Adding insult to Injury: Job’s Friends

May 26, 2017May 26, 2017 Laura GraceLeave a comment

In the book of Job we find these words:

“There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil”

I just love old Testament stories! There is so much to be gleaned from there, especially when one does not use it as a gathering place for more correction. Just look at the story, see the man, see the woman of God (as they are) and let God paint the picture for you.

An overview of the story, is that satan went before God- and said that if Job were to lose everything, he would curse God and not worship him. He said “If you take away your protection” (paraphrased), your righteous man will be righteous no more.

My take on it is:

God was protecting Job from satan, and this was pre-Jesus, as he had not yet come to earth to die for our sins. Satan accused him, and there was no one there yet to defend Job. He had no advocate. No one to intercede for him. So while he was in his trial, he basically interceded for himself, and God answered him.

So satan didn’t waste any time, once he had “permission” and notice nobody was praying for Job (I say again) and Jesus had not yet come to earth, to save and redeem us.

Job lost everything, including his health, for a while.

His friends came to comfort him, and started out pretty good (sitting with him for 7 days) but then their true colors came out. Whew! The things they said (oh boy!) Reminds me of church people sometimes. 🙂 Read it sometime!

Job got accused of self-righteousness, folly, a need to repent, that he had brought this on himself, or that God was chastizing him. Worse yet at one point, it was suggested he just curse God and die.

Not a good thing.

His friends went on and on, until he finally called them “miserable comforters” and in Chapter 16 said his friends had “withered him up.” In other words, what satan could not do, his friends were almost able to do. (DO him in completely).

In the end, the only way the friends could be okay, is if Job prayed for them. God’s rules. God’s Justice, In action “If you pray for them,” (God said)………….they’ll be ok.

Sounds like Jesus!

See, we see what we think we see, but God sees all (the truth) from heaven. Job’s friends had a bad case of “tunnel vision.” and looking through their naturalThey did not see things from God’s perspective, they were just speculating, and looking through their natural eyes.

So often, even in our zeal to “forgive and forget” (which is a great thing) We fail to understand the Holy Spirit MAY want to use us, to bring some conviction.

Poor Job did not need help feeling miserable, and yet his friends just added to it. So my question is, if Job can say “You are miserable comforters” (and he was such an upright man) why is it considered so terrible to say the same thing, when someone adds insult to our injury? What is so terible about saying “YOU HURT ME?”

How else will they know? this is what I mean by “taking the mask off” (tell the truth!) stop being a Zombie christian! In some cases you must just “say” what is on your mind. Amen? There was a time I did not. I was intimidated by those “religious ones” who knew the word of God better than I did- so they beat me up!

FINALLY- I learned the word of God myself and learned to stand

(against the bullies)

Yes, bless them! (Job did, he prayed for them) but maybe they ought to know what you are praying for, and get just a bit of conviction out of the deal. Yes, forgive them. But in some cases don’t miss the chance to be real (and honest) with people-especially your friends! It just may be they need your mercy, along with some truth. (so they can know what not to do in the future!) Amen!

Laura Grace

Author, writer, speaker http://www.gracetotherescue.com

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Stuff we don’t want to talk about #3 Jealousy, deliverance from the cruel one

March 1, 2017March 1, 2017 Laura GraceLeave a comment

We just want to love them, Don’t we? Don’t we all? WE can love from a distance, you know? We really can.

I was studying Proverbs one night as I did for many nights, reading it over and over again. (Proverbs 2 I mean). I don’t remember how many times I sat down with my bible and read it again, and again before finally the Holy Spirit prompted me to go forward and read more. I stopped at Proverbs 4 20:21 “my son”

Give attention to my words (he says again) “incline your ear to my sayings’. And then…..”let them not depart from your eyes “KEEP THEM’ in the midst of YOUR HEART’. vs 22 “For they are LIFE to all who find them and HEALTH to all their flesh”. “Father in the name of Jesus help me present this the way you want me to “from your heart to mine, from my heart to Others’. In Jesus’ name,

…..And Father I ask you “deliver us from the evil” of the cruel one…….Amen.

The cruel one………

I got to Proverbs 5 and it says again “MY SON’ Pay attention to my wisdom, lend your ear to understanding……….”that your lips may keep knowledge’. THEN Prov 5:3 For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey……. . I thought, well that’s strange as Jesus is also “like honey” but this is a bad thing, a counterfeit really this immoral woman and I thought “who is she?”……. .and I kept praying….. …

Did God mean “Harlotry” in the natural? (I think not!) He talks about “spiritual adultery all through the OT”. So I”m realizing at this point, God is talking to ME and I am his son and he is not talking about prostitution but the adultery that grieves him all throught the OT and the new. 5:6 “Lest you ponder HER PATH of life…….. “…….Her path vs God’s path hmm……..” her ways are unstable, you do not know them”……. …(If you followed this “other” path you would need “her” (the other wisdom’s) continual guidance…. …)

Proverbs 5:7 “more intense’ “hear me now my children!!” (go, look it up!)

(God really has my attention now I am “ALL EARS”……he says “do not depart from the words of my mouth, Remove your way ‘far from her’…….( FROM WHOM? (I say) From WHOM Lord? (that’s what I asked him!). And then he says “Do not go near the door of “her house” (who Lord? who?)………(We’ re still in Proverbs 5), God has not said “Who (yet)’ so I keep reading….. …”Don’t give your years to the cruel one” he says……(and I think about the passage “Jealousy is as cruel as the grave”

So I ask the Lord “describe cruel” and he says (and of course God is not required to refer to websters he can define his own word) Cruel: “designed to trip you up, keep you down, make you feel “bad about yourself” and so on. Satan’s type of Jealousy is CRUEL this is a different kind than “God’s’ Jealousy. satan’s type of Jealousy is wanting to stop you prevent you from going forward where God’s is designed to keep you close to him and PROTECT you. Many do not know the difference between the two types of Jealousy, they get all mixed up.

HOW THE CRUEL ONE OPERATES (after God showed me what he said up above, he started giving the information to me “faster’…. .) so this is what he told me………. …

Again, satan’s type of jealousy is like “OH no” I am “losing you” and I am “ticked”. (ticked off, mad, in hot pursuit like you are his property). No rhyme or reason to it, no looking out for your best interests only “his own”. This type will try to draw you in with “words of honey” (supposed sweetness and light) showing up WHEN you seem to need it most. AND THEN will turn on you and begin to “tear you down” tell you how “bad you are’ (or were) “beat you over the head’ so you would never dare “leave again” (leave his teaching or council) Then he’ll say it’s “chastizement” using God’s own word to lie to you! “THEN” if you try to escape or get away he will tell you that you are being fanatical or religious!

Or, he will tell you to “DO” those things God hope you won’t do like Overspend, “Party” (because you deserve it) or have a “Pity fest”. He will tell you to have one (pity fest) and be in grief and so on leading you to think he ‘really cares”. This “cruel one’ will seem to give you lots of sympathy but it’s mixed with “put downs” “controlling” and will always encourage you NOT to seek God’s word on anything!

According to “the cruel one” you don’t have time for that, and God doesn’t care anyway. Once you start listening to him you are in danger. Danger Danger Danger. As you go farther and farther into darkness, the further you go into the dark forest, the less you can see. Then you will say or perhaps this enemy will say “doesn’t God order your steps?” Didn’t he just ‘lead you here?”

His goal, ultimately is to get you to turn on God (because he is Jealous OF HIM) and to say God is ‘not Good’ after all. As the devil has more scriptures than just the ones he “threw at Jesus’ in his bag of tricks (did you know that?) he doesn’t just use ‘those three’ He uses others! (many others) and so we need this mind of Christ and need to pray for that (Amen) and to Guard our heart with all diligence, to GUARD OUR HEART as if our very lives depended on it even if we have to do it with “a shot gun” that is God’s will for us. Defend your heart! Protect it! Cherish it! That is where “the Holy Spirit lives!!” …….(amen) ………… .Love and prayers! “Father in the name of Jesus, expose the cruel one! Expose him and LET THERE BE LIGHT! In Jesus’ name, Amen!

minister of the Lord,

Laura Grace

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Little Kids in Big Kid’s Clothing……What is a mature Christian? Do we even know?

January 8, 2017January 8, 2017 Laura GraceLeave a comment

Good Morning! dress up 2.jpg

A lot of stuff we call “sin” is just simple immaturity. I’ve watched Christians for years now, and I’ve been one myself! Still am! But here’s the thing, k? We go to church, we get saved, we are told that God doesn’t see sin when he looks at us anymore, He sees us In Christ (because of what Jesus did for us, amen?).

Then we start to worry about sin. I feel fear, I must be sinning, I looked at someone and thought bad thoughts …..oh dear I am sinning again! When will this ever stop? We feel good when we overcome what we deem to be sin, such as overeating, not caring about church, honoring or not honoring our parents, and so on, and so forth, and so on.

This type of thinking also leads to hyper-vigilance about other people’s sins. “DID YOU SEE THAT?”(We say), “The way she was dressed, in church?” DID YOU SEE (that she is not married, and lives with a guy?) Did you KNOW “I heard” he’s a thief, and a liar!

Sin sniffers! They remind me of children. “Mom, Jeffrey is touching the grapes, that you told him not to touch, MOM MOM MOM!” People go to church, they hear a great sermon, and go out into the world. The sermon was about how drinking and carrying on is the “way of the wicked,” so when they see someone doing those things, they go up and say, “You know, I pray for you, Jesus loves you, he doesn’t want you doing that stuff.” That is not Evangelism. And, It’s not what we are called to do.

One who considers themselves to be MORE Mature might just pray, and when the party animal tells them how much they drank yesterday, they might say “I see, well, I don’t do that stuff anymore, since I met Jesus!” (and consider this to be witnessing for Christ.). As children, while we may be “cute’ to our parents……WE really don’t have a clue (for quite awhile!) Do we? Furthermore, if we don’t listen to the life lessons (that our parents are trying to teach us) we remain clueless!

God doesn’t mind if we are immature, he probably even thinks we are cute! The problem (that we fail to see at times) is that the rest of the world can see it, also.

Most Christians want to learn how to be a better witness, but deep down, they really don’t know how. That’s why I share what I share (and I hope to get better at it) And why I will continue the mission of sharing (for the sake of God’s people) WE NEED TO GROW CHURCH! When I have had the honor of leading someone to Christ, they were ready (God drew them, seeds had been planted, and were watered) so I am nothing but a harvester (by his Grace). I am not a policeman for Jesus! (Selah, think on this)

Then they got “BORN AGAIN” Not just talked into going to church…….(and maybe stopped going, because they weren’t born again, not hungry, it did nothing for them.)

I have not come this far (In Christ) to go back and play “Little Kid Games’ when the world so desperately needs to see Jesus. Look, I’m not trying to be mean here, but really? REALLY Church? THE MANDATE we see in our bible IS Grace to Grow! This is for the believers. GROW……GROW it says……(Ephesians 1) GROW IN Grace…..

What non believers are doing is not really our business…….Come on church! I heard a preacher say once “When I was on my way to hell, I was going in style, with a bottle in one hand and a girl on each arm.” …….to run up to someone and point out how sinful they are is childish, trespassing, and it’s wrong. GOD doesn’t even do that!

How did you come to Christ? Were you drawn by his love and Grace, or were you told what a big hairy sinner you are? (And beaten into submission?). If you went to church to be moral, straighten up your act, and become a self-righteous Pharisee, you are in worse shape than those who are drinking, drugging and living it up! A rampant sinner that cries for mercy has “MORE HOPE” Than you have!!! ……….

So let’s get our eyes off what “everyone else is doing” and how wicked they are, and get back to growing up ourselves! Amen! -Laura Grace, Author, Grace to Grow, Grace to Grow the Study Guide, Grace to soar…….and others. Peace!

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That time I got jealous about a cherry coffee table……Grace to Grow: Real Stories #1

November 5, 2016November 5, 2016 Laura GraceLeave a comment

cherry-coffee-table me-at-choke-cherry-2015

I had a friend, back in the 90’s, Her husband and her had quite the testimony, a beautiful home, and were truly prospering.

I was in a bad (destructive) relationship at the time, and I was reading my bible, attending church, praying all the time for help from God and deliverance.

She was concerned about me, standing in faith with me, praying for me and my children. One day she was saying to me “that perhaps” I needed to ready myself to be delivered from this relationship, by not agreeing with some of this person’s evil ways, and that I should be bolder, stand up to what is evil, and make a stand for truth.

I”m not sure why exactly, but her relentless challenge to me to “hate what is evil” and keep resisting the devil’s ways just hit me wrong that day. I looked at her life, her big house, her husband kept his job, and her new cherry furniture…….

And right there, in the middle of her coaching me, and exhorting me to stand up to evil, I exploded! I said “that’s easy for you to say, you and your Cherry Furniture!”

Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, i was furious with this person, who was just trying to help! Did I love God? (Yes) Did I want to be righteous? (Yes, again) and did I pray and hope to be all God ever wanted me to be? (Yes, again!).

But inside, I was frustrated, seething! I was hurting, and in pain! (and trying to be very brave in spite of it all!). Still, to God that was no excuse. Why Did I lash out at the very person trying to help me, I wondered, after I got home? oh, We had a laugh over it, She started laughing! Eventually, I started laughing too! I acted like a complete ninny that day, and was so embarrassed! I went to God with it…….

“Father I’m jealous, envious, and full of wrath!” Take this away’ I prayed……..

And yes, in the comfort of my own home that day, With God very present, and not at some church meeting, he quietly took away my anger, the Jealousy, the rage…..

And it’s more than 20 years later now…..I have my own house…….but that day I made a decision. IF I never had a house, ever, I wanted Jesus more……..

Grace To Grow Daily by Laura Grace, Author, Grace to grow, Grace to Grow the Study Guide and Grace to Soar, available on Amazon.