My Redeemer Lives - Job 19:25

"As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and that he will stand upon the earth at last." Job 19:25

After all that has happened to Job, after he concludes that God has abandoned him, he never loses faith that God will raise him after he has died, redeem him, and he will get to see God face to face. This is a man who, even if he does not understand his current circumstances, never loses perspective on who God is. God is God, regardless of what he personally is going through. I like to think that I am this strong... I honestly just don't know. I imagine that this is the very thing that Satan wanted to test. I can preach this, but unless I walk it, there is no way to really know how I would respond. I do know that I do not want to be tested! I think I need to REALLY consider my commitment/faith in God. Is it in any way dependent on circumstances, or will it stand up to a Job-like" test? Hmmm...

God, you know my love for you and my faith in who you are. I pray that you continue to strengthen and build me into the man of faith that you need me to be. Ultimately, you are all that matters--help me to live this fact every day.

Today's reading: Job 19; Mk. 1-2

His Possession - Neh. 13:18b

"...Now you are bringing more even more wrath upon the people of Israel by permitting the Sabbath to be desecrated in this way!" Neh. 13:18b

All the rules that God laid down for the Jews always seemed a bit much for me. It has taken me a long time to understand that it was, at least in part, an effort to separate them from the rest of the world as something special and holy to God. For them to not just become like everyone else. To maintain their alien status while still having to live in the world. They were SUPPOSED to look different! We don't really have those rules to force the issue, but we are still supposed to look different. We are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people set apart for God--are we recognized as that? I think that there is no doubt that the Jews were recognized as being VERY different as they attempted to follow God's Law--even imperfectly. I try too hard to not look different. I risk compromising what God has set apart to be holy. If Solomon in all his wisdom could be compromised, what makes me more special? Instead of trying to fit in, my mindset needs to be that it is awesome to be God's possession! Of course I should look different to the rest of the world, because I am!

God, please strengthen me. Eliminate any fear or insecurity, and help me to do EXACTLY what you want me to do, even if it may look weird to the rest of the world. Thank you for setting me apart to be you possession, help me to be proud to act the part.

Today's reading: Neh. 13; Mal. 1, 2; Acts 4

Praise Him! - Ps. 147

"How good it is to praise to sing praises to our God! How delightful and how right!" Ps. 147:1

We talked about prayer at length in our small group this week. Part of the focus was based on perspective: Were we just coming with our list of requests, or were we actually spending time with our Lord and Savior? Obviously the desire is for the latter, but if this were the case, our conclusion was that a disproportionate amount of our time with him would be spent in praise. In fact, if we REALLY considered the enormity of the being we were approaching, many of us agreed that we would basically be speechless! But at the very least we would be praising our God more than we would be asking for stuff. How simple Ps. 147 is. How delightful and right is it to praise our God. We get an indication that the writer of this psalm is living through the rebuilding of Jerusalem, and decided to simply start praising God for his awesomeness. Amongst other things, he concludes that it is "good," "delightful" and "right." I find that when I praise God for an extended period that, increasingly, this is how I feel. It is obviously "right," but importantly, it starts feeling good and delightful -- I actually start smiling! What is that all about? I think it is about piercing the facade of the cares of this world, and tapping into what is REALLY real. I think I need to do it more.

God, how amazing you are that you would choose to love me. Help me to tap into you for power and perspective on a daily basis. Keep me from believing any lie that tells me that there isn't time or to do it on my own. I desire to depend only on you.

Today's reading: Zech. 13-14; Ps. 147; Lk. 15