El Rancho Costa Plenty

Job 37:23 "The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power; in his justice and great righteousness, he does not oppress." You may have heard it said "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely." In a quick look at who first said this I found a note of interest. It was taken originally from a letter written by Sir John Dalberg-Acton. "This letter is part of a larger conversation about how historians should judge the past. Mandell Creighton, an Archbishop of the Church of England, objected to what he saw as a modern tendency to be unnecessarily critical of authority figures.  When Creighton wrote about the past, he tended toward a moral relativism that was uncritical of past leaders (for example, glossing over past popes' corruption or abuse).  Lord Acton disagreed. Although he was Roman Catholic, he could not ignore popes' corruption or abuse. He argued that all people - - past or present, leaders or not -- should be held to universal moral standards." In man's imperfect state it is easy to allow corruption even in the smallest areas and by those seen as the mist Godly men. All men will and do fail at something. We are slaves to sin. But we have hope! We are set free to be who God called us to be, because in His righteousness He made the way for forgiveness and to be with Him. We can rejoice in the truth of our verse, "in his justice and great righteousness, he does not oppress." Praise God for His love in sending Jesus. Quote from Letter from Lord Acton to Archbishop Creighton https://history.hanover.edu/courses/excerpts/165acton.html

Job 38:12,13"Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place, that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it? " God is questioning Job now. Reminding him that while Job was innocent of wrongdoing, he does not have all the answers. Only God knows the reasons why.It is His decision to make them known in His time. Ever wondered who pulled back the veil & showed us the behinds the scenes of heaven? God did. He inspired the writer of Job to know the whole story & record it for us. Why? So that when we face those Job-like moments we can be sure there is more going on then what we see in front of us. Prov 25:2"It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings." But can we really know? 1 Pet 2:9,10"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." That mercy includes one day seeing behind the veil of heaven in our own lives. Matt 10:26 "So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known." Keep holding on to God's word. Seek out His people. Do not live in fear. We will not always be able to understand what is going on but we can trust God's plan. God reveals the end of all things to Apostle John in the book of Revelation chapters 19-21, God rules so we win. Don't give up, don't let defeat rule. Rom 8:37-39 "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors throu him who loved us. 4 I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able 2 separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Job 39:27,-29"Does the eagle soar at your command & build its nest on high? It dwells on a cliff & stays there at night; a rocky crag is its stronghold. From there it looks for food; its eyes detect it from afar.'" God is putting Job in check by asking a series of questions. In honesty Job, & us, must answer in humility “No, Lord” The scientists of today's world have worked hard to make mankind believe that mankind has control over the environment & the final outcome of the planet. While we should be good stewards of the earth and care for it & each other, we can not change what God has already decided before He created time. As Christians we know that man will not face extinction by over population, global warming or any other human activity. God revealed His plan to John in the book of Revelation. Yes much of it is symbolic & hard to understand. But read the glorious promise of Revelation 22:1—5 “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God & of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. & the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God & of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, & his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. & they will reign for ever & ever.” Nothing can change this. Praise God for He knows the beginning to the end. He is allowing us to make the choice to serve Him in love & enter into the paradise described above or to remain trapped in our sins & so be eternally separate from Him. I choose Jesus. Photo credit www.dreamstime.com/stock-image-bald-eagle-flight-tree-young-against-blue-sky-background-image36187191

Job 40:4,5 "'I am unworthy—how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer— twice, but I will say no more.'" Job now sees that in his quest to find out why this was happening to him he laid the blame at the wrong feet. Whenever we meet the Lord He shows us just how unworthy of His attention we are. And yet in his mercy He never leaves us there. Psalm 144:2-4 “He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me” Like the prophet Isaiah experienced when meeting God in a vision. “At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty." Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, "`See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.'" Isaiah 6:4-7 God provided the way for Isaiah to be clean and then sent him out on a mission to proclaim God's words to both the nation of Israel and the known world. For us today, we can find hope in that God does not leave us in our sin. He provides the way to be clean. Jesus is the coal that touched Isaiah's lips and made him clean. Jesus is the answer. He is God the Son, His life on earth made Him one of us. His death paid the debt we can not. His resurrection proved His power over death and that the wrath of God had be quenched for all who believe in the sacrifice of Jesus for sin. We don't have to answer for sin that God has cleanses us of. Praise God for His love and mercy. If you have not already believed in your heart today is the day of salvation. Call out to God, confess your sin, believing that God will cleanse you based on the power of Jesus shed blood and receive His free gift of forgiveness.

Job 41:11 "Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me." God owns everything thing! That can be both a humbling thought and a freeing one. There is nothing we "have" that isn't really His and He allows us to use. There is nothing we can give Him to corrupt justice. There is nothing He won't give to His beloved child. There is no time that is not His. Our very breath is His! He gives freely the right amount of everything to each person in all areas of life. Exalt in that today and ask Him how He wants you to use the things He has given you to bless others, and the breath He has given you to speak of His love. He will pour out more blessings than you can imagine.