Enduring To The End

Enduring To The End

Mark 13:13 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

 To endure is more than just continuing to survive and exist; it is continuing to sustain oneself in the same manner as before the time of the intensive assaults began.

 To “endure” does not mean simply to grin and bear it. As Christians, must always remember that everything, even the troubling times that will come into our lives is under the control of a sovereign God who has promised that He is working all these things out for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (see Romans 8:28).

 Jesus, in spite of great his time of great suffering, never turned back, even from the cross. Jesus endured the cross “for the joy that was set out before him.” His anticipated joy enabled Him to Endure the Cross. He knew the redemption of mankind and a seat at the right hand of God lie beyond the trouble he had to endure! 

 In like manner, with the help of Gods word and the comfort of the Holy Spirit, we as Christians can find hope to endure when we consider the rewards God has promised us.

 As Mark 13:12 alludes to; we have come to a time in America today where we live in a perilous societal condition wherein “right” has become labeled as “wrong” and “wrong” has become “right.” 

 In addition, we have seen the Church lose its former prominence in our nation and as a result we have witnessed successive generations without any moral foundation whatsoever assume the reins of leadership in our country!

 Consequently, the resident influence of the Holy Spirit has been greatly diminished from its former preeminence all throughout our National body. You can just feel it!

 Anyone that has been a Christian for any length of time and can recall the “old days” when right was truly good and wrong was obvious and vilified, are today wondering how things have gone so wrong. 

 It seems as though everywhere you turn, the “old ways” pertaining to the Bible, are being repudiated and replaced with popular humanistic philosophies. 

Plainly stated, we have become a nation that has forgotten God! And we all know full well what happens to a nation that “forgets” God!

 Sadly, the demise of the American Republic was preceded by a symptomatic Falling Away within the Church houses of America. 

 Collectively, this has all had a demoralizing effect on the faithful body of Christ. We are definitely living in the “perilous last days” that Jesus began discussing with his disciples in his Olivet response here in Mark thirteen. 

 Jesus covered many things in this chapter about the latter days and especially things relative to Israel. Regathered Israel is the pivotal key to understanding the prophetic configuration regarding the End and how we as Christians will need to “endure” as the cosmic conflict of the ages reaches its climax!

 Perhaps foremost of his warnings to us is the culminating work of Satan to turn generations of children against their parents, and against the “old ways” of the Lord. 

 Secondly, is the rise of false teachers, teaching vain philosophies and leading many people astray!

 Thirdly, I would highlight the “afflictions” that Satan would foster and incite to be perpetrated against Gods people! (first the church and then finally on Israel)

 Does it not seem obvious to you that standing up for the things of Christ and his Holy Word will make you unpopular in today’s world? It is an absolute fact that Christians today are the most persecuted group of people in the whole world. 

 In many parts of the world right now, Christians are specifically being targeted for extermination; and even right here in the United States of America, Christians are being branded as insurrectionists and being politically and culturally disenfranchised.

 I find that many Christians today are terribly worried about the trends they see unfolding. Many fear that the epic days of the Tribulation and the rise of the Antichrist is already ensuing! 

 Many people are very worried about the Covid pestilence that has suddenly overtaken our world and the seemingly endless amount of absolute control that governments are enforcing upon us. 

 After all, we know from the Revelation that the future Antichrist will indeed enforce a universal system of total control over the whole world, including the taking of his mark, his number (666) or his image! 

 This universal control of the Antichrist will include absolute control over the world economy, militaries, healthcare, jobs, government, and religion. 

 How can a Christian endure in today’s world, let alone the coming world of the Antichrist?

1-To Endure today; a Christian needs to be alert to the serious nature of the times we live in. That’s why Jesus said in verse thirty three to “Watch” so you won’t be caught “unaware.”

2-Be in the know, as Jesus detailed specific signs about Israel’s regathering and the nearness of his return!

3-Hold fast to his unchanging Word! It will never pass away! Hold fast till he comes! (Rev. 2:25)

4- As verse eighteen implies, but in all times, and especially in Troubling times, “Pray.”

5-Exhort one another daily! Assemble yourselves together!

God did not impart the prophecies of the Last Days to scare us; and include the adage to “Endure to the End;” but that when all these troubling things begin to converge, that we could expect them and be prepared for them!

Revelation 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:

I Peter 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.

by: Darrell G. Young

Focus on the Bible

Focus on Jerusalem

Sept 25, 2021

Strengthen Thy Brethren / Encouragement: The Forgotten Commandment

Strengthen Thy Brethren

Encouragement: The Forgotten Commandment

 Generally speaking, as a whole, the church in North America is not in a good place. My instincts tell me that the church of today has long since digressed down the pathway of the great Falling Away. And one the contributing factors to that descent is the lack of Encouragers within the ranks of the Lords army.

 With regards to that feeling, I have just finished reading yet another article concerning a spirit of “discouragement” within far too many of our churches and especially among a lot of Pastors. It is virtually in actual effect by any standard of definition, “a spiritual crisis pandemic!”

 So, why has this modern period of seemingly insurmountable discouragement ensued? The vast majority of pastors with whom I communicate with are saying they are considering, or have considered quitting their churches.

 I can completely commiserate with the feelings of these pastors, and other church leaders as well; for I have been there myself, and concluded for me that it was necessary for the welfare of all concerned to resign as a local pastor. 

  And yet, for the truly spirit-called pastors and leaders, they still retain a passion and a zeal for serving our Lord. It shocked me to discover that most pastors do not even have a cadre of close friends that they can lean on for help. 

 I regularly hear from many small-town church people say that their communities are dying and there just aren’t as many young people anymore; but when I look at the demographics, I find there are just as many people and young families in these communities as there ever was, and often more than it ever had.  What happens is that the connection of the church with people in the community has diminished.

 

But, beyond these facts is the reality that our younger generations, are more susceptible to social entertainments and cultural indoctrination’s, and have not been advantaged to become duly ingrained with the Gospel. 

So, with these all thoughts in mind, we all need to remember that the Bible literally commands us to encourage one another, to remind each other of the truth that God loves us, that God equips us, that we are treasured, and that even our struggles are worth all the trials. 

  For all the discouraged Christians out there reading this narrative, allow me to remind you of a few things. In Genesis 2:18; we observe that God told Adam that it was not good for him to be all alone. In the same vein, it is not good for Christians and pastors to be alone so much. 

 We are all social creatures, and we need each other. Just as Eve was a “help meet” for Adam, all of us as Christians need a compassionate “spiritual help meet.” This is just one reason we are instructed to faithfully assemble ourselves together with fellow Christians!

 Secondly, Hebrews 3:13 instructs all Christians as follows: “exhort one another daily, while it is called today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”

 Herein we find that we as Christians are advised, even “commanded” to Exhort (encourage) one another, and especially to encourage our leaders as they labor in the Lords service!

 Thirdly, I would note that this verse also says to make it a point to “encourage” each other on a “daily basis.” It then adds the addendum to do this daily while it is “today.” The “today” inference is relative to the entire Church Age and is absolutely an advisory command!

Fourthly, this verse adds that if we fail to practice daily encouragement of our fellow servants, it could lead the discouraged brother into a falling away state and or a descent into hardened sin.

 Now then, why is this “spiritual command” so instrumental among all the members in our churches and especially in regards to our pastors?

The word translated “encouragement” or “exhortation” is the Greek word paraklésis, related to the word paraclete. Paraklésis basically means “a call to one’s side.” In other words, we as Christians have a priority to have one another’s back, to come to the aid of, or to spiritually build each other up in the Lord.

 

 We all need this chain of “spiritual teamwork” because we all have a vicious and very clever adversary, who never ceases to plot against the servants of the Lord. 

 In fact, one of Satan’s most practiced sinister strategies is to cause “Discouragement” within the team of Gods chosen!

 The Devil is not only the “author of temptation,” he is also the author of the 5 D’s; disappointment, despair, depression, Discouragement and finally Defeat! 

1. Without consistent encouragement, hardship becomes meaningless, and our will to struggle through and continue the fight gradually wanes.

2. Without persistent individual encouragement, life would soon feel pointless and burdensome. 

3. Without the encouragement of a caring team, we can be easily overwhelmed by the very real pains of our lives, living in a Fallen World.

4. Without some essential encouragement, we each can begin to feel unwanted and unloved, and feel a loss of all sense of divine purpose.

5. Without any occasional uplifting spiritual encouragement, we each could begin to think that God is a liar or is unconcerned with our welfare. This is a defeat that Satan wants to inflict on all of us!

 So, these are just a few of the reasons that the Bible strictly “commands us to encourage one another,” to remind each other of the truth that God loves each of us, that God equips us, and that we are each one truly treasured by him; and that without him, none of us on his team could accomplish anything!

 Proverbs 16:24 specifies these eloquent words:

“Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” God’s Word is definitely full of encouragement.”

 Finally, in closing friends, allow me to take you back to a point in time when our Lord and Savior might well have had the occasion to be the most “discouraged” he had ever been. Yet even at this point, he prayed and then encouraged others. 

  It was the Eve of his pending Crucifixion! He sweat drops of blood while praying and asking his Father to permit for that awful impending death to pass him by. Yet he consented to his Fathers will. 

  But mere hours earlier, sitting down for the Last Supper with his spiritual brothers, he told Peter; “Satan has desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not, and when thou art recovered, STRENGTHEN THY BROTHERS.” (Luke 22:32)

  And make no mistake about it, Satan has the capability of “sifting anyone of us like wheat” particularly if we succumb to disappointment, despair, depression and Discouragement.

 Therefore, like Jesus, let us also pray for our brothers and strengthen them as we watch for and await our Lords Return, And what could possibly be more Encouraging than his return!

by: Darrell G. Young

Focus on the Bible

Focus on Jerusalem

September 23, 2021

In Love With Death?

In Love With Death?

The fear of death is a powerful emotion. It is human nature to fear death. The Psalmist talks about the valley of the “shadow of Death” and how fearful the notion of it can be. 

And lest we forget, Death came into the world thanks to Satan; who told Eve, “ye shall not surely die!” So because of that Big Lie, we all face the prospect of sure death! 

Even Jesus, when contemplating his own death commented to his Disciples in Matthew 26, “my soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.” 

Yet there is a curious statement made by the Lord in Proverbs chapter 8 and verse 36. It reads as follows; “He that sinneth against me, wrongeth his own soul; all they that hate me Love Death.”

That is a startling statement, is it not? Can you imagine hating someone so much that you would even love dying yourself? 

My first instinct when discovering this verse was to think of the fanatical suicide bombers. They seem to love death in the act of killing others. Of course they are blind individuals who have been deceived by the teachings of a false god. 

But there is a much deeper context involved in the Proverbs statement. Remember, this is a quotation from God himself concerning people who “enjoy their Sins” and refuse to repent of them.

In this verse, the Lord God is teaching that those people who Love their sins, they are in effect rejecting wisdom by consequence, because they love their sinful practices which will of a certainty bring certain destruction and Death upon them. 

By sinning willfully and persistently against Almighty God, who is the only offer of hope for life, they in effect love that which brings death upon themselves, both in body and also for their own soul, and so are reckoned to literally love death itself.

This proverb meantions two views of God's wisdom. The first is to sin against his counsel and wisdom. The second is to hate it.  This speaks progressively of what happens to people when they convince themselves that it is OK to reject the wisdom of God; and continue to enjoy their sins!

At first sinners are just annoyed by the wisdom of God. They are annoyed at a being who would claim absolute power, wisdom, and authority.  

But soon their annoyance grows to become anger, and finally that anger will give rise to flat out hatred. The hatred grows out of a rejection of the notion that anyone or anything besides they themselves should have the right to limit them from “enjoying their sins.” 

The more one sins against God's commands and against the consequences of rejecting them, the more they resent the God that wrote them. (Ten Commandments) That is why any sin, embraced long enough will bring us to the point of hating God and his Word. 

 It is why the Word of God says in James chapter 4 that friendship with the world is enmity against God; or the one who loves the world, hates God.

Thus, those who will not hearken to the Wisdom of God and scorns his counsels, do virtually love death because they love the things and the practices which lead to death, temporal and spiritual!

In short, many people are choosing spiritual death because they love sin. Therefore, they Love Death, and love not their own Soul! 

He that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” (John 3:36)

Proverbs 14:27  The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.

Matthew 10:39  He that findeth his life (enjoys sin) shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

by: Darrell G. Young

Focus on the Bible

Sept. 21, 2021

War in Heaven

War in Heaven

Revelation 12:7-8 And there was “war in Heaven:” Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found anymore in Heaven.

This verse in Revelation sticks out in the word of God like a flashing warning sign! It is one of the most astounding pieces of information revealed in the whole Bible. 

Perhaps nothing is as unfathomable as a war occurring  in Heaven. We all aspire to go to Heaven someday and everyone probably envisions Heaven as a place of perfect peace! The idea of a war in Heaven, even if it was in the ancient past is simply unthinkable to most minds. 

The most obvious questions immediately jump to the forefront of my curious mind. 

1-When did this war begin?

2-Where is this war being fought?

3-Who are the combatants in this war?

4-What started the war?

5-What weapons are being used to fight this war?

6-What has been the effects of this war, on me?

7-What are the tactics utilized in this war?

8-How Will this war end?

9-When Will this war end?

10-Who is winning this war?

The subject of the “War in Heaven” is extremely complex and a topic that is deeply involved in a lot of scriptural material. An in-depth analysis of the subject of War in Heaven would of course be voluminous, probably more lengthy than the epic “War and Peace.”

Nevertheless, I shall attempt to simply provide as concise a response for all ten of these questions as I possibly can. 

In this exciting and revealing chapter, (12) the word “Heaven” is mentioned five times, while the word “heavens” is mentioned once. 

The usage of the word “Heaven” in each of these instances here in chapter twelve is derived from the Greek word “ouranos.” Ouranos refers to the elevated sky around the earth and the arch of space throughout the universe; as the very same word is utilized to define the plural usage of the word “heavens” used in verse twelve. 

This is a very important point; for it establishes the scriptural basis for the position that the heavenly war is not currently ongoing in the Heaven where Gods throne, and the eternal dimension exists, far, far above the created “heavens.”

In II Corinthians 12:2–3, the apostle Paul provides a major revelation that there are in fact three “heavens.” 

In this passage, he seemingly talks about himself being taken up to the “third heaven” where God the Father and Jesus dwell. The second heaven is the universe or outer space, and the first is our terrestrial atmosphere.

The Bible further indicates that Satan, his angels and some of his demons are still allowed to move about in the areas of the first and second heavens, or the heavenly places that we call outer space! (Ephesians 2:1–2; 6:12)

Therefore, while these facts don’t definitively answer the question about where the war started; it does seem to strongly indicate that the war is presently ongoing in the first and second heavens; not to mention right here on the literal earth; with the earthly battlefield becoming even more hotly contested during the Great Tribulation era than it presently is. 

If we can conclude when the war started, perhaps then we can ascertain exactly where the war started. 

The Genesis account of Creation, beyond the Revelation account, is among the most obvious places to look for specific information about when and where the war of Heaven began.

But even in analyzing the Creation account, using not only Genesis, but also the prophets; we must consider the absolute fact that the “process of time” itself is a “created” dimension! 

So, then we must realize that the Genesis account of creation was provided to mankind by the Creator merely to assist us for understanding our world and our place in it. It doesn’t necessarily grant us an intensely detailed insight into the “realm of eternity” and when this war might have commenced.

Of course, the timing of the Great War in Heaven of necessity involves the theological debate about how old the world actually is. Personally, I am convinced that our world and even the universe is not millions or billions of years old. I am totally convicted that God has not been absent for eons of time from the ensuing events within his creation. I think God has been deeply involved in the total history of mankind and therefore involved in our habitat, which he specifically created for man! (Isaiah 45:18)

Albeit, the collective scriptural record does suggest that all that the Creator created was originally classified as “Good,” including all of the Angelic creatures; and even including the Angel known as Satan or Lucifer.

Indeed in Job 38:7 there is a clear indication initially after the creation that all the host of Heaven including the “sons of God” (angels) joyfully praised God! So then the “War in Heaven” must have started sometime after God created the heavens and the earth, and initiated the process of the earthly time dimension.

So the “start” of the war in Heaven is established as Sometime immediately after creation week. That leaves us to examine where the war started and who launched the Great War. 

The architect of the war in Heaven is clearly identified as the Great Red Dragon, that old serpent known as the Devil. Ezekiel chapter 28 conveys that Lucifer; a highly placed and powerful “Cherub” was around to witness the final creative actions of God in Eden. 

Lucifer became envious and jealous of Gods final act of creation; mankind! It was the creation of man, made in Gods own image, that ignited a vein of pride within Lucifer that compelled him to contemplate a heavenly coup against Almighty God!

The final straw in Lucifers ideas of cosmic rebellion undoubtedly rested upon his oversight of Gods providential plans to manifest himself into the form of his own Son in the event that mankind ever deviated from the righteous state of pure love. 

In his plot to displace God as Sovereign over all of the Lords creation; Lucifer recruited 1/3 of his fellow angelic host to join him in his all out War! 

If Lucifers war campaign began in the Heaven of heavens; it was short-lived, for he was instantaneously rebuffed and kicked out; and as a result he lost all access to Gods Heaven forever! 

Realizing that God planned on creating the earth particularly for man, Satan targeted the earth and mankind as his logistical secondary battlefield.

In fact, Jesus later, within the earthly time dimension while manifest in human form reiterated something he himself had witnessed from his eternal perspective in Heaven. 

Luke 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

Now, some theologians suggest that Satan still has access to Heaven since the record of Job seems to indicate that Satan routinely comes before God to complain. This scenario is pictured also in Revelation 12:10 where Satan is pictured regularly accusing Christians of various things. 

But there is another plausible scenario for this setting. We need to remember that the Almighty Creator God is omnipresent; unlike Satan. Satan can only appear before God when God summons him; and God can appear anywhere for such occasions. 

The verse in Revelation includes the fact that Satan accuses us before God “day and night.” Yet in Gods eternal Heaven, there is no day or night; nor time; so these railing diatribes of Satan as well as those against Job likely very well would have taken place in the realm of the second heavens and within the domain of time progression. 

So then, thus far we have drawn our best conclusions on three of our ten questions; when the war started, where it started and who started it. Now, let’s consider who the extended combatants in this supernatural war are. 

Most of the combatants in the War that Lucifer started exist in the inter-dimensional realm. They are by and large invisible to mortal mankind. They include many ranks and types of Celestial beings. (Not terrestrial)

Ephesians chapter six and verse twelve is perhaps the best identifier of these combatants. 

Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Colossians 1:16 illustrates these combatants even more distinctly: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 

The mention again of the word “Heaven” in this verse alludes to the second Heaven, or our outer space, as being the battleground between the angels of the Lord and the demons of Satan. 

The high ranking angelic “principalities” in the heavens are invested in this great cosmic war and are depicted all throughout scripture as being heavily involved in the affairs of this world.

The weapons being utilized in this cosmic conflict are too many to detail. While the invisible warfare involves weaponry and technology far more advanced than is known to mankind; there is the very real likelihood that celestial beings pierce in and out of our earthly dimension with weapons and craft that can only be described as out of this world. 

Most importantly though; the weapons in this Great War, for our part, involve weapons of a spiritual nature! The most important weapons at our personal disposal are prayer, and the unchallenged truth of Almighty God. 

The effects of this War in Heaven is that it has involved everything about human life. Because mankind has become amalgamated into the rebellion of Satan, our very nature has taken on the character of the Evil one and divested us away from the designs and love of our Creator! 

The greatest effect this war has had on us is disease, chaos, sorrow, pain and Death! And there is only one way to alleviate the consequences of our mortal fate, and that is by aligning ourselves into Gods restitution program, otherwise known as Grace!

Satan has masterminded many covert strategies against Almighty God in his war to dethrone the Creator. 

First and foremost was his recruitment of other angels to join him in his war campaign and then to carry out many covert assignments against humanity. 

Secondly was his critical scheme to also entice mankind into his rebellion. 

Thirdly was his sinister conspiracy to obstruct Gods plan of human redemption by contaminating the “Seed of Woman” to preempt the foreordained plan of God to avail his own Son as the means to offer mankind a way of spiritual restoration.

Fourthly, Satan has waged an ages long campaign to destroy the national vehicle of Israel; through which God provided a Savior and trained up to give the world a record of his Holy Truth!

Fifthly, Satan conspired with the powers of this dark world to kill Gods own Son, and plotted ever since to persist in persecuting the Lords anointed.

These are just a few strategies in a quick review of Satan’s many tactics in his Great War against the God of Heaven.

Let’s move on to the last three questions in our analysis of the War in Heaven.

# When will this War end? Very simply: This ages old war will end when Jesus Christ returns to this world! He will put down all rebellion and incarcerate the Devil and his cadre of angelic rebels. Unfortunately, for many men, because they received not the truth of God, and ignored his offer of Salvation, they too will be punished  and receive the just condemnation of unrepentant sin. 

# When will this war End? Soon and very soon! That’s what Bible prophecy is all about; to warn us and alert us to the fact that Judgment Day is quickly coming!

# How will this war End? It will end quickly! Jesus will consume his enemies with the mere brightness of his coming! The epic details of The Revelation depict the final events of this Great War! 

# Who will win the War in Heaven? God will decisively win this war! In fact, it is already won! Actually, Satan is attempting to make one Last Stand, knowing full well that his fate is already sealed; yet he can’t afford to surrender; for he in essence made his bed a long time ago!

Isaiah 24:21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.

by: Darrell G. Young

Focus on the Bible

The Pursuit of Happiness

The Pursuit of Happiness

It stands to reason that everyone wants to be happy. But how does one become truly happy?

Our National Declaration of Independence conveys the idea that our Creator endowed us with certain freedoms, one of which enables us to the pursuit of happiness. 

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” 

Happiness is often and easily mistaken to simply refer to a status of life that satisfies our desires.

Even when people do things that will ultimately make them miserable, one could argue that they are still trying to make themselves happy. The problem is, we often look for happiness in all the wrong places (Isaiah 55:2, Jer. 2:13).

We all seek personal happiness in a variety of ways. Some people search for happiness in sports, music, drugs, alcohol, sex, money, pleasure and in relationships. But all too often these external factors betray our sense of happiness. 

The worlds understanding of happiness usually tends to be “externally” triggered and is based on our interactions with other people, things, places, thoughts, money, pleasure, entertainment, travel, adventure, and a host of other things that tend to stimulate our emotions in a satisfactory way.

A typical dictionary defines Happiness as an emotional state characterized by feelings of satisfaction, excitement, pleasure, enjoyment, success and personal accomplishment. 

Thus, the casual social understanding of Happiness is connected to something we feel because of our situation or circumstances. We are happy because someone or something made us temporarily happy.

But can this truly be Happiness; if it simply involves our emotions and depends solely on external circumstances? 

Surely our Creator has offered some counsel on Happiness. But when I word search the Bible for the word “happiness” I find not a single solitary usage. 

However, the Bible does infer the word “Happy” over two dozen times and in each usage there is a direct reference to the word Joy! 

Joy is more consistent than happiness and is cultivated “internally.” It comes when you make peace with who you are, and why you even exist.

We can only be joyful because of something deep within us. 

The Greek word for joy is chara. The biblical definition of the word “Joy” is related to the natural reaction within a person to the work of God.

Galations 5:22 implies that Joy, or true happiness is a fruit of the Holy Spirit! Therefore for a person to be truly “Happy” he must be filled with the “Joy” that can only come from the Lord; and living in full communion with mans purpose for being.

Thus, the human zeal for the pursuit of happiness is not the same thing as the pursuit of pleasure. 

To the contrary, “Happiness” is not an external trigger; but rather an “inner conviction” that all is right with our Lord and Creator. It is a sense of well-being, joy, or contentment with his purposes for our lives! Ok

But is our personal happiness God’s ultimate goal for us? Does He even want us to be happy?

We were created by God in His very own image, and it is His design that creates our innate desire to be happy beyond our wildest dreams. In fact he wants us to be internally joyful! 

Spiritual laws (Gods laws) are as real as physical laws, and there are spiritual laws governing our internal happiness. God’s path to happiness often goes a different direction from the path we would naturally choose. 

God's desire is to make us holy, not just temporarily happy. True happiness is a “blessed” life, and it only comes when we seek God first, above all else.

Psalms 146:5 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God: 

How is your Pursuit of Happiness? 

by: Darrell G. Young

Focus on the Bible

Curse God and Die

Curse God and Die

(The untold story of Job and his wife)

I expect virtually everyone with any familiarity with the Bible at all knows the ancient story of Job and his dilemma of being personally targeted for attacks by Satan. 

But perhaps the most startling statement about Jobs personal experience is the following statement made by his wife, whilst Job was being physically and mentally tormented.

Job 2:9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.

I think this comment by Jobs wife is one of the most cruel and hateful things a person ever states to another person in all of the Bible. 

This remark rates right up there with the often angrily used retaliatory response of telling someone to go straight to Hell. I can’t think of anything worse to say to another human being!

In Job chapter one, verses one and eight, God describes Job as a perfect and upright man, a man that despised evil and feared God. I would certainly think that such a man was also a good husband and Father. 

Indeed in verse five, we see Job routinely sought after his families sanctification and offered burnt offerings to the Lord on their behalf. 

Job was also a very successful and wealthy man. He doubtlessly provided well for his wife and family; for the Lord had blessed all his labors.

So then, why, when Job was down and out and at his lowest point in life, why would his own wife say to him: “Curse God and Die?”

But before we resolutely condemn Job's wife for her cruel remarks, we must analyze the conditions that brought her to so forcefully say those hateful things to her husband. 

In retrospect, we are all quite familiar with Job's plight, but we tend not to focus on the fact that Mrs. Job also lost her seven sons and three daughters in this Satanic onslaught against Job.

Furthermore, Mrs. Job, who was totally dependent on her husband's estate, had seen him lose his cattle, his sheep, his oxen, his mules, his servants and his entire financial and economic stature.

Undoubtedly, Mrs. Job had seen enough. She had grown weary of Job’s bad luck and especially his financial demise, causing her to blame Job for all the family calamities. 

It should be noted that Satan’s first wave of tactics to destroy the faith and integrity of Job concentrated on only “the things” that Job possessed. Satan’s second strategy was to cajole the Lord into permitting the physical attack on Job’s body and health! 

While the loss of children and possessions did not result in Job failing to honor God, the lingering effects of the bodily agony and the mental anguish did bring Job to rue the day he was even born. 

Not surprisingly, Mrs. Job had come to question Job’s innocence and to blame God for the troubles that she was forced to endure. 

In Job 2:9; Mrs. Job after observing her husband groveling in the ashes and scraping his skin with a blade for relief, lost all sense of compassion and understanding when she shouted to her husband: “Job, dost thou still claim to retain thy integrity?”

The word “integrity” utilized in this narrative actually infers that Mrs. Job was accusing Job of not being “innocent” before God and therefore had brought all this calamity upon himself and her because of his personal sin!

Little did Mrs. Job realize that her verbal chastisement of Job was exactly what Satan was seeking to accomplish in his strategic assaults on Job and his household. 

In fact, Mrs. Jobs very words echoed the exact charge that Satan had enunciated to the Lord at the outset of Job’s whole debacle.

In chapter 1:11 and again in chapter 2:5 Satan challenged God to “remove Jobs hedge of protection” and permit Satan to expose Job to his wiles, then Job would “Curse God to his Face!”

While it may seem that God allowed Satan to make a farce of Jobs life, it factually stands obviously apparent that God had foreknowledge of Satan’s immense hatred of Job’s fantastic faith and its public testimonial being displayed before all the world. 

Now, back to those cruel and hateful words: “Curse God and Die.”

Satan obviously manipulated Job’s wife and even all his friends to incite “seeds of doubt” into Jobs mind about his faith in God. Those cruel words had to have cut through Job’s heart like a blade through butter! 

In these four words are incorporated all the elements of Satan’s despotic desire! 

1-Satan would like nothing better than for the Servants of God to lose their faith!

2-Satan would love nothing more than for a servant to destroy his own personal testimony of Gods goodness!

3-Satan would love nothing better than for his servants to Curse God! 

4-Satan would jump for joy at the sight of the Death of one of Gods greatest servants that are filled with Integrity.

5-Satan really delights at fomenting chaos among the servants of God and watching them make accusations against one another.

Yes, we have all heard of the patience and faith of Job, and we have all seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

Therefore, We as servants, possessing the integrity of God’s Word; should always “Bless the Lord” and the Life that is in it!

Psalms 96:2 Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people. 

by: Darrell G. Young

Focus on the Bible