January 14 - Job 32:1-2

Job's three friends refused to reply further to him

because he kept insisting on his innocence ...

he justified himself rather than God

Job 32:1-2

 

I'm taken by that last line: "Job justified himself rather than God."

 

The New Living Translation helps us understand more fully what this means, by translating it and telling us that Elihu became angry at Job because "2 Job refused to admit that he had sinned and that God was right in punishing him." 

 

Elihu is a refreshing alternative to Job's previous three friends. But still no human completely understand's what's going on here. The book begins with Job being "1:1 blameless ... upright ... God fear[ing] ... and [actively] turn[ing] away from evil." Job was right and Elihu was wrong. Job really hadn't done wrong. 

 

Secondly, Elihu was wrong about this being a punishment. While we all deserve punishment -- because we all sin and fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23) -- God is not shown as angrily punishing or smiting Job. What we see, however, is God taking his hand of protection off of Job and allowing certain calamities. 

 

Why?!!!

 

We know that calamities happen. And because bad  things happen to good people, we infer that hand of God's protection is at least occasionally off of us. I'm convinced that when we stand in heaven, we'll all be amazed at all the times his hand did keep us safe! Nevertheless, we can't help but ask why?

 

God will answer Job in the final chapters of this book. He'll simply say, "Human, you can't understand my ways." And our lives will be transformed if we learn to say, "I don't understand, but I trust anyway."

 

And in the meantime, I don't want to fall into the pit of "[me] justifying [my]self rather than God." I know what that line means, "Job justified himself -- declared himself just -- rather than viewing God as just," but I want to turn it ninety degrees and declare it like this: "Rather than Ed justifying himself, he tries to rely on God who has promised to justify him by his grace" (Rom 3:24).

 

In Christ's Love,

a former graphic artist

who knows that in typography,

left justified means ragged on the right

and right justified means ragged on the left.

I want to be full justified --

ragged in neither direction

and not self-justified either!

January 13 - Job 30:1

But now they make sport of me ...

Job 30:1

 

I wonder if Job invented the concept of "Pride Goeth Before a Fall."

 

Job tells us that once he was very proud -- and secretly enjoyed it. "29:7 Those were the days when I went to the city gate and took my place among the honored leaders. 8 The young stepped aside when they saw me, ... the aged rose in respect at my coming ... 10 [and] the highest officials h[e]ld their tongues in respect. 11 All who heard of me praised me. ... 12 For I helped the poor in their need ...13 and I caused the widows' hearts to sing for joy. 15 I served as eyes for the blind and feet for the lame. 16 I was a father to the poor and I made sure that even strangers received a fair trial. ... 21"Everyone listened to me and valued my advice... 23 They longed for me to speak as they longed for rain. 22 And my words fell on them like dew."

 

Proud? Yes. Notice how many times he said, "I ... I ... me ... and my."

 

But now, he is humbled.

 

Job said, "29:18 I thought, 'Surely I will die surrounded by my family after a long, good life ... 30:1 But now they make sport of me." And so, I wondered if Job invented the concept of "Pride Goeth Before a Fall."

 

Shakespeare would have been my second guess. He seemed to have invented half the cliches in the English language.

 

But the truth of the matter is that it was God who invented the phrase. Wait, let me be careful how I say that! God didn't invent it from personal experience. He whispered it to Solomon after watching hundreds of generations rise and fall before him. We still do. We swell with pride, and then we ALL fall. Death is inevitable. And if it is not a heart attack or accident that destroys us in an instant, even great kings and industry titans will languish in nursing home beds with barely a drawer full of possessions nearby.

 

Like Job, have you ever been made sport of? It's probably because you were thinking, "I ... I ... me ... and my." There's better balance and perspective that even kings, titans, and celebrities should learn. We should say, instead, "He ... He ... God ... and Awe!"

 

In Christ's Love,

a guy who doesn't want to rise

too proudly nor too high

Why?

Because the inevitable falls

hurt more from greater heights

(and since I can't rise as high as God anyway,

I might as well just settle on worshiping him from my knees)

January 12 - Job 28:12

where shall wisdom be found?

Job 28:12

 

One of my favorite books is Andy Stanley's, "The Best Question Ever." He says the one question that could have saved him from most of the heartaches he's faced in life would have been to ask: "What is the wise thing to do?"

 

Job -- though in an awful and confusing pit of grief and calamity -- was, nevertheless, a man of wisdom. Listen as he advises us about this important subject ...

 

12 Where is wisdom to be found?

13 Mortals do not know the way to if

[for] it is not found in the land of the living.

3 Miners [seem to] put an end to darkness

[by] searching out the farthest bound,

14 [but] the deep say, "It is not in me."

15 It cannot be gotton for gold.

18 The price of wisdom is greater than pearls.

20 Where then does wisdom come from?

It is hidden from the eyes of all [the] living,

[but] 23 God understands the ways to it.

 

When I read "The Best Question Ever," Andy Stanley laid out chapter after chapter of wise advice. He talked about wisdom in circumstances like finances and purity and accepting a coach's advice. Yet as I read it, I kept getting angrier and angrier. Yes, this was wise advice, but he was missing the best advice of all!

 

He didn't let me down! The last chapter -- once he'd hooked his non-religious readers into buying into the principal of seeking wisdom -- is the truest line from scripture: "The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord" (Prov 1:7, 9:10, Ps 111:10).

 

Ahhh!!!

 

In Christ's Love,

a guy who knows that

the "fear of the Lord" is not being scared

but rather showing a "profound respect."

My God knows the way to wisdom ... not me.

January 11 - Job 24:13-17

There are those who rebel against the light ...

When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up ...
The eye of the adulterer watches for dusk ...
In the dark, thieves break into houses ... 

For all of them, midnight is their morning; 

they make friends with the terrors of darkness.

Job 24:13-17

 

I love that line: "Midnight is their morning."

 

I also hate the truth of that lie.

 

Murderers, adulterers, and theives are constantly emboldened by the cover of darkness. Mostly, they hide their ways so they won't get caught. And "they make friends," along the way, "with the terrors of darkness."

 

But isn't there another element to this cover of darkness? Don't some of our most wreckless habits start at night because of shame? It's fine if our co-conspirators know -- fellow theives, fellow drunkards, fellow adulterers -- but who are the people we're hiding our activities from? Mom? Grandma? Our boss? Our spouse? God?

 

Shame is usually in terms of relationships. Therefore, when Job says, "There are those who rebel against the light," he's not talking about a fear of sunrays; he's talking about a rebellion against God and his ways.

 

Scripture tells us that "God is light; in him there is no darkness at all" (1 Jn 1:5). Therefore, true light and true darkness have nothing to do with the time of day. True light is a relationship with the One who is light.

 

Think about it: When we're ashamed, we stay away from the light ... including the person who is light. And we make friends, instead, with darkness. And, I guess, accidentally, we run the risk of making friends with that person too.

 

In Christ's Love,

a guy who's tired of working 

the 2nd and 3rd shift.

I want a day job.

I want to work in the light.

January 10 - Job 19:25-26

I know that my Redeemer lives,

and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.

And after my skin has been destroyed,

yet in my flesh I will see God ...

Job 19:25-26

 

Congregations have favorite songs. For various reasons, particular tunes and lyrics become congregational anthems. Therefore, in my first ten years of ministry and across my first fifty burials, the most familiar funeral anthem of one congregation proclaimed a mixture of Old Testament Job and New Testament hope:   

 

I know that my Redeemer lives.

What comfort this sweet sentence gives.

 

Standing on the Easter side of the cross and the empty tomb, Christians join with every eye-witness to the resurrection in proclaiming with that our redeemer truly lives.  

 

But Job's confidence is even more astounding. The only empty tomb Job experienced was the yawning grave that swallowed his whole family. Job didn't know Jesus' resurrection, he only knew earthly death ... and pain ... and grief. On top of that, his body was swallowed in boils and sores and pain and misery.

 

"I know that my redeemer lives" was faith. Pure faith. Powerful faith!

 

And how about us? Even after powerful testimonies of the resurrection, we still have nagging corners of uncertainty like Doubting Thomas. Therefore, in the midst of one of the longer and more unsettling books of scripture -- like Job -- pause long enough to remember that Job didn't have eye-witness testimonies or a resurrected promise. All he had was pain, turmoil, and a faith that flickered but couldn't be extinguished.

 

He could see no hope ... and yet he still hoped. 

 

In Christ's Love,

a guy who wants to

change his name to Hope

January 9 - Job 16:1-2

Then Job answered: 

"I have heard all this before.

What miserable comforters you are."

Job 16:1-2

 

Half of the Book of Job is the ramblings of Job's miserable friends.

 

"Miserable comfort" is Job's diagnosis of their misguided words and worldly wisdom.

 

But do you know what? At least these three friends get credit for showing up!

 

When a friend is hurting, how many of us say, "I don't know what to say"? Afraid of being miserable comforters, how many of us have ever stayed away.

 

Generally speaking, when a friend is hurting, the most miserable thing we can do is abandon them.The second most miserable thing we can do is ramble on like Job's friends with misguided words and human wisdom. If that's happened, God forgives you; now move forward. What do we do next time?!

 

Christian caregiving is NOT about wise words and what we say. Have you ever heard the statement, "Don't just stand there, do something!"? Well, Christian caregiving is just the opposite: "Don't just do something, stand there!!!"

 

Stand there! Be present! If they ask you something, and you don't know the answer, say, "I don't know the answer to that. But what I do know is that I care about you and God cares about you."

 

The Book of Job would have been much shorter if Job's friends said just that. Human wisdom just frustrated him and slowed down the healing. Don't just do something, stand there ... and remind them that you care and God cares.

 

In Christ's Love,

a doer

who had to be taught

to listen

January 8 - Job 12:4

I, who called upon God and he answered me,

a just and blameless man, I am [now] a laughingstock.

Job 12:4

 

When Mary Louise and I were young parents, we were very, very proud! Our son, Paul, was literally the perfect child. He was happy, compliant, and perfectly behaved. He was also very bright, very intelligent. And we thought we were the perfect parents.

 

Then we had Jay.

 

As a little guy, Jay was stubborn and willful. He would fight us for every advantage. And he was so determined to get his way, he dismissed every form of correction and punishment, pushing on and on and on along his path instead.

 

And in a matter of moments, we went from very proud to very humbled.

 

That's the story of Job. When things were going well for Job -- an extraordinarily rich and blessed man -- he was surely dispensing wisdom left and right. And it was surely, "If you just follow God with all your heart, he will bless you." And the implication was surely, "If you're not getting all you hope for, you're probably not trusting well and thoroughly enough."

 

Job was completely "just" and thoroughly "blameless." He confidently "called upon God" and "[God] [consistently] answered [him]." Yes, Job proudly, confidently dispensed advice ... until he went from very proud to very humbled in a matter of moments.

 

Faith and character absolutely have an impact on the quality of our life ... but not in the way Job -- and most of us -- naturally think. Job -- and many of us, whether we admit it or not -- think of God as a genie in the bottle. We think he repays us good for good. That's NOT how faith and character help.

 

As Jesus said in Matthew 5:45, "rain [falls] on the righteous and unrighteous"; or in other words, challenges will come to us all. If our spoken or unspoken theology is that God repays us good for good, we will, like Job, become a laughing stock. If, however, we expect the trials and the rain, our faith and character will transform our perspective on these events. It may just become, "Life is hard, but God is good."

 

In the midst of this sinful, broken, temporary world, can you say that? If you can, faith, hope, and love will fill your days. If you can't, you'll spend a lot of time sitting in the dust ... just like Job does for much of this book.

 

In Christ's Love,

a guy who'd rather be wise enough 

to sit in an easy chair of faith and perspective 

than to roll in the dust of despair

January 7 - Job 10:20-22

"Let me alone,

that I may find a little comfort 

before I go, never to return,

to the land of gloom and deep darkness, 

the land of gloom and chaos,

where light is like darkness."

Job 10:20-22

 

Job is having a bad day -- needless to say. And needless to say, this is one of scriptures most vivid pictures of hell. The two phrases that grab me most here are:

 

"Where light is like darkness" -- Imagine standing in the middle of a maggot infested room. When the lights are off, you can pretend that the swarms of filth are not there, but what happens when you strike a match. The solid surfaces move. They crawl with infection.

 

In the hell of a swarming, polluted room -- as in the horrors of hell -- "the light [is actually worse than] darkness." Why? Because it illumines the terrors.

 

Do you like that vivid picture? Here's another ... "Never to return."

 

Now, in the face of this, Job -- and way too many people in our world -- say, "Leave me alone." The words just before this passage are, "the days of my life are few." Time is short. Who would you like to invite into a light that illumines even greater hope?

 

In Christ's Love,

a guy who usually doesn't think like this

... but maybe should

January 6 - Job 5:17-19

But consider the joy of those corrected by God!

Do not despise the chastening of the Almighty when you sin.

For though he wounds, he also bandages.

He strikes, but his hands also heal.

He will deliver you from six troubles;

in seven no harm shall touch you.

Job 5:17-19

 

Most of us would say that Job is a book of "wounds," "chastening," "troubles," and "stri[ckeness]," and that would be absolutely correct. But how many of us would "consider" that Job is also a book of "joy"?

 

Job = Joy?!!

 

James the Apostle (1:2-4) seems to have the same unusual perspective on joy, saying, "Whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because ... the testing of your faith produces endurance ... so that you may be mature and complete." (I don't know about you, but if "trials" are the path to "complet[ion]," some days I'd rather stay "[im]mature.")

 

Fortunately, both Job and James, are wise enough to realize that it's not "if" the trials will come, but "when."

 

We live in a sinful world, and "the wages of sin is [occasionally, ulitmately, inevitably] death." Nevertheless, God promises that "no [permanent] harm shall touch you."

 

Looking at today's verse, I obviously added the word, "permanent," but isn't that absolutely true! What if we embrace -- with Job and James -- the old cliche: "Anything that doesn't kill you will only make you stronger" ... but ... what if we add the confidence of one more line to this cliche: "And even if trials do kill you, still no real harm will come because you'll be in heaven just that much sooner."

 

Does that make you feel any better?! (Probably not.) But here's the cool part of this verse to me ...Imagine God as a shield. When scripture says, "[The Lord] will deliver you from six troubles; in seven no harm shall touch you," what I hear is, "The Lord -- my shield -- stops six arrows, but even when a seventh happens to get through, it can't cause me any permanent harm." Do you see that in that verse?!

 

How many of us curse the seventh arrow and life's inevitable trials? But what if we thanked him, instead, for his protection from the unseen arrows and the non-permanent wounds.

 

In Christ's Love,

a guy with an invisible umbrella

(therefore, I ought to be singing in the rain)

January 5 - Job 1:1

Once there was a man in the land of Uz

whose name was Job.

This man was blameless and upright. 

He feared God and turned away from evil.

Job 1:1

 

Did you notice how today's lesson began? Read my translation here carefully: "Once upon a time there was a wizard in the land of Oz." The similarities are eerie, huh?!

 

The temptation with may parts of the Bible is to turn them into myth, legend, and fairy tale. The world says, "That's ancient literature. Therefore, if you're enlightened, you need to understand that it's ancient and that the majority of these ancient folk were uneducated and superstitious."

 

That's how I grew up.

 

I grew up as a mythbuster. That's how the college, church, and parts of seminary taught me to read the Bible. I felt wise ... proud ... intellectual ... and empty. Then I was humbled in my life and career. And not being able to solve everything for myself, I began turning to a God who was bigger than me -- instead of the one I created in my mind.

 

I started, in fact, to submit myself to God and His Word. And in doing this, God's Word came more and more alive. Powerful truths began to connect. And I started to see strands of God's power weaving their way through our lives together.

 

When you begin to read books like Job, some passages may not always make sense (especially today), and you may just want to excuse it away as myth and legend. But might I suggest a powerful alternative: Sit with it for a while. Keep reading deeply. Trust God's wisdom. And start saying, "God put this here. What is He trying to tell me today." 

 

In Christ's Love,

a guy who tries to let

scripture define me,

instead of me defining it

January 4 - Genesis 11:3-4

"Come, let us make bricks ..." 

[So] they had brick for stone ...

Then they said,

"Come, let us build ourselves a city,

and a tower with its top in the heavens,

and let us make a name for ourselves ..."

Genesis 11:3-4

 

A friend recently asked me to listen to a "news program." On it was an old Jewish rabbi, talking about the Tower of Babel.

 

Most of us look at the second "come, let us ..." And that is indeed a powerful tale. Thinking we can reach the heavens is a repeat of the first sin that the serpent presented to Eve, "when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God." Wanting to "be like God" is something we all do all the time -- usually unconsciously. But think about it ... whenever we say, "I want," "I think," "I choose," or "my way," we're in danger of placing our own self on the throne. 

 

That's a powerful, paramount story in Genesis 11. But that's not the story the Rabbi told. He talked about a forgotten phrase with an equal beginning and, therefore, equal weight -- the seemingly innocuous, "come, let us make bricks."

 

Whenever God commanded humans to build an altar, it was out of stones. Why stones? Because God creates the stones ... while humans make bricks. Stones are unique. Bricks are unique-less. They are identical, interchangeable.

 

The Rabbi went on to compare this to philosophies in our world. A Genesis 11, God-ordained worldview, he said, sees humans as unique and irreplaceable. Dangerous, deceitful human philosophies see humans as invaluable, interchangeable, and replaceable. Hitler saw the Jews as a commodity that should be replaced by a better race. Stalin killed ten times as many, viewing objectors as expendable for the sake of the whole. I've wept with many parents who've endured the loss of their baby through the heartache of a miscarriage, yet others view a fetus as an invaluable and non-viable mass of tissue. Others are beginning to view the elderly as expensive and expendable -- a drain on limited resources.

 

When I was a kid, we used to take things to the repair shop and fix them. Now it's more expensive to repair (a hundred dollars an hour plus travel time) than to throw things away and replace them. We're building bricks. We're subtly adopting a Babel-ling mentality. Let's vow never to buy into any philosophy that even subtly extends that to humans.

 

In Christ's Love,

Rocky

(occasionly rough, hard, and oddly shaped,

but uniquely made by God!)  

January 3 - Genesis 9:13

The Lord said,

"I have set my bow in the clouds,

and it shall be a sign of the covenant

between me and the earth."

Genesis 9:13

 

I came across an interesting Jewish reading of this passage just the other day. Some say that the "bow" that God set in the skies is symbolic of his setting down his "bow and arrows." The flood, in other words, was an act of war.

 

Now, most of us would prefer more peaceful images of God and his kingdom. And that's God's goal! God graciously promises that each of us can discover "shalom" in the midst of daily circumstances and true peace in the heavenly end. But ... in the meantime ... we miss the whole point of the divine drama in scripture when we fail to admit that we are in a kingdom at war.

 

In the battle against sin and unrighteousness, most of us would prefer a swift victory -- "If only God would just sweep away the unrighteous, then ..." The problem is that the story of Noah reminds us that WE are the unrighteous. Swept away would be all of us. (And even if we think we're the most righteous person in the whole world, how did the most righteous person in the world -- Noah -- fare when he got off the boat? He got drunk and humiliated his family.)

 

Therefore, I'm glad that God set down his archer's bow in the sky. Indeed, I'm glad he declared that this is a battle that will not be won by killing sinful humans -- i.e. each of us -- but through, instead, the sacrifice of his Son.

 

In Christ's Love,

a guy who needs crayons

(I want to color a picture of the cross

in the colors of a rainbow)

January 2 - Genesis 6:5-6

The Lord saw that the wickedness

of humankind was great in the earth,

and that every inclination

of the thoughts of their hearts

was only evil continually. 

And the Lord was sorry

that he had made humankind

on the earth

Genesis 6:5-6

 

I don't need to say much today. This -- along with the scenes of the crucifixion -- is perhaps the hardest passage in all of scripture: "The Lord was sorry that he had made humankind on the earth."

 

This coming year, let's resolve not to wink at sin anymore.

 

And let's resolve to no longer lie to ourselves and say, "I can do whatever I want. After all, my sin hurts no one but me." Sin hurts God. As it says in the next sentence, "it grieve[s] him to his heart." In fact, it hurts him enough that he endured the cross the conquer it.

 

I don't know about you, but my goal is to grieve God less this year!

 

In Christ's Love,

a cheerleader

(indeed a guy who want to find

new ways to bring God more cheer)

January 1 - Genesis 1:28, 3:5

God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply,

and fill the earth and subdue it;

and have dominion over ... every living thing"

Genesis 1:28

 

[The serpent said,] "God knows that

when you eat of it your eyes will be opened,

and you will be like God ..."

Genesis 3:5

 

At the very beginning of the Bible, both God and Satan make us an amazing offer: "We want you to be royalty."

 

God's offer is holy. And it comes in relationship. If and when we choose a proper relationship with God -- who is the King of creation and Lord of our life -- we can be adopted. We can be his children -- think royal princes with dominion over every living thing.

 

The serpent's offer is devious. He plays on the royal character that God built into each of us. He says, "Don't you want to fulfill your destiny. Don't you want to be king. Open your eyes, you can be like God." 

 

God's plan is "humbleness = royalty." Satan's lie is "pride = royalty."

 

Jesus reflected God's plan in many places, including Matthew 19 and 20 -- "19:30 the first will be last and the last will be first" and "20:26 whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant." HIs mother, Mary, sang about God's plan in Luke 1 -- "52 [the Lord] has uplifted the humble in heart." 

 

But how many times have Satan's lies tempted you in a different direction.

We want to do what we want to do!

We want to think what we want to think!

We want to be masters of our own destiny!

We don't want to bow to anyone!

We want to live our lives as kings of our own lives ... and sometimes it works ... until it doesn't.

At least at the end of our days, we want (and need) a king who is more powerful than death. Why not start this year and the rest of your life by bowing before the only King who can give us life!!!

 

In Christ's Love,

a prince

(and that's not prideful!

I'll never be in line for the throne,

but I have a brother -- Jesus Christ --

who is the true prince, the Prince of Peace)