Read The Bible, April 2

Judges 16-18

It’s always a wonder when we see strong men so malleable in the hands of women. That’s the story of Samson. Even though he had kept himself from strong drink and unclean food, and even though he had never cut his hair and tried to obey God, he just wasn’t very discerning when it came to women. They could talk him into anything.

So Delilah makes many attempts to discover Samson’s secret – and she finally does. As soon as he tells her that his strength comes from his long hair, Delilah has Samson’s hair cut, has him blinded, and finally has him carried off with the Philistines.

Yet God is not through with him. Samson’s final act is one of tremendous self-sacrifice. He has the opportunity to pull the temple down upon thousands of the Philistines, and he dies in the process. Samson kills more in his death than in his life, and delivers his nation from the harsh rule of their neighbors.

So we go into more ungodly incidents. This time in Hebrew history can be pegged by one saying: “In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.”(17:6)

They might be considered the original “if it feels good, do it” generation. With no boundaries, people trampled each other. The weak and kind were overrun by the strong and arrogant.

The priests held onto idols and went where they had greater honor and accommodation. Truly dark, dark days for a nation which had known the Lord.

In our day, we need to take heed to the lessons to be learned here. Just because our nation at one time held high standards morally and spiritually doesn’t mean that it always will. Each generation has to be willing to take up the torch and fan its flame.

The fire can go out when there is no one to tend it. So my prayer is that many will rise up in our world who are willing to be the people God has called them to be. Many will tend the flame and help keep the one true God in the forefront.

Luke 7:1-30

When we look at Jesus, we see many characteristics – many facets of God’s personality. He says, “If you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father.”

So when we see Him encounter the grieving widow, we have a window on God’s attitude towards her – or you when you are going through a hard time.

There are times when He says, “Stop crying, get up, and do the Word.” There are other times when we are encountering situations which are extremely hard to bear, and His compassion is the only source of strength we have. I can’t think of any harder situation than the death of a child.

As Jesus sees the widow accompanying her dead son – her only child – He feels compassion for her – and raises the son from the dead.

What a moment for her! Instead of having a funeral, these people have a celebration to beat all celebrations. He was dead; now he is alive!

Is there something in your life which seems dead? Is there a vision you once had of a great marriage or a great family or a great ministry? Do you sometimes feel that the vision is dead? Have you fought and fought for the dream and feel like giving up?

I say to you today, “Don’t ever give up!” Let the resurrection power of Jesus flow into your heart and your life. He will restore the lost hopes and dreams. He will give you renewed faith and courage to pursue His best for you.

Spend quality time with your Savior. Pour out your heart to Him and expect Him to answer you. His touch today is as life-giving as it was in this story.

Jesus brings back life wherever He goes.

Read The Bible Through, March 31

Judges 7-11

Let’s backtrack a little to get up to speed.

Gideon is one of the greatest heroes of the Bible. Yet he certainly has attributes with which we can identify.

If you ever feel discouraged, take a look at Gideon. If you ever feel small and insignificant, you might also take a look at Gideon.

Gideon is the youngest member of the “least” family of Manasseh, and as such, has no regard among his peers. An unimportant, unnoticeable individual. And that’s the way he sees himself.

Yet there is something about Gideon which arouses God’s attention.

We first see him as an angel appears to him, “The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior.”(6:13). (Remember, our Lord speaks things into existence. At the moment, Gideon does not appear as a valiant warrior).

The salutation elicits an explosion of frustration from Gideon. “If God is with us, why this and why that?” Have you ever felt that way? Of course, you have. All of us have.

However, God is ready to make a big move – and Gideon is just the man for the job. Our God doesn’t see as man sees. Man always wants to go to the high, the mighty, and the connected to get their job done. God goes after a heart which is willing to obey Him – and He seems to specialize in going to the “least.”

So Gideon tears down the altar of Baal, and there is no turning back!

If you are going to tear down the altars of idols, you’d better be ready to follow through with the alternative, and Gideon is ready. He is renamed “Jerubbaal” which means “Let Baal contend against him.” The Israelites now have their eyes focused on Gideon.

A huge crowd of men assemble for battle, but God rejects them. He doesn’t want men thinking that they are the ones to win the battle, so he calls for those who are afraid, to leave. 22,000 leave, with 10,000 remaining, but the Lord still says there are too many.

God wants an unmistakable claim to this victory coming up, so He calls them to do something absolutely impossible. He has Gideon bring the men to the water and watch how they drink. Everyone who laps like a dog, stays; everyone who kneels to drink, putting their heads down, have to go home.

Only 300 men survive the test, and God is requiring something totally impossible. A huge army, as “numerous as locusts” and camels as “numerous as sand on the seashore” awaits this tiny group. It’s impossible.

But God has a plan. The 300 are to hold a trumpet in one hand, and a torch, covered by a pitcher in the other. They are to, at the signal, break the pitchers, exposing the light, and blow the trumpets – all at the same time as they run toward the enemy. Fear overtakes the opposing armies, and they flee.

The rest of the Jews are called to finish the job, and Israel is delivered from the Philistines.

There are tons of lessons we can learn from this story. Of course, nothing is impossible with God, when we are walking in obedience.

Further, if God calls us to do something, we can do it through Him. We may think that we can’t because of our position in life, or our lack of education, or our lack of funds.

Yet, with God, truly all things are possible.

Luke 5

“I am willing!” We can’t hear this word enough in our society.

There is a tendency for people to say, “If it be Thy will, please heal me.” I don’t see in the ministry of Jesus where it was ever God’s will for people not to be healed. He healed all who came to Him in faith.

I really don’t understand why that error has gotten into the church. I guess when we don’t see things happen, we try to explain them away.

I would much rather go to the Word of God and prayer and get the answers. I know there are delays sometimes, but i never consider them to be the fault of God.

If we could ever “get it” that His love for us is beyond human imagination. His goodness is perfect. And His will is always to heal and restore, then we would have the faith we need.

There are times when any of us feel overwhelmed by the atmosphere of doubt around us – which tries to invade our minds. That’s when it’s important to draw aside to the Lord, and spend time with Him.

In those times if we would just praise Him and worship Him. Then let his Word restore our minds.

He has all the answers – and power to bring his will into our lives. His good, perfect will. We just have to reach for it.

Read The Bible Through, March 24

Joshua 13-15

When I come across passages like this – listing the territories which God gave to His people, I can’t help but think about Acts 17:26. “God made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation.”

Today we still have certain boundaries. There are people appointed to each nation, territory, city, and family. Those people are responsible for their own habitation, but they can’t be responsible for all the others. Even in pastoring a church, my husband has the charge of praying for the people and teaching them the truth, but he can’t live their lives for them.

He can’t go into their homes and make the decisions which will affect the lives of that family. That would be overstepping his bounds. Each person is responsible for his own habitation.

In the same way, we are responsible for our civic duties as citizens of a country, but we have nothing to say about another country. We can pray for the people there, but we can’t vote, or in any way determine the culture of another country.

In thinking along these lines, though, it makes me truly aware of God’s placement of my life. I want to fulfill every purpose He has for me in the area of His choosing. I want to do everything I can to manifest God’s Kingdom around me.

Then we come to Caleb. What an inspiration he is! In 14:6-15 Caleb reminds Joshua of Moses’s promise to him 45 years before. When the spies came into the Promised Land, only Joshua and Caleb believed that God would bring them in. At the time, the entire nation had to stay in the wilderness because of their unbelief. Yet Moses promised Caleb that eventually he would have the land on which his foot had trodden – the hill country.

Caleb remembers. “I am eighty-five years old today. I am still as strong today as I was in the day Moses sent me; as my strength was then, so my strength is now, for war and for going out and coming in. Now give me this hill country …with the Anakim.”(14:10-12)

Not only does he remember, but Caleb is as strong at eighty-five as he was at forty. He is ready to take on the giants!

Caleb is my role model in that respect. I want to continue to have great strength for fulfilling God’s purpose all the days of my life. No retirement. Never “too old,” just divine strength all the days of my life.

Luke 1:57-80

All the relatives were blown away by John’s birth and its circumstances. In the first place, Elizabeth was too old to have this child … but she did. And there was this strange thing about Zacharias not being able to speak.

Yet there was even more to come. According to Jewish tradition, the child should be named for his father. So when the eighth day came – the time for the circumcision and naming of the child – all of the relatives were going to call him Zacharias. Elizabeth again shocked everyone by saying his name was John. (The name God had ordained).

Still unable to speak, Zacharias had to write his agreement, “His name is John. And they were all astonished.” (1:63)

So Zacharias regained his ability to speak and prophecy began to come forth. “God is accomplishing redemption for His people.” “Salvation from our enemies.” “to remember His Holy covenant.” And this child shall be “called the prophet of the Most High.” “Prepare the way of the Lord.” “Sunrise on High shall visit us.” “To shine upon those who sit in darkness.”

The town was abuzz with gossip and speculation. Every bit of this was out of the ordinary. Something big was going on here!

We have to remember that about 400 years had gone by without any major words from God. Things had become very quiet, and all of the prophetic words of old could have seemed to have passed away.

Yet they hadn’t. There were still a few people around who studied the Word and prayed and believed that there would be fulfillment. Yet I’m sure that even when the words were fulfilled it seemed surreal. Way out of the ordinary.

We live in a similar day. There are some who may have read the Bible in days gone by, but they don’t pay much attention any more. They may think that the Words of God will never come to fruition.

I have news for those people. Every Word of God will be fulfilled. Every one! It does us good to read and study and pray for discernment on these things.

Just as in those days, one day there will be a “suddenly.” There will be a manifestation of the things we have been praying and believing for.

There’s much excitement ahead. I want to be ready for it and in on it. Don’t you?

Read The Bible Through, March 18.

Deuteronomy 30-31

If anyone doesn’t understand the importance of honoring Israel, let that person read Deuteronomy 30. Just as God had spoken to Abraham and told him that his descendents would go into another country and after 400 years be brought out by signs and wonders, God now speaks through Moses that the nation will eventually follow after other gods and be cast into many corners of the earth.

But at the right time, God will restore them.  He will “gather them again from all the peoples where the Lord your God  has scattered them. ..If their outcasts are at the end of the earth, from there the Lord their God will gather them, and from there he will bring them back.” (V. 3-4).He will bring them back to their land and “they shall possess it”.(v.5).

In 1948, Israel was restored as a nation. (That’s what some of the ruckus is about over there. The Muslims don’t like them being there). Since that time, it has been a miracle what has happened.

Jews from all over the globe have moved to Israel – just like God promised in these verses. Without any good explanation, these people have had a desire to move to the land of Abraham, their father. Sometimes without even knowing it, they were being drawn by God Himself.

God will perform His Word. He knows the end from the beginning and when He says something will happen, rest assured, it will happen.

There are many more declarations which God has made, and they too will come to pass..

In the end, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. (Philippians 2:10). The blessed ones will say it this side of the grave.

Mark 15: 1-23

The crowds, the crowds. We love to be acclaimed by the crowds, don’t we?

That’s the nature of unregenerate man. He always wants to be highly esteemed.

So the leaders of the Jews fight for their place of honor, and deliver Jesus to the Romans. Now Pilate takes up his fight and pleases the crowd also.

He knows that the chief priests deliver Him because of envy, and that they stir up the crowds to want Barabbas, the thief, released instead of Jesus. But Pilate also wants to please the crowd, so he goes right along, in spite of his knowledge.

That desire for fame and reputation can be dangerous for any of us. Oh, I know that we won’t be called upon to kill Jesus. That day has come and gone. But when it isn’t popular, are we willing to stand up for Him?

Do we keep quiet when we should be holding Him up? Or is popularity more important?

In our day and in our culture boldness for Jesus may not be the norm. Yet there are many of our friends and acquaintances who have never met Him, and even may have a false idea of just who He is.

Are we willing to take the risk? If we get prompted by Holy Spirit to share with an individual at work, whom do we go with: God or man?

True disciples have to look foolish sometimes.

Lord, help me to be obedient, regardless of the cost. I’m Yours when its popular, and I’m Yours when it isn’t.

Read The Bible Through, March 17

Deuteronomy 28-29

Woo hoo! We come to one of my favorite chapters in the entire Bible.

People always seem to be striving to find God’s will. Does He want me healed? Does He want my needs to be met? Does He want my children blessed?

In chapter 28 we find God’s will in a nutshell. The “blessings of Abraham” are enumerated for all to see: God’s will to bless His people. In Galatians 3:13, we see that the blessings of Abraham are ours through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

This is our Promised Land.

Now let me make myself clear. I am not saying that God wants to “enhance” a life that is lived totally apart from Him. He is not here to “enhance” a sinful life. He is here to bless a life that belongs to Him.

In fact, if you read the whole chapter, it’s obvious that an evil person shouldn’t be expecting much at all from God – until they repent. There are some pretty tough curses out there. (The curses come from the devil and his cohorts, when you allow him to rule your life).

Being close to God and in His will allows you to stay under His umbrella of protection from the evil one. Those who are out from under His umbrella, can’t expect a whole lot. There is a devil out there. It isn’t that God doesn’t love everyone, but this covenant is for those who are His covenant people. (And now we can all be His covenant people through Jesus).

But if your life does belong to God and you are living in the light that you know, being obedient to Him, you can even look at the curses listed and know that those are not God’s will for you. In my Bible, I have “no” written in the margin of several of the curses. Just to remind myself when things don’t look so good.

What about where it says “your children will be taken into another territory?”(28:32;41). No. Or the one that says, “The heaven which is over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you, iron.”(23). No. Or “You shall bring out much seed to the field but you shall gather little, for the locust shall consume it.”(38) No.

None of these verses are for God’s covenant people.

But hang on. I am not saying that these things won’t even try to come on you. I am saying that these things are not God’s will for you, if you are His.

There should never be confusion about His will. His will is always good for those who are His, walking in closeness to Him.

Often times, we have to fight for God’s will to be done in our lives. Just as the children of Israel had to fight for their land, we have to fight for our Promised Land. But we don’t fight people; we fight the demonic forces which try to stop God’s plan.

In this new day of a covenant with Jesus we have the power within us to overcome the evil one. By faith we fight for our territory by standing up for what God’s Word says. Through “faith and patience” we inherit the promises. (Hebrews 6:12).

If this concept is new to you, I hope you meditate on what I’ve said. In the days ahead, we will see more clearly God’s plan for our taking the Land.

Mark 14:53-72

How can these men be so cruel to God’s perfect man?

These are supposed to be God’s representatives – the chief priest and the council. Yet they  falsely accuse Jesus, trying to put Him to death. Isn’t it shocking?

These men want prestige and power as their place of leadership. Jesus is rocking their boat. He is being merciful to the sinners, healing on the sabbath, raising the dead, and ministering to huge crowds. They just can’t have such competition.

Furthermore, these leaders have a good reputation with Rome, and they are afraid they are losing it.

So God’s supposed men fight against His plan and bring charges against His Son.

Yet God’s big plan goes on – with or without individuals. We can personally exempt ourselves from His covenant or His plan, but God will find someone else to cooperate with his will.

Just as these leaders chose not to go with God, we can too. We can choose for His will not to be performed in our lives, and He will get someone else to fulfill what He had planned for us. But God’s overall plan will succeed. He will search until he finds those who are willing and obedient.

I say, “Yes, Lord. I want to be in on what You are doing. I want to fulfill what You have for me.”