Saturday Night Musings

Just four days ago, Coach Andy Reid benched five-time Pro Bowl quarterback Donovan McNabb for the first time in his career at halftime of a 36-7 loss at Baltimore after throwing five interceptions and loosing two fumbles in his previous seven quarters.

McNabb said. “Adversity always happens in our position.” “It’s how you pull yourself out of it. I knew coming into this game if I just continued to be myself and know what I’m seeing out there and react, good things will happen.” Reid gave McNabb another chance and he responded by throwing four touchdown passes in a Philadelphia Eagles 48-20 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday night. Fox Sports, November 28, 2008

What do you do when you do not know what to do? When opposition mounts against you, obstacles are too high for you to hurdle, and all hope is taken way, what do you do? You keep on trusting in Him! Job was at high risk of rebounding having lost 11,500 head of live stock, most of his hired help were killed, all ten children are dead, and by all standards he is on his death bed. He was down for a ten count and was unable to stand back up.

Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.

Knowing that God is too wise to allow Satan to land a fatal blow and that he is so giving his grace will sustain you, you come to the realization that it is God who is permitting you to perish from the face of men. It is here you take comfort in knowing that it pleases the Lord to bruise you. It is here that you can embrace a level of spirituality that few men get to encounter. It is here in the belly of hell, when it appears you are no longer within his sights, keep looking to God and keep trusting in him.

When you face a Catch-22 and if God does not intervene, there is no help whatsoever. Keep on doing what you did when you were received in the Lord’s family. When the moment of truth came to you and you saw your self hanging on by a smoking flax over an eternal lake of fire, you placed your trust in God’s only begotten Son as your Savior. You could not merit deliverance by your good works; your only hope was faith alone in Him.

When you think the Lord is about to slay you, learn to pray as the Lord Jesus Christ prayed under Satan’s attack, Father, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. You will cry as he did when he said: My God, my God why have you forsaken me? And knowing you are in the will of God, you can say as he said: Father in to thy hands I commit my spirit.

It seems to me if we have been drawing from the well that has been blessed of God, then we can also trust him when the well goes dry. Bad things do happen to God’s people, adversity is part of the landscape, continue to be yourself and deal with it. No cry babies!

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63 questionnaire. If you want to work for President-elect Barack Obama’s administration, be prepared to spill almost everything there is to know about yourself. The questions cover everything from information on family members, Facebook pages, blogs and hired help to links to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, American International Group and troubled banks as well as lawsuits, gifts, resumes, loans and more–(CNN). The 63rd and final one is all-encompassing: “Please provide any other information, including information about other members of your family, that could suggest a conflict of interest or be a possible source of embarrassment to you, your family, or the president-elect.” By JACKIE CALMES THE NEW YORK TIMES

…how should man be just with God? Job 9:2

1 question.  This question is the question of all questions. It has been asked by millions and millions have come up with millions of answers. One question, one answer: JESUS!

Jesus Christ is the correct answer. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. Romans 5:1, 8

There is righteousness and it does not come by works to be approved by God. If so, there will always be those who will be ready to cast the first stone. Standing before a holy and righteous God can only be done by someone who is holy and righteous standing in your place as your substitute. That person stands on the behalf of all men. He has no respect of persons, there is no difference, and no one is ever forgotten. To have this representation before God, you must have faith in Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. This faith enables you to be safe, sealed, and secured under the shedding of His blood from the cross of Calvary.

This justification is grace on display. It has purchased redemption from the slave market of sin, released the captive, and set him free. God’s plan of redemption was in place before man ever sinned. It was through the forbearance of God that he gave his only begotten son who was slain before the foundation of the world to bring salvation to all men through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This plan alone justifies the justifier and leaves the recipient with absolutely no room to boast.

So…how should man be just with God? By faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

It seems to me it is much easier to go to heaven for eternity by answering God’s one question correctly than to go to the White House satisfying 63 questions for Mr. Obama for only four years!   

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Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. James 5:11

You have heard There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job and according to the Bible he was the greatest man in the east known among men. There was none like him by God’s comparisons. He was a man of integrity who lived righteously before men and was godly before God. He offended none by his lifestyle and was an example of the great blessings of health and wealth.

This man was the target of the blessings of God and the bruising of Satan. God took his hand of prosperity off of Job and Satan put his hand of pain upon him. In a moment of time, Job went from the possessions of abundance to a pile of ashes. His life turned from peace and assurance to pain and agony. His body was inflamed with boils, terrifying dreams, running tears, redness of the eyes, horrible breath, loss of weight, weakening of bones, and the peeling of the skin. Satan’s attack on Job under the sovereignty of God was not pretty. He lost it all! All that remained was a wife who wished he would die and friends who denounced him as a great sinner.

We all have heard of Job’s patience and have read the last chapter of the book. We are encouraged by his story to trust in God and endure hard times. That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises (Hebrews 6:12). Job’s latter end was blessed twice as much. He lived a life full of plenty and rejoiced in his family unto the fourth generation.

Be patient in praying for lost loved ones to come into the fold. Keep the throne of God hot for repentance and Godly sorrow to come from their broken hearts and a contrite spirit. Your rejoicing over their salvation will be twice the time spent in worry and fear.

Be patient when hard times hit. Trial and tribulations are part of the landscape. Be patient when you face the loss of retirement and investment accounts. Remember you brought nothing into this world and you will leave like you came.

Be patient after you have done the will of God. The promises of God have not lost their value nor will the Word of God return void. Faithful is He that promised.

Be patient unto the coming of the Lord. Remember a day is as a thousand years with the Lord. He has been away for 2,000 years; it seems like a couple of days! He’s coming!

It seems to me when you submit your will to the will of God and have faith in him, your hearts will not be troubled. You will experience joy in sorrow, life in death, strength in weakness, gain in loss, and victory in defeat. Herein lays the patience of Job.

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Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Does Job fear God for nothing?

Job 1:9 If on Monday morning you woke up and discovered all your retirement and investment accounts disappeared over night, would you have anything left? If you suddenly were diagnosed with an incurable disease, would you still retain a positive attitude about life? If one disaster followed another that affected your family and resources, would you question God’s promises? If your long time friends became critical and made condescending accusations about your integrity, would you loose self esteem and begin to loose hope? 

Satan is the accuser of the brethren. He seeks to devour all of you. He seeks to steal from you, and he wants to destroy you. If he can do this, he will have a leg up on God’s ability to keep and to protect you. Satan’s ultimate goal is not only to bring you down, but to bring God down. He wants to be God, sit where God sits, and control what God controls. His avenue to get to God is through the weakness of humanity.  The hedge that protects us when Satan is permitted to move his hand against us is not our resources, but the reasons we fear him. When all Lord gives is taken away, we will retain our integrity and not charge God foolishly. If all you have is God, then you can take on any amount of water in the ship! 

There was a man…named Job,…and one that feared God (Job 1:1). His substance made him the greatest of all men in his day. God said there is none like him in all the earth. Job was a Godly man and he knew the reasons why he feared God. In one day, his stock did not fall twenty percent, but it crashed to the bottom. In one day, 500 yoke of oxen were stolen by thieves. On that day, lightening fell from the sky and killed 7,000 sheep and his servants. Also on that day, his 3,000 camels were stolen and thieves killed all his all of his workers. Also on that day, a tornado touched down on his children and they were all killed. This day was Job’s worst nightmare. He later said: For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me (Job 3:25). 

Job’s reason to fear God was because he knew God’s will. He said: The Lord gave, and the lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.  

Job’s reason to fear God was that he worshipped God in spirit and in truth. The Father seeks such to worship him. Job did not worship God for what he got from God. Job worshipped God because He is worthy. Nothing in my hands I bring, only to him I cling! 

Job’s reason to fear God was because of his faith in God. In all  this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. Job believed God and righteousness was credited to him. 

It seems to me there are many reasons why we fear God. Our behavior will reveal how much we fear in Him. Those who fear him, live a life that is pleasing to him. Those who know him have nothing to fear no matter what.

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Is it cancer? Is it the loss of a child? A woman recently said: My greatest fear is that my rapist will be free from jail and come to attack me again. Your worst nightmare may yet have to happen even though you have just experienced a turn of events that you thought could not getter any worse.  

For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me. Job 3:25 

What was Job’s greatest fear? I’m not sure. I can only imagine! This Warren Buffet of his day had just lost all that men could loose. Could it be after Job lost it all, and had to live with the suffering of loosing it all?  Could it be living with never knowing why it was all taken away? Job’s greatest fear that has come upon him is anyone’s guess?  

Pardon me if I may ponder on this for a moment. My greatest fear would be… 

Loosing God’s favor in my life. Having the Lord’s hand upon me turning to the negative, would be a fear I would never want to experience. The fear of loosing His approval!  

Loosing my focus in the will of God. The gifts and the calling of God can never be repented of. To have the call of God on my life and to purposely let it go to the tank would be sheer misery and intolerable. Being irresponsible would bring this fear to a surface. 

Living to an age when bitterness can become an issue. Age sometimes can be a burden. I only hope I never see one single day of cynicism in my life. 

Facing my Heavenly Father not being prepared or ready is a great fear of mine.  

Loosing a burden to win souls would put me into a death basket. The only purpose driven reason why God has left me here is to win others to him. God spare me of this fear! 

Living alone without Jeanie is an ever present fear. I have never known a day that I have not known her. I fear living one second without her in my life. 

I fear to see the day in my life if my prayers for my family are never answered because of sin, or a tear no longer falls from my eyes over the lost, or failing to care for the poor.  

I fear never having a second opportunity for a failed moment to witness. 

It seems to me when your worst nightmare becomes a reality, you can trust the Holy Spirit to guide you and the wonderful grace of God to sustain you.

How does a foolish woman or a foolish man speak? They speak contrary to God’s will. They speak in lack of faith in God’s work. They speak as if there is no God.  

Mrs. Job witnessed her husband sitting on a pile of ashes smitten by Satan with boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. While broken hearted over loosing all her possessions and family, yet she speaks as if Satan were speaking through her: Curse God and die! Job says to his wife: “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks.” (NKJ) It is interesting; Mrs. Job is never heard of speaking again!  

People speak from the books they have read and the people they are associated with. When placed into leadership, they will either lead to higher levels of living or they will be the blind leading the blind straight into a ditch.  

Enter Mr. Barack Obama and notice his associations like those of William Ayres, who admitted bombing the Pentagon as part of a protest plot to overthrow the U.S. He has been a follower for more than 20 years of the anti-America, ill-hatred, radical Rev. Jeremiah Wright. He also is endorsed by anti-Semitic Louis Farrakhan. When you listen to the likes of these, you will speak as one of the foolish women. 

Mr. Obama speaks as one of the foolish women when he supports the death of a child in the mother’s womb. Denver’s Roman Catholic Archbishop Charles Chaput labeled Barack Obama the “most committed” abortion-rights candidate from a major party in 35 years.” Since Roe v Wade in 1973, this country alone has murdered a generation of babies. Someone needs to put a stop to this national sin. Mr. Obama will not stop this brutal atrocity if elected. If he becomes President, he will use our tax dollars to kill babies by way of abortion. A vote for Obama is voting against the 5^th Amendment of our Constitution!  

Mr. Obama opposes the Bible. Go to… www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FCNKwHRCQM and listen as he ridicules the Ten Commandments and makes light of the Sermon on the Mount.  America is one nation under God, not one nation or world under Mr. Barack Obama. When Mr. Obama criticizes the Bible, he speaks as one of the foolish women.

 This presidential candidate is against any state mandate defining marriages between one man and one woman. He would oppose Proposition 8 in California! Heterosexual marriages are right for California, and right for America.Mr. Obama speaks as one of the foolish women by opposing the Federal Defense of Marriage Act. 

It seems to me the only way to stop this foolish jangling is for the salt of the earth and the light of the world to show up on Tuesday, November 4, 2008 and vote. The Christian right will be heard; we will speak with a voice that will silence this blasphemous rhetoric from the far left to which will never be heard of again! Honor God and live!

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