Love God More Than Anything

Judges 17: 11-13 - So the Levite agreed to live with him, and the young man became like one of his sons to him.  Then Micah installed the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in his house.  And Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, since this Levite has become my priest.”

Micah lived in a self-created …delusional world… built around his desire to have the Lord bless him…but…for all the wrong reasons. Sure …he repented of his earlier life of thievery from his mother…but he never repented of his love of money.  His own mother even supported his habit. He lived under the false assumption that being good could somehow bring you blessings from God…or save your soul.

Micah still lived under the New Testament Laws. Never one do we read that he prepared the correct sacrifices and atoned for the sin in his life. He doesn’t talk of reading the law...or trying to keep them.  He simply assumes God will bless him if he is good…never once understanding that the idols he had in his house broke the first and most important commandment according to Matthew 27:22…where the words of Jesus are recorded later in the Bible. 

Jesus came to fulfill the law God gave to Moses. God knew that goodness…that genetics….that money could not buy his love.  Salvation is available to all that call on his name to be saved…that believe on the son Jesus Christ who died to pay the full atonement for every sin. Apart from that blood…I am doomed to die for my sins.

I needed the reminder that I must never let the material driven world I live in control my heart.  It can take over quickly...even in one who claims to love God.  One of satan’s favorite things to do is entice us with things…and draw our hearts far enough from God that he can brainwash us into thinking that doing good things can lead us to salvation. Satan knows that if we follow the command to Love God more than anything else…our love of his son…our gratitude for the gift of salvation will drive us to allow the second most important commandment to rule our lives…prompting our love for others to turn us into a servant of God’s kingdom.

Father…thank you for the reminder that it was your blood that gives me the promise of life and salvation.  Forgive me for the times that I allow a love for things to draw me away from your purpose and will for my life.  Help me to keep my heart focused on you …so I can stay in your perfect will…and do the most possible to further your kingdom and show you love to others.  Amen.

Allow A Deep Repentance In Our Hearts

Judges 16:27-28 - Now the temple was crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform.  Then Samson prayed to the Lord,  “Sovereign Lord, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.” 

Sampson’s failure to keep the secret of his strength to himself had cost him much. They had taken his eyesight in a horrific way…gauging out both eyes when he was first captured.  He was no longer free… forced to do heavy labor in heavy bronze shackles. The Philistine’s would have succeeded in keeping him captive much longer if they had not let themselves get so caught up in their success.  The party they had …praising the god they worshiped… rejoicing over his capture… gathered thousands of the people into the temple they used for worshiping dagan.

There was another element to their downfall that no one but Sampson knew. He knew his God was stronger than dagan.  His repentant attitude…allowed him to see the need to call out to him for one last surge of strength. The strength he had lost in shaving his head… began a new search in prayer. His self-seeking goals of pleasure and happiness became goals of holy zeal to give glory to the one God that controlled all things. I love the way Matthew Henry put it.  He said… “His afflictions brought him to deep repentance.  His physical weakness allowed God to renew his spirit.  Such is the heart of every true Christian… becoming more humble…watchful… circumspect… more simple in their dependence on God.

I am watching this basic principle of God work in my community as we begin to assess the deep losses of the wildfires that God allowed to ravage our Smokey Mountains last week.  The loss of material things…the loss of life…the visual devastation that one sees as they trek into the worst hit areas bring a empathy…a sense of deep humility to the true Christians heart. It put the most important things back in the proper order … causing us to cry out to God for comfort…for provision…for strength just as Sampson did.

It is my prayer that many who never knew the one true God…Emanuel….the Prince Of Peace…the Jesus who came to Earth as a baby to die on a cross for our sins…would learn of his power to save us from the certain death we deserve. It is also my prayer that God would use every tiny bit of sadness and destruction to his glory…especially in transforming the lukewarm Christians of my town into ones more dependent on him.

Father…thank you for the reminder that my power…my hope…my strength is in you.  Forgive me for the times that I have let the world detract me from your pure will for my life.  Allow the empathy I feel for the people of my town to cause a deep repentance in my heart.  Allow a humility in my heart that fuels anew the flame of service and generates a deep passion to draw closer to you than ever… so you can use me to do your perfect will. Amen.

God Has The Power To Regrow Our Faith

Judges 16:21-22 - Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain in the prison.  But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

Samson had let a woman entice him into a deep relationship.  It was so deep that he fell prey to her persistent questions about where his strength lay.  He was so overcome by his infatuation with her…he had no clue she was working for the enemy. He gave her the secret… she shaved his hair…and in no time the Philistines captured him. He became their servant…constantly grinding grain in heavy bronze shackles in the prison they held him in.

The phrase …began to grow again…caught in in my spirit as I read it….so I let myself stop mid chapter. It spoke strength to me in a time when my hometown is grieving heavily for the loss of so many things...most of all the 13 people God has allowed to pass to the other side of this earthly existence.

Leaders of our town our using phrases like “mountain strong’… to describe the same thing God did for Sampson.  Even though he lost his power…he still had the possibility of growing back the hair that gave him his strength. Sampson may have lost his resolve and fell to earthly temptations…but he did not lose the God that gave him his strength.

One other thought was planted as I read Matthew Henry’s commentary.  He said…”Oh that all who indulge in sin would see themselves surrounded and marked for ruin. The sounder they sleep the more secure they feel…and the greater the danger.”  The Bible clearly says in Romans 3:23 that all of us are sinners. Perhaps one reason God allowed Sampson to fall…and our town to go through such a devastating tragedy…is to keep him and us from being too complacent.

Father…thank you for the reminder that sin can lead to destruction…and only you have the power to regrow our faith after a fall or deep trial.  Forgive me for the times that I have allowed sin to remain in my life because I have let something here on Earth draw me away from you.  Help me to use this reminder to deepen my faith…to humble myself and pray…to listen closely to the servant tasks you need me to do for you to show your love to all who are hurting in this troubled world.  Amen. 

God Has The Power We Need To Renew Our Heaviest Spirits

Judges 15:19 - Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived. So the spring was called En Hakkore, and it is still there in Lehi.

God had used the grief and frustration of Sampson to fuel his desire to destroy the Philistines. He had used foxes…torches tied into their tails…to destroy some of their land…and the jawbone of a donkey to fight and kill 1000 more of the Philistine army. The experience was so exhausting that he cried out to God in exhaustion and thirst. God heard his cry and opened up a hollow and delivered the water he needed so that his spirit could revive and renew to continue God’s will for his life…hard as it must have been for him.

I needed the great reminder this morning as my mind tries to process a myriad of emotions from the devastating wildfires that destroyed much of my county…that God is the one who can sustain us and revive us when life beats us down. I was spared damage…but as the sun rises each day and rescue teams are able to get into the worst areas….new reports of damage…injuries… and death are brought to light. I am sure that many of us have cried out to God in the last few days…I know my personal prayer Monday night was simply for rain.

As the rain fell all day Wednesday…my spirit would fill with a new sense of comfort from the loss around me.  I was able to pray with many at our church food ministry…one who had lost her job because the business she worked at burned completely. I even used some of my time to heat up chili to serve to the National Guardsmen who have come to aid the many firefighters…police…and other emergency crews working around the clock. But it was the music from practicing our church’s living Christmas tree production scheduled for Sunday night and Monday night that lifted my spirts the most.

As I read this scripture last night ...it was clear that God was slowly answering the cries of all of us that are hurting from this tragedy. He is opening a hollow within each heart of this town that loves him….and pouring out his pure love to the ones that are hurting the most. He will revive every spirit that is downtrodden.  He will lift us up like eagles to rebuild…to care of others….to use the resources he has already planted in this area…deepening our relationships with each other and with him.

Thank you father for the reminder that you are our source of help and strength. Forgive me for the times that I have taken for granted you great care and kept your love all to myself.  Help me to listen closely to you so I will know exactly how to share your love with others as our town rebuilds.  Reveal to me all theways I can help others that are hurting so much.  Amen.

God Works All To The Good Of Those That Love Him

Judges 14:3-4 - His father and mother replied, “Isn’t there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me. She’s the right one for me.” (His parents did not know that this was from the Lord, who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines; for at that time they were ruling over Israel.)

Samson had his eye on a wife…but his parents did not approve of the Philistine woman. They wanted him to embrace the holy calling on his life and marry a woman of Israelite descent. But Samson was set on this woman that pleased his eye…and insisted they do what he wanted. It’s the next bit of the verse that catches my attention the most though…the part where God was planning to use his seemingly bad choice to begin a move against these people that held the Israelites captive.

It is a very clear example of how God uses all our choices…good or bad to his good and glory.  It is a reminder that sometimes God allows our flesh to make choices that he knows he can use for good at some point in our life. Romans 8:28 is the New Testament promise that confirms it.  It says… ^“ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Truth is…we are all born with a purpose. Some of us invite God into our hearts and embrace it…others live their whole life without ever knowing what wonderful thing he had planned for us. I admit that even though I know God…and try my best some days to get it right… I am still weak like Sampson…messing up more than I get it right.

I needed the reminder this morning… that even when I mess up…God can use my mistake to work some good in the world. I may not always understand it…but the promise of this great fact encourages me to repent quicker… forgive myself when I realize what I have done…so his grace and mercy can take over and give my mess up purpose in his bigger plan.

Father...thank you for the reminder that you love me even when I mess up.  Forgive me for the times that I forget that you are able to use even the choices I make with my weak flesh to your good.  Help me to realize this promise with each sin you convict me of…so that you can begin to work it to the good of all that love you sooner.  Amen.

Let Thanksgiving Occur Every Day...Every Moment

Judges 13:18-20 - He replied, “Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding.” Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the Lord. And the Lord did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched:  As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground.

This story in Judges is just one example of God’s ability to do supernatural things.  This couple…who were barren for whatever reason…was first blessed with a visit from an angel.  God was blessing them with their hearts desire…but they needed to prepare him from conception to be one of God’s special servants. This child would grow up a Nazarite….a person consecrated to God for special service.  They abstained from drinking alcohol in any form…ever cutting their hair…and avoiding situations that might defile their holiness…like being around dead things.

This supernatural visit ended with a rare sight.  This man...who appeared to give them the news…wasn’t any ordinary man.  They got to watch him rise to heaven within the flame of the burnt offering they offered… to thank God for his great gift. They were so full of gratitude…praise and so overcome with humility that they fell to their knees at the sight.

I can’t say that I have ever experienced such a sight…or felt the deep gratitude that they did. I needed the reminder that God’s good gifts should bring us to our knees occasionally in humble adoration and thankfulness. I am so guilty of taking all that God has done for me for granted…allowing a simple whispering of praise suffice …justifying my weak praise with earthly excuses that must disappoint God very much.

We took the time yesterday to celebrate a day  called Thanksgiving….but as the sun rises on what is traditionally black Friday…people have already let the world trap them in the commercial season of Christmas. Decorations have donned the isles of stores since early October…but today will set new records of spending all over the world. I for one have never liked fighting the crowd to shop on this day….I choose to change out my fall decorations and put up my Christmas tree instead.

This story reminds me to take more moments out of my day to thank God for all I already have…to extend my Thanksgiving of turkey…family fellowship…and extra thoughts of praise for the God who allows it …into a full year of praise for what he has done.  Perhaps I will get to witness one of his rare supernatural events…and feel the fullness of heart that these two parents felt with their precious gift of life.

Father…thank you for the reminder that you deserve our praise and thanksgiving every day….every moment.  Forgive me for the times that I have allowed the world to trap me in its mad cycle of wants and spending on things that do not last. Help me to fill my heart with thoughts of you….with your word…with service in your kingdom…so more people can join me when we all rise to meet you in heaven someday.  Bring me to my knees more often…and teach me how to show the deepest gratitude and praise these two parents showed for the promise of a child in their life.  Amen.

Guard Your heart Against Pride And Envy

Judges 12:1-3 - The Ephraimite forces were called out, and they crossed over to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, “Why did you go to fight the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? We’re going to burn down your house over your head.” Jephthah answered, “I and my people were engaged in a great struggle with the Ammonites, and although I called, you didn’t save me out of their hands.

The men of Ephraim told Jephthah that they were upset with him for not calling them to help him fight the Ammonites.  Although what they really were upset about was the fact that Jephthah had been handed a glorious victory…which they would receive no credit for. They were so eaten up by envy and pride that they threatened to burn his house down.

Jephthah was protected by God as they crossed the Jordan to hurt him... being given the support of the Gealeadites …who knew the dialect limitations of the Ephraimites. They killed each one that tried to cross and cause Jephthah harm… so he could continue as judge for the Israelites for 6 years.

It is a great reminder to me of how important it is to guard your heart and mind from self-driven pride and envy. They creep into your heart and puff up your mind to believe that it is better than others…that it deserves more than it is given…that life is more about satisfying selfish needs instead of walking in God’s pure and perfect will.

God teaches the opposite…that humility leads to a deeper understanding of what God created us as creatures in his likeness. Humility teaches our heat and mind that the less we think of our own worth… the more God can use us to further his kingdom. Paul says it better than I in 2 Corinthians 12:9.. “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.” Paul using the very worlds of Christ… who defeated satan and claimed victory over death.

I admit that pride is one of the hardest things to conquer in an earthly life. I have struggled with it for my entire 58 years.  The world…the time God even allows us to live in…the sinful nature of man naturally gravitates to puff themselves up…to collect things…..to think that the more we have the more blessed we are. I needed a new reminder to rely on God for everything…and give him credit for everything…so he can begin to instill in me his love that is totally driven by giving to others.

Father…thank you for the reminder that pride and envy are not part of your plan for me.  Forgive me for the times that I have allowed the world….the situation I am in…or the people around me to trick me into thinking better of myself than I deserve.  Help me to constantly fight against any form of pride and envy from setting up even a temporary residence in my heart.  Help me to stay so focused and centered on you that I hear your will before the world has a chance to whisper any other options in my ear.  Amen.