Word for Today, Tue May 24, 2005: Job and John
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>
Dear friends,
Last week, you may remember that Larry Davies shared a message
from Job and introduced a man named John. I immediately thought
of John Wesley and went out searching for some research on his
early life. Given enough time, I probably could have come up
with some information about what Larry hinted at last week, but
alas, that good old thing.. time, too many pressures... you know
the routine, well that came. I even thought that Larry had
written on this topic or one like it before, but that, too, I was
not able to research. Knowing that I'd hear "...the rest of the
story..." if I simply kept an eye out for this week's message, I
decided to wait.
Well, wait no longer, here it is, Larry's explanation, and it WAS
John Wesley who had also, like Job, faced discouragement, and it
was John, like Job, who found the answer in Christ our Lord.
Read on to hear Larry weave Job and John's story together. A
church, the Methodist Church, arose out of the meetings that John
organized, and today, there are several organizations, one of
which is the United Methodist Church, from which comes my friend
Larry Davies!
Who knows what may happen some day as we allow God to use even
our failures and disappointments to move and shape us into the
people that God wants US to be! I'm more than motivated to press
on toward the prize of being a humble, faithful servant for
Christ. One day, I would love to hear Him say, "Well done, my
good and faithful servant, you may enter into your rest!"
Yours in Christ,
Brian
____________________________
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"Overcoming Tragedy: Two Men Named J..." Part 2 Larry Davies
Two men with no common bond except a name beginning with J; now
share familiar calamities. Both are enveloped in vicious storms,
looking for answers and a sign of hope from God. John is heading
home on a ship, disgraced and depressed because of his failed
mission, heartbroken, seasick and scared out of his wits. Job
after losing everything is sitting on an ash heap, scrapping his
itching, boil covered skin with a broken piece of pottery. Both
men will have life-changing encounters with God.
But it was the savage grip of the storm which provided the first
clue for John's life taking a noticeable turn for the
better. While on deck holding desperately to anything solid, he
noticed several families near the stern calmly singing hymns.
John couldn't believe it. How could they conduct worship and
sing in the midst of such a terrible storm? John marveled at
their faith and vowed to learn more.
Job cries out to God in the midst of his predicament and is
visited by the Lord from a whirlwind. "Brace yourself because I
have questions for you... Where were you when I laid the
foundation of the earth? Who defined the boundaries of the sea?
Have you ever commanded the morning to appear? Where does the
light come from? Can you hold back the movements of the stars?"
(Parts of Job 38)
Instead of answering Job's questions, God asks a few penetrating
questions of his own. This seems impressive but why doesn't God
answer Job's question? Why is he suffering so much having done
nothing wrong? Yet in the midst of the conversation, Job seems to
comprehend who God really is. Job says, "I know that you can do
anything... and I was talking about things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me... I take back everything I said."
(42:2-3) What did Job understand about God?
Weeks after arriving home, John continued contemplating his own
mess of a life contrasted to the family contentedly singing in
the midst of the storm. One night he heard someone reading a
commentary on the book of Romans and began to understand what he
was missing: "...since we have been made right in God's sight by
faith, we have peace with God..." As he heard the words
describing God's amazing grace, John would later write: "he felt
his heart strangely warmed."
What warmed John's heart was the realization faith was not earned
by hard work or intellectual research. Both are helpful but real
faith comes from the heart and from committing to an ongoing
relationship with God through Jesus Christ. We think religious
satisfaction only comes from doing. John learned that real faith
comes not from doing something but from being something. Wow!
If God never directly answered Job's questions on why we
suffer... why was Job now satisfied? Is it because there really
are no sufficient answers to explain suffering? Maybe Job was
searching for something more important than mere answers. Job was
looking for a relationship with a God who would bring faith in
the midst of life's worst storms. "I heard about you before, but
now I have seen you with my own eyes. I take back everything I
said and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance." (Job
42:5-6) Job learned real faith comes not from mere answers but
from God's presence. Wow!
John soon began preaching again but this time his passion was
evident as he spoke of faith through God's amazing grace. The
local preachers feeling uncomfortable refused to invite him back
but it no longer mattered for John was soon preaching throughout
the countryside. In fact he began preaching so often they began
to form groups or societies around the country. Other churches
and leaders tried to stop the movement but the more they tried to
stop him the stronger and more popular he became.
At one point, no one was more recognizable in all of England,
including the King as this man John... John Wesley. In those
days, he rode between sixty and seventy miles a day. He would get
up at 4:00 AM, preach at five and by six he was in the saddle and
on the road. He did this until he was well into his eighties. He
delivered more than 42,000 sermons in fifty years which is an
average of over fifteen sermons a week. More than preaching
however, John Wesley was also an organizer. His societies
eventually became the United Methodist Church which is now one of
the largest Christian movements in the world today and the church
I proudly serve as a pastor.
Two men with names beginning in J. Both find their true
relationship with God in the midst of a storm.
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light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine
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--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/
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