NCarolinian

The following is my paraphrase of Joseph Prince's July 22, 2012 Devotional "Imperfect Faith Not A Barrier To God's Grace". There are those who teach that because you have doubt in your heart you can't receive from God, but that is not true.  I will admit, we are creatures which have hearts that believe easily, but a head or thinking process challenges our hearts and gets in the way of our faith sometimes.  However, this does not stop God! Take for example the woman with the issue of blood ( Mark 5:24-34 ).  She did not seek to know Jesus.  Her faith was selfish, desperate, and ignorant.  Selfish and desperate because she had been in her bleeding condition for twelve years and was ready to try anything.  Ignorant because healing power flowed from Jesus not the garment of Jesus.  But if you read the story you will see that Jesus did not mock the woman's faith.  He did not give her a lesson on where the true power of healing comes from.  No...

Sin - rebellion or disobedience, by a free-will creature, which destroys the relationship to The Authority on Life and of Life that has established a rule or rules by which to live by. (Chad's Dictionary) When did the cancer of sin begin?   Let us back track.  Today, we know we have rebellion, disobedience, and defiance of God's free gift of love, salvation, and Standard - Jesus Christ.  Rewinding the clock to The Law of Moses,  Romans 5:13 says, "...for before the Law was given, sin was in the world."  The wickedness of Noah's days displayed this sin. "When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. 3 Then the LORD said, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years." The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become , and t...

True believers in Christ have at their disposal the Bible to read and study.  They also have a plethora of resources to compliment their study of any particular passage or verse they are focusing on.  Last, only in mentioning, true believers in Christ have the Holy Spirit within them to "lead them into all Truth" (John 16:13) .  When all three of these are combined in one sitting the experience can be very enriching.  However, the enrichment could be so much more and that is what God recently taught me. In the light of a variety of reasons, I don't have a big enough picture of my God.  I have assigned to Him parameters that I feel have been defined in His Scripture.  However, while the The Bible speaks Truth about God that I accept as such, I believe the Holy Spirit is telling me He is even bigger.  I am reminded of John 21:25 - "Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not...

What Do I Know Of Holy Addison Road Verse 1 I made You promises a thousand times I tried to hear from Heaven But I talked the whole time I think I made You too small I never feared You at all, no If You touched my face would I know You Looked into my eyes could I behold You Chorus What do I know of You Who spoke me into motion Where have I even stood But the shore along Your ocean Are You fire, are You fury Are You sacred, are You beautiful So what do I know, what do I know of Holy Verse 2 I guess I thought that I had figured You out I knew all the stories and I learned to talk about How You were mighty to save But those were only empty words on a page Then I caught a glimpse of who You might be The slightest hint of You brought me down to my knees [ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/a/addison_road/what_do_i_know_of_holy.html ] Chorus What do I know of You Who spoke me into motion Where have I even stood But the shore along Your ocean Are You fire, are You fury Are...

Romans 5:1-2 says - "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ , through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand." This verse can only be understood in the light of the pre-condition of having "peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" .  That pre-condition is a "warring" relationship. B.C. or Before Christ reigns in our hearts and minds - Romans 5:6 calls us "powerless" and "ungodly" .   Romans 5:8 calls us "sinners" .   Romans 5:9 calls us condemned to "God's wrath" .   Romans 5:10 calls us God's enemies. BUT.... Romans 5:6-8 says, "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in th...

Gideon had a "Doughnut Life".  This is a life that starts off weak, has a strong middle with the Lord, then ends on a weak note once again. ( Judges 6:15; 8:22-35 ) Gideon could not rightly identify God.  It looked as if he might miss God's visitation. ( Judges 6:13, 17 ) Gideon had to have an "Ah! Sovereign Lord" moment in order to recognize God's visitation. ( Judges 6:19-23 ) Gideon executes God's commands with wrong approach (wrong spirit/attitude). ( Judges 6:27 ) Gideon - a man heavy into signs. ( Judges 6:36-40 ) Gideon starts to be a "Yes Sir" man.  In this section of the story we see more of God dealing with Gideon than Gideon. ( Judges 7:2-10 ) Gideon Gets Guts from God. ( Judges 7:15 - 8:21 ) Gideon lost his God-focus.  He returned to his weakness and his ways.......and so did Israel. ( Judges 8:22-27)   Gideon ends his "life's song" on a "sour note". ( Judges 8:28-35 )

Don't you want to go out in life on a high note?  Don't you want to finish the "race of life" strong?  If you do not heed to steering away from the old, unsuccessful ways and not learning from your mistakes then the "end note(s)" or the note you go out on in life (i.e. your relationships, ministry, legacy etc..) could be  soured  or even forgotten.  In Gideon's case, after forty years of peace (and quiet) Gideon dies and with him the memory of what he provided for Israel and the memory of God was forgotten by Israel. Thus Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head again. During Gideon's lifetime, the land enjoyed peace forty years. 29 Jerub-Baal son of Joash went back home to live. 30 He had seventy sons of his own, for he had many wives. 31 His concubine, who lived in Shechem, also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelech. 32 Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophra...

Ah yes, old habits die hard.  This was true for Gideon and Israel as well. "The Israelites said to Gideon, "Rule over us--you, your son and your grandson--because you have saved us out of the hand of Midian." But Gideon told them, "I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The LORD will rule over you." And he said, "I do have one request, that each of you give me an earring from your share of the plunder." (It was the custom of the Ishmaelites to wear gold earrings.)  They answered, "We'll be glad to give them." So they spread out a garment, and each man threw a ring from his plunder onto it.  The weight of the gold rings he asked for came to seventeen hundred shekels, not counting the ornaments, the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian or the chains that were on their camels' necks.   Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his town. All Israel prostituted themselves ...

Judges 7:15  through  8:21  sees Gideon working in the confidence he has gained from the Lord.  I believe  the   straw that broke the camel's back  was the enemy's dream that Gideon heard.  This now fuels the fire for Gideon to fulfill God's purpose - to release Israel from their seven year oppression of the Midianites and the Amalekites ( Judges 6:1 ). Take Away :  When it is time and you know it (whether you hear it directly from the enemy's camp or not) - Execute God's Will In Your Life With His Confidence And The Right Attitude!  No "ifs", "ands", or "buts" - to borrow Nike's slogan, Just Do It!

After God calls Gideon to be the warrior-leader of Israel who will lead Israel out of oppression and validates this by the display of signs (at the request of Gideon), God decides to whittle down the number of his troops, but tells him why.   " In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her , announce now to the people, 'Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.'  " So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained." (Judges 7:2-3)   Wow! Thirty-two thousand fighting men were at Gideon's disposal!  Then twenty-two thousand were allowed to go home simply on the basis of "anyone who trembles with fear" .  Guess God doesn't want pansies in His army (another message there)! But Wait There's More! "But the LORD said to Gideon, "There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, 'This one shall go with ...

All of the sudden Gideon receives a strong dose of the Holy Spirit and His confidence to marshal the troops.  Not only did Gideon gather up his own forces but local forces around him as well ( Judges 6:34-35 ).  This was an all God moment, now back to Gideon. The very next verse starts a section with Gideon requesting from the Lord two signs that God meant what He said about him being a warrior-leader.  God was gracious and merciful and answered his requests. Gideon said to God, "If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised-- look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said." And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew--a bowlful of water. Then Gideon said to God, "Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece...

After Gideon had his Divine Encounter and memorialized it, God returned to him that same night and instructed him to clean house of all his family's gods (their respective physical idols), especially the altar to Baal and the Asherah pole beside it ( Judges 6:25-26 ). This is a message unto itself, but the story continues - Gideon's response was one of obedience, He did clean house BUT in the wrong spirit or attitude. "So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the men of the town, he did it at night rather than in the daytime." (Judges 6:27)   God had been supporting Gideon by giving him signs and revealing Himself to Gideon.   Now, fear paralyzed his faith and confused his thinking.  Gideon could have easily followed God's instructions during the daytime.    There was the emotional response from the community, then the response from tradition. "The men of the town demanded of Joash,...

As Gideon prepares food for this special visitor, He is hoping that it will somehow be received as an offering. It is consumed by fire at the end of the angel's staff ( Judges 6:19-21 ). The angel disappears ( Judges 6:22 ) and then Gideon proclaims ( Judges 6:22-23 ) who he really encountered. "When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he exclaimed, "Ah, Sovereign LORD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!" But the LORD said to him, "Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die." In fact, Gideon was so impressed with the visitation that the next verse says he made an altar unto the Lord right there. "So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD is Peace." (Judges 6:24) Take Away:  Here is the catch (similar to the previous Message From Gideon) - Gideon recognized The Lord after the miracle of consumption and the Lord's disappearing.  Notice that Gideon was afraid of dying becau...

Gideon was not very confident or sure about WHO was speaking to him. "But sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, 'Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian." (Judges 6:13) Notice how Gideon addressed the angel of the LORD as "sir" . I believe this angel came in human form and is none other than the pre-incarante Christ. Just verses later, after Gideon receives the charge to save Israel, Gideon says, "give me a sign that it is really you talking to me" ( Judges 6:17 ). Gideon now has an inkling but doubts enough to ask for a sign. Take Away:  Don't miss God's visitation(s) in your life!  Notice how Gideon and the Pharisees of Jesus' day needed a sign for His presence or identification.  Today, if we as believers in Christ are in The...

The story of Gideon is found in the Book of Judges, chapters 6, 7, and 8.  The heart of this story, the whole God/Gideon experience is actually supported by a New Testament verse - 1 Corinthians 1:27 .  It reads like this in the King James Version -  "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;" You see Gideon was a man that was not very confident in himself. "But Lord, " Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family. " (Judges 6:15) Take Away: Although it is healthy to have self-confidence, God is wanting to use an available, willing, humble "heart" to serve Him. If you hold the same view in your life right now as Gideon once did, try trusting in God's formula found in that 1 Corinthians 1:27 verse and start changing your perspective to His.

Helpful Prerequisite:  Read the Book of Numbers, Chapters 22 through 24.  This is the context of this blog.  More specifically, Numbers 22:20, 21, 22, 32 . Before we get to the meat of the situation I thought I would paraphrase the story to the best of my ability. The nation of Israel, numbering MANY people, with the help of God - came out of the slavery of Egypt, defeated the Amorites, and took up residence right next to Balak, ruler of the Moabites, along the Jordan across from Jericho.  Balak did not care for his new neighbors and sent a message to a man who evidently was anointed with a ministry, from Yahweh, that allowed whatever he curses to be cursed and whatever he blesses to be blessed - Balaam.  This message from Balak acknowledged Balaam's special power and asked him to come from his home in Pethor, near the River Euphrates, and curse these new neighbors so that he might subdue them. The first entourage of dignitaries were elders of Moab and Mid...