Category: Faith

Praying through the Words of Job

Published on by kendraskeLeave a comment

Read through the Bible in 2 years Job 23-24

Last night I had a friend comment that Job is hard to read. Amen, sister. Job is indeed very hard to read. Sometimes I just focus on one thought from Job and meditate on it. I also like to use the words in Job as a springboard for prayer. Let’s try a few verses of that today.

Job 23:8-10 ESV – Behold, I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I do not perceive him; on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him; he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him. But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.

Heavenly Father, Sometimes I feel like You’re not there. Sometimes I can’t feel You or see You and it feels like You’ve abandoned me. Help me to remember the truth: You will never leave me or forsake me. You have made me Your sheep and I am Yours. It is me – not You – who is prone to wander, prone to leave the God I love. Thank You that You always know the way that I take, that I cannot escape from Your presence, that I cannot hide from You no matter where I go. And thank You for Jesus, my good shepherd who searches for me and joyfully brings me back into Your fold.

Job 23:11-12 ESV — My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside. I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.

Heavenly Father, please help my feet to remain on the straight and narrow path, to hold fast to You and Your ways. Let me not turn aside. May I ponder the path of my feet and not turn to the left or the right in what I say or think or do. Keep me from sins of omission as well as commission. Help me to actively do good, rather than just not doing bad. I want to treasure Your words more than food, even more than rich, sweet, tasty food. Your love is indeed better than any treasure here on earth.

Job 23:13-14 ESV — But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back? What he desires, that he does. For he will complete what he appoints for me, and many such things are in his mind.

Lord, You are unchangeable. No one can turn You away. You do whatever You desire. You will be faithful to complete whatever You have begun. And I’m so thankful for that because Your ways are always best. There is so often a way that seems right to me, but it’s end is simply the way to death. Help me to trust You. Help me to believe that Your way is always best.

In the almighty, all-good Name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

Far Too Wonderful (Psalm 139) by Shane & Shane

Good Things and Bad People

Published on by kendraskeLeave a comment

Read through the Bible in 2 years: Job 22; Psalm 73

Have you ever struggled with why “bad things happen to good people”? I believe the simple answer to that question is, “Truly there are no good people. We’re all downright bad. None of us deserve anything that the Lord so kindly gives to us.

But, today when reading Job 22, I found myself thinking about this question, “Why do good things happen to bad people?”

They said to God, “Depart from us,” and
“What can the Almighty do to us?”
Yet He filled their houses with good things…

Job 22:17-18a ESV

Why does God allow the sun to shine and the rain to fall on both the evil and the good, like we read in Matthew 5:45? Why is the LORD is good to all and have mercy on all that he has made? (Psalm 145:9)

Why do the wicked prosper like we considered in yesterday’s reading of Job 21?

In Psalm 73, Asaph wrestled with these same questions. He found himself envious of the wicked, but as he pondered his life on earth and his life in eternity compared to theirs, he realized how much better off he is.

"Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. 
You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. 
Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. 
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 
For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you. 
But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works." - Psalm 73:23-28 ESV

When we’re wrestling with all these why’s, let’s speak truth to ourselves and remind ourselves of what we know is true.

Will you pray with me?

Heavenly Father,

You are the strength of my heart and my portion forever. I would rather have one day with You than a thousand apart from You. For me, truly, it is good to be near You. You are my refuge and strength and guide.

Truly, You are good to both the evil and the good. You are good and gracious. And I am not.

Make me more like You. Conform me into Your likeness. May Your glory and goodness shine brightly out of my life. Use me as Your mouthpiece. I want to tell of all Your works for You are so, so good. Your steadfast love is better than life.

In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

Good and Gracious King by City Alight

Remember not…

Published on by kendraskeLeave a comment

Read through the Bible in 2 years: Job 21; Psalm 25

In the 21st chapter of Job, Job wrestles with God as he watches the wicked prosper. Why were their animals multiplying and their flocks of children running and playing and singing, while his own house and fields had been wiped out.

Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever prayed for God to give you a running vehicle so you can get to work while your annoying co-worker keeps bragging about her new minivan? Have you ever pleaded with God to give you a friend while your gossipy neighbor has a house full of companions? Have you ever begged God for a child while you watch a story on the news about a woman who threw her own baby in the dumpster?

I remember how hard it was to go to baby showers for my friends after losing my baby boy. I remember how hard it was to hear about others whose children were so quiet and obedient while mine were outspoken and headstrong.

Frankly, there is no 3-step solution to answer all your questions, no quick pill to take away all your pain, but there is hope and wisdom to be found in drawing near to God and His Word. We must remind ourselves of the simple truth that none of us are good, no not one. All of us are wicked. Our wickedness may look different from that co-worker or neighbor or woman on the news, but none of us deserve God’s great blessings of food and friendship and family.

We must also remind ourselves that this world is not our destination, we are all just passing through. One day judgement will come. One day all things will be made right. Ultimately, the greatest blessings in this life are not found in expensive cars or rich food or abundant friends or even in a house full of children and a happy marriage. Rather, the greatest blessings in life are found at the feet of Jesus. The blessings of joy and peace and purpose are abundant, eternal blessings both in this life and the life to come.

If I had to choose between a mansion with a Lamborghini in the driveway or a life focused on Christ, I’d choose Christ every time.

Remember your mercy, O LORD,
and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.
Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love Remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O LORD!”

Psalm 25:6-7 ESV

Let’s pray,

Oh Lord God, Remember your mercy and steadfast love – for they have been from of old.

Remember not the sins of my youth nor the sins of my old age. My transgressions are many, but Your mercy is indeed more. Rather, O Lord, remember me according to Your steadfast love — for the sake of Your Name and Your goodness.

Your Name is indeed great and Your Goodness is without end. I know that You are good. I know that You are just. I know that You are faithful and true. Help me to remind myself of what I know to be true about You, about me, and about my neighbor.

I pray that You will bless others – my family, my friends, my neighbors, my enemies – with a knowledge of the truth – that You are full of justice and grace. I pray that You would save them today, Lord, that they might turn away from their sin and receive forgiveness, that they might know Your love which is better than life.

I pray, also, for my own sinful heart. Please, Father, encourage me. Remind me of how greatly I have been forgiven. Let me not be like that unmerciful servant who pointed a condemning finger, focusing on the speck in his brother’s eyes, while forgetting how greatly he had sinned against You, our holy and merciful king.

It is in the name of Jesus Christ, my Redeemer, that I pray. Amen.

My Redeemer Lives

Published on by kendraskeLeave a comment

Read through the Bible: Job 18-19

Though Job’s friends are miserable comforters, though Job’s family and friends have turned against him, though he feels abandoned and attacked by God, Job reminds himself of this one piece of truth: his redeemer lives.

What a treasure it is to know that I have a redeemer and that my redeemer lives.

Consider what it means to be redeemed – not merely forgiven, but redeemed. “The debt against us is not viewed as simply cancelled, but is fully paid. Christ’s blood or life, which he surrendered for [our sin], is the “ransom” by which the deliverance of his people from the servitude of sin and from its penal consequences is secured.” (Easton Bible Dictionary – Redemption)

God does not merely overlook our sin, having mercy on us. But God has sent His only Son to die in our place, that His righteous justice can be upheld, that we are redeemed by the perfect substitutionary sacrifice, God-in-flesh, Jesus Christ.

Christ is my redeemer, my living redeemer. He died and He rose again to live forever, interceding for me before the Father. He is my all-powerful, immortal redeemer. Like Hebrews 7:23-25 says, “The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”

I say with Job, My Redeemer Lives!

Let’s praise His name together.

Heavenly Father,

I’m overwhelmed by Your grace, that You would send Your only Son to save a wretch like me. You have redeemed me, rescued me, delivered me, ransomed me. All I can say is thank You. You are good and worthy.

Now I pray that You would take my life and let it be consecrated to thee, Lord. Jesus died and lives for me. I pray that I would die to myself and live for You.

In the eternal redeeming name of Jesus I pray, Amen

Feeling Forsaken

Published on by kendraskeLeave a comment

Read through the Bible in 2 years: Psalm 22, Job 15

There is so much prophecy about Christ in Psalm 22. The Roman soldiers divided up Jesus’s clothes and cast lots for his garments like David wrote a thousand years earlier in Psalm 22:18. Jesus spoke the very words of Psalm 22:1 as He hung on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?

Psalm 22:1 ESV

Have you ever felt like God has forgotten you, abandoned you, deserted you?

Sisters, when we find ourselves in that pit of despair, we must speak truth into our hearts, like David did in this psalm.

For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.

Psalm 22:24 ESV

Here is the truth:

Deuteronomy 31:8 ESV — “It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

Psalm 9:10 ESV — “And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.”

2 Corinthians 4:8-9 ESV — “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.”

Let’s encourage one another with these words and pray to the Father together. Will you join me in praying?

In Christ, we are the recipient of God’s grace, hidden behind the cross where Jesus absorbed the Father’s wrath that we so deeply deserved. Jesus took the Father’s scorn in our place. Jesus paid the death price, so we don’t have to.

Heavenly Father,

You are worthy of our full trust. Thank You for the sacrifice of Christ who has paid the price for my sin so that I don’t have to. My debt has been paid in full by my Savior, Christ Jesus, my Lord.

Thank You for Your faithful, steadfast love. I can trust without doubting that You will never leave me or forsake me. You are true, though every man be a liar. My own parents might even abandon me, turn away from me in shame, forsake me, but You never will.

In Jesus, You have made me Your child and put Your seal upon me, filling me with Your Holy Spirit, making me Your temple. What purpose and hope and peace there is in that!

In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.

Better than I Deserve.

Published on by kendraskeLeave a comment

Read Through the Bible in 2 Years: Job 11

Before going any further in our study in the book of Job, I want you to know that I’m actually finding it really weird to invest time reading through Job verse by verse and sharing my thoughts with you, because many of the ideas contained here simply aren’t good theology. No one should base their ideas about God and man on the grief-stricken meditations of Job, like “Why did you bring me out from the womb? Would that I had died before any eye had seen me and were as though I had not been, carried from the womb to the grave.” (Job 10:18-19) But on the other hand, it’s actually really cool to mine for truth in this book. Like you can find truth in secular books and movies, you can find truth in the words of Job and his friends, though I still caution you from using them as the foundation for your theological beliefs.

With that out of the way, let me ask you a question – Have you ever greeted someone with the very standard question, “How are you today?” and received the unexpected reply, “Better than I deserve”? There’s TRUTH in those words. All of us are better than we deserve. Like Romans 6:23a says, “The wages of sin is death.”

So, today, let’s ponder these words spoken to Job by his friend, Zophar,

Know then that God exacts of you
less than your guilt deserves.

Job 11:6

Dear friends, I don’t know about you, but I know that I have broken God’s law more times than I can count. I have used His name in vain. I have blasphemed the Almighty Creator of the Universe. I have mocked and criticized His Son and His children. I have hated and dishonored God and His creation.

God would be totally just to spit in my face, call me unspeakable names, slap me across both my cheeks, and apply two-dozen lashings across my back. I deserve to be hung and shot and burned. I deserve it. God has exacted from me much less than my guilt deserves.

Truly, God has had mercy on me, a sinner. God pours out His grace on me and calls me His child. God sent His Own Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the price for my sins – making a way for me to not only NOT be punished, but to receive EVERLASTING LIFE!

I’m not worthy. I’m not worthy. But He has made me worthy. That is indeed Amazing GRACE.

Let’s pray.

Heavenly Father,

Oh the Grace of our Lord God! The matchless, unfathomable GRACE of God! Not only have You not given us what we deserve, but You have given us that which we do not deserve – boundless, eternal abundant life, the riches of glory with You.

Thank You!

Lord, please help us to understand how great is Your goodness, that we will shout from the mountaintops, “Christ the Lord is Risen! Hallelujah! Come to Him! Come to Him!” We have found a goldmine with limitless gold. We have found the living water that never ceases. We have found the bread that is indeed new every morning. May Your love compel us to share this good news with others. Let us not keep these wonders to ourselves. Your love is boundless – it grows as it is shared. Let us share it! Give us ears to hear and eyes to see and mouths to proclaim Your mercy and grace and power and might and goodness!

In the Name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

My Worth is Not in What I Own – Fernando Ortega, Keith Getty, Kristyn Getty

There is a Fountain Filled with Blood

Published on by kendraskeLeave a comment

Read Through the Bible in 2 Years: Job 9-10

“If I wash myself with snow
and cleanse my hands with lye, yet you will plunge me into a pit, and my own clothes will abhor me.”

Job 9:30-31 ESV

I feel Job’s pain. Job wants to be right with God. Job desperately wants the Lord to bless him and look well on him, and he can’t understand why He won’t. It reminds me of when Esau cried out bitterly to his father, Isaac, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!”” – Genesis 27:34 ESV

When I first heard and believed the gospel, I went from trying my hardest to obey my own made-up rules in my own strength, to trying my hardest to obey my own made-up rules PLUS God’s rules … still in my own strength. All that did was leave me exhausted and more depressed than ever. I could never keep my own rules, not to mention God’s rules, on my own. Like the Lord spoke through His prophet Jeremiah, “Though you wash yourself with lye and use much soap, the stain of your guilt is still before me.” (Jeremiah 2:22 ESV)

Let me encourage you, friends, this is not the incredible good news of the gospel. Jesus Christ didn’t die on the cross so you could keep more rules. Jesus died to cleanse you fully of every sin you have ever committed and will ever commit and to give you the power by His Holy Spirit and through faith in Him to go and sin no more. As born again followers of Jesus Christ, we can now work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” – Philippians 2:12-13 ESV

I hope you will take some time today to ponder the finished work of Jesus Christ, what He has done for you, that you can be fully cleansed by the blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony (Revelation 12:11).

“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.”

Isaiah 1:18 ESV

Will you please pray with me?

Heavenly Father,

You alone are holy, holy, holy. You dwell in unapproachable light. You are perfect in thought and word and deed. All Your ways are right. You are the very definition of perfect purity.

Thank You, thank You, thank You for the almighty cleansing power of the blood of Jesus, the only blood that can wash us clean, once and for all. Like Your Word says, it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins, but when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, He took His place, sitting at Your right hand, for His work was finished.

I pray for each person reading this who is still trying to make themselves clean by their own works. Teach them, Father, that their own good deeds are nothing but filthy rags in Your sight, that even the most righteous man is nowhere near the level of perfection that You demand. I pray that they will be washed in the blood of Jesus today, that You will plunge them in that fountain full of scarlet red blood, that they may come out spotless and pure, that they will have the power of the Holy Spirit coursing through their veins, giving them new desires and new power to walk in the righteousness of faith, turning away day after day from their sin, and turning toward Your perfect light.

In the good and gracious name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

For more: Read Romans 6-8 and Hebrews 9-10

There is a Fountain – Reawaken Hymns

A Hedge of Protection

Published on by kendraskeLeave a comment

Read through the Bible in 2 years: Psalm 20; Job 3

When I was a new Christian learning how to pray, I noticed that people would often pray for “a hedge of protection” around someone. I had never heard that phrase before, but I started using it myself, asking God to put a hedge of protection around my children, my husband, my house.

Yesterday we looked at Job 1:9-11, “Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.””

But what about the previous verse, Job 1:8?

“And the Lord said to Satan,
“Have you considered my servant Job…”

Job 1:8a

I simply love this verse. Job was a blameless, upright man who feared God and turned away from evil, and yet the Lord said, “Hey, Satan, have you considered my servant Job?”

The Lord removed that hedge of protection, allowing — inviting — the enemy’s attacks on His righteous servant, Job, and Satan stripped everything away from him – his possessions, his children, his health, even his wife’s encouragement, yet “in all this Job did not sin with his lips.” (Job 2:10) Lord, may the same be true of me.

Today, though, my heart broke as I dove into Job 3, reading about when Job cursed the day he was born. 🥹 But if I’m honest with myself, I can relate all too well to Job’s pain.

I’ve gone through the pain of my husband losing his job and our family being forced to move to a new city for a job. I’ve gone through the painful loss of a one-year-old nephew and a preborn son. I’ve gone through the pains of an aging father and more health scares (click here or here or here or here) than I care to recall. Sometimes I have wished that heaven would hurry and get here.

And yet, I can say with full assurance, all of God’s ways have been right and good. He has grown my faith in Him during those times of pain. He has indeed sheltered me under His wings. He has taught me the wisdom and truth of Psalm 20:7.

“Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”

Psalm 20:7 ESV

So, today, whether you are feeling the glorious hedge of God’s protection (Job 1:10) or the painful hedge of thorny trials (Job 3:23), I pray that you will put your trust in the name of the Lord our God.

Will you pray with me?

Heavenly Father,

Your grace is sufficient for me. Your strength is made perfect when I am weak. Whether I can feel Your presence or You feel a million miles away, help me to trust that You are always with me. Whether I’m on the mountain top or in the valley bottom, help me to see Your rod and staff guiding me. Let me not trust in any man-made rescue plan, but place my trust fully in You and You alone. You are trustworthy. Thank You for the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. The blood of Jesus is my faithful hedge of protection.

In the Almighty name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

The Testing of your Faith

Published on by kendraskeLeave a comment

Read through the Bible in 2 years: Job 1-2

"Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” Job 1:9-12 ESV

Like I wrote yesterday, “We learn of God’s grace as we are humbled. Surely these afflictions are for our good. It is good to recognize that nothing on earth will ever be enough. Treasures on earth – whether monetary or relational – will never satisfy. Our lives are better because of the thorns that the Lord has in His mercy given us. Our faith grows as it is stretched.”

No one is a better example of this than Job!

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 1:6-7 ESV

Friends, it’s a blessing to have your faith tested. When your faith is tested, it GROWS and it shows you and everyone around you that it’s REAL!

Let’s pray,

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for the gifts that You have given us – our health, our children, our home, our jobs, all of our possessions. They are gifts.

Draw our hearts to You, Lord. Forgive us for turning to these gifts instead of turning to You.

May we say with Job, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed by the name of the Lord.” None of us want to go through the sorrow of losing our children, our possessions, or our own health. But, Father, none of those things can ever truly satisfy.

You are our God, our refuge, our hope, our joy, our strength. Our faith is in You alone. Blessed be the Name of the Lord.

In the Name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen.

Trusting God when People Hurt you

Published on by kendraskeLeave a comment

Read through the Bible in 2 years: Genesis 45-46

"So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt." Genesis 45:4-8 ESV

I have a quick question for y’all – Have you ever been sold into slavery by your brothers? No? Me neither.

Have you ever been hurt by anyone in your life? Yes? Me, too.

When someone hurts you, it can be hard to forgive them. Sometimes it feels like you can’t “let them off” by forgiving them. You can take on the roll of punisher – wanting them to pay for what they’ve done to you.

But let’s think about Joseph’s words here — what if we saw God’s hand at work even in our pain? How would that change your desire to punish someone who hurt you? Wouldn’t that make true forgiveness a whole lot easier?

The truth is that God is always at work, accomplishing the best ends through the best means for the most people. Sometimes people get hurt during that … And sometimes those people are YOU …

Will you pray with me?

Heavenly Father,

I trust You. I trust Your heart. I trust Your mercy and kindness and grace and power. You have proven Yourself to be good and faithful – in Your Word and in my life. But, Father, sometimes things look really bad to me. In fact, sometimes those things really are bad. It’s wrong to sell your brother into slavery. That is wrong. Yet, Lord, you worked through that unthinkable tragedy to bring great good for a great number of people with fruit still being born even today.

I pray that I would trust You with all my heart, soul, and mind. Help me to remember Your steadfast faithfulness to Joseph and me now and forever.

In the name of Jesus I pray, amen