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Bible In A Year Podcast

ESV Chronological with Jim McCracken

January 1st - Day 1

January 1, 2020 • Jim McCracken • Genesis 1—3

Join our facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/2183117951984132/?source_id=181918175166472 Our reading today (Gen chapters 1-3) reveals the description of God creating heaven and earth. And we will take a little closer look at it shortly. But the theme of creation begs the question, “When did creation, as described here, happen?” Most evolutionist scientists say life began on earth 3.5 billion yrs http://ago...or so. And that human ancestors began showing up 2-4 million years ago. But Creation scientists, those who believe the Biblical record of God creating everything in a literal 6 twenty-four hour period, date creation between 6 and 10,000 years ago. Quite a difference. Darwinian evolutionists say that Biblical Creationists are not scientists because their evidence is based on the “assumption of a cataclysmic flood” that happened once upon a time. Well, your Bible reading partner today believes that the biblical record is true...without error...including the record of the flood and Noah’s http://ark...and the final authority for our lives, inside and outside the church. So I am a “recent” creation dating man and not the billions of years proponent. And unlike the evolutionists, I believe that God created it all “out of nothing.” Awesome to think on http://...isn't it? Continuing from the text....”Who existed in the beginning of everything?” God!!! God was there, Father Son and Holy Spirit...whenever that was, God was there in the beginning. And our bibles say that God was doing http://something...he was creating the heavens (and all that was in them) and He was creating the earth (and all that was in and upon it.) In our reading today, the Bible says that after 6 days of creating, God finished that creation http://work...that included http://mankind...man and http://woman...for the purpose of doing life together with Him and by God’s power, taking responsible dominion for the earth and heavens and all therein to the glory and worship of God. All of that is a Wow! But remember a greater Wow of God creating something new with a “finishing” touch....2 Cor 5:17 The Apostle Paul said “If there be any man in Christ he is a “new creation”, old things have passed away and all things have been made new.” In Christ we are “new creations”http://....plus, still thinking on the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross and what Jesus said just before He breathed His last...”It is Finished”http://...jesus said “tetelestai”http://...it is paid and it is purchased http://...my sin debt is paid and my eternal home in heaven is purchased. God created the heavens and the http://earth...and then He finished. Later, God the Son made new creations out of all who believed on Him. And He said, “I'm finished...I did what the Father sent me to do...I satisfied the righteous judgment of God on sin by taking sin’s penalty upon my body so that those called and chosen could be saved eternally. And if you are like me when you're reading passages and verses in the Bible, such as, when it says “In the beginning” ( God created the heavens and the earth)...perhaps you asked, “Wonder what God was doing prior to creation, being the eternal being that He was and is? And then I am reminded of Ephesians 1:4 “God chose us in Christ (When?) “before the foundations of the world were laid.” That too is a huge Wow...I hope that you are believing the Lord with http://me...today...that makes us one of God’s chosen ones from before the beginning of time. Blows me away too. And makes me want to worship Him today with all of my heart. Thank You, Lord, Now Use us in any way You choose today.

January 2nd - Day 2

January 2, 2020 • Jim McCracken

Join our facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/2183117951984132/?source_id=181918175166472 January 2 I've entitled the reading in Gen chapters 4-7 “A Long Story of Sinning” It Ends with the terrible judgment of God upon the earth...a flood that would cover up the highest mountains created...a flood that would swallow up wicked mankind to the last http://person...except for one/Noah (the only man who believed God) he and his http://family...and a remnant of animals that would ride out the flood on the ark. **(I can't help but see the salvation of God through an http://ark...but I also see how it foreshadowed something far http://greater...god’s eternal salvation for believers through a http://cross...our Savior’s http://cross...jesus’ cross. Now, what about the Beginning of this long story of sinning...? It actually started in yesterday’s http://passage...but in these chapters, It’s the story of Adam and Eve’s firstborn, Cain, murdering his little brother, Abel. That was Definitely a sin story. But I believe the Primary Sin Story did not start at the murder scene. We might say, “It started on the way to church.” “Is that your prize lamb, Abel? “asked Eve. Abel answered, “Yes, mom. I'm excited about bringing my offering to the Lord. He deserves all of me, that is why I'm bringing the best of the lambs He has given to me. And let Him do with it as He wishes. Thanks, mom and dad, for teaching me to do life as a loving relationship that God initiated by His acceptance of the blood of an innocent lamb to cover my sins like He covered yours.” “What a chump my little brother is,” Cain silently mumbled to himself.” “He could have brought any other lamb, and no one would have ever known.” Apparently Abel followed his parent’s teaching about how to truly worship God by http://faith...which basically means worshipping Him as He requires...(Let’s listen to the requirement for true worship that the apostle Paul shared with Rome’s believers in Rom. 12:1...”I beseech you, therefore, brethren by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies/your life as a living sacrifice, holy acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service of worship.” ) That’s how Abel came to worship. But Cain did not. Cain did not bring the “first and best” fruit of his labor and life to http://god...he kept the best for himself and gave God the leftovers. Some say that God rejected Cain’s offering of worship because it was not a blood sacrifice. Sounds good at first and I could sure tie that into the Perfect Blood Sacrifice of Jesus for http://sin...except for one http://thing...later the perfect law of God included offerings of plants and produce for fellowship offerings and specifically for poor Israelites who could not afford to bring an award-winning lamb on the Day of http://atonement....they were allowed to bring some wheat flour and trust the blood sacrifice made by the high priest and the sprinkling of such blood upon the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies for the atonement for their sins. God refused Cain’s offering of worship not because the offering was not a lamb, but because Cain’s heart was not totally God’s. At best Cain was pretending, just going through the motions. There have been many in the line of Cain. For the first 19 years of my life that was me. But unlike the character in the song by the Platters, “The Great Pretender”, I was not left alone in my shame. Jesus came after me and changed my life.

January 3rd - Day 3

January 3, 2020 • Jim McCracken

Join our facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/2183117951984132/?source_id=181918175166472 January 3 Today’s Bible reading is Gen. chapters 8-11. We come to the end of the life and ministry of the patriarch, Noah. We read a fascinating story of how God made sure that the testimony of Himself and Noah reached around the http://world...by replacing the one and only language on earth, with many different http://languages...and scattering the people who built the Tower that came to be known as the Tower of Babel to the far reaches of the http://earth...for the spreading of the good news of God everywhere. And by the time you get there in the biblical record, Noah has been dead 350 years. I can't help but imagine that Noah’s grandkids lined up for years to ask their granddad, “Tell us one more time about those 75 years it took you to build the ark that saved mom and dad and you and nana and the rest of the family from the terrible flood. And tell us some more details about the 378 days on the ark. It had to be http://hard...was it exciting?” And I can only imagine that the man who walked with God for so long, responded, “Let me tell you about what GOD did.” “God came to me...I didn't come to Him. God told me what He was going to do in the world, and honored me by inviting me to join Him in the work. God gave me a job to do. Now listen closely...I didn't tell God what I could do for Him to help accomplish His purposes. I was quiet and attentive to His instructions. And with His help, I began and finished the work He called me to do with Him. And when that task was over, God gave me another one to do with http://him...and it may sound strange to you, but that next job was “to wait on Him” http://...for what??? **to do what only He could do...**end the flooding. And at the end of the flooding, God continued to “remember” me...(and the word “remember” means more than just recognizing my http://existence...it means that God kept His http://promise...he saved me and my family from His terrible http://judgment)...and you want to know something else?... God blessed me and mine even when I forgot Him. What an awesome God we have!” And had Noah known the patriarch David, he might have shared these words that God gave to him: Psalm 115:11-13 “O you who fear the http://lord...trust in the http://lord...he’s our hope and our http://shield...and He will always “remember” us ( be committed to us) and bless http://us...both great and small.” What a foreshadowing of how God works in our lives today through Christ our Lord. He chooses us in Christ, and not the other way around. HE shows us favor (grace) to believe Him and follow Him with all of our heart. HE shuts us up with Himself (like He did with Noah when the flood began to http://rise)...when times of great stress begin to rise, He shuts us up with Himself so that we have to trust Him for the next steps. Oh, and HE causes the wind to blow, the wind of the Spirit who rejuvenates our hope for the future, whatever God plans. Ezekiel speaks of the Big 3: Noah, Daniel, and Job. I think Noah would have deferred to his descendants: Moses, David, and Jesus, the God who made it http://all...the Lord who saves us through the cross and the resurrection to the uttermost. Thank you, http://noah...your life message inspires us to believe http://god...and today We will worship Jesus with you!

January 4th - Day 4

January 4, 2020 • Jim McCracken

Join our facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/2183117951984132/?source_id=181918175166472 January 4th Job (chapters 1-5) is our reading for the day. Tradition says Moses wrote this narrative 500+years after the Tower of Babel incident. Perhaps when Moses was living in the Midian Desert close to the city of Uz, he learned the legend of the only righteous man doing life with God in those days. Inspired by the Spirit of God, Moses wrote of Job’s life message...” Trust God and His Sovereign Wisdom and Goodness, no matter what happens.” Two verses got my attention quickly. “Will Job serve God for nothing?” And “In all of this Job did not sin and he did not charge God with wrong.” Will people of true faith in God for their salvation serve the Lord even when they are suffering? Satan didn't think so and all those under his influence didn't think so either. But our reading leads us to a powerful truth. True faith in God may be shaken, but never broken. For the source of our faith is Almighty God http://himself...not just our strong will and determined resolve. “And in all this, Job did not sin. And he did not charge God with wrong.” What was the “all of this?” Well, In one day, Job lost his property and businesses to thieves and fires caused by lightning. In that same day, Job lost his seven sons and three daughters to a tornado that flattened the house where they were partying. In all of this, Job did not sin and he didn't accuse God of wrongfully dealing with his family. Even when his wife told him to “curse God for this and die”, Job still didn't sin or blame God. In fact, he said to his distraught wife, “Shall we receive good from God, and not receive adversity?” The record says that Job humbled himself and worshiped http://god...and then remained quiet in sackcloth and ashes for seven days. During those days friends sat quietly with him and then at the end of seven days, Job burst forth in agony and grief, even wishing that he had never been born. “And the best man living in that day closed out his agonizing with the following “ O what I feared has come upon http://me...what I dread has befallen me. I have no rest only trouble comes.” Was Job hurting? Absolutely. Was he overwhelmed by waves of grief? Absolutely. Did Job turn from God? No. He had some unanswered questions, but he never lost his faith. As courageous as that http://sounds...job worshipped God in the midst and through his grief. Do you see or hear any foreshadowing to our Savior Lord Jesus? I do. Listen to Jesus http://...it was a prayer time in the garden...”The time has come for the Son to glorify the Father” (as he considered the coming suffering of the cross)...”Father, if there is a way, let this cup pass from me, yet not my will but yours be done” (shortly before he gave himself over to the mob who came to take him to Caiphas)...(and then from the bloody cross right before his death)...”Father forgive them, for they know not what they have http://done...now into your hands I commend my spirit.” From one of the great patriarchs of our faith (Job) to the source of our faith and the gift of eternal life, Jesus http://christ...the first shows us a lesson of faith. The last empowers us to an eternal http://faith...from here to heaven...”Thanks, http://job...but thank you, http://jesus...you will always be better!”

January 5th - Day 5

January 5, 2020 • Jim McCracken

Join our facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/2183117951984132/?source_id=181918175166472 January 5th Our Bible reading today comes from Job 6-9. It will be good for us to go back to the http://beginning...for just a bit http://today...job had no knowledge of that scene in heaven in chapter one, where God was holding court for His angelic http://host....where They came before God to give an account of their ministry throughout the heavens and earth. And like a Judas among the disciples, satan was among the angels before God that day. Satan was arrogant. He had taken down undefeated Adam and http://eve....and so fallen Job would be no problem for the head demon. Satan was confident and boastful that Job’s faith in the Lord would not stand against his temptations and his lies about God. God was even more confident that Job’s faith would stand the tests of satan. So He accepted satan’s challenge and would prove to demons, angels, and mankind alike, that a man who did life with God would worship Him for nothing. So Job did not know that he and his family were suffering because of God’s contesting with satan. Job never knew that, and neither did his friends. So each struggled to understand and explain the reason for suffering, especially the suffering of God’s faithful. To this point in the story, we've heard what God said about Job. “A righteous man...upright in all his ways”...Impressive. But there’s more, as stated in Job chapter 29: “Job is a man I have watched over...a man that my lamp has shone upon...a man that my light directed through the darkness...a man whose tent was known by My friendship...a man I blessed with children all around him...a man I was always with as demonstrated by the pouring forth of oil from his rock...a man whom young princes bowed down to...a man that the aged rose up for...a man who delivered the poor, the fatherless, and the http://widows...upon him I placed righteousness, and clothed him.” Now that’s a resume. And that’s quite a reference. Talk about a man who had it all... in his relationship with God. Everything was going his way. Until it wasn't! Would Job deny God now? Would Job turn from God now? Would Job shake his fist in hatred for God now? http://answer...no...at least not yet in the story. In fact in chapter 6:10,24 that we are reading, Job himself, in the throes of agony accepts the pain, and refuses to deny the words of the Holy http://one....what http://words?...that God is the one and only true God, faithful, just, and perfect in all His work in heaven and on earth. I figure that Job thought his wife and friends believed in God that way too. But apparently not. Eliphaz was gentle at first. He was sympathetic in his quietness with JOB, but he just couldn't help himself. Eliphaz had to give his reason for JOB’S great trial...” unconfessed sin.” A second friend, Bildad, added insult to injury when he accused JOB that “his sinning had caused the death of his children”. But both of these friends had no idea what God was doing from Heaven’s throne room. So they just assumed that the suffering was tied to JOB sinning. Was JOB still wondering what God was up to? Yes. Did JOB ever wonder if he did have unconfessed sin in his life? Yes. But Job did not charge God with doing wrong toward him. Sounds kind of like the Son of God doesn't http://it...he was accused of being out of His mind by family members. He was called a sinner by experts. And He was rejected by close friends too. But unlike JOB, Jesus knew exactly why He was http://suffering...and He walked with eyes and heart wide open right into http://it...not for Himself, but for you and me who believe in Him. That we might have eternal life, both now and forever. Awesome life http://message....from JOB to JESUS.

January 6th - Day 6

January 6, 2020 • Jim McCracken

Join our facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/2183117951984132/?source_id=181918175166472 January 6th The passage before us (Job 10-13) is one of my favorites. God had told satan earlier that Job was special to Him. And when God told satan that Job was an upright man, He was saying that his neighbors could count on him to be truthful and fair in all of his dealings. Remember, this was God’s testimony of Job and He knew Job perfectly. And note, Job believed that God would speak of him in such a way. Why? Because Job’s conscience was clear before God and man. Not perfect. Not sinless. But broken... "search me and know my heart” broken. Job would even say, “My doctrine is pure”http://...and “I am clean in God’s eyes”http://....that was not self-righteous http://talk...that was true spiritual humility, for Job knew who got the credit for such http://claims...god. Job would say, “I dont know exactly what God is doing now, but I know that He is doing it...I know that this suffering is God’s sovereign hand upon my life. And He is perfectly http://righteous...he will only do right things to us. Now would Job go through dark nights of his soul during his trial? Absolutely. http://...but stay with me. Job would experience suffering like none other on the earth to that day.” Job spoke to God about http://it...not as though he was sinless, but because he was a “repentant” http://man...never allowing his sin list to get too long before his brokenness over sin would cause him to cry out to His God...appealing for mercy. Job’s so-called friends continued to pile on their accusations that Job was a great sinner and that God was punishing him for his arrogant sinning. And Job denied the accusations, time and time again. Those same friends, listening to Job’s cries to God for relief from his suffering, said: “How can you even talk to God, you sinner.” And Job would reply, “Who else can I talk to...? (who knows me better? Who loves me more? And who do I love more?) Job said: “there is no arbiter between http://us...there is no one else with absolute authority in a matter but God http://alone...so who else can I appeal to for relief from this affliction?... Brethren, do you recall John 6, where most of the crowd following Jesus decided to follow Him no more? Jesus looked at the twelve and the women and children around them and said, “Will you leave me too?” And Peter answering for them all....”To whom shall we go, Lord? You have the words of eternal life!” Job desired the pain be removed. Job desired his loss be restored. Job desired the hurtful circumstances altered. And then Job says this: “http://...the Lord gives and He takes away... though He slay me, I will always hope in Him.” There are people living today whose suffering is unimaginable. Some of them I know. They hurt, they cry, they wonder why. And they deal courageously and faithfully. Some even better than Job. You ask, how can that be? Answer: They have the Suffering Servant as their advocate and the Holy Spirit as their Comforter.

January 7th - Day 7

January 7, 2020 • Jim McCracken

Join our facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/2183117951984132/?source_id=181918175166472 January 7th Our scripture reading today in Job (chapters 14-16) reveals hopeful beliefs that made up Job’s faith which encourages mine. Now, remember, Job is still not comforted by his friends’ attempts at explaining his unfortunate reversals and continuing afflictions in body and soul. (They told him that he was “doing away with the fear of the Lord”. In other words, Job’s “big sin” must be no less than disregarding the humble worship of God and influencing others to do the same. **http://wow...they must not have truly known Job at all. God called him a righteous man. They called him a phony. How could anyone stand up under such a bombardment of false accusations? Perhaps it was “who” Job http://believed...god rather than his self serving companions. And perhaps it was “what” Job http://believed...truth from God rather than the humanistic philosophy of men. Here are a few hopeful beliefs that we find Job hanging onto when the pain of loss and being misjudged was coming close to overriding his life and message of faith in God. #1. Job believed God that “Life is short, not http://long...and God knows that”http://...in fact, God determines a person’s days upon the earth. And His determinations are perfect in accomplishing His devine purposes with us and through us. Once again, Job reminds us of the good and great Sovereignty of God...especially when we are struggling with “the whys” of life. #2. Job believed God that “Life is full of trouble...” including http://death...but God is in control of all of that too...regardless of how unexpected and cruel it may seem to http://us...for at the very least, as Job put it, “if we die we shall live again” in perfect harmony and fellowship with God our Savior and Lord...forever. 3. And one http://more...job believed God that “Life may seem to unfairly gang up against us, but God is our Advocate, committed to our eternal http://welfare...and God is our http://witness...who says, “I know this man, and his testimony can be trusted.” What would Job say about Jesus? “He’s the man, not me. I may have suffered unjustly for my own sins in some ways. But Jesus suffered unjustly, not for his own transgressions, but for ours who believe in Him. Yes, Jesus is better! Trust Him!

January 8th - Day 8

January 8, 2020 • Jim McCracken

Join our facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/2183117951984132/?source_id=181918175166472 January 8th “Listen to Job’s personal testimony: “O that my words were written! Oh, that they were inscribed in a book! Oh that with an iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock forever! “For I know that my Redeemer lives”, and at the last, he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh, I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!”

January 9th - Day 9

January 9, 2020 • Jim McCracken

Join our facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/2183117951984132/?source_id=181918175166472 January 9th In Job chapters 21,22,&23 God reveals the strategy of ambitious, self-righteous men. ...(we could say the strategy of hell). “They tell big lies. And they repeat them over and over and over again.” And though the false accusations of Job’s so-called friends were preposterous, completely absurd and contrary to Job’s nature, people throughout the region believed the lies rather than the plain truth about Job’s life. For years parents would tell their children to follow the example of Job’s relationship with http://god...and how that relationship demonstrated the showing of mercy and kind generosity to people of all walks of life. But then the lies about Job took on a life of their own and suddenly parents everywhere began to warn their children....”Look, kids, that huge sinner is finally getting what he deserves. Only real bad sinners suffer like Job is. Don't ever trust him.” This passage also reveals the deep down convictions that Job had about his suffering...#1 God was the one doing the trying of Job’s http://faith...and #2 When God was through, Job would come out as gold.” (See if you can find some other convictions that Job had about his trials in today’s reading). And how does this reading relate to the good news of God in and through Christ? “O that I knew where to find God...”Job cried in his suffering”....” yet, I am terrified at his presence...I am in dread of Him.” Where do we find God? Is there a place between heaven and earth where we might find Him and not just be totally terrified? Let me suggest “At the http://cross...at the cross where I first saw the light and the burden of my heart rolled away. It was thereby faith I received my sight and now I am happy all the day.” See you at the cross...

January 10th - Day 10

January 10, 2020 • Jim McCracken

Join our facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/2183117951984132/?source_id=181918175166472 January 10th In our reading today, in Job chapters 24 through 28, we hear a conversation between Job and his friend, Bildad, and Job and God. In the conversations, we hear frustrations, pointed accusations, defensive arguments, and honest questioning. Reminds us of conversations we have had with friends and God. Some of the back and forth can be the result of ignorance, or misguided arrogance, and even desperate longing for answers and truth. So some conversations can become debative, and even combative. But in love, if it leads to truth, it is worth the time and effort. In yesterday’s reading of the Word, Job told Eliphaz that often times God had terrified him by His awesome power and judgments. But Job, who had a personal faith relationship with God, went on to say, “but even that will not keep me from honest conversation with http://god...he knows me and welcomes my yearning for the truth.” And so he says out loud to God, with much respect, concerning God’s righteous prerogative to work HIS WILL with men... “Is God wrong when He restrains Himself from judging the guilty (like you would have them judged)?” And is God wrong when He chooses to try the innocent?” And Job continues...”But where will wisdom be found on this? Where is the place of understanding when it comes to suffering? The deep says it’s not in me. The sea says it’s not with me. The living cannot find this wisdom on suffering. The dead cannot find this understanding on suffering. Answer? God alone knows the reason and purpose of it. We trust Him and wait for Him to reveal His eternal purposes. By the http://way...this reading brought to mind that the most innocent person who has ever lived on the earth, the Lord Jesus Christ, was crushed under unjust http://judgment...and it WAS God’s will. And it was and is good news for those of us who believe Him and believe in http://him...for His suffering meant our eternal salvation.

January 11th - Day 11

January 11, 2020 • Jim McCracken

Join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/2183117951984132/?source_id=181918175166472 January 11th Our Bible reading is Job chapters 29, 30, 31. After reading yesterday’s texts, we were ready to add Job’s name to the physical record in Hebrews http://11...that “Hall of Faith” that included the likes of Abel and Enoch and Noah and Abraham and Sarah and Isaac and Jacob and Joseph and Moses and Rahab and Gideon and Samson and Daniel and martyrs for the Good News of God in http://christ...all of whom the world was not http://worthy...and on and http://on....people who believed http://god...in all kinds of circumstances...Trusting in Him for their salvation. Am I still sold on Job for induction into God’s Hall of Faith? After today’s reading, maybe not as unanimously as I felt yesterday. Job’s attitude changes a bit...***justifying himself rather than deferring to God’s unseen and still perfect plans for His glory. ...a common default even by committed believers, being pressed beyond measure. Moving on... These three chapters pretty much end Job’s debate with his friends over the cause of his suffering. These verses comprise Job’s last appeal to God for an understandable and reasonable cause for his months of misery in body and soul. He seems to concentrate on his case rather than on God’http://s...almost losing sight of the fact that God knows what He is http://doing...and He doesn't have to tell us. After this year, Job has not changed his mind, even before God. He still doesn't believe his critics that he has earned this pain with his sinning. (Somewhere in there I http://agree)...and Job continues: “Would someone who has been known by his close fellowship with God continue in sin this much, this long?” “No...” Job would retort. Would someone in fellowship with God be the eyes to the http://blind?...the feet to the http://lame?...the father to the needy? “Yes, Job would rhetorically answer.” That’s http://me...you know it’s me.” What’s going on here? Why won't you change things for me?” “Is not calamity for the unrighteous? Is not disaster for the workers of iniquity? Why don't you see my ways? I don't deserve this. “ “If I have walked with unconfessed falsehood and hastened to http://deceive...if my steps have turned aside from Your http://way...and my heart has gone after immorality without http://remorse...if I have not paid for service rendered in my fields, let thorns grow instead of http://wheat...all of that together would be a heinous crime, an iniquity punishable by the http://judges...even to the fires of Abbadon.” Job compares himself with others....another “go-to” place, even for sincere believers, when they are trying to make sense out of heartache on their own. Job then finishes his closing remarks before the Righteous Judge/Almighty God...(Remember, Job still does not know and understand God’s contest with satan...) “O I wish that You would put in writing the reasons for my suffering. This would surely clear me of all the charges made against me by friend and foe alike.” Is Job still a champion in the faith? Knowing the end of the story, and knowing the “imperfect” stories of other giants in the faith...I say yes. But our true champion in the faith is Jesus. Always has http://been...always will be. Everything about his life and ministry, including his incredible suffering, was never about http://him....it was always about the Father and His glory and His amazing grace toward us! Amen and Amen!

January 12th - Day 12

January 12, 2020 • Jim McCracken

Join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/2183117951984132/?source_id=181918175166472 January 12th Our Bible reading today is found in Job 32,33,34. The debate between Job and his friends is over. After all these weeks and months, nothing has changed. Job’s body is still racked with disease. His flesh has changed colors, not by the sun, but by the rot of infection. His attempts to endure the pain has drained him of http://strength...so weakness and fatigue have replaced it. Nothing has changed with Job’s suffering. And nothing has changed with the theology of his friends. They continue to blame Job for God’s judgment. They continue to declare that Job is living in self-righteousness and unconfessed http://sin...an arrogance that deserves such suffering. **The counselors finished the way they started. They still believed that unrighteous behavior deserved the punishments of God. So they looked upon the terrible condition of Job and deduced that he was really a very bad http://sinner...who would not repent. They looked upon their own good condition and deduced that they lived righteous lives that gave them an advantage with God. (Reminds me of the Pharisees in Jesus’ day...”O God, I am glad that I'm not a sinner like that pitiful man.”) If anything changed in 29 chapters of Job’s life with pain, it was Job’s http://faith...slowly but surely it became a “shaken faith” in who God http://was...let me explain: The Suffering Job praised God in the beginning, “My Redeemer Lives”, he http://sang...and Job believed God strongly in the middle of his suffering declaring, “Though He slay me, I will still put my hope in Him”http://...but toward the end, Job began to voice doubts about His relationship with http://god...saying, “I have become an enemy to God”....implying that God had wronged him at some point. Knowing the end of Job’s story, I can tell you that Job’s faith was restored. But not without an unexpected helper. That’s where the next 5 chapters come in. Beginning with the introduction of a new and somewhat strange character in today’s http://reading...elihu. He had one main http://message...listen for it. Right off the bat, we learn that Elihu was a young http://man...much younger than Job and the three friends. How he came to be in the hearing of these four older men is not made clear. But obviously, out of respect, he held his peace until now. And without fear, young Elihu spoke truth. (I Remember Ruth and the charge her uncle gave her in the face of a very hard responsibility...” you were born for such a time as this...”http://...so was Elihu!) He reproved Job’s friends. And he reproved Job. The Bible says Elihu spoke to them with words that burned with anger. (I want to liken it to Jesus’ righteous anger against the spiritual corruption promoted by priests and Sanhedrin in Jerusalem...) Perhaps you have wondered, like me, if Elihu was just another critic who came late to the party. And then we read a little slower, a little closer. In chapter 32 we hear the beginning of Elihu’s conversation...”I was young and you were aged...I was afraid to speak my opinion...I would let days teach wisdom...I would let number of years express wisdom and http://understanding...but I knew that it was the spirit in a man, the breath of The Almighty, that made him http://understand...it’s not the old who are wise or the aged who understand what is http://right...it’s the Spirit of God within them...” (Reminds me of what Pharoah said to his servants about Joseph...”Can we find a man like this in whom is the Spirit of God.” Elihu was speaking his main message. Wisdom is found in God. It is the Spirit of God that gives wisdom and understanding. (I'm impressed with the young messenger so far.) But even more, impressed with the fact that Job and his friends were silent. That’s a first My take on http://that?...the Spirit of God in Elihu spoke to the spirit of these men and brought conviction to their hearts...”And perhaps they said in their hearts, “I should be still now and know that the Lord, He is God, not me.” (Or they could have taken offense at what the young man said...probably more http://likely...but I hope not.) What might Jesus have to say to Job now about suffering and death? I believe Christ, in all of His glory, would show Job his nail-pierced hands and feet and his spear pierced side. And say, “it was and is for the glory of http://god...so make much of Him now, and He will glorify you later. “

January 13th - Day 13

January 13, 2020 • Jim McCracken

Join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/2183117951984132/?source_id=181918175166472 January 13 Our Bible reading today is Job 35,36,37. The young messenger, Elihu, in 6 chapters and three distinct speeches, was passionate, to say the least. In his heart, he believed that the three friends of Job were wrong. “Suffering is not the proof of wickedness, but rather the proof of God being up to something in the life of that person and family.” And Job had been wrong too. “Suffering in the life of those rightly related to God by faith was not the proof of an Almighty God simply wielding His random will without rhyme or http://reason.....or, that it was a sign of enmity with God. But instead, that particular suffering was a proof of God’s http://love...his grace for transforming a heart and life toward God at a new level. Continuing in the http://text...elihu’s words seem harsh at times. Listen to these stinging words to Job from young Elihu...” Will your wealth keep you from distress? Will all the force of your strength keep you from suffering?".., “ “turn from your http://wickedness...that is, from the vice of complaining against http://god...and start learning from your affliction” Job 36 http://...wow, some hard http://words...but necessary. At the same time, Elihu’s words were full of substance. For instance, in Job 33, Elihu says, “God speaks to man in two ways." He speaks through dreams and http://suffering....and, that suffering was for man’s http://good...not to punish him, but to save http://him...from pitfalls and judgment. Praise God for http://that...it reminds us of the Apostle Paul’s message in Romans 8:28...”For all things work together for good for those who love God..” Another way we can know that Elihu’s words were in harmony with God’s work and http://will...read ahead to the last chapter and see where Job “repented” before God for his prideful questioning of God after Elihu’s exhortation to that end. Early on in my Christian life, as a 19 yr old college sophomore, I was encouraged by my pastor, Paul Burleson, to get in the Word and stay in the Word. And I was taught from scripture that the Holy Spirit, (who indwelled me from the day of my conversion to Christ), that same Holy Spirit would infill me with the very life, love, and light of Christ and would always guide me into the truth. So, I would and still to this day, read the Bible anticipating the Spirit to point me to Christ (who is the truth) in those pages and help me to understand The will of God and empower me to live in harmony with the Lord. So you ask me, “Jim, what do you see of Jesus in Elihu’s last speech to Job?” Well, I see and hear Jesus speaking to Nicodemus. Elihu had a hard message and he delivered it, trusting God with the result. Jesus told an enquiring Jewish religious leader, who had accumulated all the religious merit badges and community appreciation plaques that were offered and earned over years of a religious journey that took him to the top...leadership of the http://sanhedrin....and Jesus told him that all those medals meant nothing with http://god...only a faith relationship with Jesus Christ would do...” the Son of Man must be lifted up and he that believes Him will have eternal life.” In other words, You must be born http://again...this time spiritually. That’s a hard message for someone who was counting on all that he had done to get him into God’s favor. And Jesus left the result with the Father. Elihu was telling the truth. Jesus was and ever will be the truth of eternal life. Jesus is always better.

January 14th - Day 14

January 14, 2020 • Jim McCracken

Join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/2183117951984132/?source_id=181918175166472 January 14th Our Bible reading today is Job chapters 38,39. It may be short, but no less revealing. After months, maybe close to a year, per some commentators, all Job wanted was a hearing with God. Well, he was about to get the whole load. God was about to reveal the magnificent mysteries of creation. And since man (in particular, Job and his three outspoken friends) understood so little of God’s will and work of creation, how could “they” claim to understand God’s ways in reference to Job’s trial? Job had silenced his friends but didn't convince them. Elihu silenced Job, but didn't humble him. Now it pleased God to step into the http://conversation...and begin to bring Job right where He wanted him. “Note the prInciple of God’s timing.” It seems as though God could have interposed so much sooner in Job’s severe trial. But He didn't. I remember a verse at the end of Isaiah 60...”I am http://god...at the right time, I will make it happen.”http://...god’s message through the prophet to the children of Israel...”There is coming a day when the sun will never go down and the moon will never http://fade...for the Lord will be your everlasting light. There is coming a day when all of your mourning will be over. All of your people will be righteous and you will possess the land forever....(referring to the future new heaven and new earth with God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.) And the message is finished with....”I am http://god...and at the right time I will make it happen.” Much suffering would take place in Israel from Isaiah’s prophecy to http://today...but God’s time for deliverance of His faithful people (Jew and Gentile) is not http://yet...when it is right, God will make it happen. Doesn't it seem to us that God could have stepped in for the sake of Job much sooner, and taught he and his friends the true wisdom of God earlier? But He didn't. There was a more perfect time for Him to make that happen. They would need to trust Him. I'm reminded of the Apostle Paul’s message to the church in Galatia... Galatians 4:4-7 ESV “4 But when the “fullness of time had come” (When the time was http://right...when the time was perfect...), God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the (curse) of the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son/a http://daughter...then an heir through God.” There was a right time for God to intervene and speak to Job. And that was good. But one more time we are reminded that there was something awesomely http://better...there was a “perfect time” for God to send His Son to save http://us...and He made it happen! Thanks, Lord and thanks for Your Word that inspires and encourages us to do life together with You for another glorious day. Enjoy the rest of the story.

January 15th - Day 15

January 15, 2020 • Jim McCracken

Join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/2183117951984132/?source_id=181918175166472 January 15th We have come to the end of the biblical record of the patriarch Job... as found in the book by his http://name...job Chapters 40,41,42. We need to note some important God activity. #1. God is straight forward about sin, especially in the lives of His faithful people. (People who trust in Him for their eternal salvation are His salt and light in the world. In The Lord, we influence others to believe and show the way in the darkness toward real-life...unconfessed sin only hinders that http://influence...that path showing.) God told satan that Job was a righteous man, upright in all his ways. And, God told satan that Job would worship God for nothing. Early on in Job’s trial period, he proved God’s case very well. But after months and months of physical suffering, Job’s faith in God was shaken (not broken) and he began to question God and accuse God of wrong. And now it was God’s turn to speak. “ “Shall a “fault-finder” contend with the Almighty God? He who argues with God, let him answer it.” “ (So Job, You are now a man who argues with God...finding fault with God and His ways...) “Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me and put yourself in the right?” (So Job, you who championed my purposes for years, now you curse me?) Perhaps Job had forgotten his angry outbursts at God. But God reminded him of his offenses and http://guilt...he humbled Job to the innermost part of his heart. (God doesn't play around with our sinning. He wants to get us to repentance... where God’s blessing flows.) And that brings us to the second revelation of God that we need to hang onto. #2. God responds with mercy and strength toward the http://repentant...job confessed to God that he was wrong to disrespect and condemn the Almighty...”I was a man without knowledge....speaking without understanding...I heard of you with my ears, but now I have seen you with my eyes...therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” Then what did God do? He blessed Job with His trust...(Don't you know that Job wondered if God would ever trust him again?) He gave Job a great http://responsibility...to work with God in helping his three friends to get right with http://god...first he would forgive them for their hurtful accusations toward http://him...and then he could pray for them, for an outpouring of God’s mercy and grace... And what else did God do upon Job’s sincere repentance for speaking and acting like he was God? God not only restored Job back to his wanted health but He..., well that’s the rest of the http://story...job was once again under the spout where the glory comes out. Great http://ending...but it pales in the light of what God does for those who change their minds and begin to believe http://jesus...when He says, Repent, for the Kingdom of God is near http://you....saying: It’s http://me...follow me and I will forgive your sins and give you everlasting life in the Kingdom of http://heaven....both now and forever! Friends Have a great rest of your day.