Dear Theophilus, Minor Prophets: 40 Prophetic Teachings about Unfaithfulness, Punishment, and Hope You may know about the prophet Jonah, the guy who spent a three-day time-out in the belly of a large fish, but what about some of the lesser-known...
Four Lessons from Job about Devotion to God Job Professes His Spiritual Practices The words of Job’s friend Eliphaz fail to comfort him. Instead they stir up anger. With a friend who speaks like Eliphaz I’d be angry too. In Job’s reply to his...
What Can We Do to Help Others? Discover Ten Reasons Why People Speak Well of Job Job had everything and he lost it all. He can’t figure out what happened or why God seems so distant. Though enduring hard times, he asserts he has done nothing...
Why Do We Love God? When Do We Love God? We Must Love God Regardless of Our Circumstances It’s easy to love God when things go well. When our lives are great and we receive his blessings, we can thank him, praise him, and appreciate his goodness...
Is It Okay to Question God? God Won’t Strike Us Dead If We Question Him; He May Even Like It Many people in the Bible question God. These aren’t fringe malcontents. They’re some of our favorite Bible characters and, I suspect, some of God’s...
God Speaks to Job—and to Us When God speaks to us, we need to be ready to listen Job’s friends come to comfort him. At least that’s how it appears, but in actuality they’re not much help. Their words assault Job and his character. In exasperation...
Our Beliefs Are Flawless. Or Is It That Our Beliefs Are Flawed? If we claim to know the truth, that implies every other perspective is wrong The book of Job is mostly dialogue between Job and his four “friends,” with God having the final word—as...
Does God Accept Your Prayers? Job prays for his misguided friends who criticize him, and God accepts his prayers The book of Job is dialogue sandwiched between the story’s prelude and epilogue. The prelude, or premise, is that Job will...
Sometimes the Best Thing to Say is Nothing When Job’s friends try to comfort him, their words only deepen his distress The Bible tells the story of Job, how Satan took everything from him: his possessions, his children, and his health. Left in...
When Was the Book of Job Written? Earlier I wondered if Job was real person or a fictional character. Despite support for both perspectives, my conclusion was that it doesn’t really matter. We can learn from him regardless if his life is a...
