Job - The Man of Patience

Bible Reading:  Job 1:1-12

Key Verse: Verse 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.”

Key Words: that man was perfect and upright

    I doubt that there has ever been a man who showed more patience than did Job. 

1. He was patient when accused before God by Satan. 
2. He was patient when tried by Satan. 
3. He was patient during his illness. 
4. He was patient when confronted by his wife. 
5. He was patient when accused by his friends.

Little wonder that we talk about having the “patience of Job!”

Ken Medema serves as a missionary in Africa. He has impacted millions for Christ. Ken, though, was born blind; but his parents never allowed him to use his blindness as an excuse from service or activities. They taught him to ride a bike, water ski, and do many other activities which are normally off-limits for the visually impaired. One day while attending Bible college, Ken accidentally bumped into another blind student. The other guy yelled out, “Hey, watch it! Don’t you know I’m blind?” 

Ken did not rail back or even mention his own disabilities. He simply said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you.”

The moral of the story is, “We all have occasion to be impatient with others, but we never have a right to use it.”

What to do:

✞ Do you ever require patience? Then give to others what is required from you.

                                                                                                            Bible Reading:  I Peter 5

Key Verse: Verse 2 – “Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by  constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;”

Key Words: taking the oversight thereof

 

It is a situation that every pastor will face ranging from occasionally to often, depending upon the numerical size of the congregation he pastors.  Have you ever heard the following sayings?

• Caught between a rock and a hard place.
• It’s a catch 22 situation.
• You’re cursed if you do and cursed if you don’t.
• You can’t win for losing.

To explain what I am talking about, let me give you some real situations which pastors have encountered.

The pastor and his family are ready to leave on vacation when he receives a call that one of the member’s great-aunt has passed away.  The great-aunt, while not a member of the church, attended occasionally and contributed to God’s work.  Her last dying wish was that the pastor preach her funeral.  Now, the pastor has an emotionally expectant member looking at him on one side and an excited family looking at him on the other.  The pastor is literally caught between a rock and a hard place.  He is in a no-win position!

The pastor has family devotion and the evening meal set for 5:00 P.M. at home because he believes that a set time for the family to eat and have devotion provides a sense of organization and structure for his young family.  He receives a call that a young couple in his church is in need of some marriage counseling and is asked to come quickly.  You guessed it!  It is 4:45 P.M. and he is due to be with his family in fifteen minutes.  The children will see inconsistencies in what daddy preaches and practices if he doesn’t come, and the young couple in need of help will never forgive him if he fails to show.

My advice to young pastors is to establish a priority system and carry it out.  He must learn that he will never please everyone.  Now, there are some things that the congregation can do as well.

Be understanding.  You are not the only one who requires both time and attention.  Pastors can’t be in two or more places at one time.

Be flexible.  Most pastors can help and will, if given a reasonable amount of time.  Don’t demand “come now” but ask the pastor in the next couple of hours or even days if he would work it out in his schedule to visit you.

Be Scriptural.  “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”  Don’t ask of others what you would not want others to ask of you.

And last of all, be reasonable.  In many churches the pastor has associates to assist him in their area of ministry.  Because they come in his stead doesn’t mean he doesn’t care.  Let me assure you the pastors I know get reports from these men on a continual basis.

Now, if you need your pastor, call him.  I promise you he will be there.  It just may take him a minute or two.

What to do: 

✞Pray for your pastor.

✞Let your pastor know he’s appreciated.

                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse                                                                             

Jehoshaphat - The King Who Served

Bible Reading:  II Chronicles 17

   Key Verse: Verse 5 – “Therefore the LORD stablished the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents; and he had riches and honour in abundance.”

Key Words: Therefore the LORD stablished the kingdom in his hand

Here is a man who, in every point, was strong, foresighted, reverent, and a man whose heart was full of integrity. Jehoshaphat felt that idolatry and true worship could not coexist. He did not seek riches and honor. Is there any wonder why the Lord “stablished the kingdom in his hand?” Jehoshaphat was indeed the king who served.

Dr. Viktor Frankl was an Austrian physician who was imprisoned in one of Hitler’s death camps. He and his fellow Jewish people suffered unbelievable atrocities. Everything about their living and working conditions were deplorable, including their medical care. Dr. Frankl offered what little medical help he could to the sick and dying. Over time he discovered a unique phenomenon which he recorded in his book, Man’s Search for Meaning. He said those people who kept their strength and sanity the longest were those who tried to help other prisoners and share what little they had. Their physical and mental condition seemed strengthened by their friendliness, compassion, and focus on something other than themselves.

The moral of the story is, “The measure of a man is not in how many servants he has, but in how many men he serves.”  It appears that Jehoshaphat had learned that lesson well.

 

What to do:

✞ If you want to be great, give yourself totally to God as His servant.

Jonah- The Fleeing Prophet

Bible Reading: Jonah 1

  Key Verse: Verse 3 – “But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.”

Key Words: But Jonah rose up to flee...from the presence of the LORD

Every first grader can tell you the story of Jonah. Jonah is a perfect picture of a disobedient prophet, running from God in chapter one. In chapter two we see him as a praying prophet running back to God. He is a faithful prophet in chapter three running with God; and in chapter four he is an angry prophet running ahead of God.

For Jonah to attempt to flee from the presence of the Lord in chapter one is astonishing to me. Certainly Jonah would have known the Scripture which said, “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?” (Psalm 139:7) – and the answer, of course, is you cannot flee from God!! 

Jonah fled from God because he felt that if he obeyed he would be in danger; but need I remind you that some things that appear dangerous are actually much less hazardous than their safer-looking alternative? Commercial airline travel, for instance, is thirty times safer than transportation by car. It may not seem that way to the person who would rather fight rush hour traffic on the ground than ride a solitary Boeing 747 at 35,000 feet. But out of five million scheduled commercial flights in 1982, only five resulted in fatal accidents. Being carried by tons of metal thrust through the air by huge jet engines is actually safer than being pulled along in an eight-cylinder machine that never leaves the ground.

The moral is that we are safer in the most dangerous of places in the will of God than we are the safest of places out of God’s will.

 So let me challenge you to never flee from God but to God.

What to do: 

✞ Remember, you can never be safer than when you travel with God.