[Ohio-Communities-of-Faith] DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR MONDAY MAY 23

[Donnie Parrett]

DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR MONDAY MAY 23

MEMORY SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK

Ecclesiastes 12:13
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his
commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 

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WORD OF WISDOM

A toddler can do more in one unsupervised minute than most people can do all
day! 

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DAILY DEVOTION

Clinging to Sin


And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented
not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and
idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither
can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of
their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
Revelation 9:20-21

The vision of the end times that God gave to the apostle John in the book of
Revelation depicted the wrath of God being poured out on the world in a
series of plagues, wars, and natural disasters. We might expect that people
who experience these terrible calamities would turn to God, seeking relief
from His judgment. They will not. Instead, they will cling to their sins and
refuse to turn to God for forgiveness. In fact, they will use these
judgments as a reason to harden their hearts and go into even worse sin.
"And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God,
which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him
glory" (Revelation 16:9).
This deep attachment to sin and resistance to God is not something that will
only appear during the Tribulation. We see it all around us as people loudly
proclaim their pride in their sinful conduct. We see it as people refuse to
even admit they are sinning, let alone repent of those sins. While God is a
loving God, He is also a holy God, and He is to be obeyed. David wrote, "The
transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of
God before his eyes" (Psalm 36:1).
So while our culture may adopt, glorify, and promote sin, Christians need to
look at sin the way God does and maintain holy and pure lives. If we
understand His hatred of evil, we will not find it to be so attractive. If
we grasp how our lives are impacted, we will not cling to our sins, but will
quickly repent and forsake them.
Sin puts deep tentacles into our hearts if we allow it to. The only solution
is to turn to Christ and, through His power, completely cut them off.

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DAILY BIBLE READING

Job 7-9 New King James Version
Job: My Suffering Is Comfortless
7 "Is there not a time of hard service for man on earth?
Are not his days also like the days of a hired man?
2 Like a servant who [a]earnestly desires the shade,
And like a hired man who eagerly looks for his wages,
3 So I have been allotted months of futility,
And wearisome nights have been appointed to me.
4 When I lie down, I say, 'When shall I arise,
And the night be ended?'
For I have had my fill of tossing till dawn.
5 My flesh is caked with worms and dust,
My skin is cracked and breaks out afresh.

6 "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle,
And are spent without hope.
7 Oh, remember that my life is a breath!
My eye will never again see good.
8 The eye of him who sees me will see me no more;
While your eyes are upon me, I shall no longer be.
9 As the cloud disappears and vanishes away,
So he who goes down to the grave does not come up.
10 He shall never return to his house,
Nor shall his place know him anymore.

11 "Therefore I will not restrain my mouth;
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
12 Am I a sea, or a sea serpent,
That You set a guard over me?
13 When I say, 'My bed will comfort me,
My couch will ease my complaint,'
14 Then You scare me with dreams
And terrify me with visions,
15 So that my soul chooses strangling
And death rather than [b]my body.
16 I loathe my life;
I would not live forever.
Let me alone,
For my days are but [c]a breath.

17 "What is man, that You should exalt him,
That You should set Your heart on him,
18 That You should [d]visit him every morning,
And test him every moment?
19 How long?
Will You not look away from me,
And let me alone till I swallow my saliva?
20 Have I sinned?
What have I done to You, O watcher of men?
Why have You set me as Your target,
So that I am a burden [e]to myself?
21 Why then do You not pardon my transgression,
And take away my iniquity?
For now I will lie down in the dust,
And You will seek me diligently,
But I will no longer be."

Bildad: Job Should Repent
8 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:

2 "How long will you speak these things,
And the words of your mouth be like a strong wind?
3 Does God subvert judgment?
Or does the Almighty pervert justice?
4 If your sons have sinned against Him,
He has cast them away [f]for their transgression.
5 If you would earnestly seek God
And make your supplication to the Almighty,
6 If you were pure and upright,
Surely now He would [g]awake for you,
And prosper your rightful dwelling place.
7 Though your beginning was small,
Yet your latter end would increase abundantly.

8 "For inquire, please, of the former age,
And consider the things discovered by their fathers;
9 For we were born yesterday, and know [h]nothing,
Because our days on earth are a shadow.
10 Will they not teach you and tell you,
And utter words from their heart?

11 "Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh?
Can the reeds flourish without water?
12 While it is yet green and not cut down,
It withers before any other plant.
13 So are the paths of all who forget God;
And the hope of the hypocrite shall perish,
14 Whose confidence shall be cut off,
And whose trust is [i]a spider's web.
15 He leans on his house, but it does not stand.
He holds it fast, but it does not endure.
16 He grows green in the sun,
And his branches spread out in his garden.
17 His roots wrap around the rock heap,
And look for a place in the stones.
18 If he is destroyed from his place,
Then it will deny him, saying, 'I have not seen you.'

19 "Behold, this is the joy of His way,
And out of the earth others will grow.
20 Behold, God will not [j]cast away the blameless,
Nor will He uphold the evildoers.
21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughing,
And your lips with [k]rejoicing.
22 Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,
And the dwelling place of the wicked [l]will come to nothing."

Job: There Is No Mediator
9 Then Job answered and said:

2 "Truly I know it is so,
But how can a man be righteous before God?
3 If one wished to [m]contend with Him,
He could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.
4 God is wise in heart and mighty in strength.
Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered?
5 He removes the mountains, and they do not know
When He overturns them in His anger;
6 He shakes the earth out of its place,
And its pillars tremble;
7 He commands the sun, and it does not rise;
He seals off the stars;
8 He alone spreads out the heavens,
And [n]treads on the [o]waves of the sea;
9 He made [p]the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades,
And the chambers of the south;
10 He does great things past finding out,
Yes, wonders without number.
11 If He goes by me, I do not see Him;
If He moves past, I do not perceive Him;
12 If He takes away, [q]who can hinder Him?
Who can say to Him, 'What are You doing?'
13 God will not withdraw His anger,
The allies of [r]the proud lie prostrate beneath Him.

14 "How then can I answer Him,
And choose my words to reason with Him?
15 For though I were righteous, I could not answer Him;
I would beg mercy of my Judge.
16 If I called and He answered me,
I would not believe that He was listening to my voice.
17 For He crushes me with a tempest,
And multiplies my wounds without cause.
18 He will not allow me to catch my breath,
But fills me with bitterness.
19 If it is a matter of strength, indeed He is strong;
And if of justice, who will appoint my day in court?
20 Though I were righteous, my own mouth would condemn me;
Though I were blameless, it would prove me perverse.

21 "I am blameless, yet I do not know myself;
I despise my life.
22 It is all one thing;
Therefore I say, 'He destroys the blameless and the wicked.'
23 If the scourge slays suddenly,
He laughs at the plight of the innocent.
24 The earth is given into the hand of the wicked.
He covers the faces of its judges.
If it is not He, who else could it be?

25 "Now my days are swifter than a runner;
They flee away, they see no good.
26 They pass by like [s]swift ships,
Like an eagle swooping on its prey.
27 If I say, 'I will forget my complaint,
I will put off my sad face and wear a smile,'
28 I am afraid of all my sufferings;
I know that You will not hold me innocent.
29 If I am condemned,
Why then do I labor in vain?
30 If I wash myself with snow water,
And cleanse my hands with [t]soap,
31 Yet You will plunge me into the pit,
And my own clothes will [u]abhor me.

32 "For He is not a man, as I am,
That I may answer Him,
And that we should go to court together.
33 Nor is there any mediator between us,
Who may lay his hand on us both.
34 Let Him take His rod away from me,
And do not let dread of Him terrify me.
35 Then I would speak and not fear Him,
But it is not so with me.

Footnotes
Job 7:2 Lit. pants for
Job 7:15 Lit. my bones
Job 7:16 Without substance, futile
Job 7:18 attend to
Job 7:20 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX, Jewish tradition to You
Job 8:4 Lit. into the hand of their transgression
Job 8:6 arise
Job 8:9 Lit. not
Job 8:14 Lit. a spider's house
Job 8:20 reject
Job 8:21 Lit. shouts of joy
Job 8:22 Lit. will not be
Job 9:3 argue
Job 9:8 walks
Job 9:8 Lit. heights
Job 9:9 Heb. Ash, Kesil, and Kimah
Job 9:12 Lit. who can turn Him back?
Job 9:13 Heb. rahab
Job 9:26 Lit. ships of reeds
Job 9:30 lye
Job 9:31 loathe