FROM THE BOOK OF JOB

Today is Wednesday.  I was in Lancaster, CA yesterday and didn't get to put up my blog, but I am home today and looking forward to the day.  It will be a busy one starting out with a staff meeting and ending with our mid-week service.  I'm looking forward to that! 1) WHAT IS THE PROFIT? -A question from the wealthy:  Job 21:15 "What is the Almighty, that we should serve him?  and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?"  It is amazing to me that men would be so bold to think they are self sufficient, and self made.  They are not, and so many times they have to lose everything before they realize that.  Lord, help us to be dependent upon you totally, everyday, and conscious of our every moment need of you!!   2) THE ANSWER IS: YES!!  Another question is posed in Job 22:3.  It asks:  "Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous?"  And the answer is yes, God delights in the righteous!  Psalms 4:3 says:  "But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself:"  Yes, God delights in the righteous!!  This is why it is so important to be righteous, when you could easily not be when no one is looking, but God sees all of the time, and delights in the man and woman who decides to live righteous to the best of their ability.  The answer is YES!!                                                                              3) IMPORTANT- What is important to you??  Job said in 23:12, "I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food."  Does God's Word mean that much to you??  Is it that important to you??  Someone said: "What you delight in is what you spend your spare time doing?"  I have thought a lot about that.  My spare time... what do I do?  I thought about the fact that though I read the Bible many chapters daily, I seldom spend my spare time reading it.  I need to re-examine my spare time, so that "I esteem the words of His mouth..."  How about you??  I'm confessing my failure... now it's your turn!!                                                                                                  4) SOFTEN MY HEART- Job 23:16 "For God maketh my heart soft,"  It took adversity, but his heart was softened.  I want that too, I want my heart soft.  I hope it doesn't take adversity, but, I want a soft heart whatever it takes!!  I believe I have a soft heart, but I always want one, and we need to work to keep our hearts soft. Is God impressed with riches?  Job 36:19 "Will he esteem thy riches? no. not gold, nor all the forces of strength."  God is not impress with what we have or who we are.  He knows us and therefore, He is not impressed!  We need to always be open and honest with God.                                 5) SONGS IN THE NIGHT- I love it.... hate it!  Job 35:10 says "Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night;"  The context is saying that in the midst of your trials, God will give you a song in the night (your darkest trials), and that I love dearly!!  But, I often find myself unable to sleep because I have a song in my mind that plays over and over again, and usually I only know a few stanzas of it.  Over and over and over.... I'm glad it's a Christian song, but I like sleep too!! Well, so much for today!  May God richly bless you!                         Dr. Mike Mutchler