The Redeemed Rose

     I had an "AHA!" moment while reading Job chapter 32 today. Have you ever had something that you have been feeling for a long time and just couldn't quite put your finger on it to explain it? Today, Job 32 nailed it down for me.    In the previous 31 chapters, Job is afflicted, his three friends come to comfort him (and do a good job of it until they open their mouths), then Job and his friends proceed to argue back and forth like a bunch of whiny high school kids. His friends insist that he must be unrighteous or else God wouldn't have afflicted him, and Job insists that he hasn't done anything wrong and has every right to complain. They go round and round and round, until finally a refreshing new voice appears and smacks some sense into them. Enter Elihu, a younger contemporary, who begins to speak: "Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were older than he. And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three m...

  (Hebrews 12:1-4 ESV) [12:1] “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, [2] looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. [3] Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. [4] In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” It seems that everyday I struggle with the same sins over and over. Sometimes it is frustrating, sometimes it is discouraging, and other times I am in such despair that I break down crying and pleading for God to help me. I always ask, “Why do I keep on sinning?” And sometimes, “Why do I keep doing this same sin over and over? Shouldn’t I...

  Satan has been sowing seeds of deceit in my family. This is not surprising or unique to us because Satan is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44) and he prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Sometimes he uses the same old things; sometimes he uses the unexpected. For us it looks like a couple of different things right now. We are a single income family of 6, living paycheck to paycheck on a minister's salary, which is considered poverty level by our government. We are so thankful for God's good provision and we try our best to be good stewards of what He has given us. In the past, however, we acquired some credit card debt. It was not a matter of living frivolously or buying "extras" at Walmart that we didn't need, it was a matter of survival. God provided and we no longer have to use any credit cards and we are working toward paying the old cards off completely (praise The Lord)! We would like to start saving money, ...