Job 23:8–12(KJV 1900) — 8Behold, I go forward, but he is not there;And backward, but I cannot perceive him:9On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him:He hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him:10But he knoweth the way that I take:When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.11My foot hath held his steps,His way have I kept, and not declined.12Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips;I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.

​I trust we've all had times in our lives when we wondered where God was....I remember being in a service at another Church for an association service many years ago, and the pastors wife stood up and was upset that so many atrocities were happening all over the world at the time, and I remember her crying out, "God where are you"!? as if she were literally angry at God!!  I remember feeling a bit dumbfounded as this was a pastors wife speaking....now, just so we know, the Lord is on His throne....it's not His fault we messed everything up in the Garden of Eden....it's not His fault we aren't in Paradise anymore....and we are reminded every day this world is NOT paradise! Yes there are times we think He isn't acting fast enough on our behalf or maybe on someone else's behalf, but make no mistake, GOD IS AT WORK!!  When we find ourselves in Jobs condition, or the Pastors wife's condition, we need to take particular note of verse 12 above: .12Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips;I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.

We find peace and comfort and fellowship within the Words of the Living God! My prayer for you today is that you'll find a reading program that will get you through the Bible in a year and stay on that path for the rest of your life....God will indeed bless you immensely ..... may your day be blessed!! 

SW 

Revelation 1:17–20(KJV 1900) — 17And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: 18I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. 19Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; 20The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

John had an amazing visit from the Lord Jesus, right when he needed it most, recorded here in Revelation Chapter 1.  If I were an outsider looking on at the time, I would say that this little "fad" called Christianity was dead for good.....But God was just beginning! John needed this encouragement, and the Lord provided that along with instruction and prophecy concerning the Church and His Second Coming.

The Key to the entire Book of Revelation is embedded in verse 19: Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; 

I'm not a Bible scholar although it is a big part of my job to spend hours reading it, studying it, and praying about it, and preparing to preach from it, I am admittedly dependent upon material written by men of God much more learned than I am.....I learned that in this verse, the things which John had seen was what was in Chapter 1...."the things which are" describe perfectly the conditions of the Churches, past and present, at the time mentioned in Chapters 2 and 3.....the things which shall be hereafter are recorded in Chapters 4-22.....So the history of the Church dispensation will end after Chapter 3 and we see the Return of our Lord, the Great Tribulation, the Millennial Kingdom, and the eternal state of the Church from Chapters 4 till the end.....to me it is exciting to study the history of the Church in conjunction with the Bible....All these 7 churches mentioned in chapters 2 and 3 represent a period in Church history as well....in case you are wondering, SPOILER ALERT [haha], we are most certainly in the Laodicean Age of the Church.....backslidden and "rich" but spiritually starving and dying.....God help us to be the ones He's called us to be....Help us to be a light in a very dark world .... God bless your day! 

Pastor Scott 

Job 19:13–20(ISV) — 13“My brothers are alienated from me;my acquaintances are estranged;14my relatives have failed me;and my friends have abandoned me.15Those who live in my house—and my maidservants, too!—treat me like a stranger;they think I’m a foreigner.16“I call to my servant,but he doesn’t respond,even though I beg to him earnestly.17My wife says my breath stinks;even my children say I smell bad!18Even little children hate me;when I get up, they mock me.19My closest friends detest me;even the ones I love have turned against me.20I’m a pile of skin and bones;I have barely escaped by the skin of my teeth.”

Every time I read through the Book of Job I'm reminded that, no matter how bad things get, they can always get worse.....these verses should bring tears to the eyes -- we probably all think theres been a time when we've been abandoned .... Job had such a time....this should be a reminder to us to be kind and compassionate to those around us who are less fortunate than we are.....as for us feeling abandoned, I think self pity is of the devil.....it is a constant challenge to keep our minds off our circumstances and on the Lord at all times....good times or bad.....as for Job, he later wrote in this wonderful chapter these famous words:

Job 19:25–26(KJV 1900) — 25For I know that my redeemer liveth,And that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:26And though after my skin worms destroy this body,Yet in my flesh shall I see God:

So even though we may have moments when we feel abandoned, be reminded that we could never be....the Bible says the Lord will never leave me nor forsake me! Friends and family may leave us......but our Lord never will! David said: Psalm 27:10(KJV 1900) — 10When my father and my mother forsake me,Then the Lordwill take me up.

I would have to think my last line of defense would be my own family.....but if that last line of defense gives way, our Lord is right there with us AMEN! 

What a blessedness to know this truth as we walk through this world today....God bless your day!! 

​SW 

The Sovereignty of God
Job 1:6–12(ESV) — 6Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. 7The Lordsaid to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lordand said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 8And the Lordsaid to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” 9Then Satan answered the Lordand said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? 10Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” 12And the Lordsaid to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

I often think of this book of Job, especially when I don't feel well, or if things aren't going the way I think they should....one thing that is strangely absent from Job and his friends.....I don't find a place where any of them said, "Let's pray".....The purpose of our struggles, [and YES, they have a purpose or they wouldn't be happening] are to draw us to the Lord, period! To find our strength in Him...the place in life when we realize we are weak but He is strong....this is a default position for all Christians....whether we want to believe in the partial sovereignty of God is up to us....we will live a miserable existence if we don't give God His rightful place.....we are His creation, and it is His ABSOLUTE RIGHT to do with us as He pleases....

​So we see here a mystery solved.....God does allow testing.....Satan had to go through a lot of red tape to get to Job, but God indeed allowed it....it wasn't because Job was bad or had a bad thought or committed a small or large sin.....he went through this suffering because God had a purpose in it....and we learn that purpose later on in the book....the Bible tells us in 
Hebrews 12:11(KJV 1900) — 11Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

Let us remember this always as we go through life.....God wants us to be closer to Him....fellowship with Him....to KNOW His love, mercy, peace that passes understanding.....you know if there was never a storm there would never be a rainbow.....if we didn't have tribulation we would never know peace all things being the same.....as far as the devil is concerned, yes, the prince of power of the air is hard at work in the world and in this country today....I've never seen hatred and bitterness and discord so rampant among our citizens....but I don't give him a whole lot of credit.....I like to think Martin Luther had it right when he said famously, "the devil is the devil.....but he's God's devil".....when we read Job we realize this truth to the fullest....

God bless your day!! 

​SW 



Also Jesus told us He has, through the power of the Holy Spirit, given us power over all the power of our enemies! Praise God!

Philippians 4:6–7(KJV 1900) — 6Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Certainly this has been a life passage for me and countless others who may have struggled with anxieties....it took me quite some time to understand the significance of "telling myself to shut up" haha....my feelings are not me....I'm the one who experiences those feelings....and I am to be at peace with God and with the world around me...I CAN be at peace with God and the world around me Praise the Lord! 

I struggled with getting from point a to point b....He says simply "Be careful [anxious] for nothing"!! pray and be thankful....just do it AMEN....we need to remind ourselves daily that things that may have happened to us in the past, although we learn some life lessons from them, have no bearing on who we are in Christ Jesus....Paul mentioned that he himself learned to "put the past behind him".....we should do the same 

God's peace [through the power of His Spirit] is above and beyond understanding....Steven being stoned to death [recorded in Acts Chapter 7] never uttered any harsh words....no "ouch you idiots"!! came from his blessed lips....he asked the Father to forgive them just as our Lord did on the cross....why?? the peace of God was manifest in his soul and he was at peace with God and the world around him, even though his body was about to leave this old earth....He could say with the Apostle Paul: 

1 Corinthians 15:55–58(KJV 1900) — 55O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

God bless your day!

​SW