Written by: John Sernaque
Call to Worship
Job 4: 7-9
4:7 Remember, I pray thee, who [ever] perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off?
4:8 Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.
4:9 By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed.
Calamities Not an Index to Sins—
It is very natural for human beings to think that great calamities are a sure index of great crimes and enormous sins; but men often make a mistake in thus measuring character. We are not living in the time of retributive judgment. Good and evil are mingled, and calamities come upon all. Sometimes men do pass the boundary line beyond God’s protecting care, and then Satan exercises his power upon them, and God does not interpose. Job was sorely afflicted, and his friends sought to make him acknowledge that his suffering was the result of sin, and cause him to feel under condemnation. They represented his case as that of a great sinner; but the Lord rebuked them for their judgment of His faithful servant (Manuscript 56, 1894). {3BC 1140.5}
God allowed Satan to test Job. While facing calamity after calamity, Job never denounced God or curse Him as his wife said he should. Job held fast to his faith in God and God blessed him double for his trouble. However, if someone is a willful sinner, they are under the power of Satan, and will not receive God’s protection. Willful sinners are left to their own devices, all the while with Satan cheering them on. Sin is the transgression of the law, and the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is everlasting life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Confess and repent of your sins, and in times of trouble or blessings, keep your eyes on Jesus.
Dear God,
We thank You for always being there for us in times of blessings and trials. We claim Your promise that You will never leave us nor forsake us. We pray that You continue to keep Your hand upon us that no one is able to pluck us out of Your right hand of power. We pray that You help us overcome any known or unknown sin in our life so Satan would have nothing in us. Let none of our brethren be cut off because they succumbed to the power of Satan. We thank You for giving us the victory over sin that we may have eternal life in the heavenly kingdom. We thank You for hearing and answering our prayers, in the name of Christ Jesus, we pray. Amen.
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