~Job 4:1-5 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, 2 If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can withhold himself from speaking? 3 Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands. 4 Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees. 5 But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.

Ah, Job! The account of Job’s sufferings is one that every Christian has read with mixed emotions. Job loses all his children, his property and then he is stricken with boils. I can’t imagine losing my children! I’ve lost property before and one manages to move on. Boils hurt so badly that you can actually feel it pulsating with pain! It seems we can handle most things in life but once we are sick and in pain, it becomes harder to cope. Pain which plagues our bodies 24/7 must be all consuming, in my opinion. I have a friend who has fibromyalgia, along with other issues as a result of this disease. Not a minute goes by that she is not suffering :-(

Poor Job! It wasn’t enough for him to lose his family and his possessions – he was afflicted in his body as well. After losing his children and possessions, his wife told him to curse God and die! What an encourager she was! On a side note, what kind of wife are we to our husbands during difficult times? It’s obvious she could not draw from her faith during these hard times. But her husband sure did! In all this, he told her that God gives and God takes away. Through all his heart wrenching experiences, Job didn’t sin. He drew on his faith in his Creator. Once the boils came and he was covered in them, it seems he got caught in the moment. He curses the day he was born. Before we get all self-righteous, stop to think for a moment on a day that you were in extreme pain – maybe a horrible migraine. Can you imagine having that kind of pain all of over your body – constantly? You’d wish you were ever born as well! You would be complaining and questioning God as well.

I live in a logging area. When trees are cut down in a row, those trees behind them are not accustomed to being exposed to the wind. They had always been protected by those trees which were just cut. When the winds blow, you’ll find some of those newly exposed trees fallen over because their roots were not as strong as those which were cut. It’s the same with our trials. Sometimes the winds of trials need to blow to test our roots. Will we hold up or will we fall?

So now Job’s friends step into the picture. ***Sigh*** Eliphaz immediately passes judgment on Job. He points out to Job that he was the one who instructed and strengthened the weak in their moments of need. But now that Job was stricken, he fainted! Later Eliphaz tells Job that the righteous are not stricken – only the wicked. So Job must have sinned to have suffered as he had! What a friend Eliphaz was! Here Job had pretty much lost everything and was in excruciating pain and his friend was kicking him while he was down :-(

It seems the Eliphaz’s come out of the woodwork when we are sick! People are so quick to judge rather than to love and help. What kind of friend are we? How do we help others in their time of need? As mothers, we can teach our children the true meaning of friendship by our own actions. They mimic what they see and hear so they should see our love in action. Is a friend sick? Don’t make judgmental comments like Eliphaz did but strive to help by making a meal or speaking words of encouragement to them. This is what our children will see. This is what they will learn.

~Proverbs 18:24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

The testing of our own faith through trials make us stronger so we can help others. Can you imagine how Job would have been encouraged if Eliphaz had words of comfort and love instead of judgment?

~I Thessalonians 2:7-8 But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children: 8 So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us.

Paul sure did have that compassion, love and comfort that Job desperately needed from his friends. The compassion of a mother who cherishes her children was what Job could have used that day! What kind of friend are we? What are we teaching our children? Do we teach them to have an attitude of Eliphaz or to be compassionate and loving? I wonder how Job’s account would have gone had Eliphaz treated Job the way Paul speaks of in I Thessalonians?

Love with compassion – what a beautiful depiction of the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:8 says it all!

1. There is a preacher and wife who are very, very poor. They already have 14 kids. Now she finds out she is pregnant with her 15th. They are living in tremendous poverty. Considering their poverty and the excessive world population, would you consider recommending abortion?

2. The father is sick with sniffles, the mother has TB. They have 4 children. The first is blind, the second is dead. The third is deaf and the fourth has TB. The mother finds she is pregnant again. Given the extreme situation, would you recommend abortion?

3. A man raped a 13 year old girl and she got pregnant. If you were her parents, would you consider recommending abortion?

4. A teenage girl is pregnant. She is not married. Her fiancee is not the father of the baby, and he is very upset. Would you recommend an abortion?

If you have answered “yes” to any of these situations:

In the first case you would have killed John Wesley, one of the great evangelists of the 18th century.

In the second case, you would have killed Beethoven.

In the third case you would have killed Ethel Waters, the great gospel singer.

In the fourth case you would have recommended the murder of Jesus Christ.

With U. S. abortion deaths topping 30 million, only God knows what we have sacrificed in lost human talent and creativity.

~Malachi 3:3a And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver:

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn’t mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot then she thought again about the verse that says: “He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.”

She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, “How do you know when the silver is fully refined?” He smiled at her and answered, “Oh, that’s easy – when I see my image in it.”

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has His eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

Author Unknown

~Joshua 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

~Joshua 24:22 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the Lord, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.

I have grown to love starting my day off early in the morning with a quiet house. The sound of the roaring ocean in the distance reminds me that God is powerful, He’s my Creator, and He is right there with me. What does my day have in store for me? What surprises lie waiting? What choices will I have to make?

As I sip my coffee and fuel myself on God’s word, I find within its precious pages what to do when those choices are presented to me. Because of what Christ did on the cross for me, I have a choice on what I’m going to do with my day! I can choose to live it sold out for the Lord or I can choose to be defeated.

Choices … I face them every day! I choose what brand of bread to buy. I choose what clothes to wear. I choose to stay in a bad mood because it suits the circumstances. I choose to sin or not to sin. But as I struggle with sin and whether or not to give in to temptation, I am reminded that God loves me; so much so, that He provides a way for me to escape from that temptation:

~I Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Ladies, as we mature in Christ and become more like Him, we are able to help and teach our children how they, too, can overcome temptation. All of our life’s lessons can be stored up to use as future lessons for our children! What a blessing it is to watch a child grow in the Lord because of something we taught them from God’s word! Of all the gifts we can give our children after leading them to the Lord, the best gift is to teach them how to overcome temptation. They need to learn that God has not left us to our own devices. He has given us the ability to have victory over our sin because of His precious work on the cross! They do not need to give in sin.

~I John 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

Children will have to make choices every day of their life. God’s word shows them that He is interested in them and cares about their choices. So much so, He provides a way out of temptation by showing them the right path to take. Every mother knows when her young child is about to lie. Use that opportunity to teach the child about I Corinthians 10:13. This is a wonderful object lesson! Read the verse aloud and then ask, “Johnny, think before you answer Mommy. Does God want you to tell me the truth right now, even though it will be hard?” The word of God is powerful (Hebrews 4:12) and will cut deep into Johnny’s heart. If Johnny makes the right choice, he will respond positively. If he makes the wrong choice and lies anyway, the same lesson still applies but with an added consequence (punishment) for his wrong choice.

Being a mother is such an awesome responsibility. The more of God’s word we hide away in our child’s heart, the more he will have to pull from when he is in need. We have been given the opportunity mold and build our children’s spiritual foundation in Christ. There’s nothing like using God’s word and life’s lessons to teach our children because they have hit home for us personally.

~James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

Why are the words “honor, obey, and reverence” a difficult pill to swallow with some women? Not fifty years ago, women didn’t bat an eye when the marriage vows were spoken: “I promise to honor and obey him.” What a change today! Sadly, this statement has been removed in most wedding ceremonies :-(. Today’s woman has a warped concept of what reverence, honor and obey really mean.

When a woman reverences her husband according to the word of God, she does not have a problem with honoring and obeying him.

~Ephesians 5:33b … and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines the word reverence as written in Ephesians 5:33 as:

REV’ERENCE, v.t. To regard with reverence; to regard with fear mingled with respect and affection. We reverence superiors for their age, their authority and their virtues. We ought to reverence parents and upright judges and magistrates. We ought to reverence the Supreme Being, his word and his ordinances.

My husband’s role as the head of our home is a position that I do not envy whatsoever. God has given him discernment, leadership, and the ability (physically and mentally) to provide for our family. Recognizing his role as head of our home is one thing. Reverencing him is another. I can submit to my husband’s leadership but that doesn’t mean I am reverencing him if I am submitting on the “outside” but not in my heart. What’s in the heart will come out in my words and actions. How I feel about his role (in my heart) will eventually come out: Do I respect him? Do I defend his position to my children? Do I knock him down in front of my children, or worse yet to others outside of the home? Do I buck him at every corner? Do I belittle him to others? Do I question his decisions and doubt his abilities? These are all areas that will show my true colors when it comes to obeying Ephesians 5:33.

~Philippians 2:3-5 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. 4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. 5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

The word exhorts us to esteem others better than ourselves – that includes our husbands. In so doing, there is no private or hidden agenda. Complete love does not seek to bring hurt or harm to another. The woman who reverences her husband supports him, esteems him, builds him up and stands behind him. This all sounds wonderful but the proof is in the pudding, so they say: it’s difficult to do if she disagrees with his decisions. Yes, she can share what’s on her mind with him, but she should do so in private – never in front of others, especially the children.

So, how do your children view their father? They will view their father with the same eyes you have, you know. If you disrespect him, they will also. If you reverence him, they will also. Our children mimic what they see and hear. What a wonderful lesson to learn early in the home! :-) Reverencing and respecting their father builds a solid foundation for respecting authority later on. This teaches the child to love, honor, obey and reverence God! Without it, the child grows up with an unscriptural view of higher authority. Don’t we have an awesome responsibility to pass on to our children what God’s word teaches?

I love the following verses because they encourage having God’s word in every area of the home and in every area of our lives:

~Deuteronomy 11:19-20 And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 20 And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates:

As our children see reverence in action on a day-to-day basis, it will be easy for them to reverence God, and other authority figures, because they will know how!

I remember my father telling me to be careful how I “acted” outside the home because that represented our family name. If we behaved badly, we smeared the family name in the mud. If we behaved well, we brought honor to the family name. It was an excellent lesson and one that he used repeatedly to teach us whenever we misbehaved in public. This lesson had such an impact on me that I passed it along to my own children.

When someone speaks your last name, is it done with honor or dishonor? The word of God says:

~Proverbs 22:1 A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.

~Ecclesiastes 7:1 A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.

As we can see by these two verses, God puts a “value” on our good name. He says a good name is better than gold, silver and precious ointment! So what’s in a name? As parents, we spend hours thinking of names to call our newborn baby, right? We wouldn’t want to call a son, Judas, or our daughter, Jezebel! There is something to a name. What about our family name, as my father taught me as a child? Our actions will bring joy or shame to a family. I’m sure Ted Bundy’s family hung their head in shame for a while. Ecclesiastes says that the day of death is better than the day of one’s birth! Why? Because we take our name with us, per se. Our actions follow us for all eternity. This physical tabernacle will one day be gone but we will have eternal life with Christ! (II Corinthians 5:4) Glorifying the Lord in our words and through our actions will last for eternity!

As I meditated on that this morning, I thought of the many “names” that I personally have. I am ‘honey’ to my husband, Mom, Mémère (Grandma in French), Christian, sister, etc. Since Proverbs and Ecclesiastes place a value on a good name, then what kind of “value” is placed on each of those names in the eyes of my family and friends? Is it a name that is loved and cherished? Is it a name that puts a frown on people’s faces? Are they names that bring honor to my Lord and Saviour? Am I fulfilling God’s outline for each of my roles according to His word? If not, today’s text should be quite convicting!

What names are you wearing today, dear lady? Are they spoken to you with love or are they words of disdain in the speaker’s mouth? This will determine what your next step is. The Lord is gracious and full of mercy! If we haven’t been “making a name” for Christ, it’s never too late to start.

~Psalm 86:15 But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.

~Psalm 145:8 The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.

Praise the Lord for His mercy and compassion toward us. It’s never too late to start afresh and commit anew our walk with Him. God has many verses in His word for women! Each “name” we are given is clothed with Bible verses where we can glean. We just need to study and research. For example:

1. Honey: Proverbs 31:11-31, Ephesians 5:22, I Peter 3:1-6.
2. Mom: Proverbs 6:20, Proverbs 31:28, Deuteronomy 5:16
3. Christian: Galatians 5:22-23

These are just examples, but I think you will understand what I am trying to say. Whatever roles we have as women, we should study God’s word to learn how He outlines each one. God’s ways are what is best for us. What He has put in His word will never take us down the wrong path but will bring peace and blessing! This puts meat to Proverbs 22:1 and Ecclesiastes 7:1, doesn’t it? As we strive to be as Christ would have us to be, we can then teach our children how important it is to have a good name. A person who is teachable is one that God can mold into the likeness of His Son, Jesus Christ. As we teach our children, we are molding their future and we are “adding” to the family’s good name, the name of Christianity, and to our children’s good name when they become adults.

When I connect with people from my childhood, I tell them that I am so and so’s daughter. I always here that he was a ‘nice man.’ When we leave this earth, we can either leave a legacy that speaks volumes for Christ or we can leave a family who will follow a path worse than we did.

A miserable looking woman recognized F. B. Meyer on the train and ventured to share her burden with him. For years she had cared for a crippled daughter who brought great joy to her life. She made tea for her each morning, then left for work, knowing that in the evening the daughter would be there when she arrived home. But the daughter had died, and the grieving mother was alone and miserable. Home was not “home” anymore.

Meyer gave her wise counsel. “When you get home and put the key in the door,” he said, “say aloud, ‘Jesus, I know You are here!’ and be ready to greet Him directly when you open the door. And as you light the fire tell Him what has happened during the day; if anybody has been kind, tell Him; if anybody has been unkind, tell Him, just as you would have told your daughter. At night stretch out your hand in the darkness and say, ‘Jesus, I know You are here!’”

Some months later, Meyer was back in that neighborhood and met the woman again, but he did not recognize her. Her face radiated joy instead of announcing misery. “I did as you told me,” she said, “and it has made all the difference in my life, and now I feel I know Him.”

The Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching & Preachers, W. Wiersbe, p. 194

There once was an oyster
Whose story I tell,
Who found that some sand
Had got into his shell.

It was only a grain,
but it gave him great pain.
For oysters have feelings
Although they’re so plain.

Now, did he berate
the harsh workings of fate
That had brought him
To such a deplorable state?

Did he curse at the government,
Cry for election,
And claim that the sea should
Have given him protection?

‘No,’ he said to himself
As he lay on a shell,
Since I cannot remove it,
I shall try to improve it.

Now the years have rolled around,
As the years always do,
And he came to his ultimate
Destiny ­ stew.

And the small grain of sand
That had bothered him so
Was a beautiful pearl
All richly aglow.

Now the tale has a moral,
for isn’t it grand
What an oyster can do
With a morsel of sand?

What couldn’t we do
If we’d only begin
With some of the things
That get under our skin.

~Author Unknown

While at the park one day, a woman sat down next to a man on a bench near a playground.

“That’s my son over there,” she said, pointing to a little boy in a red sweater who was gliding down the slide.

“He’s a fine looking boy,” the man said. “That’s my daughter on the bike in the white dress.”

Then, looking at his watch, he called to his daughter. “What do you say we go, Melissa?”

Melissa pleaded, “Just five more minutes, Dad. Please? Just five more minutes!”

The man nodded and Melissa continued to ride her bike to her heart’s content. Minutes passed and the father stood and called again to his daughter. “Time to go now?”

Again Melissa pleaded, “Five more minutes, Dad. Just five more minutes!”

The man smiled and said, “OK.”

“My, you certainly are a patient father!” the woman responded.

The man smiled and then said, “Her older brother Tommy was killed by a drunk driver last year while he was riding his bike near here. I never spent much time with Tommy and now I’d give anything for just five more minutes with him. I’ve vowed not to make the same mistake with Melissa.

She thinks she has five more minutes to ride her bike. The truth is, I get five more minutes to watch her play.”

Life is all about making priorities, what are your priorities?

Give someone you love 5 more minutes of your time today!

~Author Unknown

Once upon a time there was a leafy tree in a field. Leaves grew densely on the tall branches. The roots were deeply into the ground. The tree was the most remarkable among the rest.

The tree then became the home for some birds. They built their nests and they lived on his branches. The birds made holes on him, and they hatched their eggs within the greatness of the tree. The tree felt so delighted because he was accompanied as he walked through his long lasting days.

People were grateful for the presence of the tree. They often came over and sheltered under him. Under his branches, they sat down and opened their picnic baskets. “This tree is very useful,” that’s what the people said every time they went home from shelter. The tree was very proud hearing those compliments.

However, time went on. The tree was beginning to be sick. His leaves and twigs were falling, then his body became thin and pale. The greatness he used to have was fading away. Birds felt reluctant to build their nests there. No one would come to sit under the tree to shelter anymore.

The tree wept, “Oh God, why is it so hard for me? I need friends. Now no one would come close to me. Why do you take all the glory I used to have?” The tree cried loudly, so it echoed throughout the forest. “Why wouldn’t you cut me down, so I don’t have to bear this suffering?” The tree kept on crying, and his tears were running down his dry body.

Seasons came and went, but his condition had not changed. The tree was still feeling lonely. His branches became drier and drier. Every night the tree wept and cried, until the morning broke.

“Cheep…chirp….cheep” Ah, what was that noise? Oh, it’s a little baby bird who has just pipped from the egg. The old tree woke up from his daydream.

“Cheep…chirp…cheep”, the noise became louder and louder. There was another baby bird. Not long after that, the tree became noisy because of the birth of new baby birds. One…two…three…and four baby birds have been born to this world. “Ah, He has answered my prayers,” exclaimed the old tree.

The day after, there were many birds flying to the old tree. They were going to build new nests. The dry branches have turned out to attract their attention to nest there. The birds felt warmer to stay inside the dry branches instead of their place before. The number of birds was increasing and there were more kinds of them. “Wow, now my days are brighter with their presence here,” murmured the old tree gladly.

The old tree was back to cheer again. And when he looked down, his heart was flowing with joy. There was a new little tree growing near his roots. The new tree seemed to smile at him. The tears of the old tree has grown a little tree who would continue his devotion to nature.

Dear friends, that’s the way it is. Is there any lesson that we could take from the story? God always has secret plans for us. The Almighty God will always give answers to our questions. Even though it is not always easy to guess what the resolution is, be certain that the Omniscient God knows what’s best for us.

When there are times He sends trials for us, in other times He gives us His overflowing blessings. The test He gives us isn’t something that can’t be overcome. When God gave the trial to the old tree, actually He DELAYED in giving His glory. God didn’t choose to cut the old tree down since He kept some secrets. God was testing his patience.

~Author Unknown