Mission Faithwalk

                  “ Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)                 Since we have been considering wisdom off and on recently, I thought I’d continue with the subject today. Jesus was speaking to people who had believed Him. And as usual, His hearers misunderstood Him.  They proclaimed that, as descendants of Abraham, they had never been enslaved to anyone. What about Egypt, the Medes and Persians, the Babylonians, the Greeks, and the Romans?  Then, of course, they were slaves to sin, to unbelief, and to mistaken beliefs. But, no, they had never been enslaved.                 But let’s deal with Jesus’ statement for a moment because it’s bold. If the people who had believed Him so far would hold to His t...

                 Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice?   At the highest point along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand; beside the gate leading into the city, at the entrance,   she cries aloud: “To you, O people, I call out; I raise my voice to all mankind. You who are simple, gain prudence; you who are foolish, set your hearts on it. Listen, for I have trustworthy things to say; I open my lips to speak what is right. My mouth speaks what is true, for my lips detest wickedness. All the words of my mouth are just; none of them is crooked or perverse. To the discerning, all of them are right; they are upright to those who have found knowledge. Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her. (Proverbs 8:1-11) How were women supposed to behave back in the time of Solomon?...

                 Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said: “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone— while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy.” (Job 38:1-7)                 After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has. So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray fo...

                 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied: “If someone ventures a word with you, will you be impatient? But who can keep from speaking? (Job 4:1-2)                 Things went from bad to worse for Job, and eventually, he ended up on an ash heap, scraping his sores with a piece of broken pottery. Three friends showed up and spent seven days just sitting with him before Job gave voice to his pain. That’s when Eliphaz spoke up, and he, his friends, and at least one other spend the next 34 chapters arguing with Job about what a sinner he is and his lack of faith. It was, and is, a common belief among some that bad things only happen to bad people or should only happen to bad people. And in my statement yesterday that none of us are good, I could be labeled one of “Job’s friends.” But that’s neither what I said or what I meant.     ...

                   In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. He had seven sons and three daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.   His sons used to hold feasts in their homes on their birthdays, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom. (Job 1:1-5)   As I noted yesterday, Job provides at least one answer to the question of “Can a good and omnipotent God allow ba...

                 One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.” 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.” “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “ Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.    But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”   The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” (Job 1:6-12)   The story of Job is the...