Murph
Moderator
Be kind to your web footed friends. Amen?
Posts: 68,950
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Post by Murph on Oct 27, 2006 20:10:24 GMT -6
Let them join the MB and we can help you answer all their questions...
We would enjoy that very much...
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Post by snowrosies on Oct 27, 2006 20:14:42 GMT -6
Great plan may God bless you duck that will be awesome for them ;D im still learning everyday and there is so much for them to learn but they are receptive to the message of Jesus which is great! ;D
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Post by babysteps on Oct 27, 2006 21:02:13 GMT -6
were all reading 8-)If You're New Here Please Read « Thread Started on Aug 9, 2006, 7:14pm » -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." ( John 14:6 KJV ) "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." ( Romans 10:9-10 KJV ) "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;" ( Acts 3:19 KJV ) the whole thing keifer and chloe believe ;D brandie too but she likes angels mostly and so we made her one she can have thats the coolest picture wow! Jesus is awesome in every way ;D
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Murph
Moderator
Be kind to your web footed friends. Amen?
Posts: 68,950
|
Post by Murph on Oct 28, 2006 7:24:34 GMT -6
Great place to start Babysteps!
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Murph
Moderator
Be kind to your web footed friends. Amen?
Posts: 68,950
|
Post by Murph on Oct 28, 2006 7:31:58 GMT -6
Angels are special creations of God....Chloe and they serve Him...
They also help us. I think we have special angels that help the Lord to watch over us. The Bible says He even will send them one day to take us home. But hopefully for you that day will be a long ways off.
The Bible also tells us not to worship them like we worship the Lord. They also have told us that. They are creations and servants of the Most High God like we are...but we are human and they are not.
Tell ya a secret. They are just as fasinated with us as we are with them. They also marvel at the fact that Jesus died on the Cross for us. They think it is so very grand that God gave Himself for us to save us...and that He rose from the dead...so we can follow Him and live with Him forever.
I am human but I also marvel at that and am very thankful for that!
Amen! Duck
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Post by angelina on Oct 28, 2006 8:09:26 GMT -6
HI i am here. wow really! thats so cool ,i choose the name angelina im chloe i just get finished registering. I love to know about angels i believe in them and I want to know Jesus more also . I read some already ooh it works cool
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Post by babysteps on Oct 28, 2006 8:27:53 GMT -6
hiya i knew u would choose that name cool beanos. u have to help your sister ok i got rained out waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! ;D
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Post by Keith on Oct 28, 2006 11:25:37 GMT -6
HI i am here. wow really! thats so cool ,i choose the name angelina im chloe i just get finished registering. Glad you got registered Chloe, and hope this will be a place for you to learn and grow in knowledge of Lord Jesus... Keith
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Post by Nita on Oct 28, 2006 20:43:01 GMT -6
Angels are special creations of God....Chloe and they serve Him... They also help us. I think we have special angels that help the Lord to watch over us. The Bible says He even will send them one day to take us home. But hopefully for you that day will be a long ways off. The Bible also tells us not to worship them like we worship the Lord. They also have told us that. They are creations and servants of the Most High God like we are...but we are human and they are not. Tell ya a secret. They are just as fasinated with us as we are with them. They also marvel at the fact that Jesus died on the Cross for us. They think it is so very grand that God gave Himself for us to save us...and that He rose from the dead...so we can follow Him and live with Him forever. I am human but I also marvel at that and am very thankful for that! Amen! Duck I have another thing to add about the angles... Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. (Luke 15:10 KJV) Love in Christ, Nita
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Post by charlescameron on May 16, 2009 8:50:13 GMT -6
Sopme notes on Joshua. 1:1-18- For Israel, it was a new beginning. They were leaving the wilderness. That was their past. They were entering the promised land. This was God’s future. For God’s future, there is God’s command - ‘Be strong’- and God’s promise - ‘the Lord your God is with you’. We wonder what the future holds. We wonder how it will all work out. God says, ‘Don’t be frightened. I will be with you wherever you go’(9). How can we face the future with confidence? How can we ‘be strong in the Lord’(Ephesians 6:10)? How can we be sure that the Lord will never let us down (2 Corinthians 3:5)? How can we step out into a future full of His blessing? ‘Meditate on His Word day and night’. Read your Bible - ‘This Book will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from this Book’: Which will it be? (8; Psalm 1:1-3). 2:1-24- The story of Rahab is summarized in Hebrews 11:31 - ‘By faith... she gave a friendly welcome to the spies’. A friendly welcome - What an important thing this is! She spoke the word of encouragement - ‘I know the Lord has given you this land’(9). This message of faith was taken back to Joshua (24). It was exactly what he needed! Few of us are ‘big name’spiritual leaders like Joshua. All of us have an important part to play in the Lord’s work. For every ‘Joshua’we need plenty of ‘Rahabs’, giving the friendly welcome, speaking the word of encouragement. Let there be no more unhelpful, negative criticism - ‘We cannot do this. We dare not do that. We must not do the other’. Let there be the friendly welcome, the word of encouragement. It will make such a difference - for the better! 3:1-17- ‘Sanctify yourselves; for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you’(5). ‘Sanctify them in the truth; Thy Word is truth’(John 17:17). Together with the command, there is the prayer. We are called to set ourselves apart for God. We can only do this when we look to the Lord for His strength. We receive His strength through His Word. We give ourselves to the Lord. He gives His promise to us: ‘the Lord will do wonders among you’. His promise of blessing is no guarantee of an easy time. In the promised land, there would be problems - and God: ‘as I was with Moses, so I will be with you’(7). There would be conflict - and victory: ‘the living God is among you... He will without fail drive out from before you...’(10). We look beyond Joshua to Jesus - ‘God with us’(Matthew 1:23). In Him, we have the victory (1 Corinthians 15:57). 4:1-24- ‘These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel for ever’(7). When, in the future, the question was asked, ‘What do these stones mean?’(6), Israel would remember what the Lord had done for them (23). Knowing that ‘the hand of the Lord is mighty’, they would be strengthened to face their difficulties with confidence in God. Rejoicing in what the Lord has done - ‘This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes’- , they would learn to ‘fear the Lord their God for ever’(24; Psalm 118:23). Israel remembered. We must remember. When you’re going through a hard time, don’t forget - to remember! God has been good to you. He has blessed you. When God seems so far away, remember - and pray that, once again, ‘times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord’(Acts 3:19). 5:1-15- As you read about circumcision (2-7) and the Passover (10), think also of Paul’s words in Romans 2:29 and 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 - ‘real circumcision is a matter of the heart’, ‘Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us, therefore, celebrate the festival... with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth’. ‘The Commander of the Lord’s army’came to Joshua (13-15). Christ comes to us. He calls us to worship. He equips us for battle. ‘Christ, the Royal Master, leads against the foe... At the sign of triumph, Satan’s legions flee... Hell’s foundations quiver at the shout of praise... Like a mighty army moves the Church of God... Gates of hell can never ‘gainst that Church prevail; We have Christ’s own promise, and that cannot fail... On then, Christian soldiers, on to victory’(Church Hymnary, 480). 6:1-27- ‘The walls came tumbling down’- What a mighty work of God this was! It was ‘the Lord’who gave Jericho into the hands of His people (16). His victory was received by faith: ‘By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days’(Hebrews 11:30). Notice that the declaration of victory comes before the obedience of faith (2,16). We start out from victory. We do not achieve the victory by our own faith. The victory is given to us by the Lord. Faith simply receives the blessing already promised to us by the Lord. Faith expresses itself in obedience. Believing God’s promise, they obeyed His command - and the blessing followed. They walked ‘by faith, not by sight’(2 Corinthians 5:7) - ‘It shall be done’, not ‘It can’t be done’. Let us be ‘devoted to the Lord’(17-19). 7:1-26- This chapter begins with the word, ‘But’- This is ominous! What comes next? - Sin: ‘the people of Israel broke faith with regard to the devoted things’. The sin was Achan’s, yet it affected the whole people of Israel: ‘the anger of the Lord burned against the people of Israel’(1). Sin is like infection - it spreads! What kind of effect do your actions have on other people? Cain asked, ‘Am I my brother’s keeper (Genesis 4:9). His question was an expression of callous indifference. There is no place for this attitude among God’s people: ‘Decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother’(Romans 14:13). Read the story of Achan, and remember this: ‘Be sure your sin will find you out’(Numbers 32:23). Let no one have good cause to ask, ‘Why did you bring trouble on us’(25). 8:1-35- The victory was given by the Lord: ‘I have given into your hand...’(1). The people still had to claim the victory. Israel’s triumph was a spiritualvictory from which we can learn much. We learn, first, that ‘the battle is the Lord’s’(7; 1 Samuel 17:47; 2 Chronicles 20:15). Believing the Lord’s promise - ‘the Lord your God will give it into your hand’(7) - we act upon His command: ‘Do what the Lord has commanded’(8). God’s workis to be done in God’s way- Believing the promise, Obeying the command (18) - with God’s Wordat the centre. We need the wholeWord of God - ‘all that is written...’. In this, we learn from Joshua - ‘He did not leave out one word from everything Moses had commanded’. We need ‘the blessing andthe curse’- the strong warnings as well as the precious promises (34-35). 9:1-10:15- Some chose ‘to make war against Joshua and Israel’(9:1-2). The Gibeonites came, looking for peace. They achieved their objective - ‘Joshua made peace with them’(9:15). In this story we see the work of Satan, and we may catch a glimpse of the work of God. The ‘peace’was based on deception. The Gibeonites ‘acted with cunning’(9:4). The Israelites were easily deceived. They ‘did not ask direction from the Lord’(9:14). The Gibeonites brought trouble to Israel (10:3-5). There were ‘weeds among the wheat’- ‘An enemy has done this’(Matthew 13:25,28). Through the grace of God, the Gibeonites’‘curse’could become a ‘blessing’. Working at ‘the place’of worship, they could come to know and love the Person who is worshipped (23,27; Psalm 84:4). Let Christ bring you from ‘no peace’to real peace (Jeremiah 6:14; Romans 5:1). 10:16-11:15- God gives the promise. Believing His promise, we obey His command, pressing on to victory (25,6). This is God’s way of victory: ‘go in to take possession of the land which the Lord your God gives you to possess’(1:11). As we read of Joshua’s military exploits, we must not lose sight of the spiritual dimension: ‘the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel’(42). This is what we must learn. The victory does not come from ourselves. It comes from the Lord who fights for us. Through ‘the obedience of faith’(Romans 1:5), - believing God’s promise, we obey His command - , the Lord’s victory becomes a living reality in our lives. Joshua built on the foundation laid for him by Moses (12,15). Learning from ‘the apostles and prophets’, we build on God’s Foundation, ‘Jesus Christ’(Ephesians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 3:11). 11:16-12:24- What is the spiritualvalue of this list of victories? Don’t be sidetracked by the military aspect. This is not about Israel blowing its own trumpet. It is about giving glory to God. In Genesis 12:1-3, we have God’s promise to bring blessing to all nations. Before Christ came as ‘the Saviour of the world’(John 4:42), Israel was to become ‘a great nation’- ‘a holy nation’, ‘a light to the nations’(Exodus 19:6; Isaiah 49:6). This involved the ‘curse’on the rebellious peoples who presented a sinful obstacle to God’s saving purpose. The Lord is King! The unitedpeople of God won a decisive victory in ‘the whole land’(11:23). There was, however, still ‘very much land to be possessed’by the individualtribes (13:1). God’s Word is preached publicly. It must also be applied personally - by you! 13:1-14:15- God has given the land to Israel. Still, there was the challenge: ‘there is still very much land to be possessed’(13:1). ‘God... has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing’. Now, we must ‘lead a life worthy of His calling’(Ephesians 1:3; 4:1). ‘Joshua was old and advanced in years’. Caleb was ‘eighty five years old’(13:1; 14:10).These were men of faith. Forty five years earlier, they had called on the people to trust and obey: ‘The Lord... will bring us into this land... Only, do not rebel against the Lord’(14:7-10; Numbers 14:6-9). They had persevered: ‘I press on...’. They had been preserved: ‘Kept by the power of God’(Philippians 3:14; 1 Peter 1:5). ‘I am still as strong to this day as I was’, ‘We will serve the Lord’(14:11; 24:15). This is faith -for yesterday, today and tomorrow! 15:1-63- ‘The land of Negeb’had little water. The request was made - ‘Give me also springs of water’. The request was granted. Trusting in the Lord’s promise - ‘the heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him’, we receive His blessing - ‘rivers of living water’(19; Luke 11:13; John 7:38-39). ‘The people of Judah could not drive out’the Jebusites. We may contrast Judah’s failure with Caleb’s faith - ‘the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out as the Lord said’. Learning from Judah’s failure - ‘Do not be conformed to this world’- , we must build on Caleb’s faith - ‘Be transformed by the renewal of your mind’. Let us commit ourselves to doing ‘God’s will - His good, pleasing and perfect will’(63; 14:12; Romans 12:2). Do His will. Let His ‘rivers of living water’flow freely. 16:1-17:18- Compromise is a poor substitute for obedience. Fail to obey God, and you may have to live with the consequences of your disobedience: ‘they did not drive out the Canaanites... so the Canaanites have dwelt in the midst of Ephraim to this day (16:10). Settling for anything less than God’s very best will surely lead us far from Him and His blessing: ‘He gave them what they asked, but sent a wasting disease among them’(Psalm 106:15). If we are to make real spiritual progress, we must not rest on our laurels’- ‘We are a numerous people’. We must do the work of God: ‘you shall drive out the Canaanites’. Our obedience must be more than ‘empty words’. We must not live as ‘the sons of disobedience’. We must ‘live as the children of light’- ‘God’s own people’(14,18; Ephesians 5:6-10; 1 Peter 2:9). 18:1-19:51- ‘How long will you be slack to go in and take possession of the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you?’(18:3). God has given us so much: ‘His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness’. How much are we giving ourselves to Him? - ‘Make every effort to add to your faith... If you do this you will never fail; so there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ’(2 Peter 1:3-11). In Joshua, we see a fine example of the Christlike spirit - ‘not to be served but to serve’(Mark 10:45). After‘they had finished distributing the... land’, Joshua received his ‘inheritance’. He led with the attitude of a servant. He wasn’t ‘in it only for what he could get out of it’- the city he chose had to be ‘rebuilt’(49-50)! 20:1-21:45- We read of manslaughter, ‘the cities of refuge’and the death of the high priest (20:1-6). What does all this have to do with us? We are sinners. Jesus Christ has died for us. He is our Refuge. He is our Great High Priest. In Him, there is ‘no condemnation’. In Him, we become ‘a new creation’(Matthew 5:21-22; Romans 5:8; 8:1; Hebrews 2:17; 2 Corinthians 5:17). Israel’s story is a human story. It is also the Lord’s Story(43-45). We fail God. He never fails us (2 Timothy 2:13). Sin threatens to overwhelm us. The Lord comes to us with His promise of deliverance and victory (Romans 7:21-25; 1 Corinthians 15:56-57). Our spiritual progress is so slow - ‘little by little’(Exodus 23:29-30; Deuteronomy 7:22-24). God does not lose patience with us (Psalm 103:8-13). He never stops loving us! 22:1-34- Joshua had heard God’s Word (1:8). Now, he speaks God’s Word to the people (5). To those who ‘have obeyed’Him, God says, ‘Keep on obeying Me’. This is the way of blessing (1-6). Together with God’s promise of blessing, we need His warning against rebellion: ‘Do not rebel against the Lord’(19). Why does God warn us against the dangers of ‘rebellion against the Lord’(16)? It is because He wants us to say with heart and voice: ‘Far be it from us that we should rebel against the Lord and turn away this day from following the Lord’(29). Our ‘resolution’seems so weak - ‘I feel like giving up’. The temptation to ‘rebel against the Lord’seems so strong - ‘I feel like I can’t go on’. Let us pray for a stronger faith in God - ‘The Lord is God’- and a richer experience of His presence - ‘We know that the Lord is in the midst of us’(34,31). 23:1-16- God has done, is doing and will do great things for us (3-5, 8-10). He calls us to ‘obey’ Him, to ‘hold fast’ to Him, to ‘love’ Him (6,8,11). The pattern of Joshua’s teaching - ‘This is what the Lord has done’(3-5) ‘Therefore’‘This is what you must do’(6-8) - is similar to Paul’s approach in Romans and Ephesians. In Romans 1-11 and Ephesians 1-3, Paul grounds his readers in the truth of the Gospel. In Romans 12:1 and Ephesians 4:1, he says, ‘Therefore’. Here are the practical implications. In the light of all that the Lord has done for you, this is how you must live for Him. Be strong in the Lord. In Him, we have the victory (10; Psalm 3:6). Maintain your love for God. Don’t presume on God’s blessing. There is no guarantee of blessing for those who ‘turn back’from following the Lord (11-13,15-16). He has not failed us (14). We must not fail Him! 24:1-33- Close to the end of his life, Joshua commits himself and his family to the Lord (15,29). Moved by his example, the people commit themselves to the Lord (16-18,21,24). For Israel, this was a momentous decision - a definite, public commitment to the Lord (24-27). Note the pattern of Joshua’s preaching. What God has done for Israel (2-13) is followed by ‘Therefore...’(14). When we are called to make a real commitment, we must ask the searching question, ‘Do I really mean it’(19-20). We must commit ourselves to the Lord: ‘Fear the Lord, and serve Him in sincerity and in faithfulness’(14). Make your own commitment to the Lord. Give your testimony - ‘as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord’. Pray that others will also say, ‘We will serve the Lord our God and obey Him (15,24). Let us ‘serve the Lord all the days’of our life (31).
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Post by charlescameron on May 16, 2009 8:53:35 GMT -6
Some notes on Judges. 1:1-2:5- ‘You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth? (Galatians 5:7). Everything seems to be going well - ‘From victory to victory His army He shall lead till every foe is vanquished and Christ is Lord indeed’(1-18; Church Hymnary, 481). Things went badly wrong. God commanded His people to ‘drive out’His enemies. Again and again, they failed (19,21,27-33). This failure brought a stern rebuke from ‘the angel of the Lord’. God had blessed His people. Now, He has to rebuke them - ‘you have not obeyed my command’. Read of Israel’s weeping, and pray for this: Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation’(2:1-5; 2 Corinthians 7:10). ‘Strong in the Lord...’let us ‘tread all the powers of darkness down... and stand complete at last’(Church Hymnary, 441). 2:6-3:31- What sadness there is in the words of 2:10 - ‘there arose another generation... who did not know the Lord...’! As the generations pass, we must pass on the Gospel of Christ, praying that those who follow after us will ‘know the Lord’. In Isaiah 30:21, God says, ‘This is the way, walk in it’. Here, in the sin and shame of Israel, He warns us, ‘This is notthe way, do notwalk in it’(2:11-15). Don’t be conformed to this world, ‘entangled’in its ways (3:5-7; Romans 12:2; 2 Timothy 2:4). God is angry with His rebellious people, but He does not cease to love them - ‘the Lord raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel (3:8-9). Read of the deliverers - Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar - and rejoice in our greater Deliverer: ‘Jesus... He will save His people from their sins’(3:9,15,31; Matthew 1:21). 4:1-5:11- Barak is an example of ‘faith’(Hebrews 11:32-34). Faith involves believing God’s promise - ‘I will give...’and obeying His command - ‘Go’(4:6-7). God still says, ‘Go... I am with you always...’(Matthew 28:19-20). Barak needed Deborah’s help (4:8-10). Both needed God’s help - ‘Our sufficiency comes from God’(2 Corinthians 3:5-6). In Deborah’s song, we learn of the importance of giving all the glory to God: ‘Bless the Lord... To the Lord I will sing, I will make melody to the Lord... Bless the Lord’(5:2-3,9). We are to repeat the triumphs of the Lord’. This is our high calling as ‘the people of the Lord’(5:11). ‘Awake, awake, Deborah’... Arise, Barak...’(5:12) - God is still calling His people to wake up, to rise up: ‘Rise up O Church of God, awake!’(Church Hymnary, 477; Mission Praise, 178). 5:12-6:10- ‘The people of the Lord marched down for Him against the mighty (13) - God is still calling His people to march for Him: ‘March on, my soul, with strength, with strength, but not thine own; The conquest thou shalt gain, through Christ the Lord alone’(Church Hymnary, 614). This is not ‘marching’for ourselves, for our own cause, trying to get our own way. This is about keeping our eyes on Jesus, living in His strength, living for His glory. Where self reigns, there is sin - ‘The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord’- and shame - ‘Israel was brought very low’(1,6). Where Christ reigns, there is prayer to the Lord and blessing from the Lord. With God’s blessing comes our responsibility - Worship God, listening carefully to His Word and living in obedience to Him (6-10). 6:11-7:14- ‘We are weak but He is strong’(Church Hymnary, 418). In himself, Gideon was weak (15). In the Lord, he was ‘a mighty warrior’. Gideon was full of questions. God said to him, ‘Go... I will be with you’(6:12-16). Our true strength does not come from ourselves. It comes from the Lord - ‘Our help is in the Name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth’(Psalm 124:8). Gideon’s true strength came from ‘the Spirit of the Lord’(34). We must always remember Jesus’words, ‘Without Me you can do nothing’(John 15:5). Consider Gideon’s weakness. Consider your own weakness. Rejoice in God’s power. Never say, ‘My own hand delivered me’. Our testimony must always be this: ‘...God has given...’(7:2,14). ‘It is the gift of God...lest any man should boast’(Ephesians 2:8-9). 7:15-8:35- ‘For the Lord and for Gideon’(7:18). Notice who comes first. It is not Gideon. It is the Lord! ‘The men of Israel’attached too much importance to Gideon - ‘Rule over us... you have delivered us’. Gideon gave all the glory to God - ‘I will not rule over you... the Lord will rule over you’(8:22-23). What happens when people make too much of the man and not enough of the Lord? - As soon as the man is taken away from them, they forget the Lord (33-34). It seems like they were just waiting to turn away from the Lord. The moment Gideon was no longer there to keep an eye on them, they were back to their old ways again (33)! We must never let the servant of the Lord become more important than the Lord. When God’s servant has become a distant memory, we must keep on ‘remembering the Lord our God’(34). 9:1-49- Things were going from bad to worse! The people of Israel had forgotten ‘the Lord their God’(8:34). ‘The enemy’was ready to ‘come in like a flood’(Isaiah 59:19). Abimelech - Gideon’s son by ‘his concubine who was in Shechem’(8:31) - was very unlike his father. Gideon had pointed away from himself to the Lord (8:23). Abimelech was eager to draw attention to himself. He murdered his seventy brothers, paving the way for himself to become king (1-6). Abimelech spelt trouble! Things were only going to get worse with Abimelech. There was ‘an evil spirit’at work among God’s people (23). Where was God in all this? - ‘Since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a base mind and to improper conduct’(Romans 1:28). What kind of person are you becoming? Each of us must choose! 9:50-11:11- With verses 56-57, read Romans 1:18 - ‘The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their wickedness suppress the truth’. Doing ‘what was evil in the sight of the Lord’, ‘the people of Israel’brought themselves under God’s judgment (10:6-9). When Israel began to return to the Lord, He said to them, ‘Mean what you say’(10:10-14). When they persisted with their confession of sin, He answered their prayer - ‘In all their affliction He was afflicted... In His love and in His pity He redeemed them’(15-16; Isaiah 63:9). God’s answer came in the shape of Jephthah, ‘a mighty warrior’, a man who ‘spoke all his words before the Lord’(11:1,11). Thrust out by men (11:1-2), he was loved by the God of grace - His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:9)! 11:12-12:15- Israel was not looking for trouble - ‘Let us pass... through your land to our country’. The Amorites insisted on fighting with them. They had to be faced and defeated (19-21). The Christian life is like an ‘obstacle race’. We do not go out looking for problems. Sometimes, we cannot avoid them. Obstacles can become opportunities - for spiritual growth (James 1:2-4). Watch whatyou say (29-40; Ecclesiastes 5:2-6). Watch howyou say it (1-6). The accent is not the important thing. It is the attitude. Is the accent on Christ? Let the attitude be less of self and more of Christ. Proclaiming the same Christ is more important than pronouncing the words in exactly the same way! Be slow to say, ‘He is not one of us’. Be quick to say, ‘Christ is proclaimed; and in that I rejoice’(Philippians 1:18). 13:1-14:9- Samson’s birth was announced by an angel. Jesus’birth was announced by angels (13:3; Luke 1:30-33; 2:8-14). Samson’s death was a great triumph over the Philistines. Jesus’death brought the greatest triumph of all - victory over Satan (16:30; Hebrews 2:14-15). The story of Samson points us to the greater Story of Jesus. There is, however, a great difference between Samson and Jesus. Often, Samson was concerned only with what pleased him (14:3,7). Always, Jesus did the will of God (John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38). ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me’(Luke 4:18) - We expect these words from Jesus Christ, the perfect Son of God. When, however, we read that ‘the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon’Samson (14:6), we rejoice in the grace of God - ‘while we were yet sinners... the Holy Spirit has been given to us’(Romans 5:8,5). 14:10-16:3- ‘This man receives sinners’(Luke 15:2). These are the words of legalistic Pharisees. They were intended as an insult. They are also words of divine grace: ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’(1 Timothy 1:15). Samson was a sinner. There is no question about that. Is he any different from the rest of us? - ‘All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’(Romans 3:23). Samson was a sinner yet, ‘the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him’(14:19). We are sinners. Christ died for us. God has given us His Spirit (Galatians 3:13-14). This is divine grace. Samson often wandered. Still, the Lord was at work in him. Prompted by the Spirit, Samson ‘called on the Lord’. Samson was ‘very thirsty’. He prayed. He was ‘revived’(15:18-19). ‘Wilt Thou not revive us again...? (Psalm 85:6). Pray for revival! 16:4-31- The story of Samson is a story of tragedy and triumph. We see Samson’s tragedy - ‘“I will go out at other times, and shake myself free”. But he did not know that the Lord had left him’(20). There is a warning for us here. Yesterday’s triumphs do not guarantee today’s victory. Today’s challenge needs today’s grace. We need to keep close to the Lord - ‘His mercies... are new every morning’(Lamentations 3:22-23). We see Samson’s triumph - In his death, he triumphed over the Philistines (30). What encouragement there is for us here! How often we feel like Samson - ‘seized... gouged... brought down... bound... in the prison’- going through ‘the mill’(21)! Satan seems to have the upper hand. We feel so helpless. Satan will not have the last word. Take this for your encouragement: Satan will be ‘thrown into the lake of fire’(Revelation 20:10). 17:1-18:13- Things are not going well - ‘every man did that which was right in his own eyes’(17:6). People were doing what suited themselves. Micah was trying to ‘get the best of both worlds’. He was worshipping idols (17:4-5). He was trying to keep on the right side of the Lord - ‘Now I know that the Lord will prosper me, because I have a Levite priest’(13). Micah’s priest was a ‘Yes’man. He told Micah what he wanted to hear. Many people ‘refuse to listen to the truth’. They prefer to listen to those who ‘tell them what they want to hear’(2 Timothy 4:3-4). Many are ‘lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God’(2 Timothy 3:4). We must not fall into the trap of ‘trying to please all the people all the time’. Seek to be like Jesus - ‘I seek not My own will but the will of Him who sent Me’(John 5:30). 18:14-19:30- ‘Keep quiet’- There is a guilty silence which comes from disobedience (18:18-20). When God’s people remain silent, things go from bad to worse - ‘Where there is no prophecy the people cast off restraint’. We must not be ‘disobedient to the heavenly vision’(18:30; Proverbs 29:18; Acts 26:19). Chapter 19 warns us: Sin brings judgment. God cannot stand sin. He punishes sin (Habakkuk 1:13; Numbers 32:23). Sin must be taken seriously. God takes it seriously (Hebrews 10:29-31). It is not easy to see the hand of God in the sinful and shameful events of chapter 19. We must keep on believing that He is present, even when He is ‘most invisible’(Church Hymnary, 670). Sometimes, He is present as our Judge. Judgment is not always immediate. There may be ‘peace’before the storm. ‘Consider’- and learn (19:20, 30)! 20:1-28- God uses a sinful and shameful situation - ‘Such a thing has never happened or been seen from the day that the people of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt until this day’(19:30) - to call His people back to Himself - ‘all the people of Israel... assembled as one man to the Lord’(1). God’s call was clear - ‘Put away evil from Israel’. ‘The Benjaminites would not listen’to this call for holiness among God’s people (13). This was a serious situation. It was not to be taken lightly. This was no mere difference of opinion, something that would soon be forgotten. ‘The Benjaminites came together... to go out to war against the people of Israel’(14). Three times, God called His people to ‘go up’against the Benjaminites (18,23,28). Victory comes from the Lord: ‘I will give them into your hand’(28). 20:29-21:25- Judges ends on such a sad note: ‘every man did what was right in his own eyes’(21:25). This situation is not merely political - ‘no king’. It is moral and spiritual. The people had no regard for the authority of God and His Word. In Romans 5:20, we have Good News: ‘where sin increased, grace abounded all the more’. Here, we have bad news: ‘where grace increased, sin abounded all the more’. Reading Judges, we become acutely awareof the need for revival in our own day. In 2 Chronicles 7:14 we see the way to revival: ‘If my people who are called by My Name humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land’. Read of human ‘compassion’(6,15). Rejoice: God ‘will again have compassion upon us’(Micah 7:19).
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