Growing in Grace

Gideon was told that he would save Israel from Midian (Judges 6:14). But first, God had an assignment for Gideon right at home. God spoke to Gideon and told him to tear down his father's altar to Baal, build an altar to the Lord, and sacrifice a bull on it (Judges 6:25-26). This may have confused Gideon; but really, it made sense. In order for Israel to be completely free from the oppression of the Midianites, they had to first free themselves from the worship of Baal. Warren Wiersbe points out the importance of the task Gideon was asked to do. He says "true believers can't build an altar to the Lord unless first they tear down the altars they've built to the false gods they worship. . . Gideon had privately built his own altar to the Lord (Judges 6:24), but now he had to take his public stand, and he had to do it without compromise. Before he could declare war on Midian, he had to declare war on Baal." God asked Gideon to begin his task "in the circle cl

In Revelation chapter 4, we read that John was taken in the Spirit to the very throne room of God. And the One who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures,and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around,even under his wings. Day a

My kids and I are in the midst of studying the book of Revelation. We just finished going through the letters to the seven churches. Kay Arthur reminds us that these messages were not just for the ancient churches, but they are also for the church today. Each church was given a promise to the one who overcomes. Today we looked at what it means to be an overcomer. 1 John 5:4 tells us that whatever is "born of God overcomes the world".The NIV Study Bible says that "to overcome the world is to gain victory over its sinful pattern of life, which is another way of describing obedience to God. Such obedience is not impossible for the believer because he has been born again and the Holy Spirit dwells within him and gives him strength." What is the victory that has overcome the world? This verse says it is our faith. There are two aspects to this victory according to the NIV Study Bible. First is our initial victory of turning in faith to God and then our daily victory of

The beginning of Gideon's story reminded me so much of Moses. When God spoke to Moses in the burning bush, He said that He had heard Israel's cry, had seen Egypt's oppression of His people, and told Moses He was sending him "to Pharaoh to bring (His) people the Israelites out of Egypt." (Exodus 3:10). Likewise, the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, called him "mighty warrior" (Judges 6:12) and told him to "go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?" (Judges 6:14). When Moses was given his mission by God his response was, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" (Exodus 3:11) God's response was, "I will be with you." (Exodus 3:12). When Gideon was given his mission by the angel of the Lord, Gideon replied, "But Lord, how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family." (Judges 6:

"When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, 'The Lord is with  you, mighty warrior.'" (Judges 6:12) Gideon countered this statement with a question. He wanted to know if the Lord was with them, then why were the Midianites oppressing them? He wanted to know where God's wonders were, like the ones that took the people out of Egypt. He wanted to know why the Lord had abandoned them. (Judges 6:13) Most often when we face trials, we want to know why we are facing them. So Gideon's questions are not a surprise. Sometimes our struggles are a result of our own disobedient choices, as was the case for Israel. They had chosen to disobey God and participate in idol worship. Charles Spurgeon said, "The Lord does not permit His children to sin successfully." God is a holy God and He demands a holy character in us like that of His Son. His chastening is needed to lead us to repentance. It is a sign that we are His children and that He loves us. (

Week two of my study in Gideon discussed Gideon's encounter with the angel of the Lord. Gideon was "beating out wheat in the wine press" when the angel of the Lord appeared to him (Judges 6:11-12). Priscilla Shirer suggested that the "angel most likely had the look of an ordinary man who had come to Gideon in an ordinary way during an ordinary day." She continued by saying "God often comes to us in our 'boring days', veiled in the most ordinary of circumstances. In fact, 'ordinary' is often the disguise of the divine." Expecting or looking for a grand event to accompany an encounter with God can cause us to miss Him altogether. "The mundane, the routine, the commonplace - these are the contexts in which He will reveal Himself to humanity. . . But "to be aware of God's purpose, (we) must first be aware of His presence." (p. 42) How do we become aware of His purpose? We can pray like Paul in Ephesians 1:18 that the ey

In the first week of my Gideon study, Priscilla Shirer wrote, "Israel's experience in Gideon's day reveals a stunning reality: we can spoil paradise and ruin God's abundant blessing. And the quickest, most surefire way to do it is to forget the One who gave us the blessing and victory in the first place." (p. 10) What did she mean by this? Well, basically that Israel had forgotten what God had done for them. They forgot that He had led them out of slavery in Egypt. They forgot God's provision as their ancestors wandered in the desert for 40 years. And they forgot that with God's help, Joshua had conquered the people of Canaan and led them into the land flowing with milk and honey. They forgot what God was capable of doing in their lives. In Deuteronomy 7:1-2, God told the Israelites to destroy the nations totally. They didn't. It appears from Judges 1:19 that they allowed fear of the "iron chariots" to keep them from obedience. Priscill

Pilate asked the crowd. . ."What should I do with Jesus, the one called the Christ?". . . What do you do with a man who claims to be God, yet hates religion?. . .What do you do with a man who knows the place and time of his death, yet goes there anyway?. . . You can reject him. . . Or you can accept him. You can journey with him. You can listen for his voice amidst the hundreds of voices and follow him. -From And the Angels Were Silent by Max Lucado; part of The  Inspirational Study Bible: New Century Version  by Max Lucado "But what about you?" he asked."Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God." -Matthew 16:15-16 Me too. . .

Jesus emphasized that Christians must produce fruit. By comparing believers to branches on a grape vine, Jesus explained that we do not produce fruit through our own efforts. We bear fruit only by uniting with him and letting him work through us. Christ expected His followers then and now to bear fruit. Notice He did not expect them to produce fruit, just bear it. And not just some fruit, but much fruit. The amount of fruit we bear correlates with how apparent it is to others that we are believers. (see John 15:8). Our faith is known to others through the good deeds that overflow from our character (see Matthew 5:16), or the fruit we bear. You know as well as I do that for others to be impressed with our life-styles or good deeds, they must be consistent. Unbelievers are very sensitive to our inconsistencies. Oftentimes they look for them. So if we are to bear the kind of fruit Jesus is talking about -the kind that draws others to our way of believing - there must be a regular harv