God Speaks to Job

I have just finished reading the book of a Job. Job’s so called friends had been giving him some bad advice. At the end of the book God enters the conversation.

Then the Lord God spoke to Job out of the storm:  “Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself?...Who is able to stand against me? Who has a claim against me that I should pay? Everything under heaven belongs

to me.

God was confronting Job telling him to act like a man and consider who he was. He was not the god that the three friends had been portraying as the Almighty God. God asked many other questions for Job to think about which when answered correctly would reveal God’s awesome power and his sovereignty. Job’s response was the response that everyone should give.

Job replied, “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.” Many things are attributed to God today by people who are self centered, glory seeking, angry, misinformed, and ignorant of things of our God. People fall for their lies and contribute to the wealth of these false prophets. I can think of a few seen on TV the every week, one in particular who pastor’s a mega church, and smiles a lot because he wants to convince us that everybody is going to heaven and everything is great.

Job got it! He understood. He said, “My ear has heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” Job humbled himself in the presence of God. Many so called men of God need to humble themselves before God and repent. All of us need to remain humble recognizing the power and sovereignty of our loving God. Men need to man up and be true men of God. Today people do discredit the justice of God. They do condemn the ways and laws of God in order to justify their sins. They do defy God and stand against him. We see it in the movements and protests which are applauded by the majority of our society.

Yes, Job got it and God rewarded him. It’s time that we “get it” and receive God’s eternal reward that we have in Jesus.

Sheep and Their Shepherd

The one who penned the words, “The Lord is my Shepherd”, had himself been a shepherd. Young David tended sheep. He knew his sheep, loved them, cared for them, protected them, and no doubt knew exactly what they needed. He was good at his job. As he sat on a hillside watching the sheep thinking about his responsibility as a shepherd he must have concluded, “My sheep have it made. I have made sure that they are safe, and fed, and watered, and that they do not wander off and get lost. My sheep have everything they need.”

What a great experience for a young boy! A farm boy can learn many wonderful things about life growing up in the country and working on a farm. Those experiences are never forgotten. When David was older and he began to have adult experiences consisting of terrible failures, incredible successes, deep sorrows, frightening fears, confusing doubts, all the things we experience in life, he thought, ‘Hey, I’m just like a sheep, and the Lord is my Shepherd. You know, there is not one thing that I need. God takes care of me. He knows exactly what I need.’

Years later a man came along and he said, I am the good Shepherd.” He looked out at the multitude of people on the hillside, the towns of his day, and I believe at every person from that time to now, and he said, “They are like sheep without a shepherd. They have gone astray, they are lost and if I don’t get them to come with me to the sheep pen they will die.” His heart was broken because he loved human sheep two thousand years ago, and he loves all of us today, stubborn, self centered sheep.  He loved sheep so much that he was willing to lay down his life for them, and he did. Jesus, the only good Shepherd, told the sheep, “Follow me! I am the Way, the only way. I am the Light that will guide you to a new life where you will always be safe. There is no need for you to worry or fear anything. I am your savior. You shall not want. I will never leave you. I am all you need.”

Isn’t it comforting knowing that no matter what our status, poor or  rich, black or white, old or young, lost or found, we have the same good Shepherd who loved us enough to die for us and provide us with everything we really need?

Wise Counseling

Yesterday I was traveling down Capital Boulevard on my way to Lowes. Capital is one of the busiest most dangerous streets in the Raleigh area. I took the highway 98 exit and prepared to turn left. I was the first car in that lane approaching the stop light. As I neared the light a little red car turned left onto the ramp and was heading right toward me. I noticed a panicked look on that lady driver’s face as she began slowing down. It appeared that she realized her mistake, but I wasn’t sure. I eased my car to the left so that she would not be able to continue on down the ramp to meet the oncoming traffic on Capital.  When she stopped her car I moved forward, put my window down and said, “Ma’am, I guess you know you are going the wrong way.” Of course she did! I’m not sure exactly what her answer was, but I know it wasn’t nice. She did turn around and headed back in the right direction.

This lady didn’t need me to tell her she was going the wrong way. But had she not known, and continued in the direction she was going the result of her decision would have most likely been tragic. Afterwards I was thinking about how even when we think we are going in the right direction in making life decisions it is good to have someone ask us, “Are you sure you are heading in the right direction?” We are blessed if there is a wise person in our lives who loves us and cares about us who will help us evaluate the big decisions we have to make. Everyone needs wise counsel.

Think of the great men and women of the Bible who made tragic decisions because they refused to heed wise counsel. King David had the prophet of God to guide him, but he decided to take another man’s wife after lusting for her when he should have known better. We read of other kings, some of the prophets, many of God’s chosen leaders, and the disciples who made terrible decisions that caused much pain for others and for themselves. All of them had access to the greatest Counselor the world has known, but refused to listen. And if you are like me you too have headed off in the wrong direction without seeking God’s will. Maybe, like me, you refused to listen to someone who tried to give you good advice. I have wished many times that I could go back and change those bad decisions I made because I didn’t listen to wise counsel.

We don’t always get stopped on the highway of life when we are going the wrong way. Not all of the decisions we have to make are as obvious as the wrong way choice that lady made yesterday as she was meeting me head on. That is why before it’s too late that we need to pray for guidance and be willing to listen to others that God may be sending our way to point us in the right direction. And if they tell you that you are going the wrong way, be nice. Don’t be like that woman who spoke unkind words to me even as I was trying to be helpful. I don’t care if you are going the right way and know it, be kind and thank them for caring.

Thinking About Old Things in Boxes

She had several photo albums, the oldest ones filled with pictures from way before my time. There were pictures of classy, beautiful, young women dressed in nice dresses and hats and gloves. They reminded me of those old movie stars of the 1940’s. Looking through those brown tattered pages of old black and white pictures my mom became a completely different person. Beautiful, young, just a girl enjoying life, being silly, daring perhaps, with her crazy girlfriends having fun, boy friends I never knew, but mostly with the young man I knew as daddy.  I could see a special glow in her eyes that reminded me of my mom.

I could tell from the way mom had placed all of her pictures, with funny little notes handwritten underneath or even sometimes on the picture that every one of them were special to her. One picture of a man bending over and focused on his backside had the caption, “Wallace’s butt”. Mom was always precisely descriptive, leaving out no detail, when she described anything. Her love for her friends and family was undeniably evident in every aspect of her life. She saved church bulletins, newspaper clippings of obituaries, wedding announcements, special events, sporting events, things written about our family, kids from church, and she had saved them after these kids were grown and had children of their own. She even had saved the two narrow strips of material from an alteration of the pants to the suit my dad was buried in. My mom had boxes of all kinds of these things.

For years I have tried to honor my mother’s memory by keeping her special items. But now that I am getting older, and knowing that most of these things will mean nothing to my children or my brother’s children I wonder what I should do with them. We have carried her mementos on our last four of five moves. Most of them had remained in the boxes in which they were originally packed. I think there comes a time when we have to part with sentimental items from an era beyond our time. I have begun the purge.  My mother has been in heaven, I believe since fourteen years ago today. I’m sure she is not the least bit concerned about those two strips of material from my dad’s burial pants. He has been in heaven for over forty-six years and now she is with him. The greatest memory of my mom and my dad is the memory that they loved Jesus. That’s all that really matters. I miss my mom and my dad.

One of God’s Greatest Blessings

Remember in elementary school how there was always that “best” friend? Now that you are much older is that kid still your best friend? I’m sure many can say yes to that question. But more than likely that person is not even a part of your life now. Many of us have moved far away from those elementary school  friends or they have moved away. Isn’t it strange how we couldn’t imagine, at that age, that in our adult years living life would separate us from those we thought would always be near.

I believe that God designs friendships. Possibly, even when we were in elementary school with that best friend whom we thought would always be with us, God was already arranging for us to meet someone who lived hundreds of miles away to become our special friend. When Sherri and I were at seminary, 900 miles away from every friend we had, God gave us two new best friends. There in Ft. Worth Texas we knew absolutely no one. On our first Sunday morning we randomly picked a church to visit. We were taken to a random class of adults our age. We randomly choose seats behind a couple who blended in with every other couple. As it turned out they were exactly our age, had children the age of our children and they had connections in Russellville Kentucky, our home town. The lady’s sister lived there. Sheri had taught one of her sister’s daughters. We knew her sister and her brother-in-law, who was a minister in the same association that my previous church was in.

Christi and David immediately became our newest best friends. It was like God introduced us that morning: “Brady’s I want you to meet the Stinson’s. Thirty years ago when Christi lived in west Texas and David was growing up in San Antonio I knew that you would need each other, and that today I would have you meet in Ft. Worth at this church. You will be best friends and maintain this friendship even though you will be separated by many miles some day.” I’m not sure God would have said it that way, but that is how it has turned out. We continue to maintain that friendship with the Stinsons. We see each other every year for a week. They will be visiting us in October.

Friends are a tremendous blessing from God. I don’t think it was by chance that the person or persons that are your friends just happened in your life. God put you and them together because he knew that both of you needed a great friend. Thank God for your friends. Good friends are truly a heavenly blessing.

Wounded and Bitter

I am almost certain that I had rather be wounded physically than to be wounded emotionally. I would bet my farm if I had one that several reading this post has been or is now suffering because someone has hurt you and left you devastated. You are bitter and are having revengeful thoughts toward the one who has wounded you. You are not liking who you are becoming. You are miserable and have lost your joy. Sleep does not come easy because in anger you lie awake rehashing what you should have done or should have said to that offending person. These feeling won't easily go away.

I know because I’ve been in that situation. I was attacked verbally, lies were spoken about me, and false rumors were told. I was wounded deeply by people who I had considered my friends, good people, Christian people, leaders of the church where I pastored. They became vicious in their attacks and for over a year I took their abuse. I finally left the church physically ill, hurt, angry and bitter. I was not only upset with those few members of the church who wounded me, but I was upset with God. I was so angry that God would allow something like this to happen to me. I told him I would never preach again, and I didn’t for almost two years. I ran away from God, until I came to a place where I had to decide to either stop running or end my life. I was dangerously depressed. Long periods of anger and bitterness will do that to a person.

Something happened one day which got my attention. Early on a Tuesday morning, September 11, 2001 I walked into my classroom where my students were sitting quietly with their eyes fixed on the TV. I looked to see what had uncharacteristically captured their attention. What I saw was like a bad dream; the second plane flown by the Islamic terrorist was crashing into the World Trade Center. Like everyone else in America I was shocked. I couldn’t believe what was happening and was even more disturbed as I watched the continuing horror of the day. That attack was responsible for the deaths of almost three thousand innocent people.

Several teachers gathered in the teacher’s lounge at lunchtime. Some were crying and no one had much to say. We had just learned who had taken responsibility for the attack. A few comments were made about how evil and how cowardly these men were. I said, “How can anyone be consumed by so much anger and bitterness that they would do something like this?” No more had I gotten those words out of my mouth than I was given the answer to my question, but I was the only one who heard it. That answer could not have been any clearer if God had shouted it for all to hear. The answer that echoed in my mind was, ‘ The anger and bitterness in the hearts of these men is the same anger and bitterness that you have for me and for those who hurt you. And that anger and bitterness comes from the very pit of hell.’ I have no doubt that God spoke to me that day. This scared me because it had been a long time since I had heard anything from God.

I went home that afternoon and I began to pray. I stopped my running long enough to ask God to forgive me, but I had no peace. I continued to ask for forgiveness, one day, two days, but no peace came. Spiritually I had run myself into a deserted place. My soul was dry. I was alone. I was afraid. I won’t go into all that happened, but on Thursday, the beginning of the third day that I pleaded for a word of forgiveness I had a break through. Prayer services were held in many churches across our country, and I took off from teaching that day so that I could go to the one at the church where I attended occasionally. It was there that I finally got the peace that I feared I would never know again. Still in that dry deserted place where I had been for so long I continued to pray for forgiveness . In that moment as I sat in the pew, even before the service began Jesus came along as the good Shepherd searching for his lost sheep. He put his arms around me and he said, “I forgive you.” Figuratively, that is how I perceived it.  I am not one who cries very often, but at that moment I began to weep, uncontrollably, sobbing. I couldn’t stop. I’m not sure what those sitting near me thought, but people I didn’t even know ministered to me in kindness and love.

Holding on to anger, bitterness and resentment is the worst thing a person can do. Anger and bitterness destroys and takes away our joy. Jesus forgave me, and therefore, I forgave those who hurt me although they, except for one, never asked me to forgive them. The only way that we can know peace after being hurt by some one is to forgive. The only way we can forgive is to allow Jesus to heal the wounds inflicted by those who hurt us. Don’t run away from God. Don’t blame God for the bad that happens to you. If we run from him we run toward the evil one who wants only to destroy us. Who better to go to than Jesus, the wounded Healer.

Walking the Straight and Narrow

"Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go.” Joshua 1:7

If you have watched female gymnasts perform on a balance beam you have no doubt seen them fall. The things those young ladies do on that beam are amazing. How in the world they do back flips, and jumps, and twists and turns baffles me. I took some classes in gymnastics in college and although the balance beam is a woman’s event I once tried to walk from one end to the other on one. I found how hard it was to simply walk without falling off. That thing is so narrow and intimidating. But of course I did not know the fundamentals necessary to stay on that apparatus, nor had I put in the hours of practice that it takes to be successful. Can you imagine trying to walk a tight road?

Being a successful gymnast, whatever the event, takes hours of practice, conditioning, dedication and tremendous concentration, especially on the narrow balance beam.  Just being a hair off to the right or to the left will likely cause a fall. That is what Joshua was saying to the Israelites when he told them to be careful to follow God’s words and not turn to the right or to the left.

These people first had to know the laws, understand what was expected of them, and believe that God was to be obeyed. Joshua warned them that if they turned ever so slightly to the right they would fall. If they turned to the left they would fall. Our path in life, if we belong to Jesus, is not a wide open, broad freeway. It is very narrow, and the Bible says that there will be few who will travel the way of the straight and narrow. This narrow path is not easy. Walking the narrow path is like trying to do a back flip on a balance beam, I think. Sometimes following Jesus is hard. We have to stay in good spiritual shape, condition ourselves so that we will be strong. We have to be dedicated to the study of God’s word and concentrate on that narrow path so that we might remain courageous when confronted by the enemy.

We have a teacher, an instructor, in the Holy Spirit. He shows us the path that Jesus walked. When Jesus came to dwell among man to be our Savior he knew exactly the path he had to walk. He knew where his journey would end. From the beginning Jesus’ eyes were fixed on the cross. Jesus stayed perfectly balanced on that path that eventually led to his death so that mankind could be saved from sin. Jesus did not once turn to the right or to the left. He never fell despite being tempted as we are tempted. So our instructor, the Holy Spirit, is with us to help us focus our eyes on the one who will keep us from falling to the left or to the right. The only way we will walk that narrow beam or path is by keeping our eyes on Jesus.