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Christian Devotional – December 23, 2014
Read Judges chapter 21 VERSE: Judges 21:15–The people grieved for Benjamin, because the Lord had made a gap in the tribes of Israel. TRUTH: The tribe of Benjamin had been disobedient and as a result, God had brought judgment upon them. However, the rest of the tribes, instead of rejoicing in their destruction, began to grieve and cry out to the Lord because of their fallen brothers. When we have brothers and sisters in Christ who have fallen and are experiencing difficulties because of their sin, do we rejoice in seeing them experience “what they deserve,” or do we cry out to God and pray for their repentance and restoration.…
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Christian Devotional – December 22, 2014
Read Judges chapter 20 VERSE: Judges 20:13–Now turn those wicked men of Gibeah over to us so that we may put them to death and purge the evil from Israel. But then Benjamites would not listen to their fellow Israelites. TRUTH: The men of Israel were giving the tribe of Benjamin an opportunity to clean house. Yet, the refused to give up their evil. they wanted to hang on to the evil that they were doing. God asks us to do the same thing. Are we willing to give Him the sin in our life so that he may clean us and purge the evil from us? God desires that…
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Christian Devotional – December 20, 2014
Read Judges chapter 18 VERSE: Judges 18:24–He replied, “You took the gods I made, and my priest, and went away. What else do I have? How can you say, ‘What’s the matter with you?'” TRUTH: Micah had made his own gods, but he had nothing else besides that. Then at the end, the gods didn’t protect him; he had to try and protect them. He failed. When we set up gods in our life that we have made, we will spend all our time trying to protect them and trying to hold on to them, instead of the other way around. The one true God is over all things and…
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Christian Devotional – December 19, 2014
Read Judges chapter 17 VERSE: Judges 17:6–In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit. TRUTH: They had no leadership. The people didn’t have someone standing over them pointing them in the direction of God. Instead, they did have God who was still over them. The people, however, weren’t interested in remembering God and following God. Instead, they did whatever seemed right and they blended their worship of God with worship of other pagan idols. We must not compromise. Whether we have a specific leader figure in our life who is pointing us the correct way or if we’re at a place where it is just…
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Christian Devotional – December 18, 2014
Read Judges chapter 16 VERSE: Judges 16:20–The she said, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him. TRUTH: To me, this is one of the saddest verses in the Bible. The idea that Samson, a man used mightily by God would get to the place where he wouldn’t even realize that God was not with him is so incredibly sad. We must be careful not to fall into the same trap. We go through our day each day and just move from one thing to…
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Christian Devotional – December 17, 2014
Read Judges chapter 15 VERSE: Judges 15:14–As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax and the bindings dropped from his hands. TRUTH: Samson did not always follow God, but God still used him in mighty and amazing ways. God’s Spirit worked through him to accomplish great and wonderful victories that only can be explained by God. If we will surrender ourselves to God, He desires to use us in mighty and amazing ways. We don’t have to be perfect to be used by God, but we do have to be willing.…
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Christian Devotional – December 16, 2014
Read Judges chapter 14 VERSE: Judges 14:17–She cried the whole seven days of the feast. So on the seventh day he finally told her, because she continued to press him. She in turn explained the riddle to her people. TRUTH: Why do people continue to whine and beg? Because often it gets results. Samson here was willing to give up the answer to a riddle that he had posed just because his wife whined and cried about it. Do we use whining and begging as a means to get our way? Yes it may seem to work and people do what we want, but the attitude the do it with…
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Christian Devotional – December 15, 2014
Read Judges chapter 13 VERSE: Judges 13:8–Then Manoah prayed to the Lord: “Pardon your servant, Lord. I beg you to let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.” TRUTH: Oh, how I wish every parent would pray this prayer. We think we know so many wonderful things about taking care of our children, yet, this man recognized that his child was special to the Lord and that he would need special help to know how to guide and to teach the child that God was giving them. Every child that od allows us to…
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Christian Devotional – December 14, 2014
Read Judges chapter 12 VERSE: Judges 12:2–Jephthah answered, “I and my people were engaged in a great struggle with the Ammonites, and although I called, you didn’t save me out of their hands.” TRUTH: Do we come to the aid of others when they call? Jephthah had called for help, but no one answered his call. As we listen to God guiding and directing us in our life, part of our responsibility is to come to help other believers as they go through struggles. We must be willing to stand alongside our brothers and sisters in Christ as they are going through struggles and difficulties. RESPONSE: Father, You are the…
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Christian Devotional – December 13, 2014
Read Judges chapter 11 VERSE: Judges 11:27–“I have not wronged you, but you are doing me wrong by waging war against me. Let the Lord, the Judge, decide the dispute this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites.” TRUTH: When we are experiencing a dispute between people, how do we handle it? Do we pile on the arguments and the logic? Do we get vindictive and attack the person in some way? Do we sue them and drag them to court just to prove we are right? In this case, the reminder was that God is the judge between people. God is the One to determine the guilt of people.…