The Sword of the LORD

“And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against Me, saying, mine own hand hath saved me.” (Judges 7:2).   “And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9).   The enemies of Israel had once more beaten them down very low when God began to call Gideon to be His agent of change.  Gideon’s faith was tentative at best and required some encouragement, but he was willing to do what he was asked to do.  God wanted him to be an example of faith and obedience to the people of Israel who had fallen away from serving God.  When he blew the trumpet to call the people to arms, 32,000 men came up to fight!  This was not a bad army with which to face the Midianites.  God thought otherwise.  He told Gideon he h

"For no man can lay any foundation other than the one that is already laid, which is Jesus Christ.  Now if anyone builds on this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; his work will be shown for what it is: for the day will bring it to light, because it will be tested by fire; and the fire will reveal the quality of each man’s work of what sort it is." (1 Corinthians 3:11-13 KJV-2011).   We Christians have all been placed as individual members of the body of Christ.   Just as our natural bodies are made up of many unique members that work together in perfect union and harmony to accomplish a multitude of specific tasks, so also is the body of Christ.   Jesus Christ Himself is the head of this body, and He directs the activities of every single member by His Holy Spirit.   Not one member is unnecessary: each one has his proper function in the body, and without that member the body would be crippled.   If I were a foot, I shouldn't say that I am

There are many promises in the Bible that are addressed specifically to "him that overcometh."  They include: ·   To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.  (Revelation 2:7). ·  He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death [lake of fire and brimstone] .  (Revelation 2:11). ·  To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.  (Revelation 2:17). ·  And he that overcometh, and keepeth My works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations [to rule and reign with Christ in the Kingdom of God] .  (Revelation 2:26). ·  He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels.  (Revelation 3:5). ·  Him that overcometh wil

The scribes and the Pharisees of Jesus day were very strict keepers of the Law.  They prided themselves in their adherence to the commandments and the precepts, and even their name implied that they were the “chosen ones.”  Josephus, a Jewish historian of the time, describes them as “a body of Jews who profess to be more religious than the rest, and to explain the laws more precisely.”     On a certain Sabbath day, Jesus entered into a synagogue and taught the Word of God.   There were Scribes and Pharisees present who were watching Him very closely to see if He would heal anyone on the Sabbath, for they interpreted this as “work,” which was prohibited by the Law of the Sabbath.   They were seeking to find some accusation against Jesus so that they might defame Him and His teachings.   In this crowd was a man with a paralyzed (or withered) hand.   This man was unable to work, or do many normal tasks because of his condition; but he was there to hear the Messiah.   He may have e

"My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him." (Psalm 62:5).   We all have expectations.   We expect to be reasonably healthy in our lifetimes and to grow old before we die.   We expect to be financially stable and be able to care for ourselves and for our loved ones.   We expect to be valued and respected as individuals and to be treated justly by those who are over us.   Those are just a few of the big things that we expect, but it goes much further than that.   We expect that our favorite sports team will always win.   We expect that every light will turn green for us when we are in a rush, and that we won't get behind any slow or elderly drivers.   We expect that our private time be respected and not interrupted by unplanned phone calls, visits, or requests for assistance or time. Needless to say, our expectations are all too often dashed.   We are told to "hope for the best," but by doing this very thing aren't we setting ourse

As Jesus was on His way toward Jerusalem to suffer His final Passion, He passed through the town of Jericho where there lived a man by the name of Zacchaeus who was the chief of the publicans in that area and very rich.  The population despised Publicans at this time because they gathered the taxes to pay the price exacted by their Roman oppressors.  Often they were unscrupulous in their methods and weren’t above collecting extra to pad their own purses.   Scripture tells us that Zacchaeus, “sought to see Jesus who He was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.”   It was in this man’s heart to see Jesus.   This was not just a casual curiosity to see a famous figure and be able to boast about it later.   No, this was a deep desire to know “Who He was.”   There were obstacles that stood in Zacchaeus’ way, however.   For one, he was rich.   Riches have a way of robbing a man of those things that are most important in life.   Most rich men are more concerned wit

The letter of Paul the Apostle to Philemon is one of the two shortest books in the New Testament.   At just 25 verses, it ties with Jude as the least lengthy.   What it lacks in length, however, it more than makes up for in content.   The letter reveals the story of Onesimus, a runaway servant who had served Philemon, but had grown unhappy with his servitude and had left his master without being released by him.   Many of the particulars of the story are unknown to us, such as, exactly why Onesimus left, did he steal any of his master’s goods to help him on his journey when he left, and was he the only servant in Philemon's household?   The things that we do know and can reasonably deduce from the information that we have, however, is enough to give us an inspiring story of repentance, faith, obedience, and restitution.   At the time that this letter was written, likely between 60-63 A.D, Paul had been imprisoned for the first time in Rome.   Paul had some hope that he woul

My wife and I recently attended a surprise 80th birthday party for my wife's aunt.   There were lots of cousins, great-cousins, and even 3rd generation cousins present at the party, some of whom had come a good distance to attend; so it was great to see everybody and catch up on news of their families.   My wife later commented about how one little baby who was just a few months old was able to pick out her mother's voice even above 40 or more other voices all talking at the same time.   Her little ears would prick up and her head would turn toward the direction of her momma's voice.     As my wife described what she observed that day, I had to think of our relationship with our heavenly Father and how similar it is to that little one and her momma.   There are many voices around us always, some are good, and some are not so good, but in the midst of so many voices our Father's rings out true and distinct from all others.   We know that we can trust that voice becau

"But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof" (Romans 13:14).   Scripture compares the putting off of our old, carnal nature, and putting on our new nature in Christ with changing clothes.   The picture I have in my mind is like when I would come home from work and take off the dirty, smelly clothes that I had worked in all day, bathe, and put on clean, fresh clothes that were free of spots, odors, or wrinkles.   The simplicity of this picture is arresting.   God does not suggest that we try to clean, patch up, or press the old garments - He tells us to put them off altogether and discard them because He has a brand new garment for us.   God says that "...we are all as an unclean thing , and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6).   There is nothing salvageable about our old nature: it is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts that rule it.   The Apostle Paul was convinced that th