“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” (Hosea 4:6a NKJV)
“Thus you nullify the word of God by the tradition you have handed down. And you do so in many such matters.” (Mark 7:13 BSB)
“Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said: Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.” (Job 38:1-3 NJKV)
Yesterday we took a look at the life of Job. Like so many of us, Job was sincere in his beliefs, and worked very hard to live a life that was true to his religious values. When he was put to the test he stood strong. The problem was that while he knew all about God, he did not actually know God. He had heard, but not seen. He was taken captive by Satan for almost a year. He suffered great pain and calamity in his life brought on by fear, tolerated due to his lack of knowledge, and even embraced due to his religious traditions which caused him to believe that what Satan was doing in his life was coming from God.
We were given the book of Job in order to learn from all that he went through so that we can avoid making the same mistakes that he made. This is a case in which the old saying, “Do as I say, not as I do” actually has some merit. What a tragedy it is that rather than learn the intended lessons of Job, we embrace his flawed view of God and warped acceptance of Satan’s attacks on our lives. Far too often, when “bad things” happen we quickly turn to the tradition of Job and say, “the Lord gives and the Lord takes away.” STOP IT! the truth is…
…THE LORD GIVES AND SATAN TAKES AWAY!
Years ago, in an effort to follow the approach to faith and life that Jesus prescribed for his disciples, I decided to approach all aspects of life in the Kingdom of Heaven with the eyes and faith of a child.
“Jesus invited a little child to stand among them. ‘Truly I tell you,’ He said, ‘unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.” (Matthew 18:2-5 BSB)
With childlike faith the truth of scripture becomes simple (yet deeply profound) and fear, religious tradition, and lack of knowledge begin to fall off my life. As adults we try to over complicate things. In our pride we try to build all of these deep religious theological systems which simply muddy the waters and open the door for confusion. This in turn leads to making the same mistakes that Job made. One of my favorite verses, which I refer to daily (and have placed in many of these daily blogs is John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” My Pastor calls this verse “the great divide.” Based on this verse, a simple, yet powerful, phrase began circulating many years ago. When I embraced it with the faith of a child my life was radically changed.
GOOD GOD, BAD DEVIL!
It really is that simple. If it kills, steals, or destroys in any way it comes from the Devil. It it adds life and abundance it comes from God. From this verse, and others, another “childish” phrase has become popular. It is also simple, yet amazingly powerful.
GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME!
It is time to stop over complicating life trying to figure things out through religious traditions, man made puffed up theologies steeped in ignorance, and based in fear. Life in the Kingdom of Heaven can be very straight forward and simple if we let it. The Spirit of God will use the Word Of God to lead us into all Truth. He will teach us the powerful truths of Kingdom living that will give us blessed lives in which we clearly see the difference between our good God and bad enemy.
Please ponder…
…Eric’s Life Lesson # 71: “Time to turn over the apple cart.” Part 6: The Lord gives and the Lord takes a way. Really? (continued)