Romans 10

“For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge” (v2).  Paul desperately wanted more of his Jewish brethren to be saved (v1).  He saw that their problem was that they were pursuing God’s righteousness on their own terms, rather than accepting what God Himself freely offered (v3). They thought they owned their religion and its rules (v5-9), and so they were offended by “the word of faith” (v8) that simply declares “Jesus is Lord.”

“Ever

...

Roman 9

“They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises …” (v4).  Paul anguished over the fact that his fellow Jews, receivers of a great spiritual inheritance, rejected God’s Messiah.  However, God’s word, His gifts and promises had not failed (v6), because “not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel … it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children

...

Job 36-38

“If they listen and serve him, they complete their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasantness” (36:11). It’s tempting to believe, like Elihu and Job’s other friends believed, that earthly prosperity is the mark of God’s favor. People who are financially stable and have high-status jobs must be “doing something right.”   While there are benefits to following God’s ways (deep peace and a clean conscience, for example), the truth is that the righteous experience trou

...

Job 35

“If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against him? … If you are righteous, what do you give to him?” (v6-7). Trying to defend God, Elihu gets it exactly wrong. Job’s story opened with a demonstration of how much God cared about Job’s righteousness. Job’s loyalty to God was a frustration to Satan; Job’s troubles were a test to see if Job would walk away from God when his life fell apart. Far from being detached, God cared deeply about Job’s life.

 Like Job, we are ofte

...

Job 34

“For according to the work of a man he will repay him, and according to his ways he will make it befall him” (v11). In many other situations, Elihu’s theory works very well, as the proverbs teach us. Our actions have consequences, both earthly and spiritual. However, Job’s life didn’t follow that pattern (at least not all the time), and therefore he questioned the point of serving God, which made Elihu furious (v9). Job’s questions were honest, and so was Elihu’s exasperat

...

Job 33

“Behold, God does all these … to bring back his soul from the pit, that he may be lighted with the light of life” (v29-30). Well-intentioned Elihu declared many truths to Job, though none spoke to the heart of Job’s situation. God may speak to us through dreams and circumstances to warn us when we stray from His path (v15), but Job had not been falling into sin when disaster struck. Elihu was sincere, but he missed the point.

“God is greater than man” (v12). Even good peopl

...

Job 32

“But it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand …” (v8). After listening to Job’s three friends give speeches that went nowhere, Elihu “burned with anger.”  He knew the answer to why Job was suffering: “Listen to me; let me also declare my opinion” (v10). Yet his opinion turned out to be similar to that of Job’s friends; he was sure that Job was being punished for sin (ch 33). Like the others, Elihu’s “wisdom” was limited by his human vi

...

Psalm 85

“Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly” (v8). The psalmist remembered God’s past forgiveness of Israel: “You covered all their sin” (v2). He longed to see God “speak peace” again, to “restore” and “revive” those who were broken down by disobedience (v4-6). A restored relationship with God leads to His glory being revealed, people living according to His ways of righteousness, fait

...

Romans 8

“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (v16). No longer under the law or slaves of sin, we now are “children of God,” and “fellow heirs” with Christ. Our spirits have been reborn, and we look forward to the resurrection of our bodies so that we can enjoy a future life in God’s renewed world (v21-23). For now, Paul says, we follow Christ’s example: “we suffer with him so that we may be glorified with him” (v17). 

 Being God’s beloved s

...

Job 30-31

“And now my soul is poured out within me; days of affliction have taken hold of me” (30:16).  Job was suffering because he had physical pain and he had lost his family and possessions.  He also suffered from a sense of betrayal: he had done his best to please God, yet he felt like God had abandoned him.  “I cry to you for help, and you do not answer me” (v20).  He struggled to keep hoping.  “When I waited for light, darkness came” (v26).

“But when I hoped for good … "(v26).

...

Job 29

"Oh, that I were as in the months of old, as in the days when God watched over me …” (v1).  Job longed for “the old days” when he was healthy and in his prime (v2).  He remembered when people respected him and were glad to see him coming, and he had so much wealth that he blessed others (v8-13). Now he was no longer powerful, or admired, or praised; he was either ignored or pitied – a sufferer like those he used to help. 

“I was a father to the needy …” (v16).  We all prefe

...

Job 28

“But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?” (v12).  Job described the way humans had figured out how to mine deep underground for precious things like gold, silver, iron, copper, and gems.  Yet on their own, people could never find the most precious thing: wisdom, which ancients believed included knowledge, moral discernment, and the ability to bring order from chaos.   “God understands the way to it, and He knows its place” (v23).  

“The fea

...

Job 27

“Far be it from me to say that you are right; till I die I will not put away my integrity from me” (v5).  Under intense pressure, Job clung to his conviction that his troubles weren’t a punishment for sin (v6).  Though he was angry and didn’t understand God’s ways (v1-3), Job kept turning to the Almighty with his questions. Without God, Job knew there was no hope at all.  “For what is the hope of the godless when God cuts him off, when God takes away his life?” (v8). 

Like

...

Job 26

“Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?” (v14).  Job didn’t really understand his own life, and he had a few misperceptions about God.  However, more than his “comforters,” Job recognized the awesome, terrifying greatness of the Almighty.  To quiet his know-it-all accusers, Job reminded them that only God knows “the boundary between light and darkness” (v10), and only God

...

Psalm 84

“My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God” (v2).  The psalmist expressed his deep conviction that living in God’s presence, walking in close fellowship with our Creator, is better than any other kind of life.  The psalmist had tasted the beauty and peace (“lovely”, v1) of knowing God, and he had found strength even in weakness (v5).  He found God to be the source of all good things: favor and honor, protectio

...