Why Does Living For God Seem To Get Harder and Harder? Judges 7:7

We follow God and try to obey him but our lives get harder and our problems seem bigger.  Is something wrong?

"The Lord said to Gideon, With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands.  Let all the others go home." Judges 7:7.

BACKGROUND
The Midianites were enemies of God's people.  God chose Gideon to defend against them.  Thousands responded to Gideon's call but God reduced the numbers by instruction and then a test where Gideon was to observe how they drank from the river; those who drank face-down were excluded while the few who scooped the water with their hands and drank erect were selected.  This test left only three hundred to oppose the thousands of Midian.

GOD
God explains that he didn't want Gideon to boast.  God may share his glory but will not permit others to take it. Throughout the Bible, we see that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. (Proverbs 3:34).

GIDEON
Gideon did not give an early indication of greatness or leadership.  God had to push him into action. Once Gideon began things got harder, less logical, and full of doom, in spite of the fact that he was finally obeying and following God. You would think that when you follow God things would get clearer and easier but Gideon found himself with only three hundred against thousands, death and national disaster were obvious.

BUT
But God. (That is not a complete sentence, but it is a powerful statement.) One plus God is a majority. If Gideon faced the armies with his small force alone then defeat would have been certain; but God was in the picture, he had a plan and he was in charge.

VICTORY
God gave the victory. The three hundred didn't even carry weapons into the battle but lights and trumpets. The enemy turned on themselves; Gideon and his men just stood and witnessed the victory.

We may face overwhelming problems with no logical hope of victory, but remember God;
     * Continue to follow.
     * Continue to obey.
     * Continue to believe-
and you may find yourself standing blowing a trumpet announcing God is victorious.

(c) Adron 1/28/14

Does The Bible Have Advice For The Troubled Soul?

We often struggle with discouragement and see the dark side of things, but we know it is unhealthy, maybe even a sin. It is easy for us to get in a blue mood and count our sorrows instead of our blessings. Where can we get encouragement?

"I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds." Psalm 77:11-12, NIV.

I WILL
This Chapter of the Bible, Psalm 77, starts as a deep echo to self-pity and woe. It has words like "cried out, distress, faint, troubled, reject," and phrases like "my soul refused to be comforted," and "I was too troubled to speak." It starts dark and full of emotional misery but takes a turn halfway through where the psalmist declares "I will..." three times. He resolves to redirect the subjects of his thoughts.
He vows to:

• Remember the deeds of the Lord.
• Remember God's miracles.
• Meditate on all God's works.
• And consider all God's mighty works.

REMEMBER
To remember something takes effort and to meditate on a thing is mental work. We must be willing to give time to this practice, and we must be disciplined in our thinking.

MEDITATE
This is directing our thoughts to the Lord. It is not just looking at the good things with gratitude, but looking at the greatness of God; the wonder of who He is, and what He has done. If we were to list the deeds of the Lord, his miracles, and mighty works we would need warehouses of paper, lakes of ink and lifetimes to write it all.

CONSIDER
You need to go no further than your garden, or feel the sun on your face, consider the engineering of the human hand to become overwhelmed with God's works and miracles. Just skimming a few chapters of the Bible will confront one with the mighty works of the All_mighty, Or ponder the miracle of the cross on which Jesus died for our sins and the power of the resurrection.

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS PLUS
This is more than counting your blessings or trying to look on the bright side. To count your blessings every day is a good habit and leads to thankfulness, but take the time to meditate on God's works and wonders it is a good habit also and leads to worship.

Those who have come to God and received the miracle of salvation, through the blood of Jesus which cleanses from sin, can meditate that even we are becoming one of God's "mighty works."

To find out more about how to come to God follow this link: Click Here.

(c) Adron 6/4/13/

Is Who Jesus Is Important?

We may think we know who Jesus is and feel comfortable or complacent about his identity. What if not knowing who Jesus really is makes a difference? What if missing out on who Jesus is means we miss out on something really important?

"And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, 'Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor.'And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith. " Matthew 13: 57-58. NIV.

THE NEIGHBOR KID
In this passage, Jesus was in his hometown and the people took offense at him. The people were basically saying, "We know this guy, don't we? He grew up here. It's just Jesus, Mary's kid." They were so familiar with Jesus they thought they knew that they missed out on who he really is.

We do that with all our relationships. We get comfortable and begin to take a friendship, a family member, or even a spouse for granted; we assume we know all there is and nothing more is there.

FAITH IN WHOM
The problem becomes the words, "And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith." They were too familiar with a Jesus they thought they knew and that translated into a lack of faith. It is as if Jesus became common so they failed to see past the usual. The commonness of Jesus became an obstacle that diminished their faith. Because they misunderstood who he was they were not able to have faith in who he was.

Today we might say, "Isn't this just the Baby Jesus we sing about at Christmas? Don't we take about him in Sunday School every week? Isn't he in the songs on my Gospel music collection? Isn't he the topic of the book I bought at the Bible Book Store?" It is just the same as the people in Jesus' hometown.

MIRACLES
If Jesus does not bless us with miraculous it may not be because we lack faith, but that we have a wrong idea about him and who he is. We must pray that he reveals himself to us clearly, and be open to having our ideas corrected by him. We must not neglect our relationship with Jesus; we may need to repent of doing so and seek his forgiveness.

Jesus is knowable. He is revealed in the Holy Scripture. If you want to know how to have Jesus in your life follow this link to my other blog: Click Here.

If this has been a blessing to you won't you consider a small gift to help me keep this blog going?

(c)Adron Dozat

Healed by Faith or Jesus? Luke 18: 36- 43

Many of us want to be healed, some from a dreadful disease and others of an emotional wound. Here is hope and comfort in this story of the healing.

"When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, ‘Jesus of Nazareth is passing by. He called out, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Those who lead the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me! Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ ‘Lord, I want to see,’ he replied. Jesus said to him, ‘Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.’ Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it they also praised God.” Luke 18:36-43 NIV

There are many stories of Jesus healing people and this is just one, but it highlights a few wonderful points.

THE SITUATION
Jesus was passing by. The blind man had a once in a lifetime chance to ask Jesus for healing. There may be a time when we feel Jesus is close at hand, and we are aware that now is the time to speak to him. We should be like the man and “call out.”

THE MAN
He was humble. He didn't say, “Hey I deserve it." Or It is my right,” but, “have mercy on me.” He is aware of his need. It takes humility to ask for mercy.

He would not let the crowd keep him from Jesus. Many of us fall down in life because we fear man and do not treasure God. If you are seeking Jesus keep on calling out to him- ignore the crowds.

He was persistent. If his prayer was not immediately answered he did not give up but continued to call out.

He had a growing view of Jesus. He first called him Son of David that is his earthly title as descended from King David. Next, he calls him Lord, a divine title and a statement of submission. He saw clearly who Jesus was. We need to grow in understanding of who Jesus is. He is always more than we think.

JESUS
Jesus had compassion, he said, “What do you want me to do for you.” Jesus could see the man was blind but lets the man make his request. Prayer is like that, it is God’s love that lets me make my request. God waits to be asked, He is waiting for the expression of faith that comes out in prayer.

The man's faith was not in a universal force or power within, but his faith was in Jesus. Jesus responds to his faith and the man is healed.

Put your faith in Jesus He is able to heal our ills and hurts.

If you want to know more about finding new life in Jesus see my other blog.

(c) Adron