Job doesn’t accuse God of being absent, but of being too present. He doesn’t blame his suffering on being forsaken by the Lord as most would do. No. He questions why God would be so interested in such weak, temporal things as man. Out of all of creation, why would God care so much for us? Job had lost nearly everything that he loved, yet he did not lose his faith in God. Like Jacob, he wrestled with God for answers, but did not doubt the One who made him walk with a limp.
Job worshiped the Lord both in happiness and in the midst of suffering. He recognized that all good comes from the Lord. When he lost all that he had, he did not lose his faith. In this, his faith was tested and found genuine. How we face good and bad times reveals the true nature of our faith. How is this season of life affecting your faith?
Commit what? Everything. Trust God with what? Everything. And what will God do? He will help you in everything. What does it mean to “commit” something to the Lord? It means to put it in His hands, to put His Name on it. Have you committed everything to Jesus? Have you trusted your all-in-all to Him? Your possessions? Your hopes and dreams? Your kids? Your spouse? Your schooling or job? What are you doing or owning or desiring that you haven’t turned over to God? Stop holding back and trying to control things yourself. Commit all to Jesus, all to Him, surrender. You can trust Him. He will help.
There is diversity of spiritual gifting, but one Spirit. Many parts, one body. If the church is behaving in a crippled manner, isn’t it because certain parts of the body aren’t active? Not that they aren’t present, but that they aren’t obedient to the Head, which is Christ? When the members of the body of Christ fail to do their part, the body falls short of its calling. But when every member moves in unity according to gifting, the church fulfills its calling. What if the church isn’t being the church because you aren’t being the member of its body you were gifted to be?
The book of Esther is unique not in what it names, but in what it doesn’t. For the name of God is not mentioned. Yet clearly, God can be seen between the lines of every chapter. When God’s people find themselves under persecution, they often feel that God has abandoned them. They don’t see that He is at work behind the scenes. Esther, whose Hebrew name was Hadassah, became the queen of Persia, not by accident, but by God’s purpose in order to save the Jews from genocide. This little orphaned Jewish girl was adopted by her cousin Mordecai and chosen by King Xerxes to be Queen. She was the winner of the king’s Miss Universe contest. Her Persian name, Esther, means “star” (the word “aster” as in “asteroid,” is derived from the same root.). She was indeed a “star” in Persia and in the history of the Jews, as God used her to influence Xerxes decision to save them. Why has God given you your position of influence? Perhaps it’s for more than you think.
Nehemiah organized the Levite singers and musicians into two groups and had them march along the top of the newly restored wall, singing and playing as they went. After circling the entire city of Jerusalem, the two choirs converged onto the Temple courts still singing and playing loudly. The sound of their joyous celebration could be heard from far away. Can you imagine being among that happy throng as they filled the air with praise? When a work is finished, celebration is in order. For us, Christ has finished the work of salvation and our entire lives should be marked by worship and praise. Let our celebration of God’s Son be heard among the nations!
Paul addressed the tension between the believer’s freedom and the believer’s responsibility in this passage to the Corinthians. The church at Corinth had become almost antinomian in its celebration of freedom. They wanted no limitation on their behavior. Paul reminded them that their freedom in Christ was limited by its impact on others and on the glory of God. You may be allowed to do anything, but… 1) Is it good for you? 2) Is it beneficial or edifying to yourself and others? 3) Will it bring glory to God? or can you do it to the glory of God? 4) Will it help or hinder the gospel? It is true that we are no longer under law, but under grace. Yet this liberty is not the freedom to sin, but to live righteously for Christ. It is the freedom to live in love.. loving God and loving others as your self.
Some have referred to this as the Pauline Principle, the strategy being to adapt methods to the hearer while maintaining the integrity of the message. When Paul was in Athens he used their monument to the “unknown god” to help illustrate the gospel to them. When talking to a Jewish audience he quoted the Mosaic Law. When speaking to the Greeks he quoted their Greek philosophers. Paul shared the gospel in the language and culture of his hearer, rather than expecting the hearer to adapt to his culture and language. The Gospel MESSAGE is never-changing and must be guarded. But Gospel METHODS should be flexible to reach this ever-changing world.
This is how the people of God responded to the Word of God being opened after they had rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. How we respond to the Book reveals much about our hearts. For some, the Bible is just a collection of myths and human sayings. For others, it is a good book, yet still not to be taken too literally. Yet, for others, it is the very Word of God, worthy of study, meditation, memorization and application to their lives. Does your heart stand up to hear the Word? Does your tongue utter, “Amen,” at its reading. Does your will bow down to follow its instruction?
What “strengthens” the church? Love. This does not discount the importance of knowledge, nor of good doctrine in the church. But it does clarify their priority. Love is superior. Let love guide and motivate the use of knowledge. As Paul said in Eph. 4:15, “Speak the truth in love.” An old cliché suggests, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” Let others know that they are loved, then perhaps they’ll ask about the reason. Knowledge may win arguments, but love wins hearts.