July 1; Day 38

Job 25 -42

How can innocent become evil so easily?

You see, I've recently joined the technological age and using some of the tools available to us today. It started with this blog and understanding more about this mode of communication. Then recently a friend of mine - a strong Christian friend of mine whom I've been on a Great Banquet Team with - sent me a link to Facebook and invited me to see his page. We'll in order to see what he posted, I had to join. So by default I've joined the Facebook Generation. To date, I've avoided all of this technology because of the "evils" reported on it.

So fast forward, after a few hours of playing around with Facebook, I managed to establish my own page with limited information and connect with a few high school classmates I hadn't seen forever. So I began thinking... "This technology thing could be pretty good. Perhaps God even directed me to this because He wanted me to connect with others in a different way. After all, it WAS sent to me by a strong Christian friend innocently asking me to connect with him."

So fast forward a few days... I began receiving "invites" to be friends with people I didn't know. Then I learned how to set my privacy settings to screen these invites out. Secondly, I began perusing "Friends of friends" and I realized not all of my friends are keeping "up and up" company. At least some of the pictures and things posted on these sites were not God honoring. But did I choose to look away? No. I chose to click one step further and see how much people would reveal or show. WRONG CHOICE. Before I knew it... or before I really came to reality, I was seeing things and thinking in ways I should have never been. I let my guard down because something innocent turned evil in an instant. It pulled me away from following Jesus in a moment... and deceptively I might add.

Now link this back to the story of Job. His friends came seemingly innocent to him. They wanted to sympathize with him and help him. Yet under cover of darkness their human self kicked in and they became evil to him in an instant. They started trying to pull Job away from his faith. God sent me a friend. Admittedly one I haven't kept in very good contact with for a while, but one none the less who wanted to connect with me on this technology. Yet I let my humanness step in and get in the way. I fouled it up. Is this not what Job's friends did? They followed God in obedience to showing a friend sympathy yet in their humanness they forgot to ask God for what he wanted them to share with Job. God even rebukes them in Job 42:7-9 by saying "You have not spoken to me what is right as my servant Job has."

Just like Job's friends they wanted to follow God. My friend wanted to connect with me. What fouls it up is the fact that our human nature kicks in and we believe we can "go it alone." When Job's friends went it alone, they spoke of God incorrectly. When I went alone I ended up in places that I'm ashamed to admit and places God was not honored.

Life is too difficult and the devil is too sly ... don't go it alone today my friend. I know I need you.

Postlogue:
Out of this conclusion of Job I gain some solace which is this: After such tremendous suffering, Job didn't lose his faith. It was the one thing he clung to when all else was stripped away. Then in Job 38 I see the bright promise available to all of us. "The Lord answered Job about of the storm." We see Job and the Lord in a dialogue. A real conversation of hope and renewal. Finally in Job 42 we see that renewal... spiritually and physically. "The Lord blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first. . . and so he died, old and full of years." (vs 12-17) The Lord may allow temporary suffering, but he always promises hope for the faithful.

Please Lord, forgive me for going it alone and taking the wrong path. Speak to me in the storm as I know you will. Help me cling to my faith when all the world is telling me to leave it behind for moments of folly... and help me be worth of blessing that I might die, old and full of years.

June 30, Day 37

Job 1- Job 23
I'm in a bit of a predicament. I realized today I'm not as good of a friend as I always think I am...

In the past as I read of Job and heard of his plight, I always knew God had allowed Satan to harass Job. But what I never realized was Satan never specifically asked to pick on Job. Satan and an angel come to visit God. God asks Satan, "Whattcha been up to?" (Loosely paraphrased of course) and Satan says he's been roaming back and forth across the earth. Then God offers this suggestion... "Have you considered my servant Job?" God just offers willingly to let Satan consider harassing Job. This doesn't seem quite right to me... but yet I know God knew Job well enough that He knew that whatever Satan threw at Job was not going to break his love for God. Does God know me like this? Probably he knows me... but he may not trust me like this yet. Too often I blame God for my challenges rather than looking at Satan as the source of the strife. God is not the source of confusion. Satan is. God may have allowed the strife to take place but Satan is the source.

The other thing I recognize from this story is that God allowed Satan to cause all kinds of trouble in Job's life. But could Satan have also provided the "friends" to Job? I mean it is obvious that from the beginning they cared for Job. They wanted to come and mourn with him and remained silent for 7 days and 7 nights just letting Job mourn. But yet... when the mourning carried on longer then they thought it should, they started to try to "fix" Job. They tried to point out the problems and the sources of problems to they could help him get over it. Obviously they were growing faint of hearing him mourn and lament. They wanted action. What determination and faith Job showed by holding on to God during his friends accusations. There are times when Job wanted to die and be put out of his misery, but he never renounced God in the process.

I try to put myself in the shoes of the "friends" of Job to get a better perspective on my life.

• Have I ever travelled out of my way to mourn with a friend for 3 solid days? Not very much.
• Have I remained silent and seven days and seven nights to listen to someone else's problems? I grow faint of listening to problems after about 30 minutes max... let alone 7 days.
• Have I ever tried to fix a problem for someone else by attempting to find the "root cause" and suggest a solution? (If my wife is reading this, she is not allowed to post comments in response to this question.) Of course I do... all the time.
• Do I rush to judgement and start condemning a perfectly innocent person, simply because God was using them as an opportunity to show the world their faith in Him?
• Am I being used by Satan more than I'm being a Godly friend to others in their time of need?

Now you can see my predicament... Even when I think I'm being used by God to be a good friend, I still allow myself to be used by Satan. My calling may be from God to be a friend in times of need... but my need to fix the problem or offer advice may be getting in the way of God's plan. If you are reading this, you are someone I consider a friend. And because you're reading this, I'm expecting you to help hold me accountable now that I know this... please remind me that I'm trying to fix the problem when all you need is a Godly friend to sit and listen... and ultimately God's glory will shine through both of us.

June 29; Day 36

Esther

For such a time as this... Esther was chosen to be queen. This is the application I'm always reminded of as I read this story. It tells me that Esther was born at that time for that reason and was in those specific circumstances so God's plan could be revealed through her. Isn't this the same for all of us? We're all here for a specific reason at this appointed time. Make it count.

Yet today I recognized something else. God had chosen Esther and she had to choose to obey. Yet even choosing to obey, she still had to learn how to be most effective in her environment. God had placed her in the Queen's role. And He had divinely appointed her for her role. No doubt He was also strengthening and guiding her along the way.

What I was impressed with today was that she had to learn how to make requests of the king. No doubt she - as the queen - had witnessed individuals making requests the "wrong way." Perhaps they demanded the king do something or they threatened the king. We see that even for the king to hear the request was something of a challenge as he had to extend his scepter to you. Even for his own wife.

Esther knew this wasn't going to be an easy task. She asked for fasting and prayer as she prepared herself to do so. But she resolved to do so, even if it meant she would perish. When we see Esther asking the king I notice her phrasing... ever so particular...

"If it pleases the king to grant my petition..." (Esther 5:7)

Why does this strike me so? Because Esther never super ceded the king's authority. She never placed herself above Him by demanding or even suggesting that He should see things her way. Rather she made a suggestion only if it pleased the king. How often do I tell God what I want to have happen. I reflected back on some of the requests I made of God this morning.... "Bless me today as I tackle this difficult conversation." "Strengthen me as I endure this challenge." "Be with my friend as he goes through this difficult problem." "Grant my children peace and rest after a busy weekend." And it goes on and on... but never did I say, "If it pleases the king..."

How much I could learn from Esther. Not only has God chosen me for this time and place to accomplish His will... but I also have to learn to make my petitions of the King in such a way I continue to demonstrate His Lordship over me.

June 28; Day 35

Nehemiah

I chose to read the entire book of Nehemiah today though it goes a bit outside of today's reading. It's just easier to read a little more and keep the entire book together... and I'm glad I did.

There is so much to learn here in how Nehemiah "gets results through people" and the wall is actually rebuilt. I also learn a lot about how to face opposition. Nehemiah certainly is a strong leader of people. Yet the conviction I gained from reading this book came from the very last verse... "Remember me with favor, O my God." (Neh 13:31b)

What must have been going through Nehemiah's head when he wrote this? As he was leading this massive project involving thousands of volunteers he certainly must have been frustrated. He certainly must have thought about giving up many times. He probably lost his temper more than once as it was happening. Perhaps he even did somethings he's not very proud about. Yet he was following what God had called him to do. Following God is not always easy OR comfortable. As a result of his toil and his frustration, but also as a result of his tenacity and obedience - he is asking God to remember him with favor.

I spoke about God's favor a few days ago in my blog. Not just God's material blessings, but God's favor. Remember me with favor. I can't with a clean conscience ask God to remember me with favor if I've not done anything favorable. I can't simply ask God to remember my works as favorable unless I first acknowledge him as my God.

http://jims90days.blogspot.com/2008/06/june-26-day-33.html

Do I have the right to ask God to remember ME with favor? Have I done anything that honors the Lord? Do my works show the fruit of the Spirit in me? Though I'm sure I've done some "good things" in my life, I seem to remember those that have kept me from God's favor even more.

Today as I read this verse slowly and simply, I want to make it my prayer. Remember em with favor, O my God. May this be convicting for my actions today, tomorrow and the many days to come.

Perhaps it has also convicted you... go forth in seeking God's favor.

June 27, Day 34

2 Chron 35- Ezra 10

Sometimes I get frustrated when what I want to do or the ideas I have are not embraced by others. Especially when I feel God has called me to something, I get especially frustrated and I start thinking, if only everyone else would think like me... then everything else would be better.

I suppose Ezra and the Jews coming out of exile felt a little like this. As they attempted to rebuild - physically rebuilding the temple and their city, but also spiritually rebuilding their culture, - there was more than just a little misunderstanding. There was severe opposition.

I gain great application from this today. Why should I expect God's work to go smoothly when the world is not following God? There will always be opposition to His will because he tells us, " In this world you will have trouble." Often my frustration is directed to my opponent's spiritual vantage point. "If they were only saved, they would be able to see it my way..." Yet, I cannot expect them to see it my way because they are not saved. Only by Grace have I been allowed to see with what I call "spiritual eyes" and understand and discern God's direction. It would almost be like trying to expect someone who doesn't speak my language to understand me when I speak to them. I must see them with my "spiritual eyes" as well. Not as an opponent but as someone who needs Jesus in their life.

As we attempt to rebuild the temple of the Spirit inside of us and our culture... won't you join me in seeing those around us less as an opponent and more as someone who needs Jesus?

June 26, Day 33

More than anything as I read today's reading I realized this book of the Bible very clearly links the our behaviors with God's favor. If you've listened at all to the tele-evangelists of our day, you hear a lot about being in "Gods favor." (Perhaps even spoken with a very charming but deceptive southern drawl.) And a lot of this "name it and claim it" religion is based around equating God's favor with material blessings. THIS IS NOT WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT TODAY. I'm talking about all of the blessings that come with being in God's favor... we see that today in the lives of the various kings...

For some of the kings there are only mere paragraphs describing their reign, no matter how long that reign was. Generally they start off with "he followed the ways of the kings of Israel" or "he did evil in the eyes of the Lord." How would you like this to be your legacy recorded for eternity. To continually have this tag line associated with your name, translated into nearly every language around the world, for everyone to read and learn from?

Yet there are other kings that require many paragraphs and even chapters to describe. And they tend to start with "he walked in the ways of the Lord." We see a couple of those kings who started off good but didn't finish the race. These are kings like Uzziah. He wanted to follow God, but something happened... His pride kicked in. Don't we all struggle with this. But to me the warning is that your ministry can and will be diminished if you forget who gave you this ministry in the first place. Then we see other kings like Hezekiah and Josiah who not only walked in the ways of the Lord but encouraged others to as well. Both of these kings have chapters written about them. And very clearly the author is linking God's favor to their devotion to following him and calling others to as well. We see some common themes from both of these kings. For one, they called the nation together to celebrate the feasts God had given them. They were called to remember the past and act in the present. Both kings have chapter dedicated to how they celebrated the passover.

Aren't you and I called to do the same? Aren't we called to remember the past and celebrate in the present? At our church we're invited to do the same each week during our communion service. How can you remember the sacrifice in the past made on your behalf and celebrate in the present today?

After a great description of how Hezekiah called people to repentance and offered purification sacrifices and celebrated the passover... we see a small but significant verse. 2 Chron 30:26 records, "There was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem." Is this not describing the favor of the Lord? It doesn't say that God gave all the people of Judah new homes and made them happy! Yet it does say there was great joy in Jerusalem! GREAT JOY! Is there great joy abounding in our society today? Are people remembering the past and celebrating this in the present? As I look around I answer no to both of those questions. We are consumed with consuming and getting. When gas prices are rising we're fretting about how we're going to afford to pay our cable TV bill or how we're going to be able to get our nails manicured? But there is not GREAT JOY! Don't you see, great joy is a result of God's favor. It is not a result of getting more stuff. It is a condition of the heart in response to your obedience to God's laws.

In today's society we are not much different than the kings who get a few paragraphs of description. We are putting up our altars to worship the "Baal" of today. We are shopping, consuming, and hoarding all the while worshipping the god of materialism. Sure there are a few "kings" like Uzziah who in our own individual homes are trying to purify the place, but when pride gets in the way we're nearly indistinguishable from the pagan world around us.

A few other significant verses are recorded in relation to Hezekiah's receiving God's favor... 2 Chron 31:20-21 ends with "In everything that he undertook in the service of God's temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered." 2 Chron 32:30b ends with "He succeeded in everything he undertook." Wouldn't this be a great source of joy as well? To know that everything you undertake will result in success? King Uzziah tried in his own way to achieve success only to face downward spiral. The key to true success is what we learn from Hezekiah... seeking God and working wholeheartedly .

Won't you join me today in trying to recover "Great joy" in the land we live in by seeking Him and working wholeheartedly?

June 25, Day 32

2 Chronicles 7 - 2 Chronicles 22

In my role at work I attempt to solve problems. To be specific, I attempt to help others solve "Human Performance Problems." Some may say that I'm just a trainer, but I like to think of myself as a problem solver. In order to solve the problem, I often have to diagnose properly. There are a lot of presenting symptoms of the problem but to really solve the problem and get a ahead of it, you must look for the root cause. So today's focus of this posting is centered around the root cause....

Something that has always troubled me as I read this part of the Bible is understanding "good kings" from "bad kings." The books of 1 Kings and 2 Kings have always confused me because you also have two kingdoms to look at (Israel and Judah). Sometimes Israel refers to all the Israelites... sometimes it refers to all the Israelites except those in Judah... and other times it means those in Judah. So for a simple minded guy like myself, this presents a lot of confusion.

In today's reading we have the luxury of only focusing on Judah and the kings of Judah. Well actually it starts earlier than that because we start with Solomon. Who was king of all of Israel before the split. After his death, His son Rehoboam takes the throne. Soon thereafter we see the people revolting and the kingdom of Israel splitting. Since this is what has always confused me, I read and re-read this passage to see what is the "root cause" of the split of Israel?

It is a simple answer to say "fallen man" is the root cause. God's design didn't originally include ruling by kings... but yet this is what the people wanted and they started putting their faith in a king rather than THE KING. However, let's look a little deeper. Rehoboam's fallen state is expressed in some behaviors I can learn from.

When the people questioned him about the taxation they'd been subject to during Solomon's reign and asked him what he'd do about it, he sought counsel. First he consulted the elders who said basically to show some empathy to the people. Secondly he consulted the younger men who'd grown up around him (or his friends). They told them to give a harsh answer to the people. So why did they encourage him to be harsh? Perhaps it was because he was a new leader. As a new leader of people in my workplace, I certainly can identify the need to establish "who is in charge" early as well as the struggle to exercise this establishment judiciously. Perhaps they wanted him to see how far his "title" would get him and of course the king should be in charge. And simply stated, at the end of they day all of these suppositions are rooted in pride. They encouraged him to act in pride... and of course this is what he chose. It even says he "rejected the advice of the elders."

Let's think for a moment. Is it always wise to take the advice of the elders? "They lived in a different time." "They have an outdated view of society." These are common arguments I've heard and even given as someone has encouraged me to consult my elders. Certainly there is some merit to the argument. And so maybe it is not always wise to implement exactly the advice they are giving you.... But perhaps they've seen patterns of things happen in the past as well. Maybe there is some wisdom to their counsel. In this case, they knew if you come down harsh you'll have trouble. But if you give them the answer they are looking for (maybe just a little empathy) they will be your servants for life. Of course this would require laying down a little bit of their pride.

We'll we know what Rehoboam chose. He chose to tell them if they thought Solomon was rough, then they would think he was even rougher. And the rest as they say "is history." The people revolted, Israel was divided and Rehoboam's dominion was reduced. Jeroboam was chosen king of Israel and 2 Chron 10:19 says "Israel has been in rebellion to the house of David to this day." 2 Chron 12:15 says "there was continual warfare between Rehoboam and Jeroboam." Not only were God's people divided, they was in conflict with one another.

So what is the root cause of this division? Fallen Man? We'll sort of... but that sounds like victim language to me. "We can't help it we were created sinful." I think the root cause was pride. Pride in realizing the counsel of elders may have some merit. And foolishness to think the decision was an "either or" decision. I think Rehoboam thought he had to either take the side of his elders OR the side of his friends. Rather than looking at a win/win solution. Could he not have chosen to pursue the path of unity and ask them to create a plan together on how to answer and take advantage of each of their viewpoints?

As a leader today... it is easy for me to identify with Rehoboam... and to learn from Him. I am a leader in my home, my workplace, and my community there are always conflicting points of view. My pride often gets in the way and I just want to make the decision based on what is going to "make me look good" in the eyes of those I'm leading. Sometimes I even struggle because I want to assert my dominance. (That's easy when your kids are toddlers... but probably won't work so well when my son gets to be a young man.) The kingdom was divided then and it will always be divided when pride gets in the way. Just look at what has happened over the course of time to the Church. Where did all the denominations come from? Pride.

However, God's word always provides solace as well. The solution is always there. God is the solution. Specifically in today's reading I draw my hope from watching the reform in Judah that Asa instituted. 2Chronicles 15:15 records... "They sought God eagerly, and he was found by them. So the Lord gave them rest on every side."

Oh Lord, Thank you for pointing out the root cause of division and strife. Help me lay my pride down and make decisions that unify rather than divide. Help me seek you eagerly so that I might find you. So that you might grant me rest on every side as well."