Day 7/1 – The Importance of Action

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Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man by Walter A Henrichsen (“Walt”)
The Importance of Action
Day One Hundred Eighty-two

“The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.”‘ John 11:44

Lazarus lay dead in his tomb. He could not raise himself. His sisters, who loved him, could not raise him. The disciples were incapable of helping. Lazarus’ condition is analogous to the unconverted. “You are dead in your sins.” 257 You can no more raise a spiritually dead person to life than bring Lazarus out of his tomb. Education, logic, reason, nothing will help. It is a work only Jesus can do.

But you can do some things. God will never do for you what you can do for yourself. What can be done by man will not be done by Christ; Jesus never worked needless miracles. The miraculous only begins where ordinary means can go no further. Jesus fed the multitudes, but He began with the lad’s few fish and loaves of bread. Jesus did not destroy the stone covering Lazarus’ grave. He told the people to roll it away.

Certain things you believe you can do, God cautions you not to do. God does not want you to try to become rich.258 But in those areas where God has not established prohibitions, and you are competent to act, He expects you to perform. Your dependence upon God cannot be an excuse for passivity. Certain things only He can do, and certain things He wants you to do. Your task, as His follower, is to know the difference.

257 Ephesians 2:1
258 I Timothy 6:9-10

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Job 20-21 Acts 10:24-48 (New King James Version)

Job 20-21
Zophar’s Sermon on the Wicked Man
20 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:
2
“Therefore my anxious thoughts make me answer,
Because of the turmoil within me.
3
I have heard the rebuke [a]that reproaches me,
And the spirit of my understanding causes me to answer.
4
“Do you not know this of old,
Since man was placed on earth,
5
That the triumphing of the wicked is short,
And the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment?
6
Though his haughtiness mounts up to the heavens,
And his head reaches to the clouds,
7
Yet he will perish forever like his own refuse;
Those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’
8
He will fly away like a dream, and not be found;
Yes, he will be chased away like a vision of the night.
9
The eye that saw him will see him no more,
Nor will his place behold him anymore.
10
His children will seek the favor of the poor,
And his hands will restore his wealth.
11
His bones are full of his youthful vigor,
But it will lie down with him in the dust.
12
“Though evil is sweet in his mouth,
And he hides it under his tongue,
13
Though he spares it and does not forsake it,
But still keeps it in his [b]mouth,
14
Yet his food in his stomach turns sour;
It becomes cobra venom within him.
15
He swallows down riches
And vomits them up again;
God casts them out of his belly.
16
He will suck the poison of cobras;
The viper’s tongue will slay him.
17
He will not see the streams,
The rivers flowing with honey and cream.
18
He will restore that for which he labored,
And will not swallow it down;
From the proceeds of business
He will get no enjoyment.
19
For he has [c]oppressed and forsaken the poor,
He has violently seized a house which he did not build.
20
“Because he knows no quietness in his [d]heart,
He will not save anything he desires.
21
Nothing is left for him to eat;
Therefore his well-being will not last.
22
In his self-sufficiency he will be in distress;
Every hand of [e]misery will come against him.
23
When he is about to fill his stomach,
God will cast on him the fury of His wrath,
And will rain it on him while he is eating.
24
He will flee from the iron weapon;
A bronze bow will pierce him through.
25
It is drawn, and comes out of the body;
Yes, the glittering point comes out of his [f]gall.
Terrors come upon him;
26
Total darkness is reserved for his treasures.
An unfanned fire will consume him;
It shall go ill with him who is left in his tent.
27
The heavens will reveal his iniquity,
And the earth will rise up against him.
28
The increase of his house will depart,
And his goods will flow away in the day of His wrath.
29
This is the portion from God for a wicked man,
The heritage appointed to him by God.”
Job’s Discourse on the Wicked
21 Then Job answered and said:
2
“Listen carefully to my speech,
And let this be your [g]consolation.
3
Bear with me that I may speak,
And after I have spoken, keep mocking.
4
“As for me, is my complaint against man?
And if it were, why should I not be impatient?
5
Look at me and be astonished;
Put your hand over your mouth.
6
Even when I remember I am terrified,
And trembling takes hold of my flesh.
7
Why do the wicked live and become old,
Yes, become mighty in power?
8
Their descendants are established with them in their sight,
And their offspring before their eyes.
9
Their houses are safe from fear,
Neither is [h]the rod of God upon them.
10
Their bull breeds without failure;
Their cow calves without miscarriage.
11
They send forth their little ones like a flock,
And their children dance.
12
They sing to the tambourine and harp,
And rejoice to the sound of the flute.
13
They spend their days in wealth,
And [i]in a moment go down to the [j]grave.
14
Yet they say to God, ‘Depart from us,
For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.
15
Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him?
And what profit do we have if we pray to Him?’
16
Indeed [k]their prosperity is not in their hand;
The counsel of the wicked is far from me.
17
“How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?
How often does their destruction come upon them,
The sorrows God distributes in His anger?
18
They are like straw before the wind,
And like chaff that a storm [l]carries away.
19
They say, ‘God [m]lays up [n]one’s iniquity for his children’;
Let Him recompense him, that he may know it.
20
Let his eyes see his destruction,
And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
21
For what does he care about his household after him,
When the number of his months is cut in half?
22
“Can anyone teach God knowledge,
Since He judges those on high?
23
One dies in his full strength,
Being wholly at ease and secure;
24
His [o]pails are full of milk,
And the marrow of his bones is moist.
25
Another man dies in the bitterness of his soul,
Never having eaten with pleasure.
26
They lie down alike in the dust,
And worms cover them.
27
“Look, I know your thoughts,
And the schemes with which you would wrong me.
28
For you say,
‘Where is the house of the prince?
And where is [p]the tent,
The dwelling place of the wicked?’
29
Have you not asked those who travel the road?
And do you not know their signs?
30
For the wicked are reserved for the day of doom;
They shall be brought out on the day of wrath.
31
Who condemns his way to his face?
And who repays him for what he has done?
32
Yet he shall be brought to the grave,
And a vigil kept over the tomb.
33
The clods of the valley shall be sweet to him;
Everyone shall follow him,
As countless have gone before him.
34
How then can you comfort me with empty words,
Since [q]falsehood remains in your answers?”
Footnotes:
• Job 20:3 Lit. of my insulting correction
• Job 20:13 Lit. palate
• Job 20:19 crushed
• Job 20:20 Lit. belly
• Job 20:22 Or the wretched or sufferer
• Job 20:25 Gallbladder
• Job 21:2 comfort
• Job 21:9 The rod of God’s chastisement
• Job 21:13 Without lingering
• Job 21:13 Or Sheol
• Job 21:16 Lit. their goal
• Job 21:18 steals away
• Job 21:19 stores up
• Job 21:19 Lit. his
• Job 21:24 LXX, Vg. bowels; Syr. sides; Tg. breasts
• Job 21:28 Vg. omits the tent
• Job 21:34 faithlessness

Acts 10:24-48
Peter Meets Cornelius
24 And the following day they entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them, and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. 26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I myself am also a man.” 27 And as he talked with him, he went in and found many who had come together. 28 Then he said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean. 29 Therefore I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. I ask, then, for what reason have you sent for me?”
30 So Cornelius said, [a]“Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your [b]alms are remembered in the sight of God. 32 Send therefore to Joppa and call Simon here, whose surname is Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea. [c]When he comes, he will speak to you.’ 33 So I sent to you immediately, and you have done well to come. Now therefore, we are all present before God, to hear all the things commanded you by God.”
Preaching to Cornelius’ Household
34 Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. 35 But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. 36 The word which God sent to the [d]children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all— 37 that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. 39 And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom [e]they killed by hanging on a tree. 40 Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, 41 not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. 42 And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead. 43 To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission[f] of sins.”
The Holy Spirit Falls on the Gentiles
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. 45 And [g]those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. 46 For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.
Then Peter answered, 47 “Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days.
Footnotes:
• Acts 10:30 NU Four days ago to this hour, at the ninth hour
• Acts 10:31 charitable gifts
• Acts 10:32 NU omits the rest of v. 32.
• Acts 10:36 Lit. sons
• Acts 10:39 NU, M they also
• Acts 10:43 forgiveness
• Acts 10:45 The Jews