Judges 2:10 - The next generation

After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. Judges 2:10

While Joshua was alive, the Israelites followed the Lord. Verse 7 states, "The people served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel." But what about the next generation? Why were they not faithful? Why didn't they know the Lord? As a Christian, it is my responsibility to not only remain faithful and bring glory to God, but also to teach the next generation about the Lord and what he has done for me.

Lord, Thank you for giving us salvation through Jesus blood. Please help us to share our faith with our children and the children around us. Amen.

Ephesians 3:20-21 - Plunder

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

I've had an epiphany, and aha moment. God has been bringing me to this point for several months and the last few days have made it clear. I tried to share this with a ladies class last night and I think I realized that aha moments may be difficult to translate to others who have not been walking your journey, but here it goes. The process of seeking healing may even be more important than actually receiving healing. We all have one or many strongholds, right now my stronghold of focus is food issues. My sisters and I have been reading the book Breaking Free by Beth Moore. At the end of the book she states that our motivation may have been to find deliverance, but hopefully we will find more of the deliverer. She also talks about the idea of plunder and that when the Israelites left the slavery of Egypt, the Egyptians gave the gold. God gives us more than what we've asked for. In fact, God can even give us plunder if he does not give us healing right away or ever. Perseverance in study and prayer gives us a closer connection and relationship with God. Dealing with our stronghold will help us to have mercy on others who are dealing with their stronghold. And if we do receive healing, that's just the icing on the cake and gives more plunder because now we have an amazing story of healing to share with others.

Lord, thank you for plunder. Thank you for the things you do that go above and beyond what we ask for. Please help us to persevere in our struggle against our stronghold. Amen.

Psalm 138:3-Boldness

When I called, you answered me;
     you greatly emboldened me.

Our experiences with God strengthen our boldness in him. The more we see him working in our lives, the more we want to share this with others.

Lord, thank you for every time you answer us, when we can see you working in our lives, whether it was exactly what we asked for or not, whether your answer was yes, no or not now. Please help us to see your work in our lives, so that we will be greatly emboldened and share you with others. Amen.

Psalm 119:46 - Confidence from the word

I will speak of your statutes before kings
     and will not be put to shame,

When we know the word, we have confidence to share the word. In this section of Psalm 119, the author talks about knowing the law so well, they can answer one who taunts them, trust in the word, put their hope in the laws, walk in freedom and speak the statues before kings. Knowledge of the word gives us the confidence we need to go about our lives.

Lord, thank you for your word. Please help us to be confident in life and speaking to others about you. Amen.

Psalm 111:10 - Wisdom and understanding

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
     all who follow his precepts have good understanding.
     To him belongs eternal praise.

So many people are seeking. They want wisdom and understanding but search for it in all the wrong places. Fear of the Lord and obedience to Him are the keys. Non-Christians may feel like Christians act like they know it all and have it all figured out. Well, we are on the path to wisdom and understanding because of our relationship to God, so we may actually have some things figured out. I don't think God wants us to act superior or have a closed mind, but we do have clarity not attained by many. When we share our wisdom and understanding, it is not to belittle, but to offer it to you.

Lord, Thank you for wisdom and understanding. Please help us to fear you, follow your precepts, and share this with others. Amen.

Psalm 96:2 - Day after day

Sing to the Lord, praise his name;
     proclaim his salvation day after day.

How often do we spend time singing to God and praising his name? How often do we proclaim his salvation? Sometimes we are content to focus on God only once or twice a week, or once or twice a month or even once or twice a year. God deserves our praise every day. We should be talking about salvation day after day.

Lord, thank you for being so worthy of our praise and for salvation. Please help us to daily praise you and share your salvation. Amen.

Matthew 28:18-20 - Bible Study Challenge Day 7

18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Question 1 - Where are the lost?

They are everywhere, all nations, including those who live near us.

Question 2 - How can we reach them?

We can reach them by teaching them to obey everything God commands. We have to seek out people in the world. Find people who are struggling and looking for answers. If we live as a Christian example, some people may come to us looking for the reason for our joy and faith.

Question 3 - Why do we not seek them out?

Fear. We are scared people will say no and think we are bugging them. They might think we are a hypocrite if we say we are a Christian, yet are not perfect. We might be sacred they will ask something we don't know the answer to. 

Lord, thank you for trusting us with this commission. Please help us to go out and make disciples. Amen. 

Psalm 78:4 - Heritage of faith

We will not hide them from their descendants;
     we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,
     his power, and the wonders he has done.

The first 8 verses of  the 78th Psalm emphasize the importance of telling the next generation the amazing deeds God has done. As a follower of God, it is our responsibility to continue this "heritage of faith." It is a blessing to our children to teach them the stories of the Bible. We all have stories of the amazing deeds God has done in our lives to share.  How amazing to see our children, or others we have taught, become our brother or sister in Christ!

Lord, thank you for those who shared their faith with us. Please help us to pass it on. Amen.

Joel 1:3 - Pass it down

Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation.

This passage is talking about passing down the story of a devastating locust invasion, but the idea of passing down information to our children is evident throughout the Bible.  This appears to be one of the best ways share our faith, by sharing it with the next generation in our family. If you are a multi-generational Christian who grew up going to church, you may be a little frustrated that you did not have a "great conversion experience". But remember, even if we learn our faith from our parents, we have to make the choice to follow God. If we are still just following our parent's faith without making our own decision, then we have not yet decided to follow God.

Lord, thank you for allowing me to be raised by a Christian parent. Please help all of us to independently decide to follow you. Amen.

Romans 14:4 - Who are you to judge?

Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

Not everyone's faith is the same. Just because someone believes a little different from me doesn't mean they are not a servant of the Lord. If they are willing to listen, we can share our truth, but we need to be prepared to listen to them share their truth as well. Each servant will stand or fall independently to their master. If they belong to the Lord, they will stand, regardless of the differences in the way we believe.

Lord, thank you for having a relationship with each and every one of your followers. Please help us to be coworkers with fellow believers, regardless of our differences. Amen.

Genesis 35:3 - Do you have a story?

Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.”

God asked Jacob to this location and build an altar. Jacob had a testimony. God had been with him in the day of his distress and continued to be with him wherever he went. Do you have a testimony? How do you share it? If God has been there for us and continues to be with us, we need to let people know. We need to build and alter, probably not a pile of rocks in our front yard where we make sacrifices, but something that people may ask about and will help us remember our story.

Lord, thank you for your faithfulness, for being there for us in our time of distress and wherever we go. Help us to share our story with others. Amen.