"That Which I Feared Most Has Come Upon Me" (Job 3:25)

The story of Job is one of the oldest in Scripture. Written probably during the patriarchal period, Job is a story of profound importance, for it speaks to a specific aspect of human suffering. Job was a righteous man, but as the story reveals, far from perfect. He was also a man of great piety and religious commitment, so much so that he even offered sacrifices to God for his children, who appear to have not been living for the Lord. The Scriptures also reveal that Job was always worried in the back of his mind that his good fortune could change, for he was a man blessed beyond measure, but like so many, Job assumed that his religious piety would serve to prevent any of life’s misfortune. The story goes on to reveal that Job’s real problem was not so much the suffering he experienced, as much as it was the attitude of self-righteousness he carried wherever he went. The story of Job speaks only briefly to his actual ailment, but devotes chapter after chapter to the attitude he maintained during his misfortune. This attitude becomes clearer throughout the narrative, as the author digs deeper into an explanation for Job’s misfortune. Job, throughout his ordeal, proclaims his goodness, his integrity, and his righteousness. Instead of looking inside, Job beats his chest, and accuses the God of heaven of acting in an unrighteous manner. Think for a moment about the heart of any man who could think God would owe him an apology as Job did. Thus was the heart of Job. The story is not about the patience of Job at all, it is about the self-righteousness of Job. When Jobs faith is put to the test, he fails miserably. Job did not curse God as his wife suggested, but rather does something far worse, he implies that the God of heaven is unjust, unfair, and by inference unholy, especially to allow this to happen to a man as good as he! As Job cries out to God, “you know that I am not wicked,” he was revealing to all, the true depths of his depravity and the answer to his misfortune. Certainly, a truly pious man would know, “there is none good, no not one.”  Should Job have been consumed in his trial and perished at the hand of God Himself, the truth was God would have been justified, for Job was no less vile than any man who had ever lived before him. Fortunately for Job his misfortune, serves to open his eyes to the true nature of the God in heaven, who does nothing, nor allows anything to occur without a purpose. As Job falls to his knees and repents in dust and ashes, he admits he knows little of God, and that truly he is a vile man, undone, and desperately in need of forgiveness. The point of the whole story of Job is summed up in his closing words, Job declares to the Lord, “before I knew you only by the hearing of the ear, but now I see you for the first time.” Job was actually ignorant of the God he thought he served, until this great misfortune happened upon him. Jobs misfortune actually served to rescue his soul and gave him an understanding of the Lord, of which before now he knew nothing. It appears that Job’s misfortune caused him to seek God in earnest for the first time and so in the end Job saw his suffering as an act of mercy and love by the God who created him!

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Rev. Joel M McDuffie Jr.

Carnal Words

The most carnal words a believer can utter are, “I don’t care what other people think.” Did you ever stop to consider that it was what you thought about Jesus that contributed to your turning towards Him? We must never forget that we are drawn to everything that Jesus is and it is all based on what we think about Him. What people think about you should always be a priority in your life. Now you may ask why, or think to yourself I don’t care what anybody thinks but God, and that is my point! God cares greatly what people think of you, because you are His ambassador here on earth. If you are a believer you represent Jesus, plain and simple. There is often an arrogance that is associated with believers, which is not becoming of the Savior they follow. You can bet that people have an opinion of you and it is probably more closely aligned to what Jesus thinks as well. We may all have opinions, but they do not create themselves in a vacuum. There is a reason why people think about you what they do. Never forget that the Christian faith itself is built upon one thing and one thing alone, what we have come to think about Jesus and it is no less important that the world think the same thing about you it has come to understand about Him.

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Birth Pangs

Birth Pangs

Matthew 24 is a sobering chapter in Scripture. Upon being asked about the end of the world, Jesus proceeded to describe a time on earth of unbelievable pain and suffering, so great that if time were not shortened by the Lord Himself, no flesh would be spared. Although it sounds both traumatic and dire, our world has always been in the throes of turmoil and suffering. The first world before the flood only lasted some 1650 years or so. Within 500 years of the flood, man was back to building the Tower of Babel and God was raining fire and brimstone down on Sodom and Gomorrah. Since the flood, over the past 3,400 plus years, humanity has been at peace for only a fraction of them, actually only about 8 percent of recorded history. It is a grave miscalculation to think that our world is getting worse, for it has always been as we see it today. The first murder was in the first family and man’s heart is the same today as it was then. Jesus spoke of the birth pangs of planet earth. These were pains the earth would feel due to the wickedness of man and a world slowly unraveling. As it was before the flood, so it is today. The world is not getting more evil, there are just more and more evil people living in it. As good is diminished, evil abounds more and more. As society slowly removes those instruments of good and righteousness from its midst, an ever increasing number of lawless, godless souls will fill its ranks. Over time, like the leaven Jesus spoke of, it will leaven the whole lump. Birth pangs are nature’s indicator of something greater about to take place. In this case, an indicator of a world about to give birth to an era in human history that no words are capable of describing. Only two elements are necessary to bring the world to an end, man and time, nothing more. As we look around at the world and the pangs being caused by evil everywhere, they are meant to be a reminder, a reminder to get ready for the inevitable!

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The World to Bring About the Best of All Worlds

The World to Bring About the Best of All Worlds

As we look at our world we are confronted with unimagined evil, pain, and suffering. Some as a result find it impossible to see behind it all a God of love, but this comes about chiefly because we tend to see everything through the individual moments of our circumstances, rather than stepping back and looking at the big picture. To understand our world better we need to look at what is left, when all is said and done. When the heavens and earth melt with fervent heat and the universe that declares the glory of God is no more, only two things will remain…sheep and goats, wheat and tares, two doors leading into eternity, one to a new heaven and new earth, the other to an unimaginable place the Scriptures call Hell. The Scriptures tell us that when God created the earth and placed man upon it, His desire, was to bring out of it a redeemed people. These purchased by His blood, would belong to Him legally and rightfully, but at the same time they would surrender to Him willfully. The question we must ask is, what kind of world is needed to bring about a redeemed people? What kind of world will manifest the best in people, develop the greater virtues, and cause them to long and seek those things that are above. By creating a world where evil could exists, good could now stand in stark contrast. By allowing a world where fear could abound, courage and bravery could now exist alongside. Suffering would allow for acts of selflessness, mercy, and compassion. In a world where evil could exist, it would exist as the antithesis of everything wholesome and good, a picture of everything God is not. You see we know and appreciate the greater good by experiencing the consequences of evil. We long for God because we live in a world that manifests the fruits of an existence without Him. We long for heaven by living in the Hell we have created. We may not fully understand now why we go through all we do, but we can be assured, that although this is not the best of all worlds, in God’s wisdom it is the best world to achieve the best of all worlds. A benevolent God would and will remove evil once and for all, and with it, like gold refined in a furnace, in time, He will remove from an evil world a redeemed people, prepared like fine gold, to dwell with Him forever!

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