Bible in 90 Days 18: JOB

Today is Day 40 in our journey through the Bible in 90 days.

In 40 days, we’ve covered 18 books of the Bible! Wow! In just 5 more days, we’ll hit a milestone: the half-way mark! Keep going…

Today we finish up Job and start the book of Psalms. Job is a book of tragedy, foolish counsel, mourning, but also great strength. It’s also the first book in the “poetry” section of the Old Testament. The Bible is divided into sections, and isn’t always chronological. Case in point: the book of Job. Job lived around the time of Abraham – in fact, they could have been buddies.

ONCE UPON A TIME…

Job begins happy and cheery. All is well, Job’s 10 children are partying, his animals and servants are living the life, and Job is in regular fellowship with his best friend: God. It doesn’t take long for life to take a turn for the worst, however. By the end of the very first chapter, all of Job’s kids are dead, his animals have been killed and/or stolen, almost of of his servants are dead, and he’s completely crushed.

Whenever I get to Job 1:20, I always have to pause – it blows me away. It tells us his response to his severe loss: WORSHIP.

I want to say I’d respond the same way, but so many times (with much less loss), I’ve responded the wrong way.

His loss continues in Chapter 2. Satan decided that taking his family and wealth wasn’t enough – he’d also take his health (with God’s permission, of course!). So, by the end of Job 2, we find this (once) wealthy, healthy, man of integrity sitting on a pile of ashes scraping his gaping wounds with broken pieces of pottery. It doesn’t get much lower than that…but then it does.

Who need enemies when you have friends like these?

Most of the rest of Job is either Job complaining about his circumstances (rightfully so) while trying to maintain his integrity and faith in the Lord, or his wife or 3 friends (Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar) giving him terrible advice. It’s brutal. By the end, he’s making sacrifices to atone for their sins because God won’t listen to them!

In Job 8:4, Job’s good old buddy, Bildad, even has the audacity to accuse Job of hidden sin! As if Job were to blame for his suffering! That’s a sad misconception that is sometimes even taught from pulpits today: hidden sin is causing your suffering. If you’d just repent/have enough faith/give enough money, God would heal you/bless you/prosper you. Sometimes, hidden sin or lack of faith is the issue, but don’t be so quick to apply that to every situation. Sometimes, some very Godly men and women suffer very deeply.

There are glimpses of hope throughout Job, though. Job 19:25-26 is a well known one…

For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God,

What a statement!

The hook-up

Although Job is a book full of suffering, mourning, and sorrow, it ends on a high note when God appears. He spends the last couple chapters reminding Job that He is Master/Boss/Creator/Sustainer, then He hooks Job up. According to Job 42:10, God answered Job’s prayers, then restored his possessions…TWOFOLD! God is faithful!

If you’re suffering right now, take heart. God knows and God cares.

Enjoy the book of Psalms for the next few days – it’s a nice change of pace after such a heavy book like Job!

…Don’t get used to it, though, Ecclesiastes is only a few books away!

Bible in 90 Days 17: ESTHER

Today is Day 37 in our journey through the Bible in 90 days.

Today we finish up Esther and begin the book of Job. Esther is like a Red Bull – it’s short, but it provides a punch!

Esther is only 10 chapters long, and it’s one of only 2 books of the Bible named after a female. Do you know the other one? (Hint: It begins with “R” and rhymes with “tooth”).

One of the most intriguing things about Esther, however, is that the name of “God” is not found anywhere in the book! Not only will you not read the name of God in Esther, but you also won’t read about the Messiah, prayer, worship, faith, heaven, hell, the Temple, or the Law! So, your first question might be, “Why even include Esther in the Bible?” Many people throughout history have asked the same question, and some, such as Martin Luther himself, have even argued that it shouldn’t be included in Scripture.

I disagree.

I believe Esther to be a very practical and applicable picture of daily life and circumstances. Sometimes we do see God move and work in powerful, mysterious, and miraculous ways. However, more often than not, God works behind the scenes, and instead of seeing God Himself, we see the effects of God at work. Enter Esther…

Esther has always been a favorite book of mine. It’s packed full of plot twists, treachery, villains, unlikely heroes, and surprises. It keeps you on the edge of your seat for all 10 chapters. I’ve taught through Esther twice – once when I was a youth pastor and once with Awaken. At Awaken, I called our study of Esther “God is NOWHERE” because the title so clearly describes the book. At first, you may read “God is Nowhere,” which may be your same reaction when you first read a book of the Bible that never mentions God. However, as you look closer at the title, and the book, the reality begins to emerge: God is Now HERE!

I had just taught week 3 of our study in Esther – a messaged called “The Miss Persia Pageant” – when the flood hit our church back in May of 2010. One of the pictures that sticks in my mind the most is a picture of our sanctuary filled with muddy water with our Esther banner hanging in the background proclaiming “God is Now HERE!”

I hope you found encouragement in your walk with God as your watched Him supernaturally orchestrate the events of the book of Esther. There’s no question that it’s God at work!

Even though His people had been disobedient, and some of them (like Mordecai) weren’t even geographically where they should have been at the time, God loved them and provided for them.

Whatever you’re going through and however distant God may seem, rest in the fact that GOD IS NOW HERE.

Next up: JOB!

Bible In 90 Days 2: EXODUS

Today is Day 8 in our journey through the Bible in 90 days.

In just 1 week, we’ve already covered 90 chapters of Scripture – Genesis 1-50 and Exodus 1-40! Great job! Keep it up! Today, we begin the bloody book of Leviticus.

One thing you may have noticed that’s different about Exodus than Genesis is that the tone really changed. We certainly saw a lot of the devastation of sin in Genesis, but we really get up close and personal with it in Exodus. The new Pharaoh that took the throne in the beginning of Exodus didn’t know Joseph and didn’t respect God’s people, so harsh slavery ensued. However, as God is always faithful to do, He raised up a deliver. And who did God choose? An 80-year old cowardly shepherd with a stuttering problem named Moses! God has a sense of humor, doesn’t He?

Moses squared off with Pharaoh, and after a series of 10 devastating plagues that left Egypt almost completely destroyed, God’s people finally left the slavery of Egypt.

Exodus 12:35-36 – Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked from the Egyptians articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing. And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.

Not only did God get what He wanted (the exodus of His people from Egypt), but they also plundered the most powerful nation in the world on their way out!

The adventure didn’t end there, though – it was just beginning. They soon saw more miraculous deliverance as God parted the Red Sea, allowed them to walk across on dry land, then drowned the Egyptian army with it! Amazing!

The second half of Exodus may have been a bit of a challenge to read as they went over many chapters of detailed laws (Exodus 20 lists the 10 Commandments) and instructions for building the Temple. God was so detailed, He even outlined what kind of underwear the priests should wear!

Be encouraged by this, though: God sees you, He knows you, and He’s intimately acquainted with your pain. He will deliver, but deliverance may not be when you planned or look how you would think…and that’s the hard part. In addition to pulling you out of slavery, He also wants to use you to build His temple and serve His people! He doesn’t just want to save you, but He wants to use you to save others as well!

Next up: Leviticus. Buckle up.

Bible In 90 Days 1: GENESIS

Today is Day 5 of our journey through the Bible in 90 days.

Many people don’t make it through Genesis in one year, but we plowed through 50 chapter of Genesis in just 4 days! Amazing!

“Genesis” means “beginnings,” and it sure is a good place to begin. There are a lot of beginnings in Genesis: the beginning of time & creation, the beginning of the human race, the beginning of sin, the beginning of God’s redemptive plan (Genesis 3:15), and so much more.

One thing I love about reading through the Bible at this pace is watching stories unfold before my eyes. In just our first day of reading, we covered thousands of years of history beginning at the creation of the world, continuing through Abraham’s departure to “the land God would show him.”

As I look back on Genesis, a verse that stands out to me is Genesis 50:20…

But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.

This is Joseph speaking to his brothers who had tried to get rid of him by selling him as a slave, then destroying his coat, making his father believe he had been killed. It was an act of anger and hatred that God used for their protection! What they meant for evil, God used to preserve their life, as He set Joseph in power over Egypt.

Although that is one isolated verse, the theme of God’s preservation of His people flows throughout Genesis (and the Bible). Even from the entrance of sin into the human race, God had a plan. In fact, before Adam & Eve ever had a problem, God knew it and had it solved! He’s always on the lookout for His people! Genesis 3:15 is the first Messianic prophecy in Scripture, and by the end of the chapter, He even made some sweet leather clothes for Adam & Eve! Of course, animals don’t just unzip their skin and hand it over like a jacket – there had to be bloodshed. God used death and blood to cover their sins…sounds familiar. We’ll read more about that as we continue.

Whatever reading schedule you’re on, keep going!

If you’re not reading along with us, it’s not too late to join. Download a reading schedule in our NINETY teaching archive or grab one next time you’re at Awaken.

Join us on Wednesday nights at 6:30pm as we dive into some of the passages we’ve been reading.

What was your favorite part about Genesis?

What do you think of NINETY so far?

NINETY: Through the Bible in 90 Days!

Last night marked the end of our study through the book of Jonah, but the beginning of a new series that will launch in 2 weeks, called NINETY.

When I sit down in counseling with people, almost across the board, their problems boil down to this main issue: not enough Bible. We have the Word of God that is living, active, and sharper than a two-edged sword, but far too often, it gets used like it’s a dull butter knife.

According to a recent Gallup poll, “More than half of all Americans read the Bible less than once a month, including 24 percent who say they have never read it and 6 percent who can’t recall the last time they read it.”

So what are people doing with their time?

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the average American spends 2.8 hours per day watching TV

The total time spent on Facebook in December 2010 alone was 49.4 billion minutes (do the math – that’s A LOT of time!)!

USA Today reports that 10% of time spent online is for games like Farmville.

Don’t get me wrong – there’s nothing innately wrong with playing games, watching TV, and social networking…unless it takes away from time with God. If you “just don’t have time to read” your Bible, but you’re harvesting crops and buying cows on Farmville while watching The Bachelor, something needs to change.

That’s where NINETY comes in.

We’re going to take NINETY days (May 4-August 1) to read and study through portions of Scripture together.

Here’s how it breaks down…

We have 3 reading schedules available, depending on how deep into this you want to get…

1) THE WHOLE BIBLE: 1,189 chapters

Average commitment: 1 hour & 13 chapters per day

It’s a BIG chunk and a big commitment, but it’s doable. I’ve done it twice – once with a group of middle schoolers and another time at the beginning at 2011.

It’s a great way to get an over all view of Scripture.

2) THE OLD TESTAMENT: 929 chapters

Average commitment: 30-45 minutes & 9 chapters per day

A lot of people have read the New Testament, but never made it through the Old. If that’s you, this schedule might just be for you.

3) THE NEW TESTAMENT: 260 chapters

Average commitment: 15-20 minutes & 3 chapters per day

If the others seem like a bit too much, everyone can commit to this one. If you can’t find an extra 15 minutes for the Lord somewhere in your day, your priorities need to change anyway!

I’ll be reading the whole Bible schedule and I’ll be teaching using that schedule as well. Each Wednesday during the 90 days, I’ll be teaching a portion from the past week’s reading. In addition to that, I’ll be posting a blog for each book of the Bible as we go – my thoughts, summary, etc. on each book of the Bible. So, by August 1, I’ll have posted a series of 66 blogs – 1 for each book of the Bible.

Whether you attend Awaken or not, you’re welcome to join us. The reading begins Wednesday, May 4 and goes through Monday, August 1.

You can also listen to the messages in our service archive or from our podcast. Each of the 3 reading schedules are also available to download HERE. Enjoy.

when NO ONE repents

We’ve all had challenging assignments before – homework, a business assignment, delivering some hard news, etc. If you’ve been following Christ for any length of time, you’ve also encountered some challenging assignments (you know, stuff like, “pick up your cross and follow Me”).

As I’ve been reading through the Bible in 90 days (yesterday was the half-way point!), I’ve seen God assign plenty of challenging tasks along the way (Moses vs. Pharaoh, Israel vs. The Red Sea, Joshua vs. Jericho, David vs. Goliath). One that keeps coming to mind, even though I read it on January 1, was God’s assignment to Noah…

For about 100 years, Noah built a boat and told his friends, neighbors, and mockers that rain was coming and they had better repent. When it was time to get on the boat, do you know how many had repented?

0.

Zero.

None.

Does that make Noah a failure? It sure doesn’t. Had his task been to make everyone repent, then yes, he would have been a failure. God has never assigned that task to anyone, though. Noah’s task was simply to warn people. Therefore, he did his job. He succeeded.

On the far end of the spectrum, we have Jonah, the disobedient prophet who tried to run from God. He learned quickly that you can’t run from God when God sent a storm, some sailors that threw him overboard, then the stomach acid inside the belly of a fish. The fish vomited Jonah up, and “the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time…” This time, begrudgingly, he chose to obey. He preached a hardcore, turn or burn message that resulted in the largest revival in human history!

So what can we gather from these 2 completely opposite stories?

When God says to share a message, share the message, or else.

It’s not about their response, it’s about your obedience.

Sometimes people repent of their sins, and sometimes they don’t. Regardless of their response, if you obeyed, you succeeded.

God gives second chances (Jonah), but take Him up on His first offer (like Noah).

Some people won’t believe even when they see miraculous, undocumented events (the people in Noah’s day). Others will believe even if you’re not eloquent and a little scared at how they’ll respond (the people of Nineveh).

So what are you waiting for? If you know Jesus Christ, you have the best news in all of human existence. Don’t be selfish with the Gospel. Get the Word out!