datethewordtest

Tag: Judges

  • Verse to DATE the Word on August 4 (8/4) is Judges 8:4

    “When Gideon came to the Jordan, he and the three hundred men who
    were with him crossed over, exhausted but still in pursuit. – Judges 8:4

    EXHAUSTED YET ENDURING!

    God had called Gideon to deliver Israel and after culling the army from 32,000 to 300 the battles have begun.  Judges 7:23 says, ” And the men of Israel gathered together from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh, and pursued the Midianites.”   As chapter 7 wraps up two of the princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb are captured and executed. But there are more Midianites to battle, specifically Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.  Our verse to DATE, Judges 8:4, tells us about the start of their pursuit of these two kings.

    In Judges 8:4 I am drawn to the word “EXHAUSTED” and the words “BUT STILL IN PURSUIT.” The word EXHAUSTED and the phrase BUT STILL IN PURSUIT should challenge us as well as teach us about what it takes to truly be successful.  Life is difficult.  Work is hard.  Our days are full, overflowing with demand. The pressure to succeed at work, home, and/or ministry, is at times unbearable.  It is EXHAUSTING.  There are times we end the day EXHAUSTED and then start the next day EXHAUSTED.  Life is tough!  And then there come those moments of wanting to QUIT.   

    Yet we look at Judges 8:4 and we see 300 men who while EXHAUSTED, ENDURED.  That is how I sum up “BUT STILL IN PURSUIT.”  They had the character quality of ENDURANCE!  While being EXHAUSTED, tired and worn out, completely drained they were ENDURING.  Though EXHAUSTED they were men of ENDURANCE.  

  • Verse to DATE the Word on June 12 (6/12) is Judges 6:12

    “And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him (Gideon), and said to him,
    “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!” – Judges 6:12
    God’s Greatest and Best Promise 

    The story of Gideon is a very compelling story to consider as God will take the ordinary and do extraordinary things with him. If we really probe into the early life of Gideon, we might even say that God took a person who was less than ordinary and did the extraordinary.  We know that Gideon himself did not think he had what it took to be used by God and we know that family and friends did not see much in him.  But GOD did see something in Gideon, seeing more than Gideon saw in himself and more than others saw in him.  While Gideon, nor friends, or family, would have picked Gideon for a top assignment, God picked him. And God used him, using him to a level in which Gideon lived up to the name God gave him, a mighty man of valor!

    Maybe you are like Gideon as you look at yourself and as you evaluate yourself, comparing yourself to others and you don’t see how you can truly make a difference for the Lord.  Maybe you hear the voices in the back of your head of statements made by others that cause you to believe YOU WILL NEVER AMOUNT TO ANYTHING.  And then it seems out of nowhere God comes in and calls you to do what seems impossible.  What will you do with His call?  Do you listen to yourself?  Do you listen to others?  Or do you LISTEN TO GOD and what He is saying?

    Over the years of my ministry, I have had to opportunity to work with so many who immediately said “I can’t” to God’s calling.  As I hear their “I can’t” I point them to the story of Gideon and give them Judges 6:12. In this verse two life-changing statements are made to Gideon.  It is in this verse that God defines Gideon.  Gideon is in the sight of God a mighty man of valor.  

    God has always seen more in a person than the person sees in themselves!

    It is in this verse that God gives Gideon the greatest and best promise Gideon would need as He tells Gideon “I am with you.”  God promised Gideon His presence.  

    When we speak of God’s promises, I believe that the greatest and best promise ever is the PROMISE OF HIS PRESENCE!  

    Pause to ponder how those two statements impacted Gideon.
    Ponder hearing “THE LORD IS WITH YOU!”  What do you think that meant to Gideon?
    Ponder hearing an evaluation of being called a MIGHTY MAN OF VALOR!  What do you think that meant to Gideon?

    How does the statement from God “I am with you” impact your life and what God has called you to do?

    Verse to DATE the Word on June 12 (6/12) is Judges 6:12. It says, “And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him (Gideon), and said to him, “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!”

    Continue Strong standing on the promise of promises from God,
    And remember to DATE the Word
  • Verse to DATE the Word on March 31 (3/31) is Judges 3:31

    Verse to DATE the Word on March 31 (3/31) is Judges 3:31

    Our verse to DATE the Word on March 31 (3/31) is Judges 3:31
    Judges 3:31 says, “After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed six hundred men of the Philistines with an ox goad; and he also delivered Israel”

     
    The Unconventional Warrior

    Whether I like it or not and whether you like it or not we are PRONE to COMPARE ourselves to others and in doing so we FIND EXCUSES for WHY WE CAN’T DO SOMETHING FOR GOD!  I don’t know if you have had the experience of the devil whispering in your ear that you should not do something for God because…. The devil’s “because” reasons are numerous, are they not? He likes to remind us of WHO WE ARE NOT.  It could be that you did not come from a Christian home and he tells you that you can’t do something for God because you don’t have the right background.  It could be that you don’t have the right education and the devil likes to remind you that you DON’T know enough to represent God. Our adversary likes to help us drum up excuses for WHY WE CAN’T DO SOMETHING FOR GOD!  

    Well for those times when you are feeling impressed to do something for God, but the devil is trying to convince you that you don’t have what it takes you need to REMEMBER SHAMGAR the UNCONVENTIONAL WARRIOR!  

    You do remember Shamgar, don’t you? He is listed in the book of Judges in chapter 3  I am sure you remember him because after all there is so much written about him IN JUST ONE VERSE. I was sure you would remember him because of who his parents were. You know Anath? Probably not. Then of course, you do remember him in the list of all the judges of Israel, like Gideon and Samson? You are probably scratching your head now as you can’t remember if you saw his name in the list of judges or not.  

    I like Shamgar and I like him because of all the people in the Bible who DID DO GREAT THINGS for God he is so unlikely to have done anything. He is so ordinary that he exemplifies ordinary. He does not have a family legacy or family connections. He may not even be an Israelite. He surely does not possess the tools for warfare. We should question, respectfully, his intelligence in deciding to take on 600 Philistines by himself. What word describes a person who decides to take on 600 warriors by himself?  ??? 

    Shamgar may have been ordinary and he may have had the devil whisper in his ear all the reasons WHY HE COULD NOT DO SOMETHING FOR GOD but he decided to take action. Notice three actions he took as I believe they are three actions you should take to make a difference for God.

    #1. He STARTED WHERE HE WAS. You should start where you are. Bloom where you are planted.
    #2. He USED WHAT HE HAD. Shamgar did not have the best weapons, but he did have an ox goad. Use what you have. It is amazing how God does not need you to have the most expensive and most up-to-date and the shiniest to accomplish great things. David had a slingshot. Moses had a rod. Elijah had a mantle.  
    #3. He DID WHAT HE COULD. He started fighting and killing the Philistines. He got off the sidelines and into the game and did what he could. Do what you can. Step up and get started doing what you can!

    Shamgar may only have a little written about him, but he sure did a lot! His unconventional means brought about a great deliverance for ISRAEL!   

    You, too, can make a difference!  Be like Shamgar!  Start where you are, Use what you have and Do what you can!

    Verse to DATE the Word on March 31 (3/31) is Judges 3:31. It says, “After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed six hundred men of the Philistines with an ox goad; and he also delivered Israel.”

    Continue Strong DOING WHAT YOU CAN!
    And remember to DATE the Word
  • Verse to DATE the Word on January 21 (1/21) is Philippians 1:21

    Verse to DATE the Word on January 21 (1/21) is Philippians 1:21

    Our verse to DATE the Word on January 21 (1/21)
    Some verses to DATE the Word on January 21 (1/21) start with Philippians 1:21 “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
    Our DATE THE WORD approach will be a little different today as I am on a study tour in Israel and as I looked at the various verses that are available to be the verse for the date there are several that connect with Israel, even connecting to some of the things I experienced and saw this very day.  So we will highlight several verses with short thoughts.   

    The first verse is Philippians 1:21.  To ask the Apostle Paul what he was living for in this present world would bring about an immediate answer are you living for CHRIST?  What are you living for?  What goes in the blank when you state that for you to live is ________________.    Is it Christ?  

    Yesterday I was in Bethlehem and part of the tour was to see the living quarters of Jerome.  Jerome came to Bethlehem and did the hard work of translating the Hebrew Bible into Latin and gave us the version called the Latin Vulgate.  In the courtyard was a statue of him and at his feet was a skull.  Immediately questions started coming about why there was a human skull at his feet.  The guide told us it was there because Jerome understood that death was sure to come, and he needed to work with urgency and leave something for future generations.  He needed a symbol, and the skull was a symbol of the transience of human existence.  

    Jerome had a mindset of living every moment for Christ and making a difference that would carry on long after he was in heaven.   How about you? 

    A verse for January 21 (1/21) is Philippians 1:21 “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

    Another verse for January 21 (1/21) is Deuteronomy 1:21 ‘Look, the LORD your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as the LORD God of your fathers has spoken to you; do not fear or be discouraged.’

    Being in Israel has been a reminder of what God told the Israelites to do and how they were not to live in fear nor be discouraged.  Are you stepping out by faith daily to do what God has called you to do?

    Another verse for January 21 (1/21) is Judges 1:21 But the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem; so the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

    Reviewing the history of Israel, one has to acknowledge that they did not do what they were supposed to do and they ended up letting the enemy “hang around.”   A spiritual principle that can be drawn here is to ask if we are letting some temptations hang around.    

    Another verse for January 21 (1/21) is Ruth 1:21. Naomi says,  “I went out full, and the LORD has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?”

    Being in Bethlehem meant we considered the various stories related to Bethlehem and one of the major stories is the story of Ruth. One of the tough verses of the book of Ruth is Ruth 1:21 where Naomi laments that she has come back to Bethlehem EMPTY and her evaluation of her life is God has afflicted her.  Yet knowing the full story we know that Naomi had made a bad evaluation because she did not return empty.  Returning with her was RUTH and Ruth was one of the greatest blessings Naomi would have.   Let us make sure we are evaluating our present circumstances carefully.  Let us not miss the blessings God is putting in our lives!

    Another verse for January 21 (1/21) is Matthew 1:21 “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”

    Being in Bethlehem we were minded why He came and Matthew 1:21 lays out clearly what His purpose was. 
    Matthew 1:21 states it so beautifully, “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”

    On Thursday we were in Nazareth, and we pointed out that by 12 Jesus said that He must be about His Father’s business.  (Luke 2:49).  On the coming Tuesday we will tour where Jesus died and then rose again fulfilling the words of Matthew 1:21.  He died to SAVE!  He died to save you!

    Continue Strong 
    And remember to DATE THE WORD