Suffering, longing to die...one of God's chosen.

Job 2:1  Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD. 

Job 2:2  And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. 

Job 2:3  And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause. 

Job 2:4  And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. 

Job 2:5  But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. 

It wasn't enough for Job to lose everything- his wealth, his children, Satan told God that as soon as God stopped protecting Job from illness, injury and such that Job would surely no longer be upright, and he'd no longer worship God. Satan wanted to be able to give Job such physical agony that he could scarcely survive it all.

We KNOW today there are a lot of illness, diseases, injuries and so on that cause severe pain and suffering, many of us have suffered through some of these. Some of us live with chronic pain and illness which makes our lives awful. We know this pain and we cry out for release from it, for help and our Heavenly Father doesn’t always allow us to feel better. We don't know why we suffer, why children suffer, why anyone at all suffers but we do know it's not what God wants for His children. He doesn’t want it, but He allows it for reasons we can't fully comprehend. We could guess at why, but we don't know if any of our guesses would be right.  If we equate our physical/mental/emotional health with our closeness to God, then we'd have to imagine we are far from being His. The truth is, some of God's chosen suffered extreme hardship. God's OWN SON suffered and it wasn't because He wasn't close to God- He was the closest anyone could be. Our lives being fair, our lives being pain-free or semi-pain-free, our lives being content- are NOT spiritual temperature gauges for Christ followers. God doesn’t HATE us when He allows our lives to fall apart. God is a surety and that surety is for ETERNAL LIFE, not temporary life.

Let's read more of Job….

Job 2:6  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life. 

Job 2:7  So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. 

Job 2:8  And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes. 

Job 2:9  Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. 

Job 2:10  But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips. 

AMAZING!

Job 2:11  Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him. 

Job 2:12  And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven. 

Job 2:13  So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great. 

Job 3:1  After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day. 

Job 3:2  And Job spake, and said, 

Job 3:3  Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived. 

Job 3:4  Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it. 

Job 3:5  Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. 

Job 3:6  As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months. 

Job 3:7  Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein. 

Job 3:8  Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning. 

Job 3:9  Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day: 

Job 3:10  Because it shut not up the doors of my mother's womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes. 

Job 3:11  Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly? 

Job 3:12  Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I should suck? 

Job 3:13  For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest, 

Job 3:14  With kings and counsellors of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves; 

Job 3:15  Or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver: 

Job 3:16  Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light. 

Job 3:17  There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest. 

Job 3:18  There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. 

Job 3:19  The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master. 

Job 3:20  Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul; 

Job 3:21  Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures; 

Job 3:22  Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave? 

Job 3:23  Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in? 

Job 3:24  For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters. 

Job 3:25  For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me. 

Job 3:26  I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came. 

Job wished he'd never been born! Agony so intense, Job wished for death to take all his misery from him.

Job 4:1  Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, 

Job 4:2  If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can withhold himself from speaking? 

Job 4:3  Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands. 

Job 4:4  Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees. 

Job 4:5  But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled. 

Job 4:6  Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways? 

Job 4:7  Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off? 

Job 4:8  Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same. 

Job 4:9  By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed. 

Job 4:10  The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken. 

Job 4:11  The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout lion's whelps are scattered abroad. 

Job 4:12  Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof. 

Job 4:13  In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men, 

Job 4:14  Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake. 

Job 4:15  Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up: 

Job 4:16  It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying, 

Job 4:17  Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker? 

Job 4:18  Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly: 

Job 4:19  How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth? 

Job 4:20  They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding it. 

Job 4:21  Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? they die, even without wisdom. 

Job 5:1  Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn? 

Job 5:2  For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one. 

Job 5:3  I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his habitation. 

Job 5:4  His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them. 

Job 5:5  Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance. 

Job 5:6  Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground; 

Job 5:7  Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward. 

Job 5:8  I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause: 

Job 5:9  Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number: 

Job 5:10  Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields: 

Job 5:11  To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety. 

Job 5:12  He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise. 

Job 5:13  He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong. 

Job 5:14  They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night. 

Job 5:15  But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty. 

Job 5:16  So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth. 

Job 5:17  Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: 

Job 5:18  For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole. 

Job 5:19  He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee. 

Job 5:20  In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword. 

Job 5:21  Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh. 

Job 5:22  At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth. 

Job 5:23  For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee. 

Job 5:24  And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace; and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin. 

Job 5:25  Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine offspring as the grass of the earth. 

Job 5:26  Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season. 

Job 5:27  Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good. 

Job 6:1  But Job answered and said, 

Job 6:2  Oh that my grief were throughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together! 

Job 6:3  For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore my words are swallowed up. 

Job 6:4  For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me. 

Job 6:5  Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? or loweth the ox over his fodder? 

Job 6:6  Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg? 

Job 6:7  The things that my soul refused to touch are as my sorrowful meat. 

Job 6:8  Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant me the thing that I long for! 

Job 6:9  Even that it would please God to destroy me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off! 

Job 6:10  Then should I yet have comfort; yea, I would harden myself in sorrow: let him not spare; for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One. 

Job 6:11  What is my strength, that I should hope? and what is mine end, that I should prolong my life? 

Job 6:12  Is my strength the strength of stones? or is my flesh of brass? 

Job 6:13  Is not my help in me? and is wisdom driven quite from me? 

Job 6:14  To him that is afflicted pity should be shewed from his friend; but he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty. 

Job 6:15  My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the stream of brooks they pass away; 

Job 6:16  Which are blackish by reason of the ice, and wherein the snow is hid: 

Job 6:17  What time they wax warm, they vanish: when it is hot, they are consumed out of their place. 

Job 6:18  The paths of their way are turned aside; they go to nothing, and perish. 

Job 6:19  The troops of Tema looked, the companies of Sheba waited for them. 

Job 6:20  They were confounded because they had hoped; they came thither, and were ashamed. 

Job 6:21  For now ye are nothing; ye see my casting down, and are afraid. 

Job 6:22  Did I say, Bring unto me? or, Give a reward for me of your substance? 

Job 6:23  Or, Deliver me from the enemy's hand? or, Redeem me from the hand of the mighty? 

Job 6:24  Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have erred. 

Job 6:25  How forcible are right words! but what doth your arguing reprove? 

Job 6:26  Do ye imagine to reprove words, and the speeches of one that is desperate, which are as wind? 

Job 6:27  Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless, and ye dig a pit for your friend. 

Job 6:28  Now therefore be content, look upon me; for it is evident unto you if I lie. 

Job 6:29  Return, I pray you, let it not be iniquity; yea, return again, my righteousness is in it. 

Job 6:30  Is there iniquity in my tongue? cannot my taste discern perverse things? 

Job 7:1  Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his days also like the days of an hireling? 

Job 7:2  As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling looketh for the reward of his work: 

Job 7:3  So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me. 

Job 7:4  When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone? and I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day. 

Job 7:5  My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and become loathsome. 

Job 7:6  My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope. 

Job 7:7  O remember that my life is wind: mine eye shall no more see good. 

Job 7:8  The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thine eyes are upon me, and I am not. 

Job 7:9  As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more. 

Job 7:10  He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more. 

Job 7:11  Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. 

Job 7:12  Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me? 

Job 7:13  When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint; 

Job 7:14  Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions: 

Job 7:15  So that my soul chooseth strangling, and death rather than my life. 

Job 7:16  I loathe it; I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days are vanity. 

Job 7:17  What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him? 

Job 7:18  And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every moment? 

Job 7:19  How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle? 

Job 7:20  I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself? 

Job 7:21  And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be. 

More tomorrow by the grace and mercy of our LORD. May we comprehend only truth in HIM for He is our almighty GOD.

U.

There once was a person in the land of earth, whose name was, U. This person was for all intents and purposes, perfect and upright, fearing God and hating evil. U had seven sons and three daughters, and owned a huge mega store/computer franchise, an oil field, and a major sports team. You could say that U was the richest man in the nation. 

Well, one day, U's sons decided they wanted to have a party, but not just a single party they wanted to go from one son's house to the next, having a party each day and in different house! Such celebrating, such revelry, such fun for days and days - there were after all seven of them- seven days and seven major parties. Also, because they didn't want to celebrate alone they called their three sisters and asked them to come party with them. Excessive partying was going on and it wasn't of an upright nature at all.

Meanwhile, U heard about all their partying and wasn't too thrilled. When they were done with their seven days of parties he sent for his children and sanctified them- rising up very early in the morning he offered burnt offerings - enough for each of them. And praying to God he said- "My sons may have sinned and cursed You God in their hearts, please forgive them!" U wanted his sons to serve God, he wanted all of his children to be upright and perfect. And so, U set about continually sanctifying, offering sacrifices and praying for his children.

As U lived his upright life as a Godly man, God was in the heavenly sanctuary going about His business. There came a day when the sons of God came before the LORD and along with those sons of God- the first sinner, the father of lies himself, the fallen angel Lucifer, also known as Satan, decided to join in, having not been cast out of heaven as of yet.

Curious, God turned to Satan and asked him, "Where are you coming from?"

Satan quickly replied, "From the all over the earth, to and fro, up and down."

God then asked Satan, "Do you know my servant U? There isn't another man like him in all the earth, he's perfect, he's upright, he reverences me, and he hates evil."

Satan answered, "Why shouldn't U reverence you? You've protected him and all his house. You've made him successful. If you stopped protecting him and he no longer had all that he has, he would turn on you in a heartbeat."

The LORD answered Satan's boasting. "All that he has is now in your power, just don't touch him personally."

Satan quickly left the sanctuary, he had work to do.

Meanwhile-

U's sons and daughters were once more partying in the eldest son's house and while they were doing so a messenger of U's hurriedly came to bring him some terrible news. The mega-store/computer franchise was completely bankrupt! All of the corporation's top executives had schemed behind U's back embezzling all their money and fleeing to non-extradition countries, this messenger alone was still there.

Shocked U didn't have time to reply before another messenger came running up to him. This obviously distraught messenger quickly told U all the oil wells suddenly dried up for absolutely no reason at all whatsoever!

And before a word left U's mouth yet another messenger arrived bringing even more horrific news. The major sports team's airplane had crashed killing all of the players and U's insurance on the team had NEVER been renewed!

If all that weren't enough another messenger ran over to him and told him that a great wind tore down his eldest son's mansion while all his sons and daughters were inside and they all died!

Everything of worth U owned, and all ten of his children were gone! GONE! Everything! Life as U knew it was over! How? Why? This obvious attack by evil people and from the elements themselves all happening at once, it was too much to take!

U stood up, tore at his clothes, shaved all the hair off his head and then fell down on the ground- worshiping God! He cried out- "Naked I came out of my mother, and naked I'll return. The LORD gave me all my substance and the LORD has taken it away. Blessed be the name of the LORD."

U worshipped! U had everything taken from him!

STOP right here and THINK about this!

Put yourself in U's place because it is YOU.  IMAGINE this happening to YOU, do YOU fall down and worship the LORD, calling out a blessing on the name of the LORD? Do you?!

How often have you had things go awful in your life? Most people have tragedies of sorts happen, albeit on a much less scale then U. There aren't many who lose not only all their children but all their goods, all their livelihood in a single day.  We lose a job and it's as if the world has pull the rug out from under our feet as we instantly wonder how we'll be able to afford to live. We experience the death of a single child and our heart is broken in a million pieces and we scarcely imagine we'll recover from such tragedy. We know the pain of miniscule suffering compared to what U endured, and yet we rail against God for what He's done to us by allowing all the evil to transpire. How many of us instantly thinks to worship God when heartache befalls us? U did, U trusted that God brought him into the world with nothing and had every right to take him out of the world with nothing. Everything he possessed including the children that came from his loins, were NOT truly his to do with as he pleased. They all belonged to God. U knew that HE was not promised a single thing in this world. He was now a pauper and without a single child to his name after having so much. He had every right, at least in our minds corrupted as they are by sin and Satan's influence, to turn his back upon God and blame God for allowing all his possessions and all his children to be destroyed. Yet U was truly upright in his FAITH of God.  We could ALL learn from this, all of us! May God bless us with comprehension of true faith, true trust in HIM. May we say this--

Php 3:8  Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ

All through JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD!

(Read Job 1:1-22)

Live in the Light of the Son- His Truth.

Vampires- what are vampires doing in my Bible study? I'll get to it, but first a little background. This fictional creature is well known for a few things. One of their more notorious traits is the fact (fictional fact) that they do not like sunlight, in fact it can kill them.  They are dark evil creatures that have been highly romanticized for a long time now, but when they were first created they were evil and meant to be destroyed.  Creatures that hate the light, despising the light of the sun. This is where I'm connecting it to my Bible study - evil doers hate the light of truth from our Savior, they despise truth. Like the fictional vampire who can do well in electric light, in fire light, moon light, all light but that of the sun and any that mimic the sun. Evil doers do well in corrupted light, corrupted truth, false light. We call any source of illumination a light, yet not all lights are the same and it is true with the light of truth in Christ. Many people claim to love the Lord but we know our Lord tells us many will say they did a lot in His name, but He's going to tell them He doesn't know them. He won't know those who live in a false light of truth. That false light will seem to be fine, but it's not the sun, not the Son of God. When the light of our Savior reveals evil in our lives we have to quickly repent of it, not change the light. We can't let ourselves switch from SON light to fire light.  If we put in electric light truth to replace the SON light we may seem for all intents and purposes to be living in truth, but we won't be. We will be following a false light, but we will like that light because it won't burn us, it won't stop us from doing the evil things we like. We can dance in the evil all we want without feeling the tiniest bit of scorching because we've gone away from true Light! Let us ALL look at our lives and pray that we aren't living in a false light of truth but rather the TRUE LIGHT of our Savior, Jesus Christ our LORD! Let us not love darkness rather than light. Let any evil in us be reproved speedily and let us repent! Don't be a spiritual vampire hiding from the light of the Son! Live in the light of the Son of God- His truth!

Joh 3:18  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 

Joh 3:19  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 

Joh 3:20  For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 

Joh 1:2  The same was in the beginning with God. 

Joh 1:3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 

Joh 1:4  In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 

Joh 1:5  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 

Joh 1:6  There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 

Joh 1:7  The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. 

Joh 1:8  He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 

Joh 1:9  That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. 

Joh 1:10  He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 

Joh 1:11  He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 

Joh 1:12  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 

Joh 1:13  Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 

Joh 1:14  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. 

Confident Jesus WILL Save Us!

Php 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ

Confident.

'Define confident: full of conviction : certain; having or showing assurance'

Certain that Jesus will perform the good work He started IN us until He returns.

Assured that Jesus will perform the good work He starting IN us until He returns.

We really do need to be sure, to be certain that our Savior won't begin something in us that He doesn't intend to finish.

Our Savior has started a GOOD WORK in us. This good work is SALVATION through HIM.

We can KNOW that our Savior will finish the word He started in us and we will be with HIM when He returns- on the day of Jesus Christ!  All praise, glory, honor, mercy and love to our LORD now and forever! Thank You LORD JESUS, Thank YOU!

Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. 

Joh 6:29  Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. 

Eph 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 

Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 

Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 

Eph 2:7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 

Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast. 

Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. 

Everlasting Joy!

Isa 35:10  And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

There will be a day when we will know only joy. That day isn't now.  For now we are allowed to experience tribulation, but even in tribulation we are allowed hope. Hope not that things will change right now, that evil will cease to rear its ugly head murdering, torturing all it can using men and women, young and old as the vessels to carry out its horrific acts. We can't hope things will change now, we aren't told to hope evil stops now. We are to place our hope in CHRIST and His promises! Future hope even as we shed tears, endless tears for this world's evil. Our hope is for when our Savior returns and all evil ends!  May we all have our hope realized, our faith rewarded with our heavenly Savior's return. May He know each of us and call us to meet Him in the air!
Please, Lord, we would know everlasting Joy in YOU!

Isa 35:1  The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. 

Isa 35:2  It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God. 

Isa 35:3  Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. 

Isa 35:4  Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. 

Isa 35:5  Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 

Isa 35:6  Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. 

Isa 35:7  And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. 

Isa 35:8  And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. 

Isa 35:9  No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: 

Isa 35:10  And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. 

Good Cheer and Tribulation.

Believing.

There is a lot to be said about belief, but what makes one person believe and another not believe?

Why do some have faith and others no faith?

We do know that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. When we ask people to believe, to have faith, we are asking them to believe in something they can't see, but hope for it any way.  God asks us to have faith. To believe without seeing, to hope without seeing.  There is so much in this world that seeks to break our faith. We look at the things of this world - the awful things of this world and then tell ourselves that a loving God wouldn't allow suffering, He wouldn't allow the awful things of this world. Our hope is not for this world or the things in this world. Our Savior doesn't sugar-coat a single thing- we are told this--

Joh_16:33  These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

We can actually EXPECT tribulation. All of us can expect tribulation, no one is given a special pass- not a single person. Our Savior is HONEST and UPFRONT with us, He doesn't try to hide any truth from us. Our being of good cheer is found in believing Christ Jesus our Savior where the only peace we can hope for exists.

Some people believe and others don't because those who don't are blinded- loving only what they can see and touch. To believe in our Savior is to admit our need of a Savior, to know there is a better life beyond what this world offers to us, to have hope in the unseen.

We can be of good cheer because our Savior overcame this world. Our good cheer is found in Christ, not in ourselves.

Do you want to be happy? Then you have to put your faith, your hope all in Christ. No evil will ever stop the truth that our Savior died for us, to offer us salvation through HIM. May we look to Him our HOPE.

We can't forget that in this world we WILL have tribulation, but we can be of good cheer through our Savior! All by His love, all by His grace, all by His mercy!!! Now and forever!!!!!!!

*******

Joh 3:1  There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 

Joh 3:2  The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. 

Joh 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 

Joh 3:4  Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 

Joh 3:5  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 

Joh 3:6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 

Joh 3:7  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 

Joh 3:8  The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. 

Joh 3:9  Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? 

Joh 3:10  Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? 

Joh 3:11  Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. 

Joh 3:12  If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? 

Joh 3:13  And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. 

Joh 3:14  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 

Joh 3:15  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 

Joh 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 

Joh 3:18  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 

Joh 3:19  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 

Joh 3:20  For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 

Joh 3:21  But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. 

Joh 3:22  After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized. 

Joh 3:23  And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized. 

Joh 3:24  For John was not yet cast into prison. 

Joh 3:25  Then there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying. 

Joh 3:26  And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. 

Joh 3:27  John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. 

Joh 3:28  Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. 

Joh 3:29  He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. 

Joh 3:30  He must increase, but I must decrease. 

Joh 3:31  He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all. 

Joh 3:32  And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony. 

Joh 3:33  He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. 

Joh 3:34  For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. 

Joh 3:35  The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. 

Joh 3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. 

Sing!

Sing!

Praising the Lord in song!

Making JOYFUL noise to the Lord!

Do we do this often enough?

How many people sing praises to the Lord only occasionally? Shouldn't we sing daily? Our noise should be joyful, and LOUD.  We should be rejoicing in the Lord as often as we can. Singing daily, and often during the day as we are able.  Truly there is a blessing as we sing to the Lord, drawing us ever closer to Him. He is our Rock, our Salvation, our Hope, our everything. We are close to the Lord as the Spirit moves in us and we lift our voices loud in song unto our God.

May we all find joy, find hope, fine peace in praising our God in song!

Psa 98:1  A Psalm. O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory. 

Psa 98:2  The LORD hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen. 

Psa 98:3  He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. 

Psa 98:4  Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. 

Psa 98:5  Sing unto the LORD with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm. 

Psa 98:6  With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King. 

Psa 98:7  Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. 

Psa 98:8  Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together 

Psa 98:9  Before the LORD; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity. 

Only by living in God's love can we represent Him.

Eph 2:19  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God

No more strangers, no more foreigners….but FELLOWCITIZENS with the saints and of the household of God.

Yesterday this was mentioned--

'This world is NOT our world and if this world is NOT our world, but we are truly ambassadors of heaven we need to be representing heaven right here and now to all who can see us, to all that can know us. Heaven is our home, we are here on this earth for an ambassadorship …'

We are not stranger or foreigners to GOD.

We ARE fellow citizens in the HOUSEHOLD of GOD!

This is reality. We are ambassadors, we are fellow citizens all of HEAVEN, all of GOD.

Do we REALLY live like we are citizens of God's household? How should we live as we represent our heavenly home, our Heavenly Father?

We need to live in HIS LOVE. Only by living in His love can we represent Him.

*******

Eph 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 

Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 

Eph 2:3  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 

Eph 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 

Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 

Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 

Eph 2:7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 

Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast. 

Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. 

Eph 2:11  Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; 

Eph 2:12  That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: 

Eph 2:13  But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. 

Eph 2:14  For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 

Eph 2:15  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; 

Eph 2:16  And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: 

Eph 2:17  And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. 

Eph 2:18  For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. 

Eph 2:19  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 

Eph 2:20  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 

Eph 2:21  In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 

Eph 2:22  In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. 

Heaven's Ambassadors.

2Co 5:20  Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. 

2Co 5:21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. 

*******

We have been given the word of reconciliation. We ARE ambassadors for CHRIST. We are reconciled to GOD.

When a person is given an ambassadorship what does that mean? In my understanding that person NOW represents those who gave them the ambassadorship to others. We understand it in terms of our country having an ambassador to another country. They represent us to that other country. So if we are ambassadors for Christ then we are a part of Christ's country and representatives of Christ's country, which is heaven. We are ambassadors of heaven to all those living upon the earth. Heaven has a lot of ambassadors but truthfully there are a lot more people who are of the earth than there are those who are truly of heaven. This world isn't the world we want to belong to.

Jesus said this--

Joh_8:23  And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.

Joh_12:31  Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.

Joh_14:30  Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.

Joh_16:11  Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

Joh_18:36  Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence

And Paul said this--

Eph_6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

This world is NOT our world and if this world is NOT our world, but we are truly ambassadors of heaven we need to be representing heaven right here and now to all who can see us, to all that can know us. Heaven is our home, we are here on this earth for an ambassadorship that may last into our 70's, our 80s, our 90's and so on. Our ambassadorship may last several decades but it will forever be an ambassadorship as long as God is our Father, Christ is our Savior, and heaven our true home.  We are kept here as active ambassadors for as long as our Lord needs us to be and then we sleep death's sleep until our Savior returns and that last trump sounds and we are called from our graves and taken to heaven!  Our sleep death will not even claim us as belonging to earth, our sleep death is temporary until our Savior wakes us and finally calls us to our home, our ambassadorship over.

All praise, glory and honor, all thanksgiving unto our Father in Heaven, all through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, by the Holy Spirit now and forever!!!!!!!

The Ultimate Vessel.

Heb 12:4  Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. 

Heb 12:5  And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 

Heb 12:7  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 

Heb 12:8  But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 

Heb 12:9  Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 

Heb 12:10  For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. 

Heb 12:11  Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. 

We forget we are children… REALLY CHILDREN. We've labeled ourselves adults and called ourselves independent. We praise those who make it on their own, who makes something of themselves,  who have grown up nice and mature, polite, respectful, generous, kind, and prosperous. We love being able to say 'our children' have wonderful lives, they take care of themselves and are raising a wonderful family of their own. We would so love to be able to say that we are successful adults.

Yet, we are counting our success and our children's success on a level so far away from the spiritual we no longer care so much if we or our children have a true spiritual walk with Christ but rather if we appear to be a success to the world around us, to our families, to our friends, to our peers.

We in turn are very quick to label ourselves and our children failures when we've not met the proper criteria of those who are able to call themselves successes.

By WHOSE measuring stick have we measured our success or failure? Man's or God's.  If you say God's and go on to tell me how God has given you so much goodness, I may just have to ask you if you've been chastened by God, if you've suffered scourging by the Lord.

If you call yourself a spiritual failure, I may have to ask you if you are the Potter or the Clay in the Potter's hand. Only the Potter can determine if the clay is a failure or not.  We like to pretend we are the potter and the clay as well, but that's not true. We want to determine when we've had enough refining, enough chastisement but the truth is when a parent is striving to raise a child they determine when the child needs chastisement, they don't let the child decide because children will quickly decide that the very least chastisement is necessary so they don't have to suffer at all.

Most parents will never call their children (adult children as well) failures, because they hold out hope that an errant child will see their wrong ways and mend them. 

Why are we quick to label ourselves failures when we seem to suffer endless chastisement? Probably because if we are constantly chastising our own children we begin to believe they'll never learn. However, throughout a child's life there are different levels of chastisement each fit for the maturity level of the child. You generally won't have to chastise an older child in the way you do a younger one. Your teenager will still need to be chastised after fourteen years of constant off and on chastisement for various age appropriate infractions. You won't stop chastising your child at ten years old and never chastise them again. In fact I'm sure there are plenty of parents that have no problem continuing the chastising where needed of adult children well up there in years. As long as they're a parent and they note where a child may be erring, they'll want to correct the child.

So why can't we comprehend that as children of God we will never truly be in a position to no longer be chastised by our heavenly Father, at least not until our Savior returns and sin is eradicated?

We need to recognize that a lot of our inability to count our temptations, our trials, our tribulations, all joy is because we take on the stance that what we are coping with is unfair and awful, and a part of us wants to question God as to why we must suffer even when we already know the answer. We would rather cry, "Woe is me!" than count our suffering joy. Pain and suffering is AWFUL- so why can some endure it stoically and others crumble? Do we even pray to be able to count it joy, or rather that it simply stops and things go back to when they weren't so awful?  We are put through our tribulations and trials and through them all our steadfastness in the faith is what is being put on trial. The refining and scourging in the Potter's hand will mold the clay more perfectly- in faith.

What may appear for all intents and purposes to be unsuccessful lives in the worldly way could be lives filled with refining for the ultimate perfect vessel belonging to Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior!

Christ's Joy.

Joh 15:10  If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. 

Joh 15:11  These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. 

Joh 15:12  This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. 

Love one another and our Savior's JOY MIGHT remain in us, and if our Savior's Joy remains in us our JOY MIGHT be full.

How do we love another?

1Co 13:4  Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 

1Co 13:5  Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 

1Co 13:6  Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 

1Co 13:7  Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 

Love suffers long.

Love is kind.

Love doesn't envy.

Love doesn't vaunt.

Love isn't puffed up.

Love does not rejoice in evil.

Love rejoices in truth.

Love bears all things.

Love believes all things.

Love hopes all things.

Love endures all things.

So if we are loving one another it means a lot more than our saying we love someone. It's easy to use the word love, but much harder to truly love. We often agree that we hurt those we love, but it shouldn't be that way, should it? If we want Jesus' JOY in us so that our JOY might be full, we need to LOVE one another and it must be loving in truth, it must be the love of our Savior.

LOVE suffers.

LOVE bears ALL things.

LOVE endures ALL things.

Yet we don't want this sort of love. We don't want to suffer, we don't want to bear unpleasantness, or endure bad situations. We do all we can to eliminate our suffering, any unpleasantness, and any thing that is hard to endure. Yet we LOVE when we are suffering, bearing, and enduring. We want to stop loving, we try to harden our hearts against those who cause us to suffer, we strive to protect ourselves from being hurt by closing ourselves off.

Our Savior's joy in us, so that it is possible for our joy to be full, tells us we need to LOVE one another.

Our LOVE should not be held on the condition we are never hurt by our loved one, that we never suffer from something a loved one does.  We only have control over our love not another's. If the ones we love do not love us back do we in turn stop loving? NO, never.  We, like our Savior, all by HIS grace through the Holy Spirit, must be willing to lay down our lives for others. If we are willing to lay down our lives, shouldn't we be willing to lay down the self-love in ourselves that keeps us from loving others MORE than ourselves? Aren't we often hurt by others when we focus on ourselves telling ourselves that we don't deserve to be hurt? If we let go of self- and put on Christ instead, Christ would continue to love even as the abuse rains down upon Him.

God- help us to love others as You would have us love them, so Christ's joy might be in us and our joy might be full!

Please Teach Me to Abide in You, Christ Jesus My Savior.

Joh 15:3  Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 

Joh 15:4  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 

Joh 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 

Joh 15:6  If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 

Joh 15:7  If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 

Joh 15:8  Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. 

Joh 15:9  As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. 

Abide in Christ.

What happens to a branch of a vine, if that branch is no longer attached to that vine? Seriously, what happens? Picture it, you have a vine growing outside and you go to that vine and a branch of that vine falls off. What is going to happen to that fallen vine? It truly is going to wither and die, right? If we do not abide in Christ in a very real spiritual way, then we will wither and die spiritually.

Christ's words HAVE to abide in us!

We need to bear fruit to the glory of God and the only way we can do that is by abiding in Christ.

We have to CONTINUE in Christ's love.  The Father LOVES His Son, Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ LOVES us. We must continue in that LOVE.

Abiding- continuing without change, enduring, steadfast.

ENDURING.

We have to STAY IN CHRIST!

God help us to abide in Christ! Satan would rip us from our Savior. Satan doesn't want us living in Christ. When we live in Christ we get out spiritual sustenance from Him, we live spiritually because of Him. Please Lord, help us to live in You, teach us to live in You!

Help Me Learn What You Are Trying to Teach Me.

Joh 15:1  I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 

Joh 15:2  Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 

People love to believe if they are blessed by God that means they aren't to suffer. WRONG. They'll suffer through being purged. God purges us. We are purged and we will grow spiritually through our purging. Our spiritually growth will produce more fruit in us for the glory of God. Our purging can take many, many forms. We are tried in the fire of purging.  If your life is hard and your faith strong, know that you are being purged, you are being tried. NO trials are pleasant….

Heb_12:11  Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

NOTE this… 'unto them which ARE exercised thereby.' We can be purged, tried, chastened and it yield nothing if we aren't exercised by all we go through. If we don't let God work His refining in us, His pruning of us, His purging of us, but refuse to let the work be done, our suffering is for naught. We can through the SPIRIT recognize God's refining, and plead for our comprehension, our understanding of whatever it may be He is trying to teach us.