Posts Tagged ‘faith’

Spiritual Training 30 May 2012

Posted: May 30, 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
Deborah and Barak

Judges 4:6-8 She (Deborah) sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “The LORD, the God of Israel, commands you; Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead the way to Mount Tabor. I will lure Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands.” Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.”

Judges 4:9-10 “Very well,” Deborah said, “I will go with you. But because of the way you are going about this, the honor will not be yours, for the LORD will hand Sisera over to a woman.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh, Where he summoned Zebulun and Naphtali. Ten thousand men followed him, and Deborah also went with him.

How did Deborah command such respect? She was responsible for leading the people into battle, but more than that, she influenced them to live for God after the battle was over. Her personality drew people together and commanded the respect of even Barak, a military general. She was also a prophetess, whose main role was to encourage the people to obey God. Those who lead must not forget about the spiritual condition of those being led.

Lets bring it home: A true leader is concerned for persons, not just success.

Proverbs 24:17-18 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: May 24, 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 24:17-18 Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice, or the LORD will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from him.

David, Solomon’s father, refused to gloat over the death of his lifelong enemy Saul. On the other hand, the nation of Edom rejoiced over Israel’s defeat and was punished by God for their attitude. To gloat over other’s misfortune is to make yourself the avenger and to put yourself in the place of God, who alone is the real judge of all the earth.

Spiritual Training 23 May 2012

Posted: May 23, 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
Disobedience and defeat

Judges 4:3 Because he had nine hundred iron chariots and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the LORD for help.

After 20 years of unbearable circumstances, the Israelites finally cried to the LORD for help. But God should be the first place we turn when we are facing struggles or dilemmas. The Israelite’s chose to go their own way and got into a mess.

Lets bring it home: We often do the same. Trying to control our own lives without God’s help leads to struggle and confusion. By contrast, when we stay in daily contact with the LORD, we are less likely to create painful circumstances for ourselves. This is a lesson the Israelites never fully learned. When struggles come our way, God wants us to come to him first, seeking his strength and guidance.

Spiritual Training 22 May 2012

Posted: May 22, 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
Disobedience and defeat

Judges 4:1-3 After Ehud died, the Israelites once again did evil in the eyes of the LORD. So the LORD sold them into the hands of Jabin, a King of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim. Because he had nine hundred iron chariots and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the LORD for help.

Israel sinned “in the eyes of the LORD. “Our sins harm both others, and ourselves but all sin is ultimately against God because it disregards his commands and his authority over us. When confessing his sin David prayed, “Against you, you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight” (Psalm 51:4). Recognizing the seriousness of sin is the first step toward removing it from our lives.

This is the only time during the period of the judges when the Israelites enemies came from within their land. The Israelites had failed to drive out all the Canaanites. These Canaanites had regrouped and were attempting to restore their lost power. If the Israelites had obeyed God in the first place and had driven the Canaanites from the land, this incident would not have happened.

Chariots were the tanks of the ancient world. Made of iron or wood, they were pulled by one or two horses and were the most feared and powerful weapons of the day. Some chariots even had razor-sharp knives extending from the wheels designed to mutilate helpless foot soldiers. The Canaanite army had 900 iron chariots. Israel was not powerful enough to defeat such an invincible army. Therefore, Jabin and Sisera had no trouble oppressing the people-until a faithful woman named Deborah called upon God.

Proverbs 23:17-18 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: May 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
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Under Gods Command
Proverbs 23:17-18- Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD. There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.

How easy it is to envy those who get ahead unhampered by Christian responsibility or God’s laws. For a time they do seem to get ahead without paying any attention to what God wants. But to those who follow him, God promises a hope and a wonderful future even if we don’t achieve it in this life.

Proverbs 17:17 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: May 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
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Under Gods Command
Proverbs 17:17 – A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

What kind of friend are you? There is a vast difference between knowing someone well and being a true friend. The greatest evidence of genuine friendship is loyalty, being available to help in times of distress or personal struggles. Too many people are fair-weather friends. They stick around when the friendship helps them and leave when they’re not getting anything out of the relationship. Think of your friends and assess your loyalty to them. Be the kind of true friend the Bible encourages.

Spiritual Training 17 May 2012

Posted: May 17, 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
Disobedience and defeat

Judges 3:8-9 The Anger of LORD burned against Israel so that he sold them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim King of Aram Naharaim, to whom the Israelites were subject for eight years. But when they cried out to the LORD, he raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother who saved them.

Othniel was Israel’s first judge. In 1:13 we read that he volunteered to lead an attack against a fortified city. Here he was to lead the nation back to God. Othniel had a rich spiritual heritage-his uncle was Caleb, a man with unwavering faith in God (Numbers 13:30; 14:24). Othniel’s leadership brought the people back to God and freed then from the oppression of the King of Aram, Naharaim. But after Othniel’s death, it didn’t take the Israelites long to fall back into their neighbors’ comfortable but sinful ways.

Lets bring it home: How many of us, when we win battles by asking other people to pray to for us or even going to God when we need to win a battle forget about Him and go back to our sinful ways after being shown favor.

Spiritual Training 16 May 2012

Posted: May 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
Disobedience and defeat

Judges 3:7 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD; they forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.

Baal was the most worshiped god of the Canaanites. Most often cast in the form of a bull, he symbolized strength and fertility and was considered the god of agriculture. Asherah was Baal’s female consort, mother goddess of the sea who was worshiped by means of wooden pillars that substituted for sacred trees.

Lets bring it home: It is difficult to imagine the people of Israel trading worship of the Lord for worship of idols of wood, stone, and iron, but we do the same when we forsake worshiping God for other activities, hobbies, or priorities. Our idols are not made of wood or stone but they are every bit a sinful

Proverbs 16:03 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: May 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 16:3 –Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

There are different ways to fail to commit whatever we do to the LORD.

• Some people commit their work only superficially. They say the project is being done for the LORD, but in reality they are doing it for themselves.
• Others give God temporary control of their interest, only to take control back the moment things stop going the way they expect.
• Still others commit a task fully to the LORD, but put forth no effort themselves, and then they wonder why they do not succeed.

We must maintain a delicate balance: trusting God as if everything depended on him, while working as if everything depended on us. Think of a specific effort in which you are involved right now. Have you committed it to the LORD?

Spiritual Training 14 May 2012

Posted: May 14, 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
Disobedience and defeat

Judges 3:1-5 These are the nations the lord left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience): The five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath. They were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the LORD’s commands, which he had given their forefathers through Moses.

We learn from Chapter 1 that these enemy nations were still in the land because the Israelites had failed to obey God and drive them out. Now God would allow the enemies to remain in order to “test” the Israelites; that is, to give them an opportunity to exercise faith and obedience. By now the younger generation that had not fought in the great battles of conquest was coming of age. It was their job to complete the conquest of the land. There were many obstacles yet to be overcome in their new homeland. How they would handle these obstacles would be a test of their faith.

Lets bring it home: Perhaps God has left obstacles in our life – hostile people, difficult situations, baffling problems – to allow you to develop faith and obedience.

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