Now, more than ever, we have to test what we hear. In the days of influencers and algorithms, God's Word is needed to continually point us to truth... but sometimes even the examples in His Word get fuzzy if we're not careful. Listen today to find out who is right, who is sometimes right, and who is just lying to you!

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Today's Passage of Scripture: Job 6-10

Today's Readings:

Romans 8:1

Job 6:24

Job 7:17

Job 8:1-10, 13-15, 20-22

Psalm 8:1-5

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Welcome back to The Dwelling

Place from Entrusted Ministries.

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I'm Stephanie Hickox, and we see a pattern

in scripture that God has always desired

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to be our dwelling place, and we believe

that when we understand that it transforms

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our dwellings with our families.

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If you're just joining us, listen to

our prep episodes or you can click

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on the link in our show notes to take

you to our free printable resources,

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particularly the start here document.

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In the last episode, we looked

at the opening chapters of Job.

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And they concluded with Job saying

he wished he had never been born.

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He was heart Wrenchingly honest.

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After he had lost all 10 of his

children, all of his possessions and his

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flesh was being tormented with sores.

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At first, his friends were compassionate

with him, but after a week of

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silence, Alfa somewhat gently said,

we know that sin causes suffering.

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Surely there was something you did wrong

to cause this today's section opens with

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job defending himself against that attack.

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In verse 6 22, he basically says,

tell me exactly what I did wrong.

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If you're so sure that

this is a result of sin.

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It's interesting to me that

throughout this book, his friends

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are so set on accusing him of

sin, but they're quite general.

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At first they don't know

what kind of sin it could be.

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And that reminds me of some incredibly

useful advice I was given once and I think

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it's particularly helpful for motherhood.

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It's that when we hear the

enemy's voice accusing us, it

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will be general and condemning.

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But when the Holy Spirit is working in

our hearts, it's much more specific.

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Let me give you an example.

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The enemy might make you feel guilty

and discouraged and feel that you're a

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terrible mother and you can't exactly put

your finger on what you've done wrong.

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It just feels like you are

missing the boat with everything.

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But the Holy Spirit might gently

press upon your heart you need

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to put your phone down more and

look your children in the eyes.

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The season isn't going to

last forever, and you need to

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choose what's most important.

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When you're feeling discouraged

or convicted, ask yourself, do

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I feel the Lord calling me to

make a specific change here?

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And if you're just feeling overwhelmed

that you feel in everything, pray

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to the Lord to give you clarity.

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And honestly, it might just be hormones

or lack of sleep, or the enemy, and

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you just need to give it a little time.

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Romans eight tells us there is

therefore now no condemnation for

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those who are in Christ Jesus.

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You can kick those condemning thoughts

to the curb throughout the Bible.

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We're told to meditate on scripture to

take its words and embrace them, but I

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have to confess sometimes when I come to

a book like Job, I get kind of confused.

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Are these words I embrace or not?

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Is this a true statement or not?

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We know that job's friends, were in the

wrong in this book, so it's interesting.

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Even as job wrestles with his suffering

and his friends wrongly accuse him

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much of what is said, it doesn't seem

to be quite right, but then I'll see

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some verses that seem like they are

speaking good and true words about God.

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It's confusing to understand what are

the truths we're supposed to embrace

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and what is just provided for us,

as an example that sometimes people

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speak foolish or hurtful words.

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Really no one speaks the truth all

the time except the Lord himself.

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I'm so thankful for his example to be

our ultimate guide, and often Jesus's

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words in scripture can give us clarity.

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But I wanna take this opportunity

to encourage you to weigh everyone's

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words in your life and certainly mine.

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I hope the things I say make you open

your Bible for yourself and decide

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if you think they're true or not.

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Maybe there's an application I've made

that didn't sit quite right with you,

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and although I am humbly seeking to honor

God with all I say, i'm fallible and

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I want you to question what you hear.

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I can think of times I've gone on coffee

dates or conversations I've had with

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great friends where initially they said

something so encouraging that feels

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truly helpful, and then later they say

something that just doesn't sit right

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with me and I need to take it to the Lord.

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We have to test everything

people tell us no matter how

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much we love or respect them.

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And I wanna issue a challenge that we

can be teaching our kids, especially

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in these days of social media and

algorithms, when much of what we see

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is curated to our specific viewpoint.

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If you agree with 100% of something

that someone in particular says, and

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you give them carte blanche, if this

person said it, I agree with it.

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I think you probably have that person

too high on a pedestal, and you need

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to make sure that Jesus Christ is

the only one you esteem that highly.

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This might be a political leader, a

pastor, or an influencer on social media,

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and the reverse is also true.

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If you 100% disagree with every

single thing that comes outta

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someone's mouth, the second that

you know they said it, then I think

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you're also falling into an error.

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If we believe everyone is made in the

image of God, then I hope you're open

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to seeing some good in each person too.

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With those clarifications, we're

gonna continue and our reading

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today will be in chapter eight.

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Then build, add the shoe height

answered and said, how long will

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you say these things and the words

of your mouth be a great wind?

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Does God pervert justice or does

the Almighty pervert the right?

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If your children have sinned against

him, he has delivered them into

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the hand of their transgression.

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If you will seek God and plead

with the Almighty for mercy, if

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you are pure and upright, surely,

then he will rouse himself for you.

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And restore your rightful habitation.

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And though your beginning was small,

your latter days will be very great.

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For inquire please of bygone

ages and consider what the

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fathers have searched out for.

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We are but of yesterday and know nothing

for our days on earth are a shadow.

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Will they not teach you and tell you

and utter words of their understanding?

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And then in verse 13, such are

the paths of all who forget God.

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The hope of the godless shall perish.

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His confidence is severed

and his trust is a spiderweb.

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He leans against his house,

but it does not stand.

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He lays hold of it,

but it does not endure.

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And he closes his speech with behold,

God will not reject a blameless man

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nor take the hand of evil doers.

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He will yet fill your mouth with

laughter and your lips are shouting.

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Those who hate you will be

clothed with shame, and the tent

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of the wicked will be no more.

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Can you imagine if one of your friends

said to you perhaps a few months after

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you lost a child or all 10 of them?

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Obviously they were sinful.

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That's why God let them die.

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It's not helpful and

it's certainly harmful.

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It won't bring them back, and it would

be torturous as a mother to hear that.

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Billed is definitely cranking up

the shame and guilt to a whole

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nother level with this speech.

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But interestingly, there does seem to

be some real wisdom when he says that

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the hope of the godless will perish and

that his trust is like a spider's web.

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That's a pretty interesting analogy.

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It's just so fragile.

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And then when, and then he says,

this person leans against his

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house, but it does not stand.

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Which probably makes a lot of us

think about the foolish man that

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built his house upon the sand.

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Some of what Bill Dadd says is wise,

but for the context and the situation,

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it's just not accurate or appropriate.

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A pastor at my church encourage

our congregation to think,

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does this need to be said?

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Does this need to be said by me?

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And does this need to be said right now?

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It doesn't seem like Builded ran

this speech through that litmus test.

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In Job seven 17, job said, what is

man that you make so much of him

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and that you set your heart on him?

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And this makes me think of Psalm

chapter eight when David writes,

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oh Lord our Lord, how majestic

is your name in all the earth?

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You have set your glory above the heavens.

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Out of the mouth of Babes and Infants, you

have established strength because of your

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foes to still the enemy and the avenger.

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When I look at your heavens, the work

of your hands, the moon and the stars,

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which you have set in place, what is

man that you are mindful of him and

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the son of man, that you care for him?

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You have made him a little lower

than the heavenly beings and

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crowned him with glory and honor.

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You have given him dominion

over the works of your hands.

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He goes on to confirm some of

the promises of dominion that God

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gave Adam and Eve in the garden.

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But this question, what is man

that you are so mindful of him?

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How do we serve a God that cares so

deeply for us and longs to dwell with us?

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Well, here's another question we

can't answer, but we can delight in.

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Heavenly Father, we are in

awe that you are mindful of us

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we thank you that you are aware

of our coming and our going and

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all that we say and do, and thank.

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And we pray that this understanding

will transform how we live,

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help us and help our children to

set our hearts on bringing you

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glory more than anything else.

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Give us discernment to test and weigh

what we say, but also what we hear

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in this age when there are so many

words said, written and recorded.

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We pray you would help us to be

above reproach and to guide our

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children in that manner as well.

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Whether our words are public or

private, may we speak the truth and

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love following your perfect example.

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Jesus, it's in your name that we pray.

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Amen.

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Okay.

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If you're being blessed, by

being pointed to scripture every

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day, particularly for your home,

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Please write a review and

give us a five star rating,

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other busy moms, you know?