Posts Tagged ‘religion’

Spiritual Training 21 June 2012

Posted: June 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
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Under Gods Command
Gideon defeats the Midianites

Judges 7:02 The LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands.  In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, announce now to the people, Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.  But the LORD said to Gideon, “There are still too many men.  Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there.  If I say, this one shall go with you, he shall go, but if I say this one shall not go with you, he shall not go.  So Gideon took the men down to the water.  There the LORD told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink.” Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths.  All the rest got down on their knees to drink.  The LORD said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands.  Let all the other men go, each to his own place. 

Self-sufficiency is a handicap when it causes us to believe we can do what needs to be done in our own strength.  To prevent this attitude among Gideon’s soldiers, God reduced their number from 32,000 to 300.  With an army this vastly outnumbered there could be no doubt that victory was from God.  The men could not take the credit.

Lets bring it home:  Like Gideon, we must recognize the danger of fighting in our own strength.  We can be confident of victory against life’s challenges and temptations only if we put our confidence in God and not ourselves.

Proverbs 20:03 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: June 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
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Under Gods Command
 Proverbs 20:3 – It is to a man’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel. 

A person who is truly confident of his or her strength does not need to parade it.  A truly brave person does not look for chances to prove it.  A resourceful woman can find a way out of a fight.  A man of endurance will avoid retaliating.  Foolish people find it impossible to avoid strife.  Men and women of character can.  What kind of person are you?

Spiritual Training 20 June 2012

Posted: June 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
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Under Gods Command
Gideon

Judges 6:36-39 Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised – look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor.  If there is dew only on the fleece, and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.” And that is what happened.  Gideon rose early the next day, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew-a bowlful of water.  Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me.  Let me make just one more request.  Allow me one more test with the fleece.   This time make the fleece dry and the ground covered with dew” That night God did so.  Only the fleece was dry, all the ground was covered with dew. 

 Was Gideon testing God, or was he simply asking God for more encouragement? In either case, though his motive was right (to obey God and defeat the enemy), his method was less than ideal.  Gideon seems to have known that his requests might displease God (6:39), and yet he demanded two miracles even after witnessing the miraculous fire from the rock (6:21).  It is true that to make good decisions, we need facts. Gideon had all the facts, but still he hesitated.  He delayed obeying God because he wanted even more proof.

Demanding extra signs was an indication of unbelief.  Fear often makes us wait for more confirmation when we should be taking action.  Visible signs are unnecessary if they only confirm what we already know is true.

Lets bring it home: Today the greatest means of God’s guidance is his Word, the Bible.  Unlike Gideon, we have God’s complete, revealed Word.  If you want to have more of God’s guidance, don’t ask for sign, STUDY THE BIBLE (2 Timothy 3:16,17).

Proverbs 15:10 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: June 15, 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 15:10 – Stern discipline awaits him who leaves the path; he who hates correction will die. 

We know that when we leave the path of righteousness, the Lords discipline is waiting for us, and will bring us back if we heed his correction.  Those who continue down the wrong path, who just can’t stand to be corrected, will suffer many troubles as which some of those can lead to death.  So if you have a problem taking correction from someone, start praying to God to change your heart.

Spiritual Training 15 June 2012

Posted: June 15, 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
Gideon
Judges 6:23 But the LORD said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid.  You are not going to die.”

 Judges 25-30 That same night the LORD said to him, “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one seven years old.  Tear down your father’s altar to Ball and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.  Then build a proper kind of altar to the LORD your God on the top of this height.  Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second bull as a burnt offering.” So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD told him.  But because he was afraid of his family and the men of the town, he did it at night rather than in the daytime.  In the morning when the men of the town got up, there was Baal’s altar, demolished, with the Asherah pole beside it cut down and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar! They asked each other, “Who did this?” When they carefully investigated, they were told, “Gideon son of Joash did it.” The men of the town demanded of Joash, “ Bring out your son.  He must die, because he has broken down Baal’s altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.” 

 After god called Gideon to be Israel’s deliverer, he immediately asked him to tear down the altar of the pagan god, Baal-an act that would test Gideon’s faith and commitment.  Canaanite religion was very political, so an attack on god was often seen as an attack on the local government supporting that god.  If caught, Gideon would face serious social problems and probable physical attack.

Gideon took a real risk by following God’s higher law, which specifically forbids idol worship (Exodus 20:1-5). After learning what Gideon has done, the townspeople wanted to kill him.  Many of those people were fellow Israelites.  This shows how immoral God’s people had become.  God said in Deuteronomy 13:6-11 that idolaters must be stone to death, but these Israelites wanted to stone Gideon for tearing down an idol and worshiping God!

Lets bring it home: When you begin to accomplish something for God, the very people who should support you may criticize you. 


Proverbs 14:29 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: June 14, 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 14:29 -A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly. 

A quick temper can be like a fire out of control.  It can burn us and everyone else in its path.  Anger divides people. It pushes us into hasty decisions that only cause bitterness and guilt.  Yet anger, in itself, is not wrong.  Anger can be a legitimate reaction to injustice and sin. When you feel yourself getting angry, look for the cause.  Are you reacting to an evil situation that you are going to set right?  Or are you responding selfishly to a personal insult?  Pray that God will help you control your quick temper, channeling your feelings into effective action and conquering selfish anger through humility and repentance.

Spiritual Training 14 June 2012

Posted: June 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
Gideon 

Judges 6:14-16 The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand.  Am I not sending you?”  “But Lord, “Gideon asked, “how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” The LORD answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together.” 

“I will be with you,” God told Gideon, and God promised to give him the strength he needed to overcome the opposition.  In spite of this clear promise for strength, Gideon made excuses.  Seeing only his limitations and weaknesses, he failed to see how God could work through him.

Lets bring it home: Like Gideon, we are called to serve God in specific ways, Although God promises us the tools and strength we need, we often make excuses.  But reminding God of our limitations only implies that he does not know all about us or that he has made a mistake in evaluation our character.  Don’t spend time making excuses.  Instead spend it doing what God wants. 

Spiritual Training 13 June 2012

Posted: June 13, 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

Gideon 

Judges 6:11-13 The angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezirte, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites.  When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.” But sir, “Gideon replied, “If the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us?  Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?  But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian.” 

Gideon questioned God about the problems he and his nation faced and about God’s apparent lack of help.  What he didn’t acknowledge was the fact that the people had brought calamity upon themselves when they decided to disobey and neglect God.  How easy it is to overlook personal accountability and blame our problems on God and others.  Unfortunately this does not solve our problems.  It brings us no closer to God, and it escorts us to the very edge of rebellion and backsliding.

Lets bring it home: When problems come, the first place to look is within. Our immediate response should be confession to God of sins that may have created our problems.

Proverbs 13:03 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: June 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 13:03 He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin. 

You have not mastered self-control if you do not control what you say.  Words can cut and destroy.  James recognized this truth when he stated, “The tongue is a small part of the body but makes great boast”. If you want to be self-controlled, begin with your tongue.  Stop and think before you react or speak.  If you can control this small but powerful member, you can control the rest of your body. 

Proverbs 12:16 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: June 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.

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