Relationship with God

A hope-filled message from Job

Overcoming, Relationship with God / Tom Stuart

I just completed my annual pilgrimage through the book of Job. It always falls at the end of the year in the Robert Roberts Bible reading plan that I follow. One of the extraordinary things about reading passages of Scripture again and again is having the Holy Spirit illuminate things one has never seen before. This year I specifically read Job seeking to discover fresh insights into the nature and character of God. I was not disappointed.

Since I knew, from my familiarity with the book, that Job’s three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar were rebuked by God in the end for not faithfully representing Him I thought I would skim through their portions of dialogue in order to give more time to concentrate on the dialogue of Job and the fourth observer Elihu. “He (God) said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” (Job 42:7 NIV)

We know from the outset that Job is someone worth listening to because God Himself singles him out as a man who has an exemplary relationship with Him. “Then the LORD said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.’” (Job 1:7 NIV)

We also know that the dialogue of Elihu is worth studying because he challenges the advice of the three friends and is not rebuked by God for what he says.

As I read through the discourse of these two men to make sense of Job’s sufferings one salient hope-filled theme emerged. It is the message of promised redemption. More specifically, and I had never really seen this before, it is the message of the presence of an unseen redeemer who is mediating on behalf of those who are crying out to God in their affliction.

All those who have read the book of Job know that it is a story about redemption. In the beginning Job loses everything but his life and his wife, but in the end has everything restored to him. “The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first.” (Job 42:12)

The most famous Scripture verses from the book of Job, read frequently at funerals, speak of redemption. It is a portion of Job’s complaint in which the veil of suffering is drawn back and he has a revelation in which he utters these words: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.” (Job 19:25-26) This of course is a great comfort both to him and to us, to know that “in the end” we “will see God” and know that He has not abandoned us.

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11 Reasons Why I Love The Bible

Overcoming, Relationship with God / Tom Stuart

I have a passionate relationship with the Bible. It is without a doubt God’s greatest tangible gift not only to me, but to the entire human race. With each passing year I am realizing that one of my greatest joys in life is reading and studying it wondrous pages. I am drawn to its life sustaining truths the moment I arise in the morning and it nurtures me throughout the day.

Here are eleven reasons why I love the Word of God. It is by no means a comprehensive list, which is why I have stopped at “eleven” rather than going on to “twelve” which is the number of completion. It leaves room for an unlimited number of additions.

1. Most importantly it reveals Jesus to me. It is God’s source that first introduced me to His son Jesus over 40 years ago and continues to this day, enabling me to get to know Him better and develop a closer and closer relationship with him. “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me!” (John 5:39-40 NLT) “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1 NIV)

2. It guides & counsels me in important decisions. I cannot count the number of times I have found myself groping in the darkness for wisdom regarding an important decision and as I was reading the Bible, it was as if God suddenly turned the light on through a particular verse or passage and gave me specific direction as to what to do. “Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105 NIV)

3. It is healing to my body. On numerous occasions, the confession of God’s Word with prayer has released healing power and health not only for me, but also for others. It is the first thing I reach for before going to the medicine cabinet or picking up the phone to call the clinic. “He sent his word and healed them.” (Psalm 107:20) “The centurion replied, ‘Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.’” (Matthew 8:8 NLT)

4. It is deliverance for my soul. Whenever I am afflicted with oppressive thoughts I turn to the Word of God for comfort

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Meet the third Christian

2 Comments / Relationship with God / Tom Stuart

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. Matthew 1:24 (NIV)

You may not have realized it, but Joseph was the very first Christian. Now stop and think about it. Becoming a Christian might best be defined as accepting Jesus as both the Savior and Lord of ones life. And that is exactly what Joseph did when he agreed to take Mary home as his wife.

The angel that appeared to Joseph in the dream informed him of two things. He told him that Mary, his fiancé, had conceived by the Holy Spirit and was pregnant. And he told Joseph that the child within her womb was named “Jesus” the promised savior of the world.

“Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (vs. 20-21)

Joseph’s acquiescence to the angel’s command to take Mary home as his wife was in essence and more importantly an assent to take Jesus home as well.

Accepting Jesus as the one who saves us from our sins is an act of faith. It is rooted in the belief that such forgiveness and the resultant transformation in our lives are really possible. It took tremendous faith on Joseph’s part to accept the fact that this Jesus, whom he had not yet seen, was the Messiah the scriptures had promised would come and the one who would make all things new. When he agreed to take Mary home, he was explicitly taking Jesus home as well and implicitly putting his faith in Jesus as his savior. His acceptance of Jesus as the Christ sets him apart as the first human being ever to do so.

But to me, the even more remarkable aspect of Joseph’s response was his acceptance of Jesus as his Lord. It has been said that most people want salvation and the forgiveness of sins, but few want lordship. To yield ones life to the rule and lordship of another call for the total surrender of ones will.

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Relief in letting Jesus pray

Prayer, Relationship with God / Tom Stuart

Prayer in its purest and simplest form is not about what we say or how we say it. It is not about what we do or how we do it. And to talk about praying effectively is to miss the point entirely. Prayer for the Christ follower is really more about being, than doing. Its essence is discovered by being in a relationship with the one who is the lover of our soul and the friend who sticks closer than a brother. (Proverbs 18:24)

Our human nature in matters relating to God almost always gravitates to doing rather than being. We feel responsible to do something to get God’s attention or gain His favor. We are driven by a performance orientation that wants to prove to God our worth and our worthiness. And that naturally carries over into our prayers.

But God’s ways are higher than our ways, and our relationship with Him through His son Jesus Christ leaves nothing for us to prove. Through Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, He has already done it all. And so the uniqueness of the Christian faith compared to all the other religions of the world, both past and present, is that the word “done” has forever been substituted for the word “do”.

As believers in Christ we understand the “done” as it applies to our righteousness and salvation that comes through faith in what He did at the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. And without a doubt that “done” is cause for the biggest sigh of relief and the greatest shout of joy we can utter.

But where we often struggle and revert back to doing is in our prayer lives. In Hebrews we find a very insightful verse into the secret to struggle free prayer. “Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.” Hebrews7:25 (ESV)

This verse emphasizes four things.

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When dreams are not meant to be!

2 Comments / Growth & Development, Overcoming, Relationship with God / Tom Stuart

“Are you seeking great things for yourself? Don’t do it!” Jeremiah 45:5 (NLT)

I find myself cringing when I hear people say “You can be anything you set your heart to be.” It is not true. It sets people up for misguided lives fraught with unfulfilled expectations and disillusionment. I understand the reasoning behind such a statement, particularly when it is directed at children and youth. It is important to instill a dare to dream mentality and a can-do attitude in every human heart. But dreams, like everything in life have parameters and exacting conditions that are necessary for their fulfillment. And it is not just a matter of faith and hard work.

A more accurate statement to inspire young and old alike is to say “You can be anything God has created you to be.” That maxim acknowledges the requisite talents and motivations endued at birth. And it also takes into account the times and seasons in which a person is living and the necessity of divinely ordained opportunity.

Michael Jordan is a great illustration. In 1993Jordan retired as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, after leading the Chicago Bulls to three NBA championships. He quit basketball to pursue a lifelong dream of becoming a professional baseball player.

He spent two years bringing his well-documented dedication and intensity to baseball, but ended up being a journeyman player at best with a .252 batting average and never made it to the big leagues. He returned to the Bulls for the 1995-96 season and proceeded to lead the Bulls to another three-peat series of NBA championships.

What was the cause of the disparity in the outcome of Michael Jordan’s pursuit of two dream careers? Obviously the measure of inherent talent was one. Another was the contrast in experience and time for skill development. But an intangible may have been his chemistry with his teammates and his coach. Dream fulfillment is complicated business.

In the waning years leading up to the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 586 BC, Jeremiah the prophet was busy warning both the king and religious leaders of God’s impending judgments. He had a faithful scribe named Baruch to whom he dictated his prophecies and through whom a number of them were personally delivered.

Baruch, who’s name means “blessing” was hoping against hope that the recipients of these prophetic messages would repent and that his ministry would be successful. As a spokesperson for Jeremiah he had dreams and career aspirations of a position of influence in a reformed society. (Not unlike Jesus’ disciples.) It was not to be.

In what appears to be a parenthetical

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