Converse It!

My dad’s favorite Biblical character is Job.

Job was a perfect man, who had just about everything going for him - a great wife, many children, financially secure and quite content. One day Satan came to God and talked to him about this man Job:

Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. [ Job 1:9-10]

Certainly Job was living the good life, but was truly a godly man as well. To put in today’s terms, think of Job as a Bill Gates and Moses amalgamation. Perhaps not a perfect characterization, but as close a one as I can pull together this early in the morning.

Essentially, Satan was telling God, “Hey, you’ve given him everything. Why wouldn’t he be grateful?” Here was God’s reply:

Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD. [Job 1:12, partial]

And with that, Satan was off to destroy the man so blessed by God. In a short spans of time, Job lost all of his children, his wealth, and even had his health attacked. His wife asked, “Why are you still clinging to your integrity? Curse God and die! [Job 2:9, Don paraphrase edition].

His wife’s response wasn’t atypical. Instead it was Job’s reply throughout this ordeal that was out of the ordinary. He did not think it wise to curse God during his trouble but praise him during his bounty. I think most of us side with Job’s wife in that we accept the good from God but we cannot accept the troubles that come into our lives. We cry foul and think it unfair that a ‘good and just’ God would allow certain things to happen to us.

Yet, Jesus spoke often of having no greater love above the love of God. Job understood that none of his earthly possessions measured up to that which possessed him. Let me put it in more plain terms, if you accept both the good and the bad in your life - all the while praising God - the peace and contendeness of your spirit will provide you with a glimpse into the true nature of God. Looking beyond the do’s and don’ts of Christianity, you may very well begin to see the depth of love God has for all of us, and for you specifically. Job provides us an example of disposition in times of internal and external struggle we have difficulty understanding.

I’ll have more on this in the coming days, but for now whatever you’re facing, thank God in it and thank him for seeing you through it, even if the odds are fairly considerable that you will fail. Like Job, you may end up double blessed by God and better off than when your trial began.

John 16:33
33 ……. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (NIV)

Many people think that when they become a Christian they will never have heartache or trouble.  I can tell you first hand that that is not so.

When I accepted the Lord as my Savior, He brought true peace into my life.  I had a knowing that no matter what I went through, He would be there for me.

I experienced a time in my  life where most people would’ve given up on life and living.  I, however, understood and knew first hand the love and peace of God. When our 21 year old daughter was diagnosed with terminal cancer, life as I knew it  was changed forever.  She struggled with all the treatments that were available to her and after 8 months of torture  my beautiful daughter Enid Santiago  at the age of 22 went home to be with the Lord.

Yes, the pain was more than most people could bear.  But I didn’t bear it alone.  Jesus my Lord and Savior came right along side of me and brought me His victory. He gave me the strength that I needed to carry on.

My husband and I found the strength that we needed to face the loss of our daughter together, as a couple and as a team, knowing that Christ would be the glue that would keep us together and He has.

This November 2nd it will 14 years that she has been with the Lord.  My Husband and I continue to serve the Lord and He has given us great peace and great joy, because we know that someday we will be reunited with our daughter in heaven.

We have overcome, because in Christ we have peace and true victory.

I promise you that if you are going through a heartache, no matter how diffcult you may think it is,  Jesus is the answer.  He will never leave you or forsake you.

Call on Him today!

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

In My experience, I find that we can look for true happiness, joy and peace in many things.  I know that I did.  I thought that a husband, a house, children, money, friends, would provide for me the lasting joy that I was looking for.

After 11 years of marriage.  I had all of the above and I came up empty.  I had the husband, the house, the children, we both had good jobs.

We spent money in excess and always came up short at the end of each month.  There was enough money just not right mangement of that money.  I was always looking for something to make me happy.

When my world came toppling down.  My husband had had it.  Our marriage was a wreck.  Everything I thought would bring happenings was not really what I hoped it would be.

I cried out in desperation to the Lord.  I asked HIM if He was real to take the broken peices of my life and do with them whatever He wanted to.\with them.

He heard my cry came into my heart and life and gave me a new beginning and more importantly He gave me peace, joy and a hope for a future with Him in heaven.

I encourage you, if you are tried of trying to find true peace, in love, or joy in  drugs, money even in your children.  I can tell you it is only found in a personal relationship with Christ.

With most blogs, the first post serves as an introduction - an overview - of what the blog is about and the vision of the blog. Well, this blog is the expression of a few people who love God and want to share it with…well, you.

For me, in particular, one of the things that has bothered me some in churches is the inability to connect church doctrine with real life people.

What I mean is talking about your life and how God has affected you, personally, taking the Word and showing how it has truly worked in your life. In my view, that’s appealing to people who are lost or looking for something different. Going further, telling people the truth also provides them the ability to chose left or right. In today’s web age many people are getting most of their information and forming their opinions based upon web articles. It’s our aim that this blog would influence you and you would influence the writers of this blog with your comments.

So, Let’s Rock!