{"id":2450,"date":"2015-10-10T19:05:33","date_gmt":"2015-10-11T01:05:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/?p=2450"},"modified":"2015-10-10T19:05:33","modified_gmt":"2015-10-11T01:05:33","slug":"a-friend-in-high-places","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/?p=2450","title":{"rendered":"A Friend in High Places"},"content":{"rendered":"

This morning we headed to Lakewood early and watched granddaughter Eliana play soccer. She ended up scoring three goals and her te\"Riley<\/a>am won.<\/p>\n

We join the family of Larry and Jay Belvill for a family memorial service in honor of Jay’s mom Vila Mae Byrum. She was 93 and lived a life of faith, grace and dignity. It was good to share these moments with a family that has been a special part of our lives.<\/p>\n

Before heading home we stopped by Christian and Bridget’s as they were getting ready for oldest grandson\u00a0 Riley’s ninth birthday party. He was having a “Lego” party and with the help of a friend from their church, they had more Lego parts and kids working away on being creative and having fun.<\/p>\n

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY…<\/strong> “…Don\u2019t let my cry ever stop being heard!<\/span><\/span> Even now I have one who speaks for me in heaven;<\/span> the one who is on my side is high above.<\/span><\/span> The one who speaks for me is my friend.<\/span><\/em> My eyes pour out tears to God.”<\/em> \u00a0 Job 16:18-20 NCV<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

With all the words that are spoken by Job and his friends, there are a few verses and statements that have become well known. In the early chapters we read, “the Lord gives and the Lord takes away blessed be the name of the Lord.” <\/em>(Job 1:21) We read the words of Job’s confidence when he says, ” For I know that my Redeemer lives,<\/span><\/em>
\nAnd He shall stand at last on the earth.”<\/em> (Job 19:25 NKJV) Then there are these words of Job’s final outcome, “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.”<\/em> (Job 23:10 NIV) The verses above could be added to these that are more familiar.
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In the midst of all that Job was facing we find his declaration of confidence in believing the Lord was on his side. He was suffering intensely and immensely. He cursed the day he was born. He felt that death would be better than life. His friends didn’t help his situation. Job told them, \u201cI have heard many things like these.<\/span> You are all painful comforters!”<\/span><\/span><\/em> (Job 16:1 NCV) He hoped for comfort and support but he found none. His friends analyzed, criticized and pontificated\u00a0 about Job, God and Job’s situation.<\/p>\n

We see in Job’s words that the Lord heard his cry and that the Lord would be the one in heaven who is for him. I’m not sure if Job understood the ramifications of his words when he said, “I have one who speaks for me in heaven;<\/span> the one who is on my side is high above.<\/span><\/span> The one who speaks for me is my friend..”<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

When we look to the New Testament we see that Jesus is our advocate and our intercessor. John spoke the encouraging words, “…if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”<\/em> (1 John 2:1 NKJV) The writer of Hebrews declared, “Therefore he [Jesus] is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.”<\/em> (Heb. 7:25 NLT)<\/span><\/p>\n

It is on thing to defend ourselves and to “stick up”<\/em> for ourselves; it is another when someone else comes to our defense. I recall when a local newspaper distorted words and tried to slander me and Teen Challenge. I wasn’t sure whether to or how to respond. Soon, a citizen from the community wrote a letter to the editor defending me and the work of Teen Challenge. I can’t tell you how much that was appreciated and the relief it provided during a time of testing.<\/p>\n

There is no one greater to have defending you and your cause than Jesus Christ. I have good news for\u00a0 you today, there is one who speaks for you in heaven and He is on your side and this one who speaks for you is your friend!\u00a0<\/span><\/em>We all need a friend like that. Few will ever face the hardships, suffering and loss like Job. If Job could find comfort in the Lord in the midst of his confusion, fear and frustration with life, so can you.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This morning we headed to Lakewood early and watched granddaughter Eliana play soccer. She ended up scoring three goals and her team won. We join the family of Larry and Jay Belvill for a family memorial service in honor of Jay’s mom Vila Mae Byrum. She was 93 and lived a life of faith, grace […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2450"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2450\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2453,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2450\/revisions\/2453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}