Jealousy

Have you ever heard that God is jealous?  Yep.  


Or at least his word claims that he is.


Check it out.


Exodus 20:5 (+6 for context & blessing)
⁵ You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, ⁶ but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.


Then there is:
Exodus 34:14
¹⁴ Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. 


Then also:
Deuteronomy 4:24
and
Deuteronomy 5:9
and
Deuteronomy 6:15
and 
Deuteronomy 32:21
and
Joshua 24:19
and 
Nahum 1:2


God is a jealous god.  He will not share his creation.


Are you his?  


I am his and I have to wonder how I rouse God's jealousy.


Could it be my 
hobbies
shopping
no?
collections
relaxation
no?
How about 
my children
my husband
my parents
siblings
friends?


I tend to believe that whatever our knuckles get the whitest over holding back from God will be what he uses to bring us back to proper perspective.


When Ephraim was born, it was scary and he was dying.   Never once did my husband and I pray that God would take him or us out of that situation; instead, we prayed, "Save this child physically if you intend to save him in your kingdom and use him."  He wasn't ours - not then and surely not now - just on loan - as are TJ and Amber, also.


I think the thing I value that God has really challenged my with is my friendships, though.  Those relationships that I thought were Christ centered and godly were horrifically and heartbreakingly removed from me .   It was as if God was telling me that I valued my friendship with people more that I valued my friendship with him.  I focused more on my relationship with God and he returned a dear friend to me.  Thank you, Jesus!


Father God,
Keep my heart, mind, soul and strength focused on you.   Lifting up praise, honor and glory to you - to the Son - to the Holy Spirit.  Help me make much of you for your kingdom.  Thank you, for the reminder that you are jealous and will have no other gods before you.  Help me to identify the gods in my life so that I may remove them with your help.  I love you, Lord.  Be Lord in my heart so that others may see you in me.

Elihu Speaks to Job

Right now we are reading in the book of Job.  It is an arduous job.  It's a lot like listening to a lot blow hards telling you how to live your life.

Job is pondering his life and all that has happened to him.  He blames God and considers himself to be righteous.  Job has listened to his friends tell him how he must have done something wrong or God wouldn't have taken everything he has; while Job defends his (self)righteousness. 

The book is really fascinating and each time I read it I look at the overall differently.  This time, I believe it is the postering of Job and his friends.  The friends speaking for God and Job insisting that he is right.  Kind of like today's time when we see someone in our sphere hurting.

Elihu is the last to speak because he is the youngest and wanted to respect his elders.

Elihu is angry and says so.  Lots of times when we are angry we get puffed up or I should say, I get puffed up when I'm angry.  Most of my anger stems from pride, but back to Elihu.....

He makes some good points.  He says in Job 33:4-14 NIV1984

4 The Spirit of God had made me; the breath of the almighty gives me life.  5 Answer me then, if you can; prepare yourself and confront me.  6 I am just like you before God; I too have been taken from clay.  7 No fear of me should alarm you, nor should my hand be heavy upon you.  8 But you have said in my hearing--  I have heard the very words-- 9"I am pure and without sin; I am clean and free from guilt.  10 Yet God has found fault with me; he considers me his enemy. 11 He fastens my feet in shackles; he keeps close watch on all my paths."  12 But I tell you, in this you are not right, for God is greater than man. 13 Why do you complain to him that he answers none of man's words?  14 For God does speak -- now one way, now another -- though man may not perceive it.

Elihu (Anywho) goes on to make some other remarks that are....well, a little out of bounds, but hey, I've been there done that.

This is a very good point (after he put Job on the defensive).

What is he saying?  Look, Job, you say that you have done no wrong and that God is unjust in what has happened.  I'm saying consider that it is God who gave you everything, even the very breathe that you have. ( He later goes on to say that God gave you everything and made everything.)  Who are you to correct God?  Who are you to complain to God?

Isn't that the easy way out?  Get mad at God.  I've done it.  I know others that have done it.  To what end?  

God is God.  When you belong to God, you are his.  He gave everything for you.  If he tests you with the fire of life, you will not be burnt....you won't even smell like smoke.  The answer is right there in Romans 8:28 &29.  

Almost everyone can quote 8:28, but mostly stop there.  PLEASE DON"T, the best is yet to come in 29.

Romans 8:28&29 (Patty paraphrase from memory)

For we know that all things work together for good to those that are called according to his purpose.  For whom he did foreknow, he predestined to become CONFORMED TO THE IMAGE OF HIS SON. 

The good is not for things to work out the way we want them.  No that would be God building our kingdom.  The good is to make us more like Christ.  That, Dear Ones, is building God's kingdom.

Oh, how I love HIS WORD!

What do you think?  Share with me.

The Face Book Friend List and Statuses

How many of you use facebook? I use Facebook to keep up with friends, family, church members, etc. I've even reconnected with my best friend from high school. I keep a finger on what the youth in our church are up to in their lives. Let's face it, FB (facebook) is how this new generation is communicating.

Don't some of your friends annoy you on there? I have read and posted all kinds of statuses'. Game statuses, sad statuses, happy, excited, boring, stupid......there is no limit to what you will see online. If a person on my list raises my annoy factor to a point where I feel like I need to respond on their level there is a clever little button called "ignore". I've used it and it works.

The reason I write this blog is I have even had the blessing of reading the most rude status out of the thousands that I've read about 10 days ago. Why, you ask, do you say that a rude comment could be a blessing?

This particular person posted, and I quote: "just finished pruning her Friends list. If you're reading this, you made the cut. This time."

First of all this person puts on social airs. Secondly, she puts on spiritual airs. And thirdly, why do you have to announce your absolute disdain for people so openly.

You can de-freind all day long, it's fine, it's your right to do so. Then to follow up with a threat that you could be gone in future rounds? Hmmmm. Doesn't sound friendly or Christ-like. Actually sounds sick and self-centered.

On one hand, I'm sorry that I've let it bother me so much to the point that 10 days after the event that it's strong enough on my mind to blog about it. On the other hand, I'm glad that God let me experience it to grow from.

Jesus come unto me. Where ever He went crowds thronged around him. He was the life of the party (remember the Pharisees called him a glutton and a wine biber). And yet, we go to and fro and up and down the earth with the self imposed label of Christian and can't be bothered to be kind, and sweet and tenderhearted?

Words, spoken and written, have power. Power to hurt, heal, help, encourage, and love if we so choose them.

Papa, allow my words to honor everything that Your Son did in life, in death and in resurrection.