TODAY’S READING FROM THE ONE YEAR BIBLE: Job 28-30:31; 2 Corinthians 2:12-17; Psalm 42:1-11; Proverbs 22:7
JOB 28
Job is making his final defense to his friends. He recognizes God’s sovereign power but does not understand ‘why’ this suffering has come into his life.
Job gives his personal analysis of the storm he is currently weathering:
"He (God) decided how hard the winds should blow and how much the rain should fall" (Job 28:26, New Living Translation)
Job recognizes that God ultimately rules over all, even if His intentions are hidden from our understanding. Nothing escapes His attention.
At the end of the chapter we are reminded that it is better to focus on what we do understand instead of what we don’t understand.
"The fear of the Lord is true wisdom; to forsake evil is real understanding."
This is God’s wisdom message to mankind. It is echoed in all the Wisdom/Poetry Books of the Old Testament: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon.
Job 28:12-14 (NASB) 12 "But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? 13 "Man does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living. 14 "The deep says, 'It is not in me'; And the sea says, 'It is not with me.'
Proverbs 9:10 (NASB) 10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
In Job 29 we see what kind of reputation Job had prior to his trial. He was wealthy, generous, and well-respected. He tried to be as helpful to others as possible.
Yet he reports in Job 30:15: "My honor has blown away in the wind and my prosperity has vanished like a cloud”.
Job complains: "You throw me into the whirlwind and destroy me in the storm." (Job 30:22)
There are times that we feel like that. However, in Job’s case the storm will not destroy him but lead him to a place of enlarged understanding and greater blessing.
NEW TESTAMENT READING 2 Cor 2:12-17
Here we learn that our lives bring the fragrance of Christ. It will be appreciated by some and despised by others.
2 Corinthians 2:14-16 (NASB) 14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. 15 For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; 16 to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?
We rely on Christ’s sufficiency. We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ's authority, knowing that God is watching us.
In PSALM 42 We hear the heart cry of the Psalmist- a hunger and thirst after a greater knowledge of God.
PROVERBS 22:7- Here is an important call to break free from debt and help others gain their financial freedom.
“The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower becomes the lender's slave.”
PRAY FOR THE WORLD (from the Prayer Guide “Operation World”. More info available at operationworld.org)
AUG 28 - MAURITIUS and MAYOTTE
Mauritius
Republic of Mauritius
Africa
Geography
Area: 2,040 sq km
One larger and three smaller islands east of Madagascar in the western Indian Ocean. One of these, Rodrigues Island, is 500 km to the east of the others. Mauritius also claims the Chagos archipelago, including Diego Garcia, which comprise the British Indian Ocean Territory.
Population: 1,294,569 Annual Growth: 0.70%
Capital: Port Loius
Urbanites: 42.6%
Challenges for Prayer
This complex multi-ethnic and multi-religious society makes evangelism a challenge; pray for great wisdom and discernment among Christians. The Hinduization of government and culture, as well as strong ancestral and ethnic ties, make it difficult for Indians to become believers. However, large numbers of Hindus are coming to Jesus through the bold witness of evangelical/Pentecostal churches.
Most older churches face slow decline and are nominal in faith. Roman Catholics are seeing Hindu beliefs and practices make their way into churches in some places. But the charismatic movement is making a big impact on Catholics, with many coming to personal faith in Christ. Many of those impacted formed their own independent groups. The Roman Catholic Church is experiencing a move back to Bible reading, and now runs several active ministries on the island. Pray for a greater spread of this spiritual vitality among traditional churches in Mauritius.
MAYOTTE
Departmental Collectivity of Mayotte
Africa
Geography
Area: 373 sq km
One larger island, Grande Terre, and one smaller, Petite Terre.
Population: 199,065 Annual Growth: 2.67%
Capital: Mamoudzou
Urbanites: 50.1%
Challenges for Prayer
Pray for the Muslim majority. The indigenous people of Mayotte are 99.9% Muslim. Although there is religious freedom and direct, open-air evangelism is permitted (and practiced by the AoG), response has been very slow and most converts have returned to Islam. Maore folk Islam is heavily shaped by magic and cults practicing spirit possession. Despite this, a spirit of complacency rests upon the people, exacerbated greatly by the increased economic assistance from France and the EU. Pray for a spiritual breakthrough. The name Mayotte means “place of death”; pray that it may become a place of spiritual life in Christ.
There is some very small responsiveness to the good news, generally expressed as curiosity more than receptivity. Students and youth, impacted by French/Western social influences, demonstrate the greatest openness. Children who have demonstrated responsiveness to the gospel have been known to be punished for such interest or even taken to live elsewhere in the islands. Illegal immigrants from the Comoran island of Anjouan are also surprisingly responsive. Pray for a harvest among these groups.
Pastor David
So, naturally, we proclaim Christ! We warn everyone we meet, and we teach everyone we can, all that we know about him, so that, if possible, we may bring every man up to his full maturity in Christ. (Colossians 1:28, J.B. Phillips paraphrase)
New Life Community Church, Concord, MA 10742
Meeting Sundays at 10:30 AM at the Emerson Umbrella for the Arts, 40 Stow Street, Concord MA
Mailing Address: Post Office Box Five, Concord, MA 01742
Church Offices: 35 Bypass Rd. Lincoln, MA 01773 978-369-0061
Home Office: 978-371-3176
New Life Fine Arts
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