Daily Bible Study for Tuesday June 28,
2016
By: Hanny Lynn Stearns
Fish N Loaves Ministries, Inc.
“Multiplying God’s Word Around the
Globe”
Chapter Reading
for Today: Please read in
your Bible before proceeding. Note that most translations are considered
paraphrases. The Young’s Literal Translation provides a more accurate
translation since he is the one who authored a concordance. Others are helpful
for seeing a different perspective, but we cannot always depend on their
wording. I hope this is helpful to you. If you are studying in another version,
that is fine. I am studying from the KJV, but for the purpose of this study, I
will keep it with the New King James Version.
One final note: I will put the scripture in italics to differentiate from my
own writing. I am adding red to the letters when
it is Jesus talking – just like the Bible. Thank you.
Bible Gateway Verse of the Day
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering
toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to
repentance.
Psalm 100:4
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
and into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless
His name.
Song: Good God By: Lisa
Page Brooks
Job 42 Job – A Man of Endurance
Repentance and Restoration
Well saints – here we are! The moment we have all been
waiting for! At the end of the book there is a brand new beginning for Job –
and for you and for me – hallelujah! Praise the Lord! He’s a good God – a mighty
good God! Give Him a shout of praise! Let’s pray…
Heavenly Father;
You are such a good God! Thank You for being good all the
time, right all the time and fair all the time. In Your hands there is mercy,
forgiveness and great grace! In Your presence is pleasure forever more! There
is truly nothing in the earth that we could desire beside You! Who or what can
compare to You? Nothing – no nothing! Father, I ask You to speak through my
heart and mind today. Use my hands which are the pen of a ready writer. Show forth
Your purpose and plan and have Your way with us as we learn today. May Your
word go forth from me, unhindered and unchecked by any outside force or my
flesh in Jesus name. Lord I ask that You touch each heart that looks at this
study today and bring them to whatever repentance they need as You have for me.
Help them to truly see You, perhaps for the first time and I ask You to restore
to them the joy of Your salvation in Jesus name! Thank You Lord! You are so
good! Amen.
This is a glorious day after so much pain. I stand forever
amazed at the workings of the Lord. Just today I was convicted because after a
great day of eating right and according to the Lord’s plan for me, today I
missed it and ordered something that I should not have eaten. I knew that
something was wrong because I couldn’t hear that music of praise going on in my
spirit today like I usually do. Still I went about my day. The Lord had shown
me something in the word this morning and I didn’t stop to ask Him what He was
trying to say to me. He was trying to call my attention to what I was about to
do to get me to stop before I did it. But I didn’t ask so I didn’t get the help
I needed – can anyone relate?
This is what He showed me this morning…
Zephaniah 3:2
She has not obeyed His voice,
She has not received correction;
She has not trusted in the Lord,
She has not drawn near to her God.
She has not received correction;
She has not trusted in the Lord,
She has not drawn near to her God.
After the
church service we had this past weekend where we learned about rebellion, the
Lord spoke to me and showed me that I can trust Him to help me avoid the ‘forbidden
foods’. I felt a new strength rise up in me and I was excited to start off the new
week with all God’s strength working for me. And yesterday I had a great day.
But I got too busy before listening to what He wanted to say to me this
morning. I prayed and prayed and nothing was happening. I didn’t hear and I
didn’t have that rejoicing spirit in me. Something was wrong. I knew it but I
had to sit down and ask Him what I had done wrong. Then He told me. Here is
another verse that the Lord brought to me this morning…
Nahum 1:3
The Lord is slow to anger and great in power,
And will not at all acquit the wicked.
And will not at all acquit the wicked.
The Lord has His way
In the whirlwind and in the storm,
And the clouds are the dust of His feet.
In the whirlwind and in the storm,
And the clouds are the dust of His feet.
When I saw that I thought it applied to the
study today – not realizing it was God telling me that when it comes to eating,
it’s going to be His way or no way. And that is the way it must be. As I
prepared for this study today I turned to this…
Mark 1:15
and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and
the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
I knew I had to really repent in my heart for my disobedience. And then
I turned to this…
Isaiah 41:10
Fear not, for I am with you; be
not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
One of my most favorite verses in the Bible was
mine to claim again today – hallelujah! As soon as I sat down to the computer
and started looking at all this I cried before the Lord. I knew I had blown it.
I knew I did not ever have to be afraid again. I don’t have to fear lack or
hunger or weakness, or anything when it comes to eating ever again – I am free!
Give glory to His name forever! I am free! Then I saw this verse…
Luke 8:48
And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your
faith has made you well. Go in peace.”
And
after I saw that the music in my soul came back. The song He brought me was
this:
God is
Good By: Lisa Page Brooks
I strongly
encourage you to pull this song up on You Tube and listen to the words. You
will be amazed. God is so good! He makes what is wrong right. He is patient and
forgiving, loving and kind. Then I turned to this in my Bible…
Daniel
2:20-23
Daniel
answered and said:
“Blessed
be the name of God forever and ever,
For wisdom and might are His.
And He changes the times and the seasons;
He removes kings and raises up kings;
He gives wisdom to the wise
And knowledge to those who have understanding.
He reveals deep and secret things;
He knows what is in the darkness,
And light dwells with Him.
For wisdom and might are His.
And He changes the times and the seasons;
He removes kings and raises up kings;
He gives wisdom to the wise
And knowledge to those who have understanding.
He reveals deep and secret things;
He knows what is in the darkness,
And light dwells with Him.
“I
thank You and praise You,
O God of my fathers;
You have given me wisdom and might,
And have now made known to me what we asked of You,
For You have made known to us the king’s demand.”
O God of my fathers;
You have given me wisdom and might,
And have now made known to me what we asked of You,
For You have made known to us the king’s demand.”
Once I could pull myself back together I read
our chapter for today all the way through. I saw our faithful God step into a
man’s life who had thought he had known God in the past – that is until that
day. After the Lord had appeared to him, Job realized that he had spoken like a
fool and he repented before the Lord in dust and ashes. He was deeply sorry for
his sin. I could understand how he must have felt because I was sitting here
just today experiencing the same thing in my office in front of my computer. I
praised the Lord for forgiving me and then I saw this in my Bible…
Luke 8:39
“Return to your own house, and
tell what great things God has done for you.” And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the
whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.
My dear friends, I have shared a lot of deeply painful things about my
testimony as the Lord led me while we traveled the road of sin and repentance
with Job. I found it amazing that what happened today was to be used right
here. What the Lord has done for me is so wonderful that I truly live to tell
everyone around town, and around the world - anyone who will listen. He has
taken a very common girl from New Baltimore, Michigan and made me an uncommon
miracle for all the world to see. Look at this…
Romans 9:17
For the Scripture says to the
Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show
My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.”
If anyone knew half of the dangerous situations I have been in during my
life – at least the ones that I am aware of, they would marvel that I am even
alive today. And the same may be quite true with many of you. While some folks
have not gone down roads as dirty and bumpy as I have, we have all been
somewhere and done something we should not have. We have all needed the amazing
grace of God. Today Job knew God like he had never known Him before. And today
I believe I know Him in a new way too. Hallelujah! Praise His name forever.
When my fingers are flying across this keyboard, His power is stretching forth to
every one of you asking you to come to Him and see Him for who He really is.
We have looked at His greatness, His love, His mercy, His righteousness,
and His wonderful plans for the sons of men. We have seen that compared to Him
there is nothing in the earth that can help or satisfy like He can. We have also
learned about the many attributes of God that come together to make Him one
great and awesome God – hallelujah! We have seen His hand move in mighty ways
as He brought forth the end of Job’s suffering at precisely the right moment.
Once He saw that Job had come to the end of himself, God saw that He could come
onto the scene and reveal Himself to his man Job, and for the first time in his
life, Job would see God for who He really is. Praise His name forever!
The next part in our final chapter today is important to pay attention
to as well – Job’s friends. God had not been pleased with the way they had
spoken of Him and His anger had been stirred up against them. They needed His
grace too. So God made a way for them to get the forgiveness they would need by
asking them to repent by bringing a burnt offering to Job. What God is looking
for in each of us is to burn down the idols in our hearts and repent of any
known sin. As a result of that repentance God would have His man Job (and us) pray
for his/our friends and God would forgive them. Do you know how important it is
to pray for our friends when they have sinned? Look at this…
James 5:16
Confess your trespasses to one another, and
pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of
a righteous man avails much.
Do you see how this is a perfect example of today’s situation? Job had
repented before God. That made him righteous in God’s eyes. He had been
forgiven so now he was clear of any offense toward the Lord. Next, he prayed as
a righteous man for his friends who had sinned against the Lord. Friends, this
is really important. Today after I repented I prayed for another friend of mine
who has been sinning with her eating in rebellion against God. I asked the Lord
to forgive her and help her. I did not want to be the only one set free from
eating or sugar addiction – I love this lady far too much to see her go on and struggle
like she has for so many years.
When we receive something from the Lord we need
to give it away…
Matthew 10:8
Heal the sick, cleanse the
lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you
have received, freely give.
We
need to be looking past the end of our noses to see who God wants us to pray
for and bless. What He gives is given away and then He gives us more. It is a
give and take kingdom. This is known as “sowing and reaping” and it happens in
every aspect of our lives. And this is what happens when we cheerfully give
away what we have been given…
Luke
6:38
Give, and it will be given to you: good
measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure
that you use, it will be measured
back to you.”
Giving to others and praying for them is some of the best things we can
ever do in this life. It the way Jesus was and is, now and forever. God is a
giver, always a giver. He gave His one and only Son. We, as His dear children
ought to also be givers. Job had been a giver prior to his trial. He had helped
anyone who was in need. He had been known for that. He had sown a lot of good
things into people’s lives. Now he would reap a harvest that would be
overflowing with abundance such as he had never had before…
Job 42:10
And the Lord restored Job’s losses when he
prayed for his friends. Indeed the Lord gave
Job twice as much as he had before.
Friends that is a great harvest, isn’t it? Sure, Job had to endure some
terrible hardship, but in the end he never gave up on God. He hung in there in
his own way waiting on the Lord. He didn’t try to commit suicide – like I had.
Nor did he just throw in the towel after long months of suffering and say, “It’s
no use – God is nowhere to be found.” No, he stayed the course as tough as it
was. If anyone knew tough, it was Job. I have known tough in my life also. Maybe
you have as well and understand pain to a great degree.
In fact, it was more than I could seemingly bear on many an occasion.
Still there was something in me that kept me going. It was God’s Spirit. Though
I had been saved as young girl, I never really came to know my Savior until I
surrendered to Him in 2005, some 40+ years after I had been saved. All that
time I ran around and lived in sin even though in the years that I raised my
girls I was claiming to be this strong Christian while I was still doing all
kinds of things wrong and had many wrong attitudes combined with a boatload of
unforgiveness and bitterness in my heart.
But the day finally came when I saw my sin before a holy God and it was
then I knew I needed to humble myself, put my hand over my mouth and repent for
all I had done wrong. That was a new beginning for me. And today, after my “eating experience” and repenting before the Lord I
believe I am at another new crossroad with my Lord as I see Him and His ways
like never before.
1 Corinthians 15:57-58
But thanks be to God, who gives us the
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in
the Lord.
Job was given more children; beautiful children, and grandchildren and
even great grandchildren. He was given even more wealth than he had before. Yes,
saints, God does want us to be rich – it is really true! We just can’t let
those riches have us. Job’s children would all be given a marvelous inheritance
– hallelujah! That’s the way it should be! We should be rich and prosperous in
every area of our lives and our kids should be right along with us.
The end of Job would surely be better than his beginning – just like God
had promised…
Job 8:7
Though your
beginning was small, yet your latter end would increase abundantly.
Hallelujah! What God promises He always delivers
if we do what He says. Just today I completed the paperwork for a Non-Profit ministry
the Lord had laid on my heart 10 years ago. I knew very little about it then,
but He was birthing the desire in my heart and today, yes today saints, it is
the beginning of a new chapter for my new husband and me! He had a pastor
brought to him by the Lord from Africa who we are led to work with in order to
be used of God to build that church and school in Liberia. Today all of that is
becoming a physical reality after years of praying and waiting. Today is a
whole new beginning for us as we step into the uncharted waters of a new
ministry for God’s glory and His purpose. Give Him a shout of praise!
I will share some of the recent pictures from
Africa on my blog site. Once we have the Non-Profit established we will be able
to receive donations that are tax deductible - here in America at least, to
further God’s work in Africa and around the globe. Glory to God – we are so
excited. So when He said to tell everyone how much God had done in my life, I
stepped up to the plate and said “Yes, Lord. Here I am. Send me.” Will you go
too?
Job lived 140 years after that terrible trial. Right
now I am 60 years old (and going on 20) really, and I heard the Lord speak to
my heart these wonderful words, “Forget the last 60 years Hanny. Your years in
front of you will be your best ever.” Oh glory to God! Hallelujah! I want to shout
it from the roof tops. He is a good God – a mighty good God! And what He has
done for me He will do for you too! Hallelujah!
Questions:
What did Job say about his vision of the Lord?
After Job repented before the Lord, what did he do next?
Why is it important to
confess your sins and pray for others?
What did God do for Job
after he repented?
How long did Job live
after his restoration? How many years do you want to live to do God’s work on
the earth?
Is there anything you
need to get right with God about? Will you repent now and turn to Him to
restore all that the devil has stolen from you in your life?
2
Thessalonians 1:11-12
Therefore we also pray always for you that our
God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be
glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the
Lord Jesus Christ.
There are three main points to consider from today’s study…
Repentance is necessary for restoration
It is importance to confess our sins and
pray for one another
We may start out small, but with
God we can have grand endings
Let’s pray…
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for being the God of restoration! You
are a good God all the time and I love You Lord! Thank You for giving me a
brand new life in Christ Jesus. Thank You for removing all my shame. Thank You
for all that You have done for me so I can go out and be a blessing to others. I
give You all the glory, all the honor and all the praise Lord! You are worthy
Lord – hallelujah to the Lamb of God forever and ever! In Jesus name! Amen!
Ezekiel
36:11
I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they
shall increase and bear young; I will make you inhabited as in former times,
and do better for you than
at your beginnings. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.
As promised, here are some pictures of our friends in Monrovia, Liberia, Africa...
Introducing -
Grace Christian Fellowship Ministries International
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