DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR TUESDAY MAY 31:
WORD OF WISDOM
A penny saved is a government oversight.
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DAILY DEVOTION
God's Book is Enough
Where do you feel empty? Are you hungry for attention, craving success,
longing for intimacy? Be aware of your weaknesses. Bring them to God before
Satan brings them to you! Satan will tell you, as he did when tempting
Jesus, to turn stones into bread. In other words, to take matters into your
own hands; leave God out of it. If Satan convinces us to trust our works
over God's Word, he has us dangling from a broken limb!
Do what Jesus did. In Satan's temptation of Jesus, three times Jesus
repeated, "It is written." Jesus overcame temptation, not with special
voices or supernatural signs, but by remembering and quoting Scripture. Let
God's word silence Satan's lies and see what happens.
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DAILY BIBLE READING
Job 31-33Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
31 "I made an agreement with my eyes
not to look at a young woman in a way that would make me want her.
2
What does God above have for us?
How does God All-Powerful repay people from his home high in heaven?[a]
3
He sends trouble to the wicked
and disaster to those who do wrong.
4
God is the one who knows what I do
and sees every step I take.
5
"I have not lied to anyone.
I never tried to cheat people.
6
If God would use accurate scales,[b]
he would know that I am innocent.
7
If I ever stepped off the right path,
if my eyes led my heart to do evil,
or if my hands are dirty with sin,
8
then let others eat what I planted.
Let my crops be pulled up by the roots.
9
"If I have desired another woman
or waited at my neighbor's door to sin with his wife,
10
then let my wife serve someone else,
and let other men sleep with her.
11
To do such a thing would be shameful,
a sin that must be punished.
12
Such sin is like a fire that burns until it destroys everything.
It would completely ruin my life's work.
13
"If I refused to be fair to my slaves
when they had a complaint against me,
14
then what will I do when I must face God?
What will I say when he asks me to explain what I did?
15
The one who made me in my mother's womb also made them.
God shaped us all inside our mothers.
16
"I have never refused to help the poor.
I always gave widows what they needed.
17
I have never been selfish with my food.
I shared what I had with orphans.
18
All my life I have been like a father to orphans
and have taken care of widows.
19
Whenever I found people suffering because they didn't have clothes
or saw a poor man with no coat,
20
I always gave them something to wear.
I used the wool from my own sheep to make them warm.
And they thanked me with all their heart.
21
I never threatened an orphan,
even when I knew I had support in court.[c]
22
If I ever did that, may my arm be pulled from its socket
and fall from my shoulder!
23
But I didn't do any of these bad things.
I fear God's punishment too much.
His majesty scares me.[d]
24
"I have never trusted in riches.
I never said even to pure gold, 'You are my hope.'
25
I have been wealthy,
but that didn't make me proud.
I earned a lot of money,
but that is not what made me happy.
26
I have never worshiped the bright sun
or the beautiful moon.
27
I was never foolish enough
to worship the sun and the moon.
28
This is also a sin that must be punished.
If I had worshiped them, I would have been unfaithful to God
All-Powerful.
29
"I have never been happy
when my enemies were destroyed.
I have never laughed at my enemies
when bad things happened to them.
30
I have never let my mouth sin by cursing my enemies
and wishing for them to die.
31
The people in my house know that
I have never let anyone go hungry.
32
I always invited strangers into my home
so that they would not have to sleep in the streets.
33
I have not tried to hide my sins as some people do.
I have never hidden my guilt.
34
I was never so afraid of what people might say or of making enemies
that I kept my sins secret and avoided going out.
35
"How I wish someone would listen to me!
I will sign my name to all I have said.
Now let God All-Powerful answer me.
Let him make a list of what he thinks I did wrong.
36
I would wear it around my neck.
I would put it on my head like a crown.
37
Then I could explain everything I have done.
I could come to God with my head held high like a prince.
38
"I did not use my land in a wrong way.
I never caused it to suffer.
39
I always paid the workers for the food I got from the land.
I never let any of them starve.
40
If I ever did any of these bad things,
let thorns and weeds grow in my fields instead of wheat and barley!"
Job's words are finished.
Elihu Adds to the Argument
32 Then Job's three friends gave up trying to answer him, because he was so
sure that he was innocent. 2 But there was a young man there named Elihu son
of Barakel. He was a descendant of a man named Buz. Elihu was from the
family of Ram. He became very angry because Job kept saying he was
innocent-that he was right and God was wrong. 3 Elihu was also angry with
Job's three friends because they could not answer him, and yet they still
considered him guilty of doing wrong. 4 Elihu was the youngest one there, so
he had waited until everyone finished talking. 5 But when he saw that Job's
three friends had nothing more to say, his anger forced him to speak. 6 So
here's what Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said:
"I am only a young man, and you are all older.
That is why I was afraid to tell you what I think.
7
I thought to myself, 'Older people should speak first.
They have lived many years, so they have learned many things.'
8
But it is the spirit in people, the breath from God All-Powerful,
that makes them understand.
9
Old men are not the only wise people.
They are not the only ones who understand what is right.
10
"So please listen to me,
and I will tell you what I think.
11
I waited patiently while you men talked.
I listened to the answers you gave as you searched for the right words.
12
I listened carefully to what you said.
Not one of you proved Job wrong.
Not one of you answered his arguments.
13
You men cannot say that you have found wisdom.
The answer to Job's arguments must come from God, not people.
14
Job was arguing with you, not me,
so I will not use your arguments to answer him.
15
"Job, these men lost the argument.
They don't have anything more to say.
They don't have any more answers.
16
I waited for them to answer you.
But now they are quiet.
They stand there with nothing more to say.
17
So now I will give you my answer.
Yes, I will tell you what I think.
18
I have so much to say
that I cannot hold it in.
19
I feel like a jar of wine that has never been opened.
I am like a new wineskin ready to burst.
20
I must speak so that I will feel better.
I must answer your arguments.
21
I will treat you the same as I would treat anyone else.
I will not praise you to win your favor.
22
I cannot treat one person better than another.
If I did, God my Maker would punish me!
33 "Now, Job, listen to me.
Listen carefully to what I say.
2
I am ready to speak.
3
My heart is honest, so my words are sincere.
I will speak the truth about what I know.
4
God's Spirit made me.
My life comes from God All-Powerful.
5
Listen to me and answer if you can.
Get your arguments ready to face me.
6
You and I are the same before God.
He used clay to make us both.
7
Don't be afraid of me.
I will not be hard on you.
8
"But, Job, I heard what you said.
These were your very words:
9
'I am pure and innocent;
I did nothing wrong; I am not guilty!
10
But God found an excuse to attack me.
He treats me like an enemy.
11
He put chains on my feet
and watches everything I do.'
12
"But you are wrong about this, and I will prove it to you.
God knows more than any of us.[e]
13
You are arguing with God!
Why do you think he should explain everything to you?
14
But maybe God does explain what he does
but speaks in ways that people don't understand.
15
He may speak in a dream, or in a vision at night,
when people are in a deep sleep lying in their beds.
16
He may whisper something in their ear,
and they are frightened when they hear his warnings.
17
God warns people to stop them from doing wrong
and to keep them from becoming proud.
18
He does this to save them from death.[f]
He wants to keep them from being destroyed.
19
"Or those who are sick in bed might be suffering punishment from God.
The pain that makes their bones ache might be a warning from him.
20
They feel so bad they cannot eat.
Even the best food makes them sick.
21
Their bodies might waste away until they become thin
and all their bones stick out.
22
They might be close to death,
their lives about to end.
23
But maybe one of God's thousands of angels is watching over them,
to speak for them and tell about the good things they have done.
24
Maybe the angel will be kind and say to God,
'Save this one from the place of death!
I have found a way to pay for his life.'
25
Then that person's body will become young and strong again.
He will be as he was when he was young.
26
He will pray and God will answer.
He will worship God and shout with joy.
He will again stand as right before God.
27
He will tell everyone, 'I sinned.
I changed good into bad,
but God didn't give me the punishment I deserved!
28
God saved me from going down to the place of death.
Now I can enjoy life again.'
29
"God does all these things for people again and again.
30
He wants them to be saved from death
so that they can enjoy life.
31
"Job, pay attention and listen to me.
Be quiet and let me talk.
32
But if you have an answer, go ahead and speak.
Tell me your argument.
I would be happy to know that you are innocent!
33
But if you have nothing to say, then listen to me.
Be quiet, and I will teach you wisdom."
Footnotes:
a.Job 31:2 Or possibly, "I made an agreement with my eyes not to look with
desire at the Virgin or the sacred things that belong to God All-Powerful."
Here, "the Virgin" refers to a goddess worshiped by the Canaanites.
b.Job 31:6 accurate scales Literally, "scales of righteousness." As a
wordplay, this could mean either "accurate scales" or "scales that show a
person is good."
c.Job 31:21 Or "I never shook my fist at an orphan who was at the gate
asking for help."
d.Job 31:23 His majesty . me Or "I could not stand before his majesty."
e.Job 33:12 God . any of us Or "God is much greater than anyone."
f.Job 33:18 death Literally, "the Pit," the place where people go when they
die. Also in verse 22.
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright C 2006 by Bible League International
