READINGS FOR FEBRUARY 22, 2024: JOB 3, MATTHEW 14, PSALM 10:1-11                             JOB 3      

Job describes his feelings in ways that are 1) full of agony, yet 2) with beautifully expressive language and 3) with thoughts that, while unaware of total reality, are often insightful. These qualities are integrated throughout, but perhaps we can examine each aspect separately.  

1. Full of Agony. Job’s comments are honest expressions of his feelings. There is no point in sugar coating our feelings to God or each other. In a way, that would be deceptive. Job curses the day of his birth and of his conception. He longs for death. He groans at the sight of food and his cries pour like water. His worst fears have become his reality. 
2. Beautifully Expressive Language. The greatest works of music and literature have been produced out of the greatest personal despair. This is true in all our lives. For example, the beauty of courage can only be seen in the presence of danger. Perhaps that is God’s way of not wasting anything, of using what others reject to achieve the highest possible result: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes” (Mark 12: 10-11).
3. Insights. Notice that in the midst of these laments, Job never hints at the nonexistence of God. Also, consider Job’s awareness that differences of status between the powerful and rich on one hand and prisoners, slaves, and even a miscarried child on the other will not mean anything after this brief earthly life is over. Live with eternal values in mind.

Remember Job was God’s test case showing Satan of the potential of a person totally devoted to God. If Job does not lose His faith and integrity, then Satan will have been defeated. We have advantages Job did not have. He could not have read the Book of Job to know what God was up to. Also, he lived before the resurrection of Jesus and outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost. Although unaware of the high stakes involved, still Job did not lose his faith. 

In a similar way, we cannot know exactly how God might be using our present situation for His greater purpose. Perhaps He wishes to pin another defeat on Satan. Do we feel useless and lonely in our old age and infirmities? Can we, in the power of God, be victorious over Satan and the forces of evil by how we deal with this daunting challenge common to all?  

We could develop an attitude like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Dan. 3:16-17).

READINGS FOR FEBRUARY 22 CONTINUED: MATTHEW 14, PSALM 10:1-11                                    MATTHEW 14  As a tetrarch, Herod Antipas had governing responsibility for one fourth of the territory previously governed by his father, Herod the Great. We already met the father from the story of the birth of Jesus. John the Baptist’s ministry was so prominent that he came into personal contact with this Herod Antipas.  Since the focus of John the Baptist’s ministry was to call people to repentance, he was true to form and called out an obvious sin of Herod’s: divorcing his original wife and marrying his brother’s wife. This led to John’s imprisonment and eventual beheading, which still happens on occasion in the Middle East.

What are some principles to be drawn from this story? 

• Jesus proclaimed John as great as any man in human history. Thus, it seems that Jesus approved of John not toning down his message of repentance for such an important man. Again, those of us who believe we should never judge another person’s behavior need to consider this. Perhaps review this study guide’s discussion for Matthew 7.
• There can be a human price to be paid for speaking truth, especially to those in power. 
• Herod’s sense of entitlement led to forcing him to do what he did not want to do: behead John. Sin is not the way to freedom but will eventually lead to bondage. Take John’s way, not Herod's.

Jesus’s feeding of the 5,000 and His walking on the water are two of the most famous stories in the Bible. Perhaps just an observation about each is in order:   

• Despite what we have been taught, America’s founding fathers were not all Christians. Thomas Jefferson, for example, created his own version of the New Testament by cutting out all the miracles. Many who are embarrassed by the supernatural today interpret this feeding of 5,000 without the miracle. They suggest it was the donation of the loaves and fish by one person that led everyone else to generously give their food to the cause. This interpretation makes no sense. Be forewarned, there are ministers today who also deny the miracle of the resurrection.  This teaching is false and Satanic.
• We, in our limited human capacity, cannot possibly understand reality and cannot imagine our potential, without the help of God. This leads us to distorted perceptions of our current experience and undue defeatism about the future. The disciples’ misperception of reality led them to think Jesus was a ghost.  When Peter focused on the natural world instead of Jesus, he began to sink. How can we gain an accurate view of reality and of our highest potential?  READ, MEDITATE ON, OBEY THE BIBLE.

PSALM 10:1-11 The first half of this Psalm is indeed only half the story. It portrays the visible dominance of the those who either 1) do not believe there is a God (vs. 4) or 2) don’t believe God is involved in our daily lives (vs.11). This might be accurate of current opinion in America.Remember, Jesus told us to seek first the Kingdom of Heaven. In response to a very similar question: “Is religion the most important thing in your life?” only 16% of all Americans said yes in 2022 vs. 20% in 2013. For those in the mainline denominations, such as the United Methodist Church, the figures were 6% in 2023 vs. 8% in 2013. Do we need to close our church doors?”  As the late radio commentator Paul Harvey used to say, stay tuned, tomorrow we will learn “the rest of the story.”