God Did It!

Judges 7:21 - 22 21 Every man stood in his place around the camp, and all the army ran. They cried out and fled. 22 When they blew the 300 trumpets, the Lord set every man's sword against his comrade and against all the army. And the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath.

Who needs an army when you're just going to make your enemy do our work for you?  Can you imagine what the Israelites were thinking as all of this unfolded?  

Wow!  God did it!

They pursued their enemy, destroyed them,  captured, and executed the leaders.  Gideon is now the new Judge of Israel.  

In the end, God did it.  That's what He wants to do in your life.  Bring you to the place where you will tell the world!  God did it, and I am so glad that I submitted myself to His will!  

God has an excellent plan for you.  Sure it will have twists and turns.  But it is in those moments that you discover who God created you to be.  You can endure more than you think.  You can lead farther than you have ever gone.  You can do more than you believe you can.  

PRAY:  Dear Jesus, help me to declare to my world.  God did it!  AMEN!  

It's Your Time

Judges 7: 19-20 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch. And they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. 20 Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. And they cried out, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!”

It's time.

A vision, a promise is now becoming a reality.  Often God will birth something in your soul.  Something that will make you say, "Who me?"  Something that you are not prepared to do.  But along the journey God beings to change you and recreate you into His will.  He did this with Gideon, and he can do it to you too. 

It's 11 p.m.  The changing of the guard is taking place in the camp below.  They will not be quite ready to respond.  The surprise is on the Gideons side.  

The three companies blew their trumpets, reveal their torches and shout, "A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!”  It's game on!  There is no turning back now.  

When your faith takes a step forward, your enemies will run in retreat.  God prepared this moment for Gideon and Israel.  He is preparing this moment for you too. 

Declare the Word of God!

Let the light of Jesus' truth be evident in your life today!

Doing this will confuse your enemies.  The Midianites were not ready!  It's Gideon!  Run!!  The Midianites don't know that only 300 men are yelling at them.  

It feels good when you have your enemies on the run.  To know that Satan is frustrated and in retreat. To know that your faith and God's plans are going forward.  It can happen, and it can happen every day.  

PRAY:  Dear Jesus,  let's run our enemy's out of here today!  AMEN  

Whose Name Is First?

Judges 7:18 When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp and shout, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon.’”

So Gideon gives the marching order.  Do what I do and shout, "For the Lord and for Gideon."  Why did Gideon say this?  

The Lord comes first.

The method of Israel's victory is revealed.   If they will let the Lord lead, allow His power to prevail, and let Him get all the glory.  Then we know that Isreal's heart has returned to God.  His name is now the above that of Baal.   

When we allow God to lead our lives and worship Him with all our hearts, our enemies plans will be destroyed, and we will know the victory God has planned for our lives. 

Why is Gideon's name in here? 

Because the name Gideon strikes fear in the enemies hearts, it is ironic that God uses the name that only scares its owner.  That's right, Gideon was afraid of his own shadow.  But God had full confidence in him and turned, uses his name to terrorize the enemy.  

Could your name terrorize your enemy?  Sure!  With faith in your heart, a determination to worship God with all of your life, and a resolve to give Him all the credit for everything He has done, is doing and will do in your life.  Absolutely!  Hell is scared. 

PRAY:  Dear Jesus, help me run Satan and his plans against me out of my life today.  AMEN  

Gideon Said What?

Judges 7:17 And he said to them, “Look at me, and do likewise. When I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do.

Orders have come in, and Gideon says, "Do what I do!" 

It is incredible to see what happens to a person when their faith and trust in God comes together. 

Whether or not Gideon knows this, he was created for this purpose. The timid man in a winepress was always going to be a leader, a Judge of Israel.  The man who said, "Who me?" is now saying, "Follow me."

There comes a time when this should happen to each of us. 

No, we don't need to go to war with the Midianites, but we do need to stand against the hoards of hell.  Hell has no intention of letting you worship God, allowing Him to lead your life, or enjoying His love and presence in your life.  

Satan has been and always be your spiritually bully.  He will intimidate and threaten you.  That's why  God will call upon you to lead yourself and others to rise against him and his plans against you. 

"But how do I know if I am ready?"  When you grow to the place where you can say, "Follow me!"

PRAY:  Dear Jesus, help me grow up like Gideon and say with faith.  Follow me!  AMEN! 

Be The Light

Judges 7:16 And he divided the 300 men into three companies and put trumpets into the hands of all of them and empty jars, with torches inside the jars.

Trumpets, pitchers, and torches.  The weapons of this war had nothing to do with war.  They had everything to do with faith.

What could God do with trumpets, pitchers, and torches?  What would the enemy do when they saw this spectacle?

The torches were probably sticks dipped in pine tar.  Once lit, they were tough to extinguish.

Light guides our way. John 8:12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world;

Light declares the truth.  What you see is what you get.  I remember the day after Hurricane Andrew. Everyone was waiting for the sun to come up.  What happened?  Was Miami still there.  The sun did come up, and our worst fears were confirmed.  Reality can hurt, but faith always deals with reality, never fantasy.

Light is darknesses, eternal enemy.  If you are stumbling around in the dark, what do you want?  A light switch?  A flashlight?  Why?  Because light always dispels the darkness.

Matthew 5:16  In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

PRAY:  Dear Jesus. Let my light shine today.  AMEN

Is Your Pitcher Cracked?

Judges 7:16 And he divided the 300 men into three companies and put trumpets into the hands of all of them and empty jars, with torches inside the jars.

The jars represent us — our lives.  We are just as fragile as a clay pot.  Our lives are empty until we fill them with something or until we crack under pressure.  

But some people fill themselves with whatever.  Money, porn, hate, foolishness, pain, you name it.  

Some people try to hold the torch in one hand (that's Jesus) and the pitcher in the other.  You cannot serve to masters, and besides, you can't get anything done with both hands full.  

Soe people hide Jesus in their hearts.  They let Jesus in, but they don't allow their lives to reflect His presence.  They accept Him as the Savior of their sin, but they refuse to allow Him to be Lord of their lives.  

Some people let their identity be broken and replaced by Jesus.  Instead of being someone who is like Christ, they choose to allow the Holy Spirit to change them into the image of Him.  

So which one are you?  Allowing Christ to make you a new creation (2 Cor 5:17)  requires the "old you" to go away.  But what God does with your life will be more satisfying and rewarding than you can imagine. 

PRAY:  Dear Jesus, change my heart and let people see You in me.  AMEN  

P.S. Easter Sunday is tomorrow (or today if you are reading this by email).  Go to church!  Find a place that believes that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life - then worship Him, thank Him and praise Him for all He had done, is doing and will do in your life.