Day 132

Judges 14:1-15:20

In chapter 15 Samson's own men came and bound him up in order to hand him over to the Philistines. They didn't realize that Samson's strength was from the Lord and their ropes would do them no good. I love when the scriptures says "The Spirit of the Lord came upon Him in power." Samson is being used of the Lord to destroy the Philistines!! God was on his side, he had supernatural power, he was a superhero all because God assigned him to be one before he was even born!! Would Samson save the world? Would Samson become the greatest superhero ever to live? Or would his assignment cut short because of his love for women...we will have to see tomorrow.....


John 7:14-44

I found a really interesting nugget in this chapter. Verse 26 "the crowd" which represents the general poplulation of the day, say "Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Christ?"

The crowd was not about to believe Jesus teachings until the authorities concluded he really was Jesus. They trusted the authorities instead of searching for themselves.

The church today does the same thing. We believe anything "the authorities" say instead of checking the Bible. That is how many denominations are so off based. The authorities can say and make up anything they want and the people will believe because of their position. Martin Luther was kicked out of the church for going against "the authorities". He chose to believe in grace by faith rather than being saved by works after he read the Bible.

There was a Jewish man I once worked with who had never even read the Old Testament. I was amazed. He just believed what the synagogue told him to believe instead of discovering for himself what the word of God said.

When the leadership is corrupt we go with the leadership because they are leaders but we need to follow the Bible over anything!!! What the Bible says is truth and life and our guidebook. No matter how important the person, we need to follow God's word first!!


Proverbs 11:29-12:7

Look at all the good things the Lord has promised the righteous in just 9 verses!!!

The righteous: their fruit is a tree of life, they win souls, they receive their due on earth, they obtain favor from the Lord, cannot be uprooted, their plans are just, their speech rescues them and their home stands firm. I want to be righteous!

Day 125

Judges 2:6 - 3:31

Here we go... the book of Judges. You would think nothing could top the obedience/disobedience cycle of the first 6 books of the Bible. But, oh no, we are embarking on yet another book where we just shake our heads in disgust. Around and around we go. Verse 10 "after that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel." This verse and ensuing chapters really challenge me as a mother. I not only want but NEED my children to experience God for themselves. I can tell them about the past and what God did but they need a first hand revelation of God's power in their lives. We are really only one generation away, as this verse shows, from being godless. We need to be careful about putting too much emphasis on "way back then" when God did something great. These Israelites had heard the "stories" but they needed something for themselves which they didn't get and instead went off to serve other gods. We need to ask God to move TODAY and show up now in this generation so we can have an active powerful relationship with God.


John 4:27 - 42

Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Get up and tell someone about Jesus. All around you are people just waiting for someone to tell them. We need to be reapers for Jesus in 2009. Your neighbors, co-workers, family and classmates are standing in the field just waiting for a reaper. Be bold. Be unashamed. Ask God for prophetic revelation (word of wisdom) like Jesus had to speak into someone's life and change them for eternity. Not only was this woman's life changed, but because of her testimony, many people in her town were also saved! This is true food, too. Jesus didn't need earthly food to make him feel better he found complete satisfaction in doing God's will. Spiritual work satisfies!!!


Psalm 56:1-13

I have to say this for humor. Many girls in college would quote this scripture: Be merciful to me, O, God, for men hotly pursue me. Ha ha...luckily I never had that problem.

But seriously now I like the line in verse 4 " what can mortal man do to me?" We get so worked up about what others think and will do to us but ultimately God is in control. When we trust Him we do not have to be afraid!