Through the Bible in 66 Days - Job

 

The book of Job is one of the oldest pieces of literature in the world, yet it tackles one of the most modern questions we ever ask: Why would God allow suffering? If you've ever felt life was unfair, if you've ever been bullied, broken, or bewildered, Job is your companion. It doesn't give easy answers—but it does introduce to God and the way He operates.

Job begins by pulling back the curtain on a conversation we would never have known about unless God had told us about it. Satan, the accuser, sneers that Job only loves God because his life is comfortable. "Take away the blessings," he says, "and Job will curse You to Your face." But God knows His servant. He knows Job's faith is real. And so, to silence Satan and to demonstrate the authenticity of true faith, God allows Job to be tested.

What follows is devastating. Job loses his business, his animals, his servants, his family, and finally his health. He ends up sitting on an ash heap, scraping his sores with broken pottery. If anyone ever had the right to accuse God of cruelty, surely it was Job. Yet he never curses God. He wrestles, he weeps, he questions—but he clings on to his faith in God, just as God said he would.

Most of the book is a long, painful conversation between Job and his friends. They try to explain his suffering with neat formulas: "Good things happen to good people, bad things happen to bad people—so Job, you must have sinned." Their theology is tidy, but it's wrong. Job knows he hasn't done anything to deserve this, and he refuses to pretend otherwise. His friends defend their beliefs; Job defends his integrity. And in the middle of it all sits the great question: Why would God allow this?

But here's the remarkable thing: when God finally speaks, He doesn't answer Job's questions. Instead, He reveals Himself. He takes Job on a tour of creation—its vastness, complexity, and wildness—and shows him that the world is far bigger, deeper, and more intricate than he ever imagined. God isn't avoiding the question; He's lifting Job's eyes. Job wanted explanations. God gave him Himself.

And that is the turning point. Job discovers that knowing God is better than knowing the reasons. His suffering becomes the doorway to a deeper relationship with the living God—something he could never have gained through comfort. As he says, "My ears had heard of You, but now my eyes have seen You."

This is where the gospel shines through the book of Job. The New Testament tells us that suffering is not a sign of God's absence but often the place where His love is most clearly seen. Peter writes, 'In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,' 1 Peter 1:6–7. Paul reminds us that 'suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope,' Rom. 5:3–4. And the Lord Jesus Himself, who was 'a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief', shows us that God does not stand far off from pain; He enters it, bears it, and offers salvation as a result of His death and resurrection.

Job's story casts a shadow that reveals the suffering of the cross. The Lord Jesus is the ultimate righteous sufferer, facing satanic accusations. God allows suffering not because He is cruel, but because He is accomplishing something bigger than we can see. And as a result, there is a final restoration that far outweighs the pain.

So what does Job say to you when life isn't fair? When you're hurting? When you're tempted to give up? It says this: God is bigger than your suffering, nearer than your tears, and better than your explanations. You may not get the answers you want, but you will get the God you need. And in the gospel, we see the ultimate proof that God can take the darkest moment in history—the cross—and turn it into the greatest good the world has ever known.

Job teaches us that suffering is not the end of the story. God is. And those who trust Him discover His character in a way they never could have known otherwise.

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Storm Survival Advice

Scripture Reading

Acts chapter 27

Scripture Verse

‘I believe God that it will be just as it was told me’

Acts 27:25

This part of the story is scary for anyone who does not like sailing. Paul is starting his journey to Rome where he will meet the Roman Emperor. The soldier who is guarding him is called, Julius.  Julius is a nice man. He is kind, thoughtful and polite. He must also have been good at his job. He was part of a group of important soldiers and he was the boss.

Self Deception - an interesting tale!

 

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Have you heard the story of the bank robber named McArthur Wheeler in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who was told that if he rubbed lemon juice on his face, he wouldn’t need to use a mask to avoid detection because his face would be invisible to the cameras? This is not a joke; it’s true! He bought a Polaroid camera and a couple of lemons, squeezed them and applied the juice to his face. He then pointed the camera at his face and clicked, rotated the camera and clicked. He finished up with a photo of the ceiling but no image of his face, and he fully believed that the lemon juice did the trick.

How many doors?

Have you ever thought about how many doors you use daily? asks Bert Cargill of St Monans Gospel Hall. Try counting the number of doors in your house, including cupboard doors you need to open and doors you go through, and the number will soon be doubled. And if you go out and travel anywhere, what about car doors, bus doors, train doors! Doors are almost too common to wonder about, but we would be in trouble without them.

An Invitation - To read the Bible

This is a short series of talks inviting people to do things that God encourages them to do. All of the ideas are taken from the Bible.

In this video, I would like to invite you to do something. It is a call to action. It is possible to know the God of the Bible and to discover what He is saying to you as an individual. Please subscribe to my YouTube Channel if you want to discover what God is saying to people in the world today. Thanks for watching.

Reasons to trust the Bible!

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If you read my blog regularly, you will know that I write to help people look beyond their present circumstances and think about the big questions about human existence. My advice and thoughts are all from the Bible. You may think that this is narrow-minded and restrictive, but I have discovered that God’s word, the Bible, ‘is truth’, and in reality, it has opened my mind more than it has ever closed it.

But please, don’t just take my word for it. See for yourself whether it makes sense. I believe that the Bible is not a book of theory but that it changes lives through faith in the author, God. The sacred writings, the Bible, state that they 'are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus,’ 2 Tim. 3. 15. Sadly, many people are afraid to read it because they don’t know what it is about or are anxious about the demands it might make on their lifestyle.

Preserving the Bible - The British Museum

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In the British Museum in London is one of the most wonderful of ancient manuscripts and it is a copy of the Bible known as Codex Sinaiticus.  Today it is carefully preserved by the experts of the Museum but during its history, it was very close to destruction.  

A German scholar named Tischendorf discovered it and incredibly he spotted the Codex amongst waste material that was being used for lighting fires in the Monastery of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai in 1844 and he saved it from being burnt and destroyed. The monastery presented the codex to the Czar of Russia in return for certain favours and decorations.  Later it fell into the hands of the Soviet government following the Russian revolution. As an atheistic regime, they had no interest in Biblical material and were prepared to sell the codex and so it was purchased for the British Museum through public subscription in 1933 for £100,000.  

What if the death of Jesus was actually for you?

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8th May 2020 marked the seventy-fifth anniversary of ‘VE Day’, when World War Two ceased in Europe. It was a good day for the civilian people of that continent. All, whether on the winning or the losing side, were relieved that the bombing was over, that their loved ones who had gone off to fight and had survived would be returning home, and that the privations they had endured for years would begin to recede.

No room for Jesus

I wonder if you have ever thought about how unpopular Jesus was in his day. The impression we get at times is that he was loved by everyone right up until his rejection by the Jewish authorities, his prosecution by the Roman authorities and his ultimate death of crucifixion.

From the early days of his time on earth the Lord Jesus was excluded and rejected. 

There is quite a considerable period (from age 12-30) where we have very little information about the behaviour and activities of the Lord Jesus but we do have the commentary of God, the Father, when he publicly spoke from heaven (which was a very unusual thing to do) and said the he was delighted with His Son. 

Reasons why you can trust the Bible.

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I spoke to a man a few days ago who said that he was not sure that we could trust the Bible. It was an interesting point of view. I wondered what it was that made him have that point of view. I asked him the ultimate question, ‘Have you read it much?’ He suddenly looked very embarrassed and changed his tone completely. He admitted to me that he had never read it and, in fact, knew little about it apart from some of the more famous Bible stories. I was intrigued. What would make you comment in a derogatory way about something that you knew next to nothing about? If someone asked me my opinion on a topic that I knew nothing about, I would have to say that I could not comment. We had a lengthy conversation, and as a result, the gentleman now is at least slightly better informed. 

Men who want to be God v God who became man

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History is replete with men who strived to be recognized as God. The ultimate power sought by many is to rule over other men and women and be worshipped by them. 

Before Jesus had reached His second birthday, He had already become the target of an assassination plot by King Herod, the ruthless and paranoid ruler of Roman-controlled Judea. Joseph and Mary, prompted by a dream from God, took the baby and fled to Egypt.

Egypt's history was one proud and glorious procession of kings spanning thirty dynasties and nearly 3,000 years. Egyptian kings--the pharaohs--were powerful figures and rich beyond imagination. They wielded wealth like a weapon, built sprawling cities and commanded huge armies.

Accepting the inevitable!

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Sometimes in life, we have to accept the inevitable! There is a quote by Francis of Assisi where he says, “Lord, grant me the strength to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Let me remind you of something we can change. 

 

We can change what we value and where our priorities lie! Maybe life is tough for you! Illness has been stalking you! You have fears about the future! Life has been very uncertain! Often when we cannot change our circumstances, we can control how we respond to them. 

You WILL live for ever!

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We all have come to understand that life is constantly changing and that nothing lasts forever. In many ways, this is a tough and sad reality. Most of us find it hard to accept that we will grow old, that loved ones will pass on, that children grow up and leave home. You know the types of things that I am talking about. Sad realities!

I have good news for you. The Bible teaches that God made us with an eternal soul, that's the real you, and though the body ends in physical death, the soul lives on. Many people don't believe this any more. 

COVID-19 Learning to live by the rules

I have been considering the effects of COVID-19 on our society and on us as individuals. It has become the one issue that affects and influences everything else we do. Sometimes I would just like to get on with my life, but then often things are not that simple. Life is what it is, and we need to make the necessary adjustments and get on with it. All the regular warnings and directions that bombard us can desensitise us and make us feel numb. My wife continually has to remind me to keep my distance when in the shops or on the street. She is a lot more aware of the two-meter rule than I seem to be. All these reminders are a bit like the safety procedures we are given every time we board a flight. We think we could do the routine for the airline staff, but we’d probably struggle as most of us don’t listen as intently as we should. It feels like we are being told the same things repeatedly. Still, at the end of the day, we need to be consistently warned, as we can become complacent very quickly and need to know what to do in case of an emergency.

Someone's looking for you

In this busy world, where so many prying eyes are frequently upon us, it is difficult to escape the surveillance that we are so often under. Transactions carried out, using our credit cards, mean that we can be easily tracked and our movements monitored. CCTV cameras are everywhere and with sites like Google Earth, very little remains secret; complete strangers can visit our homes and move down our streets, undetected. "Big Brother Is Watching!"