To His Face

That poor little church!  My first church had to endure some things from this very green preacher.  When I took an Ephesians class, I started preaching through Ephesians.  Martin Lloyd Jones, a prolific commentary writer and preacher, wrote 5 volumes on Ephesians.  I bought it and had so much money in it, I tried to preach everything in it.  I was in Ephesians for about a year.  They endured. 
I took a Preaching from Job class and developed a series out of that.  It did not take a year but I feel sure it felt too long. It is not easy for someone who KNOWS what he is doing to preach a series THROUGH the book of Job.  I would not say I knew what I was doing.  They endured, however.  Last spring I sat through another seminar on Job.  It was good.  I may work up to Job again after reading through it.  The lessons I get from Job, however, are centered around one lesson.  It is found in our reading today (www.lifejournal.cc).  Job 13:15- Though he slay me, I will hope in him; yet I will argue my ways to his face.  One 'take home point' today: Take it to the Lord.  Don't talk to others about how you don't understand what God is doing to you. Don't pray weak, shallow, surface prayers and then give long bellyaches to others.  Take it to the Lord.    Job has taught me that you can be honest with God and share what is on your heart.  He knows your heart anyway.   Just share it...but when you do, leave it with Him.  He can handle it, so trust Him to handle it.  Then share your praise to Him with others, instead of weakly praying shallow prayers to God and having heartfelt discussions about your injustices with others.  God knows the real story and He can do something about it.  We don't and we can't.  Let's quit talking about Him and talk to Him.