Archive for the ‘Under Gods Command’ Category

Proverbs 18:24 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: July 18, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Proverbs, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command
Friends and Acquaintances

Proverbs 18.24 – A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Loneliness is everywhere-many people feel cut off and alienated from others.  Being in a crowd just makes people more aware of their isolation.  We all need friends who will stick close, listen, care and offer help when it is needed-in good times and bad.  It is better to have one such friend than dozens of superficial acquaintances.  Instead of wishing you could find a true friend, seek to become one.  There are people who need your friendship.  Ask God to reveal them to you, and then take on the challenge of being a true friend.

 

Proverbs 17:03 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: July 16, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Proverbs, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command

Proverbs 17:03 -The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD test the heart. 

It takes intense heat to purify gold and silver.  Similarly, it often takes the heat of trials for the Christian to be purified.   Through trials, God shows us what is in us and clears out any thing that gets in the way of complete trust in him.  Peter says, “These have come so that your faith-of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” So when tough times come your way, realize that God wants to use them to refine your faith and purify your heart.

Spiritual Training 17 July 2012

Posted: July 16, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Judges, Personal Growth, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command
Abimelech

People who desire power always outnumber those who are able to use power wisely once they have it.  Perhaps this is because power has a way of taking over controlling the person using it.  This is especially true in cases of inherited but unmerited power.  Abimelech’s life shows us what happens when hunger for power corrupts judgment.

Abimelech’s position in Gideon’s family as the son of a concubine must have created great tension between him and Gideon’s many other sons.  One against 70: such odds can either crush a person or make him ruthless; it is obvious which direction Abimelech chose.  Gideon’s position as warrior and judge had placed Abimelech in an environment of power Gideon’s death provided an opportunity for this son to seize power.  Once the process began, the disastrous results were inevitable.  A person’s thirst for power is not satisfied when he gets power-it only becomes more intense.  Abimelech’s life was consumed by the thirst.   Eventually, he could not tolerate any threat to his power.

But this time, ownership had change: Abimelech no longer had power-power had him.  One lesson we can learn form his life is that our goals control our actions.  The amount of control is related to the importance of the goal.  Abimelech’s most important goal was to have power.  His lust for power led him to wipe out not only his brothers, but also whole cities that refused to submit to him.  Nothing but death could stop his bloodthirsty drive to conquer.  How ironic that he was fatally injured by a woman with a farm implement! The contrast between Abimelech and the great people of the Bible is great.  He wanted to control the nation; they were willing to be controlled by God.

Proverbs 16:05 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: July 16, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Proverbs, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command
Proverbs 16:5 – The LORD detest all the proud of heart.  Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished. 

Pride is the inner voice that whispers, “My way is best” It is resisting God’s leadership and believing that your are able to live without his help.  Whenever you find yourself wanting to do it your way and looking down on other people, you are being pulled by pride.  Only when you eliminate pride can God help you become all he meant you to be.

Spiritual Training 16 July 2012

Posted: July 16, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Judges, Personal Growth, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command
The Death of Abimelech

Judges 9:56-57 Thus God repaid the wickedness that Abimelech had done to his father by murdering his seventy brothers.  God also made the men of Shechem pay for all their wickedness.  The curse of Jotham son of Jerub-Baal came on them.

Gideon, Abimelech’s father, succeeded in military battles, but sometimes failed in his personal struggles.  Gideon was not condemned for taking a concubine (8:31), but the family problems that resulted from this relationship are clearly stated.  In the end, Abimelech killed 69 of his 70 half brothers, tore apart a nation, and then was killed himself.

Lets Bring it home: From Gideon’s life we learn that no matter how much good we do for God’s kingdom, sin in our lives will still produce powerful, damaging consequences.

Proverbs 13:10 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: July 13, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Proverbs, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command
Proverbs 13:10 Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice. 

“I was wrong” or “I need advice” are difficult phrases to utter because they require humility.  Pride is an ingredient in every quarrel.  It stirs up conflict and divides people.  Humility, by contrast, heals.  Guard against pride.  If you find yourself constantly arguing, examine your life for pride.  Be open to the advice of others, ask for help when you need it, and be willing to admit your mistakes.

Spiritual Training 13 July 2012

Posted: July 13, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command
The Death of Abimelech

 Judges 9:50-55 Next Abimelech went to Thebez and besieged it and captured it.  Inside the city, however, was a strong tower, to which all the men and women-all the people of the city-fled.  They locked themselves in and climbed up on the tower roof.  Abimelech went to the tower and stormed it.  But as he approached the entrance to the tower to set it on fire, a woman dropped a millstone on his head and cracked his skull.  Hurriedly he called to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and kill me, so that they can’t say, ‘A women killed him’ “So his servant ran him through, and he died.  When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they went home.

In times of battle, women were sometimes asked to join the men at the city wall to drop heavy objects on the soldiers below.  A millstone would have been an ideal object for this purpose.  It was a round stone about 18 inches in diameter with a hole in the center.  Millstones were used to grind grain into flour.  The grain was placed between to millstones.  The top millstone was turned, crushing the grain. Abimelech’s death was especially humiliating: he was killed by a woman, not by fighting; and he was killed by a farm implement instead of a weapon.  Abimelech therefore asked his armor-bearer to stab him with his sword before he died from the flow of the millstone.

Proverbs 12:16 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: July 12, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Proverbs, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command
Proverbs 12:16 A fool show his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult. 

When someone annoys or insults you, it is natural to retaliate.  But this solves nothing and only encourages trouble.  Instead, answer slowly and quietly.  Your positive response will achieve positive results.  Remember Proverbs 15:01: A gentle answer turns away wrath.

Spiritual Training 12 July 2012

Posted: July 12, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command
Abimelech

Judges 9:22-24 After Abimelech had governed Israel three years, God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem, who acted treacherously against Abimelech.  God did this in order that the crime against Jerub-Baal’s seventy sons, the shedding of their blood, might be avenged on their brother Abimelech and on the citizens of Shechem, who had helped him murder his brothers. 

Abimelech was the opposite of what God wanted in a judge, but it was three years before God moved against him.  Fulfilling Jotham’s parable.  Those three years must have seemed like forever to Jotham.  Why wasn’t Abimelech punished sooner for his evil ways?

Lets bring it home: We are not alone when we wonder why evil seems to prevail.  God promises to deal with sin, but in his time, not ours.  Actually it is good news that God doesn’t punish us immediately because we all have sinned and deserve God’s punishment.  God, in his mercy, often spares us from immediate punishment and allows us time to turn from our sins and turn to him in repentance.  Trusting God for justice means (1) we must first recognize our own sins and repent.  (2) we may face a difficult time of waiting for the wicked to be punished.  But in God’s time, all evil will be destroyed.

Proverbs 11:27 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: July 11, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Proverbs, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command
Proverbs 11:27 He who seeks good finds goodwill, but evil comes to him who searches for it. 

What are your goals? What is your reputation? How does your life affect others? If the answer to all three questions is doing good and helping others, you will obtain the blessed favor of God and men. If the answer is to serve yourself and cause trouble for others, then certain punishment is coming from God and men.

This proverb offers blessing or trouble. Which will you choose? The key is how you treat others. If you are good to men, you will be blessed. David and Peter wrote, “For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no deviousness: Let him avoid evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil”.

If you are selfish or hurtful to others, if you are critical or negative, if you are bitter or envious, or if you sow discord or irritate others, then you are in for a painful and troubled life. It is that simple. As the saying declares, “What goes around comes around

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