Limp

Re:Verse passage – 1 Corinthians 12:12-27  (day three)

“If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it.”

In the local fellowship, what happens when grief or hardship or loss descends on the life of a person in that fellowship? In a physical body, injury means that a person will limp in order to spare a wounded foot further pain. There is no shame in a limp; a limp isn’t a defect, but rather a tender response to trauma. The human body will not attempt full range of movement and pretend there is no agony. In the church body, a limp will take various forms. But when a church insists on pretending it doesn’t need to limp, it denies the pain of those in its midst. On the other hand, a church that exists as a wounded body in this world is living in beautiful imitation of its Lord.

Let’s Shine

Re:Verse passage – 1 Corinthians 12:12-27  (day two)

And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. vs. 26

Learning the value of something is a good skill to have. We should be able to discern a good deal when making a purchase. We should know how to tell when something is beyond its expiration date, both literally and figuratively. These are good life skills. As they apply to the body of Christ things aren’t as cut and dried. Whereas we all need to know how we have been gifted and called. We should seek to find where will best fit the fellowship. What we cannot do is determine that someone doesn’t fit, doesn’t matter, doesn’t belong. We just don’t get that privilege. We can all grow in our walk if we will begin celebrating the myriad ways God has created the body of believers to work together. Whether that person is the senior pastor, the Sunday School teacher, or the individual greeting visitors in the parking lot each week; everyone matters. When we shine in how we are created, the body shines. Let us look for ways in this next thirteen weeks and beyond to shine.

Re:Verse Blog – 5/30/22

Re:Verse passage – 1 Corinthians 12:12-27  (day one)

Join us as Senior Pastor Chris Johnson, Associate Pastor Aaron Hufty, and Associate Pastor Bryan Richardson walk us through 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 in our Summer Re:Verse Series: “Better Together.”

Comfort in Repentance

Re:Verse passage – Job 42:5-17 (day seven) 

Therefore I retract,
And I repent in dust and ashes. vs 6

Job’s confession is beautiful. You could feel it building over the last several weeks. The tension of Job’s initial reaction to his situation was beginning to wain as the Lord was speaking. It was in the voice of the Lord that Job finally felt comfort. His family and friends thought that they were bringing him comfort, but they could not comfort him the way God could: through repentance. Even more beautiful in this confession is that we find the word for repent comes from the same root as the word comfort (Strong’s H5162). There is true comfort found in repentance.

We often fail to repent because we feel that admitting our faults will become painful, but when we repent, God meets us in our brokenness and takes away the pain. Spend some time today as we wrap up this series on Job bringing your faults to God. Let God meet you and bring you comfort in your repentance. Repentance Sheet

Danger, Danger

Re:Verse passage – Job 42:5-17 (day six) 

A local pastor friend of mine warned, “If you read it [Job] wrong, it could hurt.”

We have been in Job for 13 weeks now. If our conclusion is some weird form of prosperity Gospel, that if we just endure suffering and slug it out, God will reward us (on this side of eternity) with even greater wealth and a healthy family, then we have read it all wrong.

God is never arbitrary, he always has a reason (although we may not be able to perceive it), but his giving is never tied to our faithful achievements, but to his grace. His giving is always a gift.

The greater reward of Job’s rough and tumble faithfulness was not new stuff, but a restored relationship with God; what he had truly longed for the entire time. So here is an insightful question to ponder, after reading through Job, do you long for more stuff or more of God? Do you desire more OF God, rather than more FROM God?

See the difference?

Repentant and Obedient

Re:Verse passage – Job 42:5-17 (day five)

“So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.”

Job’s experiences have served to bring him closer to the Lord. The Lord has used Job’s situation and suffering not only to reconcile Job to Himself, but also his three “friends”. Isn’t it just like the Lord to use any and all circumstances to reconcile people to Himself. Not only that, now God is using Job as a part of His great plan. Want to be used by God to reach others? Want the Lord to use you to influence and encourage your friends and neighbors with the gospel?  Look at Job’s heart and actions.  We must be repentant and obedient.  God desires to use us for His glory and the good of others.  Will He find us humble and faithful when opportunities arise?

Our Sovereign God

Re:Verse passage – Job 42:5-17 (day four)

Job is doing business with God.  He is confessing his sin of declaring what he did not know or understand.  He declares that he now clearly sees God for who He is.  Job repents of his sin.

In God’s conversation with Job, He also has some choice words for the three friends.  Job’s friends have been giving false words to Job.  They were telling Job that all suffering is the direct result of sin…false theology!  Some of what they said about God was true, but their representation of God and His ways was not totally accurate.

If the friends’ theology had been accurate, we would have to blame the suffering of today’s persecuted churches on their own sin.  Evil is in the world and there is often not a rational explanation of why suffering happens.  God is sovereign and we cannot always see how His infinite plan is at work.  We do need to be reminded that God is God though!

All Things Restored

Re:Verse passage – Job 42:5-17 (day three)

The speech God gives over the last few chapters in Job is amazing. It stops us in our tracks. And honestly, if the book were to end there, that would be enough, wouldn’t it? Job is given all he needs by just being in God’s presence. But, the book doesn’t end there. Chapter 42 shows us that God wants to restore every bit of our lives.

God restored all things to Job. Yes, God restored Job’s wealth and possessions, but more importantly, He restores Job’s heart and relationships. He admonishes Job’s friends for how they have dealt with him, and then tells Job to pray for them. I can imagine that it was difficult for Job to obey here – it’s hard to pray for someone who has treated your poorly. But, this act of prayer was just as much for Job’s heart as it was for his friends. This act of prayer restored these men’s relationship with God, but it also restored Job’s relationship with them. What a tender way for God to heal them.

Our troubles won’t always end with us becoming rich, or having our material possessions double. But we can be sure that they will end with restoration, because that is the business of God. Be it on this side of heaven or the next, He restores all things.

Pray First

Re:Verse passage – Job 42:5-17 (day two)

The Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord increased all that Job had twofold. vs. 10 

Notice when restoration happened for Job? It was after he prayed for his friends. Scripture does not indicate this as a condition for restoration, but there is likely a connection. The Lord was direct in his dealing with those men, and as Job stood on the side of righteousness he did so as a helpful conduit. He did not use that righteousness as an opportunity to gloat, he simply helped. For chapters and chapters they offered “advice”, and yet when it came to down to it Job’s act of intercessory prayer made all the difference. Tempted to help a friend in need? How much time have you spent in prayer for them?

Re:Verse Blog – 05/23/22

Re:Verse passage – Job 42:5-17 (day one)

Join us as Senior Pastor Chris Johnson, Associate Pastor Aaron Hufty, and Associate Pastor Bryan Richardson walk us through Job 42:5-17 in our Spring Re:Verse Series: “JOB – Through the Storm.”