May 27
14“I put on righteousness as my clothing;
justice was my robe and my turban.
15I was eyes to the blind
and feet to the lame.
16I was a father to the needy;
I took up the case of the stranger.
17I broke the fangs of the wicked
and snatched the victims from their teeth. (Job 29:14-17)
Happy Thursday Friends! If you have been keeping up with the Old Testament reading, you’ll read these verses above today as Job presents his final argument to his three friends. Job lived a very Christ-like life, long before Christ came to live among humanity. Job states he was “eyes to the blind, father to the needy,” and snatched victims from “the fangs of the wicked.” Job has a good argument as to why he feels he has been wronged by God.
Many have studied the Book of Job trying to derive a deeper understanding of this poem. In the next few days we will wrap up this book with an argument from a young man who has listened to this conversation (which we will visit tomorrow), and then this book ends with the author writing from the perspective of God. If anything can be learned from the verses above, it is that we should not be righteous for the sake of being righteous, as if our acts could bring us favor from God. We need to be righteous because it is our nature. That is the example Christ set before us. Everything He did was to bring glory to God and to lift up humanity around Him. Jesus did not do so for fame or self-gratification, He did so because it was just who He is. Job’s bragging seems to suggest he has let his righteousness cloud his humbleness, as he brags about all the good he has done.
In today’s culture, most of us fall far short of living good lives even to Job’s standards, let alone the bar Jesus set, or the hope God has for us. In my local church we are studying my favorite letter from the New Testament, the letter written by James, the brother of Jesus. I can’t wait for y’all to read that book, but that will not be for a few more months. For today, I want to share the first of two sermons that really brought a powerful word that you just have to watch. Pastor Michael Todd of Transformation Church out of Tulsa, Oklahoma led “Flood Sunday” this past weekend and preached straight from the Book of Acts and the story I wrote of a few weeks ago in the 2021 print devotional. Click below to watch this incredible experience!
Also worth listening/watching is this week’s discussion from the group at the Holy Post. From cicadas to UFO’s, to a very powerful discussion about the state of America’s struggle with creating a truly diverse church, this was my favorite episode in 2021.
And last, here is one final single that came out last Friday which I really enjoyed (and which I just learned is a cover of a Justin Bieber song!). Have a blessed day friends!
Reading plan: Acts 26
Deeper reading plan: Job 28, 29, 30
Common Sense Reborn 