May your Christmas see the love that engulfs you....the real Jesus. Happy Holidays!

Take a walk and see the beauty in a cold, frozen world.  Let the love of Jesus embrace every joy and sorrow.

Do you hear the whisper? 

Come let us worship 

and bow down

Light born in darkness

Darkness and Light Belong

 
                        King of Glory

Narrow Prickly Path

                           Seeds Waiting

Holding delicate tears

                                      Singing 

Jesus arrived vulnerable

Come and Celebrate The King

The Joy of Imagination with C.S. Lewis

“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” c.s.lewis 
 I grabbed a cup of tea and a pile of books and I basked in the land of imagination.  My tea ran dry and I never ate.  I was having so much fun that I could not tear myself away for another cup. I read all day and then it was dark and I was so sad for it all to end.  It is hard to put down a good book and harder to put down a pile of them.   

What a Savior

Man of Sorrows! what a name 
for the Son of God, who came 
ruined sinners to reclaim. 
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
in my place condemned he stood;
sealed my pardon with his blood.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Guilty, vile, and helpless we;
spotless Lamb of God was he;
full atonement can it be?
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Lifted up was he to die;
"It is finished!" was his cry;
now in heaven exalted high.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

When he comes, our glorious King,
all his ransomed home to bring,
then anew this song we'll sing:
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

No Comfort in Friends

Job was in more pain than the pain from the circumstances.  The posing arrows of God protruded deeply in Job inmost being. Job us unable to be comforted by his friends or his own thoughts and God was silent.  Silence from God.  That reminds me of Christ separated from God.

Job us unable to be comforted by his friends or his own thoughts.  It would have been a comfort for Job to have been unrighteous.  At least he would have had an answer to his troubles.

Job 6

New International Version (NIV)

Job

6 Then Job replied:

² “If only my anguish could be weighed
    and all my misery be placed on the scales!
³ It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas—
    no wonder my words have been impetuous.
⁴ The arrows of the Almighty are in me,
    my spirit drinks in their poison;
    God’s terrors are marshaled against me.
⁵ Does a wild donkey bray when it has grass,
    or an ox bellow when it has fodder?
⁶ Is tasteless food eaten without salt,
    or is there flavor in the sap of the mallow^[a]?
⁷ I refuse to touch it;
    such food makes me ill.

⁸ “Oh, that I might have my request,
    that God would grant what I hope for,
⁹ that God would be willing to crush me,
    to let loose his hand and cut off my life!
¹⁰ Then I would still have this consolation—
    my joy in unrelenting pain—
    that I had not denied the words of the Holy One.

¹¹ “What strength do I have, that I should still hope?
    What prospects, that I should be patient?
¹² Do I have the strength of stone?
    Is my flesh bronze?
¹³ Do I have any power to help myself,
    now that success has been driven from me?

¹⁴ “Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend
    forsakes the fear of the Almighty
¹⁵ But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams,
    as the streams that overflow
¹⁶ when darkened by thawing ice
    and swollen with melting snow,
¹⁷ but that stop flowing in the dry season,
    and in the heat vanish from their channels.
¹⁸ Caravans turn aside from their routes;
    they go off into the wasteland and perish.
¹⁹ The caravans of Tema look for water,
    the traveling merchants of Sheba look in hope.
²⁰ They are distressed, because they had been confident;
    they arrive there, only to be disappointed.
²¹ Now you too have proved to be of no help;
    you see something dreadful and are afraid.
²² Have I ever said, ‘Give something on my behalf,
    pay a ransom for me from your wealth,
²³ deliver me from the hand of the enemy,
    rescue me from the clutches of the ruthless’?

²⁴ “Teach me, and I will be quiet;
    show me where I have been wrong.
²⁵ How painful are honest words!
    But what do your arguments prove?
²⁶ Do you mean to correct what I say,
    and treat my desperate words as wind?
²⁷ You would even cast lots for the fatherless
    and barter away your friend.

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.^[b]
30 Is there any wickedness on my lips?
    Can my mouth not discern malice?

Job has Joy in the unrelenting pain that he has not denied the words of the Holy One.  I remember that Peter had denied Christ.  Peter never thought that he would deny Jesus and when he heard the rooster crow he remembered.   Joy in the unrelenting pain.  Job had trust in God and yet the pain was so deep that Job prayed for death.  

Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Lord.   A friend can only give what he has and no more.  Elipaz treated Job’s pain as nothing “the wind”.   How disappointing to have thought that his friend, Eliphaz would bring the kindness that Job needed.  Eliphaz forsaks the fear of the Lord and Job suffered pain and disappointment in a friend that did not know how  to be kind with Job in his suffering.   Job’s suffering was disappointing to Eliphaz.  

Thoughts

Have you had a thought that friend has grieved long enough?  

When a friend is grieving are you making up ideas in your head excusing their troubles to a God that is punishing them for something?

Remember….Christ took our punishment to the Cross!  Thinking someone is being punished by God is denying Christ.  Like Peter when he heard the rooster crow. 

What would it look like to show kindness to the one who is suffering?

Remember….Eliphaz said you and you and you….reminding Job of the words of kindness he used to help others in Job 6.  Eliphaz used scripture wrongly.  

Job 5: Kick Him while He is Wounded

Eliphaz does not understand what he is doing.  He has known God as a God that blaming others for suffering is the way he has thought God rolls. Have you heard the phrase you reap what you sow?  This can be true, but not in this instance. Eliphaz exclaims, “Resentment kills a fool, envy slays the simple.” 

Job has cried out in deep anguish after the death of his children.  Then Eliphaz says his children are far from safety crushed in the court without a defender.  Eliphaz is working to dash away any hope in God.  I wonder if Elephaz had hope in Job instead of God.  This would explain his desire to want Job to save himself.  This reminds me of Christ in the dessert hearing, save yourself from Satan.   This reminds of Christ hanging on the Cross while some stood and hoped He would save himself.

It seems that Eliphaz is saying, “Hey Job, It is time to quit and pull yourself from the pit.”

 

Thought

Eliphaz portrayed a God who is without compassion.  How do you view God?

Job 5

New International Version (NIV)

5 “Call if you will, but who will answer you?
    To which of the holy ones will you turn?
² Resentment kills a fool,
    and envy slays the simple.
³ I myself have seen a fool taking root,
    but suddenly his house was cursed.
⁴ His children are far from safety,
    crushed in court without a defender.
⁵ The hungry consume his harvest,
    taking it even from among thorns,
    and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
⁶ For hardship does not spring from the soil,
    nor does trouble sprout from the ground.
⁷ Yet man is born to trouble
    as surely as sparks fly upward.

⁸ “But if I were you, I would appeal to God;
    I would lay my cause before him.
⁹ He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed,
    miracles that cannot be counted.
¹⁰ He provides rain for the earth;
    he sends water on the countryside.
¹¹ The lowly he sets on high,
    and those who mourn are lifted to safety.
¹² He thwarts the plans of the crafty,
    so that their hands achieve no success.
¹³ He catches the wise in their craftiness,
    and the schemes of the wily are swept away.
¹⁴ Darkness comes upon them in the daytime;
    at noon they grope as in the night.
¹⁵ He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth;
    he saves them from the clutches of the powerful.
¹⁶ So the poor have hope,
    and injustice shuts its mouth.

¹⁷ “Blessed is the one whom God corrects;
    so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.^[a]
18 For he wounds, but he also binds up;
    he injures, but his hands also heal.
¹⁹ From six calamities he will rescue you;
    in seven no harm will touch you.
²⁰ In famine he will deliver you from death,
    and in battle from the stroke of the sword.

²¹ You will be protected from the lash of the tongue,
    and need not fear when destruction comes.
²² You will laugh at destruction and famine,
    and need not fear the wild animals.
²³ For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field,
    and the wild animals will be at peace with you.
²⁴ You will know that your tent is secure;
    you will take stock of your property and find nothing missing.
²⁵ You will know that your children will be many,
    and your descendants like the grass of the earth.
²⁶ You will come to the grave in full vigor,
    like sheaves gathered in season.

²⁷ “We have examined this, and it is true.
    So hear it and apply it to yourself.”

Do you notice that Eliphaz only mentions God as a God who corrects and discipline?  The friend that sat with Job and mourned with Job for 7 days cannot stand it any longer. God said that Job was blameless and God Trusts Job. 

Thoughts

 Have you blamed without knowing the circumstances?  Have you blamed while knowing the circumstances?  Eliphaz knew the circumstances and yet blamed and his loveless words cut deep into Jobs bleeding wounds.

More Thoughts

Elipaz wanted to fix Job and used scripture wrongly to blame.  How have you blamed others by hearing God’s word out of context? 

Think about Jesus  who walked with us healing tax collectors and prostitutes! God is compassionate!

Job 4: Are you Playing God by trusting and Hoping in a Good Life?

 

Job 4:1-6

“Would you mind if I said something to you?
    Under the circumstances it’s hard to keep quiet.
You yourself have done this plenty of times, spoken words
    that clarify, encouraged those who were about to quit.
Your words have put stumbling people on their feet,
    put fresh hope in people about to collapse.
But now you’re the one in trouble—you’re hurting!
    You’ve been hit hard and you’re reeling from the blow.
But shouldn’t your devout life give you confidence now?
    Shouldn’t your exemplary life give you hope?

We have plenty to say to others when they are in trouble!  We can use our words to put stumbling people on their feet.  Words and Words talking over and over, convincing words.  Words that are to uplift.  Words come easy to the one who is not in trouble.  I wondered how often I have used words to soothe the one who is in trouble.  Eliphaz wants Job to put his confidence is Job's own devout life.  Ehiphaz is saying that Job's exemplary life should give him hope.  So in other words....Since we live a good life we can have hope?  Then is there no hope for the ones that do not lead a good life?

I wonder how many of Job's friends, neighbors and relatives believed that hope was found in a good life.  Ehiphaz wanted Job to hope in Job's righteousness.  That reminds me of a hymn. 

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.

Refrain

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

Refrain

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.

Refrain

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

Hope in our own goodness is selling ourselves short of what God has intended for our lives now. 

Job 4

New International Version (NIV)

Eliphaz

4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

² “If someone ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?
    But who can keep from speaking?
³ Think how you have instructed many,
    how you have strengthened feeble hands.
⁴ Your words have supported those who stumbled;
    you have strengthened faltering knees.
⁵ But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged;
    it strikes you, and you are dismayed.
⁶ Should not your piety be your confidence
    and your blameless ways your hope?

⁷ “Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished?
    Where were the upright ever destroyed?
⁸ As I have observed, those who plow evil
    and those who sow trouble reap it.
⁹ At the breath of God they perish;
    at the blast of his anger they are no more.
¹⁰ The lions may roar and growl,
    yet the teeth of the great lions are broken.
¹¹ The lion perishes for lack of prey,
    and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.


Ehiphaz points to Job's peity, Jobs confidence, Job's blameless life.  Where is God?  I would also think that the way Ehiphaz has labeled Job as discouraged is wrong. Job is grieving.  Ehiphaz wants to fix Job with his words and using God's words to persuade Job into cutting the grieving short.  Ehiphaz tells of God's blast of anger and digs into Job while he is suffering. 


¹² “A word was secretly brought to me,

    my ears caught a whisper of it.
¹³ Amid disquieting dreams in the night,
    when deep sleep falls on people,
¹⁴ fear and trembling seized me
    and made all my bones shake.
¹⁵ A spirit glided past my face,
    and the hair on my body stood on end.
¹⁶ It stopped,
    but I could not tell what it was.
A form stood before my eyes,
    and I heard a hushed voice:

¹⁷ ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?
    Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker?


What is this vision that Ehiphaz sees?  I wondered would the Spirit of God bring trembling and fear and make the hair on our body stand on end? Ehiphaz did not recognize the Spirit.  And then the voice Speaks truth: ¹⁷ ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?  Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker?  Yes this is a true statement.   I really believe that Job never believed that he was more righteous than God.  Therefore this was not helpful to Job. Infact it was hurtful.

Have you ever used a true verse, vision or idea of the way you thought it should be to work to fix someone or a situation?  This is not from the Spirit of God.  I don't believe that God's Spirit comes in a Hushed voice.  I believe his spirit comes is a gentle whisper.  This whisper is loving and kind.  

Maybe the Spirit was the Spirit of God and then I believe the words that the Spirit gave Ehiphaz was for Ehiphaz.  This was not for Job.  When the Spirit comes to us it is good to listen on how God is Speaking to "me".  


¹⁸ If God places no trust in his servants,
    if he charges his angels with error,
¹⁹ how much more those who live in houses of clay,
    whose foundations are in the dust,
    who are crushed more readily than a moth!
²⁰ Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces;
    unnoticed, they perish forever.
²¹ Are not the cords of their tent pulled up,
    so that they die without wisdom?’



God trusts Job to suffer.  The cords of the tents are not pulled up and just left to die.  The cords of the tents are pulled up to bind them to the horns of the alter.  Job is trusted by God to suffer.