How have you determined to live until you die?

 3 Jul 26

Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Devotions on F.I.R.E. Year One


Readings:

Job 26

Job 27

Job 28

Acts 11


My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go; My heart shall not reproach me as long as I live (Job 27:6).


How have you determined to live until you die?


The verb “hold fast” in Job 27:6 literally means to be strong. Job determines to strongly apply himself to live righteously for length of days. Moreover, he strives to have a clear conscience. Great servants of God have this aspiration. Paul shares, “I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men” (Acts 24:16). God honors saints like Job, who are determined to live with integrity: “Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me” (Job 27:5). The following verse from Paul gives a worthy standard to imitate: “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).


Employment Point: Be determined that, by God’s grace, you’ll live righteously and with a clear conscience.

———————-

Reflections

Indeed it is also my wish, that I am able to live under God’s grace, with clean hands and a pure heart. May this be the same for us all as well.


““How you have helped the powerless! How you have saved the arm that is feeble! What advice you have offered to one without wisdom! And what great insight you have displayed!”

‭‭Job‬ ‭26‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

  • Job got angry at Bildad’s and all his friend’s concerns. In all the things they say, they have no real concern for Job. Instead it sounded like accusations after accusations. They seemed to only want to be right. Not kind for sure, except for the seven days they sat with Job in silence.
  • May we too, if we ever offer advice, to have a real concern for others and not just wanting to be right. When we have to choose between being right and being kind, it is better to be kind.
  • being smart may be good, but more importantly it is better to be wise, caring and compassionate. People will not remember how good you are but they will remember how you made them feel.


““As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice, the Almighty, who has made my life bitter, as long as I have life within me, the breath of God in my nostrils, my lips will not say anything wicked, and my tongue will not utter lies.”

‭‭Job‬ ‭27‬:‭2‬-‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

  • I pray the same for us all, that no matter what happens or what circumstances we may be in, that we will never say a word of wickedness from our mouths or utter any lies. May the Lord deal with us if we disobey His commands.


Job 28: this chapter begins with the words “Interlude: where wisdom is found.” However, it made no mention who actually wrote this part. Even in commentaries, they are also debating who could have written this. Something for you and me to think about.


“And he said to the human race, “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.””Job‬ ‭28‬:‭28‬ ‭NIV‬‬

  • the whole of Job 28 writes about where wisdom may be found and ends with this verse. It clearly tells us that wisdom is not found in the common things. Not in places or precious metals. True wisdom can only be found in the fear of the Lord.
  • Quite similar to this verse “the fear of God is the beginning of our wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding (Proverbs 9:10) 
  • The bible seems to be telling us that wisdom can only be from the higher powers of the Lord and can only be obtained when we gain understanding of who He really is, so that we can be guided by our thoughts, words and deeds.


“The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.””

“The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭11‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ , 12NIV‬‬

  • If Peter did not have witnesses with him, it would for sure be much difficult to convince these group of people who would deemed them unclean. But the Lord is good, as always. Never failing to provide what we needed and always on time.


“So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?” When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.””Acts‬ ‭11‬:‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

  • this is truly serious business because if there were no such precedence, we would not even stand a chance. But our Lord being the gracious Lord, has been good and be willing to allow everyone, regardless of race, language or religion to come to Him. He embraces all who believes.
  • Somehow I find that the push to spread the gospel is becoming more and more urgent. May we all, who are placed in where we are, be able to spread God’s love to all we meet.

—————————-

The Concentration of Personal Sin

BY OSWALD CHAMBERS

July 03 


“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips.” — Isaiah 6:5


When the Lord appeared to Isaiah in a vision, Isaiah was convicted by a sense of his sinfulness (Isaiah 6:1—5). This conviction wasn’t vague or indefinite; the Lord revealed to Isaiah the exact nature of his sin, showing him that he was “a man of unclean lips.”


A sure sign that I am in the presence of God is this lack of vagueness about sin. I realize I am a sinner not in a general sense but in a particular sense. I understand that there is a concentration of sin in a specific area of my life. It’s easy to say, “Oh, yes, I know I am a sinner.” But I can’t get away with a vague statement like this when I am with God.


Everyone, from the greatest and the least of saints to the greatest and the least of sinners, experiences this awareness of the concentration of sin when they come into God’s presence. When we are on the first rung of the ladder of spiritual experience, we may not know exactly where we’ve gone wrong. The Spirit of God will show us. He will point out a definite sin, fixing our minds upon it, as he fixed Isaiah’s mind upon his “unclean lips.” If we will yield to his conviction on this point, he will take us to a deeper level of conviction, leading us all the way down to the great disposition of sin that lies underneath.


Once we’ve been convicted of our sin, God will purify us of it, sending his cleansing fire to the precise place the sin is concentrated: “He touched my mouth and said, ‘See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for’” (v. 7). This is always the way God deals with us when we are consciously in his presence.


Job 25-27; Acts 12


WISDOM FROM OSWALD

There is no condition of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus. We have to learn to abide in Him wherever we are placed.

——————

Reflections

I believe this topic did not come as a coincidence but it comes as a reminder and as a knowing that He wants me to deal with specific sins.


I was speaking with an ex-missionary of 20years and she was sharing her life journey with me. One of the things that really stood out of that conversation was that she mentioned “the scum in us rises in the mission field” and I get it. She had to face all these as part of learning and it is not easy. That very night, I prayed to the Lord to reveal to me the very sin that He wants me to deal with and I had a dream.


I woke up that morning not remembering what the whole dream was about but remembering vividly an image that would not go away. I prayed and seek the Lord to reveal and I believe it was something that existed subconsciously, without me even realising it. So truly thankful to Abba Father for His grace and for revealing it to me so I can work on it, confess my sins and come to repentance through Christ Jesus. Thank God for His restoration. Praying that the Lord continue to speak to me and reveal to me the areas in my life where I sinned and needed to change.


I am quite sure if we ask, He will reveal. But we have to take that first step to say Yes to Him. 


Let’s pray:

Dear Heavenly Father and Almighty God, we thank You for giving us more than second chances to redeem ourselves. Thank You that we are able to make right with You by the blood of Christ. Thank You Father for all the mercy and grace that is shown to us. May we continue to persevere to grow in our faith and be good witnesses for You Father Lord. To God be the Glory! Amen! 🙏🏻 

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