For over 30 years I’ve talked with men and women who deeply love God, but struggle to understand the Bible. Some believe that unless you are a Theologian, Pastor, or Christian leader, you really can’t understand it. But this is just not true. I’ve launched this simple podcast to help everyday men and women fall in love with the Word of God. Each day I’ll read a portion of Scriptures from the Old and New Testament, covering the entire Bible in one year. After I’ll give a brief devotional. To support this Podcast or follow my other work, visit my website at www.randygoudeau.com
Welcome to Day 234 of the Bible 365 Podcast! I'm so excited you are joining me on this journey through the entire Bible this year. Reminder that each episode in 2026 will have a brand new devotional.
Today we'll be reading through Job 4-7; I Corinthians 14:18-40; Psalm 37:30-40; and Proverbs 21:27. Invite a family member or friend to join you as we grow in our knowledge of God through His Word.
Welcome to day 234 of the Bible 365 podcast. My name is Randy Gudo and today we're going to be reading through Job chapters 4 through 7, 1 Corinthians chapter 14, verses 18 through 40, Psalm chapter 37, verses 30 through 40, and Proverbs chapter 21, verse 27. The translation I'm using throughout this podcast is the Berean Standard Bible, also known as the BSB. Let's read. Job chapter 4. Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied, If one ventures a word with you, will you be wearied? Yet who can keep from speaking? Surely you have instructed many and have strengthened their feeble hands? Your words have steadied those who stumbled, you have braced the knees that were buckling. But now trouble has come upon you, and you are weary. It strikes you, and you are dismayed. Is your reverence not your confidence, and the uprightness of your ways your hope? Consider now I plead. Who, being innocent, has ever perished, or where have the upright been destroyed? As I have observed, those who plough iniquity and those who sow trouble reap the same. By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of his anger they are consumed. The lion may roar, and the fierce lion may growl, yet the teeth of the young lions are broken. The old lion perishes for lack of prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered. Now a word came to me secretly, my ears caught a whisper of it. In disquieting visions in the night, when deep sleep falls on men, fear and trembling came over me and made all my bones shudder. Then a spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body bristled. It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance. A form loomed before my eyes, and I heard a whispering voice. Can a mortal be more righteous than God, or a man more pure than his maker? If God puts no trust in his servants, and he charges his angels with error, how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who can be crushed like a moth? They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk. Unnoticed, they perish forever. Are not their tent cords pulled up so that they die without wisdom? Job chapter 5. Call out if you please, but who will answer? To which of the holy ones will you turn? For resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple. I have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly his house was cursed. His sons are far from safety, crushed in court without a defender. The hungry consume his harvest, taking it even from the thorns, and the thirsty pant after his wealth. For distress does not spring from the dust, and trouble does not sprout from the ground. Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward. However, if I were you, I would appeal to God and lay my cause before him. The one who does great and unsearchable things wanders without number. He gives rain to the earth and sends water upon the fields. He sets the lowly on high, so that mourners are lifted to safety. He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success. He catches the wise in their craftiness, and sweeps away the plans of the cunning. They encounter darkness by day and grope at noon as in the night. He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth and from the clutches of the powerful. So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth. Blessed indeed is the man whom God corrects, so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty, for he wounds, but he also binds. He strikes, but his hands also heal. He will rescue you from six calamities, no harm will touch you in seven. In famine he will redeem you from death, and in battle from the stroke of the sword. You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and will not fear havoc when it comes. You will laugh at destruction and famine, and need not fear the beast of the earth. For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the wild animals will be at peace with you. You will know that your tent is secure, and find nothing amiss when inspecting your home. You will know that your offspring will be manny, your descendants like the grass of the earth. You will come to the grave in full vigor, like a sheaf of grain gathered in season. Indeed, we have investigated, and it is true, so hear it and know for yourself. Job chapter 6 Then Job replied, If only my grief could be weighed and place with my calamity on the scales, for then it would outweigh the sand of the seas. No wonder my words have been rash. For the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me, my spirit drinks in their poison, the terrors of God are arrayed against me. Does a wild donkey bray over fresh grass, or an ox low over its fodder? Is tasteless food eaten without salt? Or is there flavor in the white of an egg? My soul refuses to touch them, they are loathsome food to me. If only my request were granted and God would fulfill my hope, that God would be willing to crush me, to unleash his hand and cut me off, it still brings me comfort and joy through unrelenting pain, that I have not denied the words of the Holy One. What strength do I have that I should still hope? What is my future that I should be patient? Is my strength like that of stone, or my flesh made of bronze? Is there any help within me now that success is driven from me? A despairing man should have the kindness of his friend, even if he forsakes the fear of the Almighty. But my brothers are as faithless as wadis, as seasonal streams that overflow, darkened because of the ice and the inflow of melting snow, but ceasing in the dry season and vanishing from their channels in the heat. Caravans turn aside from their routes, they go into the wasteland and perish. The caravans of Tima look for water, the travelers of Sheba hope to find it. They are confounded because they had hoped. Their arrival brings disappointment. For now you are of no help. You see terror and you are afraid. Have I ever said, give me something, offer me a bribe from your wealth, deliver me from the hand of the enemy, redeem me from the grasp of the ruthless? Teach me and I will be silent. Help me understand how I have erred. How painful are honest words! But what does your argument prove? Do you intend to correct my words and treat as wind my cry of despair? You would even cast lots for an orphan and barter away your friend. But now, please look at me. Would I lie to your face? Reconsider, do not be unjust. Reconsider, for my righteousness is at stake. Is there iniquity on my tongue? Can my mouth not discern malice? Job chapter 7. Is not man consigned to labor on earth? Are not his days like those of a hired hand? Like a slave he longs for shade. Like a hireling he waits for his wages. So I am allotted months of futility, and nights of misery are appointed to me. When I lie down I think, when will I get up? But the night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn. My flesh is clothed with worms and encrusted with dirt. My skin is cracked and festering. My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, they come to an end without hope. Remember that my life is but a breath, my eyes will never again see happiness. The eye that beholds me will no longer see me. You will look for me, but I will be no more. As a cloud vanishes and is gone, so he who goes down to Sheo does not come back up. He never returns to his house. His place remembers him no more. Therefore, I will not restrain my mouth. I will speak in the anguish of my spirit, I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. Am I the sea or the monster of the deep that you must keep me under guard? When I think my bed will comfort me and my couch will ease my complaint, then you frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions, so that I would prefer strangling and death over my life in this body. I loathe my life, I would not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath. What is man that you should exalt him, that you should set your heart upon him, that you attend to him every morning and test him every moment? Will you never look away from me or leave me alone to swallow my spittle? If I have sinned, what have I done to you, O watcher of mankind? Why have you made me your target so that I am a burden to you? Why do you not pardon my transgression and take away my iniquity? For soon I will lie down in the dust, you will seek me, but I will be no more. I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you, but in the church, I would rather speak five coherent words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue. Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature. It is written in the law, by strange tongues and foreign lips I will speak to this people, but even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord. Tongues then are a sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers. Prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers. So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who are uninstructed or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your minds? But if an unbeliever or uninstructed person comes in while everyone is prophesying, he will be convicted and called to account by all, and the secrets of his heart will be made known. So he will fall face down and worship God, proclaiming, God is truly among you. What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a psalm or a teaching, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. All of these must be done to build up the church. If anyone speaks in a tongue, two or at most three should speak in turn, and someone must interpret. But if there is no interpreter, he should remain silent in the church and speak only to himself and God. Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. And if a revelation comes to someone who is seated, the first speaker should stop. For you can all prophesy in turn, so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. The spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. For God is not a God of disorder, but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. Women are to be silent in the churches. They are not permitted to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. If they wish to inquire about something, they are to ask their own husbands at home, for it is dishonorable for a woman to speak in the church. Did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only ones it has reached? If anyone considers himself a prophet or spiritual person, let him acknowledge that what I am writing you is the Lord's command. But if anyone ignores this, he himself will be ignored. So, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. But everything must be done in a proper and orderly manner. Psalm thirty seven verses thirty through forty. The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. The law of his God is in his heart, his steps do not falter. Though the wicked lie in wait for the righteous and seek to slay them, the Lord will not leave them in their power, or let them be condemned under judgment. Wait for the Lord and keep his way, and he will raise you up to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you will see it. I have seen a wicked, ruthless man flourishing like a well-rooted native tree. Yet he passed away and was no more. Though I searched, he could not be found. Consider the blameless and observe the upright, for posterity awaits the man of peace. But the transgressors will all be destroyed, the future of the wicked will be cut off. The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord. He is their stronghold in time of trouble. The Lord helps and delivers them, he rescues and saves them from the wicked, because they take refuge in him. Proverbs twenty one, verse twenty seven. The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable, how much more so when brought with ill intent. Today's devotional is coming from Psalm chapter 37, verse 34, and I really do think that this is a word of encouragement for somebody out there today. Wait for the Lord and keep his way, and he will raise you up to inherit the land. Some of you may be struggling right now because you are waiting for the Lord to move in your life, but I want to ask you, while you are waiting for the Lord, are you keeping his way? I know a lot of people who say, I'm just waiting on the Lord, I'm waiting for God, and they'll even say things like, you know, I'm just going to keep praying, but they're not praying, and they're not really waiting. When you are keeping his way while in the wait, there is obviously an expectation that the Lord is going to move in your life. So wait for the Lord and keep his way, and he will raise you up to inherit the land. Let's pray. Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus, and today I lift up all of our listeners, and may we, as we wait on you, also keep your way so that you can raise us up to inherit the land. Draw us close by the presence of your Holy Spirit and reveal your Son to us. We ask all these things in the precious name of Jesus. Amen. Well, I sure hope you enjoyed today's devotional. If you're getting something out of the Bible 365 podcast, consider sharing it with your family and with your friends. Please continue to pray for me. I am praying for you. Have a great day, and I'll see you tomorrow with day two thirty five.
