Archive for the ‘Inspiration’ Category

Spiritual Training 22 August 2012

Posted: August 22, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
Tags: , , , , ,
0

Under Gods Command

Delilah: Her story is told in Judges 16

DELILAH:  A person’s greatest accomplishment may well be helping others accomplish great things.  Likewise, a person’s greatest failure may be preventing others from achieving greatness.  Delilah played a minor role in Samson’s life, but her effect was devastating, for she influenced him to betray his special calling from God.  Motivated by greed, Delilah used her persistence to wear down Samson.  His infatuation with her maid Samson a vulnerable target.  For all his physical strength, he was no match for her, and he paid a great price for giving into her.  Delilah is never mentioned again in the Bible.  Her unfaithfulness to Samson brought ruin to him and to her people.

Lets Bring it Home:  Are people helped by knowing you?  Do they find that knowing you challenges them to be the best they can be?  Even more important does knowing you help their relationship with God?  What do your demands for their time and attention tell them about you real care for them?  Are you willing to be God’s instrument in the lives of others?

Spiritual Training 21 August 2012

Posted: August 21, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Judges, Personal Growth, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
Tags: , , , , ,
0

Under Gods Command

The Death of Samson

Judges 16:27-30 Now the temple was crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform.  Then Samson prayed to the LORD, “O Sovereign LORD, remember me.  O God, please strengthen me just one more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.”  Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood.  Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other,  Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it.  Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived. 

In spite of Samson’s past, God still answered his prayer and destroyed the pagan temple and worshipers.  God still loved him.  He was willing to hear Samson’s prayer of confession and repentance and use him this final time.

Lets Bring it Home: One of the effects of sin in our lives is to keep us from feeling like praying.  But perfect moral behavior is not a condition for prayer.  Don’t let guilt feelings over sin keep you from your only means of restoration.  No matter how long you have been away from God, he is ready to hear from you and restore you to a right relationship.  Every situation can be salvaged if you are willing to turn again to him.  If God could still work in Samson’s situation, he can certainly make something worthwhile out of yours.

Proverbs 21:03 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: August 21, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Proverbs, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
Tags: , , , , ,
0

Under Gods Command

Proverbs 21:03 – To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.”

Sacrifices and offerings are not bribes to make God over-look our character faults. We can’t exchange good behavior in one area for bad behavior in another. If our personal and business dealings are not characterized by justice, no amount of generosity when the offering plate is passed will make up for it.

Proverbs 20:24 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: August 20, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Proverbs, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
Tags: , , , , ,
0

Under Gods Command
Proverbs 20:24 A man’s steps are directed by the LORD, How then can anyone understand his own way?

We are often confused by the events around us. Many things we will never understand; others will fall into place in years to come as we look back and see how God was working. This proverb counsels us not to worry if we don’t understand everything as it happens. Instead, we should trust that God knows what he’s doing, even if his timing or design is not clear to us.

Spiritual Training 20 August 2012

Posted: August 20, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Judges, Personal Growth, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
Tags: , , , , ,
0

Under Gods Command
Samson and Delilah

Judges 16:21 Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding in the prison.

Samson, the mighty warrior, became a slave. Rather than kill him, the Philistines preferred to humiliate him by gouging out his eyes and making him grind rain. Samson now had plenty of time to wonder if Delilah’s charms were worth spending the rest of his life in humiliation.
Although God did not completely abandon Samson (16:28-30), he allowed Samson’s decision to stand, and the consequences of his decision followed naturally.

Lets Bring it Home: We may choose to be close to God or to go our own way, but there are consequences resulting from our choice. Samson didn’t choose to be captured, but he chose to be with Delilah, and he could not escape the consequences of his decision.

Proverbs 17:01 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: August 17, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Proverbs, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
Tags: , , , , ,
0

Under Gods Command

Proverbs 17:01 – Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife. 

It is nice to get off at times and be by yourself.  How many of us married folk don’t take time out for each other because of the distractions of this world, friends, work, kids, pets, in-laws and cell phone. Sometime we need to send the kids off, get rid of the pets, turn the cell phone off, cut the in-laws out for a while, and go take a ride somewhere just to get some quietness and rest.  If it’s just going out on the patio, or going for a walk, tell your spouse to “Come on out here, and let’s sit down together and get acquainted with each other.  Some of us been married for a long time, and it’s time we get re-acquainted.  It’s a good thing for us to do.  God wants us to have times like that.  They are very important for our spiritual refreshment.

Spiritual Training 17 August 2012

Posted: August 17, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Judges, Personal Growth, Proverbs, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
Tags: , , , , ,
0

Under Gods Command

Samson and Delilah

Judges 16:20 Having put him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him.  And his strength left him. 

Delilah was a deceitful woman with honey on her lips and poison in her heart.  Cold and manipulative, she toyed with Samson, pretending to love him while looking for personal gain.  How could Samson be so foolish?  Four times Delilah took advantage of him.  If he didn’t realize what was happening after the first or second experience, surely he should have understood the situation by the fourth time!

Lets Bring it Home: We think Samson is foolish, but how many times do we allow ourselves to be deceived by flattery and give into to temptation and wrong beliefs?  Avoid falling prey to deceit by asking God to help you distinguish between deception and truth.

Spiritual Training 16 August 2012

Posted: August 17, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Proverbs, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
Tags: , , , , ,
0

Under Gods Command

Samson and Delilah

Judges 16:16-17 With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was tired to death.  So he told her everything.  “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite set apart to God since birth.  If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.”

Delilah kept asking Samson for the secret of his strength until he finally grew tired of hearing her nagging and gave in.  This was the second time that Samson allowed himself to be worn down by constant nagging (14:17).  What a pitiful excuse for disobedience.

Lets Bring it Home: Don’t allow anyone, no matter how attractive, persuasive, or persistent-to talk you into doing wrong.

Proverbs 16:07 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: August 17, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Proverbs, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
Tags: , , , , ,
0

Under Gods Command

Proverbs 16:7 When a man’s ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him. 

We want other people to like us, and sometimes we will do almost anything to win their approval.  But God tells us to put our energy into pleasing him instead.  Our effort to be peacemakers will usually make us more attractive to those around us, even our enemies.  But even if it doesn’t, we haven’t lost anything.  We are still pleasing God, the only one who truly matters.

Spiritual Training 15 August 2012

Posted: August 15, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Judges, Personal Growth, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
Tags: , , , , ,
0

Under Gods Command

Samson and Delilah

Judges 16:04-05 Sometime later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sroek whose name was Delilah.  The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, “See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him.  Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.   

Judges 16:15 Then she said to him, “How can you say, I love you, when you won’t confide in me?  This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.”

Samson was deceived because he wanted to believe Delilah’s lies.  Although he could strangle a lion, he could not smother his burning lust and see Delilah for who she really was.

Lets Bring it Home: How can you keep your desire for love and sexual pleasure from deceiving you?

1) You must decide what kind of a person you will love before passion takes over.  Determine whether a person’s character and faith in God are as desirable as his or her physical appearance.

2) Because most of the time you spend with your spouse will not involve sex, your companion’s personality, temperament, and commitment to solve problems must be as gratifying as his or her kisses.

3) Be patient.  Time and observation often reveal what is beneath the pleasant appearance and attentive touch.

Older Entries
Newer Entries