{"id":1495,"date":"2019-03-19T08:08:25","date_gmt":"2019-03-19T16:08:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/?p=1495"},"modified":"2019-03-19T08:08:25","modified_gmt":"2019-03-19T16:08:25","slug":"devotion-acts-7-1-51-irrefutable-defense-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/?p=1495","title":{"rendered":"Devotion Acts 7.1-51 Irrefutable Defense Part 3"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Acts 7:1-51 \/ 6-7\u00a0<\/b>–\u00a0God spoke to him in this way: \u2018For four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated.\u00a07\u00a0But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,\u2019 God said, \u2018and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.\u2019<\/i><\/p>\n

Sometimes when we are in the midst of trials, we can \u201cfeel\u201d very alone.\u00a0\u00a0Some may wonder \u201cWhere is God now?\u00a0\u00a0Didn\u2019t He promise to always be with me?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0(Matthew 28:20<\/b>)\u00a0\u00a0Sometimes when we are going through the fiery furnaces of our life, when life seems too much to handle, we look around ourselves and feel like we woke up and everything and everyone who was with us is gone.\u00a0\u00a0It is possible to ask God \u201cWhere are you now?\u00a0\u00a0As I look around I don\u2019t see any evidence of You around.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0In the depth of hard circumstances, some may accuse God of not being aware of our situation and if He is aware of our situation, how could we possibly deserve our situation?\u00a0\u00a0We cry out to God that we have served Him the best we can and so why has God allowed what has come upon us to come upon us?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Job was a righteous man who went through the toughest of circumstances, and yielded only a little to complaining about his circumstances.\u00a0\u00a0He complained to God that he did not deserve what had befallen him.\u00a0\u00a0Therefore since God is in control and Job thought he did not deserve what he was going through, then God was either mistaken or had not been just with Job.\u00a0\u00a0God responded to Job \u201cWould you discredit my justice?\u00a0\u00a0Would you condemn me to justify yourself?<\/i>\u201d (Job 40:8<\/b>)\u00a0\u00a0Family, God did not cut Job slack and say to him \u201cWell, it\u2019s okay, you\u2019re only human.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0No, rather, out of His love for Job, He challenged Job.\u00a0\u00a0Job was putting up his righteousness against God\u2019s righteousness.\u00a0\u00a0Job had said of his own righteousness \u201cBut He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0(Job 23:10<\/b>)\u00a0\u00a0He, after being pushed very hard by his \u201ccomforters\u201d was reacting.\u00a0\u00a0Still, after all that Job had suffered through, and all that he was still enduring, when Job wondered where God was, God reveals that He was always with Job.\u00a0\u00a0After all, when Job complained, God heard it.\u00a0\u00a0God heard everything that Job had ever said and saw all that he had ever done.\u00a0\u00a0The Lord knew all that Job would say, all the things he would do before the galaxies were ever created.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In\u00a0Job 1<\/b>\u00a0God says that Job lived a righteous life and was very complete (among mankind) in his walk with God.\u00a0\u00a0God loved Job and was proud to let the devil know how much He loved him and how proud He was of him. So, if anyone up to that time would have been allowed to complain about circumstances it sure would seem that Job was that person.\u00a0\u00a0However, even though Job only murmured about his circumstances God was quick to call Job out.\u00a0\u00a0He reminded Job that he did not know the future plans of God and that He could not comprehend the entirety of God\u2019s work and plans.\u00a0\u00a0No man has the right to question the goodness of God.\u00a0\u00a0Really, we shouldn\u2019t even travel that road, though many will.\u00a0\u00a0Praise God for His grace to us.\u00a0\u00a0Since we know God is infinitely above us, that His self and His ways are beyond our comprehension, why would we think that we are able to judge whether anything that happens to us as good or bad.\u00a0\u00a0If a person that we love dies, do we know all, yes all, the ramifications of that person\u2019s death?\u00a0\u00a0If God\u2019s name is glorified by our death, do we think that an unworthy reason for our death?\u00a0\u00a0If we suffer extreme hardship, but the name of God is glorified as the faith of another is built as we praise God through the hardship, is that okay with us?\u00a0\u00a0In light of the fact that Jesus gave up all for us, what is it that is too much for us endure for Him?\u00a0\u00a0We must remember that for Job being \u201conly human\u201d was not an excuse, even for this man who so sought after and so pleased God, to complain.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

God always knew and always was aware of everything that Job went through.\u00a0\u00a0God was and is always knowing everything that Israel has went through and is going through.\u00a0\u00a0God said to His beloved Israel that He was watching and that those who harmed Israel would suffer His wrath.\u00a0\u00a0All that Israel went through, all that they go through, God sees and allows.\u00a0\u00a0Though they may not have understood, and though they may not now understand, they one day will know Jesus as their Savior and Lord and then they will understand.\u00a0\u00a0In fact, they will gladly, at that time, give up all, even their only lives, should the Lord demand it.\u00a0\u00a0The future love and dedication of Israel is an example for us today.\u00a0\u00a0How God loves and watches over them He also loves and watches over us.\u00a0\u00a0Family, let\u2019s be willing to give up all for God should that be His will.\u00a0\u00a0Let us, who know that God knows all and that we don\u2019t, and who know that Jesus suffered and died for us, let us let the blessing of knowing that God is good all the time, that He loves us, and that He at all times is able whatever the circumstance, believe in Him.\u00a0\u00a0May we do so with all our hearts, all our minds, all our souls and all our strength (Mark 12:30<\/b>)\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s never waver in our belief.\u00a0\u00a0May our trust in Him be infinitely deeper than any trust we have in our own intellect and reasoning.\u00a0\u00a0If we so commit ourselves, the peace of God will reign in all circumstances.\u00a0\u00a0It is not that a punch in the nose does not hurt, it is that a punch in the nose cannot steal the peace of God from us.\u00a0\u00a0Praise our God who watches over and protects us and who has already provided the final victory for us.\u00a0\u00a0May we walk in the knowledge and the peace of the work of Jesus who is the only Way, the only Truth and the only Life.\u00a0\u00a0Praise God!\u00a0\u00a0Praise God!\u00a0\u00a0Praise God!<\/span><\/p>\n

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Psalm 150:6<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.\u00a0 Praise the Lord!<\/i><\/p>\n

Micah 7:7<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0But as for me, I watch\u00a0in hope\u00a0for the\u00a0Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear\u00a0me.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Micah 6:8<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0He has shown You, O man, what\u00a0is\u00a0good; And what does the\u00a0Lord\u00a0require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Acts 7:1-51 \/ 6-7\u00a0–\u00a0God spoke to him in this way: \u2018For four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated.\u00a07\u00a0But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,\u2019 God said, \u2018and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192],"tags":[82,1849,93,101,94,17],"class_list":["post-1495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotion","tag-acts","tag-job","tag-mark","tag-matthew","tag-micah","tag-psalm"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1495"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1495\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1496,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1495\/revisions\/1496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}