Month: February 2014

Job 15:6
“Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I: yea, thine own lips testify against thee.”

In an attack against Job, Eliphaz said that Job’s own mouth condemned him. Eliphaz was using the words of Job against him in his condemnation. Though Eliphaz and his friends were wrong in their condemnation, he was right in that Job’s words condemned him. They condemned him in that he was a good man. They condemned him in that he loved the LORD. They condemned him in that he was filled with pride. Job’s words condemned him in both a good and bad way.

If you listen to a person long enough, you will always find out who they truly are and what they believe. Every person always says enough to condemn themselves. They may condemn themselves in a good way or they may condemn themselves in a bad way. Let me give you some cautions about the words you say.

First, be slow to speak. Quick answers get many people in trouble. Quick answers don’t always reveal your true heart, they simply reveal what you feel in the heat of the moment. You would be wise to slow down and think before you say anything. Don’t be a person who is always having to apologize for saying something in the heat of the moment.

Second, speak as though someone is always listening. One of the mistakes many people make is that they say something privately thinking that nobody will hear, but you never know who is around the corner or who is recording what you say. You must always speak as if you are being recorded and that it may be used against you in the future. If you would not want someone to hear what you say, then don’t say it for they will probably find out. Always remember that as soon as words come from your lips they will be heard and used against you for good or bad.

Third, don’t speak lies. The problem with telling lies is that you must remember which lie you told and to whom you told it. The best thing you could do is to tell the truth at all times. Tell the truth because it is the right thing to do, but also tell the truth because your memory is not good enough to remember your lies.

Fourth, be careful with what you write. Many people get themselves in trouble by writing something they wish they had never written. I’ve always told people what you write is forever inscribed and will be used against you. Be careful with what you write on your social networking sites. Be careful with what you text, for you might accidentally text it to the wrong person. The best rule to live by is to only write what you want everyone to read.

Fifth, keep a pure heart and you will speak the right things. The best way to keep your words right is to keep your heart right. If your heart is right, then your words will be right. You may be able to protect what you say if your heart is not right, but eventually what is in your heart will eventually leak out into words. Keep right with God and your words will be wholesome words.

What have you said lately that will be used against you? Would you want everything you have said in the past month to be broadcasted to everyone? Let what you say condemn you for good. Always keep in mind that every word you write or say will be used against you. Don’t let your words condemn you for wrong, but let them condemn you for good.

Job 1:1
“There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.”

Every quarter a child gets a report card from their school. On that report card they get their grades recorded for how they did that semester. The goal of each student should be to get straight “A’s” on their report card. Just because a student gets straight “A’s” on their report card does not mean that they can quit school. Yes, their grades may be perfect, but they still have more to learn. Just because they got straight “A’s” does not mean they know everything; rather, it shows they have perfectly learned what they studied, but they still have more to learn.

This is very much the case with what God said about Job in the verse above. God said that Job “was perfect and upright.” That was quite the glowing report for God to give about him. God was not saying that Job was sinless, but up to this point in his life he was perfect. Up to this point in his life he got straight “A’s” on God’s report card though he still had more to learn. Though he was perfect he was still imperfect. Though God’s report card up to that point in his life was excellent, he still had more to perfect. There are several things we can learn from this statement about Job.

First, as good as you are you still need work. You may be a good Christian, but you still have more areas in your life where you need to work. Always remember that God’s report card is only up to this point in your life. A good report card on your life is not indicative of the future. Likewise, a good report card is only a portion of your life. There are more semesters on which you must be graded. There are more years of your life before graduating to Heaven. It does not matter how good you are, you still have areas on which you need to work.

Second, being perfect with man is not good enough. God’s report of Job was more of a report with man than it was of his whole spiritual life. Friend, you may be able to get along with man, but it is important that your relationship with God gets a good report. Many people are seen as good people in society, but how you are perceived with man is not good enough, it is how you are perceived with God that is the most important.

Third, the spiritual is the most important work that one can perfect. Your imperfection with God will eventually be revealed by your imperfection with man. The areas that Job needed to work on with God eventually showed cracks in how imperfect he was with man. Wherever you are weak with God will eventually show up in your relationships with mankind. The one area of your life in which you must perfect is the spiritual. Your spiritual side affects all areas of your life.

Fourth, always remember that the grade on your report card is only indicative of what you have done and not what you’re going to do. Always remember that your past does not indicate your future. Yes, it will help you in the future, but there are many who have had great report cards who ended up with a failing grade. Don’t get straight “A’s” on your report card and then fail through the final years of your life. Don’t rely on your past to get a perfect grade today.

Finally, just because you had a failing grade in the past does not mean you can’t get an “A” in the end. Don’t fall into the trap that you just can’t get a good grade in life because of what you have done. Friend, it is not how you start out that matters, but it’s how you end. If you have failed in the past, then move on and work at getting a better grade in the future. Let it be said at the end of your life that you got an “A” on your life’s report card.

Esther 5:1
“Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king’s house, over against the king’s house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house.”

The Jews faced troubled times. A law was enacted that the Jews in every province over which King Ahasuerus reigned would be killed. Esther had not been called into the presence of the king, and her Uncle Mordecai told her she needed to go at once and show her kindred and what was going to become of them. The problem was that she would be killed if the king did not hold out his golden scepter when she entered his palace. Fasting and prayer was held for Esther, and we see that the power of prayer allowed Esther to be used to save the Jews.

One must never underestimate the power of prayer. Prayer is the one tool every Christian must learn to use daily. If there is anything in Christianity that is not used to its potential it is prayer. We can complain and gripe about what is not going right, but the answer is prayer. Prayer has the power to change many things in one’s life.

Prayer has the power to change one’s memory. For whatever reason, Ahasuerus had not called Esther into his presence for over a month. Yet, when the Jews prayed, his memory was changed once he saw her. Do you ever wonder if you are forgotten in a ministry? You should pray instead of griping or complaining about leadership forgetting you. Prayer can bring one’s mind to remember what they should.

Prayer has the power to change dispositions. Ahasuerus had to accept Esther, and prayer caused him to accept her once he saw her. You may not be accepted in the public arena of your workplace or schooling, but God can change the dispositions of those around you to accept your stance if you will pray. Maybe your spouse has a bad disposition, then pray and ask God to change their disposition. Maybe your parents or child has a bad disposition, ask God through prayer to make the changes in their disposition.

Prayer has the power to change desires. Prayer caused the king to want what Esther wanted. Prayer changed his desires to have a people killed to protecting them. Friend, prayer has the power to change the desires of anyone. Do you find some areas in your life where your desires are undesirable or wrong? Ask God to change your desires. Prayer has the power to change anyone’s desire toward what is right.

Prayer has the power to change history. The prayer of these people literally changed history. The Jews would be extinct had they not prayed. Your prayer life can change history. It can change the history of a wayward child. It can change the history of a troubled marriage. It can change the history of a broken life. It can change the history of troubled finances. It can change the history of a soured name. It can change the history of a dying church. Prayer has the power to change any history.

What do you face today that seems to be unsurmountable? Let me challenge you to let prayer change what you face. There is great power in prayer, but you must pray to realize its power. Don’t put prayer off and don’t get too busy to pray. You are missing the power that prayer can have in your life by not praying. Let today be the first day of seeing the power of prayer in the rest of your life.