awe of God – Be Still…

Job 23:1-17 – A Broken Record

Read Job 23:1-17

It seems we’ve got a broken record here in terms of the recurring complaints and misunderstandings. I enjoyed Job’s account of how he’d like to make a visit to God and have a conversation about his state of affairs. Job’s tone is a bit nonchalant, but maybe we need to think of God more as a friend. It’s a little easier to picture ourselves being buddies with Jesus because he wore human flesh. We’ve been told God is to be feared.

The picture Job has must bring him a bit of comfort. The solution sounds so easy. Because Job maintains his innocence, verse 7 is so reassuring. “Honest people can reason with him, so I would be forever acquitted by my judge.” That’s a pretty bold statement showing Job’s confidence both in himself and in his all-knowing God. Continue reading “Job 23:1-17 – A Broken Record”

Nehemiah 9:1-3 – Confession

Read Nehemiah 9:1-3

Have you ever confessed your sins out loud to another human? Our sins certainly become a lot more “real” when we do that. It’s also a great way to give away the power our sins have over us, simply by speaking them out loud. And we have an accountability partner to keep us from falling into that sin’s trap!

James 5:16 says, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” Nehemiah’s contemporaries are ready to make their confession public. I bet you haven’t ever sprinkled dust on your head or worn a burlap garment because of lament over your sin.

Mark 10:32-34 – A Third Time

Read Mark 10:32-34

Jesus gives his disciples a little more detail about what is going to happen to him. Jesus is doing his best to prepare them so that when the time comes, they aren’t blindsided or overtaken by fear.

What did you notice about this passion prediction? Jesus was walking ahead of them, leading the way to Jerusalem. I’m sure all of them knew the way, but the text lets us know that Jesus is out front. Jesus knows exactly what he is walking into when they get to Jerusalem, and this is his third attempt to get his followers to understand, too.

James 4:11-12 – Judging Others

Read James 4:11-12

Short and powerful is how I’d describe this reading. With each new passage, we start to see the troubles James’ audience was facing. The people in his day must have been condemning each other in order to feel superior. It’s quite possible you have already encountered a judgmental person in your life.

James didn’t spend a lot of time on the subject of judging others, but he did not sweep it under the rug either. When we look around our communities today, it seems like one group or another is feeling marginalized or “judged” for some reason. Could it be that group is just “feeling” judged but no one is actually judging them? Clearly, they haven’t read these verses in a while.

Hebrews 4:14-5:10 – Our High Priest

Read Hebrews 4:14-5:10

The idea of having a High Priest is a bit foreign to most of us because of what Jesus did for us. But the Preacher’s audience of Jews would have encountered a high priest regularly at festivals and animal sacrifices. A high priest was needed to cleanse their sins, up until 70 AD when animal sacrifice stopped. This reading does a good job of explaining the importance of what a high priest does for the people.

To be a high priest was a great honor given only by God. Even Jesus didn’t assume that would be his role despite fitting the criteria perfectly. It seems having the awareness of human weakness was important for the high priest. Until Jesus, even the high priests fell prey to sin and would have to cleanse themselves.