Year 6, Day 331: 2 Chronicles 33

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Ambition, Appetite, Approval

• Ambition: We all need a goal to which we can strive.  When our ambition comes from God, we find fulfillment in our obedience into that for which we have been equipped because our Out is in proper focus.  But when our ambition comes from ourselves, we find ourselves chasing after our own dreams and trying to find fulfillment in accomplishments of our own making.
• Appetite: We all have needs that need to be filled.  When we allow ourselves to be filled with the people and things that God brings into our life, we will be satisfied because our In will be in proper focus.  But when we try to fill ourselves with our own desires we end up frustrated by an insatiable hunger.
• Approval: We all need to feel as though we are accepted.  When we seek the approval of God, our Up is in the right place.  But when we seek the approval of other people besides God, we open the door to pursuing false gods and risk putting someone or something other than God in our Up position.

This section of the history of the kings is quick to sadden.  Hezekiah just brought about a great revival.  Many of the bad trends that had been occurring in Judah were fixed.  The places of false worship were torn down.  The false gods were removed.  The law was copied and spread throughout the land.  So many good reforms and revisions were done underneath Hezekiah.  The reason that this section of the kings account saddens me is because we truly see how quickly things change.

The next king to come to power is Hezekiah’s son, Manasseh.  Manasseh turns away from Hezekiah’s reform.  He puts things back the way that they were.  Soon the temple is scandalized again.  Soon the child sacrifices are being done again.  Soon the ways of God are abandoned.

I don’t know why Manasseh is so quick to change.  It could be that he was young before Hezekiah’s reform and therefore he learned to imitate the sinful Hezekiah and not the reformed one.  It could be that Manasseh was more interested in himself and his own desires than in following God’s ways.  It could be that he wasn’t a king who managed the people well and simply allowed them to do as they pleased while he did as he pleased.  We don’t know why the reversal came so quick.  We simply know that it did come very quickly.

We see here the compelling power of human sinfulness.  We all have an insatiable appetite for something.  We all will do things to seek the approval of others.  We all will follow our own ambition to get what we want.  As the Bible teaches, sin is always crouching at the door.  We, like the Hebrew nation, can slip from obedience to sinfulness in what seems like the blink of an eye.  Vigilance is necessary.  It is not a matter of if we will fall under temptation.  We will fall under temptation, the only question is when and how we will respond.

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Year 6, Day 180: Matthew 6

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Approval

• Approval: We all need to feel as though we are accepted.  When we seek the approval of God, our Up is in the right place.  But when we seek the approval of other people besides God, we open the door to pursuing false gods and risk putting someone or something other than God in our Up position.

Much of this chapter talks about how we relate to this world.  But this is not a chapter about us relating in a ministry kind of way.  Jesus isn’t lecturing us on how to help people or how to council them.  Jesus is teaching us about what is going on within our hearts.

Jesus tells us to be very careful when we give to others.  He doesn’t tell us not to give.  He tells us to be careful that when we give we don’t do it for the accolades.  For the record, He says the same thing about praying.  He doesn’t tell us not to pay for other people – certainly not!  What He says is that we need to be careful that when we pray for them we aren’t doing it to receive accolades.  The same is true for fasting, too.

Do you hear what Jesus is getting at?  Who doesn’t want to receive the recognition of the people around them?  Who doesn’t want to feel valued in life?  Who doesn’t want to feel needed?  Of course we do.  But in the end, what is better – to have the approval of the people around us or to have the approval of God?  Naturally it is the approval of God that matters.

When we do ministry, our motivation is just as important as our action.  Why we do things matters, especially when we consider the eternal.

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Year 6, Day 136: Ezekiel 10

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Approval

• Approval: We all need to feel as though we are accepted.  When we seek the approval of God, our Up is in the right place.  But when we seek the approval of other people besides God, we open the door to pursuing false gods and risk putting someone or something other than God in our Up position.

Ezekiel 10 is an easy chapter to walk away from feeling confused.  If we focus on the cherubim and their description, that’s exactly what we’re going to do.  After all, can you easily figure out what Ezekiel is describing here in this vision?

However, if we take a step back and accept that the vision of the cherubim is difficult to understand, then we can see the bigger picture.  The chapter opens with a promise of purification.  The man in chapter 9 who placed the marks on the foreheads of those who mourned is given a new task.  He is to take fire out of the altar and scatter them onto the city.  We are tempted to see this as a sign of destruction.  But remember that where the prophets are concerned fire is usually a symbol of purification.  Remember the call of Isaiah?  It is a coal from the altar that purifies him. 

What can we conclude, then?  Even though Jerusalem is judged, it will be purified.  There is redemption in the future.  After judgment, God’s people will find approval once more.

While this chapter opens with a good note of promise, it ends on a really sad note.  The presence of the Lord leaves the temple.  The Lord decides that it is time to get up, move, and let the Hebrew people fend for themselves against the Babylonians.  What is really sad is the reason why.  Remember that this set of chapters is all rooted in the idolatry going on in the chapter.  The people choose to worship something else.  When they do that, they lose the approval of God.

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Year 6, Day 91: Jeremiah 38

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Approval

• Approval: We all need to feel as though we are accepted.  When we seek the approval of God, our Up is in the right place.  But when we seek the approval of other people besides God, we open the door to pursuing false gods and risk putting someone or something other than God in our Up position. 

I love Jeremiah.  Here is a man who is repeatedly hated because of his message.  Here is a man whose messages largely didn’t bring comfort to the people who heard them.  But when we look at Jeremiah we continue to see a man who looked to God for approval.  Jeremiah didn’t look to men for approval; he looked to God.

How can we see this in this chapter?  Well, the first place is pretty easy.  Jeremiah is proclaiming that the Hebrew people need to surrender to Babylon and submit to God’s plan for captivity.  This is not a popular plan.  The leaders in Jerusalem don’t care for this message. They think that he is subverting the loyal Jews in Jerusalem.  So they throw him into a cistern.  In fact, they leave him to die.  They leave him without food or water.  If there is any greater evidence that Jeremiah wasn’t looking for the approval of mankind, I’m not sure what it would look like.

Second, look at what happens after Jeremiah is rescued by the Ethiopian out of the pit.  Zedekiah the king comes to Jeremiah and asks for a prophecy.  Jeremiah is in a place of potential favor.  If Jeremiah is looking for a place to get the approval of Zedekiah, here’s his opportunity.  But I commend Jeremiah for what he says.  Jeremiah passes on the opportunity to please Zedekiah and instead tells Zedekiah that he isn’t going to say anything because Zedekiah won’t like what Jeremiah has to say.  Jeremiah stays loyal to the truth.  Jeremiah cares more about God’s opinion of him rather than sparing his own life.  Jeremiah repeatedly gives us a picture of what it looks like get approval from God even if it costs us the approval of mankind.

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Year 6, Day 71: Jeremiah 18

Theological Commentary: Click Here 

Discipleship Focus: Approval 

• Approval: We all need to feel as though we are accepted.  When we seek the approval of God, our Up is in the right place.  But when we seek the approval of other people besides God, we open the door to pursuing false gods and risk putting someone or something other than God in our Up position. 

God calls Jeremiah to go and visit a potter.  I don't know if you have ever watched a pottery wheel in action, but I find it a hypnotic experience.  The clay goes around and around.  The potter has wet hands to shape the clay.  The clay can't be too dry or it won't mold.  But the clay can't be too wet or it will collapse and lose its form.  If you watch long enough – even with expert potters – you will see a structure collapse.  This is what Jeremiah sees happen.  God tells Jeremiah that the people are just like this clay. 

God wants the people to be molded in an image of His own making.  He has given them every opportunity to succeed.  But they don't want it.  They don't want to be made in His image.  They want to be made in their own image.  They want to do what they want with their life. 

As evidence of this, they reject Jeremiah's message.  Even worse, they plot to destroy Jeremiah!  They want to silence his message.  Here is what Jeremiah gets for following God.  The people put their own approval ahead of God's approval.  The people want what they want for themselves rather than what God wants for them. 

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Year 6, Day 64: Jeremiah 11

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Approval

• Approval: We all need to feel as though we are accepted.  When we seek the approval of God, our Up is in the right place.  But when we seek the approval of other people besides God, we open the door to pursuing false gods and risk putting someone or something other than God in our Up position.

Jeremiah continues to be a difficult book to read because so much of the book is about rebellion.  The people aren’t listening to God.  They aren’t listening to God speak through Jeremiah.  They don’t really care about God, God’s ways, or God’s desire for their life.  They aren’t looking to God or God’s messengers for approval.

In fact, they are looking to rebel against Jeremiah.  They are tired of Jeremiah and his message.  They are looking to bring harm to Jeremiah.  Not only are they not looking to Jeremiah for approval, they are finding their own approval by planning harm to Jeremiah!

So what does God say to all of this?  God tells Jeremiah to not even pray for them.  This is twice that we’ve heard this command from God.  God tells Jeremiah that if they are not going to look to Him for approval, then He will not feel the need to hear them when they cry out to Him.  Learn that lesson.

We will surely all rebel.  We will all sin.  But when we sin, we should want to repent.  We should want to be restored.  We should want God to hear us win our sin and in our need.  That is why we should seek the approval that comes from Him.

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Year 6, Day 50: Isaiah 66

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Approval

• Approval: We all need to feel as though we are accepted.  When we seek the approval of God, our Up is in the right place.  But when we seek the approval of other people besides God, we open the door to pursuing false gods and risk putting someone or something other than God in our Up position.

I think that this last chapter of Isaiah is a really neat portal through which we can view the idea of approval.  I’m going to talk specifically to the people who know of God, too.  I’m not going to look at anyone who is seeking approval and denying God at the same time.  I’m going to talk about people who know about God and are specifically seeking His approval.

If we remember where we’ve come in the book of Isaiah, we understand that Isaiah is a book that brings us from sin and rebellion into judgment.  From judgment Isaiah takes us into repentance.  Repentance brings us to forgiveness and restoration.  Restoration brings us back into life with God, our Creator and Father.  It is upon this pattern that the book of Isaiah is written.

The question for this last chapter, then, is what we do with this.  Isaiah has some very harsh words about this topic.  His words at the beginning of this chapter belong up with some of my favorite verses of all time: Psalm 51:15-17, Joel 2:13, Hosea 6:6.  Upon whom does the Lord look?  He looks upon the humble and the contrite in spirit.  He looks upon the one who trembles at the Word of God.  See Isaiah 66:2 for confirmation.

So often we think that by attending church on Sunday morning and putting our check in the offering plate that we are getting God’s approval.  So often we think that by doing our weekly duty in the worship of God that we are getting God’s approval.  So often we think that by teaching Sunday, mowing the church lawn, and making the church pretty that we are getting God’s approval.  Don’t get me wrong.  There is nothing wrong with any of those things so long as God has asked you to do them.  But that’s God’s point.  God approves of the one who is humble before Him.  God approves of the one who seeks His will first and then accomplishes the will of the Lord.  God approves of the one who is content in God trembles before His Word.

I think so often we get God wrong.  We try to buy His love.  We try to do the right things to compensate for our sinfulness.  But all God wants is for us to stop, humble ourselves, and align ourselves with His will.  We do so much, but He really just asks us for so little.

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Year 6, Day 34: Isaiah 50

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Approval

• Approval: We all need to feel as though we are accepted.  When we seek the approval of God, our Up is in the right place.  But when we seek the approval of other people besides God, we open the door to pursuing false gods and risk putting someone or something other than God in our Up position.

The middle of this chapter in Isaiah spoke to me.  The Lord has given to Isaiah a tongue of those who are taught.  It was the Lord who gave Isaiah the ability!  Morning by morning God awakens Isaiah.  It is the Lord who brings us into life and each morning it is Him who gives us a new day.  Where is it that Isaiah gets His approval?  He gets it from the Lord.

However, it is neat to read the verses that follow these, too.  When someone seeks to strike Isaiah, he gives them his back to beat.  He offers his cheeks to those who would pull out his beard.  Because he is humble in the presence of the Lord, Isaiah is able to be humble in the presence of those who oppose him.  Because Isaiah’s approval comes from God, Isaiah doesn’t need to worry about whether people like him or hate him.

Because Isaiah’s approval comes from God, he doesn’t need to worry about being put to shame or being disgraced.  Because his approval comes from the Lord, what worry does Isaiah have about experience disgrace?  Who will accuse him of guilt if God Himself approves of Isaiah?

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Year 6, Day 23: Isaiah 39

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Approval

• Approval: We all need to feel as though we are accepted.  When we seek the approval of God, our Up is in the right place.  But when we seek the approval of other people besides God, we open the door to pursuing false gods and risk putting someone or something other than God in our Up position.

In this chapter we hear of a blunder that Hezekiah makes.  The nice thing about this chapter is that we get to remember that Hezekiah is human after all.  It is easy to think of Hezekiah as a repentant superhuman after reading the last chapter.  Today we are reminded of his stumble.

When threatened with Assyria, Hezekiah hears about the Babylonians.  They had been under Assyrian captivity, but they were able to manage a rebellion of their own.  The Babylonians break free of Assyrian captivity for a short time.

Hezekiah is impressed with this.  Hezekiah sees a potential ally.  Hezekiah invites the Babylonian envoys into Jerusalem and tries to impress them.  Why would he want to impress them?  He wants their help.  He wants their approval.  He wants them to help them overthrow the Assyrian threat in Jerusalem as they had done in Babylon.

Unfortunately, when we seek the approval of men instead of the approval of God, things usually work out wrong.  First, Hezekiah doesn’t know that the Babylonian rebellion would only last about 9 months.  The Babylonians would be no help the Jerusalem.  Second, the Babylonians will not forget the wealth that Hezekiah shows them in order to impress them.  When Assyria is deposed, Babylon will march to Jerusalem and take it because of their greed.  Finally, Hezekiah’s desire to seek human approval only guarantees God’s disapproval.  Their own captivity is assured because Hezekiah seeks the approval of men.  Approval is a dangerous thing indeed.

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Year 5, Day 328: 2 Timothy 2

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Approval

• Approval: We all need to feel as though we are accepted.  When we seek the approval of God, our Up is in the right place.  But when we seek the approval of other people besides God, we open the door to pursuing false gods and risk putting someone or something other than God in our Up position.

I can’t help but to read this chapter and ask myself if this is really true about me as well.  Am I truly seeking God’s approval more than the approval of the world?  Am I seeking God’s approval more than I am even seeking my own approval?  Am I really about God’s agenda more than I am about my own agenda?

I think that is one of my biggest challenges.  I want to do what I want to do.  I want my life to be arranged as I want it.  I want my pleasure, my fame, my success, my prosperity.  I know that it shouldn’t be that way, but deep down in my core that is the struggle.  As Paul asserts in verse 4, no soldier ever gets involved in civilian plans.  The question is, am I really interested in the plans of the Lord or am I interested in my own plans?

That’s why this is fundamentally a question of approval.  If I am seeking the approval of God I would be like that soldier who is interested in that which the one who enlisted me is interested.  Or, if I am seeking out the approval of God I would be like that athlete who wants to play by the rules.  If I am truly seeking the approval of God, that is precisely what my life should look like.

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Year 5, Day 315: Proverbs 24

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Approval

• Approval: We all need to feel as though we are accepted.  When we seek the approval of God, our Up is in the right place.  But when we seek the approval of other people besides God, we open the door to pursuing false gods and risk putting someone or something other than God in our Up position.

After spending two days on appetite, I figured that it was only fitting to speak about approval.  Human beings seem to either be chasing their own desires or chasing the desires of the people around them.  Part of chasing the desires of the people around us is getting their approval.

Proverbs 24 specifically warns us about this.  At the opening of the proverb we hear that we are not to be envious of evil men and we are not to desire to be in their company.  When we continue the opening thought we hear the Solomon is warning his son that the reason for this is the desire in their heart and the way that their evil comes out upon their words.  In other words, evil in other people is contagious.  If we spend time in the company of evil people then their evil may well transfer into us.  We will learn their behavior.

In fact, we will learn their behavior willingly!  If we seek to be in the presence of evil people then we will embrace what they embrace.  If we desire what evil people desire then we will imitate them in order to get what they have!  If we seek to be in the company of evil people we will learn to talk as they talk and let evil pour forth out of our mouth.

It is amazing what humans will turn to when we are looking for approval.  It is important to know the quality of the person from whom we are seeking approval.  If we are not careful, we will find ourselves imitating evilness and self-centeredness while we tear down the community around us that we should be building up and with whom we should be participating.

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Year 5, Day 312: Proverbs 21

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Approval

• Approval: We all need to feel as though we are accepted.  When we seek the approval of God, our Up is in the right place.  But when we seek the approval of other people besides God, we open the door to pursuing false gods and risk putting someone or something other than God in our Up position.

I am often captivated by certain verses – especially certain topics.  One of my favorite topics is just how many things that the Old Testament tells us that God loves more than animal sacrifices.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to say that the sacrifices are wrong.  Clearly the Levitical Law tells us that sacrifices are a joy to the Lord when done the right way and for the right reasons.  But that doesn’t mean that the Lord doesn’t love something more.

In Proverbs 21:3 we have such a captivating verse.  Doing righteousness and living out justice is more pleasing to the Lord than sacrifice.  I think it is worth my time today to dive deep into this particular verse at the expense of the rest of the chapter.  It is always a good pursuit to determine what is pleasing to the Lord.

The reason for these verses is quite simple.  When we live righteously, we demonstrate to the Lord that we know His expectations and we live up to them.  When we seek justice we demonstrate to the Lord that we value what He values.  It should make much sense to think that the Lord would prefer us to value what we values before we speak or act than to have to apologize and rectify that we made an error!  Who wouldn’t want to have the people choose to share values before acting than to have to repent and change in retrospect?

Thankfully, we can seek forgiveness when we make mistakes because our Lord is forgiving.  But if we truly want the approval of the Lord, we need to learn to value what the Lord values and live that way.  People may say that “it is easier to ask forgiveness than permission,” but in truth it is easiest to live by assimilating the Lord’s culture and being able to live without needing to ask anything because the Lord’s ways already are our ways.

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Year 5, Day 307: Proverbs 16

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Approval

• Approval: We all need to feel as though we are accepted.  When we seek the approval of God, our Up is in the right place.  But when we seek the approval of other people besides God, we open the door to pursuing false gods and risk putting someone or something other than God in our Up position.

When I read this chapter in proverbs, I really get an overarching sense of humbleness.  I don’t know about you, but I like my life to be about myself.  I like my life to be passionate about my needs and my feelings and my emotions and my desires.  I want my life to revolve around my interests.

However, that isn’t really what this chapter of Proverbs is all about.  Verse 1 tells us that while our plans may be in our heart, the answer is in the Lord.  Verse 2 tells us that we are always right in our own eyes, but it is the Lord who weighs us.  Verse 3 tells us that we should commit our work to the Lord.  Verse 9 tells us that while our hearts may govern our steps, it is the Lord establishes our steps.

Each of these verses cause me to ask where it is that I get my approval.  Do I want to approve my own actions?  Do I seek the approval of the people around me?  Or am I interested in the Lord’s approval and letting Him establish my ways?

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Year 5, Day 257: John 9

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Approval

• Approval: We all need to feel as though we are accepted.  When we seek the approval of God, our Up is in the right place.  But when we seek the approval of other people besides God, we open the door to pursuing false gods and risk putting someone or something other than God in our Up position.

Much like yesterday, today’s passage gives us multiple perspectives on a discipleship topic.  Today we get a glimpse of the power of approval in the life of a human.  We also get a glimpse into the hardships that can come when we choose to get our approval from the Father alone.

1. Let’s look at the case of the religious leaders.  They are not seeking the approval of Jesus.  In fact, they are not also seeking the approval of God the Father.  They are seeking the approval of Moses and the strict legal code that they have built around the Law.  This means that they are largely seeking their own approval.  They desire to live their life so that the people who are around them will look into their life and see how well they are living.  They seek the approval of the people around them who are just like them.  This leads them even more deeply into darkness.
2. Now let’s take the sad case of this blind man’s parents.  The Bible is clear that they spoke because they were afraid of being put out of the synagogue.  That’s a really nice way of saying that the religious leaders had threatened to excommunicate anyone who followed Jesus.  The parents of this blind man are seeking the approval of the community around them more than they are seeking the approval of God and those people of God around them.  They are afraid that if they stand up for truth that their livelihood might be affected.  They are seeking the approval of mankind and not putting their faith in God.
3. Then we get a chance to look at the blind man.  I love this man and his boldness.  He even mocks the religious leaders by asking them if they are looking to become Jesus’ disciples.  Of course, this comment gets him expelled from the synagogue.  He does find himself expelled from his religious community – and probably from the people who could support him in life.  But God does not abandon him.  Because he is seeking the approval of God, he finds himself welcomed quickly into a different community.  This blind man finds himself welcomes into Jesus’ community, where he receives the approval from God that he seeks.
4. Lastly, we look at Jesus.  Obviously He is looking to receive approval from the Father.  Certainly He has it.  The people around Him confirm as much.  They witness about Jesus that no sinner could perform the kind of works that Jesus was able to perform.  His great power is a demonstration of the approval that He has from the Father as Jesus goes about doing the will of the Father.

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Year 5, Day 154: Mark 7

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Approval, Authority

• Approval: We all need to feel as though we are accepted.  When we seek the approval of God, our Up is in the right place.  But when we seek the approval of other people besides God, we open the door to pursuing false gods and risk putting someone or something other than God in our Up position.
• Authority: Our calling.  This comes from God as king.  Because He calls us as His representatives, He gives us authority to go and do His will.

I think in many ways the concepts of approval and authority go hand in hand.  After all, if God is truly in our up position, then we will seek God’s approval.  If we are genuinely living with God in our Up position and seeking His approval, then we will also be living with His authority governing our lives and actions.

As proof of this, look at the last two stories in this chapter.  With the Syrophoenician woman, Jesus is clearly living out the authority of God.  He doesn’t even need to be present with the sick girl to cast out the demon from her presence!  With the deaf man, Jesus pulls him aside and is able to cure whatever was wrong with him as well.  Notice that Jesus doesn’t do this act for the praise of men.  In fact, He actual forbids them to make a big deal about it.  Jesus is doing the will of God.  Getting His approval and authority from the Father is enough for Him.

However, what about the people in the region of the Decapolis.  Jesus tells them to keep quiet about the action and they do not.  They were disobedient.  We don’t know why, only that they were zealous in their disobedience.  My guess is that the people were chasing after the approval of others around them.  They wanted to share the gossip about Jesus.  They wanted to be seen as someone who saw the miracle happen.  They wanted to be the center of their community’s attention and get their fifteen seconds of fame.

Now let’s return to the first set of stories in this chapter.  Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for paying more attention to the traditions of mankind rather than the commandments of God.  He does this in two contexts: food laws and honoring ones parents.

The fundamental issue is why the Pharisees would from God’s perspective pay more attention to human traditions than God’s own Law.  The answer is simple, I believe.  The Pharisees were looking from approval from one another.  They could justify each other’s eating habits.  They could justify each other’s giving to sustain the religious institution instead of caring for one’s parents.  In seeking the approval of the religious leaders around them, they were also seeking to increase the authority through which they lived, too.  The Pharisees cared more about the traditions of mankind because their approval and authority were rooted in the human hierarchy around them.

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Year 5, Day 148: Mark 1

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Approval

• Approval: We all need to feel as though we are accepted.  When we seek the approval of God, our Up is in the right place.  But when we seek the approval of other people besides God, we open the door to pursuing false gods and risk putting someone or something other than God in our Up position.

When we read about Jesus’ first moments of ministry, there is something that should stick out.  Even before Jesus goes out and officially begins His ministry, he hears words of approval from God.  “You are my beloved Son.  With You I am well pleased.”  Jesus has the approval of the Father.

Have you ever wondered what the reasons for this approval are?  I think there are few broad reasons, and I think that they are very much straight-forward.  First of all, Jesus has the approval of the Father because He is sinless.  Jesus has the approval because His nature is not corrupted by the influence of sinful humanity.  This is the reason that we need Christ.  Without Christ and His sacrifice, we cannot have God’s approval on this point.  Our nature is sinful.  It is only through the sinless sacrifice of Jesus that our sins are done away with and we can know the approval of the Father.

However, at the end of this chapter I think we have a second reason for Jesus’ approval.  Jesus tells the disciples, “Let us go into the other towns, because that is what I came to do.”  In other words, Jesus does what the Father asks of Him.  Jesus is obedient.  Jesus is willing to do whatever the Father sets before Him.  That is reason for the Father to approve of Him.  If we are to be like Jesus and we are to seek the approval of the Father, we need to be obedient to Him as well.  We should be about doing what the Father places in our life before us.

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Year 5, Day 123: Job 29

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Ambition, Approval

• Ambition: We all need a goal to which we can strive.  When our ambition comes from God, we find fulfillment in our obedience into that for which we have been equipped because our Out is in proper focus.  But when our ambition comes from ourselves, we find ourselves chasing after our own dreams and trying to find fulfillment in accomplishments of our own making.
• Approval: We all need to feel as though we are accepted.  When we seek the approval of God, our Up is in the right place.  But when we seek the approval of other people besides God, we open the door to pursuing false gods and risk putting someone or something other than God in our Up position.

In this chapter, Job stumbles.  I can’t say that I blame him.  Here is a man whose life has been ripped from him.  He’s had to be a stalwart against the crushing opposition of his friends as they tried to convince him that he is to blame.  Is there any doubt that eventually he would stumble?

Job’s words in this chapter tell us that the perspective of his friends is getting to him.  He is beginning to equate his own desire for ambition with the approval of God.  When Job says, “when God watched over me,” he’s showing us that he’s feeling as though God only watches over him when his life is going well and he is successful.  This is a shame.

Don’t get me wrong.  We’re all human.  I can’t help feeling for Job here.  But we should remember that God watches over us at all times.  He walks with us – especially in the bad times.  This simply is who God is.  We may feel as though God is far from us, but that is an error of our perspective rather than a statement of reality.  Just because we want to equate God’s approval with our own ambition doesn’t mean that God isn’t there walking with us in our darkest moments of life.

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Year 5, Day 114: Job 20

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Approval

• Approval: We all need to feel as though we are accepted.  When we seek the approval of God, our Up is in the right place.  But when we seek the approval of other people besides God, we open the door to pursuing false gods and risk putting someone or something other than God in our Up position.

I think the human need for approval is inherently behind Zophar’s words in the opening part of this chapter.  Zophar is offended by Job’s words and Job’s defiant stance that he hasn’t done anything wrong.  Zophar is offended because Job refuses to accept a commonly held opinion by human beings: people who live nice lives must be loved by God because of their righteousness.  To put it another way: people who lives seemingly cursed lives must be despised by God because of their sin.

I think approval is at the root of this belief.  We all want to live good lives.  We also want to live a life believing that we are good people.  How can we justify our dual need to have God’s approval but still be able to live up a life to our own financial and communal prosperity?  We do it by equating prosperity with God’s love.

You see, if I am living a prosperous life and I want it to continue, then I need to convince myself that God must bless me because I’ve chosen wisely.  Therefore, I convince myself that I have God’s approval.

On the other hand, if I want to judge people who are living more poorly than I am – because I want to justify my need to stay at my current level – I can do so by declaring that God must not love them as much because they aren’t as blessed.  Therefore, it is possible for human beings to equate fewer resources with a lack of God’s blessing.  It’s completely wrong, but we do it all the time as human beings.

Zophar doesn’t want to be wrong.  Zophar doesn’t want to change.  Zophar doesn’t want to conceive of the possibility that he might not have as much approval as Job does.  So Zophar equates living a life of difficulty with living outside of God’s approval.  Sin Job seems to be cursed, Zophar can stand high and mighty in his opinion that he’s right and Job is wrong.

It makes me wonder what Zophar would have thought of Paul or Jesus.  Can we really equate living a life of prosperity with having God’s approval?

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