Good Morning "Accused". Today we are in Job 1.
We have a tendency to look for formulas within our relationship with God. What do I need to do to receive the blessing of God? “Ok, so if I receive Jesus, get Baptized, truly draw near to God through Jesus, pray, read my Bible, go to church, serve, tithe etc etc... then, God has to bless me?” “Ummmm no.” “What?”
It is True, that those things may position you for blessing instead cursing - where rebellion would place you. However; make no mistake, blessing and cursing, grace, judgment and / or mercy are Gods to give as He chooses. The book of Job dispels any argument for a formula that requires God to bless.
It shouldn’t surprise us that our enemy the devil, that prowls around like a lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8) - stands accusing us with God. He wants to see us destroyed, yet understands he alone has no power to do so. He only has the power God gives him… thus he must make his appeal to God. Thankfully, in Jesus, we have an advocate - one that stands at our defense in the throne room of God (Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25, 1 John 2:1). He defends us against satan’s argument to destroy us spiritually (Revelation 12:10). Hence our eternal security is NOT up for grabs.
With that clear, why would God grant Satan permission to do such things to a righteous man - like we read about in Job?
“In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.”
Job 1:1 NIV
We have all sinned and fallen short (Romans 3:23). As a result what we’ve earned is spiritual and physical death (Romans 6:23). Total separation from God, damnation to Hell is what we’ve “earned” - nothing less. He is perfectly justified in anything He chooses to do with us. If we have breath and life we have Gods grace. In fact He gave us Jesus so that we might be reconciled to Him (2 Corinthians 5:20). We MUST receive Him (Romans 10:9).
What does He ask in return? Our hearts, our lives (Romans 12:1). You see offering ourselves to Him is our logical / reasonable response to His already displayed mercy and grace.
If being “good” always results in additional blessing, how would we ever know if that “good” was done out of love or simply for personal gain? Isn’t that the danger? Many a lost person has sought God to be rescued from their life situation, or blessed with wealth. “I tried religion. It didn’t work for me.” These are statements I have often heard as I’ve sought to evangelize the lost. I typically respond with, “What did you think was going to happen?”
A relationship with God through the blood of Jesus is exactly that - a relationship. It’s relationship that, if real, and always results in a changed heart - not necessarily changed circumstances (Philippians 1:6). Christianity is NOT simply a formula for the correct way to scratch a lottery ticket. It’s a real relationship in which we get to experience The God of all creation in us, and working through us! The “Fruit of The Spirit” that lives in us from the moment of salvation absolutely trumps anything this world has to offer!
Love you all! Dig in!
We have a tendency to look for formulas within our relationship with God. What do I need to do to receive the blessing of God? “Ok, so if I receive Jesus, get Baptized, truly draw near to God through Jesus, pray, read my Bible, go to church, serve, tithe etc etc... then, God has to bless me?” “Ummmm no.” “What?”
It is True, that those things may position you for blessing instead cursing - where rebellion would place you. However; make no mistake, blessing and cursing, grace, judgment and / or mercy are Gods to give as He chooses. The book of Job dispels any argument for a formula that requires God to bless.
It shouldn’t surprise us that our enemy the devil, that prowls around like a lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8) - stands accusing us with God. He wants to see us destroyed, yet understands he alone has no power to do so. He only has the power God gives him… thus he must make his appeal to God. Thankfully, in Jesus, we have an advocate - one that stands at our defense in the throne room of God (Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25, 1 John 2:1). He defends us against satan’s argument to destroy us spiritually (Revelation 12:10). Hence our eternal security is NOT up for grabs.
With that clear, why would God grant Satan permission to do such things to a righteous man - like we read about in Job?
“In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.”
Job 1:1 NIV
We have all sinned and fallen short (Romans 3:23). As a result what we’ve earned is spiritual and physical death (Romans 6:23). Total separation from God, damnation to Hell is what we’ve “earned” - nothing less. He is perfectly justified in anything He chooses to do with us. If we have breath and life we have Gods grace. In fact He gave us Jesus so that we might be reconciled to Him (2 Corinthians 5:20). We MUST receive Him (Romans 10:9).
What does He ask in return? Our hearts, our lives (Romans 12:1). You see offering ourselves to Him is our logical / reasonable response to His already displayed mercy and grace.
If being “good” always results in additional blessing, how would we ever know if that “good” was done out of love or simply for personal gain? Isn’t that the danger? Many a lost person has sought God to be rescued from their life situation, or blessed with wealth. “I tried religion. It didn’t work for me.” These are statements I have often heard as I’ve sought to evangelize the lost. I typically respond with, “What did you think was going to happen?”
A relationship with God through the blood of Jesus is exactly that - a relationship. It’s relationship that, if real, and always results in a changed heart - not necessarily changed circumstances (Philippians 1:6). Christianity is NOT simply a formula for the correct way to scratch a lottery ticket. It’s a real relationship in which we get to experience The God of all creation in us, and working through us! The “Fruit of The Spirit” that lives in us from the moment of salvation absolutely trumps anything this world has to offer!
Love you all! Dig in!
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