My Redeemer Lives – Job 18-19 – 2025 Day 69

Read through the Bible in Two Years: Job 18-19, Psalm 37

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!” He’s ALIVE NOW and FOREVER! 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

Would you like to receive my daily blog posts sent directly to your email? Subscribe for free by entering your email below.

✓ Subscribed

Click here for more information about my Read Through the Bible in Two Years plan.

If you would like prayer, please leave a comment below or send me a message. I’m happy to pray for you.

Please like and share.

“My Redeemer Lives” by Nicole Mullen (Aldrich & James cover)

The Steadfast Love of the Lord – Job 16-17 – 2025 Day 68

Read through the Bible in 2 years: Job 16-17; Psalm 36

After Job’s friend, Eliphaz, shares his human wisdom with his grieving friend (Job 15), it comes Job’s turn to reply. Job’s first words to his friends are, “I have heard many such things; miserable comforters are you all.”

Ain’t that the truth? Miserable counselors they have been. When you’ve lost all ten of your children, all of your possessions, and even your health, do you really want to hear words like, “Why does your heart carry you away, and why do your eyes flash, that you turn your spirit against God and bring such words out of your mouth?” (Job 15:12)

Remember, friends, there is a time to speak and a time to be silent. I pray that we learn to speak those words that fit the occasion, to ask the Holy Spirit, our great counselor, to guide us in what to say to a grieving friend.

So, how amazing it was to then read Psalm 36 right on the heels of the words of Job’s heartache.

“Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.

Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast you save, O LORD.

How precious is your steadfast love, O God!

They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights.

For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.

Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you, and your righteousness to the upright of heart!”

– Psalm 36:5-10 ESV

Job’s friends truly were miserable comforters, but God’s faithful, steadfast love is a comfort to His children. Jesus truly is our very good shepherd who comforts us in all our affliction. (2 Corinthians 1:3-7)

Let’s pray,

Heavenly Father,

Please help us to be patient with our friends when they say stupid things because they just don’t know what to say. I’m sure it hurts them to see us hurting. Help us to have grace toward them when they are terrible comforters and say things that make our pain even worse.

I pray that we will trust You all the more as we see what miserable counselors even our dearest friends are, for Your Holy Spirit is our perfect comforter. Apply the wisdom of Your Word like a balm to our hurting souls. Speak to us through Your Words, healing our brokenness for Your glory, comforting us so that we can comfort others.

Lord, I want to thank You in all circumstances and trust that You have purpose in my pain. As I walk through dark valleys, will you please grow my faith muscles? Help me to see Your light glowing at the end of the tunnel, guiding me with your merciful staff and fending away my enemies with Your righteous, rugged rod.

I pray that You will someday use my pain to comfort others who find themselves in pain. Teach me how to speak fit words for hurting hearts. Give me wisdom as to when to speak and when to be silent, when to exhort and when to encourage. I want to be an instrument of Your peace, to be my brother’s keeper, to love my neighbor as myself, and to comfort others with the comfort that I have received from You.

In the Name of our Perfect Comforter, Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen.

Would you like to receive my daily blog posts sent directly to your email? Subscribe for free by entering your email below.

✓ Subscribed

Click here for more information about my Read Through the Bible in Two Years plan.

If you would like prayer, please leave a comment below or send me a message. I’m happy to pray for you.

Please like and share.

Your Love Oh Lord, Psalm 36 – Third Day

Feeling Forsaken – Job 15 – 2025 Day 67

Read through the Bible in 2 years: Job 15; Psalm 35

I hope you’re reading the Psalms along with Job. They’re so beautiful to read together.

Sisters, when we find ourselves in a pit of despair, we must speak truth to our hearts. God has given us His Word to guide us, enlightening our path that we might not sin against Him. (Psalm 119:5, 105, 11) His Word is truth. His truth sanctifies us. (John 17:17)

  • “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9 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.” (Deuteronomy 31:8 ESV)
  • “And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.” (Psalm 9:10 ESV)

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

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.

Would you like to receive my daily blog posts sent directly to your email? Subscribe for free by entering your email below.

✓ Subscribed

Click here for more information about my Read Through the Bible in Two Years plan.

If you would like prayer, please leave a comment below or send me a message. I’m happy to pray for you.

Please like and share.

Only a Holy God – CityAlight

Though He Slay Me – Job 13-14 – 2025 Day 66

Read through the Bible in 2 years: Job 13-14; Psalm 34

You can feel Job wrestling between how he feels in his heart and what he knows is true in his mind. On the one hand, Job wishes that God would go far away from him and leave him alone, yet he knows that God is good and his only hope for salvation.

Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever wrestled between your mind and your emotions?

And in the middle of that wrestling Job says these nine profound words.

Can we say that with Job? Can we maintain our hope in Christ even when life is crashing down around us.

No matter what God puts us through, He is still our only hope, and what is life without hope? How can we get through the tragedies of daily life without trusting in a good and Sovereign God?

Truly He is our only hope in life and death.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the hope that we have in this life, that even our pain has purpose. Thank You for the hope that we have in eternity, that You will wipe every tear from our eyes and we will behold Your glory face to face.

We lift up our grieving brothers and sisters to You and ask You to encourage them. Please do not take Your hand from them, even when they ask You to. Hold them close in Your hand even when they’re in the fire.

We love You and worship You and thank You for giving us the book of Job that we might know that we are never alone.

In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.

Would you like to receive my daily blog posts sent directly to your email? Subscribe for free by entering your email below.

✓ Subscribed

Click here for more information about my Read Through the Bible in Two Years plan.

If you would like prayer, please leave a comment below or send me a message. I’m happy to pray for you.

Please like and share.

Though You Slay Me – Shane and Shane, featuring John Piper
Christ our Hope in Life and Death – Keith & Kristyn Getty, Matt Papa

Consider the Lilies – Job 12 – 2025 Day 65

Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Job 12, Psalm 33

Spring has arrived! The birds are singing. The trees are budding. The daffodils yellow heads are filling the landscape. The world seems alive after a long sleep. Revival! I love how the creation sings of its creator.

Has winter lasted too long in your heart and home? Have you lost your desire to bloom. Job understands and so does God. I pray that you will turn your face toward the Almighty and His face will shine on you as you wait for Him.

Jesus’s words in Matthew 6:26, 28-30 echo Job’s loud and clear — “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them…. Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?”

Let’s pray.

Heavenly Father,

You are the creator and sustainer of life. You send rain and sun and snow. Thank You for the beauty of spring after a long winter. Help us to learn what You’re teaching us – to be patient, to trust You, that everything has a season and time.

You take care of the birds and the flowers, and you take care of us.

We pray for those sisters who have suffered through a long winter full of storms and cold. Please let Your face shine upon them and be gracious to them and give them Your peace. Sustain them and strengthen them for the road ahead. Let them not grow weary. Help them to trust that in due time they will reap a harvest if they do not give up.

In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

Would you like to receive my daily blog posts sent directly to your email? Subscribe for free by entering your email below.

✓ Subscribed

Click here for more information about my Read Through the Bible in Two Years plan.

If you would like prayer, please leave a comment below or send me a message. I’m happy to pray for you.

Please like and share.

“Where are the Snowdrops?” In loving memory of Anna Grace Kirby.
Please join me in praying for Joe and Emma Kirby and their family.
Do Not Worry – Rain for Roots

Better than I Deserve – Thoughts from Job 11 – 2025 Day 64

Read Through the Bible in 2 Years: Job 11; Psalm 32

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 in this book 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.

Would you like to receive my daily blog posts sent directly to your email? Subscribe for free by entering your email below.

Click here for more information about my Read Through the Bible in Two Years plan.

If you would like prayer, please leave a comment below or send me a message. I’m happy to pray for you.

Please like and share.

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

There is a Fountain Filled with Blood – 2025 Day 63 – (Job 9-10)

Read Through the Bible in 2 Years: Job 9-10; Psalm 31

“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” – William Cowper – The N Crew

Words Unfitly Spoken – Thoughts from Job and his friends – 2025 Day 62 (Job 8)

Read through the Bible in 2 years: Job 8; Psalm 30

Pondering Job 8 and the very true words of Job’s friend Bildad – that God is just, that He will restore Job’s fortunes and bless his life, and that the godless will surely not prosper – reminded of Proverbs 25:11, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.”

Were Bildad’s words fitly spoken? I think not. Why not? Because, like my dear friend Beth has often reminded me, “The right thing at the wrong time is the wrong thing.” Eloquent speeches about God’s justice and judgment are inappropriate to give to a friend who has just lost all of their children and possessions.

It reminds me of times when I’ve gone shoe shopping and have found the perfect shoes at the perfect price, only to discover that they don’t fit. No matter how beautiful those shoes are, no matter what a good deal they are, if they’re too big or too small, you shouldn’t waste your money on them.

If our words are to be fitly spoken, we must be careful not only what we say, but how and when. If our words are to be fitly spoken, they must be fit to the person, place, and time.

If our words are to be fitly spoken,
we must be careful not only what we say, but how and when.

Please join me in prayer.

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for the joy of Your presence. You have indeed made me glad as I have trusted in You. You are always good. Make me more like You. Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me. Let me look upon Your glory and see Your face.

Give me wisdom and discernment in what to say as well as what not to. Help me see what words fit and what words don’t. Give me insight into what the circumstances demand. May my words be as heartfelt as they are true. Help me to speak the truth from a heart filled with humility and love.

In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen

Would you like to receive my daily blog posts sent directly to your email? Subscribe for free by entering your email below.

Click here for more information about my Read Through the Bible in Two Years plan.

If you would like prayer, please leave a comment below or send me a message. I’m happy to pray for you.

Please like and share.

“I Need Thee Every Hour”
Hymns of Grace

Sitting with a Grieving Friend – Thoughts from the Life of Job – 2025 Day 61 (Job 6-7)

Read through the Bible in 2 years: Job 6-7; Psalm 29

The two lowest months of my life were March of 1994 and October of 1998. Yet these were also the two seasons when Jesus began to radically transform my faith.

March 1994 was when I finally broke up with my fiancé, Eric, and moved to St. Louis. I was utterly alone in a way I’d never experienced before, but shortly thereafter I met Jesus and began a whole new life with Him always by my side.

October 1998 was when I found out that my stillborn baby’s body had been lost by the hospital after his autopsy. Why had God allowed this to happen? Losing my baby was painful enough …. Why this? I wrestled and struggled and mourned and questioned and grieved for months. What had I done wrong? Was God punishing me?

I didn’t want to go to church. I didn’t want to have playdates with my friends and their children. I just wanted to curl up in bed and stay there.

No one could understand the depth of my pain.

  • “He wasn’t even full-term.”
  • “You’ll have another.”
  • “I had a miscarriage, too, once. You’ll get over it. Give it some time.”
  • “It was just a body.”

Their words dug into my heart like so many little piercing arrows.

I distanced myself from my friends, and they distanced themselves from me, too. I couldn’t relate to them, and they couldn’t relate to me, either. They didn’t want to just sit and grieve with me day after day. A few days of crying was enough, wasn’t it? Why was this still going on weeks and even months later? This was when the book of Job really entered my life for the first time. (Actually, I had first encountered the book of Job in college when I was still an atheist, and I was assigned to read it as a “great work of ancient literature” in one of my liberal arts classes.) But 1998 is when Job’s words pierced my heart.

Out of all the pain and confusion, God again did something new in my heart. He grew my faith in new and profound ways. He taught me to simply trust Him when I don’t understand what’s He’s doing. He taught me that He is good even when people aren’t. He taught me that I can always turn to Him in my pain and suffering.

This week, reading Job again, really taking time to sit and study and journal and think, Job’s words are aimed at my heart again in a new way. Have I withheld kindness from a friend? Have I made light of a friend’s suffering? Can I look my friend in the eye and hold her hand in her grief?

Sisters, let’s not make the same mistakes as Job’s friends. Let’s run toward our friends in their pain, being willing to mourn with those who mourn, rather than running away out of fear and discomfort.

Let’s pray together.

Heavenly Father,

Your grace is sufficient for me for Your power is made perfect in my weakness. Thank You for giving us the book of Job that we could better understand the very real grief of men and the equally very real goodness of God. Help us to be good friends, to run towards those who are hurting instead of running away. Help us to be willing to sit and listen, instead of always trying to speak and fix. Make us like Jesus who wept with the grieving. Make us vessels of Your love and peace and kindness and comfort.

In the Name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

Would you like to receive my daily blog posts sent directly to your email? Subscribe for free by entering your email below.

Click here for more information about my Read Through the Bible in Two Years plan.

If you would like prayer, please leave a comment below or send me a message. I’m happy to pray for you.

Please like and share.

“Because He Lives”
Keith & Kristyn Getty, Bill Gaither, Buddy Green

When the Encourager Needs Encouragement – Thoughts from the Life of Job – 2025 Day 60 (Job 4-5)

Read Through the Bible in 2 Years: Job 4-5; Psalm 48

I’ve often found myself in the position of encourager. People come to me when they need prayer or encouragement or words of wisdom. This is certainly a blessing from God, and I’m honored to serve my sisters in this way. But … what about when it’s me who needs the prayer and encouragement and words of wisdom? Will I be able to take my own advice or will I crumble under the weight? Will my friends take the opportunity to encourage me, or will they point out my shortcomings in my sorrow?

After sitting silently with Job for seven days and nights (Job 2:13) Job’s friend, Eliphaz, finally speaks. His friend’s first words aren’t, “I’m so sorry, Job. I can’t imagine the pain you’re going through. I’m with you, and I’ll stay with you through thick and thin. I’m glad to have you as a friend.” No, Job’s friends’ first words are criticism.

Tears. 😢😢😢

I remember two years ago when I originally penned this message. Later that same afternoon, one of the moms of the teenage students I teach asked me if she could take my picture. She went on to explain how much her daughter loves me, and that she’s always telling her grandma about “Mrs. Kim.” Wow! That put wind in my sails like nothing else! Those few words encouraged me to keep my hands to the plow!

Can I just say how much a few simple words of thanksgiving and encouragement can strengthen a heavy heart?

Send a text. Send flowers. Mail a handwritten note. Make a phone call.

Click the “like button.” Leave a simple comment saying, “Thanks for taking the time to write this. Your words really ministered to me.”

Are we more like the one leper who returned to give Jesus thanks for healing him or the nine who received healing and kept right on their merry way, healed but unappreciative? (Luke 17:11-19)

How does God want you to encourage those who have encouraged you? We all grow weary from time to time.

Let’s pray.

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for Your faithful, never-ending grace and encouragement. You never grow tired. You never feel hopeless. The light at the end of the tunnel is never hidden from you.

Today I pray for my sisters who are facing tests and trials, who have lost a parent, a child, a husband, a job. I pray for the one who is losing hope today, who feels like the sun will never shine again, who feels like they can’t make it one more step.

Will you please send someone to them to encourage them? Will You please use me to speak life to those who need it? Will You please pour Your love lavishly into my heart, so I have love to give to the next one? Make me Your vessel. Make Your Word a balm to their heavy soul as well as mine.

Father, I am so weak, and I grow so weary. Please, Father, encourage me. Pour into me. Lift up my hands and my head. Let me not lose heart. Please send friends around me to lift me up, that I will not faint.

In the Healing Name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

Would you like to receive my daily blog posts sent directly to your email? Subscribe for free by entering your email below.

Click here for more information about my Read Through the Bible in Two Years plan.

If you would like prayer, please leave a comment below or send me a message. I’m happy to pray for you.

Please like and share.

“See How He Loves Us”
Sovereign Grace Music