Thought from today’s Bible reading from Job 1-5.
“Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).
It is typically easier and more natural to praise God during times of blessing and prosperity. Yet this was not the occasion with Job. He had just received word that his sons and daughters and much of his wealth was gone. All of this was unexpected. Satan was sure this would provoke Job to curse the Lord (Job 1:11). Yet notice Job’s response to this great calamity:
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Thought from today’s Bible reading from Genesis 1-3.
“God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:10).
Six times, the record of Creation tells us that God saw His work as good. These came after God created or ordered something – the creation of light (v. 3-4), separation of the dry land from the seas (v. 9-10), creation and growth of plants (v. 11-12), ordering of the sun, moon, and stars (v. 14-18), creation of sea life and birds (v. 20-21), and the creation of land animals (v. 24-25). At each point, the text indicates that God saw His progress and that it was good.
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As Paul concluded his epistle to the Romans, he praised God for His ability to establish them (Romans 16:25-27). This means He was able to make them strong, complete, and equipped to follow Him and to face the trials that exist in this life. Is God able to establish us today? If so, how?
Earlier in this letter, Paul expressed a desire to come to them in Rome: “For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established” (Romans 1:11). What were these spiritual gifts that Paul would impart to them in order to establish them? These miraculous gifts of the Spirit are enumerated in the first letter to Corinth and included such gifts as knowledge, prophecy, and the ability to speak in tongues (1 Corinthians 12:7-11). Do we need to have some miraculous spiritual gift in order to be established today? If so, we are in trouble because Paul later said that such miraculous spiritual gifts would be “done away” and replaced with the completed revelation in the word of God (1 Corinthians 13:8-10). This is what we need in order to be established today – the word of God. In our text, Paul described the word in several different ways, showing how it is able to establish us.
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Our struggling economy took another hit when the United States’ credit rating was downgraded for the first time in history. This sent the stock market tumbling and made many people even more anxious about the future. Whether this is just a bump in the road or the trigger to the economic downfall of the United States remains to be seen. But even during uncertain times like these, we should be reminded of some important reasons why we ought to praise God.
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Jesus’ story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) is fairly well-known to most Bible students. One man lived a life of luxury but found himself in torments after he died. The other was a poor beggar in this life yet was comforted after death in a place of paradise.
Once in torments, the rich man appealed to Abraham to allow Lazarus to go to his brothers and warn them of the punishment that awaited them (Luke 16:27-28). Since the rich man ended up in this undesirable place, it would be good for us to notice this man’s sins that Jesus mentioned in this passage. These are a few of the things we need to avoid if we want to escape the terrible fate that belonged to this man.
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When the economy is weak and the future is uncertain, gold is a wise investment. You have probably heard something to this effect in advertisements from companies trying to sell you gold. We have seen the price of gold skyrocket over the past few years. With conditions the way they are, that trend may very well continue. If so, then one buying gold could simply be acting as a good steward of the blessings he has received. But we must be careful that we do not cross the line between stewardship and trusting in gold or anything else. Notice what Job said about this:
“If I have put my confidence in gold, and called fine gold my trust, if I have gloated because my wealth was great, and because my hand had secured so much; if I have looked at the sun when it shone or the moon going in splendor, and my heart became secretly enticed, and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth, that too would have been an iniquity calling for judgment, for I would have denied God above” (Job 31:24-28).
The question of whether or not gold is a wise investment is better answered elsewhere and by someone who is more qualified than I am to give financial advice. But I do know what the Scriptures teach about gold, riches, and wealth and how we are to perceive them.
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While the Jews were in Babylonian captivity, King Nebuchadnezzar made a huge, golden statue and commanded the people of every nation and language to fall down and worship the image when they would hear the sound of the music. Those who refused would be cast into a furnace of fire (Daniel 3:1-6).
Most of the people complied with the king’s order and worshiped the image at the prescribed times (Daniel 3:7). However, three young men – Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego – did not (Daniel 3:12). These men were among the Jews who had been taken captive and were companions of Daniel (Daniel 1:6-7). They now found themselves before an angry king:
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What does “propitiation” mean? How is “justification” connected to salvation? What does “sanctification” look like in our day-to-day lives? The Bible uses some powerful words to describe God’s plan to save mankind. However, these words are not always easy to understand, especially when they are not part of our everyday vocabulary. This book explores key Bible terms that unlock the message of the gospel.
Big Words in the Bible examines five important words – Propitiation, Reconciliation, Sanctification, Justification, and Resurrection – using plain language to see how the Scriptures describe these concepts and how the apostle Paul employs them in his letter to the Romans. This book also contains an appendix with eleven additional articles to explore these topics further.
Whether you are new to the Bible and want to grow in your understanding or want a simple way to explain these core gospel doctrines to others, this book will be helpful. With a focus on the Scriptures, Big Words in the Bible helps break down these fundamental topics to shed light on the life-changing message of the gospel and the salvation found in it.
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