What do all these things in the pic have in common? Sometimes I feel like a workhorse pulling a very big load. Other times I feel like a motorcycle (workhorse to the power of 70 or at least equivalent to a 70 hp engine), but only when God is in it!

This passage is encouraging because when Gideon encountered opposition from the whole town (after obeying God), his father’s words were used by God to catapult him into being the leader vs. the one stoned to death before morning.

What words did his father say to the townspeople after Gideon obeyed God and tore down the altar to Ba’al? v. 31: “Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been broken down.”

That’s right, Gideon’s father exposed the heart of those worshiping the “world system” (Ba’al) as those opposed to having a heart for the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (their ancestors). Gideon brought them back to the roots of their faith and helped free them from oppression, which had occurred because of their compromise with how to achieve wealth and power.

Do we trust God’s supernatural ability to work for us? As we do our part of trusting and obeying the God of the Bible- He does His part of blessing the entire world-first through the nation of Israel and second through those adopted into His family through Jesus Christ the LORD.- Teresa

#keepontrustingin #God’spowerfulstrength

#keeponquestioning #thosewhorulebyfear

#castingfearfromus #keepthefaith

The Call of Gideon

11 Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” 13 And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” 14 And the Lord[a] turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” 15 And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” 16 And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” 17 And he said to him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. 18 Please do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you.” And he said, “I will stay till you return.”

19 So Gideon went into his house and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes from an ephah[b] of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the terebinth and presented them. 20 And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them on this rock, and pour the broth over them.” And he did so. 21 Then the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes. And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight. 22 Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord. And Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord God! For now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.” 23 But the Lord said to him, “Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.” 24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it, The Lord Is Peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites.

25 That night the Lord said to him, “Take your father’s bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it 26 and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” 27 So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night.

Gideon Destroys the Altar of Baal

28 When the men of the town rose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar that had been built. 29 And they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And after they had searched and inquired, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.” 30 Then the men of the town said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has broken down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah beside it.” 31 But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been broken down.” 32 Therefore on that day Gideon[c] was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend against him,” because he broke down his altar.

When we recognize where our fortune comes from, God can show His steadfast love. I was watching the 1992 movie “Bodyguard” last evening. The bodyguard kept the fortune safe and the woman with the fortune protected the bodyguard by choosing to always love him.

God is not our bodyguard as much as He is our spiritguard. He may not need our protection but He does desire our love. We can choose to recognize all that He has done for us. When we reciprocate His love – the love that first chose us, redeemed us and called us His own-we can begin to truly “hear” Him. Reciprocation looks like gratitude, trust and obedience to His heart for the world.

Where righteousness and peace kiss each other (v. 10), faithfulness will spring up from the ground and renew our fortune.- Teresa #spiritualrevival

Psalm 85:1-13 (ESV)

1 Lord, you were favorable to your land;
you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2 You forgave the iniquity of your people;
you covered all their sin. Selah
3 You withdrew all your wrath;
you turned from your hot anger.
4 Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
and put away your indignation toward us!
5 Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
6 Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?
7 Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,
and grant us your salvation.
8 Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints;
but let them not turn back to folly.
9 Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,
that glory may dwell in our land.
10 Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.
11 Faithfulness springs up from the ground,
and righteousness looks down from the sky.
12 Yes, the Lord will give what is good,
and our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness will go before him
and make his footsteps a way.

Lord, we love you. Thanks for watching for the prodigal, waiting to embrace him when he returned to your justice. Thank you also for discerning that the older brother’s heart was more needy than the prodigal’s and for going after him. You lovingly taught him that both mercy and grace go along with justice.

When we have done all the “right things” and still come up short- aka no love, then we must fall at the feet of Jesus and ask for His mercy. He always provides where we lack and lovingly teaches us how to love ourselves and others.- Teresa

Luke 15:11-32 (ESV)

The Parable of the Prodigal Son

11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to[b] one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.

17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ 20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’[c] 22 But the father said to his servants,[d] ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

25 “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ 28 But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 29 but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ 31 And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

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Footnotes

Luke 15:8 Greek ten drachmas; a drachma was a Greek coin approximately equal in value to a Roman denarius, worth about a day’s wage for a laborer
Luke 15:15 Greek joined himself to
Luke 15:21 Some manuscripts add treat me as one of your hired servants
Luke 15:22 Or bondservants

When Jesus turned the focus off of the fear of punishment and put it on God’s love for valuable mankind, he was empowered to lay down his life for us.

Jesus could have feared those in authority as they attempted to “ catch him”. Instead He chose to teach the people about the truth of God’s value system. God not only values and cares for the numerous creatures around us but even moreso, He cares for each human being created in His image. – Teresa #Hehearsthosewithevilintentions #loudandclear #Hehearsthoseineed #notforgotten

Luke 11:53-12:7 (ESV) 53 As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, 54 lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.

Beware of the Leaven of the Pharisees

12 In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 3 Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.

Do Not Fear

4 “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell.[b] Yes, I tell you, fear him! 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?[c] And not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Would you be free from the burden of sin? …there’s power in the blood of the lamb. This old hymn speaks of a mighty truth. When Jesus wrote our names in heaven, He performed an amazing act that far surpassed all the spiritual warfare or displays of power here on earth. Jesus Christ the LORD became sin for us that we may be His righteousness before the Father. We are amazed at our suffering servant. We are awestruck at His glorious humility (strength under control), for the sake of mankind.

Today, if you hear His voice, don’t harden your heart but turn toward His love for you. The world system would have us turn away from the humility of love to grab our due (just deserts). In the end, we are far richer when we first receive His love and then present our lives as a spiritual sacrifice- true justice mixed with mercy.

Romans 12:1,2 (ESV)

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. – Romans 12:1-2

Discerning God’s will also means being aware of our own self-focused will. How much easier to follow our “heart” than to prayerfully ask God for discernment about His Kingdom desires. When our heart becomes His will, we are truly blessed.- Teresa #timetopray #baskinginHisloveforus

Luke 10:17-20 (ESV)

The Return of the Seventy-Two

17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”