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Published 8/21/19 Read Job 20:20 " Because he knew no contentment in his belly, he will not let anything in which he delights escape him. " Reflect • Is discontentment pulling you down? • Discontentment diverts our energies to things that are here today and gone tomorrow. What are some steps you can take to move through it? • True contentment comes from inside as the Holy Spirit transforms us to be more like Jesus. What can you do that will enable the Lord to work in your l

Published 8/20/19 Read Job 19:25 " For I know that my redeemer lives, and in the end he will stand on the earth." Reflect • How does knowing God is always with you provide comfort when others abandon you? • Some people will turn away from you when you are hurting. The reasons vary but often have little to do with you. What can you do to cope with the rejection? • Even when friends and family walk away, your Redeemer remains with you. Does this truth comfort you? (Please exp

Published 8/19/19 Read Job 18:16-21 "His roots dry up beneath, and his branches wither above. His memory perishes from the earth, and he has no name in the street. He is thrust from light into darkness, and driven out of the world. He has no posterity or progeny among his people, and no survivor where he used to live. They of the west are appalled at his day, and horror seizes them of the east. Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous, such is the place of him who k

Published 8/16/19 Read Job 17:1-5 "My spirit is broken; my days are extinct; the graveyard is ready for me. Surely there are mockers about me, and my eye dwells on their provocation. "Lay down a pledge for me with you; who is there who will put up security for me? Since you have closed their hearts to understanding, therefore you will not let them triumph. He who informs against his friends to get a share of their property--the eyes of his children will fail." Reflect • C

Published 8/15/19 Read Job 16:18-22 "Earth, do not cover my blood; may my cry never be laid to rest! Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high. My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God; on behalf of a man he pleads with God as one pleads for a friend." Reflect • Do you believe that accepting our brokenness is the first step toward healing? • When we accept that all are broken, we can put away all the junk that gets in the way--our efforts

Published 8/14/19 Read Job 15:2-6 "Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind? Should he argue in unprofitable talk, or in words with which he can do no good? But you are doing away with the fear of God and hindering meditation before God. For your iniquity teaches your mouth, and you choose the tongue of the crafty. Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; your own lips testify against you." Reflect • What are some steps you can ta

Published 8/13/19 Read Job 14:1-2 "Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble. He comes out like a flower and withers; he flees like a shadow and continues not." Reflect • In spite of life's troubles, are you able to put your trust in God? • Jesus knows there will be hardships and times when we wish we could go back to "safer" ground. During those moments, do you remind yourself that He is there for us? (Please explain.) • Do you believe that He'll help u

Published 8/12/19 Read Job 13:26-28 "For you write bitter things against me and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth. You put my feet in the stocks and watch all my paths; you set a limit for the soles of my feet. Man wastes away like a rotten thing, like a garment that is moth-eaten." Reflect • Are you taking everything personally? • Pain tests the faith of even mature believers. What are some things we can do to cope? • We must not let the graffiti and noise of this

Published 8/9/19 Read Job 12:13 "With God are wisdom and might; he has counsel and understanding." Reflect • Where do you seek wisdom? • Understanding that God is all-wise frees us to seek the answers to our questions from only Him. Why is this important? • Trusting God's wisdom in the midst of our pain helps us to heal and grow. Why do you think this is so? A few years ago, scientist Dr. Martin Hilbert at the University of South Carolina calculated how much information th

Published 8/8/19 Read Job 11:13-15 "If you prepare your heart, you will stretch out your hands toward him. If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away, and let not injustice dwell in your tents. Surely then you will lift up your face without blemish; you will be secure and will not fear." Reflect • Can you work your way to an easy life? • The desire of health, comfort, and prosperity can fuel a perfectionistic attitude. Why do you think this is so? • Looking for perfection

Published 8/7/19 Read Job 10:18-19 "Why did you bring me out from the womb? Would that I had died before any eye had seen me and were as though I had not been, carried from the womb to the grave." Reflect • How is your pain blinding you to the joys in your life? • Job's pain prompted him to plead with God for understanding. It also blinded him to any of the joy he had experienced in the past or that might come in the future. Can you relate? (Please explain.) •We can help ot

Published 8/6/19 Read Job 9:2-7 "Truly I know that it is so: But how can a man be in the right before God? If one wished to contend with him, one could not answer him once in a thousand times. He is wise in heart and mighty in strength--who has hardened himself against him, and succeeded?--he who removes mountains, and they know it not, when he overturns them in his anger, who shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble; who commands the sun, and it does not

Published 8/5/19 Read Job 8:20-22 "Behold, God will not reject a blameless man, nor take the hand of evildoers. He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouting. Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked will be no more." Reflect • If bad things will happen anyway, why still follow God? • The temptation to turn away from God may be especially strong when we are hurting. Has this been true for you? Why or why not? (Please

Published 8/2/19 Read Job 7:1-3 "Do not mortals have hard service on earth? Are not their days like those of hired laborers? Like a...

Published 8/1/19 Read Job 6:4 For the arrows of the Almighty are in me; my spirit drinks their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed...

Published 7/31/19 Read Job 5:20-27 "In famine he will redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword. You shall be...

Published 7/30/19 Read Job 5:17-19 "Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves; therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty. For he wounds, but he binds up; he shatters, but his hands heal. He will deliver you from six troubles; in seven no evil shall touch you." Reflect • What's the difference between worldly fear and the fear of the Lord? • Are you confident that believers walk with the protection of our Lord Jesus Christ? (Please explain.) • Even though God ca

Published 7/29/19 Read Job 5:8-11 "As for me, I would seek God, and to God would I commit my cause, who does great things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number: he gives rain on the earth and sends waters on the fields; he sets on high those who are lowly, and those who mourn are lifted to safety." Reflect • Are you willing to wait patiently as you bring your requests to God? • Why is it important to not expect immediate answers? • What are some ways that you ca

Published 7/26/19 Read Job 5:1-7 "Call now; is there anyone who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn? Surely vexation kills the fool, and jealousy slays the simple. I have seen the fool taking root, but suddenly I cursed his dwelling. His children are far from safety; they are crushed in the gate, and there is no one to deliver them. The hungry eat his harvest, and he takes it even out of thorns, and the thirsty pant after his wealth. For affliction does

Published 7/25/19 Read Job 4:20 Between morning and evening they are beaten to pieces; they perish forever without anyone regarding it. Reflect • How can you avoid religious small talk? • Why is it important to avoid slipping into religious small talk when trying to comfort others? • Our words should encourage and build each other up in the faith. Do you agree? (Please explain.) As Eliphaz described his vision, it is easy to see why it was frightening to him. He pointed out

Published 7/24/19 Read Job 4:12 Now a word was brought to me stealthily; my ear received the whisper of it. Reflect • How do you protect yourself from loose Bible interpretations? • Eliphaz attempted to advise Job based on his visions and dreams, which he believed were from God. To know what God really said, we must carefully search the Scriptures ourselves, rather than relying on often loose interpretations from others. Is this your approach? (Please explain.) • What are s

Published 7/23/19 Read Job 4:8 As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same. Reflect • Is your view of God limited by your own box of beliefs? • It's tempting to believe in a just world--that good things only happen to good people and bad things only happen to bad people. What should we do when bad things happen to good people? • When we ignore truths about God, we limit our relationship with him. Do you believe this? (Please explain.) As Eliphaz co

Published 7/22/19 Read Job 4:2 If one ventures a word with you, will you be impatient? Yet who can keep from speaking? Reflect • When is "good advice" best kept to yourself? • Why is it never wise to offer unsolicited advice as you attempt to comfort someone who is hurting? • What's the best way to comfort someone who is hurting? Job's friends sat with him in silence and listened to his lament before God until Eliphaz found he could no longer hold his tongue. He began by ac

Published 7/19/19 Read Job 3:25-26 "What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me. I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil." Reflect • How has God helped you during times of turmoil? • Do you believe that God has not abandoned you? In times of distress, call out to Him, and He will give you the power of the Holy Spirit. He will help you handle whatever it is that you must face. • Do you hold tight to our hope in Jesus? That's what