "What?" Like, "This is crazy!" But I was just like, "Whatever happens is in God's hands," like He's here and He's going to be here no matter what happens. And just being able to, like, lay in my bed at night, start having a panic attack, hyperventilating and all that, and just being able to just like... just over and over tell my brain like, "It's okay, you're having anxiety, but God's here. He's going to get you through it. You're going to breathe." Like, you know, all this time thinking I couldn't breathe and I'm going to die because I can't breathe. And just, you know, well, "Even if you die, you're still going to be okay," like just... there was like just this profound knowledge of that God is sovereign that He's here and He's going to take care of me and whatever He desires for my life is good. And is okay with me. Even if it was painful and excruciating and hard. And that, I mean, a year and a half later, I still - don't get me wrong, I still struggle with anxiety and fears coming. But I have never had a panic attack since then. I have not had the amount of fear I'm... the fear in me subsides so much quicker by going to prayer and just, like, spending time with the Lord. And I used to do all of those things before, but it's like somehow the depth of my heart, it needed to be settled that God was in control and nothing and no one could help me but Him. MIKE: Hmm. LAURA: And He was all that I needed. MIKE: I love it. So it sounds like in a way, and this is just kind of a general way of saying it, you went from... maybe a little deeper - and I'm not saying you didn't have a relationship with Him before - but He became more real and more powerful. LAURA: Yeah. MIKE: Is that true? LAURA: Yes, absolutely. He, for the first time in my life, like the past year and a half. But I honestly am completely confident that the Lord is with me, helping me, and is good, and I'm going to be OK. And that's huge. Huge for me to say. MIKE: And it sounds like surrender was a part of that, too. LAURA: It was, it was simply saying, you know, like, "God, even if my worst nightmare were to come true, you would still be God. You would still be here. You would still, you know, I just... I just give you my life, my rights, my... whatever I want, whatever I desire is yours." Like, "Have your way." MIKE: Mmm. LAURA: Yeah. MIKE: Spiritual warfare. What does that look like, and how do you deal with that? Because I know the enemy attacks those pressure points. LAURA: Amen. Today it's still hard for me to recognize sometimes when it's happening. All of a sudden I find myself, I'm doubting my husband, or I find myself doubting the goodness of God, or I find myself, you know, just struggling with, like, being able to relax at night. And then I start recognizing just the attack that Satan has been having on my mind, and my emotions, or my circumstances, and how he's just like trying to get in whatever door that he can. And I think the biggest thing for me, like in the spiritual warfare, is recognizing it is spiritual warfare and fighting it through prayer, and scripture. You know, it may not leave. It may not get better. But still choosing to have faith that God's here with me, He's hearing my prayers and reaching out to other people, it is incredibly powerful to be able to to call other Christians and reach out and say "Hey, I need prayer." Like, "I'm struggling. I'm drowning over here. I need some help with this." But this is bigger than me. Like can you be praying? I have a number of friends that I can call, and just right then and there, like, they'll pray with me and they'll check in and keep praying or, you know, send me messages of a prayer. And just like being covered in prayer has been one of the biggest weapons that I use in fighting spiritual warfare. MIKE: The surveys show that somewhere between 80-90% of US Christians are isolated. Meaning they don't have another believer to turn to. And Laura, we have two minutes left - LAURA: Wow. MIKE: - so take a minute. What goes through your mind when you when you hear that? LAURA: I feel incredibly sad for them. That sounds lonely, and hard, and devastating. Honestly. Because it weren't for other believers in my life, I wouldn't know the Lord as I do today. I mean, obviously God calls us personally. He speaks to us personally. He's personal with us. But having other believers around you to just walk along beside you, holding your arms up, you know, when you're weak. I often think of that battle in the Old Testament. When they hold up - was it Moses or Joshua's arms? - in the battle. And every time his arms would go back down, the Israelites would start losing the battle. So a few people stood on either side of him and held up his arms during the day so the Israelites would win the battle. And I often think of that as a physical form of having believers around you to hold up your arms when your your faith is low. Have, like, lean on other people's faith that their faith can stand in that gap for you and they can fight for you while you can't. MIKE: Amen. Laura, 30 seconds. Anything you want to say? LAURA: Definitely. Anyone who's struggling or, you know, just wondering how they will ever heal or get to the other side of something, there's so much hope. There's so much help for you, and God cares, and He's faithful, and He will get you through this, and get you - not to the other side, because I don't know if there is the other side - but He will continue to help you, and to trust in that. MIKE: I love it. And Laura, thank you for sharing your heart and your struggles the last two shows. I love it. I really appreciate your transparency. LAURA: Well, thank you Mike for what you do. You are appreciated. MIKE: Well, thank you my friends, and we'll see you next time. ANNOUNCER: Blazing Grace is a nonprofit international ministry for the sexually broken and the spouse. Please visit us at blazinggrace.org for information on Mike Genung's books, groups, counseling, or to have Mike speak at your organization. You can email us at e-mail@blazinggrace.org or call our office in Chandler, AZ at (719) 888-5144, Again, visit us at blazinggrace.org, email us at email@blazinggrace.org or call the office at (719) 888-5144.

I thought we'd begin this week with a bit of Trivia. You want to know what this is? This is considered the oldest known complaint in the world. It's 4000 year old Akkadian cuneiform tablet written by a man named Nanni who complains about a substandard ingot of copper he received by the hand of his servant and in the letter he demands a refund. Complaining, as it turns out, is one of the oldest art forms in history. We can complain about anything from copper ingots to cold weather to people cutting in line, to poor customer service, our unreasonable boss to a boring movie to an overpopulated city and its traffic, and the worst of all, not being able to connect to Wi-Fi. But sometimes our complaints center on things that are much less trivial. Sometimes our complaints arise out of deep suffering. When we are pinned down in an uncomfortable situation, we complain by demanding an answer to the why question? Why am I suffering? Why this betrayal? Why this death? Why this injustice? Why this financial hardship? Why my marriage? Why are my children like this? Why am I here? Lord, why don't you change things? Last week James gave us three commands on how to be righteous in the face of suffering and not complain. Be patient, trust God and don't complain. Now this week James is going to work that out through EXAMPLES. Examples are helpful because examples are simply commands applied in real life situations. He says, let me point you to some biblical examples of people who did a good job of being patient, trusting God and not complaining in their impossibly hard situations. So James give us the prophets and God's servant, Job. So let's start with the prophets. Now the prophets are amazing. The prophets have been given the most unrewarding of all possible jobs. Let's first consider Isaiah. Isaiah When we open up the book of Isaiah we see God's assessment of the nation of Israel. God says, my people have not heeded any of my warnings. They don't even know me. And for the rest of chapter 1 and into the next chapters he outlines the many ways in which Israel has turned away. Now in Isaiah 6, the prophet Isaiah has a vision of God and it's breathtaking. It really just knocks Isaiah on the carpet. And the Lord says, Isaiah, will you go to my people and preach who I am? Will you preach what you just saw? And he said by all means. Yes, I'll go! Send me! But here's where it gets interesting. Isaiah, I'm not sure you're going to like your mission. I'm going to send you to preach the gospel to my people for the next 20 or 30 years and no one will listen, believe or respect you in any way. Ever. You will never see fruit in your ministry your entire life. You will live your entire life without witnessing a shred of evidence that anything you ever said or did mattered. I'm letting you know in advance that they will never respond no matter how much you beg and plead. They will persecute you, marginalize you and basically make your life miserable until you die. - In fact your job is to harden hearts by speaking truth and being rejected. - The more you try to show them truth the blinder they will become. - The more you try to get their attention the heavier their eyes will become until they just fall asleep. - The more you talk the more plugged up with wax their ears will become. Look at Isaiah 6:9 And Isaiah responded, "Well that doesn't sound like much fun? How long do I have to do that Lord?" Preach the truth until everyone is judged. Preach until a foreign nation obliterates them and they are utterly destroyed. Okay, now get going. That's hard. God, why? Why would you want me to do that? Why do you want me to beat my head against the wall with ZERO results? You want to talk about a job that might require a little patience? You want to talk about a situation in which you might be tempted to complain? Isaiah can relate. James says look at the prophets. What do you think was motivating Isaiah? What caused him to go year after year after year, watching the horrible hard-heartedness that led to destruction? What enabled him to keep going? What enabled him to keep preaching to this stiff-necked rebellious people? What made him able to not complain and to be patient? Think about it. CAN YOU GUESS WHAT IT IS? Jeremiah Consider Jeremiah. Jeremiah preaches during the Babylonian invasion of Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar is steaming forward. Jeremiah, go tell Jehoiakim that I'm going to use Nebuchadnezzar as a rod to discipline the nation of Israel. You have disobeyed me; therefore you will be destroyed by him. - Jehoiakim sees Babylon assembling for battle and they are scurrying about like ants trying to prepare for battle and God says, "Jeremiah, Go up to the king and here's what I want you to tell him to his face. Prophesy over him and tell him that he is going to lose this battle." - Tell Jehoiakim, "The right thing to do is to surrender to Nebuchadnezzar and to submit to him." Okay, that's your job. Now go. Jeremiah argued to God. God I'm only a child; I don't know how to speak to kings. But God says, "That excuse doesn't work. I'll give you the words. Get yourself ready!" Jeremiah says, "Are you kidding me? Everybody is going to think I'm a traitor! You really think he's going to listen to this message: Hey, Jehoiakim, you know that pagan overlord, Nebuchadnezzar? Yeah, well, God wants you to give up and let him take you into captivity. They're going to think I'm a traitor." And that's exactly what happened. They did think he was a traitor. In Jeremiah 11 we read of all the friends in his hometown (these are his elementary school classmates, those who grew up together), they all assemble and say, we have to kill this guy. He's spreading the language of sedition. We read of the temple prophets conspiring to kill him. Jeremiah discovers the plot to kill him and he complains to the Lord about his persecution and the Lord responds by telling him. "Oh, don't worry, it's going to get way worse." And sure enough. Jeremiah is beaten and put in stocks. He is thrown into a cistern where he starts sinking in mud. They are starving him. We call Jeremiah the weeping prophet. He writes a book in our Bible called Lamentations. But he can't stop speaking. He just keeps speaking. You want to talk about a job where you might be tempted to complain? How about Jeremiah? God why? James says, look at the prophets. What do you think was motivating Jeremiah? What caused him to sit in that muddy pit and trust God? What do you think motivated him to keep on speaking despite the terrible suffering and persecution? Think about it. CAN YOU GUESS WHAT IT IS? Hosea Then you have Hosea. God comes to Hosea, and he says, "Hosea, you're never going to be any kind of prophet until you understand what the betrayal of the nation of Israel feels like to the heart of God. So here's what I want you to do. I want you to marry a prostitute. I want you to marry a woman who will never be faithful to you. I've given her a fitting name, Gomer. You're going to marry Gomer, and she's going to continually be unfaithful to you." God says, "She's going to continually commit adultery. It's going to just absolutely gut you. You are going to love her to death and she's going to have affair after affair after affair. You're going to have to continually forgive her and go get her and buy her back and carry her back to your home. And you are going to love her again even though she hurt you so badly. And you are going to have to go through that difficult process of rebuilding trust. That's the training routine you are going to need to suffer in order to be a usable prophet in my hands. So I just want you to live that life on repeat for the next 30-40 years. Cool? You good with that? You want to talk about a job where you might be tempted to complain. I think Hosea can relate. God why? James says, look at the prophets. What do you think was motivating Hosea? What caused him to go year after year after year, watching the unfaithfulness of his wife. What enabled him to forgive time after time after time? I mean can you imagine the sorrow? Just horrible sorrow all the time. God says to all these prophets, "Get going." Hosea. Get going. Jeremiah. Get going. Get going, Isaiah. Their lives were suffering. They never had answers. Nothing ever went right for them. God says, "I want you to obey me. Be patient and don't complain." What do you think caused the prophets to be so patient? What do you think motivated them to keep serving the Lord despite terrible suffering and persecution? Think about it. CAN YOU GUESS WHAT IT IS? I'm baiting you aren't I? You want to know. Be patient. I'm helping you practice patience. We are supposed to look at the prophets. The prophets are given as an example. But we are also supposed to look at Job. Job Let's think about the patience of Job. Man, this is so good. Now to understand the lesson of Job you have to understand the structure of the book and the structure of the book of Job is a little odd. The story is found at the beginning and the end. In the middle you have these long speeches. When we open the book we read of the integrity and character of the man Job. - He was a man who feared God and turned away from evil. - He was an upright man. - He was blameless in all his ways. - He was a devout man, and he also was an extremely wealthy man. Now Satan comes and says, "I see this servant of yours, Job. I see how he's kind of your poster child. He's pretty hot stuff." Well, he's amazing for a reason. The dude's filthy rich. Job has learned not to bite the hand that feeds him. He's wise. Does Job serve you for nothing? The only reason he's serving you is because you've blessed him. In other words he doesn't love you. He loves your blessing. Take away his cash and he'll curse you. You can prove where his devotion lies by taking away his assets. So God allowed it. One day Job was standing in his home, and a messenger comes up and says, - "I was herding your donkeys and plowing with your oxen, and plunderers, those wretched Sabeans, well they came and attacked and took them all and killed the servants, and I alone have escaped to tell you. " Well there goes his food supply. - And while the words were still in his mouth a second servant comes running up, and he says, "I was with your sheep, and lightning came down from the sky and destroyed all the sheep and all the servants, and I alone have escaped to tell you." - And while the words were still in his mouth another comes and says the Chaldeans came and formed three bands and took all your camels and killed all your servants. This is basically the equivalent of saying your entire retirement portfolio has been wiped out. Your stocks gone. Your houses burned down and insurance won't pay and even your bars of gold you buried in the ground were dug up and robbed. All of his earthy capital is gone. He's financially ruined. He's now poor. That's a lot to absorb. - And while the words were still in his mouth another servant came up and said, "I was in the home where all of your grown children were feasting and drinking wine together, and a wind came out of the wilderness and the house collapsed, and all of your children are dead, all ten, seven sons and three daughters, and I alone have escaped to tell you these things." Now after the first stroke from Satan, we are told that Job howls in sorrow. He rips his clothes, shaves his head, falls to the ground in ashes and says, "Naked I came into the world, and naked I will return. The Lord gives. The Lord takes. Blessed be the name of the Lord." In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing. That is pretty stinking impressive. Now that introduction and the initial commentary has caused many people to misunderstand the book. Some people use this as the interpretive key for the book. Okay, Job was a righteous man, blameless. Satan attacked him and he didn't crack. So they read everything through that lens. True enough. Job was righteous. Job was blameless. There was not a better man on the earth. He was the top tier. He was the upper crust. But the story of the book of Job is that trials crush even the righteous. Trials wear you down. Trials cause even the finest poster children to crack. Trials are too much for all of us. All of us will crack eventually. There's a saying in the Navy Seals about fear of water. "All men panic. It's just a matter of when." And so it is with trials. All men eventually doubt God. All men eventually sin. All men crack. It's just a matter of when. Show me one who does not? At the first stroke, his self-control holds. Job hasn't cracked, yet. So the pressure turns up. There was a second stroke of Satan. Now Satan attacks his health. We're told he was afflicted with these running sores. He sat on an ash heap, and he scraped himself with pieces of pottery, scouring the pus off. It says he was afflicted with these sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. I mean that has got to just be terrible misery. I've run into poison ivy several times in my life and I just absolutely hate that stuff. It's just so itchy. The sores just run for weeks. It's so gross. From the top of the head to the sole of the foot. Head to toe. Can you imagine? Some people after funerals get consolation cards, meals cooked for them, phone calls. Job buries his 10 kids and loses his entire retirement portfolio and to boost his spirits he's given head to toe bleeding sores. Now that's bad. That's really bad. But I think the absolute worst comes next. I think what made him crack was not: - The loss of money. - Not the loss of children. - Not the loss of health. - It was the loss of being believed by his closest friends. Along come four terrible counselors. The first was Job's wife. She's a piece of work. Here Job is suffering. He's covered in sores and she looks at him and says, "Curse God and die!" Obviously this is an indication of where she's at. She's mad at God. She's lost all her kids. She's convinced God is evil. She's cursing at God. And she wants her husband to do the same. She's trying to drag him down with her. Look at his response. It's remarkable. You see he is still barely holding on, but he is still holding on by the tips of his fingers. He says, "You are talking like a foolish woman." He doesn't say, "You are a foolish woman." He says, "We've been around foolish women. You and I have both agreed what foolish behavior looks like. What you're saying feels awfully similar to that." It's a very kind response to someone who says to you, "Curse God and die!" Next up were Job's three friends: Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. Now Job's friends come along and take a totally different approach. They say, "No, God's not the problem. God can't be the problem. God is perfect. God is holy." And that is like a breath of fresh air to Job. "Yes, I was just trying to tell my wife that. That's so comforting to hear. Thank you for saying that. I agree, God can never be wrong. He is all wise! He's always good." But what comes next is like a baseball bat to the knees. Job's friends say, "So if God is good. If God is not to blame, the only one left is you. Job, you're the problem." They say, "I've never seen an innocent man perish like you. Obviously, you're to blame. God doesn't judge the righteous." Oh man, that hurts. That's deep. He cries out. He yells. He screams. So Job's wife says: "God's the problem. God is to blame." Job's friends says: "You're the problem." And I think he cracks. Right there. And in his agony for 35 chapters he basically asks two questions: - Why didn't I die at birth? - Why is God not answering me? He says, I am an innocent sufferer. I am righteous. I have done nothing to deserve this. This is senseless suffering. Why? Why won't God talk to me? Why are the heavens as bronze? Why? In Job 23 he says, "If only I knew where to find him; if only I could go to his dwelling! I would state my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments. I would find out the reasons, and consider what he would say." You see, Job is just like us. He's asking, "Why?" And what's the answer? Silence. Be patient. He gets nothing. He gets silence as a response. Why are you allowing this to happen? It would be one thing if I could see a reason. If it was because I had sinned, that would make sense. Okay, this is punishment for my sin. Or there was some greater purpose. I could handle that. It would be one thing if I could discern a reason. This trial will accomplish this purpose. Okay, now I have a reason to suffer. But I am innocent and you are silent. Why? Why am I suffering? To be patient and not complain and live in great suffering is among the hardest places in the world to be. Wait. Trust me. Now, here's what I want to point out. By the time we get to chapter 38, Job has officially cracked. Here the most righteous man on the face of the earth has cracked under suffering. He's cracked. He's doubting God. He's angry. He's questioning God. Everyone cracks. Listen, the prophets cracked too. - You don't think Isaiah cracked when he watched innocent children being slaughtered because of the hard-heartedness of Israel? Of course he did! - You don't think Hosea cracked when he got the news that his wife was sleeping with another man? Of course he did! - You don't think Jeremiah cracked while his feet were sinking in the mud? Read Lamentations. That's a poem written by a broken heart. Of course he did! - And here is Job. Cracked! And yet James says, "Consider the prophets. Consider Job." What does that mean? The lesson to learn from the prophets and Job is NOT how NOT to crack. It's what to do when you do. Or even more accurately, the lesson is what God will do for you when you crack. We looked at Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea and asked what do you think motivated them to keep on serving God in their terrible suffering and persecution? What did they do? CAN YOU GUESS WHAT THEY DID? Here's the answer: They did nothing. God did something. In all these cases, what happens is that his beloved children crack and God shows up and puts them back together. And how he shows up to do that is shocking. The Rebuke Since we are in Job, let's just keep going here. In Job chapter 38, near the end, God shows up. Job is not doing well. And God appears in this great storm and whirlwind. Job has been asking the why question for 35+ chapters. And finally God shows up and here's how he answers. There are two things here that are just absolutely astonishing to me. First, God doesn't give Job a reason. He doesn't tell him why? We might have ideas as to what God is up to but he doesn't say one thing about it to Job. Job has been asking for chapters and chapters why, and God says not a thing about it. He gives no explanation. So first, He doesn't tell him why, but secondly, he doesn't give him any comfort. We don't read God saying, "Job, I'm so sorry for your loss. I'm so sorry that you lost your wealth and your children and I see those terrible painful sores. It must have been so terrible to go so long and not understand. I am so, so sorry." We get none of that. The absence of that language is so shocking to me that it almost makes me want to throw away the book. How cold can you be? It's like God just has ice in his veins. Are you kidding? Not only does he not give Job comfort, he goes on the offensive. He goes on the attack. Over and over God says, "Who are you? Who do you think you are?" I mean the language is so harsh, I just shrink back. God says to Job, “Surely, you know Job, Surely, you were there. You're talking like you are so old. You're talking like you are so wise.” So surely, the lightning bolts report to you. They come to you and say, "Here we are. Which way would you like us to go, Job?" They do that for me, so surely they do that for you too, since you seem to have so much knowledge of the way things ought to be? Surely you understand how to make stars. That's easy, right? Like billions of them, right? Surely, since you know so much about how your life should go and how it fits into my great plan of redemption, surely you know about these petty small little details. Right? Oh you don't know? You don't have understanding about these things? Well, then maybe you should trust me. That feels like the opposite of compassion. And we think, God, what are you doing to this broken man? We feel like God is making a mistake here. But let's not commit the same sin that Job just committed telling God how he should instruct his children. God you don't know how to discipline your children. You're too harsh. You haven't read the positive affirmation books at Barnes and Noble. What God says totally works. Look what comes out of Job's mouth. Job stammers out a first response. You know what comes out? Repentance. The great theme of the book of James. Repentance. Job was written NOT to tell you how to NOT crack. It was written to tell you what to do when you do crack. In fact, it was written to crack you and then put you back together. And how does Job help put us back together? Through the beautiful, wonderful work of repentance. What a gift. What a healing balm. To just repent. To just say, "I thought I knew what was best. What a fool, to ever question you. I repent, Lord." Listen to Job's repentance. And you think, man, okay, Job really learned his lesson. Okay God you can be done. Do you know what God says? "I'm not finished. I'll tell you when I'm done." "Job, you think I am unjust? Must I be condemned that you be justified? Is that how this should be? It doesn't make sense to me, so I should be the one who is repenting to you? Does that make sense, Job? Either I am competent to judge God or God is competent to judge me. Which is it? Job, you're suffering is 1000 times worse simply because you assume you can understand all these things. How could that be? Were you there when I invented the molecular structure of the universe? Were you there when I invented snow? Were you there when I laid the foundations of the earth? Were you there when I said to trillions of stars, come forth? Job, you weren't. How could YOU know? Who do you think you are to question me? Either I'm God or you are. Either I'm right or you are. Either I know what's going on or you do. I'm appealing to you. Think. It's not possible, Job, that you are wiser than me. You want justice, Job? You think this is unfair. Try your own hand at justice, Job. Look at every proud man and bring him low. Crush the wicked where they stand. Bury them in the dust, and then I will concede that you are in a position to be the determiner of justice." Now all of this is too much for Job. Think about the phrase, don't obscure my counsel without knowledge. When you throw up complaints against God, you want to know what that does? It obscures God's wisdom. All of a sudden something that should never be questioned, comes into question. It's like a thick fog descends and now all of a sudden that mountain range in the distance is no longer visible. I'm confused which way is north. You know this is no different than Isaiah. What happened to Isaiah? He's brought into the throne room of the Lord of Hosts. And he sees the Lord high and lifted up and the cherubim on the throne screaming Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty. The whole earth is filled with his Glory. And Isaiah smashes his face into the dirt and says, woe is me for I am ruined. I am a man of unclean lips. How dare I ever question the Lord? Who do I think I am? That turbulence inside Isaiah is put to rest when he sees God. The turbulence inside of Job is put to rest when he sees God. The anger goes away. That pride evaporates. They are changed men. They don't have all the answers, but they have what they need to be content. To trust. To not complain or grumble. The thing that so upset me is it seemed like God came and did all the wrong things to Job, and yet, look. Sometimes God asks for trust without a reason. God asks for trust without compassion. Why? Because now the trust is complete. It's the highest form. It's the most complete form of love. Is that hard? Yeah, of course, it's hard. When you have cancer or your spouse just left you or you lost everything, or whatever, we are just bawling our eyes out. We are cracked. We are laying on the ground, cracked in a million pieces. Can you listen to God in that moment? God is no more distant from you than he was from Job. God is no more distant from you than he was from Jesus when he cried out, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" Even Jesus asked the why question. Conclusion Remember, Job and the prophets are not here to tell you how not to crack. They tell you what to do when you do. And what should you do? Run to Christ. That's what Job did. At the very end of the book of Job, God commends Job. He says, "My servant Job did the right thing." Job had some pretty low days. He had some pretty ugly moments. He cursed the day he was born. He accused God of injustice. He ranted and raved. He was filled with self-pity. It was terrible. He cracked. But what did he do right? He repented of thinking he knew better than God. He went looking for the WHY. He never found it. But you want to know what he did find? He found the who. He found the who and that was enough. He was satisfied. He found someone he could trust with the why. Remember the cross. Those in Jesus day said, "THIS MAKES ZERO SENSE." Why God? Why would you allow this? God what are you doing? I'm guessing many lost their faith when they watched Jesus hang on the cross. They said, "How in the world could this be?" And yet God turned that into the greatest act of mercy in the world. Can you trust him with the unknowns in your life knowing he has done that?

With family: Genesis 35–36; Mark 6 Genesis 35–36 (Listen) God Blesses and Renames Jacob 35 God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” 2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments. 3 Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.” 4 So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree that was near Shechem. 5 And as they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities that were around them, so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. 6 And Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him, 7 and there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel,1 because there God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother. 8 And Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So he called its name Allon-bacuth.2 9 God appeared3 to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him. 10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel. 11 And God said to him, “I am God Almighty:4 be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body.5 12 The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.” 13 Then God went up from him in the place where he had spoken with him. 14 And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it. 15 So Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him Bethel. The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac 16 Then they journeyed from Bethel. When they were still some distance6 from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and she had hard labor. 17 And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for you have another son.” 18 And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni;7 but his father called him Benjamin.8 19 So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem), 20 and Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. It is the pillar of Rachel's tomb, which is there to this day. 21 Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder. 22 While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine. And Israel heard of it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve. 23 The sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacob's firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. 24 The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. 25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel's servant: Dan and Naphtali. 26 The sons of Zilpah, Leah's servant: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram. 27 And Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned. 28 Now the days of Isaac were 180 years. 29 And Isaac breathed his last, and he died and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him. Esau's Descendants 36 These are the generations of Esau (that is, Edom). 2 Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter9 of Zibeon the Hivite, 3 and Basemath, Ishmael's daughter, the sister of Nebaioth. 4 And Adah bore to Esau, Eliphaz; Basemath bore Reuel; 5 and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan. 6 Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, his livestock, all his beasts, and all his property that he had acquired in the land of Canaan. He went into a land away from his brother Jacob. 7 For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together. The land of their sojournings could not support them because of their livestock. 8 So Esau settled in the hill country of Seir. (Esau is Edom.) 9 These are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir. 10 These are the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Basemath the wife of Esau. 11 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. 12 (Timna was a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau's son; she bore Amalek to Eliphaz.) These are the sons of Adah, Esau's wife. 13 These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife. 14 These are the sons of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau's wife: she bore to Esau Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. 15 These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: the chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, 16 Korah, Gatam, and Amalek; these are the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah. 17 These are the sons of Reuel, Esau's son: the chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah; these are the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife. 18 These are the sons of Oholibamah, Esau's wife: the chiefs Jeush, Jalam, and Korah; these are the chiefs born of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau's wife. 19 These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their chiefs. 20 These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the chiefs of the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom. 22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan's sister was Timna. 23 These are the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. 24 These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah; he is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he pastured the donkeys of Zibeon his father. 25 These are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah. 26 These are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. 27 These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. 28 These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran. 29 These are the chiefs of the Horites: the chiefs Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 30 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the chiefs of the Horites, chief by chief in the land of Seir. 31 These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the Israelites. 32 Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, the name of his city being Dinhabah. 33 Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place. 34 Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place. 35 Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, reigned in his place, the name of his city being Avith. 36 Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place. 37 Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth on the Euphrates10 reigned in his place. 38 Shaul died, and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place. 39 Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his place, the name of his city being Pau; his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab. 40 These are the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their clans and their dwelling places, by their names: the chiefs Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 41 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, 42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 43 Magdiel, and Iram; these are the chiefs of Edom (that is, Esau, the father of Edom), according to their dwelling places in the land of their possession. Footnotes [1] 35:7 El-bethel means God of Bethel [2] 35:8 Allon-bacuth means oak of weeping [3] 35:9 Or had appeared [4] 35:11 Hebrew El Shaddai [5] 35:11 Hebrew from your loins [6] 35:16 Or about two hours' distance [7] 35:18 Ben-oni could mean son of my sorrow, or son of my strength [8] 35:18 Benjamin means son of the right hand [9] 36:2 Hebrew; Samaritan, Septuagint, Syriac son; also verse 14 [10] 36:37 Hebrew the River (ESV) Mark 6 (Listen) Jesus Rejected at Nazareth 6 He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2 And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. 4 And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” 5 And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching. Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles 7 And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts—9 but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics.1 10 And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. 11 And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” 12 So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them. The Death of John the Baptist 14 King Herod heard of it, for Jesus'2 name had become known. Some3 said, “John the Baptist4 has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 15 But others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” 16 But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” 17 For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because he had married her. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife.” 19 And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly. 21 But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 For when Herodias's daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” 23 And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.” 24 And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” 25 And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” 26 And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. 27 And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John's5 head. He went and beheaded him in the prison 28 and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand 30 The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. 33 Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. 35 And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. 36 Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” 37 But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii6 worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” 38 And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” 39 Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. 41 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. 42 And they all ate and were satisfied. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44 And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men. Jesus Walks on the Water 45 Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. 47 And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48 And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night7 he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, 50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” 51 And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened. Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret 53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. 54 And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him 55 and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well. Footnotes [1] 6:9 Greek chiton, a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin [2] 6:14 Greek his [3] 6:14 Some manuscripts He [4] 6:14 Greek baptizer; also verse 24 [5] 6:27 Greek his [6] 6:37 A denarius was a day's wage for a laborer [7] 6:48 That is, between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. (ESV) In private: Job 2; Romans 6 Job 2 (Listen) Satan Attacks Job's Health 2 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 3 And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.” 4 Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” 6 And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.” 7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes. 9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?”1 In all this Job did not sin with his lips. Job's Three Friends 11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. 12 And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. 13 And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great. Footnotes [1] 2:10 Or disaster; also verse 11 (ESV) Romans 6 (Listen) Dead to Sin, Alive to God 6 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self1 was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free2 from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. Slaves to Righteousness 15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves,3 you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. 20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Footnotes [1] 6:6 Greek man [2] 6:7 Greek has been justified [3] 6:16 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; twice in this verse; also verses 17, 19 (twice), 20 (ESV)

The Book of Job “The Question of the Ages—Why?” Lesson 12c: On the Defensive 1. Job defends himself by challenging God. a. If we accuse God of not caring, it is evidence that we don’t know God very well. b. Never allow your difficult circumstances to discredit the character of God in your heart. c. Sometimes, we see ourselves as more fair and more just than God. 2. Job defends himself by insulting his friends. a. Just because you say something honest does not mean it was the right thing to say. b. We are to speak the truth but speak it in love. c. Criticism is rooted in our opinion; truthfulness is rooted in God’s Word. James 3:9-11 (NIV) – [9] With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. [10] Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. [11] Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 3. Job defends himself by idolizing his integrity. Job 6:28-30 (NIV) – [28] “But now be so kind as to look at me. Would I lie to your face? [29] Relent, do not be unjust; reconsider, for my integrity is at stake. [30] Is there any wickedness on my lips? Can my mouth not discern malice? Job 27:5 (NIV) – [5] I will never admit you are in the right; till I die, I will not deny my integrity. Job 2:9 (NIV) – [9] His wife said to him, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!” a. Anything that we hold higher than God is an idol, even if it is something good. Numbers 21:9 (NIV) – [9] So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived. 2 Kings 18:4 (NIV) – [4] [Zechariah] removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. Judges 8:27 (NIV) – [27] Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family. b. When we question the way God works in our lives, we say we know better than Him. Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV) – [8] “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. [9] “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9 (MSG) – [8] “I don’t think the way you think. The way you work isn’t the way I work.” GOD’s Decree. [9] “For as the sky soars high above earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond the way you think.

The single most important question you will ever face came from Jesus Christ, "Who do you say that I am?”. - SERMON TRANSCRIPT - Turn in your Bibles this morning to Mark 8: 27 -33. I'd also like to ask you also to look at the parallel passage in Matthew 16: 13-23. I don't do this every week, but this week in particular, I want to be walking in a parallel way through both of these passages, but of course giving priority to the gospel of Mark. I. A World Full of Questions As we look at this text, we come to the most significant question any of us could ever face in our lives. We face questions every day of our lives. Some of them are completely mundane and trivial like, "What should I have for breakfast?" Some of you say, "No, pastor, that's a significant question right there." Or, "What should I wear to church today? Should I wear the blue sweater or the green one? I know I'm going to be wearing a sweater today so I don't have to iron the shirt underneath the sweater so I know that decision has been made, but which sweater? How shall I drive to church on a Sunday or to work tomorrow morning? What does the traffic report say? What's the forecast? Is it going to be hot or cold? Is it going to be rainy or not?" Et cetera. Trivial questions. Some questions are more significant, we understand that. Like some of the questions you young driver candidates are facing that you're going to face at the DMV so that you can get your license. You need to be ready to answer those questions or questions that you face on the SAT or the GRE or other things, the questions law students face on the bar exam. Or what young families will do with their budget, how they will spend their money, aspects like that. Some questions really do shape our entire lives or are weightier than any of these. A high school senior that has to decide which college she'll go to. She’s been accepted to three or four colleges, which ones should I choose? I need wisdom for that. More significantly, you married women can think back to a time when there was a man on his knee in front of you asking you the significant question, "Will you marry me?" and that has shaped your life because you said, yes. Your whole future life, in some ways, hung in the balance there. Or the question that your moms would ask the ultrasound technician, "Is it a boy or a girl?" Or the question a father should ask, "Should I get a different job? I’m not making enough money, What should I do about my financial income?" Or the anxious question a senior may ask a doctor, "Is it cancer?" There are some worldview questions that stand over all of us. I shared these this past Wednesday: creation, fall, redemption. Creation: Where does everything come from? The Fall: Why is everything so messed up? Why is there such corruption and wickedness in the world? Redemption: Where can we go to see those problems solved? More personally, is there purpose in my life? Is there any reason for my existence? What will happen when I die? All these are very significant worldview questions. II. The Most Important Question in the History of the World In the text, as I said, I believe the most significant question any individual can ever face stands before us here. In this text, Jesus Christ stands before individual people, all of us in the text and asks you, "What about you? Who do you say that I am? What about you? Who do you say that I am?" I believe your eternal destiny hangs on the answer to that question. Whether you'll spend eternity in heaven or hell, depends on your answer to that question. Eternity in heaven, a place that can barely be even imagined for its beauty, a world free from death, mourning, crying and pain, a perfect world. Will you spend eternity in that beautiful and perfect world? Or conversely, will you spend eternity, wailing and gnashing your teeth in anguish, and agony, as Jesus taught, about eternal conscious torment in hell? Those are the two destinies, one destiny or the other for each one of you that listens to me, and I believe your answer to this question, "What about you? Who do you say that I am?", determines whether it's going to be heaven or hell for you. The Gospel of Mark, I believe, was written to give you everything you need to make the right confession of Jesus. And not just Mark, but Matthew and Luke and John. All four of those Gospels give you everything you need to make, from your heart, by faith, this confession, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." The context of this question is a retreat Jesus went on with his apostles. The location is given, Caesarea of Philippi, about 25 miles northeast of the sea of Galilee, 40 miles southwest of Damascus on a beautiful plateau near the headwaters of the Jordan River. Nearby a few miles to the north was Mount Herman, generally snow covered, over 9,000 feet tall. Caesarea Philippi was originally named Paneas after the Greek nature god, Pan, who according to Greek mythology, was born in a cave nearby that region. Caesar Augustus gave the region to Herod the Great, Herod's son. Philip the Tetrach named the city, Caesarea, after Caesar, and Phillipi after himself. So that's where they were. It was a few miles from the ancient Jewish region of Dan, the northernmost tribe of Israel. Surrounded by Gentiles, therefore more of a cosmopolitan area, a crossroads where Jewish and pagan culture met. For Jesus, it was a retreat from the urgent demands of the crowd and from the plots and schemes of his hateful and murderous enemies. The crowds, relentless demands for healing and for feeding, constantly. Some of them, in John 6, zealously wanted to take Jesus by force and make him king. King Herod probably wanted to kill him as he did John the Baptist. The Pharisees, Scribes and priests definitely are plotting to kill him by this point, so Jesus withdrew to Tyre and Sidon first and now to this Gentile region next. It's a retreat, but it's also an opportunity for Jesus to focus on the twelve, the training of the twelve. A.B. Bruce wrote a classic on the training of the twelve. You get that picture of Jesus, touching the lives of his apostles and shaping them as a potter shapes the clay. He's got time with the twelve apostles. They were, humanly speaking, the centerpiece of his strategic plan to take the gospel to the ends of the earth, including to Gentile nations. His methodology includes asking probing questions and beginning some kind of dialogue based on those probing questions. Look at verse 27, “Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea of Philippi. On the way he asked them, ‘Who do people say I am?’” He starts this question, this topic. The topic is, “Who am I?” and He starts it by getting current opinions, popular opinions. We have to be aware of the focus of Jesus's questioning, “Who am I?” Is this a vital topic? In one sense, Jesus was the most self-centered teacher in history. Everything ultimately revolved around Jesus. This was not pride or ego on his part, not at all. It has to do with who He is and how our understanding of who He is fits into God's salvation plan. He said self-centered things all the time, such as, "I am the bread of life" or, "I am the bread that came down from heaven. If you feed on me, you'll live forever.” "I am the spring of living water. Come to me and drink if you're thirsty.” “ I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” “ I am the good shepherd and I lay down my life for the sheep.” “ I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” “ I am the vine. You are the branches. If you remain to me, you'll bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing.” “ I am sending you many prophets and righteous men and teachers, some of them you'll kill and crucify." Who would ever say that, "I'm sending you prophets?" Who does that, but God? "I am the Lord of the Sabbath." Jesus was the most self-centered teacher in history. But again, not through ego or pride, Jesus knew who He was and He knew that salvation consisted in knowing him, as He prayed to his own father in John 17: 3, "Now this is eternal life; that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." That is eternal life, that they may know Jesus Christ. He especially said this plainly to his enemies and He warned them concerning this, they must know and believe his true identity or be eternally lost. In John 8:24, Jesus said, "I told you", to his enemies, "I told you that you would die in your sins." That means go to hell. To die in your sin means to be condemned to hell. "I told you that you would die in your sins for if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins." What does that mean? "If you do not believe that I Am, you will die in your sins.” "I Am", the Jews knew, that's God's name. He is the I Am out of the burning bush when Moses says, "What shall I say is your name?" "Tell them, I Am who I Am. I Am has sent me to you.” In that same chapter, John 8, He said, "You must believe that I Am or you'll die in your sin”. At the end of that whole exchange, He said, "I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I Am." It's an open claim to deity. He says in John 8:24, "You have to believe that or you're going to die in your sins." So with his disciples at Caesarea of Philippi, He's going to zero it on that topic, the most important topic, who am I? He gets current opinions on this. What are people saying about me? He wanted the disciples aware of the current opinions about Jesus. Who do people say that I am? Essential to their mission would be to proclaim the truth and to correct false understandings of Jesus. So also our mission today, there are many false opinions about Jesus. “Who do people say that I am?” They give their answers. In verse 28, they replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah and still others, one of the prophets." That's an interesting list of opinions. There's obviously no way that Jesus could be John the Baptist. I mean, the two of them had a conversation. I would think that would settle it. Jesus showed up where John was baptizing and John baptized him, so that settles that. But king Herod thought that John was raised from the dead, and Jesus' miracles are proof of that, but that’s not possible. Others brought in that prophecy about Elijah. You remember Elijah, the mysterious and powerful prophet of God who ascended to heaven in a chariot of fire. Malachi gives a clear prediction or prophecy that Elijah would come before the great and dreadful day of the Lord in Malachi 4:5. So maybe Jesus is Elijah. Others thought it's just one of the prophets. In Matthew's account, they say Jeremiah. There's no promise that Jeremiah would come back, but God can do that. Maybe He's brought Jeremiah or one of the other prophets back. But as I said, no prophet ever said the kinds of things Jesus said. No prophet would ever make this statement, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” No prophet would claim to be Lord of the Sabbath. No prophet would claim, "I'm sending you prophets." So then we get to the most important question in the history of the world, Mark 8:29, “ What about you? Who do you say that I am?" Jesus zeroes in on them, the twelves, they've been with him for several years now. They've seen him do literally thousands of miracles, huge populations of people have come and been healed. They've seen it. They've watched at every move, they've heard as every word. They don't need any more information. The time has come for them to face this question, "Who am I?” John 3:36 says, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life for God's wrath remains on him." So it's life or wrath, based on whether you believe in and accept the Son. "So it's life or wrath, based on whether you believe in and accept the Son. " III. Peter’s Greatest Moment: The Mouthpiece of God At this moment, Peter steps up, and this is one of, if not Peter's greatest, moment as the mouthpiece of God. Peter speaks for all believers of all time, he speaks for the twelve, he often did that. They'd all be thinking something, but Peter would say it. Peter was a natural born leader, a leader of men. He would venture forward, that's who he was, and he would speak. Now, moved by the spirit of the Father, Peter spoke for all believers throughout all ages, but what did he say? In Mark's gospel, Mark 8:29, this is what it says, “Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ.’” That's a significant statement. “You are the fulfillment of all that our nation has been waiting for. The fulfillment of all the prophecies that a son of David would come and sit on David's throne and reign on David's throne over his kingdom.” It's a very significant statement, but it obviously falls far short of fullness of understanding. Many Jews of that day would be ready to say that Jesus was the Christ but not understand his deity. They would think He was just a human descendant of David in the genealogy ready to come like David reigning on a human throne. But the fullness of his identity as God in the flesh, is not obvious in this truncated confession ascribed to Peter in the Gospel of Mark. So now we have to do the hard work of New Testament theology and exegesis. We are innerrantists at this church. We believe that every word of scripture is perfect, everything scripture asserts is true. We also believe that none of the four Gospels is exhaustive. John says, “Jesus did lots of things not recorded in this book.” So there are lots of things that happened that didn't get written. All of them are truncated to some degree. We have to harmonize Matthew's account and Mark's account. Whenever any of the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John gives us additional perceptual historical information, we accept it and harmonize it. It's true, it happened. The fuller confession comes in Matthew's Gospel. If you're there on the page, you can see it, Matthew 16:16, "Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’" The Son of the Living God, Peter said that at that moment. This is fascinating for me as a student of the Gospel of Mark, because I believe this is the purpose statement of the entire Gospel of Mark. Mark 1:1, “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the son of God.” We don't have to wonder what the Gospel of Mark is written to do to bring us to that place where we can say He is the son of God. Then to some degree, the climax of the entire gospel, as Jesus has just died, the centurion who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry, saw how He died, and said, "Surely this man was the son of God." That's like the Alpha and the Omega, really pretty much. The beginning of the gospel of Jesus, the Son of God. Then as He dies, "Truly this man was the son of God." Now in the middle, right in the center, we have this opportunity for Peter, who parenthetically, New Testament scholars surmise, that the Gospel of Mark is to some degree Peter's gospel. That Mark was Peter's secretary. We don't know that for sure, but it's quite possible. Why would he truncate, led again perfectly by the Holy Spirit? Why just say, "You are the Christ"? Here's my official answer, I don't know. I don't know. There's a perfect reason why, I can guess like all of you at the reason, but I don't know for sure. I just know he did. But let me speculate, for what it's worth. The real issue here is the full revelation of the person of Jesus by the spirit of the Father to individual sinners, understanding who Jesus is. We get that from Matthew’s Gospel. We'll talk about that in a minute. But it's pretty clear that whatever Peter said at that moment, he didn't fully understand it. He didn't fully understand that Jesus was the son of the living God. Why do I say that? Because moments later, he's rebuking him. Can I just say it is a bad idea to rebuke the Son of the living God? But both of those happened. I would guess, perhaps, the Holy Spirit led Mark to truncate because even though it is the theme of the whole Gospel, and even though Peter's a centerpiece of it, he didn't fully understand it at that moment. In humility, he held back from the full revelation, knowing the spirit knew that the full confession would be in Matthew's Gospel. What it says to me is, and I'm going to make this application at the end of the sermon, we all similarly have to go beyond a slogan, beyond words only, to reality. What it really means for us is that Jesus is the son of living God. We'll get to that at the end of the sermon. The center issue here is the revelation of the identity of Jesus to your soul. Jesus said this when Peter made that confession, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” "Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah. For this was not revealed to you by man, but by my father in heaven." It is by revelation, direct revelation by God the Father to the sinner. By that means alone can we make that confession from our hearts. This is the most blessed state a sinner can ever reach here on earth, is to have God the Father, reveal Jesus to you so you understand who He really is, and He does this by the Holy Spirit. You can't do this to yourself. Naturally, all of us are spiritually blind, especially to Jesus. We don't see his glory. But when God chooses to, He can take away your blindness, the blindness of your soul and show you the glory of God in Christ. Jesus said in John 6:44, "No one can come to me unless the Father sent me." He draws him, I would say, based on what He said to Peter in Matthew 16:17, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me reveals me to him." God the Father has the power to give, as Jonathan Edwards put it, "A divine and supernatural light directly imparted to your soul." And what is that? 2nd Corinthians 4:6 tells us what it is, “ For God who said, let light shine out of darkness, made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ, that God is glorious in Jesus.” That's a light that shines in the heart of every truly born again person. When God shines that light, similar to the original physical light at creation, when God said, "Let there be light", when He shines that spiritual light inside you, He also says, "Let there be sight." The sight of the heart of the soul is faith. You can see the invisible glory of God in Christ in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. You see it and you're justified by faith. You're forgiven of your sins. That's salvation. My question is, has that happened to you? Has God revealed his own glory in Christ to you? Is that light shining in your soul and do you see it? So that's what happened. Then Jesus, continuing the account in verse 30, warns them not to tell anyone about him. This is one of a regular pattern of these warnings. “Don't tell anyone. Don't tell anyone, don't tell anyone.” As I've said again and again, I pick up the Bible and say, here it is on the page. That was just temporary, He wants everyone to know about this. But at that time, He wanted it held back. Again, we can guess at the reasons, but it's just He had his purpose for that restriction. IV. Jesus’ Shocking Warning At that point, then Jesus gives a shocking warning. At this moment in history, He begins to explain to his apostles, what's going to happen. Look at verses 31, 32, “ He then began to teach them that the son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priest and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed. And after three days rise again.” He spoke plainly about this. Matthew makes it clear that it was at this point and repeatedly from then on [Matthew 16:21] from that time on, Jesus began to explain these things to his disciples. Why did He do this? Many reasons, but primarily because those apostles, none of them were expecting this, at all. None of them were. It didn't compute in their understanding of the kingdom. Jesus wants to tell them ahead of time so that when it happens, they won't lose their faith. It's going to be the greatest trial of their faith, of their entire lives. When Jesus gets arrested, beaten, and killed, He wants them to know that this is all part of his plan. He says in John 14:29, "I've told you now, before it happens. So when it does happen, you will believe." He wants to give them warnings. There's many other reasons why He says his arrest and death is going to try them, deeply. He wants to get out ahead of it and predict it and say, "Look, this is not an accident. I'm not a victim. I'm not trapped. I'm not surrounded by a net that I didn't see coming. No one takes my life from me. I lay it down freely of myself." [John 10]. I'm not going to get trapped. I'm dying on purpose.” V. Peter’s Worst Moment: The Mouthpiece of Satan A moment ago I said, this was Peter's greatest moment as the mouthpiece of God. Now we have Peter's worst moment, or among them, there's a number of candidates. But among them, this, his worst moment, a mouthpiece of Satan. How can he, in such a short time, in mere moments, go from being a mouthpiece of God to being a mouthpiece of Satan? Verse 32, “Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.” Matthew tells us what he said, "Never Lord. He said, this shall never happen to you." Here we see Peter's arrogance exposed. Can I ask you a question? Why do you think Peter took Jesus aside to do it? Perhaps you've never thought about that before. What an awkward and weird moment in redemptive history. "Jesus, do you have a moment? Just you and me in private? I have something I want to say to you. Just come here, just you and me." Why does he do that? You want to know why? He wants to spare Jesus' reputation. He wants to spare him the embarrassment because he's clearly wrong about this death thing. “Let's see if we can get this fixed, just the two of us and we'll go back and you know, you can take that back, kind of walk that whole thing back.” So he takes him aside and rebukes the son of the living God. How can this be? How can he actually say, "Son of the living God", and then in moments later be rebuking him or correcting him? Sadly, rebuking God is something all of us sinners do. Sadly, regularly, we rebuke God and we correct God when we think He's wrong, when we think He's done something in our lives or in the world that's wrong and we question him and challenge Him as in the Book of Job. It's very common. But consider these words in the beautiful doxology in Romans 11, "Oh, the depths of the riches of the wisdom and the knowledge of God. How unsearchable his judgments and his path beyond tracing out. Who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor?" What do those words mean to you? God doesn't need your advice. He doesn't need your counsel. He didn't need Peter's counsel at that moment. It's arrogant for us to think we can give God any kind of council or advice. It's like Job, when God answered Job out of a whirlwind, remember in Job 38, "Who is this that darkens council by speaking words without knowledge?" …brace yourself like a man. I will question you and you will answer me. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me if you understand.” You can see the same thing here with Peter arrogantly thinking to rebuke Jesus. "Sadly, regularly, we rebuke God and we correct God when we think He's wrong." In so doing, you must understand Peter is speaking out against his own salvation, isn't he? He's speaking out against his own salvation. If Jesus doesn't go to Jerusalem and be arrested by the chief priest, teachers in the law, and be condemned to death by them and then by the Gentiles mocked, flogged and crucified and dead, and his blood shed on the cross, we all will spend eternity in hell. There is no other hope. There is no other salvation than Jesus being the lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. We sang earlier this morning, "Lover of my soul”. “I want to live for you, lover of my soul.” That's Jesus. He is the lover of Peter's soul and to love his soul to the uttermost, He has to die for him, and He knows that. Peter doesn't understand that. Later, Jesus will get ready to wash Peter's feet. Peter stopped him and said, "You'll never wash my feet." And Jesus said, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." We would say the same thing about the cross, only even more so, it's actually the same thing. "Unless I bleed for you, you cannot have any part with me. You cannot be with me in heaven." Later, after Jesus's resurrection, ascension, coming of the Holy Spirit at the Pentecost, Peter's continued development and the time came for him to write his epistle, First Peter, he clearly understands substitutionary atonement by then. First Peter 3:18, “For Christ died for sins, once for all the righteous, for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit.” He understood it. “I get it now. Jesus has to die.” So then, Jesus turns and rebukes Peter and He does it in front of everybody. Peter took Jesus aside privately. Jesus doesn't do this rebuke privately, He rebukes Peter publicly in front of everybody. Look at verse 33, "But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan. You do not have in mind the things of God but the things of men.’" He wanted all the disciples to hear this rebuke of Peter because undoubtedly Peter was speaking for all of them when he vigorously rejected the concept of Jesus dying in Jerusalem. He said in verse 33, "You do not have in mind the things of God but the things of men." All of them did. They all had human conceptions of the kingdom they are going up to Jerusalem to establish. They’re all going to be sitting on fine seats. “Jesus gets the best seat, but some of us are going to sit at your right and your left and the rest are sitting around you, and we're going to rule the world. We're going to be on comfortable thrones, and we're going to be sitting in silk and we're going to be eating whatever we want at the banquet table every night, and we are going to rule the world.” Your thoughts of the kingdom, Jesus would say, are far too human. “My kingdom is not of this world. You don't understand what you're thinking about.” They're thinking of a human glory, a human power, a human wisdom, human sensual delights. That's what Peter was thinking about and they're all thinking about that. But to begin the rebuke, what does Jesus say? “Get behind me, Satan.” Wow, that's a shock. “Get behind me, Satan.” He said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan." It's reasonable for us to ask, based on this text, what is the connection between Satan and Peter at that moment? It's pretty clear biblically and also practically experientially. Satan has the power to insinuate thoughts into the human mind. He does not have the power to make you pull the trigger on them, act on them, speak them. But he does have the power to put them in your mind. This is the essence of the flaming arrows that he shoots. He has that power. Now, we are always responsible for what we say and do, but at that moment, Peter was speaking Satan's words for him.It reminds me of Job's wife. Remember in Job chapter 1 and Job chapter 2, Satan's program was to get Job to curse God to his face. After the assault on Job's body, the second assault, when Job is sick, his wife comes to him and says, "Are you still holding onto your integrity? Curse God and die.” Whoa, whoa, where'd that come from? Curse God? She was speaking Satan's words for him at that moment. Satan can do that. In Second Timothy 2:26, Paul talks to Timothy about disputes within the church, and tells him that he’s going to have people that are going to disagree with him. People are going to oppose him, sometimes very vigorously. Paul told Timothy to deal with them gently and patiently [2nd Timothy 2,] in the hopes that they'll come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, listen, who has taken them captive to do his will. Satan can take people captive temporarily to do his will, including speaking his words. Let me just say to all of you and to myself, be very careful what you say in moments of stress, because Satan, through demons will be insinuating thoughts in your mind and you might say something you don't believe is true or something that just has popped in your mind and then you say it and you can't unsay it. So be very, very careful at moments like that as Psalm 141: 3-4, "Set a guard over the door of my mouth, oh Lord. Keep watch over the door of my lips. Let my not my heart be drawn to what is evil." Okay? But let's go even deeper. What was Satan thinking at this moment? This is really amazing. Satan was tempting Jesus to not go to the cross. This makes sense because he's going to oppose whatever Jesus wants to do. But later, Satan is going to inhabit Judas to betray Jesus to the cross. Which is it Satan? Are we trying to get Jesus to not go to the cross, as in Matthew 16 and Mark 8 or are we trying to trap Jesus so that He would go to the cross, as in Judas Iscariot? In John 13, Jesus said very plainly, “'I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me." They were all troubled. And then John laying on Jesus's breasts at the last supper said, ‘Which one?’ And he said in John 13, ‘It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I've dipped it into the dish", then dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot son of Simon. As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said, ‘What you're about to do, do quickly.’" And he goes out and it's night. What does he go out to do? Betray Jesus to his death. I meditated on this years ago. What does Satan want? Does he want Jesus to go to the cross or not? It's what I call satanic confusion. He's playing checkers and God is playing chess or some game infinitely higher. Satan's smart, God is omniscient. Here's the incarnate son of God in a human body, physically on earth and he can die. It's possible for him to die. The question is for Satan, should I kill him or not? Should I kill him or not? Should I kill him or not? Should I kill him or not? In Caesarea of Philippi he's like, "Let's tempt him not to die”. But then in the end, I would say it this way, he can't help himself. Why? Because he is a murderer and he's going to do his basic nature. He's going to kill the Son of God, and in so doing, hallelujah, destroy his own dark kingdom. 1st John 3:8, “The reason the son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.” Hebrews 2:14 -15, “so that by his death[ Jesus] death, he might destroy him, who holds the power of death, that is the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” So when Satan orchestrated Jesus' death, he destroyed himself. But in the wisdom of God, God ordained a long, slow, very long, very slow death for Satan in his kingdom. Praise God. But that's what's going on, satanic confusion. VI. Lessons Let's go back to how I began. Focus on the most important question, and it is your most important question. Every single one of you listening to me today has an eternal soul. Every single one of you will spend eternity either in heaven or hell. It is not hard for me to prove biblically, I'm not making an overstatement, your eternal destiny depends on your heart conviction about Jesus Christ. If you can confess from your heart, with Peter, "You are the Christ, the son of the living God", then you are blessed by the Father, and you'll spend eternity blessed by my Father. Take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world, blessed by God if you can make that confession. If you have not yet made that confession, I am pleading with you and the eternal weight of your soul. Come to Christ. You have all the evidence you need in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, read it. Spend this afternoon. If you're not yet convinced, read one of the gospels straight through. There is nothing more important, as Jesus will say later in this chapter, "What would it profit someone to gain the whole world and lose his soul?" I'm begging you, come to Christ. For us, all of us, we need to be aware of current opinions on Jesus. What are people saying about Jesus? Lots of weird stuff. I've got all kinds of quotes here, but I put a big X across it so I'm not going to read it. They're like, "Oh, pastor, what were they?" Someone can come up and swipe it at the end, it will be right here. But I tell you what, people have all kinds of lighthearted things to say about Jesus. Jesus has generally a good reputation in the world. We could sum it all up under one heading, good moral teacher. But Jesus, as CS Lewis proved, is not merely a good moral teacher if he claimed to be God. He either is God or he's a liar or insane. He's not merely a good moral teacher. We need to understand that. We need to be instruments in the hands of God the Father through the spirit to bring lost people to the point of confession, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." How do we do that? Tell them about Jesus. Tell them miracle stories. Seriously this week, choose a miracle story, a healing, walking on the water, stilling the storm, something, and tell it to a lost person this week and see what happens. See what kind of conversations you can get into. You can start talking to people about worldview. Start that way. Don't say worldview, they'll be all upset. But say, "I have a couple questions for you. Where do you think everything came from? And why do you think everything's so messed up?Where do you think we're going with all that? How do you determine ultimate purpose and meaning for your life? What do you think happens when you die?"If you ask those questions, you're going to get to the gospel. Then tell them the greatness of Christ so that they can make that confession. "We need to be instruments in the hands of God the Father through the spirit to bring lost people to the point of confession, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'" One last thing I want to say is we are a knowledgeable church doctrinally instructed. I think it's a warning to us that we can make a verbal confession and not really truly understand what it means. So I'm urging you go beyond the slogans of "You are the Christ, the son of the living God" to the reality of Christ alive within you. The hope of God. Close with me in prayer. Father, we thank you for the time we've had to walk through this complex multifaceted passage, and it's vital, oh Lord, for us. Help us, oh Lord, to understand what you're teaching us, to understand the truth of the confession that Peter made and how it only happens when God directly reveals and imparts a divine and supernatural light to our souls. Help us as evangelists to be willing boldly here in the Raleigh Durham Chapel Hill area to speak the gospel so that people can make that confession in front of all of us in water baptism. Oh God, make us evangelists, make us bold, Lord, for all of us who have already been saved, help us just to be deeply thankful, knowing that it's only because of your sovereign grace that we ever made that confession. In Jesus' name, amen.

In this Bible Story, Satan makes a second attempt to break Job. Satan removes his health, and Job is faced with his wife and friends, who tragically fail to comfort him. This story is inspired by Job. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is Job 2:9 from the King James Version.Episode 58: Once again Satan comes into the presence of The LORD, and once again God praises His servant Job, pointing out that even though He allowed Satan to take away everything he owned, Job still praised God. So Satan tries again to break Job, this time by taking away his health. Covered in boils and in grief, Job sits outside mourning his loss and praying to God. His friends arrive to comfort him, but, just like what can happen to us today, the conversation turns towards words of blame instead of comfort. But even in his anger, Job still does not curse God.Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world's greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.This episode is sponsored by Medi-Share, an innovative health care solution for Christians to save money without sacrificing quality.Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max BardProducer: Ben GammonHosted by: Pastor Jack GrahamMusic by: Andrew Morgan SmithBible Story narration by: Todd HaberkornSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 119:89–176 Psalm 119:89–176 (Listen) Lamedh 89   Forever, O LORD, your word    is firmly fixed in the heavens.90   Your faithfulness endures to all generations;    you have established the earth, and it stands fast.91   By your appointment they stand this day,    for all things are your servants.92   If your law had not been my delight,    I would have perished in my affliction.93   I will never forget your precepts,    for by them you have given me life.94   I am yours; save me,    for I have sought your precepts.95   The wicked lie in wait to destroy me,    but I consider your testimonies.96   I have seen a limit to all perfection,    but your commandment is exceedingly broad. Mem 97   Oh how I love your law!    It is my meditation all the day.98   Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,    for it is ever with me.99   I have more understanding than all my teachers,    for your testimonies are my meditation.100   I understand more than the aged,1    for I keep your precepts.101   I hold back my feet from every evil way,    in order to keep your word.102   I do not turn aside from your rules,    for you have taught me.103   How sweet are your words to my taste,    sweeter than honey to my mouth!104   Through your precepts I get understanding;    therefore I hate every false way. Nun 105   Your word is a lamp to my feet    and a light to my path.106   I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,    to keep your righteous rules.107   I am severely afflicted;    give me life, O LORD, according to your word!108   Accept my freewill offerings of praise, O LORD,    and teach me your rules.109   I hold my life in my hand continually,    but I do not forget your law.110   The wicked have laid a snare for me,    but I do not stray from your precepts.111   Your testimonies are my heritage forever,    for they are the joy of my heart.112   I incline my heart to perform your statutes    forever, to the end.2 Samekh 113   I hate the double-minded,    but I love your law.114   You are my hiding place and my shield;    I hope in your word.115   Depart from me, you evildoers,    that I may keep the commandments of my God.116   Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live,    and let me not be put to shame in my hope!117   Hold me up, that I may be safe    and have regard for your statutes continually!118   You spurn all who go astray from your statutes,    for their cunning is in vain.119   All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross,    therefore I love your testimonies.120   My flesh trembles for fear of you,    and I am afraid of your judgments. Ayin 121   I have done what is just and right;    do not leave me to my oppressors.122   Give your servant a pledge of good;    let not the insolent oppress me.123   My eyes long for your salvation    and for the fulfillment of your righteous promise.124   Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love,    and teach me your statutes.125   I am your servant; give me understanding,    that I may know your testimonies!126   It is time for the LORD to act,    for your law has been broken.127   Therefore I love your commandments    above gold, above fine gold.128   Therefore I consider all your precepts to be right;    I hate every false way. Pe 129   Your testimonies are wonderful;    therefore my soul keeps them.130   The unfolding of your words gives light;    it imparts understanding to the simple.131   I open my mouth and pant,    because I long for your commandments.132   Turn to me and be gracious to me,    as is your way with those who love your name.133   Keep steady my steps according to your promise,    and let no iniquity get dominion over me.134   Redeem me from man's oppression,    that I may keep your precepts.135   Make your face shine upon your servant,    and teach me your statutes.136   My eyes shed streams of tears,    because people do not keep your law. Tsadhe 137   Righteous are you, O LORD,    and right are your rules.138   You have appointed your testimonies in righteousness    and in all faithfulness.139   My zeal consumes me,    because my foes forget your words.140   Your promise is well tried,    and your servant loves it.141   I am small and despised,    yet I do not forget your precepts.142   Your righteousness is righteous forever,    and your law is true.143   Trouble and anguish have found me out,    but your commandments are my delight.144   Your testimonies are righteous forever;    give me understanding that I may live. Qoph 145   With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O LORD!    I will keep your statutes.146   I call to you; save me,    that I may observe your testimonies.147   I rise before dawn and cry for help;    I hope in your words.148   My eyes are awake before the watches of the night,    that I may meditate on your promise.149   Hear my voice according to your steadfast love;    O LORD, according to your justice give me life.150   They draw near who persecute me with evil purpose;    they are far from your law.151   But you are near, O LORD,    and all your commandments are true.152   Long have I known from your testimonies    that you have founded them forever. Resh 153   Look on my affliction and deliver me,    for I do not forget your law.154   Plead my cause and redeem me;    give me life according to your promise!155   Salvation is far from the wicked,    for they do not seek your statutes.156   Great is your mercy, O LORD;    give me life according to your rules.157   Many are my persecutors and my adversaries,    but I do not swerve from your testimonies.158   I look at the faithless with disgust,    because they do not keep your commands.159   Consider how I love your precepts!    Give me life according to your steadfast love.160   The sum of your word is truth,    and every one of your righteous rules endures forever. Sin and Shin 161   Princes persecute me without cause,    but my heart stands in awe of your words.162   I rejoice at your word    like one who finds great spoil.163   I hate and abhor falsehood,    but I love your law.164   Seven times a day I praise you    for your righteous rules.165   Great peace have those who love your law;    nothing can make them stumble.166   I hope for your salvation, O LORD,    and I do your commandments.167   My soul keeps your testimonies;    I love them exceedingly.168   I keep your precepts and testimonies,    for all my ways are before you. Taw 169   Let my cry come before you, O LORD;    give me understanding according to your word!170   Let my plea come before you;    deliver me according to your word.171   My lips will pour forth praise,    for you teach me your statutes.172   My tongue will sing of your word,    for all your commandments are right.173   Let your hand be ready to help me,    for I have chosen your precepts.174   I long for your salvation, O LORD,    and your law is my delight.175   Let my soul live and praise you,    and let your rules help me.176   I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant,    for I do not forget your commandments. Footnotes [1] 119:100 Or the elders [2] 119:112 Or statutes; the reward is eternal (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 2 Job 2 (Listen) Satan Attacks Job's Health 2 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 3 And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.” 4 Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” 6 And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.” 7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes. 9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?”1 In all this Job did not sin with his lips. Job's Three Friends 11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. 12 And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. 13 And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great. Footnotes [1] 2:10 Or disaster; also verse 11 (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 23 Isaiah 23 (Listen) An Oracle Concerning Tyre and Sidon 23 The oracle concerning Tyre.   Wail, O ships of Tarshish,    for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor!  From the land of Cyprus1    it is revealed to them.2   Be still, O inhabitants of the coast;    the merchants of Sidon, who cross the sea, have filled you.3   And on many waters  your revenue was the grain of Shihor,    the harvest of the Nile;    you were the merchant of the nations.4   Be ashamed, O Sidon, for the sea has spoken,    the stronghold of the sea, saying:  “I have neither labored nor given birth,    I have neither reared young men    nor brought up young women.”5   When the report comes to Egypt,    they will be in anguish2 over the report about Tyre.6   Cross over to Tarshish;    wail, O inhabitants of the coast!7   Is this your exultant city    whose origin is from days of old,  whose feet carried her    to settle far away?8   Who has purposed this    against Tyre, the bestower of crowns,  whose merchants were princes,    whose traders were the honored of the earth?9   The LORD of hosts has purposed it,    to defile the pompous pride of all glory,3    to dishonor all the honored of the earth.10   Cross over your land like the Nile,    O daughter of Tarshish;    there is no restraint anymore.11   He has stretched out his hand over the sea;    he has shaken the kingdoms;  the LORD has given command concerning Canaan    to destroy its strongholds.12   And he said:  “You will no more exult,    O oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon;  arise, cross over to Cyprus,    even there you will have no rest.” 13 Behold the land of the Chaldeans! This is the people that was not;4 Assyria destined it for wild beasts. They erected their siege towers, they stripped her palaces bare, they made her a ruin. 14   Wail, O ships of Tarshish,    for your stronghold is laid waste. 15 In that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, like the days5 of one king. At the end of seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute: 16   “Take a harp;    go about the city,    O forgotten prostitute!  Make sweet melody;   

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Proper 15 First Psalm: Psalm 140; Psalm 142 Psalm 140 (Listen) Deliver Me, O Lord, from Evil Men To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. 140   Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men;    preserve me from violent men,2   who plan evil things in their heart    and stir up wars continually.3   They make their tongue sharp as a serpent's,    and under their lips is the venom of asps. Selah 4   Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;    preserve me from violent men,    who have planned to trip up my feet.5   The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,    and with cords they have spread a net;1    beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah 6   I say to the LORD, You are my God;    give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O LORD!7   O LORD, my Lord, the strength of my salvation,    you have covered my head in the day of battle.8   Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked;    do not further their2 evil plot, or they will be exalted! Selah 9   As for the head of those who surround me,    let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!10   Let burning coals fall upon them!    Let them be cast into fire,    into miry pits, no more to rise!11   Let not the slanderer be established in the land;    let evil hunt down the violent man speedily! 12   I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted,    and will execute justice for the needy.13   Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;    the upright shall dwell in your presence. Footnotes [1] 140:5 Or they have spread cords as a net [2] 140:8 Hebrew his (ESV) Psalm 142 (Listen) You Are My Refuge A Maskil1 of David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer. 142   With my voice I cry out to the LORD;    with my voice I plead for mercy to the LORD.2   I pour out my complaint before him;    I tell my trouble before him. 3   When my spirit faints within me,    you know my way!  In the path where I walk    they have hidden a trap for me.4   Look to the right and see:    there is none who takes notice of me;  no refuge remains to me;    no one cares for my soul. 5   I cry to you, O LORD;    I say, “You are my refuge,    my portion in the land of the living.”6   Attend to my cry,    for I am brought very low!  Deliver me from my persecutors,    for they are too strong for me!7   Bring me out of prison,    that I may give thanks to your name!  The righteous will surround me,    for you will deal bountifully with me. Footnotes [1] 142:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term (ESV) Second Psalm: Psalm 141; Psalm 143 Psalm 141 (Listen) Give Ear to My Voice A Psalm of David. 141   O LORD, I call upon you; hasten to me!    Give ear to my voice when I call to you!2   Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,    and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice! 3   Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth;    keep watch over the door of my lips!4   Do not let my heart incline to any evil,    to busy myself with wicked deeds  in company with men who work iniquity,    and let me not eat of their delicacies! 5   Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness;    let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head;    let my head not refuse it.  Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.6   When their judges are thrown over the cliff,1    then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant.7   As when one plows and breaks up the earth,    so shall our bones be scattered at the mouth of Sheol.2 8   But my eyes are toward you, O GOD, my Lord;    in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!39   Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me    and from the snares of evildoers!10   Let the wicked fall into their own nets,    while I pass by safely. Footnotes [1] 141:6 Or When their judges fall into the hands of the Rock [2] 141:7 The meaning of the Hebrew in verses 6, 7 is uncertain [3] 141:8 Hebrew refuge; do not pour out my life! (ESV) Psalm 143 (Listen) My Soul Thirsts for You A Psalm of David. 143   Hear my prayer, O LORD;    give ear to my pleas for mercy!    In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!2   Enter not into judgment with your servant,    for no one living is righteous before you. 3   For the enemy has pursued my soul;    he has crushed my life to the ground;    he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.4   Therefore my spirit faints within me;    my heart within me is appalled. 5   I remember the days of old;    I meditate on all that you have done;    I ponder the work of your hands.6   I stretch out my hands to you;    my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah 7   Answer me quickly, O LORD!    My spirit fails!  Hide not your face from me,    lest I be like those who go down to the pit.8   Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,    for in you I trust.  Make me know the way I should go,    for to you I lift up my soul. 9   Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD!    I have fled to you for refuge.110   Teach me to do your will,    for you are my God!  Let your good Spirit lead me    on level ground! 11   For your name's sake, O LORD, preserve my life!    In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!12   And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies,    and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,    for I am your servant. Footnotes [1] 143:9 One Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts To you I have covered (ESV) Old Testament: Job 2 Job 2 (Listen) Satan Attacks Job's Health 2 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 3 And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.” 4 Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” 6 And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.” 7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes. 9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?”1 In all this Job did not sin with his lips. Job's Three Friends 11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. 12 And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. 13 And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great. Footnotes [1] 2:10 Or disaster; also verse 11 (ESV) New Testament: Acts 9:1–9 Acts 9:1–9 (Listen) The Conversion of Saul 9 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. (ESV) Gospel: John 6:27–40 John 6:27–40 (Listen) 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” 28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” 30 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (ESV)

Old Testament: Job 2–4 Job 2–4 (Listen) Satan Attacks Job's Health 2 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 3 And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.” 4 Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” 6 And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.” 7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes. 9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?”1 In all this Job did not sin with his lips. Job's Three Friends 11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. 12 And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. 13 And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great. Job Laments His Birth 3 After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 And Job said: 3   “Let the day perish on which I was born,    and the night that said,    ‘A man is conceived.'4   Let that day be darkness!    May God above not seek it,    nor light shine upon it.5   Let gloom and deep darkness claim it.    Let clouds dwell upon it;    let the blackness of the day terrify it.6   That night—let thick darkness seize it!    Let it not rejoice among the days of the year;    let it not come into the number of the months.7   Behold, let that night be barren;    let no joyful cry enter it.8   Let those curse it who curse the day,    who are ready to rouse up Leviathan.9   Let the stars of its dawn be dark;    let it hope for light, but have none,    nor see the eyelids of the morning,10   because it did not shut the doors of my mother's womb,    nor hide trouble from my eyes. 11   “Why did I not die at birth,    come out from the womb and expire?12   Why did the knees receive me?    Or why the breasts, that I should nurse?13   For then I would have lain down and been quiet;    I would have slept; then I would have been at rest,14   with kings and counselors of the earth    who rebuilt ruins for themselves,15   or with princes who had gold,    who filled their houses with silver.16   Or why was I not as a hidden stillborn child,    as infants who never see the light?17   There the wicked cease from troubling,    and there the weary are at rest.18   There the prisoners are at ease together;    they hear not the voice of the taskmaster.19   The small and the great are there,    and the slave is free from his master. 20   “Why is light given to him who is in misery,    and life to the bitter in soul,21   who long for death, but it comes not,    and dig for it more than for hidden treasures,22   who rejoice exceedingly    and are glad when they find the grave?23   Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden,    whom God has hedged in?24   For my sighing comes instead of2 my bread,    and my groanings are poured out like water.25   For the thing that I fear comes upon me,    and what I dread befalls me.26   I am not at ease, nor am I quiet;    I have no rest, but trouble comes.” Eliphaz Speaks: The Innocent Prosper 4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: 2   “If one ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?    Yet who can keep from speaking?3   Behold, you have instructed many,    and you have strengthened the weak hands.4   Your words have upheld him who was stumbling,    and you have made firm the feeble knees.5   But now it has come to you, and you are impatient;    it touches you, and you are dismayed.6   Is not your fear of God3 your confidence,    and the integrity of your ways your hope? 7   “Remember: who that was innocent ever perished?    Or where were the upright cut off?8   As I have seen, those who plow iniquity    and sow trouble reap the same.9   By the breath of God they perish,    and by the blast of his anger they are consumed.10   The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion,    the teeth of the young lions are broken.11   The strong lion perishes for lack of prey,    and the cubs of the lioness are scattered. 12   “Now a word was brought to me stealthily;    my ear received the whisper of it.13   Amid thoughts from visions of the night,    when deep sleep falls on men,14   dread came upon me, and trembling,    which made all my bones shake.15   A spirit glided past my face;    the hair of my flesh stood up.16   It stood still,    but I could not discern its appearance.  A form was before my eyes;    there was silence, then I heard a voice:17   ‘Can mortal man be in the right before4 God?    Can a man be pure before his Maker?18   Even in his servants he puts no trust,    and his angels he charges with error;19   how much more those who dwell in houses of clay,    whose foundation is in the dust,    who are crushed like5 the moth.20   Between morning and evening they are beaten to pieces;    they perish forever without anyone regarding it.21   Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them,    do they not die, and that without wisdom?' Footnotes [1] 2:10 Or disaster; also verse 11 [2] 3:24 Or like; Hebrew before [3] 4:6 Hebrew lacks of God [4] 4:17 Or more than; twice in this verse [5] 4:19 Or before (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 44 Psalm 44 (Listen) Come to Our Help To the choirmaster. A Maskil1 of the Sons of Korah. 44   O God, we have heard with our ears,    our fathers have told us,  what deeds you performed in their days,    in the days of old:2   you with your own hand drove out the nations,    but them you planted;  you afflicted the peoples,    but them you set free;3   for not by their own sword did they win the land,    nor did their own arm save them,  but your right hand and your arm,    and the light of your face,    for you delighted in them. 4   You are my King, O God;    ordain salvation for Jacob!5   Through you we push down our foes;    through your name we tread down those who rise up against us.6   For not in my bow do I trust,    nor can my sword save me.7   But you have saved us from our foes    and have put to shame those who hate us.8   In God we have boasted continually,    and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah 9   But you have rejected us and disgraced us    and have not gone out with our armies.10   You have made us turn back from the foe,    and those who hate us have gotten spoil.11   You have made us like sheep for slaughter    and have scattered us among the nations.12   You have sold your people for a trifle,    demanding no high price for them.13   You have made us the taunt of our neighbors,    the derision and scorn of those around us.14   You have made us a byword among the nations,    a laughingstock2 among the peoples.15   All day long my disgrace is before me,    and shame has covered my face16   at the sound of the taunter and reviler,    at the sight of the enemy and the avenger. 17   All this has come upon us,    though we have not forgotten you,    and we have not been false to your covenant.18   Our heart has not turned back,    nor have our steps departed from your way;19   yet you have broken us in the place of jackals    and covered us with the shadow of death.20   If we had forgotten the name of our God    or spread out our hands to a foreign god,21   would not God discover this?    For he knows the secrets of the heart.22   Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long;    we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. 23   Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord?    Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever!24   Why do you hide your face?    Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?25   For our soul is bowed down to the dust;    our belly clings to the ground.26   Rise up; come to our help!    Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love! Footnotes [1] 44:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term [2] 44:14 Hebrew a shaking of the head (ESV) New Testament: Luke 8 Luke 8 (Listen) Women Accompanying Jesus 8 Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them1 out of their means. The Parable of the Sower 4 And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” The Purpose of the Parables 9 And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 10 he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.' 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. 14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience. A Lamp Under a Jar 16 “No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. 17 For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. 18 Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.” Jesus' Mother and Brothers 19 Then his mother and his brothers2 came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. 20 And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” 21 But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.” Jesus Calms a Storm 22 One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out, 23 and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. 24 And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. 25 He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?” Jesus Heals a Man with a Demon 26 Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes,3 which is opposite Galilee. 27 When Jesus4 had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” 29 For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.) 30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. 32 Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned. 34 When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 36 And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed5 man had been healed. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him. Jesus Heals a Woman and Jairus's Daughter 40 Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. 41 And there came a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus' feet, he implored him to come to his house, 42 for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. As Jesus went, the people pressed around him. 43 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians,6 she could not be healed by anyone. 44 She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased. 45 And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter7 said, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing

Have a great day students!

This week, join us as we explore traditional and personal interpretations of the book of Job through themes of grief, transformation, and poetry. For a full transcript, visit us online at thefaithfulfeminists.com

Morning: Job 1–3 Job 1–3 (Listen) Job's Character and Wealth 1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. 2 There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. 3 He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. 4 His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed1 God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually. Satan Allowed to Test Job 6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan2 also came among them. 7 The LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 8 And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” 9 Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? 10 Have you not put a hedge around 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. 11 But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” 12 And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. Satan Takes Job's Property and Children 13 Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, 14 and there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, 15 and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants3 with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 16 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 17 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 18 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, 19 and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” 22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong. Satan Attacks Job's Health 2 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 3 And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.” 4 Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” 6 And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.” 7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes. 9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?”4 In all this Job did not sin with his lips. Job's Three Friends 11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. 12 And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. 13 And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great. Job Laments His Birth 3 After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 And Job said: 3   “Let the day perish on which I was born,    and the night that said,    ‘A man is conceived.'4   Let that day be darkness!    May God above not seek it,    nor light shine upon it.5   Let gloom and deep darkness claim it.    Let clouds dwell upon it;    let the blackness of the day terrify it.6   That night—let thick darkness seize it!    Let it not rejoice among the days of the year;    let it not come into the number of the months.7   Behold, let that night be barren;    let no joyful cry enter it.8   Let those curse it who curse the day,    who are ready to rouse up Leviathan.9   Let the stars of its dawn be dark;    let it hope for light, but have none,    nor see the eyelids of the morning,10   because it did not shut the doors of my mother's womb,    nor hide trouble from my eyes. 11   “Why did I not die at birth,    come out from the womb and expire?12   Why did the knees receive me?    Or why the breasts, that I should nurse?13   For then I would have lain down and been quiet;    I would have slept; then I would have been at rest,14   with kings and counselors of the earth    who rebuilt ruins for themselves,15   or with princes who had gold,    who filled their houses with silver.16   Or why was I not as a hidden stillborn child,    as infants who never see the light?17   There the wicked cease from troubling,    and there the weary are at rest.18   There the prisoners are at ease together;    they hear not the voice of the taskmaster.19   The small and the great are there,    and the slave is free from his master. 20   “Why is light given to him who is in misery,    and life to the bitter in soul,21   who long for death, but it comes not,    and dig for it more than for hidden treasures,22   who rejoice exceedingly    and are glad when they find the grave?23   Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden,    whom God has hedged in?24   For my sighing comes instead of5 my bread,    and my groanings are poured out like water.25   For the thing that I fear comes upon me,    and what I dread befalls me.26   I am not at ease, nor am I quiet;    I have no rest, but trouble comes.” Footnotes [1] 1:5 The Hebrew word bless is used euphemistically for curse in 1:5, 11; 2:5, 9 [2] 1:6 Hebrew the Accuser or the Adversary; so throughout chapters 1–2 [3] 1:15 Hebrew the young men; also verses 16, 17 [4] 2:10 Or disaster; also verse 11 [5] 3:24 Or like; Hebrew before (ESV) Evening: Acts 7:1–19 Acts 7:1–19 (Listen) Stephen's Speech 7 And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” 2 And Stephen said: “Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.' 4 Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. 5 Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child. 6 And God spoke to this effect—that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years. 7 ‘But I will judge the nation that they serve,' said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.' 8 And he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs. 9 “And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him 10 and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. 11 Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. 12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. 13 And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh. 14 And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all. 15 And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers, 16 and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem. 17 “But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt 18 until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph. 19 He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive. (ESV)