Go In The Strength You Have

The story of Gideon is one of my favorite sections of the Bible. There are just so many lessons woven into what is ultimately a short section of verses. The thing I like most is how ill equipped Gideon was for the whole adventure of battling the Midianites.

When God first comes to recruit him, Gideon was hiding in a winepress threshing wheat because he was afraid of being attacked by the Midianites and they would steal his lunch.

The opening statement is great too. This is the first thing the angel says to the cowering Gideon in Judges 6, “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.”

Are you kidding? A mighty warrior? Gideon explains to God how this is absurd. He was from the a half tribe, not even a full tribe. His family was the least in the tribe and he is runt of the family. God must have called the wrong dude.

No, the first lesson in this section is that God sees things we don’t. God names our core, not our circumstances. He speaks to who we can become, not who we are in the moment.

Gideon complains a little, “If the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us?”

If God is so big, how come my marriage ended? Why didn’t I get that promotion? Why can’t I find a husband? Why don’t people like me at work?

And then my favorite sentence in the story is unraveled in verse 14:

The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

That went straight to my heart. I love that God says “Go in the strength you have.” Do you ever feel like there’s some strength you’re waiting on? Some bit of wisdom or power or prayer and as soon as you get it you’ll go out and do that thing God has been quietly whispering to you? It’s not coming. I promise. It’s not coming because you already have it.

And you have to like the sarcasm in the end of the statement. “Am I not sending you?” You get the sense that God is saying, “What are you kidding me? I’m God. I mean seriously, this is me sending you. This is me we’re talking about and I said go.”

Some of you have more strength than you know. Some of you are already might warriors and today God is simply saying, “Go.”

Used Testament

I have favorite Bible translations, for different purposes. I primarily study and teach from the NIV. For pure reading enjoyment, I have been pulled between The New Living Translation and The Message.

What TESTAMENTs do you USE?

God’s Ever Present Love

We often confuse unconditional love with unconditional approval. God loves us without conditions but does not approve of every human behavior. God doesn’t approve of betrayal, violence, hatred, suspicion, and all other expressions of evil, because they all contradict the love God wants to instill in the human heart. Evil is the absence of God’s love. Evil does not belong to God.

God’s unconditional love means that God continues to love us even when we say or think evil things. God continues to wait for us as a loving parent waits for the return of a lost child. It is important for us to hold on to the truth that God never gives up loving us even when God is saddened by what we do. That truth will help us to return to God’s ever-present love. - Henri Nouwen

A Bucket of Mud and A White Glove

“He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm”. Proverbs 13:20 Do you have a wise woman or man with whom you confide? Is there someone you can go to for objective advice based on the Bible? Gaining God’s perspective is a lifetime of leaning onto others to grow in our understanding. Wisdom comes from walking with the wise; not flirting with fools. Good people engage with good company. “Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character” (1 Corinthians 15:53). I once heard a teacher question that if you have a bucket of mud and a white glove, and if you stick the white glove in the mud, does the mud get “glovey”?  Wisdom walks with willing participants . Beware of fools who talk fast, but do not follow through. They may be aware of what’s right and can ‘talk the talk’, but they fail to ‘walk the walk’. They ignore integrity. Fools eventually hurt and damage relationships. Foolish behavior will come back to bite you, so avoid its influence. What seems like innocent fun eventually inflicts suffering and harms hearts. They are anti-wisdom. “Fools despise wisdom and discipline” (Proverbs 1:7b). So, where can you find wise companions? Look for them in church or in respected leadership roles in the community. Ignore foolish friends, so you have the capacity to walk with the wise. Ask, ‘Am I growing in wisdom or floundering with fools?’  A wise ruler once said, “It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools” (Ecclesiastes 7:5).

 

Jumping

Throughout the Bible, we are given access to wonderful stories of miraculous events. The blind gain sight, the dead are brought back to life, the lame are healed.

It’s in Acts 3:8, here is what happens after Peter heals a crippled man:

Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God

The word I want to focus on is “jumping.”  JUMPING.

I think that is beautiful. It’s such a childlike, pure reaction to receiving a gift. He doesn’t calmly stretch out his new legs and walk. He jumps. He leaps about, probably in a silly, ecstatic fashion that drew the stares of those around him.

In that verse, I find the Lord over my shoulder quietly whispering, “Why aren’t you jumping? Why aren’t you jumping?”

And he’s right. I have been healed. I have gained more than my legs, I have gained my soul. I have been healed by the father. And to be honest, on most days I do not jump. I am a cripple that has been healed and is now using his legs to walk slowly about the sidewalk. I may run a little on Sunday, but most of the week my legs are still. I don’t think that is what Christ wants.

I think he wants me in the street.

I think he wants me jumping around and leaping about, on legs that are new, with a heart that is healed.

I think he wants us to shout and sing and praise and laugh and cry and be real with the gift he has given us.

I think he wants everyone that comes in contact with me to know that something is different, that something is true that used to be false.

I think he wants everyone I know to ask questions about why I jump so often, so loudly.

Are you jumping?

Memorial Day

Today, we salute and remember the men and women that have served and sacrificed, even their lives, for the idea called freedom. There is probably no land on earth that has not received the spilt blood of those who defended, with highest ,our country. While we eat out hot dogs and apple pie and enjoy our blessed liberty, we will remember.

God bless the USA.

One of the blogs that has the greatest number of hits was this one from a year ago concerning the Tomb for the Unknown Soldier. I offer to you again HERE.

Greater Things Are Still To Be Done

Watch this video about an amazing 24 hours, called AMAZING.

Where I Have Been

There are times in our lives when we question, WHY?

My blogging was a way for me to share what is on my my mind, my mood, my emotion. If I had a funny picture, it was designed for me to laugh again. A share scripture and thought, while on the monitor before you, was for my eyes and heart.

The roller coaster of life has been running too fast lately. I have been unable to get off and reflect or cry. I have been at angry with Satan and in deep discussions with God as to why things are as they are. My faith is being reshaped. God and I laugh at times and enjoy His creation. Other times we weep together over pain.

My blog has been silent because I don’t know what to say. It is like that awkward moment when you confront someone who has just experienced a loss, that you struggle to say anything meaningful. I just can’t get the words out. One of my blogging friends calls this blogging constipation.

So here we go, I know I have a God who loves me. I know that Patricia is my gift from God (the giver of all good gifts). I have a huge amount of brothers and sisters who support me. The world I live in is a beautiful creation of God.

While I live with my trials and others hurts, instead of staying at the pity party (and I will throw one at the spur of the moment), I will not linger there but place my heart, soul, mind and strength in the hand of Jesus.

Let the blogging continue. God bless you.

Choose the Blessings!

It is an ongoing temptation to think of ourselves as living under a curse. The loss of a friend, an illness, an accident, a natural disaster, a war, or any failure can make us quickly think that we are no good and are being punished. This temptation to think of our lives as full of curses is even greater when all the media present us day after day with stories about human misery.

Jesus came to bless us, not to curse us. But we must choose to receive that blessing and hand it on to others. Blessings and curses are always placed in front of us. We are free to choose. God says, Choose the blessings! - Henri Nouwen