HANDLING PAIN AND DIFFICULTY  For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea; therefore my words have been rash. —Job 6:3  Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. —Job 7:11              Feel Job’s pain. The weight of hurt he is carrying. He just lost all his animals, his livelihood. All his children died at the same time in a catastrophic even.   His wife encouraged him to curse God and then die —exactly what Satan wanted Job to do!             Job acknowledged that he is speaking rash.   He…

TRUST HIM!  There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. —Job 1:1  And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” —Job 1:8  But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your…

DESIRE’S PRIORITY  Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the day of the wrath of the LORD. In the fire of his jealousy, all the earth shall be consumed; for a full and sudden end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth. —Zephaniah 1:18              “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (Mark 8:36). Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. (Proverbs 11:4). So the question is— What am I living for? If I am living for riches alone— money and material wealth— then my focus is…

  WE LIVE BY FAITH!  But the righteous shall live by his faith. —Habakkuk 2:4  For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.  —Habakkuk 2:14  What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols!  Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake; to a silent stone, Arise! Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it. —Habakkuk 2:18-19              With all that is…

THINK PROPERLY ABOUT YOURSELF O LORD, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me, —Psalms 131:1 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. —Romans 12:3             We are not to be prideful or arrogant, but we are to think about ourselves correctly. God has distributed to each of us a measure of grace and faith.…

NONE CAN STAND IF HE KEEPS RECORD OF SIN!   If you, LORD, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? —Psalms 130:3             Of course the answer is— nobody. One sin, just one would be enough for our Lord to judge us and we would wind up in hell. Just one sin could do this. We do not understand the depravity and wickedness of sin before a perfectly pure and just God. He cannot have anything to do with sin. It is utterly abhorrent to Him. No person who has not called on the Name of Jesus to be saved will be forgiven (Romans 10:13). Forgiveness only comes through…

LEADERSHIP FOR MONEY GRUBBING  Its heads give judgment for a bribe; its priests teach for a price; its prophets practice divination for money; yet they lean on the LORD and say, “Is not the LORD in the midst of us? No disaster shall come upon us.” —Micah 3:11              Leaders, whether they government or religious, so many times are in their positions for financial gains. Many government leaders manipulate and bribe for their own personal gain. They are not interested in the welfare of the people, but only in their own welfare. They should not be in office! There are also religious leaders who are also only focused on their…

A JONAH OR A JOHN   “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” —Jonah 3:4              Jonah… he surely was not obedient to God’s call on his life… initially. Then after God brought literal storms in his life Jonah was obedient to God’s desire— he went to Nineveh… reluctantly.   He was obedient, but it was obedience with an attitude. It was not a loving obedience to God, nor was his obedience out of love for the Nineties.   He was being obedient, but not with the right attitude.             Even with a wrong attitude and a brief message— “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown” (Jonah 3:4) —God…

GOD’S GIFT OF CHILDREN  Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. —Psalm 127:3              Children are a gift from our Lord and an extension of His grace. As with any gift from God, “How are we stewarding these precious gifts He has given?” Children are meant to be a blessing, not a burden. But today there are many who see children as a burden and not a blessing. If people truly believed that children were a gift from God and a blessing from Him they would not— Be aborting these blessings in the womb Be giving others responsibility for educating these blessings…

SOW HIS SEED, EXPECT A HARVEST!  Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him. —Psalm 126:5-6  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2DlsMtjPlw&list=PLApeJb99y-r-JRrQbua5KHmLNB3oq-IDc&index=38             Be faithful in sowing the seed of God’s Word.   Have a passionate heart for the lost.   They are headed for hell without Jesus.   This should bring us great sorrow.   But let us go out with His seed and plant and water it. He is the one who causes that seed to grow. We cannot make it grow, but He has given us the responsibility…