Author Archives: cazehner

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About cazehner

I'm a woman who loves God's Word, the Bible. And I love sharing what it is God reveals to me through his Word. I pray that everything I write is consistent with Scripture, and that everyone who reads this blog will be drawn closer to the Savior. I am praying for you.

Jan 7 -Useless Talk and More

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Job 14-16

The title my NASB gives for chapter Job 15:1-16 is, “Eliphaz says Job Presumes Much.”

In verse 3 of the chapter, Eliphaz asks: should a wise man argue with useless talk, or with words that are not profitable?

Then he continues with, “your guilt teaches your mouth.” (vs 5)

Now I know much of what Job’s friends tell him is off base. But I had to stop and consider Eliphaz’s question. Because I recognize that sometimes I let my opinions influence what I believe to be true. When that happens, my arguments are useless talk and nothing more. I need to be careful not to allow my guilt, my sin, justify my belief.

For example, if I over eat, I might adopt the opinion that gluttony isn’t that serious a sin – or not a sin at all. I can argue my point all day long, but my words are not profitable. And my truth is a fantasy.

Eliphaz also says, “Indeed, you do away with reverence and hinder meditation before God.” (vs4)

And that stopped me in my tracks. It’s one thing to rationalize my sin. It’s another to try to convince someone else of my lie. But when I realize that doing so comes between me and my Lord, I fall on my knees in repentance.

I don’t want anything to come between me and my God who loved me so much He died for me. I don’t want to mislead anyone with opinions I adopt to justify sin in my life. And I don’t want to misinterpret Scripture in order to make me feel good about myself.

Father God, I pray once again that I will be a student of your Word, that I would not have an opinion that is in any way contrary to Yours. I want to know the Truth as You have spelled out. And, Dearest Lord, I certainly don’t want to do away with the reverence I have for You. I worship You. I honor You. I bow before You. Let nothing hinder my meditation before You.

Jan 6 – I Will Trust God

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Job 10-13

Job is hurting. He’s at his wit’s end and doesn’t know how to make things better. He doesn’t even know why his life has turned out like it has. He feels alone, ridiculed, misunderstood. He wants to ask God some questions. He even says he’s ready to argue with God. And he can’t figure out why God is treating him like an enemy.

Sound familiar? Have you ever found yourself crying out to a silent God? Do you have the “why” questions that are not being answered? Does it feel like God has turned on you?

Job doesn’t know what we know: that his losses are of Satan, not God. He doesn’t have the privilege of opening God’s Word and reading God’s heart.

But we do.

The answers you are looking for aren’t found within you, or in some self-help book, or in Oprah. The answers are found in the pages of God’s Word.

I like Job’s point of view. He said, even if God kills me, I will trust Him.

There’s the answer you are looking for.

A mother tells her young son not to play in the street. Why? “Because I said so.” A father insists his teenage daughter be home by 11. “Trust me,” he says when she asks why.

Often, when we mature, we realize the answers to our “why” questions. And maturity comes from studying God’s Word, by getting to know God’s heart, and by trusting Him in every circumstance, allowing Him to prove He can be trusted.

Somehow, when our relationship with God is mature, the questions we have just don’t seem all that important. God replaces our uncertainty with Himself.

Then, with Job, we can say that no matter what comes, “I will trust God.”

Dear Father, I like being your child. But sometimes my curiosity, or my hurt finds me asking, “why?”. God, I want to trust you, even if I never have the answers I think I need this side of heaven. May I not let my questions get in my way of a close relationship with You. Because, Dear Lord, nothing is more important than the sweet fellowship I enjoy as your child.

Jan 5 – Sometimes Silence Is Golden

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Job 6-9

Job’s friend, Bildad, told the grieving father that his children got what they deserved. Then he went on to say that if Job would get right with God, God would make him rich again. Way to pour salt into that wound, Bildad.

Often when someone dies, well-wishers say things like, “It was God’s will”, or “God needed another angel”, or “It was his time”, or the ever-popular “Life goes on.” I wonder if the one who grieves is ever comforted with such words.

Let me suggest that when we are in the presence of a grieving person, we need not speak for God. A simple, “I’m praying for you” or “If you need to talk, I’m here,” or “I love you” may be what that dear one needs, rather than giving an answer to a question he or she isn’t asking.

Sometimes just being present, really present, is exactly the comfort a grieving person needs. Sometimes silence really is golden.

Dear Comforter, I pray for anyone reading this blog who is grieving today. Grief that comes from the loss of a loved one, the loss of a relationship, or a job, or a home, or health. Give them a sense of your Presence, and may they allow You to be the comfort and strength they need to walk through this time. And, Father, I pray that you will give us all a sensitivity toward those who grieve. Remind us that we don’t have to have all the answers. Remind us we don’t have to say a thing.

Jan 4 -Don’t Blame God

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Job 1-5

My chronological reading plan takes a break from Genesis and has me reading in the book of Job today. I hope you take time to read these five chapters, too.

God is sovereign. That means nothing that happens happens without his ok. Satan never slips one past God. But God allows life to happen.

With it comes good times and bad, success and failure. We see Job, a godly man who had everything he could have ever wanted. Maybe his neighbors looked at Job and said – God sure has blessed that guy.

But when God allowed Satan to throw some devastating tests at Job, people blamed God. His servant assumed the fire that consumed the sheep and servants came from God. His own wife told Job to curse God and die. And Job’s friend, Eliphaz said, “According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble harvest it. By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of His anger they come to an end.” (4:8-9)

But is that what we see here? Are the things that happened to Job a result of sin in his life, or maybe God’s anger toward him? Is God’s permission given to Satan to inflict harm the same as God causing harm?

I look around and realize we’re no different today. God doesn’t always get credit when good things happen. But He sure gets blamed when things go south. No matter if it’s a tornado, an epidemic, a mass shooting, or even a red light when we’re late for work, people often point a finger at God and ask, Why did you do that, God? Or they get angry with Him. Or they cut Him out of their lives.

But is it God or Satan we should curse?

Our Sovereign God is allowing Satan to have some freedom here. But He also is offering Himself in the midst of any trouble Satan throws our way. In fact, the gift of choice He gave us at creation enables us to choose Him no matter what.

There are those who will say that God orchestrates everything that happens in this life. But I see a different lesson here in Job. The difference is between God’s permission and His actions. (This is not to say that He never intervenes. There are times when bad things do happen as a direct consequence of our sin. That is another lesson.)

I know that, when my dear nephew died in an automobile accident in 2012 God’s strength and Presence was exactly what we needed to put one foot in front of the other. What Satan meant for evil, God used to encourage us and draw us closer to Him.

So my prayer for you is that you will take God up on His offer to stand with you, too, when bad things happen. Don’t waste time blaming or being angry with God. He is eager to bless you even in the darkest hours of your life.

Our Loving Heavenly Father, I pray that you will reveal Yourself to us as we read the account of Job. You are sovereign. You are good. You love us and Your one desire is to fellowship with us. May we put aside blame and just rest in Your Presence today, no matter what circumstances we are facing.

Jan 3 – And He Died

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Genesis 8-11

Noah’s death is marked in chapter of 9 of Genesis with the words, “and he died.” Noah, who was one of only eight people saved from the flood. Noah, who built the ark according to instructions given by God Himself. Noah, who can be traced to be the father of us all. He lived an extraordinary life.

And he died.

God is reminding me today that that just about says it all for all of us. You will  have quite a few years less than Noah’s 950 years on this planet. But your days are equally extraordinary because you are the only you. Your experiences have never, and will never be repeated. Your choices are your choices. Your joys, your hardships, your dreams, your accomplishments, and your failures are yours alone.

And in every second of every day you live, God is seeking you as though you were the only person on Earth. Your’s is an extraordinary life.

And you will die.

And just like Noah, or Adam, or Peter, or Paul, or Suzie Q down the street, you will stand before God to account for your extraordinary life. The only thing that will matter at that point is your relationship with the living God. Did you believe or not? Did you obey or not? Are you a child of God according to Scripture (and not according to your own thinking) or not?

Dear God, I am reminded that this life I am living is going to end some day. I will die. And, although I don’t want to obsess about that event, I want to live my life with the goal before me. I want to enjoy these days as I prepare to meet You face to face. You, who died for me, who frees me from the chains of sin. You who loves me, guides me, molds me, uses me, and blesses me every day. You make my life extraordinary. And I love you.

Jan 2 – The Lesson Of The Flood

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Genesis 4-7

It’s hard to read about the flood. It’s hard to imagine millions of people, including babies, drowning. It’s frightening to realize how intense is God’s anger toward sin. He even said He was sorry he’d ever created man, and he was grieved in His heart.

Some people will shake their fists at God and rant over the unfairness of a world-wide flood. Some will shake their heads and deny it ever happened. Both are wrong. And both miss the point.

If we look for signs that the earth was drenched in water, we might find it interesting. It might even confirm that the Bible is true. But even that misses the point, which is: GOD HATES SIN!

He HATES my sin. He HATES your sin. He HATES the lie I told, the “adult” entertainment you watch, my anger, your coarse language. He HATES it.

And unless we have faith in Him like Noah had, we will die in our sin, like all those people died in that awful flood.

God has provided an escape plan, however. In Noah’s day it was the ark. Today it is Jesus. But read Genesis, dear one. There was… and is… only one means of salvation. Just one.

For myself, I never want God to be sorry He created me. I never want to grieve His heart by the choices I make to sin. I want to resist sin, accept His provision of salvation, and live every day I have on this earth as one who clings to the God of my salvation.

I want the same for you.

Dear Savior, it’s a new year and many of us consider it a new beginning. I pray that as we make our way through 2016 we will do so holding on to You, pleasing You, loving You, and riding the waves in the safety of Your salvation. May we not forget how much You hate sin. And may we allow You to help us resist the temptation to sin every time. You are faithful. May we be, too.

Jan 1 – Let’s Do It Again

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Genesis 1-3

Another new year. Another opportunity to read through God’s Word. This year, I’ll be reading the NASB chronologically, and I am excited to see what God has for me to learn.

Today, as I read the first three chapters of Genesis I was impressed with how much God demonstrated His love for us during those first days of our existence. His thoughtful creation not only provides for our needs, it’s beautiful!

Tiny ladybugs to sturdy oaks. Changing seasons to twinkling stars. And in every detail we can see a God who lovingly created it all for us to use and enjoy.

God rested on the seventh day. Why? Did creating all this stuff tucker him out? Of course not. But God knew WE would get tired so He gave us the gift of a day off. And He showed us by example our need of rest. I love that!

Love is also demonstrated in the intimate way Eve was created from Adam’s rib, a bone that protected his heart. It’s such a beautiful picture of marriage, of love.

And even after they disobeyed, God Himself lovingly provided for Adam and Eve by clothing them, covering their nakedness, their sin, with the first blood sacrifice.

Reading the Bible reveals a God of love on every page. As I read from Genesis to Revelation in 2016 I want to recognize His love. I want to love Him more, serve Him better.

Will you join me? You may have read the Bible already. Maybe you just finished reading through the Bible in 2015. But let’s do it again. There is so much for us to learn, so many blessings God wants us to have.

I’ll continue to blog my thoughts, and I look forward to hearing from you. May God bless you in 2016 with a deeper relationship with Him, a burning love for Him, and a zeal to share Him with those around you.

Happy New Year, dear one. Let’s use it to read God’s Word each and every day!

 

The Truth of Scripture

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This year, one of my former students beautifully sang “O Holy Night” in her church’s Christmas program. I know her church to be a very liberal, feel good church. Yet I was surprised to hear her sing, “Long lay the world in fear and error pining…” This church has removed the word “sin” from their vocabulary so changed the words of the song to fit their theology.

This morning I ended my year-long read through the Bible plan by reading the last words God breathed into Scripture. It’s a glorious picture of God with His children – NO MORE SEA!

Finally, we will have everything we’ve ever longed for or needed. We’ll be in the Presence of our Heavenly Father forever. Just thinking about this truth makes me homesick!

But John’s revelation doesn’t end there. It ends with a warning:

If anyone adds to or takes away from the words God inspired, God will take away his part from the Book of Life.

Now I know the words from the Christmas song are not Scripture. So changing the word “sin” to the word “fear” shouldn’t be a big deal. But I have to ask myself, why the change? Is it because they have changed what Scripture has to say about our sinful state? In this case, that’s exactly why they changed the words.

We can’t rewrite Scripture without serious consequences. Why would we want to? The Truth of Scripture is so incredible just the way it’s written. Sure, it points out our hopeless condition before a Holy God. But it also contains the best news ever.

It’s a truly happy ending for anyone who believes.

I pray you will resolve to read God’s Word faithfully in 2016. I pray you will block out the outside voices that would change what God inspired men to write so long ago. I pray that you will love Scripture, memorize it, apply it to your life, and hold fast to the Truth contained there.

And may God bless you in 2016 with the knowledge of His Presence, His love, and His forgiveness through the precious blood of His Son, Jesus.

I am praying for you.

It’s Not Just About Love

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Christmas. A season of smiles, well wishes, family, and presents. A time when the world stops for just a moment to consider a baby born a couple thousand years ago.

It’s the season of love. We are reminded that Love came down from heaven. We love the serene picture of Mary and Joseph surrounded by the farm animals and shepherds. We sing about the angels and the star. It truly is a picture of love.

But let’s not forget that Christmas isn’t just about love. It’s about sin.

Jesus left His home in heaven and became a human for one reason only. He came because of sin. He came to pay what we cannot pay, and that is the penalty for our sins. He came to die.

You, my friend, are a sinner. I am a sinner. We need a Savior because a Holy God demands that we be holy as He is holy. And we just aren’t holy by any stretch of the imagination.

So as you celebrate the birth of the Savior, I pray that you will recognize the fact that He was born for you. He did that for you. He lived, and died because He loves you so much. I don’t care if you’ve walked with him for decades, or minutes. I hope you’ll take some time today to consider how personal this birthday is to you.

And if you don’t know the saving grace of Jesus, let this be the season you accept it. This baby was born for love of YOU.

Merry Christmas, dear readers. May God bless you, keep you, turn His face toward you, and give you peace. And may you know the joy that comes from sins forgiven by the One whose birthday we celebrate today.

 

Oh, Those Eyes

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I wonder if Mary, as she held her newborn son, realized just who it was she had in her arms. Sure, she knew his conception was miraculous. Yes, she was visited by angels, and shepherds, and later, wise men from the east. But there she was sitting in a barn, listening to the low of cattle, smelling the smells of livestock, feeling the pain from what might have been a painful birth.

And looking into the eyes of her Savior.

That’s who I want to see this Christmas. I want to see God Himself. Not just a baby in a manger, but One who would grow up to pay for my sins. For yours.

This is no ordinary birth. This is the most important birth that ever was or ever will be. This is the birth that changed the word. Changed me. And I pray that He has changed you, too.

May you adore the baby, recognize the Savior, and accept the fact that what he did 2000+ years ago, he did for you. Jesus was born for you. Jesus lived for you. Jesus died for you. And Jesus is waiting with arms stretched wide, just for you.

Merry Christmas, dear one. And may you celebrate the birth of the Savior as one who is a member of his family.

The One who was, who is, and is to come! Happy birthday, Jesus.