Tag: witness in heaven
Son of God with the Sickle
Scripture reading for December 18th: Job 15-17, Revelation 14
Key Scriptures: Revelation 14: 14-16 “Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud One like a Son of Man, with a golden crown on His head, and a sharp sickle in His hand. And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to Him Who sat on the cloud, “Put in Your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” So He Who sat on the cloud swung His sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.”
John beholds a white cloud with “One like a Son of Man” seated on it. It was the Lord Jesus Christ, ready to judge an earth ripened for judgment. The appointed hour had arrived and the command was given to the Lord Jesus to swing His sickle. The sickle was swung and the earth was reaped in one swipe. All judgment has been given to the Son of Man, the Lord Jesus and after the time of showing mercy has ended, the time of judgment and reward will come quickly. Woe to those who are ripe for this harvest!
Faith confession and prayer: Lord Jesus, You alone are my Witness and Advocate in heaven. You will plead my case before God and I shall be saved. Help me to witness for You here to help many escape the wrath of Your judgment and going a way from which there is no return.
Job 16:19 “Even now, behold, my Witness is in heaven, and He Who testifies for me is on high. My friends scorn me; my eye pours out tears to God, that He would argue the case of a man with God, as a son of man does with his neighbor. For when a few years have come I shall go the way from which I shall not return.”
Miserable comforters!
Scripture reading for May 23rd: Job 15-17
I had a friend whose twin brother had cancer. This friend was a newer Christian and we belonged to a charismatic church that was into the hyper-faith message. Some in the church told my friend that if he had enough faith, his brother would not die. In a few months, the brother did pass away and some in the church told him it was because of his lack of faith. They then went with him to the funeral home and tried to raise this brother from the dead. They were sincere believers in Christ, but they missed God somehow, and caused this grieving brother to stumble because of their misguided beliefs! Their words were not comforting, but condemning.
In today’s reading Job’s friends take on another round of trying to help him see his faults. Isn’t it amazing how we can see the faults of another person and feel that we can clearly see their problem and the solution! Theologians and students of the Bible often get proud about what they know and forget that what they are studying is God’s heart and His way, not that of another person! Job’s friends again attack his character and accuse him of a lack of understanding of God. (Job 15:3-5) Job is told that his sin has caused his mouth to be crafty and deceitful. He is accused of being impure and therefore under God’s wrath. (Job 15:30)
Job’s response to this further accusation is to label his friends “miserable comforters”. (Job 16:2) Job needed encouragement and understanding. He needed someone to pray with him and seek God’s help and answers. Job was in despair over these latest accusations and the trouble he was experiencing. He wondered why God had shattered him and broken and crushed him. He was depressed but stated that his advocate was also on high and his witness was in heaven. (Job 16:19) Job seemed to know that although his physical state was broken, God still loved him and would help him.
As I think on this passage, I realize that I have been the “miserable comforter” to some. Sometimes it is easy to have glib answers and quote standard Bible texts. God wants us to have His heart of compassion for the hurting and downcast. We must listen to them and hear their heart. Sometimes this alone is the best thing we can do. We must seek to let the Holy Spirit speak through us and address the real needs. What is on the surface is not always the real issue. My prayer today is that I would be sensitive to each hurting person that I encounter and that God would use me to be a true friend!