This time I was struck by comparing Mary with Eve. Mary “treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart” while Eve listened to the temptations of the serpent and her flesh rather than listening to the truth and kindness of her Creator.
Heavenly Father, make me more like Mary. I want my soul to magnify You, Lord. I want my spirit to rejoice in You, God, my Savior. Thank You, Father for looking upon me in my humble state. You have indeed done great things for me. You lift up the humble, and You humble the mighty. You fill the hungry with good things, and You send the rich away empty. I want to treasure these times with my children, sitting side by side on the couch, reading Your Word together. I want to treasure the life-giving Word that I hold in my hands. Help me to ponder its truths, mully them over in my mind and treasuring them in my heart, that they will come out of my mouth in season and out of season. I want my thoughts to be Your thoughts and my words to be Your words. May everything that has breath praise You, Lord, for You are worthy to be praised. In the Name of Jesus Christ, my Savior and Lord, I pray. Amen.
Read through the Bible in 2 Years: 1 Samuel 13-15.
“Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.”
1 Samuel 15:22 ESV
Am I as faithful to obey God in the little things as I am to obey Him in the “big ones”?
I go to church every week without fail, but am I as faithful in reaching out to a hurting neighbor or stranger in need?
I read my Bible every single day, but am I as diligent in being patient and kind to my husband and children day after day?
I answer each and every question in my Bible study workbook, but am I as conscientious in sharing the gospel and making disciples of the lost.
I try to take every opportunity I have to teach others the goodness of God, but am I as careful on praying without ceasing and seeking the Lord’s guidance in my own daily life.
There are some areas of my life that I find easier to obey than others. How about you? What is easier for you to obey and where do you struggle?
I think some of the things that are easier for me to obey are because they are more enjoyable for me. I simply enjoy reading and singing and studying more than I enjoy serving and listening and being kind. But I’m afraid that some of the things are easier for me because they are more visible. Other people see me at church. Other people hear me teaching or participating in Bible study.
Oh, Father, help me to live for Your “well done.” Protect me from seeking man’s praise rather than Your praise. I want to live for an audience of One. You are my perfect judge. Your opinion is what matters. Help me to trust and obey. Day by day. In the Name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
Galatians 1:10 ESV — For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Colossians 3:22 ESV — Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.
People always joke about Leviticus being the hardest book in the Bible, with maybe Numbers and Job being close runners up. Well, so far this year I’ve read all three of those, and none of them light a candle to how hard Judges has been for me. To see again and again the depravity of man, even so called “good men” like Gideon and Samson, has broken my heart time after time.
Judges ends with these words,
“In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
Judges 21:25 ESV
Whether people obey Him or not, Almighty Jehovah God is the Supreme, Sovereign Ruler. He is the King over Heaven and Earth. He rules over all creation, though mankind chooses to disobey Him, doing whatever seems right in their own eyes. All too often man follows his own deceitful, corrupted heart rather than following the Lord.
There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.
Proverbs 14:12 ESV
As an atheist, I saw helping others as a way I could make my mark in the world. I wanted people to think well of me. I wanted to be a good person. I made up all kinds of rules for myself and tried my best to keep them, but I couldn’t do it. I didn’t have any motivation higher than my own pride and I didn’t have any strength higher than my own will power. Like these men in Judges, I was doing whatever seemed right to me, whatever was right in my own eyes, and that way led me straight to the center of the City of Destruction via the Slough of Despond. (Have you ever read “Pilgrim’s Progress” by John Bunyan? Might I suggest listening to an audio version of it. I’ve been listening to this version on Christian Audio and love it.)
But the Bible reveals another path. A better path. A path of humility and power, God’s power.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.
Proverbs 3:5-8 ESV
Heavenly Father, Your Way is right. All Your ways are good. Help us to know You, rightly discerning the path of life. May Your Word be a light to our feet and a lamp to our path. May Your goodness be a fetter, binding our wandering hearts to Thee. Lead us straight to You. In the Name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
It seems that Micah is about using God rather than serving Him. He wants a priest and an ephod and carved images, not so he can rightly know and love God but so that he can get them to do what he wants.
God isn’t a genie in a lamp that we can rub when we want our wishes granted. God doesn’t live to do our bidding. We need to know God rightly so we can worship Him rightly. Wrong beliefs lead to wrong actions. Every. Time.
Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your immense mercy and grace. You didn’t have to love me. You didn’t have to save me. But You did. Thank You. I want to serve You for You are worthy. Give me discernment to recognize what is good and what is evil and give me the power to choose good. For the Glory of Your Name and Your Kingdom. In the Name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
Judges 16 has lessons for both men and women. I have been blessed with two sons as well as two daughters. I see lessons here for both of them.
Sons: Be careful who you fall for. The wrong woman will lead you in the wrong direction. Strong men can become weak men in a woman’s hands. Get to know who a woman really is before you give her your heart. When you see that she has a selfish, manipulative, deceitful spirit, RUN!
Daughters: Be careful how you use your seductive powers. You can manipulate a man into doing things both you and he will regret. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Don’t manipulate men, making them your puppet. It will only lead you astray.
Heavenly Father, I pray for my sons and daughters. May their hearts belong to You. May You be their greatest treasure. Protect them from the sins of deceit and manipulation. Teach them to guard their hearts. Fill their hearts with pure, holy desires that they would love what You love and hate what You hate. In the Name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
An angel appeared to Hagar in the desert (Genesis 16) and to Mary, the mother of our Savior Jesus (Luke 1). The Lord answered the prayers of Hannah when she asked for a son (1 Samuel 1). Abigail’s discernment and quick actions spared David from having revenge on foolish Nabal (1 Samuel 25).
Here, in Judges 13, the Lord has chosen Manoah’s unnamed wife, a barren, childless woman, to be His messenger to her husband.
Sisters, God wants to use you as a blessing to your husband, your children, your church, and your community. He has a purpose for you.
Whether you’re married or not, whether you have a house full of kids or not, if God has chosen you as His child, then He has chosen you to be His ambassador, a messenger of the most high God.
Heavenly Father, I pray that I would call out to You, seeking You, morning by morning and evening by evening and that I would hear Your voice as You answer me. You have chosen me to be a vessel of Your grace. May that grace overflow to my husband and my children and their children. May that grace bring glory to Your Name. Give my husband and I discernment as we listen for Your voice. Help us to know when You are speaking and grant us unity in Your Holy Spirit. Help us both to be humble toward each other and to You. In the Name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
Have you ever thought about this – God brought His people into the Promised Land, an abundant land flowing with milk and honey, yet the Israelites ended up worshipping the gods of the very people God sent them to conquer?
God wanted the Israelites to drive out those idol-worshipping nations, but instead the Israelites joined in worshipping those idols themselves.
How often are we guilty of these very same things? How often are we Christians bowing to the idols of our culture – the idols of sports and wealth and comfort and fame? How often do we give Jesus our leftovers – after giving the world our time, talents, and treasures – rather than seeking Him first and giving Him our best?
Repent and return to Him today.
He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
Romans 8:32 ESV
Heavenly Father, Forgive us for presuming on Your kindness. Your kindness is to lead us to repentance. Forgive us for our whoring and adultery. We have chased after idols, false gods that can never deliver what they promise. We have turned to the world that You created, and turned our backs on You, our Creator. Forgive us. Cleanse our hearts and hands and renew a right spirit in us. In the Name of Jesus Christ, the Sinless Lamb who was slain for our sins, we pray. Amen.
Sometimes it takes years for the seeds you sow to bear fruit, but I promise you, they will. If you plant pumpkin seeds, you’ll harvest pumpkins. If you plant radish seeds, you’ll harvest radishes. Things always grow according to their kinds. God designed it that way.
The fruit might be glorious – a bountiful harvest of melons and tomatoes and berries – or the fruit might be disastrous – rotten and shriveled and spare – but like Galatians 6:7 says, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.”
If you don’t want radishes, don’t plant radish seeds.
The Lord is a good, holy, just judge and ruler. Whether in this life or in eternity, He will repay each one according to his deeds. If you sow thoughts of bitterness and jealousy, you will become bitter and jealous, and your relationships will flounder. If you sow thoughts of humility and forgiveness, you will become increasingly humble and forgiving, and your relationships will grow.
Gideon’s son, Abimelech, allowed selfish ambition to take control of his life, and he and the men who helped him, paid the price for it.
Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, I trust You. You are good. You are the Almighty Sovereign Ruler over all things. Let me not grow weary of doing good, knowing that at the right time I will reap a bountiful harvest. Help me to overcome evil with good and to trust You to work justice in those situations that seem unjust in my eyes. Grow my faith, Father, and make me more like You. In the Name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.”
Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the LORD will rule over you.”
Judges 8:22-23 ESV
My heart rejoiced when I read Gideon’s words. Praise the Lord that Gideon desired for the Lord to rule over the people!
But, seconds later, Gideon asks those same people to give him all the golden earrings from the spoil of their battle against the Midianites, and from those golden earrings he makes an ephod which “all Israel whored after, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family” (Judges 8:27b).
It just reminded me how quickly I can be deceived, how easily I can step off the straight and narrow path. I need to be diligent in taking every decision to the Lord, willingly following Him step by step.
Heavenly Father, You alone are the ruler of my life. I don’t want to whore after other gods, idols that make promises they’re unable to keep. Open wide my eyes that I may see You. May Your Word be a lamp to my feet and a light to my path, that I might follow You and You alone all the days of my life. To the glory of Your Name I pray. Amen.
I know that yesterday’s post was also from Judges 6, but I hope you’ll bear with me.
In Judges 6, God told Gideon that He is sending him to save Israel from the hand of Midian, but before sending Gideon into that battle, the Lord tells Gideon to take his father’s bulls and pull down his father’s altar to Baal. Then, Gideon is to “cut down the Asherah that is beside it and build an altar to the LORD your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” (Judges 6:25-26 ESV) Gideon obeys God, but for fear of his family and the men of the town, he does it at night so no one sees him.
The next morning, when the townspeople awake, they notice the broken down altar and the cut down Asherah and the bull atop the altar. They immediately go to Gideon’s father, Joash, and demand that Gideon be killed for such an action.
Can you guess how Joash reacts? He defends Gideon, refusing to harm his son, and calling into question the power of Baal, saying, “If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been broken down.” (Judges 6:31b) Whoa. I was shocked, weren’t you? I expected his dad to be really mad and lash out at Gideon for destroying his stuff, especially his altar!
I wonder how many of you have had to tear down altars that your parents have built.
Maybe your parents worshipped at the altar of success, power, fame, and prestige. Maybe they worshipped wealth, spending their lives in pursuit of bigger cars, houses, and toys. Maybe they worshipped human philosophy and wisdom. Maybe they worshipped false gods of their own making or false gods made by other men through the centuries.
And maybe you, like Gideon, and me, and so many others, have been afraid to start chipping away at those altars for fear of your parents’ rejection, disapproval, or worse.
But as we saw in Gideon’s life, you never know how the Lord might work. Maybe the Lord has already begun working on your parents’ hearts and they just need you to take that first step of obedience in helping them to pull down those altars. Or maybe the Lord wants you to heed the words of Jesus in Matthew 10.
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.
Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
Matthew 10:34-39 ESV
What altar is the Lord calling you to tear down today?
Remember, friend, if you have surrendered your life to His Lordship, He is with you. Go in His power and might. Be a woman of valor for the Lord is fighting your battles for you.
Heavenly Father, please help me not to afraid – not because life isn’t scary, but because You are with me. Help me to love others more than myself and help me to love You most and best. You are worthy of it all. If you are for me, who can be against me? What can man do to me? In You I have all I need. In the Mighty, Majestic Name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
Worthy of It All – Cece Winans
TEARING DOWN YOUR FATHER’S ALTARS – FormerAtheist58
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