Thought for November 18

 History:

• 1307: William Tell said to shoot apple off his son's head
• 1497: Vasco da Gama reaches the Cape of Good Hope
• 1626: Saint Peter's Basilica consecrated
• 1861: First provisional meeting of the Confederate Congress
• 1865: Twain publishes "Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"
• 1872: Susan B Anthony arrested and accused of illegally voting
• 1874: National Women's Temperance Union formed
• 1883: Four time zones established in the US
• 1902: Teddy Bear named for President
• 1916: Battle of the Some ends with 1 million casualties
• 1928: "Steamboat Willie" released--first talking Mickey Mouse movie
• 1956: Khrushchev says "we will bury you"
• 1959: "Ben Hur" premiers
• 1963: Touch Tone telephone introduced
• 1978: 918 Followers of Jim Jones die in Guyana
• 1999: Texas A$M bonfire collapses killing 12 and injuring 27
• 2020: US Covid death toll passes 250,000
• Born: Louis Daguerre [photographer], Sojourner Truth, Carl Vinson, Eugene Ormandy [Philadelphia Orchestra], George Gallup, Craig Wood [Master and US Open], Johnny Mercer, Alan Shepard, Margaret Atwood [Handmaiden's Tale], Linda Evans, Warren Moon, Len Bias, Owen Wilson, Megyn Kelly, David Ortiz, 
• Died: Chester A Arthur, Niels Bohr, Joseph Kennedy, Cab Calloway, Ken Brett, Walt Hazzard, 

Thought:

Looking through the Book of Job, do you notice some things about being a good friend. Certainly Job's wife and three friends offer advice and counsel to Job--what can I learn from their advice?

• A loving wife--"Curse God and die" are the words of advice from Job's wife [2:9]. Ever give that advice or receive it? Ever felt that way because of circumstances or events---Job comes to that conclusion in 3:11--Why didn't I just die at birth--or as we might say, I rue the day I was born. In my youth, a friend and I used to say the following when circumstances looked bad or things went bad--this raises the question is their life after birth. 
• Eliphaz [chapter 4-5]--Job, only the evil are punished. God never punishes the righteous and innocent. You must have done something wrong. Repent. We would say, "what have you done to deserve this." Or, "you must have done something" to have caused your health to fail, your marriage to fall apart, your job to be lost, your team to lose. We associate bad things that happen to something someone has done. Job teaches us that evil is in the world, Satan is roaming, Satan wants to injure, kill and destroy. 
• Bildad gives another helpful piece of advice--God rewards the good [chapter 8]. So if you have not been richly blessed materially, it is because you are not good and you have done something wrong. Bildad misunderstand God and His blessings. Jesus said to seek God's kingdom first and all these things will be added. God's blessings are first and foremost spiritual--life, eternal life, abundant life, love, joy, peace. Yes, He blesses us with family, friends, stuff, but those are all secondary. 
• Zophar listens to Job's responses to Eliphaz and Bildad and says---I wish God would respond to you and tell you all those secret sins that He knows about. [chapter 11] Job, you can tell us you are innocent and good, but God really knows you and He is punishing you. 

This makes me think about how I look at problems others have and judge that they are being punished, or listen to Satan when he tells me that God is punishing me, God has forsaken me, God does not love me. Satan tells us that we are already bad and are not good enough for God to love or bless us.  Satan is a deceiver and a liar. He is the author of half truth--for without Christ we are not worthy, but in Christ, we put on His righteousness. When sin came into the world, all the curses of sin came too, the chief of which is death. But in Christ, we have victory over death. Satan is defeated but he continues to wage war against the saints with disease, injury, suffering. Job asks "If a man dies, will he live again?" [14:14] He answers that question in 19:25-26--"I know my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on earth . . . I shall see God." Now that is good news for those who know Jesus.

Blessings

Larry