May 4, 2006

A group of us began reading through the Book of Job at the Bible Reading
Fellowship this past Saturday.  Much of the story of Job is very familiar;
or at least the general theme of his suffering is well known – even outside
the circles of Jewish and Christian faith.  But what often gets lost is the
great testimony about Job before his trials commence, given right at the
beginning of the book - and what a great example that is for us:

"There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was
blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil." (Job 1:1).

The familiarity of the story then begins to unfold, as Satan walks in before
the Lord and their famous dialogue begins.

What strikes me is this:  Satan does not introduce Job into the discussion -
God does.  "Then the LORD said to Satan, 'Have you considered my servant
Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man,
one who fears God and shuns evil?'" (Job 1:8; identical to the author's
description in verse one incidentally).

The point is this:  Job's blamelessness, righteousness, fear of God and
aversion to evil were KNOWN WELL to GOD.  That is, Job's faith and how Job
lived (the latter is an expression of the former) MADE AN IMPRESSION on GOD.

Job was known, by name, to God.  And not just his mere, basic existence was
known - his WAYS were known, to the point that God Himself offered His own,
unsolicited, detailed description to the arch enemy.

This just further cements in my mind what real faith and real worship are.
God's faithful ones live out their faith.  They worship God with their

obedience to His word.  They worship in spirit and in truth by receiving His
instruction and counsel deep within them and then walking in all of His
ways.  And this is the kind of faith and worship that "gets God's
attention".  These are the ones God "has His eye on".  These are the ones
God is pleased to call "My servants".

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, is the entry way into
the worship of God.  Jesus is the point - and the only possible one – of our
reconciliation to the Father.  Our lives then, from the point of that
reconciliation onward, become living testimonies to the reality of our
faith.  Oh, that we would have lives that God Himself would recognize
and be pleased with - lives that are characterized blamelessness,
righteousness, fear of God and aversion to evil...  Oh, that God would be pleased to
call each of us "My servant"...  Let it be so.  Commit your ways entirely to Him.

Let me close with a special encouragement to pray.  Today is actually what's
called the "National Day of Prayer".  How convenient for us that this falls
on a Thursday!  Regardless of how our nation views such a concept, it would
be good for us as Christians to make a renewed commitment to seek the Lord -
privately and together - in prayer.  Why not come out tonight?

May God bless all those who love Him, honor and trust in His one and only
Son, and walk in His ways.  Praise God for His grace and mercy, manifested
in our Lord Jesus Christ.

In Jesus, looking for His glorious appearing,
Pastor Lou