Job 41, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 
Max Lucado Daily: THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD - July 27, 2021

Some time ago I made a special visit to the American Colony Hotel in Jerusalem. I wanted to see the handwritten lyrics that hang on the wall, framed and visible for all to see. Horatio Spafford wrote them, never imagining they would become the words to one of the world’s best-loved hymns.

On December 2, 1873, he received a telegram from his wife that began, “Saved alone. What shall I do?” The ship she was on had collided with another ship and had sunk. Their four daughters drowned and Anna survived. While sailing on the ship to bring her home, Spafford wrote the lyrics to a song that would become an anthem to the providence of God.

“Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say…It is Well with My Soul!”

Job 41

I Run This Universe

 “Or can you pull in the sea beast, Leviathan, with a fly rod
    and stuff him in your creel?
Can you lasso him with a rope,
    or snag him with an anchor?
Will he beg you over and over for mercy,
    or flatter you with flowery speech?
Will he apply for a job with you
    to run errands and serve you the rest of your life?
Will you play with him as if he were a pet goldfish?
    Will you make him the mascot of the neighborhood children?
Will you put him on display in the market
    and have shoppers haggle over the price?
Could you shoot him full of arrows like a pin cushion,
    or drive harpoons into his huge head?
If you so much as lay a hand on him,
    you won’t live to tell the story.
What hope would you have with such a creature?
    Why, one look at him would do you in!
If you can’t hold your own against his glowering visage,
    how, then, do you expect to stand up to me?
Who could confront me and get by with it?
    I’m in charge of all this—I run this universe!

12-17 “But I’ve more to say about Leviathan, the sea beast,
    his enormous bulk, his beautiful shape.
Who would even dream of piercing that tough skin
    or putting those jaws into bit and bridle?
And who would dare knock at the door of his mouth
    filled with row upon row of fierce teeth?
His pride is invincible;
    nothing can make a dent in that pride.
Nothing can get through that proud skin—
    impervious to weapons and weather,
The thickest and toughest of hides,
    impenetrable!

18-34 “He snorts and the world lights up with fire,
    he blinks and the dawn breaks.
Comets pour out of his mouth,
    fireworks arc and branch.
Smoke erupts from his nostrils
    like steam from a boiling pot.
He blows and fires blaze;
    flames of fire stream from his mouth.
All muscle he is—sheer and seamless muscle.
    To meet him is to dance with death.
Sinewy and lithe,
    there’s not a soft spot in his entire body—
As tough inside as out,
    rock-hard, invulnerable.
Even angels run for cover when he surfaces,
    cowering before his tail-thrashing turbulence.
Javelins bounce harmlessly off his hide,
    harpoons ricochet wildly.
Iron bars are so much straw to him,
    bronze weapons beneath notice.
Arrows don’t even make him blink;
    bullets make no more impression than raindrops.
A battle ax is nothing but a splinter of kindling;
    he treats a brandished harpoon as a joke.
His belly is armor-plated, inexorable—
    unstoppable as a barge.
He roils deep ocean the way you’d boil water,
    he whips the sea like you’d whip an egg into batter.
With a luminous trail stretching out behind him,
    you might think Ocean had grown a gray beard!
There’s nothing on this earth quite like him,
    not an ounce of fear in that creature!
He surveys all the high and mighty—
    king of the ocean, king of the deep!”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Tuesday, July 27, 2021

Read: Proverbs 15:13–15, 30

A happy heart makes the face cheerful,
    but heartache crushes the spirit.

14 The discerning heart seeks knowledge,
    but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.

15 All the days of the oppressed are wretched,
    but the cheerful heart has a continual feast.

Light in a messenger’s eyes brings joy to the heart,
    and good news gives health to the bones.

INSIGHT
Scholars believe the man who compiled most of the proverbs, Solomon, is the same man who wrote the next book in the Bible, Ecclesiastes. Yet the two books seem to contain contradictory messages. Proverbs says, “A happy heart makes the face cheerful” (15:13). Ecclesiastes says, “Laughter . . . is madness” (2:2), and “Frustration is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart” (7:3). Which is correct?

Ecclesiastes is written from the perspective of living for this life only; therefore, it has dark undertones. But Proverbs doesn’t ignore life’s complexities, for it also says, “Even in laughter the heart may ache, and rejoicing may end in grief” (14:13). There is balance in both books. The proverbs contain sound counsel for living and help us choose the life-affirming path of wisdom. And Ecclesiastes concludes, “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind” (12:13).

By Cindy Hess Kasper
The Joy God Provides

A cheerful heart is good medicine. Proverbs 17:22

When Marcia’s out in public, she always tries to smile at others. It’s her way of reaching out to people who might need to see a friendly face. Most of the time, she gets a genuine smile in return. But during a time when Marcia was mandated to wear a facemask, she realized that people could no longer see her mouth, thus no one could see her smile. It’s sad, she thought, but I’m not going to stop. Maybe they’ll see in my eyes that I’m smiling.

There’s actually a bit of science behind that idea. The muscles for the corners of the mouth and the ones that make the eyes crinkle can work in tandem. It’s called a Duchenne smile, and it has been described as “smiling with the eyes.”

Proverbs reminds us that “a cheerful look brings joy to the heart” and “a cheerful heart is good medicine” (15:30 nlt; 17:22). Quite often, the smiles of God’s children stem from the supernatural joy we possess. It’s a gift from God that regularly spills out into our lives, as we encourage people who are carrying heavy burdens or share with those who are looking for answers to life’s questions. Even when we experience suffering, our joy can still shine through.

When life seems dark, choose joy. Let your smile be a window of hope reflecting God’s love and the light of His presence in your life.

What else does the Bible teach us about the joy found in God? How does inner joy contribute to a healthy mind, body, and spirit?

The joy You provide is my strength, dear God. Help me to be a messenger of Your love to others.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, July 27, 2021

The Way to Knowledge

If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine… —John 7:17

The golden rule to follow to obtain spiritual understanding is not one of intellectual pursuit, but one of obedience. If a person wants scientific knowledge, then intellectual curiosity must be his guide. But if he desires knowledge and insight into the teachings of Jesus Christ, he can only obtain it through obedience. If spiritual things seem dark and hidden to me, then I can be sure that there is a point of disobedience somewhere in my life. Intellectual darkness is the result of ignorance, but spiritual darkness is the result of something that I do not intend to obey.

No one ever receives a word from God without instantly being put to the test regarding it. We disobey and then wonder why we are not growing spiritually. Jesus said, “If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:23-24). He is saying, in essence, “Don’t say another word to me; first be obedient by making things right.” The teachings of Jesus hit us where we live. We cannot stand as impostors before Him for even one second. He instructs us down to the very last detail. The Spirit of God uncovers our spirit of self-vindication and makes us sensitive to things that we have never even thought of before.

When Jesus drives something home to you through His Word, don’t try to evade it. If you do, you will become a religious impostor. Examine the things you tend simply to shrug your shoulders about, and where you have refused to be obedient, and you will know why you are not growing spiritually. As Jesus said, “First…go….” Even at the risk of being thought of as fanatical, you must obey what God tells you.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The Bible is a relation of facts, the truth of which must be tested. Life may go on all right for a while, when suddenly a bereavement comes, or some crisis; unrequited love or a new love, a disaster, a business collapse, or a shocking sin, and we turn up our Bibles again and God’s word comes straight home, and we say, “Why, I never saw that there before.” Shade of His Hand, 1223 L

Bible in a Year: Psalms 43-45; Acts 27:27-44

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, July 27, 2021

The Bait and the Catch - #9012

I used to work with someone on our team who was a fanatical fisherman! He actually told me about a boy who was starting very young down that same road, or stream as the case may be. At that point, James was only three years old, but his dad had already taught him to fish! The first time they went fishing together Dad gave him a cricket to use as bait. Well, beginner's luck - James caught himself a little sunfish with that cricket. And then, just for fun, Dad decided to let his boy try some serious bait - what fishermen call stink bait. It's got something like pieces of liver in it. Wouldn't you know it! Little James reeled in a seven pound catfish! When Dad tried to get him to go back to the cricket bait - no way, Dad! He had discovered what kind of bait attracts the big ones!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Bait and the Catch."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Proverbs 31:30-31. This whole chapter is actually God's description of a woman who is, in the words of the chapter, "Worth far more than rubies." Who has, as it says, "noble character," who ends up with a husband who "has full confidence in her," and who, "takes his seat among the elders of the land." Boy, she caught a good one! Well, here's her idea of attractive: "Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." And then it says, "Give her the reward she has earned." The woman God praises and the woman a quality man praises is a woman who focuses on having a heart that's right.

Physical appearance, or some kind of social manipulating - that's an increasingly radical blueprint for being a woman when we live in a world that glorifies the physical, the sensual, the sexy. But, many women don't seem to understand what little James already knows - the kind of bait you offer determines the kind of catch you get!

Sometimes you'll hear a woman making the all too accurate complaint that "all men care about is the physical." Well that's another program to talk through that one. But most women I'm acquainted with are not interested in being a sex object to men, or a thing rather than a person, or body parts rather than a whole person. They are made in the image of God and they are infinitely valuable. They want a relationship with men, not a sexual game where they're a conquest. And that's in line with what God wants. In 1 Timothy 5:2, He commands the young men to "treat the younger women as sisters with absolute purity." But apparently there's some women that don't understand that it's harder for men to think pure Because a woman is more stimulated by touch than by sight, it is said, she might not understand the message that she's sending; the trigger that she's activating by what she wears, how she moves, how she flirts. Now that can never excuse a guy from his lust and his sexual wrongs, and blame the woman.

But in many cases a woman wants a man who thinks pure. The lie is that women have to dress a certain way to get male attention. Well I think the bait determines the catch. And thus, the tragedy of our superficial, mostly physical, usually sinful, mostly doomed relationships.

I like 1 Peter 3, God describes the package that a truly beautiful woman offers. He says, "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty." Those who carry the radiance and the innocence of an inner Jesus glow offer a beauty that Hollywood could never match.

So, don't go for the lies about the bait that draws the little fish. Even a little boy knows if you want the best, you need to offer what attracts a quality catch.