I'm Following Jesus – Page 1554 – Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34

Date: Wednesday, January 15, 2020
Chapters: Job 40-42
Message: Pray For Them

Hello My Friend,

I was reading through one of my devotionals from this day and talking about self pity, how I was feeling sorry for myself because I was facing all these challenges. You know, I caught myself doing that the other night when I was praying, and God called me on it. And as I was praying this morning, God reminded me that I am who He made me to be, if people do not accept me, if people do not like the way I talk, look, or act, then that is their problem. The only one I have to answer to is God, and if what I am doing is questionable to Him, He will be sure to let me know, everyone else can either accept me and love me for who God made me, or move on. We need to understand that it is okay to ask God why, and He will answer why if He chooses, but when He does not, we need to understand that it is not to know why, it is to know that we trust what He is doing.

“If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained. But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.” – I Timothy 4:6-10.

“For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach,” Let me tell you, no faithful, saved, born again Christian serves God out of obligation or merit, it is something we are called to do out of our love for Christ. At times, it is going to seem like all our efforts are worthless as we are going to suffer reproach from those of the world, and fellow Christians, which means, to censer, upbraid, or shame. Nevertheless, when we trust God through it, He will respond, just not always in the way we expect. After months of reproach from Job’s friends, all of them trying to shame him into thinking that God was judging him for his sin, God appears before them all in a tornado, of all things, and starts asking Job all sorts of questions. And now, Job responds.

“Then Job answered the LORD, and said, Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further. Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous? Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him? Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency; and array thyself with glory and beauty. Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath: and behold every one that is proud, and abase him. Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place. Hide them in the dust together; and bind their faces in secret. Then will I also confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee.” – Job 40:3-14.

“Behold, I am vile;” The first thing we do when God confronts us is tell Him how horrible we are. I will tell you what, sometimes that is worse than sin. There are times, in fact, I did this yesterday, I kept telling God how bad I was, when that was not what He wanted to hear. Yes, we are sinners, yes, our righteousness is a filthy rags compared to Jesus, but we redeemed, and by the blood of the Lamb. Amen! We need to stop the self pity party, just tell God, “I am sorry for feeling sorry for myself.” “Wilt thou also disannul my judgment?” Disannul; To make void; to deprive of authority or force. God’s judgments do not always have to do with sin, many times they have to do with our simply trusting Him, especially when we have no idea what is going on. “As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him. For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God? It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.” – Psalm 18:30-32.

“he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.” Buckler; A shield, or piece of defensive armor. God is our shield at all time when we trust Him, and by the way, what He is also doing through our reproach is perfecting us. Yes, He is teaching us to be more like Jesus. As God continues, He describes one of the most powerful beasts He created, the leviathan, which means jointed monster.

“Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down? Canst thou put an hook into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn? Will he make many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft words unto thee? Will he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him for a servant for ever? Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens? Shall the companions make a banquet of him? shall they part him among the merchants? Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? or his head with fish spears? Lay thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more. Behold, the hope of him is in vain: shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him? None is so fierce that dare stir him up: who then is able to stand before me? Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him? whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine. I will not conceal his parts, nor his power, nor his comely proportion.” – Job 41:1-12.

“Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook?” The leviathan was a very large, strong, fish-like, serpent, that lived in the water, yet able to walk on land, many claim it to be a crocodile or whale. That goes to show you just how close minded people are. Neither of these are correct, as the entire description proves it is something of much greater strength and size, and no, it is not some mythical fire breathing dragon that God made up since it is said to have fire coming out of its mouth. It is obviously something that went extinct long again, yet, it was a real creature, and proves a powerful point, the biggest and strongest of creatures are still in God’s hands. “whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.” Since God created everything, everything is His, and He will do with it what He chooses. God chose man, whom He made in His image, to have a conscious, to have freewill, to have a choice in whether or not they want to follow Him. Why? Because He is God, and He wants us to be able to make our own decision. Now, Job answers God, and God answers all of them.

“Then Job answered the LORD, and said, I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee. Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath. Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job. So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as the LORD commanded them: the LORD also accepted Job. And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.” – Job 42:1-10.

“therefore have I uttered that I understood not;” We cannot possibly understand everything we go through, that is, unless God wants to reveal it to us, because our minds can only comprehend so much. “I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.” Demand; To ask or call for. Declare; To make known. Job is asking God to make Him known to him, and acknowledges he is the one without the knowledge. “and my servant Job shall pray for you:” We need to pray for those who reproach us, and forgive them. “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” – Matthew 5:44-45.

“lest I deal with you after your folly,” Do you see how God has mercy on those who speak falsely of Him? These were not unbelievers, they knew not that what they were doing was wrong. These men did repent, unlike the Pharisees and Romans in Jesus’ day when they refused to repent of their wrongdoing. And yet, Jesus still asked God to forgive them (Luke 23:34). “the LORD also accepted Job.” This means that God accepted Job’s prayers, and they were what turned things around. Our prayers will not be accepted if all we do is murmur and complain. They will not be accepted if all we do is come to Him feeling sorry for ourselves. They will be accepted if we one; praise Him, two; repent of sin, three; ask Him, four; yield to Him. And five, pray for and forgive those who wrong us. “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” – Matthew 6:9-15.

Today’s Prayer: God, I know that your hand is in everything and I am trusting You to get me through every challenge. I admit that sometimes I question You, and complain when it seems nothing I do is right, and even go into self pity, telling You how vile I am. These are not things that You want to hear, You want my faith, my trust, my confessions, and for me to pray for those who are a part of those challenges. I know with these challenges You are doing several things, working on me to become more like Your Son, getting me to trust You more, and showing the devil that I will not forsake You. Lord, Your are awesome, wonderful, and merciful. Forgive me for any murmuring, complaining, or self pity I have given You. I forgive those who challenge my faith, and ask You to work on their hearts and show them their err, and Your truths. I love You, and ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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