1 Samuel 1:12-18 – “Now it came about, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli was watching her mouth. ¹³ As for Hannah, she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. So, Eli thought she was drunk. ¹⁴ Then Eli said to her, “How long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you.” ¹⁵ But Hannah replied, “No, my lord, I am a woman oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the Lord. ¹⁶ Do not consider your maidservant as a worthless woman, for I have spoken until now out of my great concern and provocation.” ¹⁷ Then Eli answered and said, “Go in peace; and may the God of Israel grant your petition that you have asked of Him.” ¹⁸ She said, “Let your maidservant find favor in your sight.” So, the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.”

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God today, I could not help but note something that reveals the heart of God.  God is compassionate. He operates in unique but often predictable ways. He always requires a surrendered heart.

In 1 Samuel 1:12-13, we see something needful.  Prayer is vital, but prayer cannot be pressed into a box, limited by human understanding, or become ritualistic.   Hannah prayed non-verbally from her heart.   The key is “from” or “in” the heart.   The only prayers that have any hope of moving the heart or hand of God are FROM THE HEART!

Prayers from the heart are rooted in recognizing God’s person, trusting God’s graciousness, and faith.  Prayers of ritual are, at best, wishes and usually attempts to check the boxes—religiosity, not relationships.

In Paul’s experience on the Damascus Road, we are brought face-to-face with the reality of the Body of Christ.  If we touch believers (even those we disagree with), we touch Jesus!

Acts 28:26-27 is a powerful reminder and warning that unless we hear or read without preconceived ideas and bias, we will NEVER be convinced otherwise.   We judge other members of the Body through the grid of our doctrinal position.   Therefore, before anything is said, we have decided. We categorize people, and if a person has been categorized as a part of a rejected category, nothing they say is acceptable or heard.   We do this to our loss.

The warning in Romans 2:1-6 is needed.  When we judge others and are guilty of similar practices, we open the door to deception.  In Romans 1, we realize that the presence of prejudicial deception often leads to a life of perversion.

Our hope is repentance coupled with total Surrender.  Repentance, or, in most cases, remorse, is insufficient without a positive commitment to God. Saying “I’m sorry” is meaningless without the full reality of repentance (doing a 180-degree shift).   We not only admit and feel remorse but also take definitive steps to live differently.

God’s Grace empowers us to live righteously and receive God’s full deliverance. It is a dual effort. God’s Grace and our Action.   Basically, it is Surrender.   It is to decide to go ALL IN with God.  It is to DIE to self.  It is to resign as master of our fate and captain of our ship.  It is to choose to become a Doulos of Jesus.

What we choose determines our now and eternity.

Judges 7:4 – “ Then the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. Therefore, it shall be that he of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go with you; but everyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”

What a day to be alive, the last of the Last Days! Excitement explodes inside my heart and mind!  As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word of God today, I was reminded of the power of fear, faith, and words.

The account of Gideon and his 300 never ceases to awe, inspire, and challenge me. Gideon faced insurmountable odds with 32,000 men, and God said, “Sorry, that’s too many!” God, have you lost your mind?

Fear thinned the ranks. God said, “Let the fearful go home.”  22,000 headed home.   10,000 were left, and no doubt they had some serious trepidation. God said, “Sorry, still too many!”  Now, God, I know you have either lost your mind, or you plan to sacrifice us.   300 were left.   300 vs. thousands is not just bad odds; it is IMPOSSIBLE!

Then God said something that caught my attention.  He initially sent home those who had FEAR.  Here, with 300 left, he instructs Gideon, “Go down; I have given the Midianites into your hand. BUT if you are AFRAID…”   Wait, isn’t afraid fear?  Gideon, the leader, was afraid?  God provided a point of inspiration to kick-start faith.  Sneak down and listen to what the Midianites are saying.  Words have power.  The fearful words of the Midianites produced words of faith in Gideon.

God calls us to the impossible but always provides a pathway to trust!  The fear of the Midianites produced faith in Gideon and the 300.  The words of God and the fear of Midian produced confidence in Gideon, and victory came.  You have to keep moving toward the Word to attain victory. If you stop, you lose, fear overwhelms, and defeat comes.

When Paul was on the road, God intervened with the Light of Heaven!  Then, when He got Paul’s attention, He spoke.  His words were arresting and revelatory. We need to consider the words and revelation.  If we are attacking followers of Jesus, we are attacking Jesus.  God cleanses His own; that is not our job.

Paul was a Jewish purist, and the followers of Christ were deemed enemies. How often do we do that today?   We attack everything and everyone not like us.  Paul thought he had everything 100% correct. Don’t we act that way? We seek to silence all who hold views contrary to ours.

What if Jesus considers our purging an attack on Him? What if Jesus considers our actions a failure to remove the log from our eyes while trying to remove the speck of dust from someone else?  What if our doctrine and eschatology have even a minute error?  Are we to be purged, too?  If we are the Body of Christ, could it be that we can help each other find Truth?  We can if we stop fighting and start talking and listening.

My opinion must never become the most important thing, or a wall.  Jesus is building His church, and I suspect it will include things some think are heresy! How miserable heaven would be if sectarianism were allowed. He is LORD, and He is well able to guide us into the light and right. Our job is to love, live faithfully, and keep His commandments. Pure lives, with pure hearts, living in faithful obedience will impact others far more than argument, condemnation, and hate!

LORD, help us to trust you completely!

Joshua 24:15 – “ If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word of God today, I found choice to be a focal point. Life is a series of choices, and each choice has a consequence or benefit, and maybe both.

Commitment is a choice!   In Joshua 24:15, Joshua challenged Israel to make a decision (choice). They were to choose between the world with its seeming offerings and benefits and God.   We face the same choice, often daily.   No wonder Jesus said, “If anyone is going to be My disciple, they have to take up their cross DAILY and follow me.” (Luke 9:23).

Total commitment requires total obedience. The accounts in Judges 1 & 2 reveal the danger and damage of failing to follow through on God’s directive. God said that they were to dispossess and drive out the enemies.   They did, but not completely.  Some tribes left remnants of the occupants in place. Judges 2:2-3 give the results. “They will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a snare to you.”

If we do not break clean with the old way, it will cause trouble and pull us back, preventing full victory.   That is everything, from habits to actions and associations.  Victory requires commitment, and commitment requires choice.

Make the commitment, and God will provide the help.  Acts 19:18 shows commitment through choice and victory.  Action is required. Repentance is to do a 180-degree turn.  Repentance is to change course. Repentance is to take action. “Many also who had believed came confessing and recounting their practices.”

50,000 pieces of silver were worth over 135 years of wages, and depending on the coinage, it would be worth millions today.   It was a significant act. They were totally transforming and redirecting their lives.  It was All In with God.   True Conversion involves total commitment and action.  If we keep doing what we did, thinking like we thought, going where we went, we have not made the choice or commitment; we are just deceiving ourselves.

Jesus offers freedom, but freedom requires commitment! As Joshua challenged Israel, “Choose you today whom you will serve.” The ball is in your court. What is your choice?

LORD, as we make this choice, help us choose wisely and choose You!

Joshua 2:1-7 – “Then Joshua the son of Nun sent two men as spies secretly from Shittim, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab, and lodged there. ² It was told the king of Jericho, saying, “Behold, men from the sons of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land.” ³ And the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.” ⁴ But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them, and she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. ⁵ It came about when it was time to shut the gate at dark, that the men went out; I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.” ⁶ But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them in the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof. ⁷ So the men pursued them on the road to the Jordan to the fords; and as soon as those who were pursuing them had gone out, they shut the gate.”

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God today, I was brought to a renewed awareness of transition and anointing. I was reminded of the dangers of following human reason and the power of following God’s anointing.

In Joshua 1, we learn of Israel’s plight.  Moses, the man who had become larger than life, was gone.  His assistant, Joshua, was now pressed into the role of leadership.  Joshua was untested and unproven as a leader. Joshua and the people were in danger of becoming confused, fearful, and defeated.

God immediately acted. Joshua 2:1-7: God said, “Joshua, change has come, and you need to be fully aware: Moses is no longer your focus; I AM!”   In verses 8-9, God gave Joshua and Israel a pattern and practice to help them succeed. “This Law (Torah) is to be meditated on day and night. You must carefully and diligently do everything in it. If you do, that knowledge will enable you to make your way prosperous and successful. But you cannot give in to fear. Trust Me!”

That is easier said than done.  Joshua had seen it but never done it.  He had to move from theory to experience.  So do we!  Hearing about it must become doing it. God said, “Jump,” now JUMP!

In Joshua 3, we see the absolute necessity of following the Ark (the Holy Spirit).  In Acts 4, the disciples are persecuted but choose to obey God.  In their surrender, God refilled them with the Holy Spirit, which gave them a holy boldness.

The most important thing to them became GOD!  In Acts 5:41-42, we see a group of people who were consumed with the purposes of God. It was not an occasional investment; it was daily, in the Temple and house to house, being consumed by God and His Word. They had a mission and a commission, and it was more important than life.

Joshua and the early church all followed the directive to make God their consuming passion and yield 100% of their lives to Him.  They trusted Him! Trusted His love, grace, compassion, promise, protection, and power!

We pray for revival.  God demands repentance.  Repentance brings revival; revival brings renewal; renewal results in revision; revision produces reformation, which leads to restoration!

What we have is determined by our hunger and thirst.   How desperate are we for God’s fullness? We will receive according to the level of our desperation!

Look up, Redemption is at the Door!

Ephesians 1:18-19 – “I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.”

As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word of God today, responsibility and accountability echoed in my heart and mind.   The work of Grace and our personal responsibility challenged me deeply.

Too often we pray, “God, change me.”   He usually says, “I did.”   We want God to arbitrarily take things from us without any commitment or effort on our part.  That is the epitome of laziness and shirking responsibility.  God’s Grace opens the Door, and our commitment invests in the work leading to transformation.

The Holy Spirit challenged me with Ephesians 1:18-19.  My heart has eyes, and what my eyes focus on, my heart embraces.   In Ephesians 2:21-22, we discover that as we mature, make the needed commitment, and exercise the required restraint, we are molded into the Body of Christ as a functional part.

God has placed the five-fold ministries in the Church for a specific purpose. It is not hierarchy or even structure, but ministry.  They are there, gifted and commissioned to “equip.”   That requires cooperation and discipleship.   How long is that function?   It is Until.   Until?  Yes, until we all come into the Unity of the Faith and the Knowledge of Jesus as mature believers functioning in our gifts and calling.

In Ephesians 4:22-32, we have a detailed explanation of our personal responsibility.

• We Lay Aside (abandon) our former lifestyle.
• We become renewed in the Spirit of our Minds.

How? What we focus on and how we permit ourselves to live.

• We take definitive action to stop things detrimental to godliness.

Ephesians 5:15 tells us to pay close attention to how we conduct ourselves. Then in verses 18-20, he exposes the practice of becoming inebriated with any intoxicant other than the Holy Spirit.   With booze, you lose!   You lose control of your soul.

The key to maturity and living victoriously is found in Ephesians 6:10-18. Want to be strong? Put on or become one with the one who is strength, Jesus!   He is the Full Armor of God through the Holy Spirit.   He is the Truth. He is Righteousness.   He is the Good News.   He is Faith.  He is Salvation. He is the Word of God.  He is our Door to the Father through which we go in prayer!

We must do as Ephesians 4:23-24 instructs.   Lay aside our old self with the corrupt desires.   Become renewed in the spirit of our minds, enabling us to embrace the new self that is created to be like Jesus.   We lay aside anger, bitterness, and vileness.   Take to heart the warning of Ephesians 5:3-5. God will not overlook some things and expects us to rid ourselves of them.   He gave us Grace, which opens the Door to life.   We must walk through it.

Our accountability and responsibility are to utilize His Grace and cooperate in the transformation.   He saved us and will transform us as we cooperate.   We must make the choice!

It is time to “oil the shield” of our hearts.   Isaiah 21:5.    Embrace the ministry and indwelling of the Holy Spirit!