Job 29 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE INSIDE TRACK TO PEACE - July 9, 2021

The next time you fear the future, rejoice in the Lord’s sovereignty. Rejoice in what he has accomplished. Rejoice that he is able to do what you cannot do.

Fill your mind with thoughts of God: “He is the Creator, who is blessed forever” (Romans 1:25). “He is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). “His years will never end” (Psalm 102:27).

He is king, supreme ruler, absolute monarch, an overlord of all history. An arch of his eyebrow and a million angels will pivot and salute! Every throne is a footstool to his. Every crown is papier-mache next to his. He consults no advisers, he needs no congress, he reports to no one. He is in charge.

Sovereignty gives the saint the inside track to peace. Others see the problems of the world and wring their hands. We see the problems of the world and bend our knees.

Job 29

When God Was Still by My Side

Job now resumed his response:

“Oh, how I long for the good old days,
    when God took such very good care of me.
He always held a lamp before me
    and I walked through the dark by its light.
Oh, how I miss those golden years
    when God’s friendship graced my home,
When the Mighty One was still by my side
    and my children were all around me,
When everything was going my way,
    and nothing seemed too difficult.

7-20 “When I walked downtown
    and sat with my friends in the public square,
Young and old greeted me with respect;
    I was honored by everyone in town.
When I spoke, everyone listened;
    they hung on my every word.
People who knew me spoke well of me;
    my reputation went ahead of me.
I was known for helping people in trouble
    and standing up for those who were down on their luck.
The dying blessed me,
    and the bereaved were cheered by my visits.
All my dealings with people were good.
    I was known for being fair to everyone I met.
I was eyes to the blind
    and feet to the lame,
Father to the needy,
    and champion of abused aliens.
I grabbed street thieves by the scruff of the neck
    and made them give back what they’d stolen.
I thought, ‘I’ll die peacefully in my own bed,
    grateful for a long and full life,
A life deep-rooted and well-watered,
    a life limber and dew-fresh,
My soul soaked through with glory
    and my body robust until the day I die.’

21-25 “Men and women listened when I spoke,
    hung expectantly on my every word.
After I spoke, they’d be quiet,
    taking it all in.
They welcomed my counsel like spring rain,
    drinking it all in.
When I smiled at them, they could hardly believe it;
    their faces lit up, their troubles took wing!
I was their leader, establishing the mood
    and setting the pace by which they lived.
    Where I led, they followed.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Friday, July 09, 2021

Read: 2 Peter 1:3–11

Confirming One’s Calling and Election
3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters,[a] make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Read full chapter
Footnotes
2 Peter 1:10 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family.

INSIGHT
Peter’s New Testament letters reflect the wisdom of his later years (1 Peter 5:5–6; 2 Peter 1:13–14). As a young believer in Jesus, he’d shown moments of uncommon insight, faith, and courage. But his impulsive misspeaks and fearful betrayal of Jesus must have prompted him to think carefully about what it would take to leave a legacy of stability and spiritual influence. By experience he’d learned that the Spirit of God works in and through our own consciously developed habits of choice and effort (2 Peter 1:3–5). He’d also learned that no virtue stands alone for very long. Yet working together, what begins in faith ends in a reputation of faithful and loyal love. With careful attention, noble desires are complemented by knowledge, knowledge by self-control, self-control by endurance, endurance by devotion to the Father, devotion to the Father by family affection, and family affection by the love Jesus showed both friends and enemies.

By Alyson Kieda
Growing in God’s Grace

Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge. 2 Peter 1:5

The English preacher Charles H. Spurgeon (1834–1892) lived life “full throttle.” He became a pastor at age nineteen—and soon was preaching to large crowds. He personally edited all of his sermons, which eventually filled sixty-three volumes, and wrote many commentaries, books on prayer, and other works. And he typically read six books a week! In one of his sermons, Spurgeon said, “The sin of doing nothing is about the biggest of all sins, for it involves most of the others. . . . Horrible idleness! God save us from it!”

Charles Spurgeon lived with diligence, which meant he “[made] every effort” (2 Peter 1:5) to grow in God’s grace and to live for Him. If we’re Christ’s followers, God can instill in us that same desire and capacity to grow more like Jesus, to “make every effort to add to [our] faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge . . . self-control, perseverance . . . godliness” (vv. 5–7).

We each have different motivations, abilities, and energy levels—not all of us can, or should, live at Charles Spurgeon’s pace! But when we understand all Jesus has done for us, we have the greatest motivation for diligent, faithful living. And we find our strength through the resources God has given us to live for and serve Him. God through His Spirit can empower us in our efforts—big and small—to do so.

How are you making every effort to grow more like Christ? What will help you in this endeavor?

Loving God, help me to be diligent to live for You in all I do and say. Thank You for enabling me to do so through Your Spirit inside me.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, July 09, 2021
Will You Examine Yourself?

Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve the Lord…" —Joshua 24:19

Do you have even the slightest reliance on anything or anyone other than God? Is there a remnant of reliance left on any natural quality within you, or on any particular set of circumstances? Are you relying on yourself in any manner whatsoever regarding this new proposal or plan which God has placed before you? Will you examine yourself by asking these probing questions? It really is true to say, “I cannot live a holy life,” but you can decide to let Jesus Christ make you holy. “You cannot serve the Lord…”— but you can place yourself in the proper position where God’s almighty power will flow through you. Is your relationship with God sufficient for you to expect Him to exhibit His wonderful life in you?

“The people said to Joshua, ‘No, but we will serve the Lord!’ ” (Joshua 24:21). This is not an impulsive action, but a deliberate commitment. We tend to say, “But God could never have called me to this. I’m too unworthy. It can’t mean me.” It does mean you, and the more weak and feeble you are, the better. The person who is still relying and trusting in anything within himself is the last person to even come close to saying, “I will serve the Lord.”

We say, “Oh, if only I really could believe!” The question is, “Will I believe?” No wonder Jesus Christ placed such emphasis on the sin of unbelief. “He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13:58). If we really believed that God meant what He said, just imagine what we would be like! Do I really dare to let God be to me all that He says He will be?

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

It is perilously possible to make our conceptions of God like molten lead poured into a specially designed mould, and when it is cold and hard we fling it at the heads of the religious people who don’t agree with us. Disciples Indeed, 388 R

Bible in a Year: Job 38-40; Acts 16:1-21

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, July 09, 2021
The View Through a Dirty Window - #9000

We were zipping along Interstate 80 one afternoon, heading home through Pennsylvania on this beautiful day. I was really enjoying the view as I drove, until that semi pulled out onto the highway in front of us. The truck was belching this heavy black smoke out of its smokestack. Immediately the car in front of us swung into the left lane to pass him. As he was passing, he suddenly turned on his windshield wipers, and we noticed that they immediately began smearing this oily film across his windshield.

He had to pull over as soon as possible because he just couldn't see out anymore. As we passed Smokey the Truck, my wife said, "Don't turn on your wipers!" Our windshield was suddenly getting spattered with lots of little black stuff. It made it a little hard to see, but we managed to get to the next exit where the gas station attendant confirmed that those specks were what we thought - they were oil! He gave us some oil and tar remover, and it came right off. But for us - and especially for the man who had gone ahead of us - that junk on the windshield sure did ruin the view!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The View Through a Dirty Window."

Right now, the view from your life may not be the greatest. Circumstances look pretty discouraging, life looks depressing, people seem annoying or against you, the future is looking fearful, maybe even hopeless, some people in your world aren't looking very good to you right now either. In fact, to be honest, maybe your attitude is really going downhill, you're more negative, you're more critical, you're more sensitive, you're more afraid, you're more short-tempered, or you're more discouraged.

Consider this: maybe it's not the road or the environment or the other drivers. Maybe you're looking through a dirty window and everything and everyone looks dirty as a result. The problem may be the junk on your window, not the junk that's happening outside. Everything looks dirty when you're looking out a dirty window.

In a sense, God is encouraging us to clean the junk off our window in our word for today from the Word of God. In Ephesians 4:31, he addresses some of the feelings in us that make the world and the people around us look pretty dark to us. God says, "Get rid of all bitterness (Got any of that in your heart right now?), rage and anger (Got anyone you're angry with right now?), brawling and slander, along with every form of malice." Notice, "get rid of those attitudes, get rid of those outlooks!" That stuff is like oil on your windshield. And so you are not able to see people clearly, you're not able to see the circumstances clearly, and you're not able to see clearly how you ought to respond.

When you get a dirty window, everything looks bad. You interpret even positive things through your negative filter, nothing people do looks right to you through your dirty window - everything's bad, you keep connecting any present hurt to all the hurts of your past, you pick up all the negatives and you screen out any positives, you're sure it's hopeless so you don't even accept any signs of hope. If you don't get rid of those distorting perspectives, it's going to affect your driving. You can't keep going with your windshield all smudged like this. But remember, a chunk of the problem is your window, not what you're looking at.

How do you clean off the junk that's ruining your view? You ask your Lord for the grace to forgive, for the courage to confront, for the wisdom to leave yesterday's pain out of today's choices. You're stressed, you're swerving, you're blind to what's beautiful around you and it's been that way long enough. It's time to clean that dirty window.