The First Week of October
We Read…
This week, we see a theme of following rules, going through suffering, and wondering where God is in the midst of our lives. Job was a righteous, God-following man but was given many trials and challenges. Everyone in his life told him to abandon God, but he refused. He knew that God was not the one causing him pain, and he knew that God was still good through it all. That must have been so tough!
In our Psalm, we listen as the psalmist shares all of the ways he has tried to faithfully follow God and asks God to save him and be with him. We read about Jesus’s suffering in Hebrews and know that when we suffer, Jesus is beside us. Even when we check all of the boxes and center our hearts on God, bad things might still happen. God is not a magic genie or a vending machine (put in one token to receive one blessing). But we know that even though Jesus suffered in this world, Jesus can empathize when we suffer, and God used that suffering for good.
Job 1:1
A man in the land of Uz was named Job. That man was honest, a person of absolute integrity; he feared God and avoided evil.
Job 2:1-10
One day the divine beings came to present themselves before the Lord. The Adversary also came among them to present himself before the Lord. 2 The Lord said to the Adversary, “Where have you come from?”
The Adversary answered the Lord, “From wandering throughout the earth.”
3 The Lord said to the Adversary, “Have you thought about my servant Job, for there is no one like him on earth, a man who is honest, who is of absolute integrity, who reveres God and avoids evil? He still holds on to his integrity even though you incited me to ruin him for no reason.”
4 The Adversary responded to the Lord, “Skin for skin—people will give up everything they have in exchange for their lives. 5 But stretch out your hand and strike his bones and flesh. Then he will definitely curse you to your face.”
6 The Lord answered the Adversary, “There he is—within your power; only preserve his life.”
7 The Adversary departed from the Lord’s presence and struck Job with severe sores from the sole of his foot to the top of his head. 8 Job took a piece of broken pottery to scratch himself and sat down on a mound of ashes. 9 Job’s wife said to him, “Are you still clinging to your integrity? Curse God, and die.”
10 Job said to her, “You’re talking like a foolish woman. Will we receive good from God but not also receive bad?” In all this, Job didn’t sin with his lips.
Psalm 26
1 Establish justice for me, Lord,
because I have walked with integrity.
I’ve trusted the Lord without wavering.
2 Examine me, Lord; put me to the test!
Purify my mind and my heart.
3 Because your faithful love
is right in front of me—
I walk in your truth!
4 I don’t spend time with people
up to no good;
I don’t keep company with liars.
5 I detest the company of evildoers,
and I don’t sit with wicked people.
6 I wash my hands—they are innocent!
I walk all around your altar, Lord,
7 proclaiming out loud my thanks,
declaring all your wonderful deeds!
8 I love the beauty of your house, Lord;
I love the place where your glory resides.
9 Don’t gather me up with the sinners,
taking my life along with violent people
10 in whose hands are evil schemes,
whose strong hands are full of bribes.
11 But me? I walk with integrity.
Save me! Have mercy on me!
12 My feet now stand on level ground.
I will bless the Lord
in the great congregation.
Hebrews 1:1-4
In the past, God spoke through the prophets to our ancestors in many times and many ways. 2 In these final days, though, he spoke to us through a Son. God made his Son the heir of everything and created the world through him. 3 The Son is the light of God’s glory and the imprint of God’s being. He maintains everything with his powerful message. After he carried out the cleansing of people from their sins, he sat down at the right side of the highest majesty. 4 And the Son became so much greater than the other messengers, such as angels, that he received a more important title than theirs.
Hebrews 2:5-12
5 God didn’t put the world that is coming (the world we are talking about) under the angels’ control. 6 Instead, someone declared somewhere,
What is humanity
that you think about them?
Or what are human being
that you care about them?
7 For a while you made them lower
than angels.
You crowned human beings
with glory and honor.
8 You put everything
under their control.
When he puts everything under their control, he doesn’t leave anything out of control. But right now, we don’t see everything under their control yet. 9 However, we do see the one who was made lower in order than the angels for a little while—it’s Jesus! He’s the one who is now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of his death. He suffered death so that he could taste death for everyone through God’s grace.
10 It was appropriate for God, for whom and through whom everything exists, to use experiences of suffering to make perfect the pioneer of salvation. This salvation belongs to many sons and daughters whom he’s leading to glory. 11 This is because the one who makes people holy and the people who are being made holy all come from one source. That is why Jesus isn’t ashamed to call them brothers and sisters when he says,
12 I will publicly announce your name
to my brothers and sisters.
I will praise you in the middle
of the assembly.
Mark 10:2-16
2 Some Pharisees came and, trying to test him, they asked, “Does the Law allow a man to divorce his wife?”
3 Jesus answered, “What did Moses command you?”
4 They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a divorce certificate and to divorce his wife.”
5 Jesus said to them, “He wrote this commandment for you because of your unyielding hearts. 6 At the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. 7 Because of this, a man should leave his father and mother and be joined together with his wife, 8 and the two will be one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 Therefore, humans must not pull apart what God has put together.”
10 Inside the house, the disciples asked him again about this. 11 He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; 12 and if a wife divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
13 People were bringing children to Jesus so that he would bless them. But the disciples scolded them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he grew angry and said to them, “Allow the children to come to me. Don’t forbid them, because God’s kingdom belongs to people like these children. 15 I assure you that whoever doesn’t welcome God’s kingdom like a child will never enter it.” 16 Then he hugged the children and blessed them.
We Think…
What stands out to you in these verses? Does anything confuse you or not make sense?
How do these verses compare to your own experience in life or the church? What are you considering? What questions come to mind?
Jesus takes an exception for divorce and makes it “stricter,” why do you think he does this?
What is the difference between a checklist of rules and making decisions based on God’s heart?
We Feel…
What emotions are you experiencing today? How are you making space for these feelings?
Where have you seen God today or this week? What is pointing you to God (maybe it is something in creation, a friend or adult that cares for you)?
What has God made new in your life? In your heart?
How does the story of Job make you feel?
Do you feel upset or mad for Job, who did everything right but still was given hardships? Or do you think that this test was fair?
We Believe…
We believe in a God who is love and who loves us deeply. When we experience suffering, chaos, or troubles, we know that God does not make these bad things happen to us. God does not do evil in the world or our lives, but we know these things still happen. The question of “Why does God allow evil in the world?” has existed since the beginning of time. You aren’t alone in wondering about this! There are a lot of answers and beliefs across a wide spectrum, even in our own tradition. But at the foundation of what we know and believe is that God is love, God is good, and God loves us. We know that amid hardship, God does not abandon us; God will be with us and allow good to come from even the hardest moments.
We Practice…
When have you experienced hardship?
Can you point to times when you struggled but then saw that God was with you through it all?
Take time this week to talk with a small group or a friend about how God has worked in your life. Ask them to share about times they can think of. Share about anything currently troubling you, and pray together that God’s presence will be made obvious and that you will see God working around you.
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