DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR WEDNESDAY JUNE 1:
WORD OF WISDOM
If you find yourself in the same sin, season after season, you are no longer
a victim, but a volunteer.
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DAILY DEVOTION
Let Your Light Shine
"No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place,
neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may
see the light. The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is
single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil,
thy body also is full of darkness. Take heed therefore that the light which
is in thee be not darkness."
Luke 11:33-35
As a young boy growing up in Edinburgh, Scotland, Robert Louis Stevenson was
fascinated with lights. Themes of light and dark would find frequent mention
in his literary works. This fascination is probably understandable given
that his father, two of his uncles, and his grandfather all worked in
lighthouse design and construction. One night Stevenson was watching a man
who walked along the street to light the gas lights that illuminated the
neighborhood through the night. He had a flame on a long pole, and one by
one he lit the lamps along the sidewalk. Stevenson called out to his mother,
"Come see the man poking holes in the darkness."
The purpose of our salvation is not just to secure our eternal destiny in
Heaven. We are also meant to be lights in the darkness of the world as we
live our daily lives. God did not light us with His love and grace to hide
us, but to set us on a candlestick to show the world what happens when
someone trusts Him for salvation. There is no doubt that there is great
darkness all around us today. Yet the great problem is not that the darkness
is so great, but that our lives are so feeble and often hidden from the
world. We need a return to the days when God's people put their faith on
clear and unmistakable display, and spend their lives poking holes in the
darkness.
If we do not shine as lights in the dark, the world has no other way to see
the truth.
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DAILY BIBLE READING
Job 34-36Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
34 Then Elihu continued his speech:
2
"Listen to what I say, you wise men.
Pay attention, you who know so much.
3
Your tongue tastes the food it touches,
and your ear tests the words it hears.
4
So let us test these arguments and decide for ourselves what is right.
Together we will learn what is good.
5
Job says, 'I am innocent,
and God is not being fair to me.
6
I am right, but I am judged to be a liar.
I have done no wrong, but I am badly hurt.'
7
"Would anyone but Job say such things?
He has more thirst for insulting God than for water.
8
He is a friend of evil people.
He likes to spend time with the wicked.
9
I know this because he says,
'You will gain nothing if you try to please God.'
10
"You men can understand, so listen to me.
God would never do what is evil!
God All-Powerful would never do wrong.
11
He pays us back for what we have done.
He gives us what we deserve.
12
The truth is that God does no wrong.
God All-Powerful is always fair.
13
No one chose God to be in charge of the earth.
No one gave him responsibility for the whole world.
14
If God decided to take away his spirit
and the breath of life he gave us,
15
then everything on earth would die.
We would all become dust again.
16
"If you men are wise,
you will listen to what I say.
17
Can someone be a ruler if he hates justice?
Job, God is not only powerful, but he is fair.
Do you think you can judge him guilty?
18
God is the one who says to kings, 'You are worthless!'
He says to leaders, 'You are evil!'
19
He does not respect leaders more than other people.
And he does not respect the rich more than the poor.
God made everyone.
20
Any of us can die suddenly, in the middle of the night.
Anyone can get sick and pass away.
Even powerful people die for no reason we can see.
21
"God watches what people do.
He sees every step they take.
22
There is no place dark enough
for evil people to hide from God.
23
God does not need to set a time
for people to come before him and be judged.
24
He does not have to ask questions when people do wrong,
even if they are powerful leaders.
He simply destroys them
and chooses others to take their place.
25
When he learns what people have done,
he defeats them, and overnight they are gone.
26
He will punish them for the evil they have done,
and he will do it where everyone can see.
27
He will do this because they rebelled against him
and ignored what he wanted.
28
They hurt the poor and made them cry to God for help.
And he hears their cry!
29
But if God decides not to help them,
no one can judge him guilty.
If he hides himself, no one can find him.
He is the ruler over every person and nation.
30
He keeps the wicked from ruling
so that they will not bring harm to the people.
31
"A person should say to God,
'I am guilty; I will not sin anymore.
32
Show me the sins I am not able to see.
If I have done wrong, I will not do it again.'
33
Job, you want God to reward you,
but you refuse to change.
It is your decision, not mine.
Tell me what you think.
34
A wise person would listen to me.
A wise person would say,
35
'Job talks like an ignorant person.
What he says doesn't make sense!'
36
I think Job should be punished even more,
because he answers us like someone who is evil!
37
He adds rebellion to his other sins.
He sits there insulting us and arguing with God!"
35 Elihu continued talking and said,
2
"Job, it is not fair for you to say,
'I am more right than God,'
3
because you also ask him,
'What's the use of trying to please you?
What good will it do me if I don't sin?'
4
"Job, I want to answer you and your friends here with you.
5
Look up at the sky.
Look at the clouds, which are so much higher than you.
6
If you sin, it does not hurt God.
Even if your sins are too many to count, that does nothing to God.
7
And if you are good, that does not help God.
He gets nothing from you.
8
Job, the good and bad things you do
affect only other people like yourself.
9
"If people are being hurt, they cry out
and beg for protection from those who hurt them.
10
But they forget to say, 'Where is God, the one who made me?
He is the one who gives us songs to sing in the night.
11
He is the one who makes us smarter than any animal on earth
and wiser than any bird.'
12
"Or if evil people ask God for help, he will not answer them,
because they are too proud.
13
God will not listen to their worthless begging.
God All-Powerful will not pay attention to them.
14
So, Job, God will not listen to you
when you say that you don't see him.
You say you are waiting for your chance to meet with him
and prove that you are innocent.
15
"Job thinks that God does not punish evil
and that he pays no attention to sin.
16
So he continues his worthless talking.
Everything he has said shows he does not know what he is talking about."
36 Elihu continued talking and said,
2
"Be patient with me a little longer.
God has a few more words that he wants me to say.
3
I will share my knowledge with everyone.
I will prove that my Maker is right.
4
Job, I am telling the truth.
I know what I am talking about.
5
"God is very powerful, but he does not hate people.
He is very powerful, but he is also very wise.
6
He will not let evil people live.
He brings justice to the poor.
7
He watches over those who live right.
He lets them rule in high places.
8
So if people are punished,
if they are tied with chains and ropes, they did something wrong.
9
And God will tell them what they did,
that they sinned and were proud.
10
He will force them to listen to his warning.
He will command them to stop sinning.
11
If they serve and obey him, he will make them successful
and they will live a happy life.
12
But if they refuse to obey him, they will be destroyed.
They will die like fools.
13
"People who don't care about God are always bitter.
Even when he punishes them, they refuse to pray to him for help.
14
They will die while they are still young,
like the male prostitutes.
15
God saves those who suffer by using their suffering.
He uses their troubles to speak in a way that makes them listen.
16
"In fact, God wants to help you out of your troubles.
He wants to take away your burdens that are crushing you.
He wants to load your table with plenty of food.
17
But you are full of this talk about guilt, judgment, and justice!
18
Job, don't let your anger fill you with doubt about God.
And don't let the price of forgiveness turn you away.
19
Do you think your wealth will keep you out of trouble?
Will your great strength be of any help to you now?
20
Don't be like those who wish darkness would come and hide them.
They try to disappear into the night.[a]
21
Job, don't let your suffering cause you to choose evil.
Be careful not to do wrong.
22
"Look, God's power makes him great!
He is the greatest teacher of all.
23
No one can tell him what to do.
No one can say, 'God, you have done wrong.'
24
Remember to praise him for what he has done,
as many others have done in song.
25
Everyone can see what he has done,
even people in faraway countries.
26
Yes, God is great, but we cannot understand his greatness.
We don't know how long he has lived.
27
"God takes up water from the earth
and changes it into mist and rain.
28
So the clouds pour out the water,
and the rain falls on many people.
29
No one can understand how he spreads the clouds out
or how the thunder rumbles from his home in the sky.
30
Look, he spreads lightning all over the sky
and covers the deepest part of the ocean.
31
He uses them to control the nations
and to give them plenty of food.
32
He grabs the lightning with his hands,
and commands it to strike where he wants.
33
The thunder warns that a storm is coming.
So even the cattle know it is near.
Footnotes:
a.Job 36:20 The Hebrew text here is hard to understand.
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright C 2006 by Bible League International
