Happy Birthday Mom!! Yes, it’s my mom’s birthday today. I have to remember to call her.
It’s no contest. Anyone planning on rebelling against God, take warning, you will be crushed. “His enemies shall be scattered .. as wax melts before the fire, so the wicked shall perish before God.” But while God will scatter the wicked, He will also protect the weak. He protects the fatherless, widows, solitary and prisoners. He is a loving God who watches over those who love Him. But those who rebel, beware.
Wow, that was a big jump. We jump from Joshua 10 to Joshua 23. The wars are basically ended. The Lord has given Israel rest from their enemies. Joshua is old and about to die. So he gathers the leaders of Israel to himself and he just lays it on the line. If you follow the Lord and His commandments and love Him, everything will be fine. But if you follow other gods, if you intermarry, if you start hanging out with the other nations, you will be destroyed. That’s his message. It’s a simple one. Just follow the Lord and life will be fine. It seems easy enough. But we know it doesnt’ end that way. So enjoy the peace while it’s here.
The lesson from Acts is pretty cool. Herod is being his nasty self. He kills James the brother of John, not James the brother of Jesus who is the leader of the church in Jerusalem. And Herod arrests Peter and is ready to kill him. But the Lord has another plan. And angel breaks in and let’s Peter free.
I love the action that takes place when Peter shows up at Mary’s house. The people won’t believe Rhoda. But she won’t open the door either. Just let the poor guy in. Notice that Peter is smart. He doesn’t stay there but goes to another place so he isn’t arrested again. And then we have the strange record of Herod’s death. He gives this speech and then is killed by God via worms. Now that Herod is gone, notice, “But the word of God increased and multiplied.” Indeed, this was a time of persecution, and yet, the church still continues to increase. That’s the way the Lord works. He protects the church and He increases the church.
These are tough times for the church now too. With the economy, with people outside the church supporting causes against the church, these are tough times. But the Lord is in control and it will be fine. He will protect His church today as He did back then.
Another Monday morning, but not a bad one. It was absolutely beautiful walking this morning and very easy to make a joyful noise to the Lord even at 6am.
While Sunday mornings are a little nerve wracking, I love worshiping with the people of Trinity. It is very easy to “Serve the Lord with gladness!” But it’s not just us pastors and Lutheran teachers who get this opportunity. Every person doing a legal job is able to “Serve the Lord with gladness.” (Obviously, a bank robber isn’t serving the Lord). So, we do the best that we can at our jobs. We put forth our best effort because we aren’t just doing a job, but we are serving the Lord.
As an example of someone who served the Lord well, we see Joshua. This man had a difficult job. He lead Israel into the Promised Land and fought many battles and was able to clear the land for this nation. While serving him the people were faithful to God. So, the history begins, if they have a faithful leader, the nation too was faithful. I wonder what that says about us and our nation now? Two or three times during his leadership, he gives the people of Israel a little history lesson and pep talk. God has done this, this and this. He has given you this land. You can either follow Him and life will be good. Or you can follow other gods and suffer. “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” And he lived to be 110 years old. He was indeed a remarkable leader.
And the theme continues, we see more leaders in the early church. Barnabas and Saul are sent off on the first missionary journey. At the Lord’s direction, He choses Banabas and Saul. And it is only after fasting and praying that they take off on this journey.
And of course, they encounter resistance right at the onset in the person of Bar-Jesus, a false prophet. But he isn’t much of a problem. Paul calls a spade a spade and puts him in his place and makes him blind, and the proconsul believes. Nothing like threats and punishments to bring others to faith. Too bad we can’t do that these days.
Still, the Lord is with us as we do His work, whether it is as a professional church worker or as a lay person, we do His work with His blessing. May our Lord be with us as we do His work this week.
Happy Tuesday! What a beautiful morning! Yet, as beautiful as the weather is, there are still problems in the air. Korea shoots off another rocket on our Independance Day. Our president is finishing up a trip to Russia. We could very well ask ourselves, “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?” Yes, for the most part, I’d say most nations and rulers “take counsel together against the Lord.” Our own president plays down our role as a “Christian nation.” Someone send me a Youtube clip that I applauded. Here it is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpQOCvthw-o … you maybe have to cut and paste it into your Internet Explorer. The fact of the matter is that the Lord is in charge. God is in control.
And yet, here in the middle of this “political” Psalm, we have a reference to our Lord Jesus, “You are my son; today I have begotten you.” Jesus is all over the Old Testament.
Oh how quickly they forget! Joshua dies at the ripe old age of 110 and his generation — the one that saw all the things the Lord did — they follow in the steps of the Lord. They follow the Lord. But the next generation, they didn’t see what the Lord did and they start to follow other gods. So, as promised, the Lord lets other people come and plunder the nation of Israel. Small bands of people come and rob and plunder the people of Israel. And when Israel goes out to fight them off, the hand of the Lord is against them.
So, because Israel is a Theocracy (a nation ruled by God) and not a Monarchy (a nation ruled by kings and queens), the Lord raises up judges to lead the people. When the judges were around, the people were okay. When the judges died, they followed other gods. Remember, these are a stubborn and stiff necked people. And really, we aren’t that much different. We abandon God when things are good and run back to Him when there are problems. Why can’t we just walk with God all our days?
In Acts, we see Paul’s strategy for evangelism. They go to a city. They go to the synagogue and they begin with the Old Testament and they begin to lay out for the people proofs that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God. We may not entirely understand the significance of all Paul lays out, but we don’t understand the Old Testment as well as they did. But using this common ground, Paul would work to convince these people about Jesus. And he was fairly effective.
Part of what Paul did was build relationships. It’s all about relationships.
Anyway, it’s not an easy road. There are roadbloacks at every turn. But as we read through Acts, we will see the wonders that God has done.
It all comes down to the First Commandment, “You shall have no other gods.” That’s what it’s all about. Stated positively, “The Lord is my chosen portion.” He is our God. He is the one we follow. If we just followed Him constantly, life would be fine. Or, we might have troubles, even St. Paul had troubles, but the Lord gives us strength to endure them. Praising God, listening to His Word (His counsel), keeping the Lord before us, that’s what the Christian life is all about. Putting God first, even in the midst of trouble and our hearts will be glad, and our whole being will rejoice.
In our Judges reading we see the ups and downs of Israel. They are right in the middle of it now. And it’s so simple, they follow the Lord and they have rest from their enemies. If the don’t follow the Lord, they have trouble from their neighbors.
By the way, how do you like the name Cushan-rishathaim? Maybe I’ll change my name to that.
Of course, I like Ehud. He’s left-handed. And fairly smart, although, I’m not sure how you attach an 18″ two edged sword to your right thigh. They didn’t have velchro. But, he gets alone with Eglon and kills him and keeps it secret so he can escape. The text does get a little graphic, but that supports the text and helps add credibility.
I guess the key to the story is that when the nation of Israel called to the Lord and was ready to follow Him, He provided Judges or leaders to lead the people. In short, the Lord is faithful.
I’m preaching in Chicago in a few weeks at what used to be my wifes first church before they moved out of the city. And the text is one where the people were just coming from everywhere to see and hear Jesus. This Acts text reminds me of that. “The people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath … almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.” Wow … and we had 33 people in church last Saturday night. Granted, it was July 4th, but still, we take the word of the Lord for granted and these people were excited to hear it. They wanted to hear it. Look at verse 49, “And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region.” It was speading like wild fire and today, we can barely fill a church. Even in spite of suffering and persecution, “the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” That’s what the Word will do for you. Stay in the Word and be excited for the Lord.
We have another wonderful morning to thank God for. “I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart.” Those last three words caught my attention: “with my whole heart.” Okay, the last four words. How often do we give thanks to our God “with our whole heart.” We sit down to dinner and say grace, but how often do we just rush through the prayer without even really thinking? I know there has been a time or two when I’ve been waiting for my family to pray and say grace when we have already said it. If that’s not paying attention, I don’t know what is. People have told me that one way to help curb depression is to spend a few minutes every day trying to list three things to be truly thankful for. When we realize what we really have, then we can be truly thankful.
Am I thankful for the book of Judges? I have to admit, I’m getting a little tired of the same pattern. The people of Israel fall away from the Lord. The Lord lets yet another nation abuse the Israelites and they come to the senses and cry out to God again and God sends one of the Judges to save the day. Why don’t they just keep following God and save themselves the trouble? This time it’s Deborah and Barak. I’m not very impressed with Barak. Doborah seems to be the faithful one here. She seems to be the one who trusts in God. But still, the Lord gives them victory and Sisera ends up with his head nailed to the ground. At least he slept through his death.
We begin to see a pattern in Acts too. Barnabus and Paul go to yet another city and preach the Gospel and enjoy some success. But every single time the church begins to grow and people start following the Lord, the unbelieving Jew get jealous and start stirring up trouble and Barney and Paul have to skip town to save their lives. But even though they run, they still keep spreading the Gospel. They keep preaching Christ and Him crucified. The messsage continues to get out. That the important thing
As Christians, it’s important for us to share that message of love with people too. If we don’t tell them, who will. People today have just as much need to hear about Jesus love as the people in Paul’s day. The people are different, and their gods are different. But their need to hear the Gospel remains the same.
I’ve been called a lot of things over the years, but no one has ever called me a mountain! And yet, those who have faith are immoveable like a mountain. Not only that, but “the Lord surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore.” The Lord watches over us and protects us. He has us surrounded.
Someone do me a favor. Keep track of the number of times Judges says,”the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord,” or something along those lines. There are some things that are very interesting about this book, but it gets boring hearing about them leaving the Lord and coming back.
So, in our lesson today, the Lord calls Gideon. Gideon is surprised that the Lord would choose him. He is from the weakest tribe and he is the weakest in his family. But what does the New Testament say, “When you are weak, then I am strong.” The Lord chooses the weak to serve Him so they people depend on Him. So we will see how the Lord uses Gideon.
Can you imagine a whole crowd of people surrounding you and throwing rocks and stones at you until you are dead? I can’t. But we see Paul stoned in our text and after he is dragged out of town, he just jumps right up, travels to the next town and continues to preach the Gospel. Nothing will stop Paul from sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Then of course, the big controversy concerning circumcision arises. Some maintain that it is required for salvation. Obviously, that is not right. We are saved by faith and that is it. So Paul and Barnabus travel to Jerusalem to defend the Gospel. We will see what happens in the next few days.
Well, have a good Friday. We are headed up to Appleton for a wedding rehearsal this afternoon and the Wedding tomorrow. Have a blessed weekend.
Ever have something going on in your life where you wonder if God is listening? We all do. And it seems that the author of this Psalm may have too. Still, he goes right on laying his request out to God even telling God to listen, “Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my groaning.” Listen to me. Listen to me. He says it again in the second verse, “Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray.” Our Lord likes us to be persistent. While we may get annoyed at our kids constantly bugging us, “I’m hungry. I’m hungry. Get me something to eat.” Our Lord loves it when we are persistent in our prayers and petitions.
Our God is a good and faithful God. “For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you.” God’s will is always good and right. If something bad happens to you, God did not cause it. Although, He may use it to bring you closer to Him. Our God is abounding in love. He loves us and hears us and answers our prayer. Oh yes, our God does listen.
So, we are introduced to Gideon today. He serves as one of God’s Judges to lead the people of Israel. So quickly after Joshua’s death do the people of Israel begin to worship false gods. Immediately, Gideon is called to destroy an altar to Baal. The people want to kill him, but his father speaks on his behalf. That seems to calm the people down. And then, the other nations move in to attack Israel and Gideon is called to lead the people to defend themselves. Gideon seems to be anxious. He asks God for a sign, not once, but twice. I can understand his nervousness, but he just doesn’t seem to have the faith of Joshua.
Ahhh yes, where two or three are gathered together, there will be controversy. Paul and Barnabas have been preaching to the Gentiles. And they make their report to the leaders in Jerusalem. This was a difficult time for them. They were not on good terms with the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem and now they seem to have trouble with the Christian leaders in Jerusalem too. The issue is how many of our Jewish laws to we impose on the Gentile Christians. Peter speaks well, “We believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.” In other words, obeying the law won’t get us into heaven. We are saved by faith.
Fortunately, they reach a compromise. Stay away from things offered to idols. Stay away from sexual immorality. Stay away from things strangled. Stay away from blood. Basically, stay away from anything having to do with idol worship. Don’t lead weaker Christians astray.
Ever wonder why there are so many religions? Look at this text. The early Christians couldn’t even agree. How can we so many years later?
SUNDAY, JULY 5, 2009
PSALM 68:1-6
JOSHUA 23:1-16
ACTS 12:1-25
Happy Birthday Mom!! Yes, it’s my mom’s birthday today. I have to remember to call her.
It’s no contest. Anyone planning on rebelling against God, take warning, you will be crushed. “His enemies shall be scattered .. as wax melts before the fire, so the wicked shall perish before God.” But while God will scatter the wicked, He will also protect the weak. He protects the fatherless, widows, solitary and prisoners. He is a loving God who watches over those who love Him. But those who rebel, beware.
Wow, that was a big jump. We jump from Joshua 10 to Joshua 23. The wars are basically ended. The Lord has given Israel rest from their enemies. Joshua is old and about to die. So he gathers the leaders of Israel to himself and he just lays it on the line. If you follow the Lord and His commandments and love Him, everything will be fine. But if you follow other gods, if you intermarry, if you start hanging out with the other nations, you will be destroyed. That’s his message. It’s a simple one. Just follow the Lord and life will be fine. It seems easy enough. But we know it doesnt’ end that way. So enjoy the peace while it’s here.
The lesson from Acts is pretty cool. Herod is being his nasty self. He kills James the brother of John, not James the brother of Jesus who is the leader of the church in Jerusalem. And Herod arrests Peter and is ready to kill him. But the Lord has another plan. And angel breaks in and let’s Peter free.
I love the action that takes place when Peter shows up at Mary’s house. The people won’t believe Rhoda. But she won’t open the door either. Just let the poor guy in. Notice that Peter is smart. He doesn’t stay there but goes to another place so he isn’t arrested again. And then we have the strange record of Herod’s death. He gives this speech and then is killed by God via worms. Now that Herod is gone, notice, “But the word of God increased and multiplied.” Indeed, this was a time of persecution, and yet, the church still continues to increase. That’s the way the Lord works. He protects the church and He increases the church.
These are tough times for the church now too. With the economy, with people outside the church supporting causes against the church, these are tough times. But the Lord is in control and it will be fine. He will protect His church today as He did back then.
MONDAY, JULY 6, 2009
PSALM 5:1-8
JOSHUA 24:1-31
ACTS 13:1-12
Another Monday morning, but not a bad one. It was absolutely beautiful walking this morning and very easy to make a joyful noise to the Lord even at 6am.
While Sunday mornings are a little nerve wracking, I love worshiping with the people of Trinity. It is very easy to “Serve the Lord with gladness!” But it’s not just us pastors and Lutheran teachers who get this opportunity. Every person doing a legal job is able to “Serve the Lord with gladness.” (Obviously, a bank robber isn’t serving the Lord). So, we do the best that we can at our jobs. We put forth our best effort because we aren’t just doing a job, but we are serving the Lord.
As an example of someone who served the Lord well, we see Joshua. This man had a difficult job. He lead Israel into the Promised Land and fought many battles and was able to clear the land for this nation. While serving him the people were faithful to God. So, the history begins, if they have a faithful leader, the nation too was faithful. I wonder what that says about us and our nation now? Two or three times during his leadership, he gives the people of Israel a little history lesson and pep talk. God has done this, this and this. He has given you this land. You can either follow Him and life will be good. Or you can follow other gods and suffer. “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” And he lived to be 110 years old. He was indeed a remarkable leader.
And the theme continues, we see more leaders in the early church. Barnabas and Saul are sent off on the first missionary journey. At the Lord’s direction, He choses Banabas and Saul. And it is only after fasting and praying that they take off on this journey.
And of course, they encounter resistance right at the onset in the person of Bar-Jesus, a false prophet. But he isn’t much of a problem. Paul calls a spade a spade and puts him in his place and makes him blind, and the proconsul believes. Nothing like threats and punishments to bring others to faith. Too bad we can’t do that these days.
Still, the Lord is with us as we do His work, whether it is as a professional church worker or as a lay person, we do His work with His blessing. May our Lord be with us as we do His work this week.
TUESDAY, JULY 7, 2009
PSALM 2:1-8
JUDGES 2:6-23
ACTS 13:13-41
Happy Tuesday! What a beautiful morning! Yet, as beautiful as the weather is, there are still problems in the air. Korea shoots off another rocket on our Independance Day. Our president is finishing up a trip to Russia. We could very well ask ourselves, “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?” Yes, for the most part, I’d say most nations and rulers “take counsel together against the Lord.” Our own president plays down our role as a “Christian nation.” Someone send me a Youtube clip that I applauded. Here it is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpQOCvthw-o … you maybe have to cut and paste it into your Internet Explorer. The fact of the matter is that the Lord is in charge. God is in control.
And yet, here in the middle of this “political” Psalm, we have a reference to our Lord Jesus, “You are my son; today I have begotten you.” Jesus is all over the Old Testament.
Oh how quickly they forget! Joshua dies at the ripe old age of 110 and his generation — the one that saw all the things the Lord did — they follow in the steps of the Lord. They follow the Lord. But the next generation, they didn’t see what the Lord did and they start to follow other gods. So, as promised, the Lord lets other people come and plunder the nation of Israel. Small bands of people come and rob and plunder the people of Israel. And when Israel goes out to fight them off, the hand of the Lord is against them.
So, because Israel is a Theocracy (a nation ruled by God) and not a Monarchy (a nation ruled by kings and queens), the Lord raises up judges to lead the people. When the judges were around, the people were okay. When the judges died, they followed other gods. Remember, these are a stubborn and stiff necked people. And really, we aren’t that much different. We abandon God when things are good and run back to Him when there are problems. Why can’t we just walk with God all our days?
In Acts, we see Paul’s strategy for evangelism. They go to a city. They go to the synagogue and they begin with the Old Testament and they begin to lay out for the people proofs that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God. We may not entirely understand the significance of all Paul lays out, but we don’t understand the Old Testment as well as they did. But using this common ground, Paul would work to convince these people about Jesus. And he was fairly effective.
Part of what Paul did was build relationships. It’s all about relationships.
Anyway, it’s not an easy road. There are roadbloacks at every turn. But as we read through Acts, we will see the wonders that God has done.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2009
PSALM 16:5-11
JUDGES 3:7-31
ACTS 13:42-52
It all comes down to the First Commandment, “You shall have no other gods.” That’s what it’s all about. Stated positively, “The Lord is my chosen portion.” He is our God. He is the one we follow. If we just followed Him constantly, life would be fine. Or, we might have troubles, even St. Paul had troubles, but the Lord gives us strength to endure them. Praising God, listening to His Word (His counsel), keeping the Lord before us, that’s what the Christian life is all about. Putting God first, even in the midst of trouble and our hearts will be glad, and our whole being will rejoice.
In our Judges reading we see the ups and downs of Israel. They are right in the middle of it now. And it’s so simple, they follow the Lord and they have rest from their enemies. If the don’t follow the Lord, they have trouble from their neighbors.
By the way, how do you like the name Cushan-rishathaim? Maybe I’ll change my name to that.
Of course, I like Ehud. He’s left-handed. And fairly smart, although, I’m not sure how you attach an 18″ two edged sword to your right thigh. They didn’t have velchro. But, he gets alone with Eglon and kills him and keeps it secret so he can escape. The text does get a little graphic, but that supports the text and helps add credibility.
I guess the key to the story is that when the nation of Israel called to the Lord and was ready to follow Him, He provided Judges or leaders to lead the people. In short, the Lord is faithful.
I’m preaching in Chicago in a few weeks at what used to be my wifes first church before they moved out of the city. And the text is one where the people were just coming from everywhere to see and hear Jesus. This Acts text reminds me of that. “The people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath … almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.” Wow … and we had 33 people in church last Saturday night. Granted, it was July 4th, but still, we take the word of the Lord for granted and these people were excited to hear it. They wanted to hear it. Look at verse 49, “And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region.” It was speading like wild fire and today, we can barely fill a church. Even in spite of suffering and persecution, “the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” That’s what the Word will do for you. Stay in the Word and be excited for the Lord.
THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2008
PSALM 138:1-6
JUDGES 4:1-24
ACTS 14:1-18
We have another wonderful morning to thank God for. “I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart.” Those last three words caught my attention: “with my whole heart.” Okay, the last four words. How often do we give thanks to our God “with our whole heart.” We sit down to dinner and say grace, but how often do we just rush through the prayer without even really thinking? I know there has been a time or two when I’ve been waiting for my family to pray and say grace when we have already said it. If that’s not paying attention, I don’t know what is. People have told me that one way to help curb depression is to spend a few minutes every day trying to list three things to be truly thankful for. When we realize what we really have, then we can be truly thankful.
Am I thankful for the book of Judges? I have to admit, I’m getting a little tired of the same pattern. The people of Israel fall away from the Lord. The Lord lets yet another nation abuse the Israelites and they come to the senses and cry out to God again and God sends one of the Judges to save the day. Why don’t they just keep following God and save themselves the trouble? This time it’s Deborah and Barak. I’m not very impressed with Barak. Doborah seems to be the faithful one here. She seems to be the one who trusts in God. But still, the Lord gives them victory and Sisera ends up with his head nailed to the ground. At least he slept through his death.
We begin to see a pattern in Acts too. Barnabus and Paul go to yet another city and preach the Gospel and enjoy some success. But every single time the church begins to grow and people start following the Lord, the unbelieving Jew get jealous and start stirring up trouble and Barney and Paul have to skip town to save their lives. But even though they run, they still keep spreading the Gospel. They keep preaching Christ and Him crucified. The messsage continues to get out. That the important thing
As Christians, it’s important for us to share that message of love with people too. If we don’t tell them, who will. People today have just as much need to hear about Jesus love as the people in Paul’s day. The people are different, and their gods are different. But their need to hear the Gospel remains the same.
Have a wonderful day. Enjoy the weather.
FRIDAY, JULY 10, 2009
PSALM 125
JUDGES 6:1-24
ACTS 14:19-15:5
I’ve been called a lot of things over the years, but no one has ever called me a mountain! And yet, those who have faith are immoveable like a mountain. Not only that, but “the Lord surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore.” The Lord watches over us and protects us. He has us surrounded.
Someone do me a favor. Keep track of the number of times Judges says,”the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord,” or something along those lines. There are some things that are very interesting about this book, but it gets boring hearing about them leaving the Lord and coming back.
So, in our lesson today, the Lord calls Gideon. Gideon is surprised that the Lord would choose him. He is from the weakest tribe and he is the weakest in his family. But what does the New Testament say, “When you are weak, then I am strong.” The Lord chooses the weak to serve Him so they people depend on Him. So we will see how the Lord uses Gideon.
Can you imagine a whole crowd of people surrounding you and throwing rocks and stones at you until you are dead? I can’t. But we see Paul stoned in our text and after he is dragged out of town, he just jumps right up, travels to the next town and continues to preach the Gospel. Nothing will stop Paul from sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Then of course, the big controversy concerning circumcision arises. Some maintain that it is required for salvation. Obviously, that is not right. We are saved by faith and that is it. So Paul and Barnabus travel to Jerusalem to defend the Gospel. We will see what happens in the next few days.
Well, have a good Friday. We are headed up to Appleton for a wedding rehearsal this afternoon and the Wedding tomorrow. Have a blessed weekend.
SATURDAY, JULY 11, 2009
PSALM 5:1-8
JUDGES 6:25-40
ACTS 15:6-21
Ever have something going on in your life where you wonder if God is listening? We all do. And it seems that the author of this Psalm may have too. Still, he goes right on laying his request out to God even telling God to listen, “Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my groaning.” Listen to me. Listen to me. He says it again in the second verse, “Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray.” Our Lord likes us to be persistent. While we may get annoyed at our kids constantly bugging us, “I’m hungry. I’m hungry. Get me something to eat.” Our Lord loves it when we are persistent in our prayers and petitions.
Our God is a good and faithful God. “For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you.” God’s will is always good and right. If something bad happens to you, God did not cause it. Although, He may use it to bring you closer to Him. Our God is abounding in love. He loves us and hears us and answers our prayer. Oh yes, our God does listen.
So, we are introduced to Gideon today. He serves as one of God’s Judges to lead the people of Israel. So quickly after Joshua’s death do the people of Israel begin to worship false gods. Immediately, Gideon is called to destroy an altar to Baal. The people want to kill him, but his father speaks on his behalf. That seems to calm the people down. And then, the other nations move in to attack Israel and Gideon is called to lead the people to defend themselves. Gideon seems to be anxious. He asks God for a sign, not once, but twice. I can understand his nervousness, but he just doesn’t seem to have the faith of Joshua.
Ahhh yes, where two or three are gathered together, there will be controversy. Paul and Barnabas have been preaching to the Gentiles. And they make their report to the leaders in Jerusalem. This was a difficult time for them. They were not on good terms with the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem and now they seem to have trouble with the Christian leaders in Jerusalem too. The issue is how many of our Jewish laws to we impose on the Gentile Christians. Peter speaks well, “We believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.” In other words, obeying the law won’t get us into heaven. We are saved by faith.
Fortunately, they reach a compromise. Stay away from things offered to idols. Stay away from sexual immorality. Stay away from things strangled. Stay away from blood. Basically, stay away from anything having to do with idol worship. Don’t lead weaker Christians astray.
Ever wonder why there are so many religions? Look at this text. The early Christians couldn’t even agree. How can we so many years later?