JOB

What a day we had yesterday at Church!  A huge crowd!  Scores of people were saved.  Many baptized.  510 on the buses!  The spirit of our people is amazing.  God has been so good to us.  Praise His Holy Name! I'm in Job this morning and I enjoyed my reading.  Here are a few nuggets of thought to share with you today: 1) HURTFUL WORDS- Job says to his "friends" in 19:2- "How long will ye vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words?"  Words hurt!  We should be very careful to speak words that are seasoned with grace.  To what purpose would we want to speak hurtful words to anyone?  Job goes on to say in verse 5 and 6, that "If indeed ye will magnify yourselves against me, and plead against me my reproach:  Know now that God hath overthrown me, and hath compassed me with his net."  What he means is this... I'm being judged right now apparently so why do you have to kick me when I'm already down?  I'm not standing, while sinning pridefully; I am humbled by God and I'm down and out, and yet.... you break me in pieces.  OH, may this conduct never be found in us.  Let us offer words of hope, comfort, forgiveness, and inspiration to others.  Today... lift up someone Else's heavy load! 2) NOT LONG- "The joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?"  Yes, it won't last long.  So.... don't let hypocrites enter your thoughts because their moment in time is so brief, it is not worth thinking about.  Let them go..  there are plenty of good, sincere, dedicated people to think about.  (Job 20:5) 3) MORE THAN FOOD- In Job 23:12, he states:  "I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food."  Here fasting is again seen and God's Word should mean more to us than food; and not only food, but our "necessary" food.  So not just skipping a meal, but skipping meals that your body needs!  Most of us could do well to miss some meals, but here he is stating the meals that his body needs for strength.  Most of us carry around a few days supply in us already and sometimes we store it around our mid section.  But here is someone who does not have that and yet esteems God's Word as most important!  Wow!  Let us learn this lesson from Job! 4) WISDOM- Chapter 28 is all about Wisdom.  Where it is, how to find it, why it is valuable, how it is more valuable than silver and gold.  In verse 28, Job says:  "Behold, the fear of the LORD, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding."  To reverence God and to flee any form of wickedness is Wisdom in God's eyes.  Let it be in our eyes too! Well, so much for today.  Hope you had a blessed weekend like I did, and hope you are expecting to walk with God this week too.  Find someone to lift up and encourage today.... you will be blessed and be a blessing!! Pastor Mike Mutchler