August 1st 2012, Genesis 19-21

Genesis 19:14 “So Lot rushed out to tell his daughter’s fiancés, ‘Quick, get out of the city! The Lord is going to destroy it.’ But the young men thought that he was only joking.”’

O. The men didn’t believe Lot, they thought that he was joking and only mocking God. He had become such a part of that society that he didn’t even seem like a man of God.

A. Do people know me as a follower of Christ, or do I blend right into society? Lot had begun to blend so well into the world that when he finally decided to make a stand nobody believed him. We must be different than the environment that surrounds us.

P. I pray that I don’t blend into society, but rather stick out like a sore thumb for everyone to see because I know God. I pray that I exude your love, grace, and compassion. I pray that words won’t be needed for people to know I am your child, but rather just the way I carry myself and the actions that follow.

Genesis 19:26 “But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following along behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.”

O. Lot’s wife LOOKED BACK

A. We cannot look back. We must keep our heads forward towards the life and plan God has for us. Mistakes happen, life happens, but we can’t dwell on what was yesterday, for today is a new day. We can’t let life’s ruts take ahold of us and bring us down, but rather take those moments to help build us up to all that God wants us to be. Even when following God we can’t begin to look back. Lot’s wife was “following along behind” she was right behind Lot, he was guiding her and bring her out of the place that was going to destroy her, but it was because she looked back, because she strayed from following in every footstep Lot had planted in front of her, she turned to salt. God is the same way. He guides us and plants us in the right direction, but it is only when we choose to step-by-step, day by day follow him that we will end up in the right place. God’s hand is upon us, but it is our decision to walk in those steps.

July 31st 2012 Genesis 16-18

Genesis 16:8 “The angel said to Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you been and where are you going?... Return to your mistress and submit to her authority.”

O. Hagar ran away learning that she had become pregnant with Abram’s son and she was mad at Sarai.

A. 1. Hagar needed to return to the problem and face it head on. She needed to go the direct cause in order to seek comfort and peace. She needed to work on her attitude towards authority. 2. Submit to authority. No matter how justified we feel it is running away from our problems will never solve them. Face them head on and ask God to help.

P. God help me to face my fears and tribulations head on. I don’t want to beat around the bush, I want to go full speed ahead knowing that I can with the strength that comes from only you.

 Genesis 18-9-10 “Where is your wife Sarah? They asked. In the tent Abraham replied. Then one of them said, About this time next year, your wife will have a son.”

O. God was keeping his promise to Abraham even though Abraham was still in disbelief.

A. God did and still does keep his promises to us. He follows through on everything he says he will do.

P. Lord, help me to remember all of your promises over my life. And that I not only remember them, but believe in them.

July 30th 2012, Genesis 12-15

S. Genesis 12:9 “Tell you what we’ll do. Take your choice of any section of the land you want and we’ll separate.”

O. Abram and Lot’s herdsman were fighting over the land and pastures and Abram needed to find a solution. Upon Abrams request, he knew very well that he could be cheated out of the best of the land, but did it anyways.

A. Abram knew we could be cheated, and he was. He was given the lesser of the land, but because of his response to the feud, God blessed and honored him. Take the initiative in resolving conflict. Let others have the first choice and put your family’s peace before your own personal desires.

P. Lord, help me to put my own desires second and peace first. I pray for more strength in dealing with those I have difficulty dealing with. I ask for more peace and an ability to respond correctly even I am provoked to act another way.

S. Genesis 15:6 “And Abram believed in the Lord and the Lord declared him righteous because of his faith.”

O. Abram knew he could trust God and because of this his actions were natural by-products.

A. It was simply Abram believing in the Lord that pleased the Lord. Even though Abram had his doubts in the situation, he knew it was basically impossible for him and his wife to bear a child, he still chose to have a faith and trust in God. A right relationship with God is based on faith- the heartfelt inner confidence that God is who he says he is and does what he says he will do. Right actions will follow naturally as by-products.

P. I trust you God. I want to trust you. I choose to trust you.

July 29th 2012, Job 40-42

S. Job 40:4 “I am nothing- how could I find the answers”

O. Job had finally realized he didn’t have the answers. He kept asking and persisting on answers that God wasn’t giving him, instead of truly trusting all that God was.

A. We argue with God. We demand answers that aren’t ours to have. We say, “ How could this happen?”…or… “Why me God?!” When we do this, we stop trusting God: we stop trusting that God has a complete and wonderful plan for our lives. We cannot know everything and because we can’t sometimes we get mad. BUT we must learn to choose between anger and trust in God. Everything happens for a reason. Find the reason for the season that you are in. Again I say, we aren’t the best until we have gone through the worst depending on God.

P. Lord, help me to trust you. Help me to know when to ask questions and when to shut up and tune my ear towards you. Help me to find the reason in each and every season that is front of me. 

July 28th 2012, Job 38-39

S. Job 38-39

O. God begins talking and asking Job all sorts of questions about Earth. He asks about the animals, about nature, the weather, about everything; all of which Job had no answers to. God didn’t anticipate any answers though, just acknowledgement from Job that he doesn’t know everything.

A. I am not God. Why do I try to be God? I don’t know what God knows, so why do I seek answers I know I can’t find? God was trying to get Job to recognize that he doesn’t know it all. God was trying to get Job to submit to his power and sovereignty. Only then could Job hear what is was God was trying to say.

P. I pray to submit to God’s power. I pray to acknowledge that I don’t have all the answers and don’t know everything. I pray to have a better ear for what it is God is trying to convey to me.

July 27th 2012, Job 35-37

Job 35:13 “But it is wrong to say the Almighty isn’t concerned. And even more false to say he doesn’t see what is going on. He will bring about justice if only you wait.”

O. We often only ever cry out because of our own selfish pride. We think there is nothing we could have done to deserve the ruts in life, and we cry out to God because our last resort. That’s completely backwards.

A. God loves us deeply, deeper than we could ever imagine or even hope to imagine. He wants the absolute best for us, but we can’t be our absolute best until we have gone through the worst depending on him. We must fight what is in front of us with God. Job 36:9, “He takes the trouble and shows us the reason.”

P. Help me to not have pride in calling out to you. I pray that you are my first resort. I pray you are the first thing I cry out to in the morning. Through the worst and the best, I pray that you are the one I call to.

July 26th, 2012 Job 32-34

Job 32:8-9 “Surely it is God’s spirit within people, the breath of the Almighty, that makes them intelligent.”

O. Elihu recognized that God’s wisdom and truth must actually be lived out in our own lives and that we must consistently be seeking it.

A. Becoming wise is an ongoing process. That’s why we must seek God DAILY through prayer and through his word. We don’t automatically become wise when we become a Christian. It’s a process that we must seek through God.

P. I want to know you God. I want to seek you Daily, and seek your wisdom and knowledge.

Job 34:14 “God speaks again and again though people do not recognize it.”

O. Elihu tells Job that maybe God has been trying to reach him and speak to him, but Job doesn’t realize it.

A. The story of Samson is similar. God tried reaching Samson again and again, but Samson was too tied up in doing things his way that he became deaf to God’s voice. In the end he didn’t even realize God had left him when he did.

P. I want to be so in tune with your voice that I can always hear it God. Don’t ever leave me. Help me become so focused to see things around me with your sight. I want to have your eyes to help and speak to those that need it.

July 25th, 2012 Job 29-31

Job 31:33-34 “Have I tried to hide my sins as people normally do, hiding my guilt in my closet?”

O. All of Chpt 31 Job is going through everything and anything that he could have possibly done to deserve such a punishment that he was receiving.

A. People have such a fear that their sins will be discovered that soon they just begin to go down paths of deception. We cover up our lives and do our best to appear “holy” when in reality we ALL sin. And biggest of all we honestly forget that no matter how good we become at deceiving people, God sees absolutely everything we do or don’t do. God sees the real you, and still chooses to love us. Acknowledge your sins and move forward in life.

P. Help me to not hide from you God. Help me to acknowledge my own sins and move forward in life.

July 24th, 2012 Job 24-28

Job 28:12,23 “But do people know where to find wisdom? Where can they find such understanding?”…”God surely knows where it can be found.”

O. Only God can give us true wisdom.

A. People can do all sorts of technologically advanced things nowadays. Even in medicine and science, technologies are always changing and becoming better, but really God is the source of wisdom. He is the only one who can supply it.

P. Help me God to only find wisdom from you. Not to find wisdom from other people or technologies, but from you and who you are.

July 23rd, 2012 Job 21-23

S. Job 21: 22-24 “But who can teach a lesson to God, the supreme Judge? One person dies in prosperity and security, the very picture of good health. Another person dies in bitter poverty, never having tasted the good life.”

O. Job feels like he is being treated unjustly by God. He is calling God out on the fact that he feels sinful people get away with everything they di, while people who have never done any wrong end up with the short end of the stick.

A. God does what he wants. People (myself included) should not use their own circumstances to measure God’s goodness. Prosperity and good ness are not necessarily related. God measures success on the heart, not a person’s outward performance.

P. I want to have a good heart Lord. Not just actions of “goodness,” but I want those actions to burst forth from my want to serve and love people. Continually change my heart to want more of you and more of your heart for the people around me.

S. Job 22:21-23 “Stop quarreling with God! If you agree with him, you will have peace at last, and things will go well for you. Listen to his instructions, and store them in your heart. If you return to the Almighty and clean up your life, you will be restored!

O. Eliphaz is telling Job to clean up his act. Job became so stuck in his losses that he couldn’t move past the fog that he had put up.

A. Adjust your attitude. Stop rolling around in your pile of whine and listen to God. Give him your heart, listen to him and follow what he says. Your response will indicate your current attitude towards God. His purposes go deeper than our ability to grasp all that’s going on.

P. God I trust you. Help me to not become fogged in my own inabilities to understand what’s going on, and to follow all that you have planned for me.

July 22nd, 2012 Job 17-20

S. Job 17-15 "But where is my hope? Can anyone find it?"
O. Job had given up all hope in life. Not only in himself, but even in God. He was done dealing with all his peril and just wanted to give up. But, Job wrapped himself up in his thoughts of death, grief, pain, and disappointment.
A. Especially in hard times, we need to be careful where and how we view life. If we only view life from every negative thing coming at us, we can't see what's ahead. We become like a horse with blinders on, he can't see anything else except for what's in his next footstep. God promises a faithful never-ending future with him, he is our protector, our strength. Don't lose sight of that.
P. Lord, help me not to put blinders on my own eyes. I want to be able to look at you, not just what part of life is in front of me. I want to look to ahead with complete hope in you for my future.
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S. Job 20: 6-7 "Though the godless man's pride reaches to the heavens and though his head touches the clouds, he will perish forever."
O. Zophar is saying that sin, although often joined with great pride, is only enjoyable at first.
A. Sin is only a temporary feeling of gain or accomplishment. At first it seems fun and worthwhile, but then there is consequence for our actions.
P. I know that I'm a sinner. Please help me to become closer and more like you God. So that I can recognize my wrong doings and learn from them. I give you everything I am.

July 21st, 2012 Job 14-16

S. Job 16:1 "I have heard all this before, what miserable comforters you are!"
O. Job was sick and tired of hearing all the advice from his friends. The advice had nothing to do with what he had done or was going through, they were all just blank words
A. Don't give advice just because. Job's friends were supposed to be comforting him in his grief, but instead were just condemning him. There are better ways to comfort others, don't just talk for the sake of talking, often times people just need someone to listen to them. Offer sincere encouragement, don't criticize, and put yourself in their shoes. Offer comfort, not just words.
P. Help me please to find the right words when I talk to people. That I don't just speak empty words, but truth. Help me to be wise in the words I choose and my own thought process, so that people soak in and use what I have to say.

Suffering? Who said Anything About That?

As I sit here, very impatiently for my sheets to dry (I forgot to put them in the dryer earlier…so annoyed with myself) I decided to write a little something else. I think as Christians we think that because we are Christians and "oh so holy"... bad stuff can't touch us. We picture our little family with 2.5 kids in a big home with a green lawn and a white picket fence. Well, that's just not reality people. Sorry to burst your bubble. Bad stuff happens to good people, and sometimes we really don't know why, just like Job. But, it's in those times when we need to put our serious faces on and truly and with every cell in our being rely on God. I found this little compare and contrast in my bible and I’ll add a little bit too, but I just thought it was so great. (I am copying word for word, so I don’t know what counts or doesn’t count as plagiarism, but whatever…)


Suffering is helpful when:

-We turn to God for understanding, endurance, and deliverance.

-We ask important questions we might not take time to think about in our normal routine

-We let it prepare us to identify with and comfort others who suffer

-We are open to being helped by others who are obeying God

-We realize we can identify with what Christ suffered on the cross for Us

-We are sensitized to the amount of suffering in the world

Suffering is Harmful when:

-We become hardened and bitter

- We refuse to ask any questions and miss any lessons that might be good for us

-We allow it to make us self-centered and selfish

-We withdraw from the help others can give

-We accuse God of being unjust and perhaps lead others to reject him

We refuse to be open to any changes in our lives

I just thought this was such a great contrast to the ways we can react to life. Honestly, sometimes things we don’t like happen, but it’s in those times that we not only see who we will rely on, but also who we come out being at the end of that seemingly never-ending tunnel. Still only being 19, I myself have seen some battles, most being completely out of my hands. I was 11 when I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease. I have been on and off several regimens of one med after the other, and this past year I had 3ft of my intestine removed. There have been days where I joyfully am climbing or kayaking or doing whatever else I can do, and some days where simply picking something up is too hard for my joints to manage. Among other things, I have seen and dealt with junk hitting myself and my family square in the face, but it was how we dealt with it. I never (at least I try very hard not to) crawl into a hole and curse out God.  It’s just not who I am. I know I wouldn’t be the same young woman of God I am now if it wasn’t for things that have happened in my life, especially for the way I reacted to those things in my life. I don’t know what you will do in situations, but a little word of advice: trust the big man upstairs; he knows what’s going on.

July 20th, 2012 Job 10-13

S. Job 11:13 “If only you would prepare your heart and life up your hands in prayer!”

O. Zopher is basically scolding Job for whining and carrying on so much about how much his life sucks.

A. A lot of times if we are going through stuff we forget to simply stop groveling and lift up our hands and pray! Why? I have no idea, but it would probably be much easier to just rely on God. We forget who God is, that he created the universe, he created us, and he really can give us strength and peace. We begin to rely on our OWN strength instead. We rely on our job, our wealth, our good looks, our family. I know I do it. What else are you relying on?

P. I pray that I always turn to you first God. Whenever something is happening that is out of my control, I pray that you would be the first thing I look to for advice, rather than my own strength.

Why me?

I have found through college and varying levels of figuring out what I want to do with my life that waiting…is hard. I really hate it. But aside from school it’s even more difficult waiting for answers from God. Ever feel like you pray and ask God different things, but don’t ever feel like you get an answer? Or even just not the answer you were hoping for? (commence embarrassed laugh because that’s me)

I have often found myself asking God, why. Why didn’t I get into that school, or why do I have to do this or that, or in the past why the heck storms (more like hurricanes) came flying at me all at once. Similarly to Job I wanted answers, but more often than not I got zip. Notta. Nothin. That’s when I learned this little acronym of why. We need to wait, hope and yield.

As I said before, waiting sucks. In the end when God finally spoke to Job, he still didn’t give him an answer. In doing so, he showed Job that sometimes it’s better to let God handle the answers and we just roll with the punches. That's the same for us. God knows what's going on, he knows far better than I do what to do, so I'm going to let him handle it.

That’s why it’s important to hope. When we remember that God loves us, and has a great plan for our lives, and that he has more powerful than ourselves in any situation that we may encounter, we can have hope. Hope is putting our trust in God, even when we don’t know what’s going on and knowing that we may never find out why some things happen.

To yield, means that you are willing to do whatever God wants. It means we will wait and we will hope and put our trust in God, because he is God. Knowing God is better than knowing all the answers.

Instead of asking why... why... why, maybe next time you'll sit back and remember to wait, hope and yield on God. I'll try to remember too, I promise.

July 19th, 2012 Job 6-9

S. Job 6:8-9 “Oh that I might have my request, that God would grant my hope. I wish he would crush me, that he would reach out his hand and kill me.”

Notice: I didn’t underline this in my bible because I thought it would get through life in any way…haha I did however underline it because of the meaning behind what happened, or should I say didn’t happen after Job requested to die…

O. Job wanted to give up, he was done with life and done living and with pretty darn good reason. BUT God didn’t grant Job his wish at all. God had a different plan.

A. I think we as humans or Christians, and knowingly myself included, tend to give up too easily. When the going gets tough we often forget how big God actually is. We can certainly trust what God is doing in our lives when it is going easy, but as soon as the storms come at us we don’t know what’s going on. I need to trust God through the punches when I know he is testing my limits.

P. Lord, I trust you. I trust that you have a plan bigger than what I know and could even imagine. I pray that through the crap of life I learn to always lean on you.

S. Job 8: 14-15 “Everything they count on will collapse…They cling to their home for security, but it won’t last…”

O. Although Bildad (guy talking to Job) was technically wrongly accusing Job, he still makes a fantastic point. People often hold onto something that isn’t eternal and will fade at the first blow of life.

A. What do I put my security in? I think people will do a lot to feel secure wherever they are. Money, possessions, knowledge, relationships, and a whole lot of other things only last a little while. If only we can find that security in God. Oh wait… we CAN! We have to let ourselves be secure in God. If you have a secure foundation with God, then feelings of insecurity can’t uproot you.  

P. I want to be secure in you God. Please help me to root my foundation in who you are and who I am because of you.

July 18th, 2012 Job 1-5

S. Job 1:21 “I came naked from my mother’s womb; I will be shaped of everything when I die, the Lord gave me everything I had, and the lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord.”

O. Absolutely EVERYTHING was taken away from Job. All at once his servants, his land and crops, his thousands of animals, and even all ten of his children, BUT Job still praised God. He still had a heart of gratitude for all that God had given him. Even later on in the book of Job, the enemy even takes away his health and although Job is bedridden and sick beyond words he STILL praises. Crazy.

A. I want to trust God with everything just as Job did. He had such faith and hope in the plan God for his life. It’s actually insane. I wish and hope that I can be so enthralled with the love and destiny God has for me, that even at rock bottom I can still praise his name and be thankful.

P. I want to trust you God. I want to trust you with absolutely everything in my life; I want to trust you with not only the big things, but the minute things. Help me God to put ALL of my faith in you.

July 17th, 2012 Gen 8-11

S. Gen 8: 1 “But God remembered Noah and all the animals on the boat.”

O. After almost an entire year on the boat, God hadn’t forgotten, or forsaken Noah, his family, and the animals.

A. God has never forgotten who I am. He doesn’t ever leave me or forsake me. God is consistently in my life.

P. I pray that I can remember that God doesn’t forget me. When the storms persist and attack me, I know that God is always there. He is my strength, my stronghold, my Cornerstone.

S. Gen 11:4 “Let’s build a great city with a tower that reaches to the skies- a monument of OUR greatness.”

O. Even shortly after the flood that wiped everyone out, the people had already forgotten who God was and once again making everything about their own prideful gains.

A. I don’t want to forget where God has taken me and is bringing me now. I hope that my own pride never gets to the point where I completely forget all that God is.

P. Help me God to be in constant check of who you are in my own life. I pray to always be in tune with everything you have done in me, and to never forget it.

July 16th, 2012 Gen 4-7

S. Gen 4:3 “Cain brought to the Lord a gift of his farm produce, while Abel brought several choice lambs from the best of his flock.”

O. Abel brought the very best that he had, while Cain only brought his seconds. It wasn’t a sacrifice to Cain.

A. I want to give God my very best, not my seconds and thirds, not my leftovers. I want him to have the very best of me. Everything I have, everything I am I want the Lord to have. I want to give every part of me away for God to take, not just bits and pieces of specific percentages of my heart, but absolutely everything in me.

P. God, help me to make a Daily decision to give you everything that I am, every attitude, every word, every thought process. Everything. I give it all to you.

S. Gen 6:8 “But Noah found favor with the Lord.”

O. Even with all the wickedness going on around him, Noah still maintained a close relationship with God. “He consistently followed God’s will and enjoyed a close relationship with him.”

A. I want to consistently be in God’s will and have a close relationship with him. Close enough that I know that no matter what is going on around me, I will still be in God’s will for my own life.

P. I want to know you God. I want to know who you are, I want to be in your word, breathing it in, speaking it out in encouragement. I want who you are to ooze out of who I am. Help me to become close to you, help me to have an ongoing relationship with you.

July 15th, 2012 Genesis 1-3

S. Gen 1:2 “…The Earth was empty a formless mass cloaked in darkness, and the spirit of God was hovering over its surface”

O. Even while the Earth was nothing, “a formless mass” even before creation or light existed, God’s presence was still there.

A. Whenever I feel like God isn’t there, I can remember that he has ALWAYS been there. Even before the beginning of time itself, his presence was in existence. I don’t have to be afraid, or lonely or confused; I know my God really is there.

P. God, help me to remember every day that you are and have always been there. No matter what life throws at me, you are there.

S. Gen 2:27- “So God created people in his own image; God patterned them after himself; male and female he created them.”

O. We are all made in God’s perfect image.

A. I am made by God. Therefore, as it says, I am patterned after him, in his own image. God doesn’t see my flaws or scars, God sees me as his beautiful, precious daughter that he so carefully and delicately created. God sees me for me, and still chooses to unconditionally love me.

P. Lord, help me to know who I am in you. That I am one of a kind and that you specifically designed me and created me in such a unique way with every hope and desire, with a purpose and destiny.

--Interesting that as I wrote this because earlier tonight my youth pastor said something that has stuck with me: “We must know Whose we are, before we know Who we are.” Before we know our purpose in life, our gifting and specific callings, we must first recognize who we are in Christ. That he designed us for specific reasons, with certain wants and hates different than the next person. Only then, can we realize what purpose we were really designed for, a purpose to glorify God in our own designated way.

S. Gen 3:33 “Then the Lord God asked the woman, “How could you do such a thing?”… “The serpent tricked me, that’s why I ate it she replied.””

O. Satan knew just how to trick Eve into eating the fruit. He was keen and knew just the right words to get her to disobey God’s words.

A. Satan knows just the right way to get me to do something I know isn’t right. He does it with the right person at just the timing, and that’s it. I want to be stronger than that, stronger than Satan’s sly words to get me down.

P. God I pray that I stray away from Satan’s plan of attack and defeat. That I become strong in you, strong like Job, enough to know exactly when the enemy is attacking and to look straight towards you. I pray that I can point out when Satan is coming at me, and go the other direction.