Job 23:8

"Behold,I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him:"

Job was seeking for the Lord, but he could not find Him. It may be often that we seek and desire to know more of His Presence but we cannot find Him. Does that mean that He is not there? If weonly knew more of His Divine Being. For if we really knew God, 'be still and know that I am God', we would not have such thoughts and doubts. The Lord is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He has not changed, for He cannot change. He is everywhere, all the time and in every place. The secrets of man are known to Him. For He is God and there is none else. And knowing this truth He abides faithful to us for His Own Names sake. He knew us in the beginning when the Spirit fo God brooded upon the face of the deep. He loved us while we were yet in sin. Before we were born He sawus and knew us andcalled us His own. He has always been. And even though, we have not always been in the physical sense, we have beena thought, a love, a desire in His own thoughts. How does that make you feel knowing that God has always known you? What wonderful thoughts He has thought toward us. What wonderful gifts He has bestowed on us. What wonderful grace and mercy He has redeemed us. ARe you redeeemed? I would not adventrue to assume that truth among any, simply because they are reading these words. Know of Him and His ways and learn that whether He seems to be there or not, He is present.

Job 22:23

"If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles."

The wayward soul that is a believer must return unto His Lord. Many a child of God has sinned and fallin away from His Presence. They have not lost their salvation, for He that is faithful has said, 'I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.' But the true child of God will be convicted and shown his sin and need to confess and repent to restore the broken relationship. God's desire is that we not fall away nor fail in sin; oh that that would be our desire as well. If thou return to the Almighty - return unto Me, and I will return unto you; Upon the recognition that our heart, mind, soul and life is not right and He is not well pleased with us, the soul that has sinned will return. Again, it is the Holy Spirit convicting and drawing us unto Him. We cannot do this on our own, for left to oursevles, we would stay in sin and perish. 'No man can come unto the Father except through Me'. The term 'if' is a major issue here for us to consider. For there are many that have walked away never more to return unto the Lord. I state again, a true child will return, for the Lord cannot lose His own, He is able to keep us. But the true test is found in whether a wandering one will return or not. If they do not return, then they perish, for they were never His. And right here is the case of so many that once occupied the church, was baptized, practiced religion but has walked away from all and is now in sin. 'If ' they return they will find mercy and forgiveneness, but 'if' they do not return, then wrath and judgement. You might think, 'how foolish not to return?' And that would be true, except the Lord knows the heart and He knows the response of these and whether they will chose to follow, return and obey or reject it all. We busy ourselves in this too much, the Lord is able and knows all this. But it is a major issue, 'If' they return or not. Thou shalt be built up - upon obedience and faithfulness restored, God begins to work;

Job 21:14

"Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways."

Job is answering his friends accusations. And in speaking now of the wicked as was started last chapter, Job continues the ways of such evil men. Therefore they say unto God - men answer God in many different ways, through the heart, the mind, their voices and their actions; What are men saying unto God today? What have you said to Him today? A true Christian, speaks unto the Lord, glory and praise of His ways and Who He is , their everlasting Father, Savior and precious Spirit. they speak to Him with words of adoration, declaring all His great ways. The truly anointed ones in His Presence stay in constant commuication with Him, 'They pray without ceasing'. But too many of His children today, are sporadic with Him and only say things that they desire to Him. they do not know how to praise Him nor adore Him. They only come with a list of wants and needs. No confession, no kingdom prayers, no salvation prayers for the lost, only selfish immediate needs around them. They say things unto God that does not honor Hm nor glorify Him. But the wicked. . . they only use His Name in vain. Depart from us - the wicked do not want the Presence of the Lord any where near them; Hell is designed for such a place, that they wished for God to be apart from them, He will grant them their desires. Oh, how horrible the thought that God is absent. Evil men wish to experience no conviction, no heart turn, no goodness near them. And in order for that to happen they say unto God, 'Depart from us'. but there is also those that are under the preaching of the Gospel, they are under conviction, and the invitation is being extended. And when they come to the time of decision, 'Chose you this day who you will serve.' Their choice is rejection of Christ, and they cry out, 'Depart from us, I don't want you in my life'. but what of Samson, a vessel of the Lord's, who rose up as at other times, but he wist not that the Lord had departed from him. It is the awful thing when men reject Christ and ask of Him to depart from them, but what say of those that have sinned grossly against the Lord and He departs from us. For the Lord cannot abide in sin, nor look upon it. And when men are in sin, they desire for Him to depart from them. And He departs. Be not so careless with the Presence of the Lord believer that in your sinful ways and unbelieving heart that in actions you say, 'Depart from me'. The wicked declare openly and in all their ways, but what does a child of God have in behaving in the same manner? For we desire not the knowledge of Thy ways - word study, way;

Job 20:5

"That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?"

In verse 4 and 5 is one complete question. We are only looking at the second part of this question, found in verse 5. In verse 4, 'Knowest thou not. . .that the triumphing of the wicked is short - word study to know; great questions of the Bible; Do we know this truth or not? The wicked shall not last forever. Even though they be born in sin, practice sin all their days, and die in riches, popularity and boasting of their achievements, what awaits them in eternity? They may go on in 80 or 90 or 100 years of this life, but what is that compared to eternity? It is a short time. Let us note for the record, many are the souls that have been cut off in youth and young age for their evil. How many have died of overdoses? How many have committed suicide? How many have died due to alcohol? All these are evidences of the wickeds time being short. Men may want ot beleive that they will live forever, but the fact is not to be found there. Life is short and moments are sporadic. And what we do is of great improtance for the cause of Christ. I grew up listening to a song, 'if I had to do it all over again, I serve Jesus every day of my life'. Now it is a good song, and a heart felt desire of a Christian. But, being in my youth I was resolved not to get older and have to remorse over what I missed out on. I would live every day for Him and not have this said of me. And as short as my and your time is, the wickeds time is even shorter. Hours, minutes, seconds march on and time is slipping away fromt he wicked until they arrive at the end with no hope. Oh, they have heard, they have known what was coming, but they rejected it and chose not to believe and follow Christ. In this world it may seem that the wicked are triumphing. They have alot going for them. They have gained riches and fame from the lost world. Satan gives them such things to allure them to stay in their sins and rebellion against God. So they may triumph for a season but in the end what has it availed. And the joy of the hypocrite for a moment - a brief moment of joy in their self exaltation; They practice a lie and they deceive their ownselves. They have to act a certain way and just like an actor in the movies so they play the role even convincing themselves that they are okay. And they produce joy to themselves that they are right, and all is well. Only to be devasted when life turns bad and circumstances crumble, then the truth comes to surface again. "I am not right, something is wrong"; and God uses such times to awaken, quicken and stir them to see themselves for what thye really are. But only a few ever admit or repent of their false ways and they quickly return to the castles in the sand. But it is only a brief moment that this joy truly satisifies. I believe that deep within they know and understand that they are rooted and grounded on false things. they know that it can't last, but the devil makes them believe a lie and hold onto false hope. Oh, that the fullness of God would stir to such a place that causes such men to see their evil and know their eternal destination and be saved completely in Jesus. Without the hand of God present there is only eternal damnation that awaits such people as this verse describes. They are our loved ones, church members and the multitudes of this world and they are perishing.

Job 19:25

"For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth"

Here lies the central message of Christianity, 'My Redeemer liveth'. Whatever other religion there may be, whatever other prophet there may be, whatever other codes there may be, this one truth is above all else, Jesus Christ is risen from the dead and lives forever more at the right hand of His Father in heaven. For I know that my redeemer liveth - word study, to know; It begins with this question, do you know? what do you know? I find that most Christians, when asked to explain their hope in Christ do not know the truth. We are void of understanding His ways and His word. Found in the Word is His way of salvation and redemption. He Who was, is and always shall be is the resurection and the hope of eternity for any soul that will believe and live for Him. Do we know this? Too many have a mind understanding about these things, but it is not in their heart nor do they live it. Is the proof of a Christians life not found in evidence of their daily living? so that a person that is religious can say all they want, " I believe in God, in Christ"; but if there is no fruit of holiness then it is just idle words and empty statements. For even the devils believe, does that make them saved and born again? Proof is in the puddin'. Then it is important to ask ourselves, 'what do we know for certain?' what is it in your heart and soul that is absolute truth to you? A true Christian is anchored in this absolute truth, Jesus Christ was killed on the cross; Jesus Christ took all the sins of the world upon Him there, mine and yours; and He arose the third day and lives forevermore. He is not dead, He is alive. Too many sway back and forth over whether to accept and believe it, they do not know what they believe. And if they are reasoned into believing without knowing it for certain, they are easily persauded out of it. It is important for Christians to resolve their 'knowing' of the things of Christ, eternity and salvation. And if I die to self, take up my cross and follow Him, then having died I shall also live with Him. He has done it all and eternal life is found in Him. and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth - following death His feet shall stand on the earth; It could easily be intrepreted of last days events, but I will hold to the conclusion of the first part of this verse. Having been slain, He rises up from death and His feet are there on solid ground as a testimony of victory over death and sin. The 'latter days' is always in contrast in the Old Testament to the coming of Christ in the new Testament. We see that some are prophetic of the end times, but generally the Old Testament is putting forth to Chrsit as the'latter days' or 'the day of the Lord'. His act of standing should also be noted. Most references to Christ are of Him sitting at the right hand of the Father. And only in a few refereneces is He standing. As He came forth fromt he tomb that EAster morning, He was standing as a testimony of God's resurrection power. may we know this truth is for us, for all the world. How desperately do men, women and chidlren need the Gospel message of atonement, salvation and redemption in Jesus Christ. There's none other but the Name of Jesus that shall save the soul. Do you know Him? Do you know your eternity will be? In Christ, all shall be well.

Job 18:5

"Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine."

Job's friend retorts what they already know, God will judge the wicked. Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out - their light shines for a brief moment and then it is extinuished; How solemn the fact should be considered as we read this verse. There is a truth for all men, eternity is coming. And what shall their eternity be? He is address the wicked here and there determined end is one fate, hell. Oh, what shall be done to rescue them when God stands forth to vanquish His enemies. Those that have mocked, jeered, reproved, hated and scorned the Word of life shall all find His wrath so fierce and piercing. He will put their light out, never more to know light. In hell where there is darkness, penterating darkness. No hope, no rescue, no reprieve, they are finished. No death to end their sorrow and agonizing torture, they are there for eternity to endure.

Job 17:9

"The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger."

IN the midst of Job's sorrow, he speaks truth of the ones that fear the Lord. The righteous also shall hold on his way - word study, way; The only ways is found in Christ. 'I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life'. there is no other way to be found. Men are seeking their own way; the way of religion. They will all be destroyed and judged by the Lord. and so Job begins to talk about those in the right way, 'the righteous'. 'All of our righteousness is as filthy rages'. the only righteousness we can have is to be found in the righteousness of Christ. He robes us in His righteousness, for it is acceptable in the sight of the Fahter. Righteousness means to be right with God in all our ways. Are you right in all your ways with the Lord? Is there sin to be found? unfaithfulness? unbelief? gross sin? let us search and examine our ways and see if we be righteous or not. And if there be a child of God that has sinned and been unrighteous then they know that they are able to approach unto the throne of mercy and grace and find forgiveness in the blood of the atonement.

Job 16:12

"I was at ease, but he hath broken me assunder: he hath also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark."

Job is accusing God of His actions toward him. all of his sorrow and grief is his excuse to accuse God. The jarring of his life to pieces he says God did. Yet, we know Satan did it. I was at ease - woe unto them that are at ease; We are not in a place to sit idle. We are to be busy, and sloth is a sinful failure of many a Christian today. Letting their whole life go forward and shooting for nothing and desiring nothing. They live in a rountine life of ease, wanting nothing to rock the boat. But this is not life. For a christian must face hardships, to refine, strengthen, and be used of God for His glory. Cast off the cloak of ease, and gird up for battle, the enemy is approaching. And to the saint of God they have come to understand this truth, life is a battle until the end. and taking ease while Satan advances is a shameful sin of the church. How can the church be so content and unmoved by Satan gaining ground in this world? Taking souls, innocent souls and destroying lives left and right, how can we be at ease in such a time as this. 'Stand up, stand up for Jesus the battle is not done'. Sleep keeps us in the bed and prayer is left unattended for days upon weeks for many a so called Christian. Witnessing is discarded because of ease with life and we care not that they are perishing. Oh, how great is the sin of ease among the brethern today. Rise up and cast it aside for the time is far spent and the day is at hand and the night cometh when no man can work. But He hath broken me assunder - the hands of the Lord had crushed him, Job says; He was a broken man. Family lost, possessions lost, health lost and only his faith in God left and that was sorely tried. He is defending his being at ease and that God broke him to awaken him out of his ease. And the truth of that is demonstrated at times when God seeks to awaken His people outof their ease through tribulation and trials. It is unfortunate that we settle down in such a manner, but He can break us assunder. Let our life be what it is supposed to be and brokeness will keep us on guard. Brokeness stirs us up and awakens us from such ease. God had allowed for Satan to do that to Job. Job blamed God but the end result was that God received the glory over Satan, Job was blest. Is it necessary for us to be broken assunder in order to lift up our eyes unto Him, our Redeemer? It is not necessary, but we allow for ouselves to get to such a point that brokenness is the quickest route out of content, and sloth. ARe we willing to pray an honest prayer, 'Even O Lord if it takes breaking me assunder to glorify you'? a hard prayer indeed and necessary for the will of the Lord to be complete in us. As Jesus prayed, 'Nevertheless Father, not My will be done, but Thine'. He surrendered to brokenness for the glory of the FAther. A Christian is to be Christlike, are you able to follow in His steps with dying to self for the glory of the FAther through brokenness? He hath also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces - Job declares that God has taken him and shaken him for unknown reasons to him; And it is that God does take a hold of some men to shake them. Those that defy Him, He will answer them face to face. 'It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.' He is the Creator and able to make and destroy His own creation. What shall we do if God lays His hand on us? Let it not be in wrath, but let it be in His mercy. This illustration Job uses, is very familar to me. My dad, used to take me by the neck or, at least would threaten to take me by the neck. The fear of of that was enough to invoke me to obedience. And so it is adaptable to make it a prayer: O Lord, take me by the neck and lead me where You want me to go. Take me but not in wrath, to acocmplish Thy desired end in me. And if I am shaken to pieces You are able to make me whole. and set me up for His mark - Job refers to this as God set a mark upon him for punishement; As Cain had his mark on him to distinquish him for his murder, so Job feels God has marked him. There is the mark of sin upon all men. And only He is able to cleanse us from that mark. Job was physically marked by scars now as his boils were no doubt healing. But his body was marked by the events that had unfolded. And look upon the makrs of our Lord, nail scarred and pierced for He bore the wrath of God for our sins.

Job 15:14

"What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?"

The friend of Job is denouncing him and explaining that there is no hope of being clean and righteous in the sight of God. Job is justifying himself that there is no iniquity to be found to condemn him. Man always has to put their two cents in on what only God can do and knows. What is man, that he should be clean - great questions of the Bible; Was it not so in the beginning that Adam was clean, and without sin?; The friend of Job's says it is impossible for man to be clean. Yet, Adam was clean before his disobedience; Jesus was man, born of a woman, yet He was clean and without sin. And it has always been God's plan and work to make man clean. In the Old Testament, we have the sacrifices to be offered so that the Lord would accept the blood and pardon the sin of man. In the New Testament there was one sacrifice for all mankind, in Jesus so that all might be clean. It may be the thinking of man to denounce the ways of God. it is easy to sin, it is easy to stay in sin, but the desire of God has always been to make us clean. Man disregards this and views their ways as their own selfish desires to please self. Their belief is that man can never be clean, so just try to a little, no sense overdoing it. they do not seek for pardon, they seek for pleasure.

Job 14:4

"Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one."

What a marvellous verse before us. Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? - great questions of the Bible; the depravity of man; It is my belief that the church has lost a lot of the foundations of our Christian faith. One of those principles is that we are vile and sinful and have no hope in our own selves to be saved and redeemed. This is the understanding of true sin, orginal sin and the depravity of man. Born in sin, consumed in sin and lost in sin. And no hope apart from a Savior Who is able to save us from our sin. But man does not believe they are unclean today, they think they are okay. They justify themselves that they are 'not too bad'. But until a soul looks upon their uncleaness of sin and evil they will never desire a Savior. And when they realize that all their good works, religious duties and positive thinking can bring cleanness our of uncleanness then they will seek for Him. No matter how much prayer, services, tithes, or anything else they attempt to do to remove the uncleanness they cannot do it. It is the lie of Satan to their soul that they are able to bring a clean thing out of an unclean thing by their own works. "Just try hard"; 'Be as good as you can be'; 'Do all that you can that is right'. these are afew of statements that contains everything about self trying to bring clean out of unclean. And until the utter lostness settles into a soul that they realize that no matter how good they think they are; no matter how many good works they do, they cannot get clean. Before any man gets saved, he must admit and know he's lost. then, and only then, will he cry out for the Savior to save. If he has been shown the need of the Savior by a Christian. Too often many a soul does not know these truths because the church is silent and afraid to declare the whole truth. We, in the church, are jsut about as guilty of believeing in self-righteousness. And the only clean out of unclean comes by God's amazing grace and mercy. Oh, how deperately do we need Him today. 'Sweep away the refuge of lies' that is deceiving so many. Understand this question is at the heart of it all, no man, no person can bring a clean thing out of uncelan. Not one - he answers his own question with the integrity of a man who knows only the Lord is able to do such a thing; and I would add for our study this statement, 'Not one, only One'. Only One is able to bring a clean thing out of an unclean thing, and His Name is Jesus. 'Thou shalt call His Name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.' How is this done? By the precious blood of Christ that was shed on the Cross. 'What can wash away my sin? nothing but the blood of Jesus; Oh, precious is the flow that washes white as snow; No other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus'. The Son of man, perfect and without sin, gives Himself to be offered for a sacrifice for all the sins of the world. And the Father receives His sacrifice and to any souls that believes and places their trust in Him for His sacrifice will find redemption. Have you found it? Do you know it? Is it yours? then and only then, is a clean thing brought out of an unclean thing. Not of man, only of Jesus Christ. Christ is the One the makes you clean and washes away all your iniqutites and sins.

Job 13:22

"Then call thou, and I will answer: or let me speak, and answer thou me."

If God does those two things, previously mentioned, then there is freedom in Job's life to approach unto God. And he is right in this. Christ has made a way for us to come boldly unto the throne of mercy. We, being saved, have that way in Him, not inour own works and ways. You cannot come just any old way, you have to come the way He told us. 'I am the way, the truth and the life.' And when we are in a right relationship with Him, void of sin and iniquity, then He speaks and we hear and obey. But if sin be present, then we don't hear and we won't obey. Then call thou - God initates with man; He has always desired for man to walk with Him. Knowing that Adam would sin and break the relationship, God knew a way had to be made to restore the brokenness. From the time that God was walking in the garden and His voice called unto Adam, 'Where art thou?' until today, 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock'; His voice is calling. He has not stopped calling unto men, women and children, 'Hear My voice'. 'For the Gospel hath appeared unto every man', through His Holy Spirit spekaing and drawing. It is the true desire of a child of God to hear when He calls. A long absence of His voice calling would provoke that something is wrong in the relationship. But for the true child it is a daily exercise of hearing Him call unto them. I will answer - the repsonse of man toward the call of God; The problem is not to be found on God's behalf, for He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, He is always calling. The lapse is on our behalf, do we answer? NOw Job is ascerting that he will, and does answer the Lord's call. He is found faithful in all these things. What can be said of us in answering the Lord? Are we faithful to hear Him? Are we faithful to obey Him? When was the last time you was still and heard Him call and you answered, "Here am I, Lord, send me"? The backslidden Christian will not answer. they are like Adam and Eve hiding in the bushes, for conviction has gripped them. Those that do not walk consistently, will falter as well, for they are afraid of what He will say when they speak to Him. And thus, God in His ways, usually allows sorrow and troubles to come, to provoke them to hear Him and for them to answer Him. But the righteous are found waiting in His presence every day. They know His voice, they hear His call and they answer. Yes, they might be ashamed and convicted like the backslidden and unfaithful, but they will not allow for the fellwoship to be broken. Habakkuk has a similar verse to note here, "And what I shall answer when I am reproved". Even if God does rebuke us, scold us, reprove us, so what, answer Him. The devil, I belive, makes Christians turn away from the Lord and hold their tongue in answering Him. Let this not be our case brethern. Or let me speak, and answer thou me - Job flips the roles of communication; Instead of the Lord calling and us answering, there are times when we call and He answers. 'Call unto Me, and I will answer thee'. Now thisis the norm for most prayers offered today. We, as the church, are a people given to much prayer. We are constantly calling unto Him. But there are some things to note here for the relationship to be right in prayer time and to pray rightly. First, 'If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord willnot hear me'. this does not counter our verse, it only specifies more. Manya soul is calling unto the Lord and wondering why He has not answer them. Too many testimonies of prayers going up and 'hitting the cieling and coming back down'. the reason for this is their sin has not been confessed nor repented of. they hold on to their selfish sins and expect for the Lord to answer. This cannot be nor will be, He is holy and just in all His ways. Removed the sin and move forward for Him to answer your calling upon Him. Secondly, many are calling and even though sin may not be predominant, they give no time to wait before Him to answer. It is as the practice today of so many, they ask someone in pleasantries, 'How are you?' And they never wait for the person to answer, and a matter of fact they don't want them to answer, they were just saying something to say something. Many a Christian comes into God's presence and calls upon Him but quickly rises up and moves on to their own agenda and never give God Almighty time to answer them. And then we wonder why nobody is hearing from God today. 'Be still and know that I am God'. You may be calling and He wants to answer, are you giving your ear to hear? And when He speaks to us, we will need to give an answer unto Him. Are you ready to answer for your life, actions and time spent? soon and very soon, He will speak from His throne and we will need to anser and give an account of every good and evil work from our hands.

Job 13:21

"Withdraw thine hand far from me: and let not thy dread make me afraid"

and so Job lists his two things for God not to do unto him. withdraw thine hand far from me - the hand of the Lord is there for Divine help, salvation and blessings; And if that hand be withdrawn there is no help, salvation or blessings. the hand of the Lord is a phrase given unto us throughout all of Scripture. We should know that hand and what is there for. For as much as the Lord's hand is able to give these good things. If He withdraws His hand then we are left to ourselves and the devil will quickly have his way with us. Our family, our nation, and the church desperately need for the hand of the Lord to be stayed upon us. For as He withdraw it, His mercies, and graces go with it. WE cannot survive without it. Close proximitiy matters here, the nearer His hand the closer His presence; the farther away the more distant is His presence. Can you feel the hand of the Lord upon you? do you know that He abides with you even now? Sin and iniquity causes Him to withdraw His hand. This was the argument of Job's friends against him. they were saying that Job had sinned so great, that God had withdrawn His hand of mercy and extended His hand of wrath against him for his sin. The truth of this is accurate, sin will feel the wrath of God. But for Job, the only way the devil could get to him, was by God withdrawing His hand of Divine protection and mercy. And it was through this that God received the greater glory. Such times of affliction that are being endured does not find God withdrawing His hand, but He gives greater grace to abide and perservere through. See His manifold blessings from His Divine hand: 'Let Thy hand save me; Let Thy hand keep me; Let Thy hand help me; Let Thy hand guide me' Job knew and we should know that we are in great need of His hand. Is your request the same as Job's, 'withdraw not Thy hand far from me'? May you see how much we need it every moment in our daily life. And let not Thy dread make me afraid - Job is mentioning the fear of the Lord causing fearfulness with one of His Own; A lost person usually does not fear the Lord until some great destruction comes. When they are touched by the wrath of God then they cry out for mercy and they fear Him because He afflicted them. When all men shall see God at the throne, they will fall in fear of His glory and Presence. Consider that even John the apostle, when he saw the glorified Christ in Revelation 1, he fell down as if he was dead out of fear. The only difference of this fear is what Job is referring to in this phrase. A child of God does not dread His Presence, they fear Him for His glory, holiness and power, but they know it is for them and not against them. But a lost person, can not say that His power is for them and when he realizes it is against him, he is in a state of fear. OH, dreadful the hand of God when He stands against a soul. Who can stand against Him? Job realized his place before God and he loved Him and feared Him; but if we was to consider that God was agianst him, the dread of that was too much. Men do not know what awaits them, and this ignorance is not good. To him that beleiveth is everlasting life; but the wrath of God abides on them that do not believe. Is this not one of the horrors of hell? A constant state of fear and anguish of despair.

Job 13:20

"Only do not two things unto me: then will I not hide myself from thee"

There is much in this section of verses from Job that we must consider and apply to our own lives. In the midst of Job's plea to God to answer him, his friends are assaulting him in his great anguish. But as this discourse continues between them, Job defends himself and comes to the point of simply discoursing with God. And here is the beginning of this, Only do not two things unto me - we are not able to dictate God, even though God may be willing to grant us the desires of our heart; Here Job is asking of the Lord for two things not to happen to him. He has the question of why the tragedies did happen to him. But now he is asking fo the Lord for these two things not happen. They are not trifle, earthly things but spiritual and all about God. When God blest Solomon for asking for wisdom, God praised him for not asking that he be delivered from all his enemies. Many a person given the opportunity to say, 'Don't let these two things happen to me' would ask out of selfish wants. 'Don't let canceer get me'; 'don't let my enemies get me'; don't let my family have hard times'; you see, the fleshly cares of most Christians is about themselves, not the Lord. A spiritual man will have spiritual desires. And when asking for things to happen or not happen, it is about the Lord. What is on your heart and soul? what would you ask of the Lord not to happen? But Job recognizes the hand of the Lord to affect a person's life, 'unto me'. What has God done 'unto me'? He has created me; He has preserved me; He has saved me; He has blest me; He has loved me; He has endued me. the Lord has done great and mighty things 'unto me'. Are you able to see and discern the hand of the Lord upon you to bless , keep and use you for His glory? But Job is asking for God not to do two things 'unto me'. He knows God is able to cause to happen and stop from happening things 'unto me'. And even if they be trials and tribulations, they are happening for a reason 'unto me'. And know that whether good or evil, it 'unto me' for His glory. ARe we willing to accept that and live in that? That is a hard point to be at, but it brings glory unto Him. Then will I not hide myself from thee - is a man able to hide from God? no; But Job is saying that if God allows these two things to happen to me, then he will try to hide away from His presence. He had been consumed with sorrow and grief and could find no refuge accept in God, even though he did not understand what was happening unto him. and yet, Job says, that if God allowed these two things to happen to him, it would bring everything crashing down and he would seek to hide from Him. Again, it is not about selfish ways, this is about the relationship of him and God. He is saying in the faithfulness of God, that God will do that which he asks of Him and he will not need to hide from Him. should we not be of the same mindset? why does God's own people desire ot hide from Him? Is there a cause? Is there a reason? He has given no reason as to why we should hide from Him. Look at Jonah, when given the commandment to go to Nineveh, he went the opposite way to hide from the Lord. May we be found faithful to abide in His presence instead of trying to hide from it. Do you beleive that there are Christians who seek to hide from God? Are they afraid of what the Lord might have happen? What He may ask of them? Would He ask of you to give up some sin? die to self in some area of your life? But oh, when we need Him, we want to come out of hiding and boldly come before Him making our request. Let us abide in Him consistently and we will not need to worry about such things. let the church quit hiding from Him and draw near unto Him, so that He may draw near unto us.

JOb 12:10

"In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind."

Job is referring to the hand and power of the Lord in all the things of man. There is nothing left out from under God's Divine hand leading, guiding and knowing. 'The secret things belong unto the Lord.' In whose hand is the soul of every living thing - God's hands are suffeceint to hold every living being; The hand of the Lord is big enough to hold this earth and all that is therein. How foolish for those who consider that God is not present, He does not know what is done in th edarkness. He knows it all, for He is God. How foolish for sinful man to think that they are separated from Him, and do not need to acknowledge Him. We are in His hand, He holds us. 'The life of the flesh is in the blood'; 'He breathes life into us'; 'He is life'; and 'the life goes back to God Who gave it'. All living life is found in God. Apart from Him nothing can live, exist or abide. This life is foudn in Him, never forget that. And these that provoke the Lord to wrath because they have dismissed His ways and His grace, they will answer for the life given to them. He holds them to draw them; but if they refuse to be drawn, He holds them to judge them. His wrath is great, who can abide it. Yet, they have provoked Him to anger over their ways and obstinance. Harden not your hearts, for it is the day to acknowledge my life is found in Him. It shas been found in Him from the beginning. And not just mine and yours, but all life, even His own creation. There are several references in the Scriptures that refers to the animals have their purpose in the plan of god as well. They are given unto man for our substance and to show God's glory. Being His creation, He holds them, there is nothing separate from Him. all creation is His and He holds it. Seeing this to be true, then why should you sorrow? For He holds you; is taht not what you need? He holds you to love you and care for you. Provoke Him and He will chastise you. Know His hand of mercy and grace and savor it. And the breath of all mankind - referenced in Daniel 5 as well, God is the keeper of our every breath; 'The spirit of God goes back to Him that gave it'. The spirit of life is found within our breath, our very being. For Adam, God breathed into him the breath of life. Ezekiel prophesied for the four winds to blow into the army and they became living souls. God is the keeper and the giver of the breath of man. the old hymn writer said, 'Breathe on me Holy Spirit' and that is our desire. The Lord God holds my breath and HE is able to send the Holy Spirit to quicken me in Him. It is not enough just ot breath, but I must live. It is that every soul held in His hand may know of His mercy, grace and way of salvation in Jesus Christ. That they was given breath to breathe for His glory. OUr breathing is not our own, He causes it, He assists us in it. For what happens to the man that God decides to take his breath away from him, he ceases to be, he dies. Who can thwart God on this? How careful men should be not to offend the One Who keeps our breath in His hand? How frail is our life and men anger God without knowing He holds their very life. Be careful what you do and how you do it, lest you anger the Lord in your sin and folly. And remember that each breath is a gift from Him. Give thanks for breathing and knwo He holds you.

Job 11:13

"If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him"

I understand the context of this verse is Job's friend condemning him and trying to lead Job to rest in the Lord. But I would have us view this from our own perspective in leading souls to Christ and for our own personal walk with Him. If thou prepare thine heart - the heart is needed to be made right; This is no easy task, for too many things are against the soul seeking salvation and righteousness. 'the heart is desperately wicked, who can know it?' 'Out of the heart proceedeth sinful things'. Here is found where it begins. When Jesus taught the parable of the sower and the seed. It is the seed landing on the diffeent kinds of soil, the soil is the heart. 'Break uip the fallowed ground', it is the heart given to self and sin. We are born in sin, lost and without salvation. A soul must come to where it can be saved, to Jesus. But is the ground prepared? Is it made ready to receive the Gospel? A hard heart cannot be broken with reason, or rhyme. A hard heart must be made ready to break the hardness so that it is softened to receive the Word. Prayer is the main way to prepare a soul to hear and respond to the Gospel. I don't know of an instance that a soul was not saved without prayer going up for preparation. The more a ground is saturated with prayer, the greater the opporutnity for harvest. But withdraw prayer in preparing the heart and it is wasted. We find our great sin right here in the way evangelism is done today. The work and the effort is done, but what of the labor of prayer in preparing. Too many services today begin with a 80 second prayer for God to bless the services. And it should have been 80 minutes of praying for God to prepare the ground for the reception fo the Word, for the speaker, for the listener and everyone else involved. How much time is spent in your preparing? how much time does your church spend in preparing for the worship time with God on Sundays? And when we go forth in a weeks time to be a witness, prepare the ground. Even though, most Christians do not witness to any one, the few who do prepare the ground by praying for those Divine moments when God puts someone in front of us. We may not know when it is going to happen, but we have prepared ourselves to be ready to speak. For we have prayed up, studied up and been filled up. Now when the opportunity arises, we are ready to serve our Lord by opening our mouths to speak words of eternal life. All because we prepared our hearts to be used of Him. We prepare the hearts by praying for those that God will give to us to witness, He is able to do this. And stretch out thine hands toward him - Lifting up holy hands unto the Lord God Almighty; No heart will be prepared; no heart will be softened; no heart will receive the Gospel unless God's people stretch out their hands unto Him. It is the image of a child of God reaching out to lay hold on the hem of His garment. It is the desperation within the soul reaching out to God for help. 'Put your hand in the nail scarred hand'. It is the reaching up to Him, Who is able to help and save. the body position of a child of God in prayer says a lot. in the book of Acts, when the church prayed without ceasing, RA Torrey, defined thatt prayer time as stretching one's self out for the cause. What has touched your heart so clearly that you stretch you physical body out to Him? do you have enough passion and zeal within you for your lost loved ones to stretch out toward God? You cannot float around in daily activities and accomplish this type of praying. You must be prostrate, down before Him and crying out with all your heart. This is urgent, desperate praying, and it is prevailing prayer. May you forth today to prepare your heart and ask for God to prepare the hearts of those that need the Gospel message of salvation. And may you glean fruit for the kingdom because you stretched out yourself toward Him.

Job 10:12

"Thou hast granted me life and faour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit."

Job just got done saying in verse 1, 'My soul is weary of my life' and now his attention is toward the Lord. Thou hast granted me life and favor - only God is able to do this for us and in us; 'Thou', o Lord are the only One. You are God and God alone and there is none else. Job turns his eyes off his problems and toward the One Who is maker and creator of all. HE is the only one able to grant these two gifts: life and favor. He is life, how can we assume that anyone else is the maker of life. What is ti that God desires for us? "I have come, that you might have life, abundant life in ME'. Now He is the great provider of all that we need. It is not just the physical needs and wants of everyday life. He grants life to us. He Who created all things, grants life and breath to us as a gift. a gift which for so many of us, we take for granted. We almost act as if we deserved to live. But what quickly forget, God is the giver of life. What happens if God would have said, 'no life to this one'. Who can thwart God's word? Or what if God would have allowed for us to be as David's child, 'The child must die'. What if our life woudl have been cut off early? by the sins of others, or the sins of the mother through abortion. How many have not even learned to understand because they was cut off to early? God preserves our life and holds fast to live so that we may know Him. Have you thanked God for giviing life to you? or do you take it for granted? And He gives us favor in this life. Nothing is by chance, luck or by some mystical setting of the sun, it is by God's Divine design. His favor is to us, out of His love for us. Are we not able to see His favor upon us? Why was we born here and not in some third world country? Why was we blest we health and a mind to understand? When we could have been born with some disease or inability to think. God granted us His favor. Why did we receive the Gospel? (If you have received the Gospel) When millions have heard it and rejected it, why did we embrace it? He granted favor. Oh, brethern, look up on th eblessings of your life and see God's great favor for us. How faithful He is unto us. And Thy visitation hath preserved my spirit - God's Divine visitation will satisfy the soul; When has He come? Before the world was formed, He was present, thinking upon us. Waiting for the day in which we would be born and be ready for His Divine visitation. No visit from the Spirit, no salvation; for no man can come unto the Lord except through the Son. It is the Spirit that convicts that brings to salvation in Jesus. Can you remember the day in which His Divine visitation saved your soul? You was lost and He found you, He saved you; brought you from darkness ot light, lostness to salvation, hell to heaven. And that Divine visit preserved your saved soul because you received Christ. 'To as many as would receive Him to them gave He power to become the sons of God.' And in times of weakness, times of being downcast, He preserves us in His own strength;Are you preserved today in Hm? Do you think the church recognizes the Divine visitation to rescue and redeem all of lost mankind? How desperately we need His visitation now. So many lost; so much wickedness; and only a Divine vistiation will redeem. May your prayers and mine be in thanksgiving for what God hath done; what He is doing and may we ask for Him to come in fullness to preserve the souls of the saints and rescue the lost.

Job 9:11

"Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not: he passeth on also, but I perceive him not."

In the sorrow of Job, he was desiring for the Lord to appear and help him. He wanted to know why; he wanted to understand. Yet, there are seasons of our life that seems so dark. Even Christian, in Pilgrim's Progress, had to go through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. Death, sickness, trials, problems, sinful states are all season that are hard to bear. Lo, He goeth by me - word study, to go; Job declares that He knows the Lord God Almighty is Spirit and abides in all places and times. He is the Lord, and He is omniscient, omnipresent, and He is. And somehow, He passes by. We looked at the verse earlier, that when a spirit passed by his hair stood up. And so when the Spirit of God passes by, something happens and changes. the old hymn declares the fear of a child of God, 'Pass me not, O gentle Savior. . .while on others thou art calling , do not pass me by.' He goes, and He will go on by. What shall happen when the Spirit of God goes by me? Will He stop and address me? Will He leave me to my own ruin? Lord, have mercy and stop upon me. When Elijah was in the mouth of the cave, and the Spirit of God moved by him, He stopped and spoke in the still small voice which broke Elijah. Let my ears be listening for His still small voice, do not go by me, O Lord. Stay Thou with me, O Lord abide with me, fast falls the evening tide. And I see Him not - word study, to see; You see, God is God, and He is able to let us see Him or withhold Himself from us. He is able to open our eyes, 'Lord, open now thy servants eyes that he may see.' Or He is able to shut their eyes, 'Having eyes to see and cannot see.' A true child of God desires to see the Lord, 'Looking unto Jesus'. All the rest are content to go on without seeing Him. Job, in the midst of his sorrow, cannot see His light in his darkness. It may be that is your plight, there is sorrow all around. You cannot see the light of Christ shining. Your eyes are closed in fear and dread, lift up your eyes and see Him. He is there, for He is God and is able to reveal Himself to His own. Do you know Him? are you His child? Would a father hide himself from his child in need? Our heavenly Father is there look upon Him. the Grecians statment, that Philip brought saying, 'We would see Jesus'. Is that your prayer, your desire? Then know that He that created the eye, is able to open the eyes of the blind and let us see His glory today. He passeth on also - the work of God is ever moving; He is not held in one place but in constatn motion for the affairs of this world. So many souls, so many families, so much work within this old world. And God is guiding and directing it all. God is moving and we must see where He is moving. Where is the Presence of the Lord at work? Is it overseas? is it in your church? is it in you own heart? He passes on for their are other souls in need this day. He goes before me and I count it blessed that He works within me the same time He may be working within you. His eyes go to and fro throughout the whole world, He passes on. But it is not just in this present time that He is passing on, for He passes on from generation to generation. He is the beginning and the end and everything in between. He passes from generation to the next. We only last a brief time here, but He is constant and continues to pass on. We pass on from this life into eternity. But I perceive him not - the absence of the Presence of the Lord; Back to Elijah, the wind blew, the fire came, the earthquake, but the Lord was not in any of these. Enter into the church, is He there? in the Word, is He there? Of course He is, but we may not perceive Him. Too many look for the dynamic appearing of the Lord as what He did on mount Sinai. And many a person will move on, looking for something else but they did not perceive God in the midst of it. God has promised, 'I will never leave thee', yet howmany Christians feel they can utter the words of Christ from the cross, 'My God why has thou forsaken me?' When He has not forsaken them, because He cannot lie, He has promised it and will fulfill it. they just cannot perceive Him. The little chorus, "He is here", yet someone will say, 'Is He?' Yet, He hath said, 'Where two or three are gathered together, I am in the midst'. Perception is wonderful but also the heart that has little faith will discount what is happening because they perceive Him not.

Job 8:20

"Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man, neither will he help the evil doers"

The friend of Job, Bildad, was speaking these words in reproach to Job. Yet, the truth of them are upon us and for us today. Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man - word study, perfect; The truth is found here that God will honor and keep someone that is perfect. Job's friend was referring to Job being cast away because he was not perfect. Ask the question today among the Lord's people , 'ARe you perfect?' Scoff, rebuke, anger, and nonsense are the responses that you will get. And yet, the sad truth is that the church which should be preaching and speaking of this is silent and removes it from them. Why? Because when you examine the church today, it is found imperfect. The church has a glorious Gospel of redemption; a power from the King and strength from His powerful hand. However, they exercise the first one of redemption but gain nothing else after that. Christians are left with their salvation, but do not push on for the joy and completeness in Christ. 'Believe, and that is enough', and this leaves them on the milk instead of the meat of perfect in Christ. It should be laid out for every new Christian, 'Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect'. The fact is that the Scripture is clear in its teaching of what our lives are to be like, they are to perfect. A soul that is striving and desiring for perfection in Christ wil be kept by the Lord. Now let it be spoken here, perfection is not in the religious duties or self elevating of one's own self. The desire for perfection is breathed into us by the Holy Spirit. Have you received that breath of God? 'Breathe on me, breath of God, Fill me until I am all Thine'. And why does so many in the church reject this message, because they are of this world, carnal and reject the breath of God, turning away from it. Are you willing? are ytou open to understand the ways of God, with what He has said, and what He is doing? He will not cast away the one that dies to self and lives for Him. This is perfection, when the flesh has been crucified and the Spirit is living fully in our vessels. We are transfomred from vessels of dishonor to vessels of honor for His glory Names sake. Neither will he help the evil doers - word study, to help; The ways of the Lord are righteous, just and faithful. The ways of wicked men will be met with righteous judgement for their actions against Him. They desire their own selfish ends, and seek to mar His glory. He cannot permit this, even though He has made a way for them to be redeemed. But they have chosen to align with Satan and his ways. They, being evil, have joined themselves unto evil. And even though, they may acknowledge the Lord and know of Him; for even Satan knows Him, they will not obey Him. Until times of trouble and trials, then they lift up a voice of prayer, they want help. They cry for mercy, but there is none to find, for they have forsaken Him and rejected Him. He will not help them, for they only want help for their own selfish ends. Chose you this day, who's you will be. 'As for me and my household we will serve the Lord.' Know for certain that He will not help the evil ones, but He desires to aid His own. How common sense this is, and yet, so many disregard the ways of the Lord until trouble. do not be as one that changes with the wind. Be faithful in great an dsmall ways, in season and out of season. Live for Him, being willing to die for Him and let your works bring glory to Him. Be perfect, abstain from evil and live for Jesus.

Job 7:20

"I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself?"

Job is in utter sorrow. And as he searches for the answer to why, he recognizes his own folly. I have sinned - the personal confession of a soul before the Lord; There is no casting of blame to someone else. There is no blaming God for what has happened. There is taking ownership of one's own decision to offend a holy god, 'I have sinned'. It is my iniqutiy, it is my transgression and no one elses. How sad to listen to confession time of Christians in church today? They dance all around the issue of their personal sin. Show me a soul at liberty and I will show you a soul that confesses their personal sin. How deep the hurt, how wretched the feeling of sinning against the Lord. 'Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me'. "Oh, wretched man that I am'. all because of personal sin. Brethern, look upon your life, your thoughts, your words and your actions, wherein lies your sin? Have you confessed? Have you taken care of it? Go to Him without delay and find His mercy. What shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? - great questions of the Bible; Job is searching how to make the wrongs right in the Presence fo the Lord. His request is not to man, but only unto God. Let us undersand that only the Lord is able to help and to redeem. Only the Lord is able to preserve us and remove our iniqutiy. For out of righteous judgement, the Lord must make us account for our sins and iniquities. Death is the sentence to all. 'For the wages fo sin is death'. WE are all found guilty of sin and the verdict is death; and apart from His mercy to preserve us, we would all be sentenced to hell. But He preserves us and gives us mercy and grace to find the Advocate, the Savior of our sins, for He has paid it all, all to Him I owe; sin had a left a crimosn stain, that washed me white as snow.' Why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself? - great questions of the Bible; And are we not set against the Lord? He is rigtheous, we are unrighteous; He is holy, we are unholy; He is perfect, we are failures; Our sin separates us from Him. the answer to Job's question is found within our own making, we chose to sin and grieve Him. And under the weight of sin and recognition that God has withdrawn from us because of our sin, we fell the burden of guilt. God will not leave nor forsake His children, but our sin limits His Presence. We need the fullness of His Spirit to be upon us and work through us, but sin blocks His fullness. Remove the sin and restore the relationship. The burden on Job's life is one that many live with each day. They are sorry, they are in sin, habitual sin and can't break free. But instead of being set free, they remained chained and bound, and burdens are multiplied because of it. This is why so many Christians are in sorrow and suffering, their sin has done it. No one else, "I have sinned", and only the Lord can make it well. 'burdens are lifted at Calvary, Calvary' it is there that you will find it. Go to the cross of Christ and find peace, forgiveness, strength and Divine love poured out for thee, o sinner.

Job 6:8

"Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant me the thing that I long for!"

Is this your desperate plea unto the Lord God Almighty? Job was not only answering the accusations by his friends, but his heart was still longing upward to the One that could answer his questions and help him. Oh that I might have my request - the petition or supplication offered unto the Lord in prayer; The possesiveness of Job to say, 'that I might have it'. ARe you as earnest in your prayer life? Not satisfied with just 'saying your prayers', but knowing that when you ask, the Lord is able and willing to grant us the desires of our heart. For you see, I feel that most Christians just mouth words, they just offer up broken requests with no real desrie to achieve anything but easing their conscinece. They say their prayers and then in their own way sit with passivitiy, 'I have done my religious duty and said my prayers. Isn't God happy with me?' There is no real purpose in their prayers to bring honor to God, to enlarge the kingdom or to make their life a witness to others around them with a fruitful prayer life. There objective is to be religious, the work of man's own selfish way. But the true child fo prayer will not be satisifed with that frame of Christian praying, they must have it. The true prayers honored by the Lord are not of our own making, but the Holy Spirit breathes within us, the true desire of His heart to pray so that He might accomplish His desired will in this world and in the life of man. 'Do not ask amiss'. Do not let your request be of this world. How foolish when I hear people say as they buy a lottery ticket, 'I pray the Lord lets me win'. Why would the Lord grant His blessing on the sin of gambling? God will not give the request of selfish desires or that which will lead to sin. He grants that which leads to His glory, to Him. And that God would grant me the thing that I long for! - he realized the Lord's hand is the only One that can give him his desire; What is it that Job longed for? It was answers to the why. What is it that your heart longs for? Is there a passion, a longing buried deep within you? How sad to hear of those that sit passively around and know nothing of desire. But a true child of God has many longings within them. they have a longing for God to be glorified; for souls to be saved; for their life to be holy; for the Gospel to be received by the nations; and they have a longing for home in heaven. And all these longings can only be given when God grants His favor to allow it or bestow it. Gaze with eyes upon the throne of God and as you are asking for the longning desire of your heart, wait upon Him to stretch forth His right hand and speak permission, "So let it be granted." For when God grants us His favor, who is able to thwart the Lord God Almighty? There is none. But only God can do it, it is not in my own strength or abilities. and as I search my life and heart, I know what I long for. I make sure it is not asking amiss, it is not of selfish wants, it is only for His glory. NOthing else will satisfy but that which is of Him and for Him. All else passes away, but the Lord's blessings remain for the furtherance of the kingdom. May God grant you that which you long for in His Name.

Job 5:1

"Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn?"

Oh, how nice to have friends to encourage and lift you up. The friends of Job began to shred him and find fault though. And this paticular friend charges for Job to call and see if anybody will answer. That almost sounds like Satan accusing us if we should call would the Lord answer us. Call now, if there be any that will answer thee - 'Call upon Me, and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not'; It may be that friend will not answer. It may be that no one will give ear to your prayer, or cry. but the Lord will hear and and will answer. The Lord has promised and spoken and He cannot lie, therefore it is for us to trust in. God is faithful in His work and word. But let us look to the church and to our own hearts, do we believe? For I feel that there are many that will enter into prayer time and arise from having said a 'little' prayer and feel that they have called but no one has answered. They 'said' their prayers but nothing was accomplished. It is that God's own people enter into prayer with the attitude of , 'Why bother, nothing is going ot change, He's not listening'. They charge God foolishly, for it is not God at fault, but their own unbelief. Let this not be named among us brethern, for the Lord is God Almighty and able to hear. But be careful you do not enter prayer time with unbelief or half hearted attempt of pouring your heart, mind and soul out. The prayer of importunity is prayer of zeal, fervor and desire, and God honors such praying. The one who's heart is full and soul is yearning, is the soul that will not rest until prayers are declared and God has heard and will answer. Their faith is great and they know God is great and greatly to be praised for all His ways. And when our heart may fail us and Satan may come to discourage us, let us remember the word of the Lord. Let us consider all His wondrous ways of faithfulness and rebuke Him for such doubts, for the Lord heareth His children. 'And the Lord heard my cry'. And to which of the saints wilt thou turn? - great questions of the Bible; In the prophecy of the Lord's night of betrayal, it is written, 'And they all forsook Me, no man stayed'. And that very night when they arrested Jesus, all forsook Him. There is times in life when it is seems such is the case. For everyone that you run to of the saints, is busy, preoccupied or not interested. It is not the desire of the body to be such, but it happens. Solomon wrote of finding a friend that sticks closer than a brother. We should have those in our life that are true saints for us to turn to. And in moment of need they be not there, hold it not against them, but lean upn the One that is closer than a brother or earthly friend. 'What a Friend we have in Jesus'. But there are men and women in the kingdom of God that pray for us, teach us, lead us, help us and love us. I often ask, much to sorrow, are there three people that pray for you everyday? Very few can know of such, the church has forsaken its own in a great way. Praise for faithful friends that no matter what they are there. They are praying and ready to extend a hand for help and encouragement. Are you such a friend? When your brothers and sisters in Christ are in need, are you there? ARe you praying daily, holding them up? Or are you preoccupied with your own sorrow and affairs of your own making? The quickest way to get out of grief is to help others, lift up your eyes off of self and look at your friends, they need you. Quit being self consumed and pray ye for one another. Let the body be healthy and active in aiding one another. and do not complain of those that are not there for you, if you are not there for them. And one more word, it may be someon reading this is looking for one such friend. Pray for the Lord to send someone like that to you. David had Jonthan; Jeremiah had Baruch; Moses had Aaron; Jesus had Peter; and Paul had Luke. LEt us ask for someone to come into our life that may be a Christian friend for our betterment.

Job 4:15

"Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up:"

This is the friend of Job, Eliphaz, speaking. He is referring in this section of verses to fear of dreams and things in the night season. In the previous verse, verse 14, he describes his fear and trembling. Then a spirit passed before my face - he is not talking about the Holy Spirit, but a goul or ghost; What shall we say of such things? 'Things that go bump in the night'. Are they in our imaginations or do spirits exist? We already know that which is declared and revealed about this world and the world to come. We would have the Holy Spirit always active in and around our life, for that brings us comfort and peace. But when the Spirit of God is quenched and grieved, we repel Him and open the door for spirits to come in. How many accounts are mentioned in the Gospels of demonic possession? Do we not understand still today that demons are active in this world? It was not just in the Bible, but is present right now with us. Too many false descriptions, movies and man's imaginations running wild, explain away a lot of the spiritual world truths. Too many scientist, psychologist and others that seek to explain away the spiritaul things. But they are there, and they are active in this world. How would you respond if your eyes had see when Daniel's angel was withstood by the Prince of Persia, demon, and Michael came and fought with them. That battle would be fierce and scary. In some ways we wish we could see the spriitual world and then other times, hold my eyes from beholding the horros of hell. Now I would like to refer to this first part of this verse in the sense,not of ghosts, but of the Holy Spirit. For do we not desire for the Holy Spirit to come and pass before us in all our ways? what wonder for him to visit us and be with us. This is what the church and every Christian should be seeking for the Spirit to be present. But it amazes me the desire for most is to just go through the motions and never regard if He is there or not. We must be sensitive to that, for this is what grieves Him. LEt us check our true intentions and desires whether they are for His glory or ours. The hair of my flesh stood up - the physical body changed because of the event; The events of life change our bodies out of responding to the case. Tears, signs, ulcers, stress, fatigue all effect the physical body to make us change what is the normal way. How people respond to experiences makes the differnce. Some people adjust better and are able to cope and deal without eratic behavior in the physcial body. Others go off the deep end and drastic changes occur. Settled in the Lord keeps a Christian stable, full of joy and at peace. Look at moments in your life, what raised the hair on your flesh? Was it fear? terror? anguish? anger? The extremem emotions will do it, but where then is our anchor in the Lord. 'Lord, we perish. And He arose and spoke a word and calmed the sea and the wind.' They were in fear, He was in control. To remember that Christ is in control and will take us and lead us is based on our faith in Him. But what of the Holy Spirit when He passes by in the body of Christ and the hair of our flesh stands up? There has been nothing of emotion, it is all of the Spirit. 'In His Presence', the change effects us, not of emotional tirade but of reality of the given moment. And how much is missed when we do not see it as such. 'If any of you ask the Father He will give the Spirit in answer to our prayers.' then let us ask and receive.

Job 3:1

"After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day."

He had lost all of his possessions of substance; he had lost his children; and he had lost his health. And as his so called friends gatherd to him, the pain and anguish in his soul was more than most men could stand. For it is in the great depths of sorrow, that man seeks to control the ways of life, to understand the why's of what has happened. Yet, in the midst of such sorrow, there can be no understanding of the why. When tragedy hits, it sends us into a tailspin out of control, for we realize we are not in control. The circumstances of tragedy remind us of this quickly. Job is filled with such grief that after sitting a week in misery of physical, emotional and mental pain he is now ready to begin speaking. And the very God Who created us and gave us life, and a mouth to speak, Job uses that mouth to curse the very gifts of God. It seems so much in failure that life is precious and gift. Yet, in the midst of difficutlties, man curses their very existnece. After this - Job had been silent for 7 days; After the tragedy, after the silence, now is the time to speak. Solomon wrote, 'To every thing there is a season.' There is a time to speak, and there is a time to be silent. And when such things happen to a soul, best to be silent, than to speak as a fool. Opened Job his mouth - he was prepared to speak now; After the inward battle of understanding what has happened and the why of it, he has sat in silence. Heart and soul crying out to God for help, for mercy. Mind racing with the task of understanding. Now the mouth to vocalize all that has gone on silent to the rest of the world. But not to the Lord, for He has heard and knows the very thoughts of Job, his friends. He knows our very intents and thoughts whether they be good or bad, and we have to answer for everything. So when you prepare to open your mouth, a word of caution, lest you speak foolishly. Let your words always be saturated with grace and mercy and all for His glory. How many mouths are opened and it is to speak evil, foolishly. How much vanin chit-chat is discoursed in a day, and none of it produces anything of substance. Open your mouth to speak words of eternity to those in lostness. And how shall they hear, unless someone speak to them about it. LEt the fullness of God's glory be spoken of so that all men may know that He is the Lord God. Consider your conversations and see when you open your mouth, what is being said? what it is accomplishing? Is it more of earthly conversation or spiritual conversation? And cursed his day - he viewed the destruction in his life, and spoke a wish that it had never been; The only way that all this pain of Job could have been avoided is if it had never happened. How to do that? He thinks during these days of silence, 'If I had not been born, then none of this woudl have happened.' This is true, but if he currses the day he was born, as well the day of sorrow, then he would not be around to contemplate the affairs that he is experiencing. For which is better, to live in sorrow, or to not live at all? Many a person going through tough times will curse the day. But really, what could does that do? Do we stop the day? Does that erase the pain of what has already been? I can see why some would like reincarnation, because it would give them a second chance. But we only have one chance in this life, and then the judgement. Let us open our mouth to bless the Lord and His creation. The day is the Lord's and the fullness of it. We have no right to curse it, for it is His. Many a person will say, "I wish this day had never been." Understandably, things may be bad or horrible, but this day puts us one more day closerr to eterntiy with the Lord. Now, I understand that if you are reading this and you don't know for sure about your salvation or whether you are saved or not, then you are one step closer to eternity in hell. I sympthaize with you that you wish the days would continue. But the days come and go, the weeks, the months, the years, and the decades and then eternity. Eternity!! will you curse then, when you are in eternity? CAst off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light and live for Him and in Him. And turn the cursing into a blessing. Lift up now thine eyes and see His glorified Presence all around those that love Him and will serve Him. This is your day, what will you open your mouth and say of it, brethern?

Job 2:7

"So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of this foot unto his crown."

The work of Satan to afflict us and drive us away from the Lord. The work of the Lord to bring men unto Himself and receive the glory out of such actions. So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord - word study, went; And here we see the way of evil, to go fortha way from the Presence of the Lord. Every work of sin is begun here. show me any backslider, any sinner and you are able to trace it that they went forth from the Presence of the Lord. The sorrow of any nation, any church, any family, any soul is that they went from the Presence of the Lord. Where are you at today? Are you in His Presence or out of it? Can we not see that the times of our weakest moments and worst deeds was because of leaving Him? He has promised never to leave us nor to forsake us, and He is faithful to His word and promise. But we in our sinfulness restrict His Presence by committing sin and quenching, grieving and resisting the Holy Spirit. Are we not guilty fo such things daily? Has the church not grieved the Holy Spirit from our worhsip times and effictiveness? And are we not powerless in this day and age because of such fleshly wanderings? 'Return unto Me, and I will return unto you'. And smote Job with sore boils - the affliction of Job was not the Lord but Satan; Satan was given permission to afflict Job. How often the Lord is blamed for such difficutlites and problems. You hear them cry out, "Why is God doing this to me?" or "Why did God allow this?" the answer is that God is God, and that His ways are far above our ways. And to look at the answer found here in Job. God allowed Satan to afflict Job, so that He might receive the glory due to His Holy Name. of course, most people are interested in that or never consider it, for they are only interested in being happy. Humanism is the worst trick of the devil for our age. Satan knows the devices in his arsenal and will afflict as he sees fit. He is a master of our weakness and fraility and knows jsut what to do to take us down. From the sole of his foot unto his crown - see the thoroughness of his actions; how often the chidlren of God forget the intent of SAtan. 'As a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour'. HE is not out to indulge us, he is out to destroy us. We look at Satan as a friend, instead of the enemy. The premice that he is able to provide fame, fortune and indulgences into sin for our amuesement is to give me a friendly attirubte. he seeks to destroy your soul for eternity and every other soul in the land. His work is thorough, he seeks to cover all the people, every nation, every family, every work of God to thwart it. He seeks to destroy everything to destroy God. How does this concept work when he knows that in the end he will be destroyed?

Job 1:8

"And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one the feareth God, and escheweth evil?"

So much is found here it is impossible to cover it all. The conversation between the Lord and Satan; the witness and testimony of Job before all the spiritual world; Job's characteristic that God applauds; and the pattern for all of us to keep. Too often many readers of the Holy Scriptures read as if they are reading a fanatsy. It is not relevant to them, they only read it for the facts of the pages. But a true saint is ready to find hope, exhortation and something from God to lead. This one verse has it all. And the Lord said unto Satan - what a conversation to be recorded for our benefit; The Lord God Almighty talking to Satan, who had betrayed and chosen to rebel against God. Satan was in His Holy Presence, only as a servant, no longer to sing and give glory to His Name. And in this conversation God ask of Satan a question. How many questions God imposes in the Bible, already knowing the answer. When God speaks the servant will answer. Hast thou considered my servant Job - the art of considering of people, events and life in general; I believe it to be a lost art, where we have forgotten what it is to discern and consider. The Lord tells SAtan to look upon His servant, Satan was His servant as well. 'Look at him, this is what I desire. You meant to destroy it and ruin it, but look and consider his heart toward me.' 'You can't break him, Satan', so says the Lord. And what of you, my beloved, do you desire for the Lord to bring you before the spiritaul world and say, 'Consider my sevant'. Oh, that God would put His faith within us and we would be worthy to give glory to Him, as Job did. But God will not say, "Consider my servant", until we have considered our own ways. That there is none like him in the earth - what a statement to be made of a man; Of all created man, and life on the earth during those days, Job was above all of them. Every feature and quality in him was above the rest. IN just about anything you do, there is usually someone that is better, faster, smarter, gifted above you. But to be the one considered out of all the earth to be a statement against Satan, how unworthy do we feel? We look upon our sin and shame and know that we would quickly be removed from this list to consider. OH, many a saint desires to do better, they know they should do better, but they never do do better. WE are to strive to be above the world and unlike all the rest in our purusit of holiness. So that our family, friends, co workers and church family should say of us,'There is none like them in all the earth'. And not just one, but a group of them that are seeking this same thing, then you have a holy body and it is marvellous what the Lord can and will do. A perfect and an upright man - word study, perfect; oh, how grand the statment found throughout the Bible of those that were perfect and upright in all their ways. It should be the desire of every Christian for such a statement. Yet, too many renounce and dismiss such a statment as if these people were above all the rest and not to be attained in this life for us. And thus, they have given themselves an excuse to sin and come short of His glory. But every time that word perfect is used in the Bible it is to show us that God can bless aperson to obtain and walk in uprightness in their thought, words, actions and priorities of life. It should not be shunned by the church but it should be embraced and set before us as our goal of worship and life. The way of perfection is a part of the cause of such evil that we see today. We continue to settle for less and less of holiness and perfection until we are jsut about to the place of 'and every man did that which was right in his own eyes'. There is a higher standard, perfecction, and we are to strive to be like Job in this. Consider your ways and see of your own hearts desire to be perfect 'like our Father which is in heaven is perfect'. One that feareth God - the beginning of wisdom is to fear the Lord; Can we say that this society walks in fear of the Lord? They defy Him and there is no fear of the One that holds their breath in His hand. And when a society begins to crumble it is because they have removed fear from judgment and wrath for their sins, no remorse, nor sorrow. Yet we could easily expect it in the world of lost sinners, but what about the church? what about your own heart? Do they fear the Lord? Is the dread of all the ages taht God is going to judge this world and all of us make us fearful of His anger? Do we weep and cry for the sins of this land and our families? Does the church understand what it is to fear the Lord? He Who created all things, is able to uncreate as well. Let us understand that God's mercy and His Own ways keep Him from destroying all this earth for their filth and offense toward Him. We need to learn what it is to fear the Lord again. Job did and so do we. And escheweth evil? - great questions of the Bible; Here again is God asking a question that the answer is already given. HE is making a statement concerning Job and the work of Satan. Here is Job, my servant, who is avoiding by intention every work of evil. Is this not perfection? To avoid intentionally the work of evil from one's life? And the reason you avoid evil is because of what it has costs us, what it will costs us and what it is costing our world today. We avoid evil because it takes us away from the ways fo the Lord and His grace and mercy. It takes us closer to the devil and he is able to mar and wound us. All of these things mentioned of Job work together to perfect his life and way of service to the Lord. These are the things that shoudl be said of us, are they? ARe they said of the church?

Esther 10:1

"And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and upon the isles of the sea."

this chapter is very short; second shortest in the Bible. With only three verses, each verse tells us and focuses on certain points of interest for us. And the king Ahasuerus - he was king during this period of transition from the Medes and Persians to Greece; the Lord God raises up kings and establishes them as well as He removes kings. It is the Lord's will, what of it? He knows that which has been, that which is and that which shall be. They are not in ruling power of their own making only for the Lord's Divine will to be done. You and I are brought into this world for a reason, His reason. the sooner we understand that and acknowledge that, the sooner we are able to fulfill our purpose. How many ask, 'What is my purpose in this world?' It is for us to come to know Him personally and see His hand and ways revealed in and through our lives. How many waste a life and never know anything of this? They are never able to begin becasue they won't trust and abide in Him. Thus, they miss their purpose of life. And what is worse, that having lived an entire lifetime and missing it all. Laid a tribute upon the land - as king he was able to tax and seize the wealth of the people; The land, refers to the 127 provinces of his empire. It was extended from India to Iran, the Middle East. A huge swath of land and people and was a major part of the transition from Babylon to Rome. This verse is an indication of that transition. The land was no doubt already taxed, but apparently there arose a need for another means for more. Blessed is the nation that no tribute is needed to sustain the kingdom. Of this earth there is nothing like that, only the kingdom of our Lord. For there in heaven there will be no need, for all provisions will come from Him. He is the great provider, Jevoah Jireh. When PEter was confronted by the tax collectors, Jesus answered that need and provided by the coin in the mouth of the fish. And when asked of paying tribute unto the empire, Jesus repliled, 'Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and render unto God the things that are God's.' He is able to provide for earthly tribute. And upon the isles of the sea - islands conquered and under his rule in the Aegan Sea; His empire was expanding and these new additions of the islands no doubt had wealth untouched by their ability in merchant ships. But I wonder of the need to raise a new tribute, as we consider the other verses here, I wonder if Mordecai lowered the money of the Jews being paid and the lapse had to be accounted for somewhere so they taxed the islands? But the wealth of the nations changes hands, goes through countries and business transacations, but it is all His. He allows for the gold, and wealth of the land to be given or taken. The more we trust in Him the more is entrusted. Are we faithful? Is the church able to give an account of the wealth that has been entrusted to it? Can the building of material possessions while the Gospel languishes in foreign lands be justified? The money poured out into concerts and entertainment, can it be justified while hunger, poverty grips 3/4 of the world?

Esther 9:22

"As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day; that they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor."

What shall the end time be like? Even like this verse. For after their enemies had been bested and their lifes preserved, now rejoicing and rest. As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies - days had been set aside for celebration over the Lord's mercy; The Lord had worked marvellously to deliver them from the hand of Haman. And soon, brethern, oh, so soon, we will be delivered from this world of strife and sin. Have you thought of it recently? Has it made your soul explode with thanskgiving. the days of rest shall shortly be upon us. But until then, we must labor and work for His kingdom. And if be that we shall see death first, rather than His second coming, then we know that we shall go to the 'land where the weary are at rest'. And the month was turned unto them - time is not limited to change upon a second, minute, hour, or day; within a month's time so much is done that counters what has been established. In a given moment everything can be turned upside down. Life is full of such turns, let us see and know that the Lord is able to keep us during all such moments, whether good or bad. From sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day - Here is the work of Christ for souls; The Jews lives were threatened and almost wiped out of existence, and then everything turned. God intervened and set the wrongs right and performed wonderfully in their midst. See what God can do, and the Saviors work of redemption and help. Show me the soul that has been rescued from sin and hell and I will show you sorrow to joy and mourning to goodness. Show me the family that 's been saved and they go from animosity and unrest to peace and happiness. Show me the drunk set free or the drug addict released and I will show you sorrow to joy, purpose and fullness. Oh, how many have experienced it; how many more need to. We are in the plight of knowing that this is possible for one and all. But oh, how few come, how few want joy. It is almost as if the people are crying,'WE love our sorrow, we have to have our mourning'. But it doesn't have to be like that, Christ stands ready to heal, restore and make whole. Did He not do it from the cross? 'Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing.' While we was yet in sin, Christ loved us and died for us. He knew we would need Him to have sorrow to joy. And what shall you say of your life, dear reader? Which do you have, sorrow or joy? mourning or goodness? So many around put on a smiling face but have no inner peace or hope. Can we not be honest about it all, there is no hope apart from knowing Christ. He must be our all and fill our all. If we leave anything held back from Him, then Satan will make the most of it and all will fall. Turn to Jesus and find joy, 'out of your belly shall flow rivers of living water'; 'and I have come to give you abundant joy'.

Esther 8:6

"For how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?"

We must take a personal look at these words of Esther today. The Jews had been sold into the hands of Haman for destruction. God in His mercy toward His people has begun to deliver them from desturction. Haman, the enemy of the Jews, has been destroyed, but that has not fixed the problem of the edict that has gone forth for the destruction of the Jews. With Haman now gone, the king listens to Queen Esther and Moredcai for advice. Here is her plea: For how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? great questions of the Bible; word study, to see; word study, to come; Two questions here, the first deals with the people; the second, deals with her family. We must consider the same today for our own lives and those round about us. What is coming? Eternity. Where will people spend eterntiy? those that are saved in heaven; those that are lost in hell. How many? There are 7 billion people on the planet, 80 to 90 % are lost. There are 300 million people in North America, with the same number lost and perishing. How is it that the church can sit idly by and not agnoize over the lostness of humanity? How is it that we see the masses perishing and no hope is given, no salvation presented for sinners? Does it not begin with this plea from Esther? We do not believe we shall see the evil that is coming. We honestly think that things will continue on as is, and no troubbles or problems. We have forgotten as a people that has revelation revealed to us, that 'in the last days, things will grow worse and worse'. We have forgotten the spoken truth that the wrath and anger of the Lord will settle down upon the evil people of this earth. 'He will send His servant, with a threshing instrument, 'Put you in your sickle and reap'.' Brother, sister, destruction is coming for the nations fo the world. And once it comes, it will be too late. Can we endure to watch such desturction and not be moved? I know not what nature you are of , if you are not moved by such thoughts. And if that is not bad enough -- Or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred? - great questions of the Bible; word study, to see; The second question gets more personal for Esther. For she knew that it would not only be the Jewish people abroad that she did not know, but it would be her own family and close members. Do you think that the wrath of God will pass over your house on judgement day? is it not so among the Christians today, that their households are lost as well the nations of the world? Parents saved, children lost; children saved, parents lost; spouses divided, with one saved and the other lost; siblings divided over salvation, 'The harvest is past, the summer is ended and we are not saved'. Here is the worse scenario, our family will be counted with them that go into hell for eternity. REaching out to us, saying, "SAve me, save me, I don't want to go there." But it will be too late, for when we was given time to do something about it, we didn't do anything. Can you stand to wait any longer? Is your heart and soul not crying out to 'seek and save that which is lost' now? How can anyone stand to watch their loved one destroyed if we did not do our best to rescue? And jsut as Esther was placed in a postition to do something about it, so are we. If the Gospel lives and breathes within you, you have the power of prayer, the witness of daily life in Christ, the promises of God in His holy Word. 'We should not cease in praying for them until they cease breathing.' Brethern, it is more than we can stand, let us be busy about our Lord's business. 'Redeeming the time, for the days are evil.' don't live with regrets while God has given today to accomplish work for His kingdom. Let us not go into eternity with the worst words in the English language, 'What might have been'.

Esther 7:10

"So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. then was the king's wrath pacified."

In the midst of these developments, the death of Hamn ends part of the problem. He had created the problem, by hating Mordecai, and desiring ot destroy a whole people. Thus, he set about to have Mordecai killed and even built the gallows to do it. But 'be sure your sin will find you out.' So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai - that which he had built was his own demise; And why? For he had set about in folly to kill an innocent people. When God stands up to defend His people, the enemy has no chance. Even when the children of Israel had been beat and killed and the residue sent into captivity, He still watched over them. Their sin was met with judgement, but He would not allow for them to be annhilated. Haman sought after Mordecai's death and it was his own demise instead. How evil are the ways of man, and how God will make the wrongs right. Then was the king's wrath pacified - anger was abated by Haman's death; And this was the king's right hand man. And yet he took hope in this, that Haman die. Perhaps over the cruel intentions of Haman's workings? Perhaps, it was over him throwing himself at Esther and the king perceived him to be forcing her. But the king defintely lost control and his wrath was poured out on Haman. And what shall appease the wrath of the King of Kings? is it to be found in the death of the righteous? Is it that evil will be accoutned for and judged thoroughly? For His ways are right and there is no error foudn within it. What shall pacify Him? To see the righteous rewarded; His glory manifested and His church set free from the ways of this life and established in glory. God has made a way and He will see it to be done. Let all the wicked take notice now, that their evil must be avenged and answered for. And since they have rejected the Son of God, wrath abides upon them. His wrath will not be asswayed until they are judged and sentenced. Cry out for their eyes to be opened, their hearts to be stirred to seek His mercy before it is too late. let the hand of the Lord move us to speak the truth and tell of what awaits to the wicked men of this earth, like that of Haman.

Esther 6:1

"On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king."

Divine providence is the hand of God in the affairs of man. How many times I cannot count, when the Lord moved within my life for His glory? It is His plan; it is His honor to be sought; it is His Divine will to be done. Men speak of 'luck', 'chance', or 'conicedence', it is none of these things, it is the will of God. And who is able to thwart the will of God in such times? There is none. On that night could not the king sleep - the natural course of man is to sleep at night; When sleep departs during the night hour, there is a reason for it. Now, it might be explained that it was something you ate; something you watched; something on your mind and heart, and all that might be true to some degree. But this night the king, who normally could sleep, could not, for the Lord was at work. He is the God of the day as well as of the night. So that when we consider how many times He speaks, moves and works in the night, it is no surprise to us. 'The Lord Who giveth songs in the night'. and when sleep departs during the night, is it the Lord speaking or moving? When did He speak to Samuel? When he laid down to sleep. When did Jacob wrestle with the angel? During the night. When did Jesus pray in the garden? During the night. The Lord withdraws sleep from us, for the kingdom's work is to be done. If you had an emergency during the night, that required immediate attention, woudl you roll back over and go to sleep? No, you would arise and tend to it. such is spiritual matters of the soul and eternity. There are those that while we sleep, the Lord has stirred them up to seek His face. Consider next time, you cannot sleep, 'Is it the Lord moving?' and say, 'Here am I, Lord; speak for Your servant is listening'. He commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles - this is the conclusion of the matter found within chapter 2:21-23; Again Divine providence is at work. Just the same as when Mordecai reported the threats of the king's chamberlains and he reported it. It was recorded but nothing done to honor Mordecai for his faithfulness to the king. It was preserved till this night for what was getting ready to be done to save the Jews. This is the hand of God at work in the lives of men. Can you see it? So when one complains that God is not mentioned in the book of Esther; His Name does not need to be mentioned, for His hand is upon it. He kept the king up; and He led him to ask for the books to be brought to read of the affairs of his kingdom. And turning to the right place and reading, Mordecai's act of heroism is read and the king hears it. Oh, how marvelous is our God Who works the life given unto Him. This was not for the king, it was not for Esther, it was not for Mordecai or Haman; this was for a people that God had promised to protect and deliver. And even though, their sin was so great that God removed them fromt he prmised land,still He is watching over them. And how much more, will He do it for us! Can you not believe that God is in love with you and seeks your betterment in this world for His glory? Can you not see His hand of mercy that has preserved you thus far? None of us would be here, if it was not for the merciful, providentcial hand of the Lord. Conside these things, take heart and rejoice in the Lord. His ways are right and greatly to be praised!