Judges 6:11-12

Good morning, everyone! :)

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Judges 6:11-12

Now the Angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, "The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!"

 

These verses always make me smile. Gideon is hiding out in the winepress in fear of the Midianites, and the angel calls him "you mighty man of valor!" :) Throughout the rest of Judges 6, Gideon does some other things that are not really very mighty-man-of-valor-ish. He tries to weasel out of being called by explaining that he is the least of a poor family from a small tribe. He questions whether this call is even from God and has to have it proven to him (by fire from heaven consuming his offering). He obeys God's first command to him by night for fear of death. Then he tests God's calling again with the whole fleece thing--twice! Yet God never loses patience with him because through it all, Gideon is taking little baby steps toward becoming what God has called him all along--a mighty man of valor.

 

Father, give me Your perspective; Your view of who I am to be. You called Gideon a mighty man of valor when he was still hiding out in fear. What do You call me?

 

May the Lord richly bless you as you move forward in becoming who He says you are!

 

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

Judges 5:11

Hey, y'all!

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Judges 5:11

They that are delivered from the noise of archers in the places of drawing water, there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the LORD, even the righteous acts toward the inhabitants of His villages in Israel. Then shall the people of the LORD go down to the gates.

 

Those who have been delivered love to talk about what the Lord has done. They "rehearse" (or retell) over and over the stories of how He has worked in their lives; whether in common every day places (such as drawing water at the well), or in the "important" places (the gates of the city). His righteous works are the favorite theme of their conversation!

 

Father, may Your works be the theme of my thoughts and my words!

 

May the Lord bless you richly as you "rehearse" His righteous acts!

 

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

Judges 3:5-7

Mornin', y'all! :)

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Judges 3:5-7

Thus the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons; and they served their gods. So the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God, and served the Baals and Asherahs.

 

The backslide of the nation of Israel begins when they start developing close relationships with the world around them. As they intermarried with the other nations, they were drawn away from the LORD. Next thing they know, they're in captivity, slaves to a foreign king because they would not walk the high road God had called them to walk.

We are supposed to be different, separate, set apart! But so many times, we buy into the world's philosophies, or their value system, or their culture or traditions. We are drawn away from the one true God because we get too close and cozy with the world. It may be tough to find the balance between being "in the world" but not "of the world", yet it is crucial that we do find it and start carrying ourselves and living as people set apart for God.

And before anybody points out to me that Jesus kept company with sinners...yes, He ate with the tax collectors and the outcasts and the sinners, but He did not form close relationships with unrepentant sinners. And that is the big difference.

 

Father, help me to stay as close as possible to You, not seeing how close I can get to the line between Your way and the world's way.

 

May the Lord richly bless you as You seek to stay close to Him!

 

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

Judges 2:16-19

Hey, y'all, happy Wednesday! :)

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Judges 2:16-19

Nevertheless, the LORD raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them. Yet they would not listen to their judges, but they played the harlot with other gods, and bowed down  to them. They turned quickly from the way in which their fathers walked, in obeying the commandments of the LORD; they did not do so. And when the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed and harassed them. And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they reverted and behaved more corruptly than their fathers, by following other gods, to serve them and bow down to them. They did not cease from their own doings nor from their stubborn way.

 

These verses summarize the rest of the book of Judges--the people would wander off after other gods, God would bring judgment in the form of captivity, they would cry out to the Lord, He would raise up a deliverer, they would follow the Lord for a while, then they would wander off after other gods....over and over again. Actually, come to think of it, this sums up most of the Bible and basically the history of mankind. The wandering propensities of the human race, the repetitive mercy and redemptive grace of the Lord--that's the story of everyone's life. Reading passages like this, seeing that God still loved His people even when they wandered, and He continually sought to bring them back into a relationship with Himself; it inspires hope--no matter how far or how often you've run away, God's grace is still enough and His heart still longs after you. It also inspires obedience--knowing how much He loves me, I will strive to stay close to Him!

 

Father, how grateful I am that You never give up on Your people! Thank You for the many times You have drawn me back to Your side. Help me to stay close to You, giving up my own "stubborn way" to simply follow You!

 

May the Lord richly bless you as you walk with Him!

 

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

Judges 1:1-3

Good afternoon, everybody! :)

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Judges 1:1-3
Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, "Who shall be first to go up for us against the Canaanites to fight against them?" And the LORD said, "Judah shall go up. Indeed I have delivered the land into his hand." So Judah said to Simeon his brother, "Come up with me to my allotted territory, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I will likewise go with you to your allotted territory." And Simeon went with him.

These verses first caught my attention because of the meaning of the name "Judah". Judah means "celebrated", it comes from a root word meaning to revere or worship (with extended hands). I thought it interesting that the Lord would decree that "worship" should lead the way to conquering the land. Then Judah enlists the aid of Simeon, so I had to go look up that name, too. Simeon means "hearing", and its root word means to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.). These two together--worship and hearing--are anointed by God to lead Israel to victory over the Canaanites. And in our lives today, our victory will be found when we turn our eyes and ears to worshipping the Lord and listening to--and obeying--His word.

Father, help me to keep my eyes on You and my ears open to Your voice; only as I worship You will I have victory in my life!

May the Lord richly bless you with victory as you worship Him and heed His word!

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

Deuteronomy 33:27-29

Hello, everyone!

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Deuteronomy 33:27-29
The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy from before you, and will say, 'Destroy!' Then Israel shall dwell in safety, the fountain of Jacob alone, in a land of grain and new wine; His heavens shall also drop dew. Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD, the shield of your help and the sword of your majesty! Your enemies shall submit to you, and you shall tread down their high places.

We are "a people saved by the LORD", and that places us in a position of privilege. It is a position of being guarded, defended and provided for by the Almighty Eternal God, the unchanging Creator of the universe. There are two sides to this position--it is a place of rest ("the eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms") and it is a place of power in battle ("your enemies shall submit to you, and you shall tread down their high places"). We can't take the high places without engaging in battle, yet it is only in the LORD that we have any authority or power to obtain victory--but in Him, that victory is assured!

Father, You are so great and so awesome; thank You for being my place of refuge when I need rest, and my assurance of victory in battle! Help me to live fully in the position of one who is saved by the LORD!

May the Lord bless you richly as fill the place of one who is saved by the LORD!

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

Deuteronomy 32:15, 18

Happy Wednesday, y'all! :)

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Deuteronomy 32:15, 18
But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked; you grew fat, you grew thick, you are obese! Then he forsook God who made him, and scornfully esteemed the Rock of his salvation...of the Rock who begot you, you are unmindful, and have forgotten the God who fathered you.

That "scornfully esteemed" phrase is also translated "lightly esteemed" in other versions. It's just one word in Hebrew, and it means "to wilt; generally to fall away, fail, faint; causatively to despise, disgrace". What do you have to do for a plant to begin to wilt? Absolutely nothing! A plant requires cultivation in order to even stay alive, much less bloom and flourish. Relationships are the same way--and our relationship with God is no different. When we stop cultivating our reverence--our estimation of God's value--it dies. We pursue what we value. Yet so often, we take the Giver of life for granted. The natural tendency of our sinful flesh is to forget God when life is going good; we become "undmindful" of Him, our focus shifts to other things. Yet it is essential that we keep Him in the center of our lives! We need to get a revelation of the greatness of our God and hold Him in the highest esteem.

Father, please forgive me for the times I've "lightly esteemed" You! Help me to see, more every day, how great You are and to keep my eyes on You.

May the Lord richly bless you with a fresh glimpse of His greatness!

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