Pastor Jesse's Blog
 
Every week, Pastor Jesse will be posting a new blog, so come back weekly and see what he has to say!
 
Ancient Job, Relative Questions
Monday, September 24, 2007
 
Questions about suffering are among the most asked questions about God. Why does God allow such great suffering in the world and especially why does God allow such suffering among the people who love him are questions that I have been asked over and over again. The book of Job is often where people turn to try to answer these questions. The thing that fascinates me about Job is that scholars believe that the date of his life is some thirty-five hundred years ago and he is essentially asking the same questions that are plague believers and non-believers still today. What does that tell us? It first tells us that the questions about suffering are not new and secondly that it is still ok to ask those questions today.

There are many things that I love about the book of Job but one of them is his complete honesty before his friends and God about his suffering. I believe that if one is seeking healing through suffering we must be honest with God about our frustrations so that we can begin to work through them. In 9:21-22 Job cries out in frustration “I am innocent, but it makes no difference to me — I despise my life. Innocent or wicked, it is all the same to him. That is why I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’” In his frustration Job is essentially saying "what is the point of being righteous if it brings the same results as wickedness?" Have you ever asked that question? Later in verses 33-35 he cries out in despair “God is not a mortal like me, so I cannot argue with him or take him to trial. If only there were a mediator who could bring us together, but there is none. The mediator could make God stop beating me, and I would no longer live in terror of his punishment. Then I could speak to him without fear, but I cannot do that in my own strength.”

As I read that I realized that we really do have something that Job did not. Jesus! Job cries out because he feels as though there is no way to communicate to a Holy God when he (Job) is so unholy. He wishes there could be a mediator, a go between him and God so that he could approach the Holy throne of God. Well, my friends, we do now! Hebrews tells us that Jesus is a perfect and sinless mediator between us and God (Hebrews 8:6; 9:15; 12:24). Hebrews 4:14-16 says, “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Although we may not find the perfect answers to Job’s questions we have been set free from living in fear of punishment and we can speak to the God of the universe without fear because it isn’t on our own strength that we move forward, is through our mediator’s strength. That is Jesus Christ. So approach the throne of God with honesty and confidence about your difficulties and although he may not give you the exact answers your looking for God will meet you there.
 
posted by jesse at 10:20 AM  
 
Celebrate
Monday, September 17, 2007
 
Nehemiah chapter 8 is a beautiful picture of people hungry for God’s Word. Nehemiah gets all of the people who have returned from captivity to Jerusalem together for a church service. They start by just praising the Lord and the scripture says that after they had praised the Lord, the whole assembly chanted, "Amen, Amen!" Then in verse 8 it tells us that the Levites began to "…read from the Book of the Law of God and clearly explained the meaning of what was being read, helping the people understand each passage." As a pastor, that verse really encouraged me in God’s call on my life as a teacher of the Word, but not as much as verse 12 that says, "so the people went away to eat and drink at a festive meal, to share gifts of food, and to celebrate with great joy because they had heard God’s words and understood them."

In this passage, the Word of God had been neglected for years and it wasn’t easily accessible. There was probably only one or two copies of God’s law and, even if there were more, history tells us that there was about a 2% literacy rate. So the people needed someone to read it to them even if they had their own copy. They heard God’s Word which by the way the passage tells us that in hearing the word they realized how much their lives were full of sin, and their response was to celebrate. They threw a party.

As I sit in my office, I look at my desk, at the counter behind me, and at my book shelf and from my chair I can see 7 Bibles. Seven! I had to ask myself when was the last time I was so excited about hearing the word that I threw a party? I can pick up the Word of God anytime I want, read it, and then celebrate His words. I really think that most of us take for granted how accessible God’s Word is to us. And when it speaks to us, even in conviction of sin, we usually don’t celebrate.

As I continued reading, I came to Nehemiah 9:17b. I have decided that for today, I will celebrate this verse. "But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and full of unfailing love and mercy. You did not abandon them." That is a truth to celebrate: He will not abandon us even when we sin!
 
posted by jesse at 9:41 AM  
 
Fat Cats
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
 
Can the term “fat cats” actually be in the Bible? I guess it depends on which translation you are reading from. This last week I was read Psalm 73 out of the New Living Translation and verse 7 says, “These fat cats have everything their hearts could ever wish for!” I would call that a loose translation but it definitely caught my attention. This psalm from Asaph is a cry of frustration that I have can identify with. He is frustrated because he is striving for purity and righteousness in his life and he feels that because of that goal life is getting harder and harder. His actual statement is, “was it for nothing that I kept my heart pure and kept myself from doing wrong? All I get is trouble all day long; every morning brings me pain.” Yet he watches those around him who have no conscious for God and are living completely selfish lives often have little problems and are living the high life. So, he states, “These fat cats have everything their hearts could ever wish for!” He is screaming out to God, “this isn’t fair! Why are you continually blessing the wicked and allowing those who strive for Godliness to struggle in so many areas of life.”

I want you to know that I, as maybe some of you, have had that exact conversation with God. There are times that I feel that the hard work that goes into the pursuit of holiness isn’t equal to its rewards. It sounds so selfish when I write that out but it can be so frustrating at times because I see the ungodly receiving so many blessings. Then, as Asaph saw, I get a glimpse behind the scenes. Although it seems as though they are so blessed they are “…on a slippery path and will be sent sliding over the cliff to destruction (italics are mine).” Yes they may find some short term success but in the end when life is over they will face an eternity of suffering and I on the other had will be facing a “…glorious destiny.” So I find myself praying the prayer of Asaph, “I was so foolish and ignorant, I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you.” So, if you are facing difficulty in your pursuit of God and those around are seemingly living the high life as they ignore God, remember that we can not see behind the scenes. God will bless the holy and those who live wicked lives to the end will have to answer for that life.
 
posted by jesse at 11:34 AM  
 
"However"
Thursday, September 6, 2007
 
In my devotional life I have been reading through 2 Chronicles. Although I have read that book many times it still blows me away how simply defined success or failure for the kings of Judah was. It was either they “did evil in the eyes of the Lord” or they “did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight.” Those who did evil found great disaster not only for themselves and their families but also for the whole nation of Judah but for those who did what was pleasing in the sight of the Lord found great success.

With that said, even among the great kings who pleased the Lord it is very difficult to find a king of Judah who finished strong. This morning I was reading through the great faith of King Hezekiah in 2 Chronicles 32:30-31 that says “…he succeeded in everything he did. However…” After Hezekiah found great success from obeying God he then finished his life with great pride in all that he had accumulated materialistically and made a grave error in trusting in his riches instead of the Lord. His whole life was defined with great success and then at the end of his life it says, “However.” I thought about that a lot today. What will it take to live a life pleasing to the Lord without a “however?” Every single one of us can make one mistake that can turn a life of following God to a “however.” That means we all must rededicate our lives to the Lord everyday. We must find people in our lives that will hold us accountable to righteousness. And I believe that we must be very careful to never allow our success in faith to create complacency in pursuit of him. That, I believe, is where the “howevers” steal our ability to finish strong. I don’t know about you but I want my life’s story to say that “he did what was pleasing to the Lord all of his life, period. I don’t want a “however” at the end of my story.
 
posted by jesse at 4:07 PM  
 
Archives
September 2007
October 2007
 
other links
blog home