JOB

It is Sunday morning, and I'm excited about Church!  What a blessing to have a good church to attend and participate in.  Already, buses are rolling and picking up children to bring them to Church.  It is exciting to know that over 400 will be brought to church today.  Many of them will trust Christ as their Savior.  Today is also my wife's and I's 35th wedding anniversary.  Time flies!  What a blessing to be married to such a good woman.  Four children and six grand children later, we are still enjoying life and marriage.  Thank you Jesus! I'm in Job and here are a few thoughts for today: 1) WHAT DO YOU VALUE?  Job said in Job 23:12  "I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food."  Do we value the Word of God as we should?  It is a blessed book from God to man.  It tells us of God and God's will for our lives.  We should love it, read it, and seek to obey it with all of our hearts.  Value God's Word! 2) HOW?  Bildad the Shuhite said in Job 25:4 "How then can man be justified with God?  or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?"  Well, we can only be justified by the blood of Christ.  God alone can justify us and we must never forget that having trusted in Jesus Christ as our Savior, we are indeed justified before God.  Our sin would still seek to condemn us, but our Savior justifies us! 3) WHEN GOD SPEAKS- In Job 33:15,16, it says:  "In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed;  Then he opened the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction."   It is saying that many times, God speaks to us while we are asleep and in our dreams.  Now, I don't dream very often that I'm aware of, but I often awake to have a message or thought on my mind that I know God gave me.  Often in the middle of the night I wake up to write down something that God put into my mind.  Often a sermon, sometimes something to share with the staff, or a program to start up at church.  God gives me ideas in the middle of the night.  Psalms 4:4 says:  "Stand in awe, and sin not:  commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still."  Also, Job 35 10 says:  "But none sayeth, Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night;"  I sing a lot at night.  Not out loud, but in my mind.  I sometimes cannot sleep because I sing all night long.  What is interesting is that I don't even know the words to the song!  Sometimes just a phrase or a half of a stanza of the song.  Something the choir just sang, or someone's special, or a song on a CD.  I will run it over and over in my mind.  God gives us songs in the night, and often I try to remind God that He also "giveth his beloved sleep".  Anyway, know that God wants to speak to you during the night and be aware of that.  Well, this is all for today.  Have a wonderful day at Church, and let God speak to you throughout the day!  God bless!   Pastor Mike Mutchler