January 21

Today’s Reading - Job 18-20

(Job 19:15 KJV) They that dwell in mine house, and my maids, count me for a stranger: I am an alien in their sight.

In today’s reading we come across this interesting passage. Job, because of his boils, must have really looked sick. It was probably to the point of disfigurement. However, there is a principle in this verse which can be applied to the life of the believer. How many times in many families is only one person saved? The rest of that family looks upon that Christian as some kind of religious fanatic. They remember what the saved person used to be like and now when they compare the old them to the new them, they do not recognize them. Now instead of the old friends coming to see them, they run from them so they will not get “preached to.” (Psa 31:11 KJV) I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but especially among my neighbours, and a fear to mine acquaintance: they that did see me without fled from me. Even work relationships will differ since the Christian has a different authority than before. When a person becomes a Christian, everything changes from eternal destination right down to personalities. (Mat 10:36 KJV) And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. Every unbeliever, whether it is a close relative or friend is the spiritual enemy of the believer. Job’s home relationships changed because of his physical sickness but the Christian’s home relationships will change because of spiritual regeneration. They won’t want to do the things they did before and for this they will be misunderstood. I remember when I first became a Christian, my drinking friends said that I went off the deep end in religion. They wanted nothing to do with me. Since then I only met up with about 2 of them. So if you are the sole salvation recipient in your family at present, take heart, the rest of your family does not understand what happened in your life, but as you live day to day according to the will of God and the Scriptures, they will eventually see that you are real and not a phony. (1 Pet 4:4 KJV) Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you: Patience is the key word in family relationships. Remember, as Job’s family and servants saw him as an alien, they will see you as one too. That is because we are not of this world.

January 22

Today’s Reading - Job 21-24

(Job 23:14 KJV) For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him.

In today’s reading we come across the above verse. The word “performeth” is a future tense and means completion. The word “appointed” means “a statute.” It is derived from a verb which means “to decree.” Here Job is stating a response to Eliphaz that God is going to complete whatever He has decreed in the life of Job. In other words, Job was cognizant of the fact that God would not stop His plans for Job in the middle. God always brings everything to completion in the life of the believer. If God is going to place a believer in the furnace of affliction, God will keep them in there until they have learned every lesson which God would teach them. God is into completion and sometimes it seems that God is taking forever to answer our prayers or to perform something in the life of His children. No matter what the earthly situation was, God would not be detoured from His original plan. God not only plans adversity in the life of His children but He also plans other events. He can set up a circumstance for a Christian to start a business, meet someone they are going to marry, the solution of a problem, to go into the ministry, or whatever. Through the sufferings of Job, we can be thankful that God does not give up on His children, and he will bring to completion whatever He started. Of course, we cannot leave out salvation. No matter what we do on earth or how bad our situation is, we can never lose our salvation. We didn’t work to gain it and we cannot work to lose it. Job also tells us that God has many other plans for his life too. This principle tells us that God has many plans for our lives too. (Jer 29:11 KJV) For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. The words “an expected end” can also be translated “a future and a hope.” This is the God we serve. Not a vindictive, vicious false deity created by false religions to enslave their followers. But we have God who has a Father’s Heart.

January 23

Today’s Reading - Job 25-27

(Job 25:4 KJV) How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?

In today’s reading we come across this verse where Bildad asks the basic question of how can a person become right with God? This question is one that has been asked for millennia. In many religions, it is not the question of getting right but how do you appease your god? In ancient religions appeasement was attempted by human sacrifice. We read of many of these false deities in the Scriptures. (Jer 32:35 KJV) And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin. In eastern religions you have prayer wheels and ancestor worship. Today, you have candle lighting and masses for the intervention of a soul, even good works are attempted to gain justification with God. The question now, is, do all these things help appease God? The answer is no! The answer to Bildad’s question is found in the Lord Jesus Christ. The key to becoming right with God is to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as personal savior. There is no other way on earth for a human being to become right with God. Peace with God comes through the substitutionary atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Rom 5:1 KJV) Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: This one verse answers Bildad’s question. I hope it answers yours.

January 24

Today’s Reading - Job 28-31

(Job 29:1-2 KJV) Moreover Job continued his parable, and said, {2} Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me;

In today’s reading we come across these verses where Job looks back to the time when life seemed simpler. He was reminiscing when things seemed to be going his way. He looked back on his life and saw the relationships he had with people and the respect which he received from family and friends. Then the time of testing hit Job and everything changed in his life. His family, friends, and servants began to look at him differently. His physical appearance was marred, his friends verbally beat him up, and his family and fortunes were gone. Even his wife seemed to turn against him. What is the big principle we see in this? It is change! One day Job had it all and the next day it was gone. Moses was next in line to be Pharaoh, and then God intervened and allowed him to know who he really belonged to. Saul was on his way to Damascus to destroy the church and on the road he met the Lord Jesus, who changed him into the Apostle Paul. These living analogies show us that as we go on in life, God may change our circumstances in a moment. One moment we are going for goal “A” and then God intervenes in our life and re-directs us to goal “B.” One day we may have a job, and the next day we don’t. One day we may have a loved one, and next we don’t. One day you have wealth, and the next day you don’t. Maybe what happened to Job may not happen to us in that capacity, but God always reserves the right to intervene in our lives and change our direction. Sometimes we tend to look back and remember the good ole’ days, but in the Christian walk we are to continually look and go forward. Memories are a wonderful thing but we cannot live in them. Life always seemed simpler yesterday and that is because life seems uncertain tomorrow. When we look back at yesterday, we can always replay the memories, but we cannot re-direct the circumstances which shaped today. As Christians, let us look ahead and realize that at any moment God can intervene with a new direction or challenge, but He will always give us the strength to endure it. (Phil 3:13-14 KJV) Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, {14} I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

January 25

Today’s Reading - Job 32-34

(Job 32:9 KJV) Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment.

In today’s reading, we come across this verse which gives us a great principle to place into our life. Those who hold positions of wealth or authority, are not necessarily wise. On earth, we think that if someone has money that they are very wise. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. Many times a rich person or a person of authority are unwise in their decisions, especially if they are unsaved. If you do speak with a wealthy person about certain subjects, then first find out how they made their money. Did they inherit it or did they earn it by the sweat of their brow? I know rich folks who inherited money and are as dumb as dirt. I wouldn’t ask them for the time. Elihu gives good advice in the midst of his diatribe against Job. Let us transfer this principle to the spiritual realm. Does it mean that a person is wiser than the average Christian simply because they are on the Radio, TV, or Internet? The answer is no! God gives His wisdom to those who are studying and reading His Word without biased preconceptions. Many on the TV are signs and wonders preachers who are so far off they could be considered unbelievers. We must filter everything we hear through the Word of God. One becomes wise by being open to the teachings of the Holy Spirit concerning the Scriptures. There are many so-called “Christian leaders” who are nothing but ecumenical compromisers. Modern ecumenicalism is nothing more than the equivalent of ancient Israel accepting false religions, instead of driving them out of the land. (Josh 3:10 KJV) And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites. Let us listen carefully to those who teach, lest they cause us to stray as the Israelites did by not kicking the false gospels out of the land. Today all we need to do is utilize the On-Off switch more. He who has ears to hear!

January 26

Today’s Reading - Job 35-37

(Job 36:2 KJV) Suffer me a little, and I will show thee that I have yet to speak on God's behalf.

In today’s reading we read this verse spoken by Elihu. It is quite a scary verse yet we come into contact with this mindset everyday in the Christian realm and sometimes outside the Christian realm. It is a person who thinks they have enough wisdom to speak for God. Elihu no doubt wanted to defend God against the perceived attacks by the older ones in the group. To be able to speak on behalf of God, one must be able to know the mind of God. There is a time when the true Christian speaks on behalf of God, and that is when we are truly witnessing. However, we are to remain in the confines of Scripture when witnessing. There are some people out there who believe they can speak for God and then try to tell us what God says or what He is doing. Have you ever heard Bible teachers say something to the effect of, “God is doing this” or “God is setting this scenario up” or “God is saying this or that?” It seems some people know exactly what God is doing or saying as if they have been to heaven to find out. We must heed very carefully the following verses:

(Jer 14:15 KJV) Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.

Just a sidebar on this verse. It tells us that the false prophets will themselves be judged by the Word of God (sword) and they will have no spiritual insights from the Bible (famine) and will be feeding their hearers with empty plates and calling it a banquet. Woe unto those who eat at the table of deceit!

(Jer 29:9 KJV) For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD.

We must be very careful in our presentation of the gospel and to you preachers who read this, be very careful that you only preach what the Lord has said, for if we add or subtract from the Lord’s Word, then woe unto us, for we will be no better than those false prophets who caused Judah to stumble at the 70 year captivity of Judah ordained of the Lord. They cried “two years” but they were found wanting. Be careful of the person who dogmatically tells you what God says. Look it up in Scripture and question.

January 27

Today’s Reading - Job 38-42

(Job 42:12 KJV) So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses.

In today’s reading, we come across this verse which give a tremendous encouragement that there is an end to adversity. Job was tested by the Lord and he passed the test and God restored his family and increased his possessions. Now this does not mean if God tests us and we pass that we will become rich. It simply means that God is pleased with us when we endure the hardships and lean upon Him during the times of adversity. Sometimes hard times do not end in a person’s life until they get to Glory. The Bible also goes on to say that Job lived 140 years after his testing. This also opens our eyes that trusting God during our circumstances can cause longevity. When we get all flustered and angry, it wears our physical body down but when we completely trust the Lord, it allows us to remain calm and while everyone is going crazy around us, we can maintain our calmness knowing that God is in control of the situation. This verse also tells us that God is compassionate. He just didn’t allow Job to fend for himself after this ordeal. God restored Job and gave him family and friends back. God was also compassionate on Job’s friends who darkened counsel by words without knowledge (Ch 38:2). God knew his friends were part of his test too. Speech is always a part of our testing program because it is verbal expression of our thoughts and perceptions of what we are going through. Job accepted his trials knowing God was in control but his friends saw him as the culprit who was trying to justify himself during the testing time. We see a principle at work here also. It may be that a friend or family member who is going through hard times, may also be testing program for those around them. Next time you know a brother or sister who is going through a hard time, it might be a testing program for you also. Job’s friends failed, don’t you!

January 28

Today’s Reading - Exodus 1-4

(Exo 2:12 KJV) And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.

In today’s reading, we come across this verse which tells us that Moses saw an Egyptian beating a fellow Hebrew. When he looked around and saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. Now I do not know why Moses did this. It could have been that he had compassion on the one being beaten, momentary anger on the one doing the beating, or maybe he thought he was going to deliver the Israelites from bondage. But whatever the reason was, he made one major mistake and that was he looked to the right and to the left, but he did not look up. Moses thought he was alone in this act but he did not realize that God was seeing him from Heaven. A great principle emerges here which when we sit down and ponder it, we find it cropping up in our lives. It is doing the work of the Lord without looking up. Have you ever tried to get involved with local evangelism through your local church? Between meetings, committees, planning sessions, and help drives, it could be a year before you actually get to the streets. You see, as people, we want to plan it right down to the minute. There is nothing wrong with planning but when it becomes the superintendent of the work, we run into trouble. We fret if a schedule is not kept. We have so many methods of doing the work of an evangelist, that we forget it is God’s work. Evangelism or just witnessing is as simple as getting a Bible, a pack of tracts, and setting up a new believer’s class at your church for any who God may save on the street. “Interrogation witnessing” is not God glorifying nor is it His method. I went to a church once and was interrogated before the service started by some Christians who figured that if I wasn’t saved, they could reel in the fish and it would be another star in their crown. As Christians, in doing any phase of God’s work, we need not look to the gimmicks of the world to get it done. We need to realize, as Moses did later on in his life, that deliverance AKA evangelism, is the Lord’s work. If Moses would have looked, this way and that way by the Red Sea, could he have parted it? Of course not! But he looked to the Lord and God brought the Israelites through the ordeal of redemption from Egypt. Whenever we do any phase of the Lord’s work, let us look up before we look this way and that way.

January 29

Today’s Reading - Exodus 5-7

(Exo 6:5 KJV) And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant.

In today’s reading we come across this verse which is a real comfort to the Christian. Many times when we go through rough times, we do not even know how to pray or to approach God about the situation we are going through. Sometimes life gets so hard all we can do is groan. Yet, God is sensitive to the groanings of His children. In the times of deepest despair, we can count on the covenant that God made with Abraham, which we know as the covenant of Grace. No matter how hard our life becomes, God always remembers the covenant with Abraham and with us. Even at times when prayer becomes a chore, God gives us the precious gift of the Holy Spirit, who is our comforter. (Rom 8:26 KJV) Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. The Christian should rejoice in the fact that God is always faithful to His children. He never leaves nor forsakes us. Even when we go through the deepest valley of affliction, God, our comforter is right there to uphold and strengthen us. When we go through the roughest times, it is at those times when we see God in a new light. Many people only live for the mountain top experience, but if you look at a mountain range, you will see that all the beautiful flowers and green fields grow in the valleys. This is where the Christian grows beautifully also. When life seems to go against us, always keep in mind this verse. (Rom 8:31 KJV) What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? We can always count on the Father heart of God to help us and undergird us in our time of need. When the valleys seem low and the nights seem long, remember it is God who gives us songs in the night. (Job 35:10 KJV) But none saith, Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night;

January 30

Today’s Reading - Exodus 8-10

(Exo 8:7 KJV) And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt.

In today’s reading we come across this verse which should make every Christian desire to become very spiritually astute. When God was bringing the plagues on Egypt, Satan had made a challenge to God by doing some of the same miracles through the magicians of Egypt. During this time I can just imagine how confused the Israelites must have been to see both Moses and the magicians doing the same miracles. This is why Christians must be on their spiritual toes to be able to discern between the true and the false. Especially today as we see the increase in false teachers offering every kind of wealth and health benefit for sending them a donation. The Christian must be able to tell when the truth is being taught and when it is not. God only allowed the magicians of Egypt to go so far and then he stopped their meager challenge. If you are a true believer and well studied in Scripture, you may be able to easily tell the difference between the right and wrong. As we progress in these final days, there will come on the scene more attempted corruption of the true Gospel. There will be false teachers and prophets, both inside and outside the church who will attempt to draw you away by fallacious teaching. They will create a gospel which is palatable, so that even the unbeliever will want to come on board. Beware of the gospel that teaches, “If you do this, then God will do that.” This is a works gospel and is pandering to the flesh. God is faithful to His children, even when they are not faithful to Him. (2 Tim 2:13 KJV) If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself. The key to telling the difference between the works of Moses and the magicians is simple, the magicians of Egypt were unbelievers. Unbelievers do not serve the Lord God, they serve their contrived gods. Sometimes, their god is themselves. Make sure you know the difference!

January 31

Today’s Reading - Exodus 11-13

(Exo 12:17 KJV) And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.

In today’s reading we come across this verse which is situated right in the middle of the discourse where God was going to kill the first born of every Egyptian. God also said He would pass over all the houses where there was lamb’s blood on the lintel and side posts of the door. This is a great symbolism. As you look directly at a door, you will see that the three places where God commanded the Israelites to place the blood outlines a cross. The final plague was against all the false gods of Egypt just as Judgment day will be the final plague against false teachers, their adherents, and all unbelievers. God is commanding the Israelites to keep this feast as a memorial to their freedom from bondage. As God commands the church to partake of the Lord’s Supper to remember His death and soon return.

God also commands in Verse 43 of Chapter 12 that no stranger shall partake of it. In other words, no unbelieving person shall partake. But in our verse God uses a word that gives the present feast of Passover a different slant, and that is “forever.” How was the nation of Israel going to partake in the Passover forever?