Days 249-251 – September 6-8, 2021
Scriptures: Job 30-33, Psalm 17, 103, Romans 1-3 Romans Bible Project So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. (Job 32:1) 2 From your presence let my vindication come! Let your eyes behold the right! 3 You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night, you have tested me, and you will find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress. (Psalm 17:2-3) 9 He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. 10 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. (Psalm 103:9-10) 21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:21–24) I have been gone and the internet wasn’t available to post, so I’ve combined the last couple of days of reading on the theme of righteousness. Job’s friends no longer listen to him. In one Psalm (17) there is a sense of one’s righteousness, and in another, 103 – thanking God for his forgiveness. One sees their own sort of self-righteousness in view in these texts. One moment you see a trusting in ones own righteousness, whereas another reveals a clear sense of the need for God’s forgiveness for their sins. In Paul’s letter to the churches in Rome, we get perhaps one of the most talked about versus in all of the Bible, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We are all sinners. Job, we don’t believe to have been perfectly righteous. His friends couldn’t get a word in edge wise. They give up, perhaps thinking, He’s righteous in his own eyes, he doesn’t need us! We need forgiveness. We need hope. The book of Romans is going to lead us towards the forgiveness of God and the righteousness of Jesus made possible through his faith. It’s verse 22 that resonated with me most, “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.” When that is contrasted with Job and the Psalms, we celebrate the faith of Christ and his forgiveness. God relents in his anger, and offers us true life in Him. We receive Christ’s righteousness through his faith and our faith in him. We have all sinned, but Christ is greater than our sin. Turn to him, and praise God that his anger has not lasted forever. He draws us near to him through Christ. You are redeemed, Jordan
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Day 248 – September 5, 2021
Scriptures: Psalms 111, Job 28-29, Colossians 4 Job 28:28 (ESV) 28 And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’ ” Colossians 4:2–6 (ESV) 2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. 5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. Walk in wisdom. Turn away from evil. Paul’s closing in Colossians is an encouragement for prayer. It is about evangelism, always looking for an opportunity to witness and share the gospel with others. Join me in praying this prayer, that the doors will be open and we will have the wisdom to share the right words. Let our conversation always be seasoned with grace !
Day 247 – September 4, 2021 Scripture: Job 25-27, Psalm 26, Colossians 3 In today’s reading we see a fascinating progression on righteousness through the story of scripture. We start with the horrific view of human life, the depravity of humankind from Bildad’s perspective. It is quite hopeless that any human is of any worth at all. He calls us “worms.” Job defends his case, and maintains his innocence despite his “friends” interrogation. Job sounds similar to the testimony we read in Psalm 26, it declares a heart that is fixed on God. In Colossians 3, we are given the counsel to fix our hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set our minds on things above, not on earthly things. We have died in Christ and now we live a new life. We throw off the sin that has caused so much trouble in our life. We rid ourselves of things like idolatry and immorality. Instead, we put on compassion and kindness. We forgive as the Lord forgives us. This powerful progression moves us towards a greater reality. There is sin and brokenness in all of us. But Christ’s righteousness is ours. We have been clothed with Christ. So we adjust our lives accordingly. We stand now, in the comforting promise of the forgiveness of Christ. Jordan Day 246 – September 3, 2021
Scripture: Job 22-24, Colossians 2 Colossians 2:13–14 13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. Job’s conversation between friends and God is all over the map. But much of it has to do with righteousness and wickedness. In one breath, Job sees the prosperity of the wicked. But later, he realizes that the grave will swallow the wicked, and we will never hear from them again. It is in the good news of Colossians that we are reminded, that our legal indebtedness, which stands to condemn us, is taken away, and nailed to the cross. We have new life in Christ. There is forgiveness for each of us! God Bless! Jordan Day 245 – September 2, 2021
Scripture: Job 20-21, Colossians 1 Colossians Bible Project Job’s argument in chapter 21 is intriguing. All this time is spent trying to figure out the wickedness that Job somehow committed, so they could rationalize why such calamity fell on him and his household. But Job’s argument looks at the prosperity of the wicked. They live on and their wealth grows. How could it be accurate then, that Job wasn’t righteous? It’s a great argument from Job. We cannot presume that something bad that happens is the result of wickedness. It seems that it might actually mean the opposite is true. That the righteous will suffer. As we turn towards Colossians, we are encouraged to reflect on the sovereignty of Christ. He is the foundation of our hope. We come to the darkness of Job, all of its despair and rationalizations, and we bring it the greatest of news, “For he (Christ) has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” AS we wrestle with the difficulty of the world, we find comfort today, knowing that “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Grace and Peace, Jordan |
AuthorJordan Ickes, Minister of Etna Green Church of Christ. Archives
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