Day 37 - Get Ready

Howdy folks. Just realised the time as I've been whittling away the hours on Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Which is just all sorts of sandboxy goodness. Enough with the game reviews. That's not what you came here for. In other exciting news, I got new shoes today :D But you probably don't need to know about that either. Onto business then

Today’s readings
 
Job 38:1-40:2
Matthew 24:32-25:13
Psalm 18:37-42 (starting at "When I chased)


So today's reading starts off a bit more promisingly! I don't know about you but I'm definitely empathising with how down in the dumps Job must have been feeling and how much he not only wanted God's word to explain his suffering but also to shut up his friends. Now it says that God speaks from the inside of a violent storm. God speaks in many ways and I think the big booming voice is an incredibly rare one. This here isn't a booming voice in my opinion, even though there's a big speech laid out. God here is telling Job just how powerful He is. Reminding Job that our first attitude when we come to God should be respect and humility. Now I think that some of this has already been said by Job's friends and it's like Job's not really listened to them because they're being rubbish at giving advice but then he sees this storm raging and has a real eye opening moment about just how powerful God is. All of the charateristics God lists are things within Job's sphere of reference and to me, this is because it is Job rationalising God's message in terms he understands. It would have been no good if God had started talking about how He'd ensured silicon would form and be used by human ingenuity to power lovely laptops...

The animal references God makes in chapter 39 seem to be direct comparisons to types of people, quite possibly that Job knows and is guilty of not seeing the good in. For instance, Elihu seems like a buffalo who is strong in character but has no finesse with his words. I'm interested to see Job's response tomorrow but this passage to me is not the answer he's been waiting for but a call to realise who he is talking to. How many of us wait for God's word in a situation but wait with the attitude of respect and humility? I know I'm hoping God will answer my prayers for my future but I'm also sure that I'm not always listening and not always ready for Him to answer me in case the answer is scary. We need to be ready to listen and receive rather than just asking for answers all the time.

Into the New Testament we ambulate (yes it's a word) and Jesus has two big chunks of teaching here to look at. First, Jesus is carrying on His teachings about when God will reinstate His kingdom on earth. Now Jesus here isn't saying that you can only get to heaven by doing the right things but one thing Jesus did better than anyone is talk in terms that were relevant to the right people. Now the Jewish faith teaches that only when everyone's behaving and following God's laws will the Kingdom of God come. So Jesus appeals to this belief but then points out how it isn't down to people's own actions but God's timing. So why bother being good? Well I'd think of it like this. If you had to tidy your room by the end of the day and your folks were out shopping and you'd spent the day playing on your PS3 instead (this is a completely fictional account that is nowhere near what my life might resemble you understand) now when they come back do you want to stay playing and just say hello or actually have at least paused the game for a few minutes while they were gone and had made a start on the mess. Jesus knows we're not ever going to be perfect. But He also knows the judgement we will face and longs for us to do our best to be ready to face God's judgement. Remember the roasting Job's just gotten and he was an incredibly good man. Jesus gives examples of people who neglect their responsiblity and it's our responsibility to uphold God's love both within our lives and by affecting other people.

Then Jesus tells a parable about the end of the world. This stuff is heavy folks so don't be put off. It's important yes, but I always think that we've won salvation already, it's more important to panic about the now stuff. Or at least um and ah over it! But this parable tells the same message of being alert and ready. It's easy to think of Christianity as a doing word (I hated that phrase when I taught... IT'S A VERB!!!) but it's also a waiting word (now I'm just making phrases up!) What I mean is that Christianity calls us to follow Christ and that does mean getting out there and changing the world for the better. But it also means taking the time to make sure we're following in the right manner and on the right path. So be ready for God to use you. Don't just think that your faith can be salvation and fellowship but nothing more because you'll be called out for it one day and it won't be fun.

Finally we're back into the marathon Psalm and it's gory stuff today! But notice how the Psalmist talks about God arming him for the battle. To me today's reading isn't just about God speaking to Job but it's about us listening and being ready in a whole heap of different ways. Be ready to spot God's word and ready to receive it by having the right attitude towards listening to God. Be ready to find out God's will and ready to be equipped to see it through. Be ready for when Jesus returns and make sure you've got something about you to make Him smile extra big!

And that's your lot for today. Yesterday's tune is here and I'd really encourage you to have a listen while you pray over today's reading. Johnny Cash wrote this for one of his last albums before he died and it is specifically about Jesus returning and how things will turn out. Cash had a lot to apologise for in his life and this I think is a message to the rest of us that it's important to get our accounts balanced with God. Moving stuff! Questions, criticisms and comments welcome as always

Jon