Jesus is greater than religion

1st April 2012

Dan Sweetman

* We all have done wrong and gone against God's will = sin
* Sin is putting something above God


Sin isn't only doing bad things, it is more fundamentally making good thing, more than on God. Whatever we build our life on will drive us and enslave us. Sin is purely idolatry
-Tim Keller-

Jeremiah 2:1-3

Israel Forsakes God

 ¹ The word of the LORD came to me: ² “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem:    “This is what the LORD says:
   “‘I remember the devotion of your youth,
   how as a bride you loved me
and followed me through the wilderness,
   through a land not sown.
³ Israel was holy to the LORD,
   the firstfruits of his harvest;
all who devoured her were held guilty,
   and disaster overtook them,’”
            declares the LORD.

v20-25: ²⁰ “Long ago you broke off your yoke
   and tore off your bonds;
   you said, ‘I will not serve you!’
Indeed, on every high hill
   and under every spreading tree
   you lay down as a prostitute.
²¹ I had planted you like a choice vine
   of sound and reliable stock.
How then did you turn against me
   into a corrupt, wild vine?
²² Although you wash yourself with soap
   and use an abundance of cleansing powder,
   the stain of your guilt is still before me,”
            declares the Sovereign LORD.
²³ “How can you say, ‘I am not defiled;
   I have not run after the Baals’?
See how you behaved in the valley;
   consider what you have done.
You are a swift she-camel
   running here and there,
²⁴ a wild donkey accustomed to the desert,
   sniffing the wind in her craving—
   in her heat who can restrain her?
Any males that pursue her need not tire themselves;
   at mating time they will find her.


*What is it that we cannot live about?
*It is not sin, it just leads us to sin
*It can be on relationships, career, family
*We may still love God

v25: ²⁵ Do not run until your feet are bare
   and your throat is dry.
But you said, ‘It’s no use!
   I love foreign gods,
   and I must go after them.’

*If we put our relationships first, we may one day see our God (humans) in the coffin
*So what can we do?

1. Admit we are an addict- tell someone what our counterfeit God is

*We were created to be an addict- to come back to the one source
*We don't remove an addiction but we should replace the addiction instead
*When we can get the real thing, we give into things similar
*We have to realize having other Gods will make God jealous and we are actually cheating God
*A husband gives us everything but we are just like a prostitute

2. Understand that you are cheating on God

*We are breaking His heart

3. Remember Grace

*God lived in a perfect life so you did not have to
*Remembering what God has done for us

4. Remember you are on a journey

*We are on a journey and if we are on the right track, we have no worries

*Head in the right direction, but take the pressure off
*We may be in and our but we will never run out of grace
*We can grow on it more
*It is okay if we fall as long as we keep our eyes on him




**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

18 March 2012
 

*Philippians 2:1-11:

Imitating Christ’s Humility

 ¹ Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.  ⁵ In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
 ⁶ Who, being in very nature God,
   did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
   by taking the very nature of a servant,
   being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
   he humbled himself
   by becoming obedient to death—
      even death on a cross!
 ⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
   and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
   in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
   to the glory of God the Father.

*v7,8- He emptied himself
*John 3.16- everlasting life
¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 

*John 17- Jesus- what goes through His mind before He dies. Then he prays for us. We don't have to wait to die to have eternal life.

Jesus Prays to Be Glorified

 ¹ After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:    “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. ² For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. ³ Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. ⁴ I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. ⁵ And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

Jesus Prays for His Disciples

    ⁶ “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. ⁷ Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. ⁸ For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. ⁹ I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. ¹⁰ All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. ¹¹ I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. ¹² While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.    ¹³ “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. ¹⁴ I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. ¹⁵ My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. ¹⁷ Sanctify them by  the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸ As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

Jesus Prays for All Believers

    ²⁰ “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, ²¹ that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²² I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— ²³ I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.    ²⁴ “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
   ²⁵ “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. ²⁶ I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known ¹ Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: ² Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. ³ “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
 ⁴ Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
 ⁵ He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”
   “No,” they answered.
 ⁶ He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
 ⁷ Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. ⁸ The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. ⁹ When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
 ¹⁰ Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” ¹¹ So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. ¹² Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. ¹³ Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. ¹⁴ This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Jesus Reinstates Peter

 ¹⁵ When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”    “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
   Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
 ¹⁶ Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
   He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
   Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
 ¹⁷ The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
   Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
   Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. ¹⁸ Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” ¹⁹ Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”
 ²⁰ Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) ²¹ When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”
 ²² Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” ²³ Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”
 ²⁴ This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.
 ²⁵ Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.

in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
 

*Jesus came so that we could have a relationship with Him
*People will see the love and want that love we have with God
*John 21:  
¹ Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: ² Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. ³ “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
 ⁴ Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
 ⁵ He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”
   “No,” they answered.
 ⁶ He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
 ⁷ Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. ⁸ The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. ⁹ When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
 ¹⁰ Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” ¹¹ So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. ¹² Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. ¹³ Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. ¹⁴ This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Jesus Reinstates Peter

 ¹⁵ When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”    “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
   Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
 ¹⁶ Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
   He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
   Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
 ¹⁷ The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
   Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
   Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. ¹⁸ Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” ¹⁹ Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”
 ²⁰ Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) ²¹ When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”
 ²² Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” ²³ Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”
 ²⁴ This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.
 ²⁵ Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.
*We are coming to church to remember Him

*He shows what we can be not what we want
*Whatever you are, Jesus is there
*The call - "Follow me"
*Levi may be sick of his life and so Jesus offered him invitation of acceptance
*Are we listening to Him?
*He is saying do what I do, not just come to church etc

The Decision
*Matthew left everything
*Levi had a big banquet
*Jesus ate with the tax collectors
*He didn't limit people to follow him
*Some of us has "I love you Jesus BUT..."
*Do we share our faith with friends
*Are we doing things that dishonor God?
*Do we go our with them to blend or share the light with Jesus

The Critics
*They asked "Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
*They wanted to get the name for themselves
*They are religious but have no love for God
* We easily judge people
*Will we stand back and criticize people not like us?

The Principle
*Jesus said unhealthy people need to see a doctor
*We are all unhealthy and righteous before God
*Romans 3:22: ²² This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,

*The only way we can come to God is through faith
*Luke 18- Pharisee and tax collectors

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

 ¹ Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. ² He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. ³ And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’    ⁴ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”
 ⁶ And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷ And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? ⁸ I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

 ⁹ To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’    ¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
   ¹⁴ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

The Little Children and Jesus

 ¹⁵ People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. ¹⁶ But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁷ Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

The Rich and the Kingdom of God

 ¹⁸ A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”    ¹⁹ “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. ²⁰ You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.'”
 ²¹ “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.
 ²² When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
 ²³ When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy. ²⁴ Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
 ²⁶ Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?”
 ²⁷ Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
 ²⁸ Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!”
   ²⁹ “Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God ³⁰ will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.”

Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time

 ³¹ Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. ³² He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; ³³ they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.”  ³⁴ The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.

A Blind Beggar Receives His Sight

 ³⁵ As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. ³⁶ When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. ³⁷ They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”  ³⁸ He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
 ³⁹ Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
 ⁴⁰ Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, ⁴¹ “What do you want me to do for you?”
   “Lord, I want to see,” he replied.
 ⁴² Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” ⁴³ Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.


*Jesus is still the same compassionate and looking people to be merciful
*Will we follow him?

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Search me, Find me

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting....... 

- Psalm 139:23-24 -

Thoughts on This Verse... Most of us don't like being scrutinized and tested. But God knows us through and through. He has been with us from our conception and will work with us through the grave and beyond. So let's invite him into our interior world to search us, test us, and even scrutinize our anxious thoughts. He is not there to condemn or punish, but to cleanse and redeem so that we can be led to his eternal grace. 

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Humble servant praying for us

''My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.''...... 

- John 17:20-21 -

Thoughts on This Verse... Few things are more precious than knowing that Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, thought to pray for us! So often, we read the words of John 17 and study them as a prayer for his apostles in the upper room. But if we look closely at this passage, we also see that Jesus prays for us, those who believe on him because of the apostles' testimony. He wants us to be one! He wants us to live with the same unity, purpose, and character of God that he did. If we do not, then how will the people of the world know that God sent his Son? How will they know what to believe? How will they find Jesus as their Savior?


**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Nothing at all

...but [Jesus] made himself  nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human  likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and  became obedient to death - even death on a cross!...... 

- Philippians 2:7-8 -



Thoughts on  This Verse... Christianity is not for wimps or the faint of heart. Our  example is described by words like''made himself of no reputation''  ...''servant'' ...''humbled himself'' ...''became obedient'' ...''death  on a cross!'' That's tough stuff. And that is our example. The story of  the Jesus may begin with a sweet child, but it also begins with him  being placed where animals ate their food. While it may be powerful and  precious, it is not saccharine and fake sentiment. It is about the price  paid to redeem and the people who are different because they know their  Redeemer.


**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Changed

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-- in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality....... 

- 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 -

Thoughts on This Verse... I'm going to be changed! You're going to be changed! We're not talking about a new wardrobe or haircut. We're not talking about a new car or a new place to live. We are talking major, heavy-duty overhaul! We're going to be made immortal. We're going to become indestructible. We will no longer be perishable goods! We're bound for glory.

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Love like God loved

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God....... 

- 1 John 4:7 -

Thoughts on This Verse... The old song says,''Where oh where is love?'' Love is with God. Love comes from God. Love is defined by God. Love has its origin in God. You want to be more loving? If we want to be more loving -- to find greater intensity in our love and want to know how to love others who are hard to love -- look to God. But, where do we see God most clearly? Jesus! Let's look at how God has demonstrated his love through Jesus and do likewise!

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Reassured future

The LORD redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him....... 

 - Psalm 34:22 -

 Thoughts on This Verse... God not only buys us out of our bondage and debt to sin, but he also assures us that he will provide refuge for those who trust in him. Our future is tied to him and not to our ability to provide and protect what we need.

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

The Christian Atheist

Sunday 11th March 2012

Mark Broadbent

*Our beliefs depends on how we react
*Christian Atheism is an ideology in which the belief in the God of Christianity is rejected or absent but the moral teachings of Jesus are followed.
*Analogy of Money
1. Do not steal
2. Stay out of debt
3. Give generously and sacrificially

*We may tick the boxes but behind is a God desperate to get our attention and settle for enough
*We believe the moral teachings but give in to temptation

*Another analogy of relationships
*Blind date. Girl presents a whole set of questions such as "What kind of government system would you want?" Told to answer in 20seconds counting down. And does allow the Boy to ask the same question.
*We get anxious and nervous in relationships
*What does the Bible say about relationships?
1. Do not cheat
2. No sex before marriage
3. Honor your husband

*We may again tick the boxes but securities are in their relationship
*Relationship may become more significant than God
*Do not really want to hang out with singles or church anymore
*Many people has counterfeit gods in our lives

How do we get rid of counterfeit God and keep God in focus?

Psalm 23
A psalm of David.
 ¹ The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
 ² He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
 ³ he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
   for his name’s sake.
⁴ Even though I walk
   through the darkest valley,^[a]
I will fear no evil,
   for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
   they comfort me.
 ⁵ You prepare a table before me
   in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
   my cup overflows.
⁶ Surely your goodness and love will follow me
   all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
   forever.


*Jesus talked about taking the cross, denying yourself, losing everything thus we get the perception that Christianity is going to be all tough
*Jesus says that He can give us security and longing
*He himself is the answer for our prayers
*Even if God is not king, loving and good, He is worthy of worship
*We may worship God because of all the good works He has done but God is telling us to worship Him because He is God
*We may worship Paul because He is loving, kind and good as well but we do not do that
*When were so thirsty, we would still go for the coke no matter how much we hate it when were stuck in a building with only a coke machine
*It is the same with God. We have no choice because He is the only God in the whole universe

Job 15

Eliphaz

 ¹ Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:  ² “Would a wise person answer with empty notions
   or fill their belly with the hot east wind?
³ Would they argue with useless words,
   with speeches that have no value?
⁴ But you even undermine piety
   and hinder devotion to God.
⁵ Your sin prompts your mouth;
   you adopt the tongue of the crafty.
⁶ Your own mouth condemns you, not mine;
   your own lips testify against you.
 ⁷ “Are you the first man ever born?
   Were you brought forth before the hills?
⁸ Do you listen in on God’s council?
   Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?
⁹ What do you know that we do not know?
   What insights do you have that we do not have?
¹⁰ The gray-haired and the aged are on our side,
   men even older than your father.
¹¹ Are God’s consolations not enough for you,
   words spoken gently to you?
¹² Why has your heart carried you away,
   and why do your eyes flash,
¹³ so that you vent your rage against God
   and pour out such words from your mouth?
 ¹⁴ “What are mortals, that they could be pure,
   or those born of woman, that they could be righteous?
¹⁵ If God places no trust in his holy ones,
   if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,
¹⁶ how much less mortals, who are vile and corrupt,
   who drink up evil like water!
 ¹⁷ “Listen to me and I will explain to you;
   let me tell you what I have seen,
¹⁸ what the wise have declared,
   hiding nothing received from their ancestors
¹⁹ (to whom alone the land was given
   when no foreigners moved among them):
²⁰ All his days the wicked man suffers torment,
   the ruthless man through all the years stored up for him.
²¹ Terrifying sounds fill his ears;
   when all seems well, marauders attack him.
²² He despairs of escaping the realm of darkness;
   he is marked for the sword.
²³ He wanders about for food like a vulture;
   he knows the day of darkness is at hand.
²⁴ Distress and anguish fill him with terror;
   troubles overwhelm him, like a king poised to attack,
²⁵ because he shakes his fist at God
   and vaunts himself against the Almighty,
²⁶ defiantly charging against him
   with a thick, strong shield.
 ²⁷ “Though his face is covered with fat
   and his waist bulges with flesh,
²⁸ he will inhabit ruined towns
   and houses where no one lives,
   houses crumbling to rubble.
²⁹ He will no longer be rich and his wealth will not endure,
   nor will his possessions spread over the land.
³⁰ He will not escape the darkness;
   a flame will wither his shoots,
   and the breath of God’s mouth will carry him away.
³¹ Let him not deceive himself by trusting what is worthless,
   for he will get nothing in return.
³² Before his time he will wither,
   and his branches will not flourish.
³³ He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes,
   like an olive tree shedding its blossoms.
³⁴ For the company of the godless will be barren,
   and fire will consume the tents of those who love bribes.
³⁵ They conceive trouble and give birth to evil;
   their womb fashions deceit.”


*God is for Job, God is against Satan
*We may think it is US vs GOD
*God is for us and not against us, our money, relationships,security
*Satan will keep tempting you but God is there for you
*God is not always close to His people but He will give His spirit to people
*The new testament says that we receive the spirit not by anointing oil but by believing in Jesus Christ
*Be with us- God is already here
*If we put God first, we would not chase after all these counterfeit gods
*We go to counterfeit gods because we think God does not give us full satisfaction
*We should encourage and remind each other of God's goodness.

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Us in Him and He in Us

We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit....... 

- 1 John 4:13 -

Thoughts on This Verse... Our sign of authenticity showing we are truly God's children is the Holy Spirit who lives in us. The Spirit helps bring forth the character of God in our lives (Gal. 5:22). The Spirit helps us when we pray (Rom. 8:26-27). The Spirit empowers us to overcome sin (Rom. 8:13) and gives us strength to do things we would never imagine were possible (Eph. 3:14-21). The Spirit comforts us in our brokenness and makes God's presence real in our lives (John 14:15-26). The Spirit is the truest sign that we are God's children (Rom. 8:9, 14-16). Thank God for the blessed Holy Spirit!

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Weak in sinful nature? God is the answer

For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit....... 

- Romans 8:3-4 -

Thoughts on This Verse... When the Spirit lives in us, we don't need a law to guide us. The Spirit produces the character that God desires and that is well beyond what any law would require (cf. Gal. 5:22-23). While the Law can teach us God's will and reveal to us what is sinful, the Law can't fix our sinfulness nor empower us to live according to God's will. The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, can cleanse, transform, empower, and inspire us to be what God calls us to be in ways no law can. Let's thank God for his amazing and wonderful presence in us through his Spirit!


**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Spreading all the love around!

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth....... 

- 1 John 3:18 -

Thoughts on This Verse... ''Talk is cheap.''''Actions speak louder than words.'' Let's show our love for our family, our friends, and brothers and sisters in Christ by the way we live and what we do for each other.


**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Unity

If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.........

- Romans 6:5-6 -

Thoughts on This Verse... Paul reminds us that our baptism was more than just a dunking in water. In baptism, we shared in Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. What he did to save us is now shared with us. We die to sin and are raised to be a new person, cleansed and made holy, empowered by the Holy Spirit. We have been set free from the power and the penalty of sin.


**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Baptized into his death

Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.......

- Romans 6:3-4 -

Thoughts on This Verse... Baptism is far more than getting wet or checking off another thing on our obedience to do list. You see, what saves is Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection (1 Cor. 15:1-5). God has given us the incredible grace (Rom. 6:1,14,15) of being able to share in Jesus' saving work through faith and experience it in baptism (Gal. 3:26-27). We die to the old way of life and bury it in the past. It no longer holds us. This death is the death that matters most. Raised to a new life, our life is now joined to Christ and his future becomes our own (cf. Col. 3:1-4). The life we now live is to glorify God and to live with him forever. That means the Gospel is not just something preached; it is something we experience by grace.


**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Evil is ruin

The way of the LORD is a refuge for the righteous, but it is the ruin of those who do evil....... 

- Proverbs 10:29 -

Thoughts on This Verse... What is your source of security, hope, and protection? The way of the Lord is a refuge, a strength, a place of security! Let's make sure we live our lives there, knowing that God's commands and demands for righteousness are for our protection as well as his glory.

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Creation awaits!

The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.......

- Romans 8:19 -

Thoughts on This Verse... Eagerly waits! Don't you just love that idea! Sounds like an oxymoron. It's not. Think of a groom waiting for his bride to come down the aisle. Imagine parents of a child that is due to be born. Remember what it was like as a child waiting for Christmas morning. Eagerly waits! That's what creation, so caught up with decay, disaster, and death, is doing! And what is creation waiting for so eagerly? Our transformation and revelation as God's triumphant and glorious children. Sounds pretty wonderful for a time and world like ours.


**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Shout your heart out!

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth....... 

 - Psalm 100:1 -

Thoughts on This Verse... With joy, let's praise and make a joyful noise to the LORD of lords and the King of kings today. Let's find short moments during our day, seize them, and use them to give thanks and praise to our Father in heaven. When we are blessed, let's take a moment and pause for praise. In every good thing, let's share a phrase of praise to our gracious Father.

 

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**