This morning in my devotional reading, I read through Job 38-40.  I have been moving through the book of Job over the last month, but this morning’s passage really struck a chord with me.

Job has been through an immense period of suffering.  He has endured the pain of loss as well as physical suffering.  As is natural to most of us, Job questioned God.  Job felt alienated and disappointed at what had become of his righteous life.  His friends have jumped on this bandwagon, but have not questioned God, but rather Job.  They have blamed Job for all of his troubles and accused him of having sin in his life. 

After their final discourse, God now speaks up and questions Job.  God is a God that can handle our questions and doubts.  He does not strike us dead when we do not understand, nor does he punish us for asking questions.  There is, however, something to remember.  If you question God, be ready for Him to give you an answer.  It might not be the answer to your question, but He will give an answer like He did Job.

As I read God’s response to Job, I was instantly humbled by the power of God.  Not only the power of God, but in the exactness of God’s sovereignty and involvement in this universe.  Here is parts of Job 38-40:

¹ Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He said:

² "Who is this that darkens my counsel
       with words without knowledge?

³ Brace yourself like a man;
       I will question you,
       and you shall answer me.

⁴ "Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
       Tell me, if you understand.

⁵ Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
       Who stretched a measuring line across it?

⁶ On what were its footings set,
       or who laid its cornerstone-

⁷ while the morning stars sang together
       and all the angels ^[a] shouted for joy?

⁸ "Who shut up the sea behind doors
       when it burst forth from the womb,

⁹ when I made the clouds its garment
       and wrapped it in thick darkness,

¹⁰ when I fixed limits for it
       and set its doors and bars in place,

¹¹ when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;
       here is where your proud waves halt’?

¹² "Have you ever given orders to the morning,
       or shown the dawn its place,

¹³ that it might take the earth by the edges
       and shake the wicked out of it?

¹⁶ "Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
       or walked in the recesses of the deep?

¹⁸ Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?
       Tell me, if you know all this.

¹⁹ "What is the way to the abode of light?
       And where does darkness reside?

²⁰ Can you take them to their places?
       Do you know the paths to their dwellings?

²¹ Surely you know, for you were already born!
       You have lived so many years!

²² "Have you entered the storehouses of the snow
       or seen the storehouses of the hail,

²³ which I reserve for times of trouble,
       for days of war and battle?

²⁴ What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,
       or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?

²⁵ Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,
       and a path for the thunderstorm,

²⁶ to water a land where no man lives,
       a desert with no one in it,

²⁷ to satisfy a desolate wasteland
       and make it sprout with grass?

²⁸ Does the rain have a father?
       Who fathers the drops of dew?

²⁹ From whose womb comes the ice?
       Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens

³⁰ when the waters become hard as stone,
       when the surface of the deep is frozen?

³¹ "Can you bind the beautiful ^[c] Pleiades?
       Can you loose the cords of Orion?

³² Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons ^[d]
       or lead out the Bear ^[e] with its cubs?

³³ Do you know the laws of the heavens?
       Can you set up God’s ^[f] dominion over the earth?

³⁴ "Can you raise your voice to the clouds
       and cover yourself with a flood of water?

³⁵ Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?
       Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?

³⁷ Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
       Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens

³⁸ when the dust becomes hard
       and the clods of earth stick together?

³⁹ "Do you hunt the prey for the lioness
       and satisfy the hunger of the lions

⁴⁰ when they crouch in their dens
       or lie in wait in a thicket?

⁴¹ Who provides food for the raven
       when its young cry out to God
       and wander about for lack of food?

Chapter 39

¹ "Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?
       Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?

² Do you count the months till they bear?
       Do you know the time they give birth?

³ They crouch down and bring forth their young;
       their labor pains are ended.

⁴ Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds;
       they leave and do not return.

²⁶ "Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom
       and spread his wings toward the south?

²⁷ Does the eagle soar at your command
       and build his nest on high?

²⁸ He dwells on a cliff and stays there at night;
       a rocky crag is his stronghold.

²⁹ From there he seeks out his food;
       his eyes detect it from afar.

³⁰ His young ones feast on blood,
       and where the slain are, there is he."

Chapter 40

¹ The LORD said to Job:

² "Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him?
       Let him who accuses God answer him!"

³ Then Job answered the LORD :

⁴ "I am unworthy—how can I reply to you?”

Enough said!

This afternoon, Josh, Quentin and I took a hike out at Hobbs Conservation Area.  It was a warm afternoon, but once we got into the woods, it wasn’t too bad in the shade.  The Hidden Diversity Trail has some great trails so we chose one and went for about five miles.  It was an awesome trek into the hollow and followed some ridgelines through this portion of the Ozark mountains. 

We went about five this afternoon and it was about the time some animals started moving in the woods.  We saw two armadillos (the first ones I have seen alive since moving to Arkansas, the rest have been road kill).  We also saw a couple of deer. 

I am becoming more intrigued with nature as we hike these trails through the mountains.  I am always invigorated by the scene of God’s creation.  There is an amazing calm in the woods.  As the gentle breeze blows through the trees, you can almost sense God’s presence.  When we are out on the trail, there are no cares or worries.  Just awestruck at the beauty of God.

       

It is our final day of vacation and back to the office tomorrow.  We have our nephew home with us for the week, so we are trying to keep him and Josh busy.  This afternoon, we took a trip to Huntsville, Arkansas to our favorite diner, Granny’s.  After Granny’s we went to the Tiger Creek Wildlife Refuge to see the wild cats.  It was a hot afternoon and the cats were pretty lazy, but honestly after Granny’s, I was feeling the same way. 

I will be posting more pictures of our vacation this week.  We had a great time of rest but I am excited to get back to work.

 

Before we left for vacation we made a slight investment that has paid off great dividends on our trip.  We bought a GPS (Global Positioning Satellite).  It is amazing, the technology of the GPS.  We type in an address and it takes us there with precise direction.  The only trouble we got into was not following the directions good enough and we took the wrong turn.  We bought a Magellan GPS and it tells us when to turn and what streets to turn on.  I took the wrong turn when I didn’t listen well enough, so I had to turn around and go back the right way.

Within every Christian, God has placed His personal GPS.  The Holy Spirit!  The Holy Spirit guides us.  He is an internal voice that tells us when to turn and where not to turn.  He gives us precise instructions and we must follow those, if we want to stay on the right path.

Often, we have the problem of going the wrong way and having to turn around.  On many GPS systems it says “recalculating” when you miss your turn or you do not go the suggested route.  On our Magellan GPS it does not say recalculating it waits a moment and then says, “As soon as possible make a legal u-turn.”  That is what the Holy Spirit says when we do not go the right way.  “As soon as possible, make a legal U-turn. Turn around and go the way I told you to.”

Too often as believers we do not go the right way.  In fact, we go our own way!  But in the gentleness of the Holy Spirit, He urges us to turn around and go the right way.  We must learn to obey our internal GPS and follow the Holy Spirit’s instructions.  It will save us alot of heartache and trouble.

There are many things that I enjoy doing. I enjoy reading, but there is little I enjoy reading more than a classic book.  Since we are on vacation this week, I have brought several books to read.  One of them was given to me by a fellow minister who attends our church.  It is a classic book on preaching that was written in 1898 and published in 1902.  The Making of a Sermon by T. Harwood Pattison is a book about the classical preacher and his sermons.

I have studied many books on preaching.  Most of them have been modern approaches to communicating.  I believe that pastors ought to learn to become greater preachers.  So, that is why we read books on preaching and teaching.  There are alot of great modern books that describe how to creatively speak to this media generation and I agree that we must communicate the gospel in ways that people will grasp.  However, I think sometimes in our modern culture we miss a few of the key elements of communicating like what was seen in past generations.

One of those key elements is that the pastor must be changed by his message before it can change others.  Longfellow said, “To me, a sermon is no sermon in which I cannot hear the heartbeat.”  I am searching my own heart to make sure that my messages reveal my heart beat.  Is what I am preaching a direct result of my relationship with God and His Word or is it only a communication that others are preaching?

In The Making of the Sermon, Pattison quotes John Ruskin’s, Stones of Venice and in this quote I believe is found the greatest definition of preaching I have heard. 

Ruskin writes:
“When breathless and weary with the week’s labor they give the preacher this interval of imperfect and languid hearing, he has about thirty minutes to get at the separate hearts of a thousand men, to convince them of all their weaknesses, to shame them from all their sins, to warn them of all their dangers, to try, by this way and that, to stir the hard fastenings of those doors where the Master himself has stood and knocked, yet none opened, and to call at the openings of those dark streets where Wisdom herself has stretched forth her hands, and no man regarded.  Thirty minutes to raise the dead in!”

The calling of the preacher is a hard task.  Not only does the preacher have to hold the attention of the hearer, but he also must preach to bring conviction and change.  Preaching must be relevant to people’s needs but also, the main call of preaching must be discipleship and developing Christ-followers.  Convincing people there is more to this life than what they already have.  Preaching the Word in such a way that helps them but also changes them.  Preaching is not an easy task, that is why the preacher must walk with God and hear His voice.

We had an awesome service yesterday morning.  God moved in a mighty way!  We had one person rededicate their life to the Lord and many others ministered to.  We continued our PASSION series and looked at Renewing our Passion. 

Our Passion series is meant for us to evaluate the Passion in our lives.  Yesterday morning, we asked ourselves four questions to determine if we are losing our Passion for the things of God.

1. Is my love for God growing cold? 
2. Do I still have a burden for the unsaved?
3. Do I still have joy in serving God?
4. Am I allowing compromise to steal my passion?

These are questions that we should ask ourselves regularly.

We left after service for Sulphur Springs, Texas.  We stayed the night and Hannah couldn’t wait to get to the hotel and go swimming.  We were able to swim a little bit before it started raining.  I have often wondered why we get out of the pool when it rains, are we afraid of getting wet?:)  Actually we got out because it was lightning.  Lightning and water don’t mix.

Today, we will pick up Josh in Greenville.  He has been with a friend of his for a week and I am glad we are going to get him back.  After we pick him up, we are headed to Sonya’s parents for the rest of the week.  Looking forward to spending a week in the country and not doing a whole lot.

Having said all that, I will try to post everyday this week, but no guarantees, I’m on vacation.  I am only doing things if I feel like it this week:)  And yes, that is being lazy!

Yesterday, I shared about Praying Psalmically and the power of writing our prayers.  Today, I want to look at making the most of our devotional bible reading.  Again, you will need a journal and a pen.  This approach is called the S.O.A.P. devotional method.  I believe it was made popular by Wayne Cordeiro in his book, The Divine Mentor.  If you haven’t read that book, it is an excellent look at getting the most from your devotional habits.

The S.O.A.P method is pretty simple.  S.O.A.P. is the process of digesting Scriptures.

S – Scripture
O – Observation
A – Application
P – Prayer

Here is how it works.  During your time of Bible reading watch for any verse that speaks to your heart.  The SOAP approach works well, especially when you have one or two verses that “jump” out at you.  In your journal, write out the scripture verse. 

Next, we look at the observation.  This is where you glean from the verse.  Observe the context of how it is written, why it is written and to whom it is written.  In the observation, you are looking to understand the verse itself and the history of it.  In your journal, write out the observation.

Third, we apply this verse(s) to our lives.  What does this verse say to you?  How must you apply it to your life?  What changes do you need to make in your life?  In your journal, write out how you plan to apply this verse to your life and what it specifically says to you.

Last, is the prayer.  Write out your prayer to God on how you will allow this verse to work in your life.  The prayer is often an extension of what you discovered  in the application of the verse.  Allow this to be a prayer of commitment to God.

I have found this S.O.A.P. method to be a great way to get the most from my devotional reading.  I have often been the type to just read the Bible, but this method causes me to dig deeper and watch for anything the Holy Spirit wants to speak to me from God’s Word.  This method is a way to allow God to not only reveal Himself through His Word but also, to help us apply to our lives.