Nothing builds COURAGE and WISDOM faster than integrity. Integrity builds courage because it requires people to do things they find frightening. Integrity builds wisdom because the good decisions it requires draw a person out of darkness and into the light. Both Job and his friends are men of integrity. (But only Job is a manContinue reading “Integrity Builds Courage & Wisdom.”
Author Archives: Steven Wales
Good News! The Bible is Not All Good News. Job 5:7
Some Christians greatly dislike Ecclesiastes–preachers, included. I think they don’t understand it. Ecclesiastes is a gut-check. If you are optimistic, if every message you speak is “turn that frown upside-down,” you are missing the gut of the Bible. THE BIBLE IS FOR PEOPLE WITH PROBLEMS—REAL problems, that can’t be fixed by clichés and bumper-sticker theology.Continue reading “Good News! The Bible is Not All Good News. Job 5:7”
Job Had Great Friends. Job 2:12-13.
Are you a true friend? Do you have true friends? Proverbs 17:17 says, “A brother was made for adversity.” But sometimes a true friend is the one you can really rely on. Job had true friends. Yes, that’s right—Job. Everyone criticizes and mocks his friends. We judge them harshly because they saw all that JobContinue reading “Job Had Great Friends. Job 2:12-13.”
Perfect Integrity. Job 1:1.
“There was a man in the land of Uz named Job. He was a man of perfect integrity who feared God and turned away from evil.” Job 1:1. What is meant by “perfect integrity”? Integrity means “wholeness,” so perfect integrity means being whole—there are no empty places inside you, no bricks missing in your wall. Continue reading “Perfect Integrity. Job 1:1.”
Job: A Great Father. Job 1:5.
What do think of when you think of dads? A man tossing his baby in the air? A daddy-daughter dance? Little league? Learning to ride a bike, use tools, do chores? What about Biblical fatherhood? Joseph adopted Jesus as his own, Abraham took Isaac to the altar and put God first. Jacob moved to Egypt—withContinue reading “Job: A Great Father. Job 1:5.”
Do We Blame God When Bad Things Happen?
Job was the wealthiest man of his time, “the greatest man among all the people of the east.” He had 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, and thousands of other animals, servants without number, and ten grown children he adored. Then in a single moment he lost it all—including his children. Did he blame God? Here’s theContinue reading “Do We Blame God When Bad Things Happen?”
Report Cards.
What if God offered a report card on the state of your heart? In Revelation 2 and 3, Jesus evaluates seven churches, praising them when He can, but also pointing out weaknesses: “You have lost your first love… You are lukewarm….” Job likewise received a “report card” but he got perfect grades. Twice God saysContinue reading “Report Cards.”
Bless Your Children.
Even a casual reader of the Old Testament will notice that people took spoken words—blessings and curses—more seriously back then. Genesis is filled with powerful blessings spoken over people. Each patriarch blesses his sons: Abraham blesses Isaac, Isaac blesses Jacob and Esau, Jacob blesses his twelve sons, and more. Some of Jacob’s blessings are poetic:Continue reading “Bless Your Children.”
“It Was Not You, But God…”
By God’s grace, terrible things can have positive outcomes. Romans 8:28 says “God causes all things to work together for good….” God is sovereign—He is the Ruler and King of the universe. He fashions the worst things into good. More than twenty years after they sold him into slavery, Joseph revealed his identity to hisContinue reading ““It Was Not You, But God…””
A “TYPE OF CHRIST” (Have You Heard the Phrase?)
At the age of 147, Jacob is in his final days. He calls his sons to himself and blesses each one—although some of the blessings sound like curses as he notes their colossal failures. Jacob reserves the greatest blessing for Judah, which reads in part: “The SCEPTER will not depart from Judah or the STAFFContinue reading “A “TYPE OF CHRIST” (Have You Heard the Phrase?)”
Household Words: 