whining

January 24, 2019

“Through It All”

25  “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,  and he will stand upon the earth at last.– Job 19:25 NLT

Job 19:21-27 NLT

Most of us are familiar with  the story of Job and all of the trials and troubles that he endured.  God allowed satan to test Job, taking everything from him, except his wife.   At first, God only allowed satan to take his possessions and his children, but satan was not allowed to touch Job,  After satan’s whining, God allowed him to injure Job’s physical body.  Job complained about the injustice of it all and made some unwise comments about God.  But, through it all, He refused to deny God, even though his wife entreated him to do so.  God uses this time in Job’s life to give Job and us a glimpse into the future.  Job not only understood that he needed a Redeemer but that God would send one.  That Redeemer would not only stand upon the earth in the end times, but Job would be there with him just as you and I will be.  After our bodies have decayed in the grave, we will be resurrected and we will see Him with our own eyes.   God gave Job this glimpse into the future to sustain him through his time of testing.  Those of us living on this side of the cross, after the Resurrection of Jesus, have so much more reason to be encouraged than Job did.  Job could only see the Redeemer in the future, we have the advantage of knowing that the Redeemer has come and is coming again.  We, like Job, must not focus on the things that we can see now, but on those things that are coming that we cannot see now.  Our God is able to bring us through it all.

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” – Anonymous

Post 01-24-2019

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March 4, 2016

Remember. Rest. Repeat!!

even-smaller-bug-light17 For the Lord your God has blessed you in everything you have done. He has watched your every step through this great wilderness. During these forty years, the Lord your God has been with you, and you have lacked nothing.”’ — Deuteronomy 2:7 NLT

If you have ever taken a road trip with your kids then you have heard the question, “when will we get there?” or “how much longer?”.  One Mother’s answer was “Your Father is in charge, he will take care of us and we will arrive safely.  We can just enjoy the trip.”  That is a lesson that the Israelis never seem to learn.  Their stubbornness and refusal to learn it changed a trip that should have taken only eleven days into an adventure that lasted over forty years.  Because of their attitude, we read in Hebrews, that the original generation of Israelis never entered the rest that God had prepared for them.  Instead of enjoying the trip, the Israelis continually moaned, groaned and whined.  How many days have we wasted whining when we could have just relaxed and enjoyed the trip?  How many more days will we waste moaning and groaning because, like the Israelis, we don’t trust our Father to provide for us and bring us safely home?  Moses told the children of Israel “during these forty years, the Lord your God has been with you, and you have lacked nothing.”  They wanted a lot of things they ddin’t have, but they had everything they needed to make the journey.  The Lord our God is still with us and we lack nothing that we need.  If we could ever learn to rest and enjoy the trip, it would not matter when we got there because each day would be a new experience enjoying the presence of the Lord.  Remember that God is our provider and our shield, rest in His presence and repeat as often as necessary.
 
6 So God’s rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God. 7 So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today. — Hebrews 4:6, 7a NLT
Post 03-04-2016
June 7, 2015

Will Manna and Water Be Enough?

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3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.—1 Cor. 10:3-5 NIV

​As the children of Israel traveled through the desert, they began to complain about the food, so God fed them manna from heaven. They complained about the lack of water, so God had Moses strike a rock and bring forth water for them to drink. The manna represented the body of Christ, just as the wafer we take at Communion represents the body of Christ.  The rock is a representation of Jesus Christ and the water would be a foreshadowing of His blood pouring from His side when the soldier stuck his spear into His side.  So, the Exodus foreshadowed our journey that we must make.  First, they believed Moses would deliver them out of their bondage and they were baptized into Moses. Secondly, they had all the foreshadowing of salvation as represented by the baptism, the manna, and the rock. Thirdly, they had a hope of reaching the Promised Land. If we have accepted Jesus believing that He will deliver us from evil, follow His example of baptism and walk according to the Spirit, we have a hope of reaching the Promised Land, our eternal home in heaven. We, too, must make a journey and some of it will seem like a dry and thirsty land to us. Will we whine and complain or will we really, really trust Jesus and shout for joy in the midst of the storms?  Not because of the storm, but in spite of the storm. Will we be Joshuas and Calebs or Dathans and Korahs?
Post 06-07-2015