Showing posts with label Judges 6. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Judges 6. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Change Your Path

"Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD,..." -- Judges 6:1a

The woman on the radio station was talking about the pit and how to get out of it. That's what she said anyway, The dark highway also known as Interstate 10 let me focus on her words. Nope. Not Beth Moore and not a whole lot about the pit. But the unknown speaker did make one really good point -- if you know you're doing something you shouldn't be doing, stop doing it!

Seems kind of obvious doesn't it? At least, until the finger is pointed at you and you're the one who has to change. Keep making the same mistakes and expect to end up with the same results. Common sense. The Israelites had a little trouble with that one. They would sin and God would punish them. They would cry out for forgiveness and He would deliver them. Then the cycle would repeat. Got anything like that going on in your life?

Oh, it doesn't have to be something life shattering like alcohol in abundance or cheating on your spouse. It can be something simple like visiting folks who are ill or dropping off a bag of food to the local food bank. Stop finding excuses and just do it. You'll be glad you did.

Same with volunteering. You can volunteer in your head a thousand times but the one time you can make a difference is when you actually volunteer. Surprising, huh? Same thing with Bible study. You can mean to read your Bible every day but it won't matter until you actually do it. You can intend to put God first but your actions should reflect that fact in how you live your life. Do they?

Most of us have good intentions. We do. We want to be good people. We want to be good Christians. But want and doing are two different things. And only the doing matters. Don't keep making the same mistakes day after day, week after week. Take a step today toward being the person you want to be.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Gideon Followed God

"But Lord," Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family." -- Judges 6:15

Isn't that just like us? God tells us He's going to do something wonderful through us and we doubt. Not us, we say. I can't do that, we protest.

Hello! God is "doing" not us. We are merely the instrument He uses. Besides, God can only tell the truth. If He tells us He is going to do something, He will.

I'm afraid, however, that I would be like Gideon. I would want a sign. Then another sign. And, in the middle of it all, I would want further reassurance. I have to laugh. Actually, it sounds just like me. How about you? Ever ask God for a sign? Yeah, thought so.

God was patient with Gideon. He gave him the sign Gideon asked for. He didn't even get upset when Gideon asked for yet another sign. And when, in the middle of saving the Israelites, Gideon needed reassurance, God provided it.

Of course, through all this, Gideon praised the Lord. God knew Gideon's heart just like God knows the hearts of all of us. When we genuinely seek to know and do God's will, He will guide us and help us.

For those who don't know the rest of this story, God used Gideon and 300 men to defeat the Midianites, the Amalekits and all the other eastern peoples who were as "thick as locusts."

With God, all things are possible if we only believe and trust in His greatness and His goodness.