LEARNING DAILY

 

Habakkuk 3:17-19, Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls – Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Sovereign God is my strength! He will make me as surefooted as a deer (or will give me the speed of a deer.) and bring me safely over the mountain. (New Living Translation)

 

The third chapter of Habakkuk begins with the prophet asking God why He is ignoring him; he was asking why God would allow Judah to pursue ungodliness without dealing with them.  He asks God a second question about the judgment He is using - the evil Babylonians to chastise Judah for their sinfulness and hardheartedness. Habakkuk asked God how He could use a godless nation to judge a less wicked one.

 

Habakkuk was not the first prophet to ask God questions that begin with why and how. God is not threatened by questions like these. We can be thankful for that today because we have all wondered why and how and when. I think back over the blogs I have written and seem to deal with the evil that is always around us. I begin this way in order to finish with Habakkuk’s words above. It is to be an encouragement to all who read this page of the blog. Let me explain.

 

Verse 17 above indicates Judah was going to face some sort of famine as part of the judgment to come. Yet, Habakkuk recognizes that he did not serve God for what He gave to him; he served Him because He was God. Because He was God, Habakkuk placed His faith, his trust in Him. In chapter 2 verse 4, God told him, “The just shall live by faith”. Because of that statement Habakkuk could “rest in (faith) the day of trouble”. He was believed the righteous did not need to fear the loss of anything when the Babylonians invaded; he proclaimed the ultimate victory of all who live by faith.

 

I do not like what I see happening in the world around me! Like you I am very troubled by the senseless event that have unfolded in the last few weeks, about the ungodly decisions being forced upon us by government, by the self-centeredness of people and deceitfulness so many are living under. Like Habakkuk, we are faced with the question he faced. Will we trust in the wisdom and goodness of God regardless of what we see happening around us? The DJSB presented that question and gave the following thought. “We must all grapple with this question. Although the process was not easy, in the end Habakkuk took shelter in God Himself, deciding to be thankful and joyful. Faith grows stronger when we deliberately release our anxieties, remembering that ‘the Lord is my strength’ (3:19) and that His plans are best, no matter how unreliable life may seem at the moment. Our past, present, and future all belong to the Lord. Our times – our very lives – are in His hands. Trust Him.”

 

From now on DJSB will be used to note information or quotes from the David Jeremiah Study Bible and LSSB will refer to information and quotes from the Life in the Spirit Study Bible.  I have added Jimmy Swaggart’s Expositor’s Study Bible to be referred to from now on as JSESB.

 

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Galatians 5:13, For you dear friends, have been called to live in freedom – not freedom to satisfy your sinful nature, but freedom to serve one another in love.

 

We must never forget those who have died for the freedoms we enjoy today. We must never forget that getting and maintaining our freedoms was costly as men and women gave their lives to do so. For most families and kids, the day represents a day of firing up the grill, open swimming pools, a long weekend for travel, the beginning of summer vacation. The time of remembering those who fought and died for those things to happen have become a time of quick remembrance and our freedoms taken for granted. It has been a long time since this nation has fought in war that had true meaning regarding our freedoms.

 

In 2022, we are fighting a different type of warfare to protect our freedoms. It is an internal warfare, one of words and ideology. In this war, the battles are being fought to either preserve or take away the freedoms people have. Is the Constitution and its Amendments still relevant or is it outdated? Do guns kill people or do the people using them doing so? What about the rights of a woman when it comes to terminating a pregnancy; what about the rights of that baby being terminated? The list of “freedoms” that we want to control goes on and on. You are smart enough to know what I am talking about. The freedoms so many died to protect are being challenged today and it frightens me to think where this country is headed.

 

The Son of God came to this earth to teach about the Father and to provide the way to eternal life in His kingdom. He died on a cross to give freedom to those who would believe in Him; this is freedom from the slavery to sin and the dominion of Satan. This freedom is through the Holy Spirit’s presence in Believer’s lives and being obedient to the Word of God.

 

Freedom has a different meaning when talking about the freedom Christ gives to us. It is not a freedom to do whatever we want; it certainly is not the freedom to indulge the desires of the flesh. Spiritual freedom must never be used as a cover-up or to do evil, to do what feels good. True Christian freedom gives the freedom to serve God and to serve others. It is not about trying to justify ourselves to God through our good works or seeking our own glory. No, it is about Christ, what He did for us and doing what we can to show His love and helping others with that same love.

 

Whether you know it or not, we are at war. It is a spiritual war over where each of us will spend eternity. Satan never gives up. His method of warfare is deception and he never gives up trying to deceive people, even Believers. He continually tries to get us to sin against God and keep those who do not believe from accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior. The enemy continues to get Believers to think their freedom in Christ means they can do anything they want because of God’s grace. Everyday the struggle is over who we are going to follow that day, over the choices we make regarding those things God told us in His Word we are not free to do. Just like the thoughts about the Constitution being outdated, the enemy tries to get us to believe about the Bible. It is not outdated and is as true today as it was when it was written.

Never forget those who have died to protect the freedoms we have; be aware of those today who would take them away for their own political gain. Never forget that our Savior died so we could have spiritual freedom to serve Him and serve others with a Christlike love. Because He loved you and me enough to hang on a cross in our place, we can love others because of our faith in Him. Jesus Christ cannot just be our Savior; He must become our Lord as well. Get into God’s Word and let it overwhelm you with faith and love; imitate Him and be an encouragement to others as we wage this daily war against the flesh and the world around us.  

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Psalm 37:3-5, Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord. Trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.

 

You can pick out the key words in the verses above; trust, dwell, feed on, delight in and commit are important, necessary, actions each of us must live when we walk on the narrow way to eternal life in God’s kingdom. I have read things by people who write encouraging devotionals like, “Your beliefs shape your experience. Believe that you can reach your goal.” (Tony Dungy). If I believe what the Psalmist wrote in the Psalm 37, I will live like God will bring to pass everything He has said He would do.

 

 The fact of the matter is, as I try to live these verses, I have seen God give me the desires of my heart – at least those that have brought Him honor and glory. Before anyone gets the wrong idea, I have had plenty of wrong desires of the heart. They were desires that brought me front and center and I fully trusted God to bring them to pass. I am so thankful He didn’t! Can anyone relate to this?

 

To delight yourself in the Lord is to desire and earnestly seek to be in His presence. That would include spending the time in His Word, allowing it to speak to your heart. It would include prayer and meditating on His Word and His magnificence. It would include walking in truth and not in the deception of worldliness. His Word plainly says when we delight ourselves in Him, He gives us the desires of our heart. Be careful here and do not take this out of context. When we delight ourselves in Him, we begin to desire what He desires. We begin to desire the things that line up with His will. It is important to know that when we spend time with Him, He puts His desires in our hearts that He then begins to fulfill.

 

Trust in Him grows as He shows Himself faithful. That might come through reading about God’s faithfulness to do what He promises in His Word, biographies and autobiographies of how He used people, and just personal experience.  When we see how He has used others or remember the time he has used us, it is like feeding on His faithfulness. We can be encouraged to be used for His kingdom. Trust means to have confidence that God will do what He promised and gives the encouragement to act on our faith in Him.

 

When we act on our faith, know He is leading us to do so, we are leaning on Him and not trusting ourselves. Isn’t that the desire and plan of God for each Believer? He has a plan for each of our lives. He wants us to trust Him for it, believe His Word, and have faith in Him – even when we do not understand! Our faith comes into our walk on the narrow way as we live the life (dwell in the land) and feed on God’s Word. Just a reminder that Jesus said He was the bread of life. He is the Good Shepherd who feeds His sheep and guides them through all the valleys of life. You and I must be committed to following Him!

 

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

2 Timothy 3:1, But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come;

 

I wonder how many times I have shared this verse in this blog! Our heavenly Father warned us. He told us that the last days would be perilous; that means evil to me. He was right! The days we are living in are evil. They continue to grow more evil by the day. By now, you have heard about the tragedy that occurred in Uvalde, Texas.

 

I do not pretend to understand evil. I know it comes from the devil. I know that it is going to grow worse when Christians, the True Church, are taken out of this world. I know there are going to be those who wonder where God is when the terrible tragedies that have happened in the last few weeks occur. Read the word of the prophet Habakkuk 1:2, O Lord, how long shall I cry, and You will not hear? Even cry out to You. “Violence!” And You will not save. It is the question raised throughout time. Read the Psalms and you will find questions about how long God will be silent on the evil surrounding His people.

 

Habakkuk has been praying about the evil he saw that surrounded God’s people; he was asking how long God would do nothing. God seemed to be tolerating the violence, injustice and the killing of the righteous. The questions we have today are not new as we have seen people gunned down in a grocery store and children gunned down in an elementary school classroom. Like Habakkuk, we cry out wondering where God was when this happened.

 

But God’s silence must not be taken as indifference nor as inactivity. I will not try tell you I understand this. I have watched the news reports seeing and feeling the anguish in the hearts of parents, grandparents, and a community who have lost children. As all who have watched the reports my heart goes out to them.

 

Habakkuk’s questions come from a man who loves God; the questions come from a heart filled with faith to a righteous God. Continue reading in Habakkuk and you will see that his questions were not based on the “why” of the situation but on what he knew about God. That is the starting point for you and me as we try to make sense of the senselessness we see around us.  In chapter 2:4, God tells Habakkuk that “the just shall live by faith”. As God’s children, we must live in this world by faith in Him. He is not sleeping. He does see all things going on and He cares deeply for each of us. Because we know this, believe His word to be true, we know that the time is coming when all wickedness will be destroyed. When that happens only the unrighteous will be shaken! Keep reading and you will see that judgment is coming to those who have not given their heart and life to Jesus Christ.

 

Until that time, you and I must find peace and support in prayer. I do not know anything else that brings the closeness and peace that prayer does. God is on the throne and in control of all things. He is God! Because you and I are not, we go to Him seeking the peace only He can give. In the midst of the awful sin and evil in this world, you and I must learn to live in faith and to trust in the wisdom of God’s ways even in the tragedies.

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Luke 6:16-17. “But I say to you who hear; Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.” Jesus

 

Romans 14:13, Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.

 

Dad used to say, “Don’t do as I do; do as I say.” I would like to use this to preface the comments I make. But I can’t. I am really trying to live the verses above. Some days are easier than others in doing so. So, any comments I make should be regarded as comments I am making to myself and to any reader who needs to read them. My thought: If the shoe fits, wear it! That is written with a smile, by the way.

 

Who would say with me, “Jesus are you really serious?” This teaching is one I might like to ask Him if I could ignore. There are some individuals who have just not liked the way I have coached; that would be in every school I coached at, as I think about it. In one particular school, many words were shared with me because I would not do things the way one parent wanted me to. That has been many years ago now and I can honestly say I have forgiven him; I am not sure about him forgiving me.

 

The truth is there are people in all of our lives who we have no trouble at all giving our love to and easily forgive when the need arises. There may be those times we have trouble forgiving those who love us all the time. If that is true and we fail to forgive them and stop praying for them, what happens when that happens with those who do not love us all the time.

 

I added the verse with Romans today to share what happens when we do not handle those times others do things to us that causes us to hold a grudge or to pass judgment upon them.  When we do either, the situation only grows worse and the ability to walk the narrow way Christ demands becomes more difficult. In Matthew 6:15, Jesus told us as Christians we must be ready and willing to forgive those things people say and do to us. If we do not, several things occur. One God will not forgive the things we do and say and He will not answer our prayers. It could also cause another to fall as a result of judgment of trivial matters in their life. Instead, you and I are to encourage, especially our brothers and sisters in the Lord to live a Christlike life and to live righteously when it concerns matters of faith.

 

Okay, I have learned the power of forgiveness; too many times the learning has come through tough times. I have learned that forgiveness is God’s way to live peacefully with others. I try not to be taken advantage of in doing so; I trust God will give me the wisdom and discernment so this does not happen. I have been able to see the positive for my confrontations when coaching and move on knowing that God was involved with each situation. That has involved forgiveness and praying for those who have caused hurt. I have even learned to do this with other situations! God is good all the time!

 

 LEARNING DAILY

 

Mark 16:15, And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”

 

I have been reading the autobiography of Charles Finney. It has caused me to do a great amount of reflection regarding my interaction with neighbors, friends, even family regarding their relationship to Jesus Christ. God overwhelmed Finney with His presence and the assurance that He had washed away all His sinfulness. The result was great revival wherever he went. People came under tremendous conviction of their sin and the need to repent and ask Jesus Christ into their lives. Finney filled a tremendous need in the early 1800s, correcting wrong ideas of people wherever God sent him. I have been in awe of the presence of God in Finney’s life and the boldness in which he spoke the Word of God resulting in deep convictions and salvations of many people.

 

I have been trying to decide why I do not have the boldness Finney had. There is not one house hold on the street we live on that goes to church except for the Jewish family. I am not making any judgment about their relationship to the Lord. They are all good people that have no evidence of their fruit produced with a relationship with Jesus Christ. Finney would be in their home and would not leave until he had shared the whole gospel of Christ – all men are sinners, the only way to have Christ in their lives was to admit they were sinners, repent, and ask Jesus into their heart in order to change them. I don’t think times are different; my neighbors and other people I know need Jesus. I suppose I could try to convince myself that people have all had opportunities to hear the gospel message. Or, I could convince myself that the way I live may be the only Bible they will read. But I still continue to ask the Lord to open the opportunity to share with people when He knows they are ready.

 

1 Peter 3:15 tells us, “always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear”. You and I need to have an inner reverence and commitment to Jesus Christ that is always ready to share and explain our faith to others. I believe that does come from two things. First people are watching to see if our lifestyle (the way we walk on the narrow way) matches the things we believe. Secondly, the day may be approaching when the Lord sends people to ask us about our hope. I suppose that would be neighbors or friends or family members. It may be people the Lord just puts in our path. Who knows, someone reading this blog might even pass it on to someone they know who could be encouraged by it.

 

You and I need to be in God’s Word reading and studying every day. That would be to encourage ourselves but to know it well enough to share it when given the opportunity. Times are beginning to get tough; the outlook is not so good for the day ahead either. We have to hang on to the Word of God, allowing it to be our strength, to encourage us and each other. I believe God is going to send people to us in the days ahead. Let’s be ready to encourage them with His Word, introduce them to the Savior and show them the narrow way to eternal life in His kingdom.

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Judges 18:1, In those days there was no king in Israel.

 

Judges 21:25; In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in their own eyes.

 

Four times in the book of Judges the message that Israel had no king is mentioned. Many have written thoughts about this as I have done in the past. All you and I need to do is look around to understand what happens when everyone does what they think is their right to do. In the days of Israel when this was written, Israel had no king; there were only tribal leaders. It was God’s desire to be their king but the people rejected that. The people’s desire to be like the nations they were to eliminate when they went into the Promised Land resulted in exactly what God warned them about, idolatry and forgetting about God. As we have seen in the pattern of Judges, God would cause a group of people to cause numerous problems for the people of Israel and eventually they would cry out to Him. He would raise up a judge to deliver them and all would be well as long as the judge lived. When the judge died, the pattern would begin again.

 

False worship has always been a problem for God’s people. Doing right in our own eyes continues to be a problem today. It results from taking our eyes of the God of Creation and all things and believing that we have a better plan for living our lives. Not much has changed regarding the belief that God’s standards for His creation are not relevant; the belief that we can do what is right in our own eyes is all around us. Read the words found in Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” These words are found again in Proverbs 16:25. To make our own thoughts, our own opinions, the guide for our lives is rebellion against God. Israel did not find success in doing this. It only ended in bondage and evil living. It is no different for the people today.

 

Romans 3:18, describes people in this world today, “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” 2 Timothy 3:4-5 adds this, “traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power.” It is obvious that people believe what they are “comfortable” with and, in doing so, become their own little gods.

 

It is time for each of us to decide who our king is. It is time to stop being swayed by the opinions of the world. As a follower of Jesus Christ, you and I need to put away anything, any belief that causes us to live in our own thoughts and doing what is right in our own eyes. It is time to align every thought, every action, to talk and to live by the standards set in God’s Word. You and I must know Jesus Christ not only as our Savior but as King. That is His desire and His standard to live by. That gets us on the narrow way to eternal life in His kingdom and keeps us on it until we finally step onto it. Each of us chooses each day how we live. My encouragement to you is to choose wisely so not to get caught up loving this world and its pleasures more than God.  

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Judges 9:56, Thus, God repaid the wickedness of Abimelech, which he had done to his father by killing his seventy brothers.

 

I have been trying to slow down when reading the Bible in order get as much out of it as I can. In doing so verses seem to jump out and make me wonder what it means. It also has helped me see different aspects of God’s character. For example, Judges 9:56 states that “God repaid the wickedness of Abimelech”. I had to think through this statement and put it together with the rest of God’s Word.

 

This goes back to the beginning of Judges 9 where we are told Abimelech “hired worthless and reckless men to follow him” and they went and killed Abimelech’s 70 brothers. Abimelech was the son of Gideon and his concubine in Shechem; Gideon was a better leader on the battlefield, it seems. What Abimelech did was a disgrace to his father’s character. Abimelech’s reasoning for doing this was centered in the thought it was better for Shechem to be ruled over by one man than to be governed by seventy. Once the deed was done, Abimelech was made king. A problem with this is not all the brothers were killed; one brother named Jotham escaped, saw the “coronation” of Abimelech from a distance, and shouted a fable to them. The fable basically said the people would pay for making a worthless Abimelech king. Eventually God sent a “spirit of ill will” to come between Abimelech and the people.

 

With that background in mind, let’s return to the thought of God repays people for their evil ways. Throughout the Bible, we read that God says evil is not to be paid by evil; God tells us “Vengeance is mine, I will repay”. Perhaps the most known verses for this are Deuteronomy 32:35 and Romans 12: 17-19. The word “vengeance is from the Greek ekdikesis and means God’s vengeance is not revenge but is related to justice and His punishing those who do wrong; it can be thought of as His punishment” (Life in the Spirit Study Bible). For example, God punished Sodom and Gomorrah for their sinfulness and refusal to change their lifestyle. Jonah went to them to tell the people of Nineveh God would destroy them if they did not repent. They repented and God spared them.

 

God will bring about His justice for wrong doing in this life or at the end of the age when the Lord Jesus returns to judge all who have refused to repent and believe in Him through faith! The Gospel found in God’s Word promises God’s forgiveness when a person admits their sinfulness; Romans 3:10 is straightforward saying, “There is none righteous, no, not one”. All people are sinners who must come to that knowledge and accept the salvation Jesus Christ offers to them. By accepting this and placing their faith in Him, their name is written in the Lamb’s book of life. This must be understood because judgment is coming to those who refuse to do so.

 

All of us need to be thankful that God made a way to satisfy His justice of salvation through Jesus Christ. More on this next time.

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Genesis 12:3, “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”  God

 

Joel 3:2, “I will gather all nations, and bring them to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there on account of My people, My heritage Israel, whom they scattered among the nations; they have also divided My land.”  God

 

Today, you need to see how the prophecies and words in the Old Testament fit with the New Testament. In Genesis 12:3, the second prophetic word is found about the coming of Jesus Christ. God spoke to Abraham that He would do two things through him. One He would bless all who blees him and curse those who curse him. God’s blessing to Abraham and his descendents would be both spiritual and material blessings. God also promised to curse those people who treated Abraham and/or his descendents poorly.  I believe that is still seen today as there are those who have objected and have tried to prevent the Jewish people from living in the land God gave Abraham. Since Israel was recognized as an independent nation in 1948, there have been numerous wars and continued attempts to disrupt the Jewish way of life in Israel.

 

The second promise given to Abraham is that spiritual blessings would come through his seed; “that seed is Jesus Christ and the blessings refer to the gospel of Christ offered to all people and all nations” (Life in the Spirit Study Bible). This shows that God’s promise from the very beginning of time was to offer salvation and His blessings to all the nations. Yes, this was to be for the Jewish people first and then to the Gentiles. This is being accomplished today by those sent to preach and teach about the Good News (the best news ever!) of Jesus Christ.

 

The verse from Joel above is pretty clear that the nations of the world are facing judgment from the God of Israel, the God that said He would curse those who curse Israel. Does anyone reading this today believe that the Arab nations, or any nation for that matter, are really interested in peace with Israel or in the Middle East? It certainly appears they are intent with the total elimination with the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. Think back through the attempts by United States presidents in their peace-making attempts. They have wanted to give Israel’s land to the Palestinians. No agreement made was every kept and no peace settlement happened. What has happened is the rise of terrorism in the nations that surround Israel.  

 

The nations of the world have been drawn into the problems faced by Israel. It seems that all nations are concerned about the borders of Israel and are being affected by radical Islam’s terrorist tactics. The prophet Joel’s prophetic words regarding the judgement of nations seem to be drawing closer to happening. The Valley of Jehoshaphat is an extended area east of Jerusalem and its meaning is “valley where the Lord judges”. More and more, I believe the time God is going to judge the nations of the world is drawing closer. The message is clear! God is going to destroy all evil and will claim and rescue His faithful people. This judgment will include one last battle, the battle of Armageddon; it will be before Christ’s 1,000-year reign over all the earth. He will judge the nations for their cruelty and treatment of His people.

 

Accountability and judgment is coming! In Joel 3:9, the nations are told to prepare for war. The Lord is going to come against them with a great vengeance. Those who stand against Him and His Word are going to be called to give an account for their sin. You and I, as Believers, must remember that the ungodliness, the sinfulness and evil we see in this world today will not prevail forever. God’s people ultimately win and inherit the earth. “Stay ready so you do not have to get ready!” (Dr, Ed Newton). The true Church of the Lord Jesus Christ could be taken out of this world at any time!

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Judges 11:13, And the king of the people of Ammon answered the messengers of Jephthah, “Because Israel took away my land when they came up out of Egypt, from the Arnon as far as Jabbok, and to the Jordan. Now therefore, restore those lands peaceably.”

 

I am going to take a chance and say not too many have written a devotional about this verse. Jephthah has been used by God to gain possession of the land held by the Amorites in the Promised Land. Before doing so, the king of the Amorites tried to negotiate for Israel to restore all the land taken from God had given Israel as they first entered the Promised Land under Joshua. Be sure to read the rest of Judges 11.

 

Here is my point today. I find it very interesting that negotiations over the land given to Abraham, through covenant, continues to this day. Think back to all the presidents who have believed they would be the one to settle the problems of ownership of land in the Middle East.  Everyone who reads this blog knows that there are strong disputes over land controlled by Israel. There have been numerous attempts to settle the dispute between Israel and the Palestinians. There have been numerous wars between Arab nations and Israel; each time Israel has miraculously been victorious and gained additional territory held by the Arab nations.

 

When considering the land now known as Israel, God’s covenant with Abraham and Isaac must be remembered. The land was given to them and their descendants forever. Their descendents came into the land as directed by God, and claimed what He had given to them. But because of their disobedience, God forced them to be dispersed for something like 1900 years. The land was still theirs because of the Abrahamic Covenant and the Jewish people continued their desire for the Promised Land.

 

Their return to the land after WWII, eventually declaring the nation of Israel in the land in 1948, has been heavily disputed by the Arab people. Their claim is the Jewish people have never had any actual ties to the land; this includes the city of Jerusalem. The Arab assertion is the Jews are occupying the land as foreigners or colonists. The attempts by American presidents to bring resolution to this land has not been successful. Today, we see the problems between Jews and Arabs in the Middle East have become international in scope. Terrorists that have plagued Israel have become bold taking their acts of violence to other nations of the world. We have seen acts of terror against our own land. World leaders continue to demand Israel divide the land with Arab nations who are dedicated to destroy and annihilate Israel. A group known as Hamas has publicly said their goal is to deny Israel’s right to exist and has done all they can to see this through. Nations like Iran and Syria are doing all they can to develop weapons of mass destruction to achieve this goal. And, if I am understanding what I read and hear on the news, the United Nations seem to be pretty much against Israel as well.

 

For such a small area of land, Israel is the focus of the world’s attention. What we are seeing today in this area is drawing the world into its final days and one final battle. I will explain tomorrow.  

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Judges 8:33-34, So it was, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel again played the harlot with the Baals, and made Baal-Berith their god. Thus the children did not remember the Lord their God who had delivered them from the hands of their enemies on every side:

 

Father, help me today. I need to vent! I have been listening to parents speaking on radio programs about what is going on in our public schools and I am shocked! Elementary school children are being filled with nonsense about who God made them to be – male or female. The latest parent I have heard speak out shared her child was asked to go to an art club meeting by an art teacher. When there the child was drilled about her sexual identity. She was told to NOT tell her parents about what happened at this event! I cannot think of anything positive and good that is done in secret. There is much more to this story than I have space to relate. This was done in what the parent said is a small “conservative” town. It certainly makes me wonder what is being told children around the nonconservative cities and communities around the country.

 

To add to this the President of the United States has told teachers that parents have no say in what goes on in their classrooms. According to him, “children do not belong to parents, they are like yours when they are in the classroom”. Way back in time, when I had to use a chisel and rock to take notes in college, I took an education class with the Latin term in parentis loco which means “in the role or place of a parent”. We were taught that this meant as teachers, we were to be dedicated to caring for and educating students in our classrooms. This gave teachers the authority to restrict student behaviors and discipline in the place of the parent.

 

What we are seeing today is so different from the in parentis loco I was taught and followed in forty-nine years of education. The President told teachers they were the parents when they had students in their classroom and could teach ungodliness and unrighteous stuff if they wanted; no parents could interfere with what they were teaching! That is wrong in every sense I can think of.

 

 My fear is this country is doing what Israel did in the cycle shown in the book of Judges; we ae worshipping a false god that is contrary to every teaching in God’s Word! Our children are not being taught about the Lord and God finally gives the people what they desire and the consequences that go with it. That is the pattern of Judges.

 

What do we do? We pray for this country to repent. We pray for God to intervene on His people’s behalf and destroy this ungodliness that has infested our public school system. If I had children in the public schools, I would take them out and find the best private Christian school I could and enroll them in it. In my opinion, this is just more evidence that the Lord Jesus is coming soon for His Church. It is best to stay ready so you don’t have to get ready! (Dr. Ed Newton).      Thanks for letting me vent!

 

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Judges 8:27, Then Gideon made it into an ephod and set it up in his city, Ophrah. And all Israel played the harlot with it there. It became a snare to Gideon and to his house.

 

I hope you have or will reread how God used Gideon to defeat the Midianites. It is quite a story; it also leaves me with questions. For example, I was not sure what an ephod was; I had to research it. I found that it has two meanings. It can be a vest like garment worn by the priests, along with the Urim and Thurrim; it functioned as part of the way the priests discerned God’s direction. Or, the ephod was a graven image, some kind of idol. If it was a vest, Gideon would have wanted it to be worn by the priest whenever summoned to Gideon. Gideon requested each of his men to throw gold earrings from their plunder into a garment he had laid out. He then used that to make the ephod.

 

The ephod was not authorized by God! It did not glorify Him; instead, it shows the pride Gideon had as a result of how God had used him. Because Gideon did this, it became a “snare for Gideon and his family”. This snare can be extended to all the people as well. Psalm 106:39 describes what happened to Gideon and the people. It is a warning for you and me as well. “Thus they were defiled by their own works, and played the harlot by their own deeds.” Gideon adapted his ways to follow the world; the one who had destroyed his father’s altar of Baal (6:25-32), now was building his own idol.

 

The tragedy of this leads to the people of Israel once again turning to “worshipping the Baals and they did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from all their enemies on every side” (verse 33-34). “Despite all his achievements, Gideon made no permanent spiritual difference in Israel. His story is inspiring, but his small concessions to evil eventually disgraced himself, his family his people, and Yahweh” (notes from the DJSB). Continue reading about Gideon’s family in chapter 9 to see the consequences that followed.

 

What do you and I need to receive from this? Gideon was a good man. When the angel of the Lord first approached him, he was called “a mighty man of valor”.  Matthew Henry’s commentary states, “Many are led into false ways by one false step of a good man.” I believe it is a mistake to exalt a church or a charismatic pastor. When this happens, it becomes easier to be misled into spiritual corruption. I really enjoy the pastor of the church we attend. I also guard what he says by making sure it aligns with all of God’s Word. I am happy to say he is always a student of the Word presenting it carefully and fully. No other judge of Israel led the people into the worship of idols which eventually caused them to “forget about the Lord” (verse 34). That is the consequence, the result of not knowing the Word of God for ourselves.

 

The people of Israel were a people prone to worship idols. We are still a people prone to do so. You and I must keep our eyes centered on Jesus Christ. To place anything else at the center of our lives, our focus leads to idolatry!  “If He is not the center of our life, every other relationship will suffer” (Pastor Jonathon Moore, Northrock Church).  Think on that!  

 

From now on DJSB will be used to note information or quotes from the David Jeremiah Study Bible and LSSB will refer to information and quotes from the Life in the Spirit Study Bible.  I have added Jimmy Swaggart’s Expositor’s Study Bible to be referred to from now on as JSESB.

 

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Judges 7:2, And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me.”

 

God chose Gideon to lead the army of Israel against the Midianites, the oppressors of Israel. The army of Gideon numbered 32,000 (7:3). That number might have been sufficient if God, Himself was not with Gideon. But, because God was in charge, he did not need that many in His army. He told Gideon to tell those in the army that the fearful, those afraid needed to go home, 22,000 left. There was still 10,000 who remained and that should be enough to defeat the Midianites – God was with Gideon. No, that was still too many and God gave Gideon a plan to reduce the army some more. He was to watch who lapped and put the water from their hand to their mouth and who would get on their knees to drink the water. Those who lapped the water were thought to be more vigilant from those on their knees who would be in a more vulnerable position. The army of God and Gideon was now down to 300 men. With these 300 men, the Midianites are soundly defeated by God’s plan.

 

 Stop for a minute and think this through. Do you understand what happened at this time and what it means to you and me today? God is with them, causing His plan to happen in order for all to see He is in control of the situation and the outcome. It is God’s presence and His involvement that guarantees victory for His people; and He does not need an army, only a small number of dedicated people. Zechariah 4:6 tells us, “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says the Lord. The way the army was reduced to 300 speaks of being alert and dedicated. For you and me, that speaks of being spiritually alert and dedicated. That is what God wants from us today.

 

God wanted Gideon to know he was not sufficient on his own for the mission he was to lead, He needed to depend on Him. God, also, wanted the glory! We, humans, have a problem with wanting to take or be given the credit when victories are achieved. You know what I mean. Well, I really did not have (You fill in the blank). Or, look how well I did on this! When we do this we are really saying we are self-sufficient in our victories. Thinking this way is really saying we do not need God to be with us because, “I got this”. That thinking becomes more dangerous than losing the battle. The DJSB notes give a statement about the humility we need to have when walking with the Lord, “People can never be too small for God to use, but they can be too big in their own minds.” John 3:30 is a statement by John the Baptist about his relationship to the Lord Jesus and would apply to you and me. “He (Jesus) must increase, but I (you and me) must decrease.”

 

Who knows what the days ahead will bring? God wants men and women, you and me, who walk in faith and stand strong in the face of all opposition to evil and ungodliness. He wants us to be spiritually alert, knowing He is with us and our strength is in Him alone! It is only in God’s presence with us and in His strength that we will be able to meet life’s challenges to come. Throughout all, we give God the praise, the honor, and the thanksgiving He deserves!

 

From now on DJSB will be used to note information or quotes from the David Jeremiah Study Bible and LSSB will refer to information and quotes from the Life in the Spirit Study Bible.  I have added Jimmy Swaggart’s Expositor’s Study Bible to be referred to from now on as JSESB.

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Judges 6:16, And the Lord said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.”

 

Judges 6-8 is about Gideon and how God raised him up to lead 300 men against the Midianites. Read the three chapters and see what God did for Gideon and Israel. The notes in the LSSB give an excellent idea of Israel’s problem at this time, perhaps throughout the book of Judges. “The fundamental problem with the Israelites was that their faith in God was founded not on love for and gratitude to the Lord God, but on self-centered desires and ambitions; they sought God only in times of crisis when they felt they needed Him.” Remember the stages for Israel. They did evil in God’s sight and only when life became too hard did they cry out to Him for deliverance.

 

In reading through the book of Judges, it seems to me that the people of Israel were living their lives further and further from the Lord’s commands as I get deeper into the book. If that is so, the people are living further from Him and it becomes more difficult for leaders to bring the people back into His favor.  

 

“Anyone who earnestly seeks to serve God, like Gideon, can depend on the active presence of God with them” (LSSB). What a promise that was for Gideon and what a promise that is for you and me. What that tells me is that Gideon and you and I do not have to rely on our own abilities and resources. Instead, we can rely on the fact that the battle(s) we face have not taken God by surprise and we can be sure of His promise and His power. That is so necessary when facing the trials we are facing, or will face. To know that the God of Creation knows us personally and He cares for us is immense because we do not face the situation alone. The result, then, is in His hands. Our faith is so important when facing the trials of the unknown!

 

All of us need to be encouraged today. My attempt in studying verses of Scripture from Joshua and now Judges is to strengthen us to face not only today but tomorrow. Because you and I are under the new covenant (because of the faith we have placed in Jesus Christ), we need to examine our faith at times. You and I, as believers must follow the Lord because of who He is and because of what He has done. We cannot do as the Israelites who let their faith be based on what God could do for them. I do not need to tell you that we live in a day when the world and our own country wants nothing to do with Him. The decisions and lifestyles of too many are showing this. Just as the time of Gideon, people are doing evil in God’s sight and following their own gods. The faith and devotion of God’s people must be so genuine that we follow Him even if it means trouble, difficult times, even suffering.

 

Here is the promise -- “Surely I will be with you!” Matthew 28:19-20 affirms this. “Go, therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” It does not matter what we face, what tomorrow holds when we know that God is with us and He has all things in His control.

 

From now on DJSB will be used to note information or quotes from the David Jeremiah Study Bible and LSSB will refer to information and quotes from the Life in the Spirit Study Bible.  I have added Jimmy Swaggart’s Expositor’s Study Bible to be referred to from now on as JSESB.