Job 42:7-8 – “After the Lord had spoken these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My anger is stirred up against you and your two friends, because you have not spoken about me what is right, as my servant Job has. ⁸ So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job will intercede for you, and I will respect him, so that I do not deal with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken about me what is right, as my servant Job has.”

Today, as I read, prayed, and mused on the Word, something exploded in my spirit, heart, and mind. I perceived it as a warning and opportunity.   The Book of Job concludes with God chastising Job before restoring him. But it also contains a revelation and warning for everyone, not just Job’s “comforters.”

Job 42:7-8 arrested me.    God spoke to the chief spokesman of the three and informed them of his intense disfavor over their words!   Think about that for a moment. God said, “You have not spoken about Me what is right.”

Remember how they judged Job and deemed the trouble he was experiencing as God’s disfavor and punishment?  That angered God. Do we do that today?   I hear people saying God sent things to teach them a lesson or to punish them.   Did He?   He could, and He might, but just because calamity falls on someone does not mean God’s judgment has come to them.

If the Atonement is what the Bible reveals, the view of Job’s “comforters” would have God working against Himself.    Jesus shed His blood to save us.   Jesus bore the stripes to heal us.  Don’t misunderstand; God does chastise us, but the simple fact of troubles is not evidence of His disfavor or judgment.

A second passage that stopped me in my tracks and is connected was Matthew 5:22b – “And whoever calls down curses upon a fellow believer is in danger of being sent to a fiery hell.”

It is one thing to identify heresy biblically.  I said biblically. Unfortunately, often, that designation comes for a sectarian interpretation of scripture rather than the whole counsel of God.  Even though the person labeled heretical believes in Jesus and the Atonement, the differences in theology are used to label someone a heretic.  

I may not agree with some of their doctrinal beliefs.  However, I am not God.  I don’t know everything, but I’m continually learning.  They profess Jesus as Lord and demonstrate love for others.  I am fully authorized, biblically, to teach a doctrine different from theirs, but I do not have to curse them with my characterization of them as a heretic.

You may disagree, but this happened to me many years ago.  I had been critical of some well-known ministers because I had doctrinal differences with them. I was praying and stewing over what I considered excesses, and the Holy Spirit said, “If you will actually listen to what they say, you will find more to applaud than to criticize.”   

I knew that I had been taken to the spiritual woodshed.  On the essentials, I stand firm.  The remaining things I put in God’s hands.  I will pray for those I believe are errant, but I also pray for me – What if I’m wrong?  I pray for understanding, wisdom, and grace, and seek always to demonstrate love.  I never want to be guilty of saying things about God that are not true or calling curses upon other believers.  I need mercy and desire to be merciful. I pray for God’s continued correction in our lives.

There is victory in having the heart of God!

Lord, help us be loving and corrective but not judgmental.  Please help us to be comforters and restorers, not criticizers who divide.

Romans 14:12 – “So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.”

Last night and this morning, as I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God, I kept hearing a word— “Accountability!”  That Word is connected to many current things around us today and speaks to a missing element in today’s church and world.

We are accountable to God.   Yet, believers fail and fall into an avoidable sin due to the lack of true accountability.   Why is accountability difficult for many today?   There are many reasons, but one glaring reason is trust.   We do not trust each other fully.  

Why don’t we trust?   It is mainly due to a lack of understanding and community.   The concept of the Body of Christ is not fully comprehended.   We remain individuals, isolated rather than integrated into one body.   We fear exposure and people’s perception.   We fear the loss of status and power.   We fear being seen as flawed in comparison to others. (Forgetting the only comparison is with Jesus. He is our standard.)

Accountability requires full disclosure and a willingness to be corrected.    But if we attain a measure of success and status and appear flawed, it endangers our position and makes us vulnerable.   The truth is if the body of Christ operated as a body, accountability and full disclosure would provide healing and protection.

The human body works as a unit.   If one part of the body is wounded or malfunctions, the other elements in the body focus on restoring that part.   In the church, we treat a flawed part as a part to be destroyed rather than restored.   

We judge, forgetting that we, too, are flawed.   Maybe not in the same way, but in our minds, we see our flaw as a lesser sin.   However, sin separates us from God.   We must never excuse or justify sin.   We must never forget that we are cells in the Body of Christ.   If my hand is accountable to the body and reaches to pick up fire, the head sounds the alarm.   If the hand is in right relationship and has willingly subjected itself in accountability, it draws back from the flame and is spared.

Too often, we sit in silence, even when we see warning signs of deception in our brothers and sisters because there is no agreement of accountability.   The devil takes advantage and destroys many lives as a result.    Some believe they are justified in correcting or criticizing others who they think are in error.    If there is no authority, correction will likely be rejected.  

The watchmen in the Bible were required to sound the alarm.  The warning was either embraced or ignored.   Do we love God and each other enough to warn each other (in a spirit of love with the goal of restoration)?    That is the key, the desire for restoration, not from self-righteousness.

Do we become the Body of Christ and act towards each other like the parts of the human body or say, it’s none of my business?   We hesitate because we think they will reject me if I speak.   We think they are advanced above me in Christ, so I have no authority to speak.   In doing so, we allow the devil to gain an advantage.

Please love me enough to warn me.   Warn me in genuine agape, not judgmentalism.  Everyone needs people who have been given the freedom and authority to speak correctively in their lives.

Love for each other demands that we care enough to risk being rejected.   A threefold cord is not easily broken, but individual straps are easily defeated.   Pride and deception produce a sense of entitlement that results in rebellion.  Let’s love each other enough to intercede and warn when danger looms.

There is safety and defense in accountability.   I ask myself frequently, am I accountable?  How can I be one to whom someone is accountable unless I am accountable?  It is first accountable to God but also to others for safety and protection.   None live or die isolated.  That means what happens to us impacts others.   The more known we are the more people are affected.   Let’s live every day with others in mind and seek iron to sharpen iron.   Be accountable and give accountability.

This is a very different message today, but the devil is seeking to destroy, and we can prevent it. Let’s be the Body of Christ!   The ultimate goal is restoration; anything else is judgmentalism and flows from self-righteousness, not agape.

May the peace of God and the love of the brethren over in our hearts!

Revelation 13:15-17 – “The beast from the earth was empowered to breathe life into the image of the first beast so that it could speak and kill those who refused to worship its image. It also caused EVERYONE, small and great, rich and poor, free and bound, to be MARKED on the right hand or on the forehead. This meant no one could buy or sell unless they had the MARK; that is, the name of the beast or its number.”

Revelation 13 contains a warning to help us see the enemy’s schemes and live protected from deception.    We all know about the “Mark of the Beast.”   I will not give a discourse on my theory but instead, ask that we consider something laced in this account.

Revelation 13:15-17 is important in our consideration.  I have to ask, “How much is AI involved?”   AI with demonic activity seems likely.   Let me offer something that transcends a physical mark, and you consider its ramifications.

I believe that more than a tattoo or chip is implied.   The word “marked” is the Greek “engraved.”    It is the same root from which we get the word “character.”    It is a transformational event.   The person’s nature or character is transformed, affecting their life and possibly their DNA.

Do we not see the transformation of character today, both good and evil?   This would imply that the character or nature of the beast filled the people.   If we are not filled with God’s Spirit and the love of God overflowing in us, we are in danger of deception and transformation toward evil.  That condition in the world will make the anti-Christ’s work easy.

The marked forehead could also be viewed as impacting or transforming the thoughts. (Bring every thought captive to Jesus.)  I am not suggesting that the ‘Mark of the Beast’ is not a literal mark, but I offer these thoughts for consideration.

• Transformation of the mind means to think the thoughts of the transformer – God or the Beast.  
• Transformed thinking results in transformed living.  
• Transformed to the character of the beast results in deadly world conditions.
• Being transformed into the character of Jesus results in a world of peace.

Since we know how the story ends, we know that peace will not come until evil is destroyed.    But we are protected if we are filled with Jesus through the Holy Spirit.   Psalm 91 becomes our personal promise, Psalm.  John 14 becomes our confidence.  Romans 8:37 (more than conquerors) our identity.

Therefore, do not fret over the conditions of the world or what is to come; be filled with Hope! Live victoriously, confidently, and fearlessly. He’s coming back, and we are on the winning team!

Rise and shine, for the Lord is with us and will never leave nor forsake us.   Keep looking up. Our redemption is nearer than when we first believed, and we are not appointed unto wrath!

Revelation 3:19 – “All those I dearly love I UNMASK and TRAIN.”

Revelation 3:19 brings to light that God Unmasks and Trains those He Loves.  Everyone has masks they hide behind.   Everyone has secrets they want to protect.  Everyone has flaws they don’t want to be exposed. Everyone has a measure of the fear of exposure.   God is unwilling to let us hide because He loves us.

God’s unmasking can take one of two paths.  Both paths are momentarily painful, but one contains the assurance of restoration. The other may or may not lead to restoration.   One involves willing surrender in confession, exposing ourselves, and the other involves forced exposure.  Both have a measure of shame, but one is rooted in repentance and pride.

God’s love will not let us hide.  We either willingly confess and surrender to Him, or He exposes us.   Exposing ourselves defangs the shame that is a part of exposure because we have already repented. The other is filled with the shame of exposure and frequently leads to more hiding, more profound withdrawal, and even anger.   It may soften the heart and may harden it.

Until there is an unmasking, there can be no training, equipping, or spiritual empowerment.  God seeks pure hearts to deposit His glory, power, and peace in. Training only comes after unmasking.   Only after denial is removed can approval come.

We want God’s fullness.   We want God’s favor.   We want His peace, but we want to stay hidden and unexposed.   We feel vulnerable if exposed and fear the opinions and rejection of people.   We think, “If they truly knew, they would reject me.”    Our pride elevates our status in the eyes of people higher than our condition in Christ.   The pain of exposure and the pain of shame entice us to hide.  Only as we are fully transparent and unmasked can we enter God’s training program and become warriors for the kingdom.

What would a man give in exchange for his soul?  Having no masks enables us to receive God’s fullness and restore the weak and entrapped.

Galatians 6:1-3 – “My beloved friends, IF you SEE a believer who is OVERTAKEN with a fault, the one who is in the Spirit should seek to RESTORE him in the Spirit of GENTLENESS. But keep watch over your own heart so that you won’t be tempted to exalt yourself over him. Love empowers us to fulfill the law of the Anointed One as we CARRY EACH OTHER’S TROUBLES. If you think you are somebody too important to stoop down to help another (when you really are not), you are living in deception.”   [Emphasis mine]

If we hide behind masks, we become judgmental and use one standard for ourselves and another for others, adding sin to sin.  Unmasking is step one to total victory and the only pathway to training by God!   It is a required step to fullness.  Let’s unmask ourselves before we are unmasked.

May the peace of God’s presence overflow into your lives, and may you learn to live free of Masks and embrace the Training of the Lord.   Victory is ours!

Proverbs 13:12 – “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”

As I was reading, praying, and pondering the Word, the thought of Hope tugged at my heart.   We all have hopes that are or have been fulfilled, delayed, or dashed.   Each of those has a lasting impact on our lives.

Proverbs 13:12 – “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”   In one translation, it is rendered, “When Hope’s dream seems to drag on and on, the delay can be depressing. But when at last your dream comes true, life’s sweetness will satisfy your soul.”

Delayed Hope can lead to deception and rejection of God.   It can lead to making rash decisions and pursuing fantasies to make Hope a reality. Proverbs 12:11 says, “…whoever chases daydreams lacks sense.”

As believers, our hope must be anchored in God and God alone.    It is a matter of trust.   He sees the end from the beginning, and we know the beginning from the end.    Our hopes must be based on His Word, not our preferences.

We all have hopes!   We all have preferences!   We all have ideas as to how and when things should happen!   The problem is handling God’s failure to meet our timelines and methods.   Delay is sometimes a test, not to show God our faith but for us to learn complete trust.

The 3 Hebrew children had total trust!  They said, “King, we belong to God. He can deliver us from your planned destruction. His ability is not in question. However, if, for whatever reason, He does not deliver us from the flames, we will continue to trust Him and will not succumb to your threats just to make life easier for us or for self-preservation.”

Hope is a wonderful motivator.  Hope needs to be anchored in God’s promises.   Hope that is God-inspired and Word-centered will build faith.   Hope that loses sight of God’s infallible integrity will become a cause of soul sickness.

It is possible to want something so much we convince ourselves that God promised it and tie our entire future to it.  We may cling to that hope irrationally or become discouraged, discontented, and angry.

A sick soul pollutes the pool we are swimming in.   God’s promises are certain.   Our Hope is Jesus!    If your hopes are delayed, two things need to happen.   First, examine the Hope.   Was it human fantasy and desire or God’s Promise? If it was human preference, reject all discouragement, disappointment, and anger.   If it was God’s Promise, repent for trying to help Him do His job and questioning His timing.

Hope is a powerful motivator.   False Hope is a trap that can lead to soul sickness and spiritual death.   Here’s what the Holy Spirit impressed upon me.

• Hope that is a fantasy is an open door to deception and discouragement.  It has no root in God’s Word and produces no good fruit.

•  Hope that is God-inspired and Word-centered produces faith, confidence, endurance, and life.

My Hope is in God and nothing else!   My Hope is not some external fruit that will fulfill my fantasy but in God.

If what you are hoping for is delayed, ask God if it was His promise or your preference that birthed the hope.   Never allow anything to cause you to develop soul sickness that questions or blames God.  May all your God Inspired Hopes become God-fulfilled Realities!

God bless you as you live each day with God-inspired Hope!