1-26/27-2019 Take It Through The Week

Monday - Job 5:12-13 Perhaps at no other time in history have there been so many
who consider themselves crafty in their scheming. In our day there are famous athiests
and philosophers who delight in explaining why it is quite impossible for God to exist,
not to mention be a personal God who has a plan for those who love Him. Many
brilliant teachers and scientists would rather do anything than admit that someday they
will give an account to God. And in terms of eternity, a human lifetime is brief beyond
description. He frustrates the schemes of the crafty so that they achieve no success. It
is God who ultimately will define success. All the popularity and possessions in the
world will ultimately have no bearing on eternal success. Success by God’s reckoning
will mean an eternity, in perfection, with a perfect God, who loves us completely and
absolutely. He traps the wise in their craftiness, so that the plans of the deceptive are
quickly brought to an end. Yes, God plainly means that even in this life, today, that He
will use man’s own intellect to frustrate. Man without God lives an empty shell of a life,
even if it seems otherwise. But ultimately, God’s greatest plan to trap the wise is the
moment in eternity that they see, with their own eyes, that everything they believed,
and taught about atheism, is eternally wrong. God will prove Himself to be the Only-
Wise God.
Tuesday - Job 5:15-17 He saves the needy from their sharp words. Once again, we
see the futility of man’s pride in the face of God’s Sovereignty. We all, at times, use our
tongues as sharp devices. We hurt ourselves and others, with our opinions and
thoughts. The beauty of our Lord is that He will rescue us from ourselves. If we are
needy. Now while in a human relationship being needy is the kiss of death, in
relationship with our Lord, being needy is a necessity. He rescues us from ourselves
and also from the clutches of the powerful. In Him, the poor have hope and injustice
shuts its mouth. Do you feel hope? God says He gives hope to the needy. If we don’t
feel hopeful, it might be because, we don’t understand the depth of our need. We live
on a planet full of warlike people who simply can’t get along with one another. We are
bent toward self-destruction, without Christ and without the promises of God’s Word.
But when we are needy, God begins to work on our behalf. See how happy the man is
God corrects; so do not reject the discipline of the Almighty. Read Hebrews 12:5-6. It
says the same thing here as it did in the Old Testament. God will save us from
ourselves, if we let Him. For the Lord disciplines the one He loves. He loves us enough
to discipline us and teach us His ways rather than ours. Pray with me. Lord, show me
your ways. Teach me because I am poor and needy. Spiritually I need more of you
and less of me. Be my all in all. Be my Lord. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.
Wednesday – Job 5:19-22 I don’t know about you, but the older I get the more
forgetful I become. If I don’t write it down and put it on a list, I will forget it. So when
God gives you and I a list, I’m always curious about what goes on His list. Just like
yesterday, we are still examining the benefits of being needy before the Lord.
Yesterday, we found out that God saves the needy from themselves and from the
crafty. Today we find a list of seven things He rescues the needy from. Here is the list.
In famine….in battle…slander...not fear… destruction…hunger… not fear the animals..
This is a pretty long list. Take a few moments and look over the passage again. He will
rescue you…no harm will touch you… Pretty awesome promises. Read Ps. 91:4-6.
He will cover you with His feathers; you will take refuge under His wings. Notice the
similarities of the promises. God wants us to know that He wants to protect us. Take a
moment and write down three areas you are admitting your need and seeking God’s
shelter and refuge.

Thursday- Ps. 94:10-11 Did you notice that in one sentence, God claims to be the
source of all that we know? The One who instructs nations, the One who teaches man
knowledge… Our nation has been the source of technology that has changed the
course of mankind. We have historically been the first, first world country, in terms of
discovery and influence. God says that He is the One who instructs nations. Any
success we have came from Him. Is there a man who invented something incredible
and wise? Is there a man who created something noble that changed humanity? God
says He is the One who teaches man knowledge. God says these things came from
Him. And that it could all change. Does He not discipline? Yes, God blesses nations
and men who bless Him. Pray with me. Lord, regardless of what the judges, politicians,
and academics in our Nation do, I acknowledge you as the giver of all things that are
good. You control the fate of men and nations and I beseech you to bless our nation.
Bring us back to you. Move through the Power of the Holy Spirit in our country. Show
Yourself to be glorious and strong. Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory,
forever, amen.
Friday – Proverbs 2:7-8 I don’t know what you would consider to be, success. How
you define it might change over the years, as you grow in the Lord. Regardless of what
you and I might call it, God stores up success for the upright. He plans and purposes
for you and I to be successful spiritually. He is a shield... He will guard the paths of
justice and protect the way of His loyal followers. He promises to do these things for us
if we are His loyal followers. Read Matthew 6:33. Notice how consistent God is in His
promises? The promises in Proverbs and Matthew are so similar that they seem not to
be written centuries apart by two different authors. They are so alike because, they are
written by the same God. The only God. And He wants to change us from the inside
out. He wants to make us successful, spiritually. And He has told us repeatedly how
much He loves us. Pray with me. Lord I want Your success. Teach me how to be
upright. Be my shield. Help me live with integrity. Do this so that in every way You
might be glorified by my life. I seek first Your Kingdom. I seek Your righteousness. And
I can’t wait to see what blessings and success you have in store for me and my family.
In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.
Saturday – Isaiah 29:13-14 We never want to be guilty of lip-service toward the Lord.
God will not bless that. Religion that says the right things, but is not from the heart, is a
particularly heinous thing in God’s eyes. The reason is that He doesn’t want us to
simply go through the motions, He cares about our motives. He wants us to want to
serve Him. We never want to be in the place where He says of us…yet their hearts are
far from me. We know our hearts are far from Him, when we are two radically different
people. There can be one person in us, that publicly looks and acts religious, while
there is another person inside that harbors known sin. God knows our hearts, so
purposefully holding onto thoughts and attitudes that are repugnant to Him, is repulsive
to Him. The cure? Read Matthew 22:37-39. While the passage in Isaiah tells us what
God hates, the passage in Matthew is repeated throughout the Bible as what God
loves. What does God want us to do? How does He want us to approach Him? “The
Great Commandment” in Matthew tells us it is a heart thing. Pray with me. Lord my
heart is Yours. I don’t fully understand how to love You but I do love You. Help me love
You more. Help me love Your ways and Your leading in my life. Help me to love You
with all my heart, soul and mind. Sometimes I don’t feel that way, but by faith, help me
to walk that way and be pleasing to You. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.