Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Judges, Chapters 13-15 … To study these chapters, go to this link -
============
Highlight Reference Passage : Judges 13: 1-5 … 1 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, so the LORD delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years. … 2 A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was childless, unable to give birth. 3 The angel of the LORD appeared to her and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. 4 Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean. 5 You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”
My Journal for Today: In the three chapters in Judges (Chapters 13-15) in my assigned chronological read today, we begin to see the life of the Judge, Samson, unfold. And as you read above at the outset of Chapter 13, Samson was to be born of a barren couple, Manoah and his wife; and he was to be set aside by God as a Nazirite, which was somewhat of a spiritual role of honor among the Israelites. Nazirites were Israelites who made a covenant to God and before the people never to cut their hair, touch a dead body, or consume alcohol; and for this they were viewed as set-apart and empowered by God in their lives. Samson’s parents had a visitation from the Angel of the Lord (likely Christ); and they made the lifetime vow for their son for him to be a Nazirite; and the Lord granted them favor with the son they named “Samson.”
Samson’s life is a study in spiritual contrast: spiritual strength versus fleshly weakness; and I charge the readers with me to read through these chapters today, as I have, to be taught or reminded of the lessons we learn when spiritual vows are broken and a man of God becomes, from his [or her] choices, weakened by ungodly breaches into disobedience.
When Samson, who was up against the Philistines in those days, … fierce warriors whom God had allowed to subjugate God’s people. The Philistines were warriors coming into the iron-age; and they knew how to forge weapons out of iron, a new technology of the day. But Samson had the power of the living God on his side; and as long as he surrendered, in obedience, to His Lord’s power, he could be – and was – victorious over these iron-age Philistine warriors.
And in reading about Samson, I am reminded from the New Testament (from 1st John 4: 4) that our God, Who now resides in the hearts of God’s chosen ones, is always stronger that the forces of our spiritual enemies; and as long as we’re fortified by obedience and surrender to God, we can be victorious over even the most powerful spiritual enemies. This is also the lesson of Paul in Ephesians 6: 10-20, where we now are given all the spiritual weapons we need to be victorious. And above all we’re given the victory which Christ won on the cross to defeat all those who would come against us. Samson didn’t have the latter advantage; but he did have the same Spirit of God to give him victory IF he was willing to be obedient to God.
But Samson is a living example of what happens when we allow our flesh and pride get in the way of our humble surrender to God’s power, working through our obedience to Him. Samson yielded to the flesh; and when he did, breaking the vows he had on his life as a Nazirite, he became spiritually, and even physically, impotent before the guile and power of the Philistines, especially the temptress, Delilah, whom we’ll be reading about tomorrow in upcoming chapters of Judges.
I pray we all take in this lesson of the “Samsonite baggage, “ as I’m calling this journal entry today. We cannot carry the baggage of disobedience around as Christians and expect God to pour His enabling and empowering grace into our lives to allow us to go up against our spiritual enemies. When we are disobedient to the vows we make to the Lordship of Christ, and we carry the baggage of self and the flesh around in our lives; and we will be too burdened with self to be empowered by our Savior’s grace.
Yes, God’s grace is always more powerful than our selves; but unfortunately, God, as He did with Samson, has given us the gift of free-will as well as offering His gift of sanctifying and empowering grace. So, we can choose to carry the burdening load of Samsonite-like disobedience; or we can throw off that baggage, and walk free and powerfully wearing the full armor of God, … unburdened by our own sin choices.
As I always say to myself … as I will today … my choice!
My Prayer Today: … Lord, help me to be in surrender mode to Your Spirit and unburdened by the baggage of selfishness. Amen
Showing posts with label Spirit power. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spirit power. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 03, 2012
Monday, September 05, 2011
September 5, 2011 … Need for the Promise
Passage of the Day: John 16: 13 … But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come.
My Journal for Today: Here’s an image presented by John MacArthur in his Strength for Today devotional for this date. … Imagine a really “snazzy” car, sitting on a showroom floor. It looks great; but it has a damaged engine, making it essentially useless as an automobile.
It’s an apt word picture of any Christian (or the church collectively) who is not surrendered to the Holy Spirit. I could be an orthodox, and even highly disciplined Christian, … one who lives rigorously close to God’s commands; but without being totally dependent upon God’s Spirit, I would be as worthless as the beautifully appointed car with a useless engine. And my ineffectiveness as a Christian would express itself as impotence of witness and in personal ministry for God’s glory. God cannot get the glory for a pretty car that can’t go anywhere because of a useless engine.
However, the opposite is true as well. Imagine an old jalopy, looking very broken-down on the outside; but having a highly-tuned and an extremely high-powered engine, capable of driving that old, broken, chassis at very high speeds.
An empowered witness for God could be like a Billy Sunday, who was certainly unpolished, and maybe even at times crude. But Billy Sunday was a man who was totally sold out to Jesus and filled by God’s Spirit; and in his day, the Holy Spirit empowered this highly charged, but very unorthodox, man for God’s mission and ministry with thousands saved by Sunday’s highly unpolished, but effective, outreach for Christ. To return to the auto word picture, Bill Sunday was a beat up old car; but he had an engine which was highly tuned and energized for speed.
Such witnesses for Christ are cut in the mold of Acts 1: 8 [hopefully you have that one memorized! - But, linked here in NIV]. We read of such a one when we read of the newly energized Apostle Peter in Acts, chapters 1 & 2. Here is the big, foot-in-the-mouth fisherman, … the one who had almost crashed and burned in his devotion to Jesus before Christ’s ascension; … but early in Acts, Peter becomes fully surrendered and sold-out to God’s Spirit; and he is used as God’s candle to ignite the Church, which, in turn, would light up the world for Christ.
We have a lot of innovative programs and ministries in today’s seeker-friendly Christian world. However, without a total reliance on God’s empowering Spirit, these ministry programs are merely “Christian” window dressing, which can do little for God’s Kingdom. They are fancy autos with impotent engines. What we need, however, are Christians, like those in Acts 1 & 2, … Christians who are fully charged for action and speed by God’s Spirit. They don’t have to look good; but their engines have to be highly-tuned by God for what they were designed to do … go fast and win the race for Christ in this world.
My Prayer Today: I move, Lord, when You give me the power! Amen
My Journal for Today: Here’s an image presented by John MacArthur in his Strength for Today devotional for this date. … Imagine a really “snazzy” car, sitting on a showroom floor. It looks great; but it has a damaged engine, making it essentially useless as an automobile.
It’s an apt word picture of any Christian (or the church collectively) who is not surrendered to the Holy Spirit. I could be an orthodox, and even highly disciplined Christian, … one who lives rigorously close to God’s commands; but without being totally dependent upon God’s Spirit, I would be as worthless as the beautifully appointed car with a useless engine. And my ineffectiveness as a Christian would express itself as impotence of witness and in personal ministry for God’s glory. God cannot get the glory for a pretty car that can’t go anywhere because of a useless engine.
However, the opposite is true as well. Imagine an old jalopy, looking very broken-down on the outside; but having a highly-tuned and an extremely high-powered engine, capable of driving that old, broken, chassis at very high speeds.
An empowered witness for God could be like a Billy Sunday, who was certainly unpolished, and maybe even at times crude. But Billy Sunday was a man who was totally sold out to Jesus and filled by God’s Spirit; and in his day, the Holy Spirit empowered this highly charged, but very unorthodox, man for God’s mission and ministry with thousands saved by Sunday’s highly unpolished, but effective, outreach for Christ. To return to the auto word picture, Bill Sunday was a beat up old car; but he had an engine which was highly tuned and energized for speed.
Such witnesses for Christ are cut in the mold of Acts 1: 8 [hopefully you have that one memorized! - But, linked here in NIV]. We read of such a one when we read of the newly energized Apostle Peter in Acts, chapters 1 & 2. Here is the big, foot-in-the-mouth fisherman, … the one who had almost crashed and burned in his devotion to Jesus before Christ’s ascension; … but early in Acts, Peter becomes fully surrendered and sold-out to God’s Spirit; and he is used as God’s candle to ignite the Church, which, in turn, would light up the world for Christ.
We have a lot of innovative programs and ministries in today’s seeker-friendly Christian world. However, without a total reliance on God’s empowering Spirit, these ministry programs are merely “Christian” window dressing, which can do little for God’s Kingdom. They are fancy autos with impotent engines. What we need, however, are Christians, like those in Acts 1 & 2, … Christians who are fully charged for action and speed by God’s Spirit. They don’t have to look good; but their engines have to be highly-tuned by God for what they were designed to do … go fast and win the race for Christ in this world.
My Prayer Today: I move, Lord, when You give me the power! Amen
Monday, May 23, 2011
May 23, 2011 … Stephen: Grace & Serenity in Suffering
Passage of the Day: Acts 6: 5a and Acts 6: 8a … 5a … Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; … 8a … Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, …
My Journal for Today: In these past days [see my devotional blogs], I’ve (we’ve) been looking at what it takes to live as a Christian in this caldron of world opposition and/or personal tribulation. And when it comes to having what it takes, the biblical model of Stephen, the first recorded Christian martyr, is a good one to put before Christians. As we see in our two text passages for today, Stephen was described by Luke, the Author of Acts, as “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit [Acts 6: 5a]” and one “full of God’s grace and power. [Acts 6: 8a].” And Stephen certainly demonstrated all of these character traits when he witnessed strongly for Christ to the Sanhedrin and then became the first biblically recorded Christian martyr (see Acts 7). Toward the end of that chapter we see Stephen’s resolve when he, while being stoned to death, was willing and able to mimic his Savior and forgive his fellow Jews who were stoning him to death [see Acts 7: 60].
SCRIPTURE: Acts 7: 60 … Then he [Stephen] fell on his knees [while being stoned] and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.
In Stephen we see what it takes for Christians to be able to handle even the most extreme trials with the character of Christ being lived out in the believer. Stephen’s belief became Stephen’s life. Stephen’s worship of his Lord became his life; and that is what it takes for any of us who are challenged by this world or our own flesh … yes, even to the point of opposition or death.
I may never be called upon to witness to my faith in the way of Stephen or the way Cassie Bernall did at Columbine High School, where a disturbed young man held a gun to her head and asked if she was a Christian. Without hesitating, she quietly proclaimed, “Yes;” and with that witness of faith, she was assassinated by that deranged teenager. When any Christian is challenged in the pubic arena, we need to call upon the same strength of character which martyrs like Stephen and Cassie Bernall exhibited. And we can, because we, being born-again Christians, have the same Holy Spirit in our hearts as did these strong witnesses for Christ. The truth of the promises of 2nd Cor. 12: 9 and 1st Cor. 10: 13, which carried the day for Cassie and Stephen, carry the day for me [and you]. Yes, I am weak; but my God is strong; and He is faithful to never allow me into any situation where, with His help/strength, I cannot be triumphant in His Name.
Are we ready to be Christ’s light in a dark world today? Are we ready to call up the grace and strength of a Stephen should we face the fiery trials of a hostile world and a weak flesh today? To that end … I pray …
My Prayer Today: O Lord, give me Your grace to witness in the world as did Stephen. Amen
My Journal for Today: In these past days [see my devotional blogs], I’ve (we’ve) been looking at what it takes to live as a Christian in this caldron of world opposition and/or personal tribulation. And when it comes to having what it takes, the biblical model of Stephen, the first recorded Christian martyr, is a good one to put before Christians. As we see in our two text passages for today, Stephen was described by Luke, the Author of Acts, as “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit [Acts 6: 5a]” and one “full of God’s grace and power. [Acts 6: 8a].” And Stephen certainly demonstrated all of these character traits when he witnessed strongly for Christ to the Sanhedrin and then became the first biblically recorded Christian martyr (see Acts 7). Toward the end of that chapter we see Stephen’s resolve when he, while being stoned to death, was willing and able to mimic his Savior and forgive his fellow Jews who were stoning him to death [see Acts 7: 60].
SCRIPTURE: Acts 7: 60 … Then he [Stephen] fell on his knees [while being stoned] and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.
In Stephen we see what it takes for Christians to be able to handle even the most extreme trials with the character of Christ being lived out in the believer. Stephen’s belief became Stephen’s life. Stephen’s worship of his Lord became his life; and that is what it takes for any of us who are challenged by this world or our own flesh … yes, even to the point of opposition or death.
I may never be called upon to witness to my faith in the way of Stephen or the way Cassie Bernall did at Columbine High School, where a disturbed young man held a gun to her head and asked if she was a Christian. Without hesitating, she quietly proclaimed, “Yes;” and with that witness of faith, she was assassinated by that deranged teenager. When any Christian is challenged in the pubic arena, we need to call upon the same strength of character which martyrs like Stephen and Cassie Bernall exhibited. And we can, because we, being born-again Christians, have the same Holy Spirit in our hearts as did these strong witnesses for Christ. The truth of the promises of 2nd Cor. 12: 9 and 1st Cor. 10: 13, which carried the day for Cassie and Stephen, carry the day for me [and you]. Yes, I am weak; but my God is strong; and He is faithful to never allow me into any situation where, with His help/strength, I cannot be triumphant in His Name.
Are we ready to be Christ’s light in a dark world today? Are we ready to call up the grace and strength of a Stephen should we face the fiery trials of a hostile world and a weak flesh today? To that end … I pray …
My Prayer Today: O Lord, give me Your grace to witness in the world as did Stephen. Amen
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
