From Good Friday to Easter Sunday (1): Out of darkness into light – Death is swallowed up in victory.

Throughout this day - between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, I will be posting Bible Readings and notes every half-hour. There are 25 posts. If you would like to read more of these notes in one post, here's the link to the "Out of darkness into light" notes (From Good Friday to Easter Sunday, 1-6): …

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Attacked And Accused

With God’s permission, “Satan, the accuser” attacks Job (Job 1:8). The attack is ferocious, May the Name of the Lord be praised! Through all this, Job did not sin or blame God for doing anything wrong” (Job 1:21-22). Satan’s attack on Job is really a challenge to God. The Lord is in control of the …

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When things go badly wrong, the Lord is there for us.

Job 30:1-32:22; Matthew 22:15-46; Psalm 18:16-24 There were hypocrites trying to condemn Job. There were “hypocrites … trying to trap” Jesus (Matthew 22:18). In both cases, they had to give up – “they had found no way to refute Job” (Job 32:3); “No-one could say a word in reply” to Jesus (Matthew 22:46). The testimony …

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Sometimes, life can seem like an obstacle course.

Sometimes, life can seem like an obstacle course. Things don't turn out the way we thought they would. There are many surprises along the way - and they're not, always, good surprises. As I was thinking about the twists and turns that life takes, I found my thoughts turning to the words of Job 23:10 …

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Can we ever get to the bottom of human suffering?

“We have examined this, and it is true” (Job 5:27).It’s one thing to say, “It is true.” It’s another thing to speak the truth of God. Where did Eliphaz and the other ‘comforters’ get their ideas from? – “We have investigated this.” What about revelation? Were their thoughts given to them by God? or Did …

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Looking beyond the things that are happening to us now – to the glory which is yet to come

Job 1:1-3:26; Matthew 18:10-35; Psalm 16:1-11 In the life of faith, we will face many difficulties. For Job, there was great suffering. For Jesus’ disciples, there was the pain of loss when Jesus was taken from them. For all of God’s people, there is something better still to come: “You will fill me with joy …

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We must humble ourselves before Almighty God. He is God and He knows what He is doing (Learning From The Book Of Job: Chapters 20-21).

In Job 20, we hear, again, the voice of Zophar - the ‘so far, so good’ man. His principles concerning the judgment of God on the wicked are all right as far as they go. The problem is that they are general. They are floating over the specific case of Job, without really coming to …

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When our hearts are breaking

Job 4:1-7:21; Matthew 19:1-15; Psalm 17:1-5 Bereavement, hardship, divorce – the Word of God speaks of these difficulties in Job and in the words of Jesus. These things can bring on deep depression. We see this in Job’s reaction to his bereavement and hardship. In such circumstances, we must take our thoughts to the Lord, …

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Responding to God’s Word (15): Up from the grave He arose / He lives within my heart.

I know that my redeemer lives (Job 19:25). Here, we begin with Job, but we do not remain with Job. The words of Job direct our attention to our Saviour, Jesus Christ, the risen Lord. Whenever we think of the living Lord, we do not begin with Jesus, living in us: "Christ lives in me" …

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When Satan is hurling his accusations at us (Praying Through God’s Word: Job 11-20)

Job 11:1-12:25  We read, Lord, about Job – “a righteous and blameless man! (Job 12:4). He was suffering, and he was confused. Was He being punished by You? That’s what Zophar was telling him – Job must have done  something pretty awful to deserve this. You, Lord, were saying something very different – “My servant Job” (Job …

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We don’t have the right to expect everything to be going great all the time.

Job 11:1-14:22; Matthew 2):1-9; Psalm 17:6-12 Jesus’ parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16) teaches us that all that we have, apart from our sin, is received from God as a gift of His grace. We must remember this when, like Job, we are going through hard times. We don’t have the right to …

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When we face difficult circumstances

Job 8;1-10:22; Matthew 19:16-30; Proverbs 3:11-20 When we face difficult circumstances, as Job did and as the Lord’s disciples did (Matthew 19:29), we must never forget that the Lord’s purpose is good and His long-term goal is our good –  “eternal life” (Matthew 19:29). What is to be our attitude to suffering? – “My son, …

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When we can’t understand what’s going on: Look past the critics to the cross (Learning From The Book Of Job: Chapters 15-17).

In Job 15, we have another speech from Eliphaz. He charges in with all the subtlety of an elephant on the rampage: “you destroy the fear of God, and diminish devotion to God” (Job 15:4). He continues in the same vein, getting bolder and brasher in his word of accusation: “Your sin teaches you what …

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Learning From The Book Of Job: Chapters 8-10

In Job 8, we have the first speech of Bildad. Its theme is very straightforward. Sin leads to suffering (Job 8:4). Obedience leads to prosperity (Job 8:5-7). This teaching is presented in a heavy-handed way. In Job 8:20, we have an attack on Job’s character: “Certainly, God does not reject a person of integrity or …

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“My heart fails inside me”, “I know that my Redeemer lives” (Learning From The Book Of Job: Chapters 18-19).

In Job 18, Bildad, the Shuhite, shows his lack of spiritual stature. In his description of “the wicked” (Job 18:5), he implies that all that he says applies to Job. His speech ends with the summarizing words: “This is what happens to the homes of wicked people and to those who do not know God” …

Continue reading “My heart fails inside me”, “I know that my Redeemer lives” (Learning From The Book Of Job: Chapters 18-19).

“He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10).

Proverbs 3:19-35 ‘You will walk on your way securely... for the Lord will be your confidence’ (Proverbs 3:23,26). Trusting in the Lord, we are to say, ‘He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold’ (Job 23:10). Our faith is under threat. There is the danger …

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There is a greater Power than the power of Satan (Travelling Through God’s Word: the book of Job).

JOB 1:1-2:13  -  Satan is very busy - ‘going to and fro on the earth... walking up and down on it’. Why is Satan ‘roaming through the earth’? - ‘Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour’ (1:7; 1 Peter 5:8). If, like Job, you ‘fear God and …

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If we act on the basis of our own wisdom (Learning From The Book Of Job: Chapters 11-14).

In Job 11, we hear from Zophar. So far, so good - That’s what we can say about the basic principles of his message: “God’s wisdom is higher than heaven” (Job 11:8); “If you want to set your heart right, then pray to Him. If you’re holding on to sin, put it far away” (Job …

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