The Reason for David's Success

Last Wednesday I started a subject on worship. I would like to continue that theme until I am told otherwise. If anyone who reads these wants to have me do something else then write to me. And by the way, please if you know of someone who is looking for something to read, send then a link to this blog or write to me and I will put you on my mailing list.

As we know David from the Bible was known as a man after God's own heart but he was more than that. He was a great preacher, a great leader, a model soldier, a great king, and a psalmist or song writer. He was definitely an all- around great guy. He probably would be compared to some of the famous people that E! would follow or you might see his picture in the magazines. He was just a great guy. You could say that woman wanted him and men wanted to be him.
But if you were to interview him today. The interview might go something like this;
"Well, David, welcome to the show we have all been anxious to hear you." (crowd screams)
"So, tell us your passion must have been to remain undefeated on the battlefield, to lead your men again and again to victory."
DAVID " No, not really."
"Is it to rule as a great king, to sit on the throne?"
DAVID "Oh no (chuckles) not at all."
"It's not your ruling passion to be a great king?"
DAVID "No. It is rather incidental."
"What is your ruling passion then?"
DAVID "Have you not read the Psalms? Particularly Psalms 27?"

Psa 27:4 I have asked one thing from the LORD; it is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, gazing on the beauty of the LORD and seeking Him in His temple.

David's desire was to be with God. To have a personal relationship with Him ALL THE TIME!!! His perspective of God was not to have Him ready when he needed him. He do not set his plans and develop his goals and then called upon God when he needed him. NO! David understood that it was God's plans and goals and it was David that needed to fit into His plans. I think that is where we stumble at lot in life. Especially when we hear this "Gospel of Prosperity" that is preached on the radio and TV. We can not put God in our pockets and pull Him out when we need Him. We FOLLOW Him not lead him. David understood that WHEN not IF we follow God we become part of God's ultimate plan, His perfect plan.

I borrowed this idea from a book I am reading call "How to Worship Jesus Christ" by Joseph S. Carroll.

Quiet Time

How many of us really sit down and just talk with God? Honestly! In Bible college we were required to have a quiet time every day and the school even allotted time right after chapel for that purpose. I remember my first semester there. I was on fire and ready to go! I was so excited to be around others whom God was working in their lives. I noticed that there were others like me but then there were some who acted a little apathetic. They didn't care whether it was time for prayer or not.
At first this disturbed me but later realized that I had become one of them. I used the quiet time to catch up on studying for a quiz or playing games on my computer. I kept telling myself that I would wake up early in the morning to have my quiet time. When that morning came, I would hit the snooze button and go back to sleep because to staying up too late the night before.
How sad is this scenario? Jesus always took time to talk with the Father. He never procrastinated His quiet time. If we are to follow the example of Jesus then we need to prioritize and MAKE time for Him. After all, how valuable is 1 hour of sleep compared to 1 hour with the King!

The Most Important THing

I remember watching the movie City Slickers when I was a kid and one scene stood out. It was when the character Curly was trying to explain what the most important thing was and only held up one finger. Mitch replied "what is it? your Finger?"
"No" Curly said, "Just one thing."
"What is it?" questioned Mitch.
"You have to figure it out"

After a series of parables, Jesus went to the house of Martha.(Luke 10:38-42) There he was relaxing while her sister Mary, was at his feet just adoring him. She was soaking in every word he said and giving him her full attention. In the meantime Martha was being a good host but she felt that her sister was being rude by not helping her. When she mentioned this to Jesus, he said to her "Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice, and it will not be taken away from her." The choice she made was more important than everything else that was going on in the house. Martha was too worried about the traditional values that the women are to be the servants of the house when guests are there. She was too worried about the appearance of her house while Jesus was there. How often do we think that we have to look good or clean up before we come to Jesus? How often do we think that we are going through the traditional motions of worship when in fact we lose our focus. We should be focusing on what is really important in our life instead of trying to prepare for it. The worship of Jesus is more important than anything we could possibly think of. John MacArthur said in his forward of the book How to Worship Jesus Christ by Joseph S. Carroll, " Worship is that one essential activity that must take precedence over every other duty of life."

Mary found out what mattered most in her life and put that in the highest priority. She found out what Curly's finger meant.

The Scoop on Jesus

If I were to ask you "Where is Jesus"? How would you answer? Would you say "He's there when I need him." or "He is in Heaven making interseccion with the Father"?

What I were to tell you that these answers are correct and wrong at the same time.

When we examine Psalms 110 we see that there seems at first a contradiction.

Psa 110:1 A Davidic psalm.

The LORD declared to my Lord: "Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies Your footstool." 2 The LORD will extend Your mighty scepter from Zion. Rule over Your surrounding enemies. 3 Your people will volunteer on Your day of battle. In holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn, the dew of Your youth belongs to You. 4 The LORD has sworn an oath and will not take it back: "Forever, You are a priest like Melchizedek." 5 The Lord is at Your right hand; He will crush kings on the day of His anger. 6 He will judge the nations, heaping up corpses; He will crush leaders over the entire world. 7 He will drink from the brook by the road; therefore, He will lift up His head.

HCSB

This passage is a Psalm of David proclaiming the Preistly King. The Israelites knew that they were supposed to be a nation that had a preistly king instead of haveing a nation full of preists and a king. Jesus also recognized this passage and quoted this passage more than any other. The event described also has already taken place. Which is the point of this writing.

The contradiction seems to be that how can the Lord declare to my Lord? If we look closely we see that the first LORD is in all capital letter signifying that this is the Father speaking to the Son. By the way this is an Old Testament proof for the Doctrine of the Trinity. The Father says to the Son or Jesus as we know, "Sit at my right hand". It is common in most places that the place of honor is at the right hand. I said earlier that this event has already taken place. Have you figured out when yet? This event took place 40 days after the resurrection. Jesus was invited to sit at the right hand of the Father right after he ascended into heaven.

God the Father also promised to make his enemies his foot stool. In the tradition of ancient warfare, the losing king would bend to all fours so that the victorious king could put his feet on the back of the losing king. Also in this passage, there is mention of a scepter signifying that Jesus would be a victorious ruling King.

All this being said, I ask you again. "Where is Jesus?" It still blows my mind when I sit and ponder this thought. When Jesus was crucified His body was broken. I mean broken. Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion"portrayed Jesus literally being broken. But Jesus arose from the dead. He did not get another body, he did not simply dispose of his earthly body and made a heavenly one. No, he arose in the same form as the disciples knew him as. Jesus is in heaven in the flesh. The same body as was when he was crucified. And he is sitting at the right hand of God RULING as KING of KINGS. He is not a little magic that I pull out to make me "feel" better when I need him. He is not something I pray to get something I wan tor to get me out of trouble.

Have you ever visited a king? How about THE KING? When you think of Jesus as KING, you tend to treat Him a little different. Think about this, when you pray you have an audience with the KING of kings, the creator of the universe, the sustainer of life. Even since I really recognizing that Jesus is currently ruling as KING, my prayer life and my worship has changed.

And that is the scoop on Jesus.

Where have I been??

Maybe this could better be titled "Confessions". For the past couple of years I have been wanting to write. I just wanted to be able to put my thoughts on paper. I have struggled with the motivation, the time, and the ability to control being scatterbrained. This is my attempt and effort to correct this.
I have always struggled with finding the time to do things that I should do. I should be writing a paper for school when I am watching TV. I should be cleaning the house when I am watching TV. I should be reading my Bible when I am getting that extra hour of sleep (because I was up late watching TV). I think you get the picture. The common thing here is that I watch too much TV. I can't blame it all on TV. I also like to play video games on my computer. Sometimes I get a little motivated to write something and I either check my email or I go to a site that gives me cheat codes for a game that I haven't conquered yet. I get distracted and never get to the task that I originally set out to do. It's that way when I try to read my Bible. I take it out and find something else to do with it. What I mean is that I will think of other ways to do my duty of reading God's word and never get to the task at hand. I have developed plans to read and then write a commentary on what I have read but I sometimes do not read until it is bedtime and I'll be sleepy when I am done.
Think I'm a slacker yet? or does this sound familiar?
When I am watching a show on TV and hear an interesting fact or something that strikes my interest, I will look it up on Wikipedia. I know that Wikipedia is not always accurate and that it is written by anyone, but there is some good stuff on there. I get so caught up following a rabbit trail that it is hours before I realize that I need to be doing something else. However, I could turn that research motivation into something useful. It is that I do this so that I can know more about a subject or a person. This is the exact reason we should read the Bible. Since God has written an autobiography and we say that God is so mysterious, why not read His autobiography and see what He says about Himself. It is no surprise that He tells us that this is the way that He communicates His thinking into the WHY of events and ideas. He tells us why He created man. He tells us why do bad things happen to good people. He especially tells us why we need Him. And best of all He tells us that He loves us. How does He tell us all these things you ask? Well you are just going to have to read the book to find out.
OK, here is the real purpose of today's post.

1. I am going to read my Bible:
I don't mean that I am going to have a plan. I am simply just going to open it and read. I may even look in the concordance and pick a topic that has been on my mind. (or if I get enough feedback I may even pick something that is on your mind.)
How much and for how long is going to depend on what the Holy Spirit is leading me to do.

2. Pray:
This is an area of worship in which I am lacking tremendously. I have heard the saying that is almost cliche now that "The family that prays together, stays together". My wife and I pray at meals and most times it is a canned prayer. I think this offends God and I ask forgiveness. My prayer life is not where it needs to be. From what I understand it is that when we read the Bible it is God speaking to us and when we pray it is us speaking to God. From some of my classes in college this is what is known as communication. It is a two way conversation. Certainly I am NOT putting God in a box and saying that He only communicates to us through the Bible. I know that He speaks to us in many other ways. My goal is that I need to change the way I pray and the frequency.

3. Write what I read:
I think once I get into the habit, I'll write more of these blogs. I do want to concentrate on writing on the things that I have read in the Bible and on the topics that I have received. But I need to have...
4. Feedback:
Feedback is the gauge as to what I direct my blog. I want to know what people think on these topics. Good and Bad. I am human and therefore under the curse so I do make mistakes. I do want this to be like a conversation. This is another reason why I have named this Breakfast with God. In order to have loads of feedback I need ...
5. More people to read this blog:
Please send this link to all your friends. If what I write is your daily devotion then please tell others about it. I am constantly trying to improve this blog to cater to more people.

Thank you for reading today. I hope today has been an encouragement.

If you have any suggestions on how to improve this blog or you have any comments PLEASE do so. I would love to hear from you.

Regrets

Have you ever done anything that you have regretted?
I have plenty of times. But, later I realize that God has had a plan this whole time. I can not imagine just relying on my own judgment. I sure am glad that I can rely on the Holy Spirits guidance.
Today I had an interview with another school. I really want this job. The principle seems nice and he kind of said that he wants me but he wishes that I had more experience. I wished I had more experience also but what can you do? How else do you gain experience?
I have to remember to pray for His will to be done, not mine. I can pray that my will becomes His will. This is how I think that God want us to make our requests known to Him. We pray that our will becomes His will and when we are in tune with Him, we desire what He desires.
Have I confused you yet???
Let me explain it this way. We become his children by accepting the sacrifice of His one and only Son. When we are His children we become a part of Him. His desires are our desires and our desires are His. If we desire that perfect job then God wants it for us also ONLY if it is part of His plan for us. Should we still ask in earnest for it to be done?? Of course!!! But we know that if our request is not met then we know that our Father knows what is best for His children and that He has something so much better than we could dream.

I want this job badly. But I will not be too disappointed if I am not selected. I know that God's plan will ultimately be better. Sure I'll be upset for a while until I get over it. And I will get over it.

Retribution Principle in the Book of Job

The retribution principle is a principle that is common throughout the world. It is a principle that states that the good person will receive blessings and the evil person will receive evil. Its origins cannot be traced to any one single event or practice but it can be placed in the realm of ancient religion. [1] Since the beginning of recorded history man has been trying to answer the question of 'Why is there suffering in the world?' It just does not seem that in our nature, a just person should be allowed to suffer but it seems right that an evil person should and deserves evil in retribution.[2] However, if one observes the animals this principle is somewhat none existent. The lion that hunts and kills an innocent deer is considered just a part of nature. The deer did not do anything evil nor did the lion but if the lion were to maim the deer merely for its enjoyment then what of it? Neither the lion nor the deer did evil and yet the deer suffers. The book of Job offers three views of the retribution principle and why is there suffering in the world. First, the satan's view in which he tries to disprove by a technicality. Second, Job and his four companions offer the traditional view of the retribution principle however, they vary. Lastly, God offers insight to His view with a series of questions. Other religions have this idea of receiving grace for good deeds and evil for evil. For instance, in the Hindu religion the retribution principle is illustrated by what is known as karma. If one did some kind of evil whether it was observed or not one would receive evil in the same context as you gave it.[3] If one were to perform good, then good would come back to the same. This seems as though it is an easy equation to someone who wants good to happen to them. However, there are exceptions and the retribution principle is unexplained. For instance, when a person who is known for their good deeds and message receive a grief stricken blow to their lives and lose everything, it appears to be unjust. The biblical account of Job describes the debated retribution principle in a poetic narrative. The satan challenges God in a contest to see how valid this retribution principle really is. His claims are that of blessing because of the worship or that Job is only worshiping Him because God has blessed him with wealth and good health.[4] Job who is an 'upright man in all the land' receives bad news in three series on the same day. He has lost everything he has even his health. Job knows his own heart and searches for the reason God is punishing him and finds that he is innocent. He acknowledges that God is the "just" God and that he deserves His judgments. Job knows and believes the retribution principle but finds himself questioning the validity of it. Job's wife and his three friends try to put his suffering in perspective by providing their take on the retribution principle. Thus, there are three contrasting yet intertwining views of the retribution principle through the eyes of the satan, Job, his wife and his three friends, and finally the implication of the retribution principle from God. The idea of the retribution principle may very well have started long before Moses but it was with Moses that the idea made sense with the Jews.[5] God promised the Israelites in Deuteronomy 28 that if they were to obey His commandments then He would bless them and place them above every nation and lists privileges that would be bestowed upon them. However, if they disobeyed His commandments then He would curse them and Deuteronomy lists a number of curses.[6] It seemed as a simple equation and yet they would not listen and still disobeyed. This principle illustrated in Deuteronomy was put in place for the people as a nation to follow. If they as a people obeyed God's commands then they would prosper, but what about the individuals themselves? If a person, apart from the nation were to obey God, would this retribution principle still apply? Satan is mentioned in the book of Job and is consistent to the characteristics and teachings of the adversary of God. He is only mentioned as correctly translated "the satan" and is not given the title of having a proper name.[7] Therefore, shall this be in this paper referred to as the satan. The satan challenged this individual retribution principle in the court of God. He claims that Job only loves God because of the material blessings God has given him. Therefore his charge is that Job's godliness is self-centered and therefore evil. In other words, Job only loves God because he receives material things from God as a result. He is only righteous because it pays. The satan knew the retribution principle and tries to distort and devalue it at the expense of Job. He is only allowed a few words here and is shown the true meaning of the retribution principle in the following events in the book of Job. This serves as the first criticism against the common belief that God only reacts to goodness with blessings and evil with curses.[8] On the satan's first challenge to God was to show that Job only loves God because He has blessed him with material possessions, but the second challenge was toward Job's person or his health. He figured that if God would take away the protection He has on Job's health, then surely he would curse him. Since the satan was not satisfied enough with the answer of the first challenge this would be how he would prove his point. The retribution principle here was that the satan knew that since Job didn't worship God because he was blessed then it must be because his integrity has not yet been tested. Blackwood states that the satan believes that "Job is still serving God for the reward of physical health."[9] God allowed the satan to take away his health and yet Job did not curse God. The satan's view of the retribution principle is that even the upright and righteous only serve God because they are blessed. He falsely thought that if God were to remove or discontinue the blessings then His very own creation would turn against Him and not worship Him. In a series of debates, Job's three friends plus one tag along that later interjects present their treatise and offer advice to him. Each taking their turn comforting Job with advice. Eliphaz and Bildad are the first to speak. Their view on the retribution principle coincides with what they have been taught and they agree on the cause but not the method of rectifying the cause of the retribution.[10] After they sit with Job for a time, they take their turn giving their perspective on the possibilities of their friend's suffering. Only Zophar does not add to the discussion and perhaps this is because either he is interrupted by the youngest of the friends, Elihu, or he feels that the discussion needs no more dialogue.[11] He is there to comfort his friend and may even feel the need to remain silent and this is his way of offering comfort. Zophar's silence lends nothing to the determination of his view of the retribution principle. It does offer an allusion as to that he does not disagree to what is already stated.[12] Eliphaz and Bildad agree on the cause of Job's suffering but differ in sympathy. Eliphaz is the older one and offers more sympathy and "milder rebukes." [13] He is the first to speak probably because he is the oldest and has earned that right. His interpretation of the retribution principle is evident when he explained his theory that Job's suffering was the result of some type of wickedness. During his second speech, Eliphaz lists all of Job's possible sins as if he knew or observed Job committing them. The speech progressively gets harsher and even accuses Job's devotion to God as impaired due to his stubbornness to adhere to his innocence. Kitto describes Eliphaz as "...one of class of men not infrequently met with: naturally mild, gentle, considerate, and right-minded, but dragged almost against their will into harness and injustice by an unwarranted theory or system of belief. The most vehement moral persecutors in all ages have been men of this class and character."[14] Bildad was not only harsher to Job than Eliphaz but he was also sharper with his words.[15] His insight to the situation regarding Job's children was a clue as to what his view was concerning the retribution principle. He says that his children were the one who sinned and that they received their just punishment in accordance with the retribution principle. Both Bildad and Eliphaz were pointing out that if a person is undergoing suffering then that person must have offended God or disobeyed Him in some form. Likewise, that anyone who is enduring adversity is being punished for disobeying God's law. They do not hesitate away from their belief that God just and will not let sin go unpunished. In an effort to resolve Job's suffering they criticize him for refusing to confess his sins and plea with him to repent. His three friends assert that repentance calls for Job to identify and renounce his sins that seems to be the root of his suffering. Elihu, who is the fourth character in this scene, contrasts his retribution principle view sharply with Eliphaz and Bildad by stressing that repentance involves renouncing any moral authority or cosmological perspective, which is God's alone.[16] He contrasts them by also taking the peacekeeper's path by maintaining the sovereignty and mercy of God. He criticizes the approach taken by the three friends and "argues that Job is misrepresenting God's righteousness and discrediting His loving character."[17] Elihu is telling Job that what ever the reason these events are happening God is justified in doing so and that God continues to be the loving God that he has always known. "He argues for God's power, redemptive salvation, and absolute righteousness in all his conduct." [18] This is why Elihu underscores the inherent arrogance in Job's desire to 'make his case' before God and he takes on the prophetic role preparing the next scene in the book as to which God appears. The retribution principle through the eyes of Job is represented when he stated, "The LORD gives, and the LORD takes away. Praise the name of the LORD." (Job 1:21) He still holds true the same principle ideas that his friends have but after he debates them, he is unsure of what position to take. Job maintains his innocence intensely and claims that he has done no wrong. He curses the day that he was born and yet he still does not turn from God. He knows that his God is just and good and would not have done this to him without purpose. Nevertheless, Job like any other human wants to know the reason why. He cries out to God for an answer but only receives rebuke from his friends. It is interesting to note that Job, when he is pleading his case, cries out for a 'Redeemer.' After the speech from Elihu, Job is confronted by a voice from the whirlwind. God has come to speak. He asks Job a series of questions that dumbfounds him and leaves him helpless and utterly dependant of Him. God never answers Job's question of why do bad things happen to good people. In the book of Job, God's view and use of the retribution principle has other purposes than punishment. It is used to bring glory to himself by using the example of Jobs suffering as a picture of our need of a Redeemer, Jesus. The picture of the retribution principle by Job's suffering is a complex view of the salvation of God. Man does not get what he deserves. Man is considered sinful and deserving of curses. Only God can make a person righteous. Man can obtain mercy, which means man will not receive the punishment that he deserves. In addition, man can obtain grace from which is the positive benefit man does not deserve. [19] God's view of the retribution principle can also be seen by the use of Job's example to illustrate to others how just God really is. Job was blessed with many sons and daughters and a wealth that was significant. He then was the brunt of a demonstration of the justice of God. God did not take anything away from Job, but He did allow the satan to interfere. When Job was proven that he was not going to curse God but instead still love Him all the same, God restored Job. God's view of the retribution principle is not necessarily written as clearly as Job and his friends but the implication is that He ultimately blesses those whom He chooses and curses those whom he chooses. In conclusion, the book of Job is a poetic narrative that illustrates the problem of the retribution principle. The book never specifically answers the question 'Why do bad things happen to good people?' but it alludes to the fact the endgame is as promised. The finiteness of human intellect can only fathom as far as God will allow. Only He is sovereign and knows the outcome. The knowledge of the retribution principle is only limited by our knowledge of God. The book of Job presents various views of the retribution principle. First, the satan views suffering as a tool with which he can force anyone to renounce God. (Job 1:11, 2:4-5). Second, Job's three friends view suffering as always a punishment for sin. Elihu views suffering as a tool used by God to correct or discipline. Third, Job views suffering as for the wicked at first then realizes suffering is also a refining process. Lastly, God views suffering as a privilege. He gives His people to help Him fulfill His great purpose, such as refuting the satan. God also views suffering as a test to see if we will remain loyal to God for who he is, not for what He does. He also views sufferings as a call to trust Him when we do not understand, because we have confidence that God's purpose is always best for us. (Job 13:15) During the course of the narrative, it seemed everyone was against Job. This includes the God whom he had served faithfully. Job's wife suggested that he curse God and die. She reasons, "something is wrong and your faith is a failure. Curse God and die." (Job 2:9) His friends condemn him rather than console him. They reason, 'God is just, He never makes a mistake. What have you done to bring this on yourself? Confess your sin.'[20] God seemed to be ignoring Job, refusing for a long time to answer him. Job cries out from the ashes, 'I cannot understand. What God is doing doesn't seem right.' God finally declares, 'I am God. You cannot understand my ways because I am infinitely greater than you.'[21] In His two lengthy speeches to Job, God makes no mention of Job's suffering. God never gives Job an answer about why he suffered so much. Job catches a glimpse of God's perspective, however and acknowledges God's sovereignty over his life. At the end of the book of Job, the satan is silenced. Job's friends are silenced. However, God is not silenced. BIBLIOGRAPHY Alexander, Pat. Handbook to the Bible. Oxford: Lion, 1983. Blackwood, Andrew W. Jr. Devotional Introduction to the Book of Job. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1970. Breakstone, Raymond. Job A Case Study. Edited by Raymond Breakstone. New York: Bookman Associates, 1964. Buis, H. The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible. Edited by Merrill C. Tenney. Q-Z. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976. Dell, Katherine J. "The Book of Job as Skeptical Literature." PhD diss., Oxford University, Oxford, 1988. Dillard, Raymond B, Tremper Longman. An Introduction to the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994. Gerber, Israel J. The Psychology of the Suffering Mind. New York: The Johnathan David Company, 1951. Guillaume, A. Studies in the Book of Job. Translated by John Macdonald. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1968. Hill, Andrew, John H Walton. A Survey of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000. Ivanski, Dariusz. "The Dynamics of Job's Intercession." PhD diss., Pope Gregory University, Roma, 2006. Kitto, J. Bible Illustrations. New York: Carter and Bros, 1870. Macleod, W. B. The Afflictions of the Righteous. New York: Hodder and Stoughton, 1958. Mueller, J.T. "The Paramount Lesson of Job, God's Glory Magnified by Faith Triumphant over Tribulation." Theological Monthly 1, no. no.6 (June 1921). Schokel, Alonso. "Toward a Dramatic Reading of the Book of Job." The Pontifical Bible Institute. Villiers, Henry Montagu. Perfect Through Suffering. Oxford: Oxford University, 2007. ----------------------- [1] Buis, H, The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, ed. Merrill C. Tenney, Q-Z (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976), 84. [2] Katherine J. Dell, "The Book of Job as Skeptical Literature" (PhD diss., Oxford University, Oxford, 1988), 35. [3] Buis, H, The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, ed. Merrill [4] Pat Alexander, Handbook to the Bible (Oxford: Lion, 1983), 319. [5] Raymond B. Dillard, Tremper Longman, An Introduction to the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994), 202. [6] Andrew Hill, John H Walton, A Survey of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000), 324. [7] Alonso Schokel, "Toward a Dramatic Reading of the Book of Job," The Pontifical Bible Institute, 50. [8] W. B. Macleod, The Afflictions of the Righteous (New York: Hodder and Stoughton, 1958), 20. [9] Andrew W. Jr Blackwood, Devotional Introduction to the Book of Job (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1970), 40. [10] Raymond Dillard, Tremper Longman, An Introduction to the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994), 203. [11] Breakstone, Raymond, Job A Case Study, ed. Raymond Breakstone (New York: Bookman Associates, 1964), 10. [12] Israel J. Gerber, The Psychology of the Suffering Mind (New York: The Johnathan David Company, 1951), 79. [13] Macleod, The Afflictions of the Righteous (New York: Hodder and Stoughton, 1958), 110. [14] J. Kitto, Bible Illustrations (New York: Carter and Bros, 1870), 104. [15] Andrew Blackwood, Devotional Introduction to Job (Grand Rapids: Baker House, 1970), 69. [16] J. T. Mueller, "The Paramount Lesson of Job, God's Glory Magnified by Faith," Theological Monthly 1, no. 6 (June 1921): 171. [17] J.T Mueller, "The Paramount Lesson of Job, God's Glory Magnified by Faith Triumphant over Tribulation," Theological Monthly 1, no. no.6 (June 1921): 171. [18] Henry Montagu Villiers, Perfect Through Suffering (Oxford: Oxford University, 2007), 155. [19] Andrew w. Jr Blackwood, Devotional Introduction to the Book of Job (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1970), 152. [20] W.B Macleod, The Afflictions of the Righteous (New York: Hodder and Stoughton, 1958), 80. [21] Ibid. pg. 246.
Turnitin

Operation Andrew

Yesterday, I had the privilege of bringing Alex Aguilar to the saving knowledge of Christ. It was a wonderful experience as he was the first person that the Lord allowed me to share the Gospel with by myself.
Tonight I saw him in the service with his mother and his two younger brothers. How good God is!!!
I am too excited to write anything about it at this moment but I promise I'll give details later.
For now, I am asking that everyone please pray for Alex. Pray that God would put a hedge of protection around him so that satan could not discourage him. Pray that he would have inner strength.
Praise God!!!
Galatians 2:20 <><

Bad things to good people

I have always been struggling with the thought of "How can a good God send someone who is His own creation, His own love, His original personal relationship, to a place that is His own creation for eternal damnation and punishment." (whew that was a mouthful)

After all don't you think that God would have created a being that was made for His own enjoyment and have that being be obedient to the point that this so called sin would have never entered into the picture. Does this seem impossible? Of course not, God can do anything He wants.



God created Adam with a personal free will. This free will allows for choices to be made outside and inside God's will.

WHAT???

If God created Adam without a free will then we would not have a choice of loving Him. God gave us an example of this when He gave us His son.

1st day

Wow, I have always heard of blogs and bloggers but never in my life have I though that I are one.

Right now I don't have time to write anything because I am supposed to be researching for my OT survey class. If you (the reader) has any insight on the "Retribution Principle as seen in the book of Job" then please contact me.