Judges 11:1-2

Good morning, y'all!

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Judges 11:1-2

Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, but he was the son of a harlot; and Gilead begot Jephthah. Gilead's wife bore sons; and when his wife's sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out, and said to him, "You shall have no inheritance in our father's house, for you are the son of another woman."

 

Jephthah apparently has two aspects to his identity: he is a mighty man of valor, and he's an "illegitimate" son born out of wedlock. Here's what is interesting: his brothers (or half-brothers) throw him out because he's "the son of another woman" but God uses him to deliver Israel because he is "a mighty man of valor" (read the rest of Judges 11!). So tell me--which one mattered most? What his half-brothers called him, or what God knew him to be? When Jephthah walked in his God-given identity, rather than his man-made label, he did great things. What great things might God be calling you to?

 

Father, help me to see and walk in the identity, the destiny that You have for me!

 

May the Lord richly bless you as you walk in the identity He has given you!

 

Dancing in the rain,
Haley "SunShine" Miller
"Exhort one another daily while it is called 'Today'" (Hebrews 3:13)
Mornin' SunShine Website

Judges 4:14-16

Good morning, everyone! :)

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Judges 4:14-16

Then Deborah said to Barak, "Up! For this is the day in which the LORD has delivered Sisera into your hand. Has not the LORD gone out before you?" So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him. And the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera alighted from his chariot and fled away on foot. But Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth Hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left.

 

Deborah told Barak that the Lord "has delivered Sisera into your hand". The victory was already theirs! The Lord had already given it to them. And it was the Lord who "routed Sisera and all his chariots with the edge of the sword". However, Barak and the Israelite army still had to go up and take the victory that the Lord had given them. They couldn't just sit back and say, "Praise the Lord! He's given us the victory!" while still living in bondage to Sisera. Yet, although we may chuckle at the picture that brings to mind, to a great extent that is what the church in general is doing today. God has given us victory over sin; a victory that was won on Calvary. But in order to live in the reality of that victory, we've got to get up, fight in the Lord's strength, and take it!

 

Father, give me the courage and the strength to stand for You, to fight in the battles You lay out before me, and to take the victory You have already won in my life!

 

May the Lord richly bless you as you walk in the victory He has given you!

 

Dancing in the rain,
Haley "SunShine" Miller
"Exhort one another daily while it is called 'Today'" (Hebrews 3:13)
Mornin' SunShine Website

Romans 8:5-8

Hey, y'all! :D

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Romans 8:5-8
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

This verse makes the choice sound so easy--who in the world would choose death over life and peace?! But so often, we do, mostly just because we don't make a conscious choice toward being "spiritually minded". I like the way the Good News Bible translates this verse: "To be controlled by human nature results in death; to be controlled by the Spirit results in life and peace." Living life ruled by the flesh (or "human nature") is easy, it's what comes naturally. However, it's also deadly. If we want "life and peace", we must continually choose to be controlled by the Spirit. So what does a life controlled by the Spirit look like? Well....

• If the carnal mind is enmity against God, that insinuates that the spiritual mind is friends with God. Jesus said that we become His friends by following His commandments, and walking in the revelation that He gives of His Father (God) and His will. (You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. John 15:14-15)
• If the carnal mind is not subject to the law of God, it is safe to conclude that the spiritual mind is subject to the law of God. Someone who is "spiritually minded" chooses on a daily basis to lay down their own will and yield to the word and will of God.
• If those who are in the flesh cannot please God, then those who are in the Spirit can please God. How do we please God? Well, we know that we must have faith--"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6) Beyond that, a great way to learn ways to please Him is to study the lives of those in Scripture who "pleased God". Enoch, Noah, Abraham, David, and many others are said to have pleased God. (Hebrews 11, the "hall of faith", is a great place to start!)

Father, help me to live a life controlled by the Spirit, choosing purposefully and continually to yield to You!

May the Lord richly bless you as you live a life controlled by the Spirit!

Dancing in the rain,
Haley "SunShine" Miller
"Exhort one another daily while it is called 'Today'" (Hebrews 3:13)
Mornin' SunShine Website