January 2023 – Page 2 of 3 – Sonshine's Journal

January 20, 2023January 20, 2023

Spider Webs and Dominos

Gen 25-27 Reading this is like seeing dominos lined up, just waiting for the first one to fall. When it falls, the rest fall behind it, and that is what happened in these people’s lives and happens to us if we are not discerning because the heart is deceitful, and only God knows it. [Jer 17:9]

The first domino of deceit to fall was the one Jacob set up for Esau from the cooking pot when he exacted the birthright from him for a pot of stew. Esau said: “What use is the birthright to me?” The second domino of deceit was when Isaac, who had a taste for fresh game, chose to bless Esau over Jacob and inserted his desires over God’s. The third domino to fall was when Jacob knew that deception was wrong but chose to ignore his heart and yielded to Rebekah because, in his heart, he wanted that blessing from Jacob.

We should glean two principles: “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.” [James 4:17] All three characters knew deceit was wrong but yielded. The second comes from Joseph: “how can I do such a great evil and sin against God.” [Gen 39:9]

Deceit is like this proverb: “What a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive.”

January 19, 2023January 19, 2023

Trials, Tests, and Challenges

Gen 21-24

We all face these at one time or another, but it is our response that catches the eye of God. How do you face car problems or rats in your attic? These are our everyday challenges, but Abraham had a much bigger test, and it was to see how much he would trust God. If God asked you to slay your child, what would you do? Would you be like Abraham, who told Isaac: God will provide the lamb for the burnt offering? [Gen 22:8] Would you honestly believe his words, “we will worship and then return to you?” Would you vacillate in your thinking or stand firm? I doubt many of us have faced such a tough test as Abraham, but we can glean some principles for the tests we do face.

First, we have to trust God that He knows us as He knew Abraham and Job, blameless and upright men who feared God. So that brings us to the next question; how big is your fear of God? Is it a fear that means you are afraid or a fear that means you reverence Him and, therefore, can trust Him? The psalmist wrote: Yes, indeed, the man who fears the Lord will be blessed in this way. [Ps 128:4]

If your fear is that of being afraid, pray and ask God to change it to a reverential fear so He can bless you. (I need to do that more often than I would like to admit) .

January 18, 2023January 18, 2023

Compromise’s Consequences

Gen 19-21 God established boundaries for the land and for the people. In fact, after the colossal blunder of Adam and Eve and their compromise regarding God’s established boundary, He graciously put angelic forces at the entrance lest they seek to return.

Fast forward to these chapters in Genesis, and we see that men often compromise to suit their preferences. It only takes one step to make the next easier. It is like ignoring a crack in a wall and putting off the correction, thinking no more significant damage will happen. Unlike Joseph, who determined, “How could I do such a great evil and sin against God,” [Gen 39:9] Lot compromised his integrity. Lot decided to look with his eyes just as Eve had. That one step led to him moving from the land where his sheep were grazing to the city of Sodom. He then became part and parcel of that city. Then Lot offered his daughters to enraged men, and later his drunkenness led to incest. Did Lot realize what he had done? It seems he did [2Pet 2:7], yet just as with us, the sin of compromise has consequences that we often don’t realize until too late, just like the crack in the wall.

Even in this sordid tale, we see that God honored the prayer of Abraham to save the righteous. [James 5:15] How often does God do that for us? Do you have an Abraham praying for you, so you do not compromise your godly principles?

January 17, 2023January 17, 2023

Walking in the Sand

Gen 16 to 18 Take a walk in the sand and then try to retrace your steps, and you will find it nearly impossible. The stories of these biblical characters are like our steps in the sand.

Abram follows God to Canaan but fails to trust Him in a famine. In Egypt, Abram lies about Sarai to Pharaoh. One of the things God hates most is a lying spirit. [Prov 6:17] He is sent away with great wealth and a servant but was it worth it? Next, Abram had just spent an extended time with God and received the promise of a child from his loins, so why did he allow himself to take Hagar as a concubine/wife? Sarai must have had a persuasive argument, is all we can surmise. We often try to convince ourselves that our way is better than God’s.

When we circumvent God’s plans using human wisdom, nothing good comes from it. [James 3:15] Instead, God’s wisdom is from above and is beyond our comprehension. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights [James 1:17]

Are you still trying to retrace your footsteps in the sand?

January 16, 2023January 16, 2023

Partial obedience is really disobedience…

Genesis 12 to 15 God told Abram to leave and go to a land He would show him, and Abram obeyed. He “went forth as the Lord had spoken to him.” [Gen 12:4] However, Abram did not leave his relatives or his father’s household as God had said to do. How often does God say go, but we cling to what is familiar and comfortable? That was Abram’s first test, and he failed, and that is us as well. Next, God sent a very severe famine into the land. Would Abram believe that if God gave him the land, He would also provide for all his needs? Instead of trusting God, Abram went down to Egypt, not to visit but to sojourn. Then, Abram lied about Sarai because he feared for his own life; “when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live.” [Gen 12:12] Truly, “the fear of people becomes a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord will be set on high.” [Prov 29:25]

Abram is a man called by God, and he obeyed only partially. Partial obedience is disobedience. God tests us by giving us small steps of obedience to see if we will trust Him fully. However, when we fail to trust in the God of provision and protection, we are disobedient. Will we believe that “what God had promised, He [is] able also to perform.” [Rom 4:21]

January 15, 2023January 15, 2023

Romans 8:28 is true!

Job 42:7-17 There is a principle to glean from these last verses in the book of Job: faithfulness is rewarded. It may not be in this life, but God remembers, and He rewards. Remember what God told Satan at the beginning? Job was righteous, and now He will affirm that statement.

Sometimes God rewards or blesses now but not always. Remember Lazarus, the poor man at the rich man’s gate? [Luke 16:19-31] He was not rewarded in this life but in his afterlife. The point is that God is looking for faithful people to be a part of His grand plan. Many years later, Jeremiah would write God’s words to the Israelites as they were in captivity. “I know the plans I have for you.” [Jer 29:11] Like them, God has a plan for you and me, yet “At present we do not yet see all things under His control.” [Heb 2:8] He has a plan that is superior to ours. [Is 55:9] And trials and testing prove our faithfulness. The lesson from Job is to trust God. He will reward us either here or in the afterlife. Remember this principle: “The Lord looks down from heaven at the human race to see if there is anyone who is wise and seeks God.” [Ps 14:2] When God looked, He saw Job, a man who feared God. How about us?

January 14, 2023January 14, 2023

Blameshifting

Job 40-41 Job has been seeking time to speak to God, saying if I had the chance, I would inquire of him and ask why I was being punished, yet in all of his longings, he “did not charge God with moral impropriety.” [Job 1:22] Yet Job had continued his desire to speak to him face to face so he could hear his response. So now it is God’s turn to speak, and he asks Job will you seek to correct Me? God asks Job would you annul my justice and declare Me guilty so you can be right? [Job 40:8] How often are we also guilty of this same behavior? We can’t understand our suffering, can’t understand what God is doing, so we contend that God is just being unfair so we can be right. It is called blameshifting, and it goes like this. I don’t understand why I am suffering. I am innocent! I am righteous! So it must be someone else’s fault, and God becomes our target. We are as guilty as Job.

But, Before that question, Job rightly understands that he is wholly unworthy and should therefore be silent. That is good advice for us as well. We are all unworthy! Our righteousness is as filthy rags. [Is 64:6] Such hypocrites are we!

Today take a page out of Job’s diary and listen to what you are doing by blameshifting another so you can be proven right. This should not be Beloved! God is right 100% of the time!

January 13, 2023January 13, 2023

Where are you in this story?

Job 38-39 God Reveals His Majesty

Finally, Job hears from God but is it what he expected? Listen to God: Who is this who darkens counsel with words without knowledge? [Job 38:2] Get ready, Job, because I am going to question you. So now, God asks Job over 59 questions. Why the authors did not include vs. 1 of chapter 40 is a mystery, yet God is not finished yet and will continue in Job 40:6. So far, God has proven He is God and Job is a man. Job can question God, but when God comes back to question him, he is without words, unlike Elihu, who was full of words!

We have a saying: I wish I could be like a fly on the wall to hear and see what is taking place. That is where we are in this story. We want to hear and see, but the conversation is really one-sided, with God speaking. Job has wished to talk to God and even argue with him, but when confronted with God’s majesty, he is silent. How about us when we are faced with God? Do we say, as Job says: “Indeed, I am completely unworthy—how could I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth to silence myself.” [Job 40:4]

Where are you in this story? Are you ready to listen to God?

January 12, 2023January 12, 2023

Elihu reminds us to adore God

Job 35-37 Elihu still contends that Job is his own worst enemy! Sometimes I can relate to that. Elihu says to remember the character of God, which does not change. He also asks Job and his three “miserable comforters” to consider how sin affects God. If sin is great, what does it do to him? [Job 35:6] He also asks, if you are righteous, what do you give to God, or what does He receive from you in return? Elihu has masterfully considered both sides of a coin, and in chapters 36 and 37, he eloquently recites the character qualities of our God.

God is mighty and is not partial to anyone, which Paul also notes in his treatise in Romans. “There is no partiality with God.” [Rom 2:11] God is also fair and just. He does not allow the wicked to live but gives justice to the poor. Elihu asked Job why he was so preoccupied with the judgment due to the wicked. [Job 36:17] Instead, occupy yourself with the adoration of God, who is great! His years are unsearchable. Who can understand God is his bottom line question.

How much time do I devote to thoughts like this? Elihu adores God, and I should as well. Anyone can observe creation and come away knowing God’s character and invisible attributes. [Rom 1:20] Take time today to do that.

January 11, 2023January 11, 2023

Choose your words wisely

Job 33-35 Elihu Speaks

Elihu has been silent up to this point. Now he is “full of words,” and angry. In fact, that character quality is mentioned four times. He was angry because Job saw himself as innocent and God as the aggressor. In hindsight, it would have been better for Elihu to have been quiet. Instead, he adds to Job’s condemnation with vigor and harshness.

How quick we are to condemn another’s situation. Interestingly, none of Job’s “miserable” comforters sought to place the blame where it squarely belonged: on Satan. Instead, they blamed Job and continued to berate him. How quick am I/are we to make judgments regarding another’s situation? Why are we so quick to make judgments?

A word to the wise: “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver,” (Proverbs 25:11).