Elihu: whippersnapper or wise man?

Front porch wisdom of Mark Twain:

“When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.”

Read any good books lately?

Try this one… keep Job in mind… and be encouraged.

On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared.  It was that of a young lieutenant, the plane’s bombardier, who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard.  So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War. The lieutenant’s name was Louis Zamperini.  In boyhood, he’d been a cunning and incorrigible delinquent, breaking into houses, brawling, and fleeing his home to ride the rails.  As a teenager, he had channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics and within sight of the four-minute mile.  But when war had come, the athlete had become an airman, embarking on a journey that led to his doomed flight, a tiny raft, and a drift into the unknown. Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, a foundering raft, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater.  Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion.  His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will. (Amazon.com)

Wednesday nights and the Book of Job

Job paints a picture of how tough life can be, how distant God can seem, and how quickly people line up to be offer expert opinions on the problem of pain.Suffering and confusion are real. So is prayer. Wed. @ 7:00.

News & Announcements

• PRAYER GATHERING THIS WEDNESDAY@ 7:00
• June Partner in Prayer @ Advocate/Bromenn: Mildred Sterling Center: The Mildred Sterling Life Enrichment Center carries a client load of 25-30 individuals, ranging in ages from 18 years to 95 years of age. Open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.  caring for individuals who live with family, but are not able to be left alone during the day.  Activities designed to both entertain and to stimulate the highest level of functioning possible include Bingo, table games, ceramics, outings, worship, and Bible study.  Shuttle service available.
• Softball: Wednesday @ 6:00 @ Champion Fields
• Basque Kids coming June 28! Pick up a refrigerator magnet as a prayer reminder.

He lives to take away my shame.

artwork: “Forgiven Much” by Bill Barley

When we tremble under a sense of our sins, the terrors of the Judge and the curses of the Law, let us look upon a crucified Christ, the remedy to all our miseries. His Cross has procured a crown. His passion [death] has expiated our transgressions. His death has disarmed the Law. His blood has washed a believers soul. This death is the destruction of our enemies, the spring of our happiness, the eternal testimony of divine love. (Charnock)Job, Nicole, and “The Spring of Our Happiness”

Job’s declaration of faith in chapter 19 has inspired many to choose courage over cowardice, conviction over confusion. These words helped inspire Handel’s “Messiah,” arguably the richest musical masterpiece of all time.

Having lost everything but his life, Job is about as low as one can get. He has expressed his heartache and endured the hurtful barbs of those who came to comfort him. The temptation to writhe in shame surrounds him.  But, Job knows something, something that transcends shame: 25For I know that my Redeemer lives,   and at the last he will stand upon the earth.26And after my skin has been thus destroyed,   yet in my flesh I shall see God,27whom I shall see for myself,   and my eyes shall behold, and not another.   My heart faints within me!The brilliance of this passage, penned in times ancient to even Jesus’ era, points to Him and His Redemptive Death and Resurrection. Stunning, really. Read it carefully and consider the logic of the pure theology of hope in a Loving, Living God.These words also inspired Nicole C. Mullens to write and sing:

The very same God that spins things in orbit
Runs to the weary, the worn and the weak
And the same gentle hands that hold me when I’m broken
They conquered death to bring me victory
Now I know, my Redeemer lives
I know my Redeemer lives
Let all creation testify, let this life within me cry
I know my Redeemer…
He lives… To take away my shame

Jesus endured the shame of the cross, which is now the “spring of our happiness.”

News & Announcements

• PRAYER GATHERING THIS WEDNESDAY@ 7:00
• May Partner in Prayer @ Advocate/Bromenn: Addiction Recovery Unit  16 bed unit located on 4S treats inpatients and outpatients with various addictions.
• Softball: Wednesday @ 7:00 @ Champion Fields
• Got Kids? Love Kids? Cary wants to visit with you right after church today. Lunch provided.
• Jr. High and High School kids interested in going to Miracle Camp this summer, please let Pastor Dave or Cary know.
• Basque Kids coming June 28! Pick up a refrigerator magnet as a prayer reminder.Typically, weather-permitting, Saturday mornings will be community work days in the garden. Tell friends and neighbors about the garden; many who walk by are interested. What a beautiful way to share in the wonder of the Master Gardener!

Though he slay me, I will hope in him; yet I will argue my ways to his face. (Job 13:15)

[painting by Michelangelo]…original art based on Job 3-27

November 3, 1988
When I pulled into the parking lot and saw Scott and Mac standing outside the office with sad faces, I knew something was desperately wrong. When Scott gave me the devastating news, the reality and finality didn’t seem plausible. I had talked with him only hours before, a wonderful, happy talk about my nephew’s overtime heroics in a playoff football game. My dad was so proud, so happy, so alive. He had a doctor checkup that morning and was pronounced fit. This just couldn’t be; not my dad. Not yet.

I started walking south, just trying to think, just trying not to explode with grief. Oddly, I was standing right next to the dumpster and I said these words: “Though he slay me, yet I will hope in him.” Not a perfect quote of the verse, but close enough.

I couldn’t be more honest or more sincere when I say that I never remember learning, even hearing, this particular verse. Regardless, I believe that the Holy Spirit spoke it into my life when I needed it most. The words of this verse I hadn’t learned didn’t change the terrible, shocking news. They did, however, minister to me in my need, giving me a perspective which was wise beyond my own understanding, and that was good.

Sometime in the next few days after Dad died, I grabbed a Concordance and looked up “slay.” I found the verse… but the verse had actually found me first. Praise be to God.

May his word dwell richly in all of us, now and forever.

News & Announcements

• PRAYER GATHERING THIS WEDNESDAY@ 7:00
• May Partner in Prayer @ Advocate/Bromenn: Addiction Recovery Unit  16 bed unit located on 4S treats inpatients and outpatients with various addictions.
• No softball this week.
• Got Kids? Love Kids? Cary wants to visit with you right after church, May 22.
• Jr. High and High School kids interested in going to Miracle Camp this summer, please let Pastor Dave or Cary know.
• Basque Kids coming June 28! Pick up a refrigerator magnet as a prayer reminder.Typically, weather-permitting, Saturday mornings will be community work days in the garden. Tell friends and neighbors about the garden; many who walk by are interested. What a beautiful way to share in the wonder of the Master Gardener!