Today’s reading for me is found in Genesis 22-24. I decided to capture the sensibilities of a subtle character in the story; Abraham’s servant, Eliezer. We see Eliezer receive the daunting task of finding a wife for Abraham’s son, Isaac. Obviously he was a trusted servant, one Abraham knew he could count on. He did not hesitate to go where his master had requested he go. Eliezer headed to the land of Abraham’s relatives. He was a faithful servant.
What really caught my eye, was Eliezer’s prayers and praises to “the God of my master, Abraham”. It became apparent to me that Abraham’s devotion to God had not gone unnoticed by his servant. Eliezer asked God for guidance in his very important task. He must have learned much about God and about faith from Abraham. What are my family members, coworkers, neighbors, and other associates learning about God from watching me? Isn’t that my desire? To be like Abraham, to set a great example of being dependent on God for everything? Oh, Lord of my heart, reel me in. Draw me close to You and stir up in me a great desire to abide in You every moment of every day. It is from You that I draw breath, and life, and hope. Amen.
Thursday challenge: Look around you; find someone who is modeling faith like Abraham and tell them so.
His Gathering Place 
Amen, Morgen! Your challenge takes our eyes off of ourselves and directs them to the people God has placed in our lives. What do we see? Are we surrounding ourselves with godly people, people of character, people like Job?In my reading today we began Job. He was blameless, complete integrity, feared God, stayed away from evil. Job encouraged many people, strengthened those who are weak, supported those who were falling with his words and encouraged those with shaky knees. He praised God when all he had was taken and he cursed the day of his birth when his health was affected. But what stuck out to me was the question his friend posed, can a mortal be innocent before God? Can anyone be pure before the Creator? We can emphatically say YES, because of our Savior Jesus Christ, we are pure and blameless before our heavenly Father! May we rejoice in that one simple fact as we lift our eyes to those God has placed in our lives as Morgen challenges us to look for those who encourages many people, who strengthen those who are weak, who supports those who are falling, and encourages those with shaky knees! May we look for the Job in our lives as we rejoice that we are pure and blameless before God! Have a blessed day, sweet sisters! Thank you for living an example of Abraham faith and for being the Job in my life. You are all so dear to me and my family. Love and hugs, Bethany
Morgen, I like your challenge. What a way to bless someone with true words and it reminded me about a challenge I heard yesterday on a Christian radio station. They discussed a new year challenge to do daily, intentionally, each morning to decided one thing that you plan to do in an intentional fashion. One thing. This is something we can set out to do intentionally today. And, when you wrote: “What are my family members, coworkers, neighbors, and other associates learning about God from watching me?” This is something that our pastor talks about quite often: our circle of influence. Eyes are always on us. Daily we need to be aware of our influence with those around us, knowing that we are here for this very purpose: to further God’s kingdom, beginning w/ those near to us, right in our own home. He talks about how many times we get caught up in ministry busying ourselves to the point that we lose site of those that remain closest to us: our family.Immediately, your title drew me to my own reading in Job. : ) Satan says to God, “I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on” (Job. 1:7). Let that sink in! Satan is against us reading God’s Holy Bible. Satan is against us praying. Satan is against the family unit. Satan is against harmony among Christian sisters in Christ. So, many times when we are not even aware of it, he is opposing this in ways around us that get us to lose our focus. If we are defined by who we are in Christ, we will not get hurt. We will remain strong, walking in the Spirit. But, so often words prick and sting and get us to lose our focus. Our emotions take over. We need to be women that intentionally set out to show love and grace. We need to be women that forgive constantly, – knowing we our pleasing God, and in the end that is all that matters. Beth writes in her recent James study: [So many people desire to be in the spotlight. We live in a culture of people scrambling for their five minute of glory. Even followers of Christ fall in to this temptation. Pride. Comparison. There’s a big, needy world out there, and God’s way of reaching it is to enlist every one of us to do our parts in love and humility, variety and diversity.]Lastly, I highlighted two things that I want to remember. 2 statements to say aloud when a curve ball hits me out of the blue. Truths to believe and let sink into my bones! Job 1:21 & Job 2:10.Girls’ may each of you be richly blessed today. Thank you dear Father, that you are the Master Planner, in full control! Show us sissies areas today that we need to seek forgiveness with a repentant heart. We so long to be close to You and remain in Your presence today. Amen.Lori
Morgen,I love this challenge on so many levels. My dear friend Kris is one of the people who made me desperately “want what she had.” I sat and watched tragedy befall her life and with every devastating blow she just reassured everyone who asked with a faith that I truly envy (in a good way). She never blames, never wants for material things and most importantly finds good in all that she encounters. Today, I will make a point of telling her that. Thank you for your words today.Hugs sweet sisters,Mary Ann
Morgen, I love this challenge and besides the six of you, my friend Alice Ann comes to mind. She is the one that God used so instrumentally in my life to draw me back to Him. Even though we lived in separate states, God used her in such a profound way. I think now of my friends Rebecca and Shannon who are honest about their faith and real. They live what they believe, even in the struggles of life they show Christ. There is nothing better than knowing you are surrounded by women who are striving to be witnesses to true faith. I can think of others in my church who I have watched go through some of the most difficult things you can imagine and still are praising like Job, “The LORD gives, and the LORD takes away. Praise the name of Yahweh” (1:21). Lori, I love what you posted from Beth’s study and it sunk right down into my heart today. Sometimes as we seek God’s will we have to remember that it is the daily things we do that will effect lives. God will not give everyone a huge platform to share Him, what we are responsible for are those daily encounters that He places in our lives. My post at FB was rather lengthy today sisters, but my plan for today was to really soak in the reading and get a few days ahead because of the busyness of the next three days. My post: God’s Faith in Job and in UsToday we begin the book of Job. A book that “demonstrates that a sovereign, righteous God, is sufficient and trustworthy for every situation in life, even in the most difficult of circumstances.” A book that “teaches that suffering comes to everyone, the righteous and unrighteous alike” and that “God does not always keep the righteous from danger or suffering.” He “ultimately controls all of life’s situations, including limiting the power of Satan” but that His “comfort and strength are always available to the trusting soul” (HCSB Intro). The story is set with two perspectives- a heavenly one and an earthly one. Job does not know the reason for his suffering. As we read through this book of scripture there will not be a time where God tells him or shows him why these terrible things were allowed in his life. We though, as the ones reading the story, know both sides. Satan, the Accuser {that title alone tells me something about his character}, comes to present himself to God, but what is interesting is that it is God who initiates the dialogue. It is God who first asks, “Have you considered my servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil” (Job 1:8). Longman and Garland write in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, “God’s statement that Job is His servant implies more than mere servitude; it means God and Job are in a covenantal relationship based on solemn oaths. As in Genesis 3, God sets the stage and allows Job to be put to the test. Here the Lord sees fit to use secondary means to accomplish His purpose. That purpose is not just to test Job as an end in itself but to give Job the opportunity to honor his Lord, to whom he has pledges his allegiance with a solemn oath. That allegiance becomes a significant part of the cosmic struggle between Job’s adversary and the Lord. Will Job curse God or not?” (pg. 714)God had faith in Job. He knew that he had a consistent spiritual walk with Him that could withstand whatever Satan threw at him because really, the attack on Job was ultimately an attack on God. Satan thought Job only served God because of his external circumstances (Job 1:9-11), that his allegiance was hypocritical- take away the blessings and his faith would be gone as well. As we will see, this theory of Satan’s proves to be false and although Job does go through times of struggle with his feelings, he does prove to be a “righteous man whose commitment to God is total” (pg. 696). Today as I read this I realized that we may never understand why certain things happen and are allowed in our lives. We only have the human vantage point. Who knows if Satan is accusing us to God,”See _______ if you allow _________ in their lives they will curse You and turn from You.” I am reminded of Hebrews 12:1-2, “Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.” There are witnesses in heaven cheering us on in our battles and if God allowed it to come into our lives He must have enough faith in us that we will not turn from Him and instead use it to put Satan in his place! No matter what any of us are facing today let’s remember that God has faith in us to allow it into our lives. Like Job, we may need to go through the struggle with God over our feelings, but we can remember Jesus who endured that cross, that suffering, for God’s greatest purpose!Have a blessed day!Brandee
You know what I love about your post Brandee? The realization that God has faith IN US! How amazing! We are to have faith in Him…that is the basis of our relationship…but He in us? What a loving, give and take.Morgen
AMEN girls!!! If we lean upon His Spirit we can be faithful. He has given us everything we need for godliness through His indwelling Spirit. Sometimes I so need reminding of that when I struggle with the same things over and over. It is hard for me to be consistently faithful in ALL areas where I struggle, but I know I can if I take it one day at a time leaning on Him.
(Repost – January 19, 2012)Morgen, It kinda makes you wonder – what did we do to deserve this? But in a good way. It is possible for us to be as faithful as God expects us if we avail of the power of His indwelling Holy Spirit. There is no reason for us to live defeated lives with the Holy Spirit in us, right?