Judges 3:31 – “After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed six hundred men of the Philistines with an ox goad; and he also delivered Israel.”  NKJV

This has always been a fascinating sentence inserted in the history of Israel and their struggles for freedom in the Old Testament.  Ehud had led them to victory over the Moabites and 80 years of rest or peace ensued.  As he grew older portions of the land began to fall into the hands of plunderers and thieves, especially those of the Philistines.  There was no one to lead Israel to victory and most people, the historical record indicates, simply stayed off the highways and were isolated and living in fear.

We know little of the man named here and it appears that there was nothing particularly unusual about him except for his obedience to the Spirit of God.  I cannot unfold the account with historical accuracy but simply draw from this verse to say, “Little is much when God is in it.”  Here, it appears that one man, alone, without proper weapons or battle armor withstood what was virtually an army of Philistines with what the Bible calls an “ox goad” or as many identify a plowshare.  This was nothing short of a miracle and in this act of a solitary man, the nation of Israel was once again delivered.

That screams to me that the false claim, “I am only one, what can I do” should be forever eliminated from a Christian’s vocabulary and philosophy.  If God could use Moses, Joshua, Caleb, David, Samson, and Shamgar to perform exploits outside the norm then why can He not find one among us today to deliver?

It is not the armor or weaponry that one has at his/her disposal but the Arm of the Lord that matters.  If God could use Gideon and his small band of men to completely route an entire army can He not raise up deliverers in this generation?   He can but He first has to find willing hearts who will dare to believe Him.  He has to find those so completely trusting they can see no option but success and value His word over their lives.  He has to find someone who will dare to believe in the impossible and attempt the improbable.

In something like the exploits of Shamgar one has to acknowledge the intervention of the supernatural. In the natural it would be impossible for one man with a plowshare to defeat 600 armed men.  Yet, the Bible declares it happened and I believe it happened.  Therefore, I draw from it hope and faith to believe that if God directs it, He will enable and provide.  Rather than focus on the problem focus on the God of the solution and hope will begin to rise, faith will strengthen, and courage will ooze forth from deep within.

Truly, little is much when God is in it, but much is little if God is not there!   Remember He said, where two or three are gathered in My name I am in the midst of them. 

God bless you as you face this new day!

Genesis 25:21-22 – “Now Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” So, she went to inquire of the LORD.”  NKJV

I am a Christian and unashamedly Pro-Life.  I base my belief my understanding of the Bible.  I hear many, including Christians, refer to that thing in the mother’s womb as a ‘fetus’ rather than a ‘baby’.  I understand the medical terminology and that the politically correct approach is to use the term ‘fetus’ but I cannot. I believe that God views that developing and growing life inside the womb as a child, a living human being. 

If you notice in the passage used as our text, the unborn twins in Rebekah’s womb are referred to as “children”.  The Hebrew word (banim) is a common word used to refer to children “after” birth and normally means sons.  In the New Testament, the Greek (brephos) was used to refer to John the Baptist, who “leaped in Elizabeth’s womb” because of the presence of the unborn Christ.   [Luke 1:41-44].

I find no evidence that God considers the unborn babies lumps of tissue that can be disposed of at will I find it impossible to support abortion.  Therefore, since Psalm 139 declares that God knew our parts even before we were formed in the womb, I find it difficult to believe that life does not begin at conception.  Our parts were written in God’s book in the days He fashioned us, and He knew them before they existed in the flesh.  When does life begin?  It begins in the heart of God and if the Bible is to be trusted most assuredly begins at conception.

I realize that many Christians will have difficulty with my assertion.  But I can find no valid evidence that a human baby living in the womb goes through reptile or fish stages.  They do not develop fins, tails, or gills.  Murder, in the Bible, is the intentional killing of innocent human beings and is regarded as a heinous crime and sin.  I know that many believers make exceptions to such events as rape, deformity, incest, etc. but can we really make those exceptions?  Did those conditions somehow transform that living being into a non-living or unimportant mass of tissue? 

Ezekiel 18 informs us that a child is not to be executed for the crimes or sins of his/her father, but each person dies for their own sins. The father does not bear the guilt of the son nor the son the guilt of the father.  The answer to whether abortion is a valid option or not is answered in determining if that living growing thing in the womb is a baby, child, human being, or simply a mass of tissue that can be disposed of as we would a bag of trash.  Once you answer that question the abortion question has an easy answer.  I know what I believe and what I believe the Bible teaches but I cannot answer the question for you.

May God help us to value human life and value that which He has and is creating.  God bless you as you go forward from this day!  Blessings!

Philippians 3:2-6 – “Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; 3 for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh, 4 although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.”  NASB

Many of you have either heard the song or heard of the song, “Who Let the Dogs Out?”  It was performed by a Bahamian group called “Baha Men” and released as a single on July 26, 2000.  It was not about dogs but men who women would consider dogs and in a great sense the idea here in Philippians is not about the canine creature but about human beings who are like scavenging dogs seeking destruction.

We have all seen the warning signs on fences, BEWARE OF DOG or BEWARE THE DOG.  We understood the warning to be valid and that should we dare to venture into the space behind the warning it could be hazardous to our health as we might be attacked by a creature bent on our destruction.  I find it interesting that Paul would begin his address with a warning about dogs and connected it to evil workers, and those who were false in their faith.  He was lumping them all into one basket and virtually every society understands the danger of a dog not tamed or one that is trained to guard or destroy. 

A particularly unpleasant verse is Proverbs 26:11 where we are reminded that one of the natural tendencies of a dog is quite disgusting.  He uses this illustration to compare that to a life that is not rooted and grounded in God.  I don’t know if you recall the passage in Psalm 59 where the Psalmist is addressing God’s punishment and judgment and the prayer for God to not show any graciousness to the treacherous.  The next sentence is, “They return at evening, they howl like a dog…” 

In a pack of dogs if one decides to attack the others will follow and they will turn on each other following the strongest dog in the pack.  In Psalm 22:20 the dog is once again mentioned in a negative light, “Deliver my soul from the sword, my only life from the power of the dog.”  Dogs are often used in the Bible to represent agents of destruction and we need to BEWARE of the lurking destruction the enemy plans for us. 

I recall years ago, I was working as an Insurance Debit Agent and had to collect payments as well as sell insurance.  I stopped at one house and saw a dog pen away from the house and a dog was obviously angry and seeking to be freed.  After conducting my business, I was walking back to my car and a hound dog came to meet me.  She was acting timid and I patted her head, then she rolled over on her back and I rubbed her tummy, not thinking anything was wrong.  I took about two steps toward my car and she nailed me behind the knee. 

That dog was not what she appeared and fooled me, which is a rarity for me regarding animals.  The bite was bad, but the sneakiness of the dog was more infuriating than the bite.  I should have been more alert and remembered the pen away from the house, but I was deceived. 

Agents of Destruction use deception as their primary weapon. We must always be on the alert and BEWARE of DOGS!  There are dogs in religious circles who are false and working evil behind the scenes.  They will appear as that timid cute dog that wants you to pat its head or rub its tummy but once you turn your back, they will seek to destroy you.  We are ignorant of the devices and schemes of the devil and this is another reason to put on the Whole Armor of God and Pray Always!

God, bless you as you enjoy this day in Him!

Luke 17:5-10 –“And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”  6 So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.  7 And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’?  8 But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’?  9 Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not.  10 So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.'”  NKJV

I have heard well-meaning and well-intentioned Christians and preachers speak of God being obligated to them because of their faith or obedience.  This passage is problematic to that view and while I am not suggesting that God does not commit Himself to us.  We should never develop the attitude that He owes us anything or is obligated to our directives.

The request was for “increased faith” and in responding to that request Jesus went far beyond what one would have thought and addressed what I call a “Christian Entitlement Mentality”.  He spoke of the seeming smallness of faith but illustrated its power and potential.  He then addressed something that is often overlook regarding faith and that is obedience.  Jesus addressed this in the Centurion whose servant the LORD healed.  The Centurion demonstrated his understanding of authority and the chain of command and in response to that Jesus said, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel.”  That is powerful.

Here he speaks of a servant doing the daily chores and labors who comes in from the field.  The servant was operating in obedience doing what he was supposed to do.  Jesus asked if they thought the master would say to that servant, “Come at once and sit down and eat?”  He did not wait for their response but informed them that this would not happen.  The master would tell them to prepare him something and after he had eaten, they could eat.  He concluded by asking, “Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him?  I think not.”  He then says, “So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants.  We have done what was our duty to do.” 

Some have made this about the impossibility of man living before God without sin, but He did not say “sinful servants” rather “unprofitable servants.”  We have earned nothing in our service.  We have not established a heavenly bank account from which we withdraw at our choosing.  If God blesses us it is “unmerited favor” not because we deserve it or have earned it.

God does not need our service. He chooses to allow us to participate in the Kingdom.  Our ability to live and perform His commands and our assignments is by Grace.  When we do what is right, we are simply doing our duty not earning favor with or obligating God.  The best service we can offer is mingled with imperfections and we continually come short.  But God in His incredible grace and mercy will bear with us and He chooses to lavish His good things on us because of love not because we earned it.

Please avoid a Christian Entitlement Mentality it will pervert and destroy our relationship with God and tends to create an elitist mentality that is counterproductive to the Kingdom of God.

God bless you as you go through this day!

Psalm 42:1-3 – “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God.  2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?  3 My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually say to me, “Where is your God?”  NKJV

When I read passages like this and compare the heart cry of the Psalmist to the deep cries of my soul I am moved deeply.  As I read these few verses, I cannot help but sense the incredible longing of the writer for God’s revealed and realized presence.  He was comparing his hunger and thirst for God to that of a deer in the heat longing for water to be refreshed.  He then adds that he has been so moved with a longing that the well of tears from within his being were like a never-ceasing fountain.  His tears have consumed him rendering him unable to consume natural food due to his quest for God.  He cries that his inner man continually asks, “Where is your God?” 

I have experienced times of intense longing and am currently so hungry and thirsty for God that I find myself weeping on my bed in the night crying out for His presence in a more pronounced way.  The intensity of His presence is not always a consuming passion in our lives and I’m not sure we could survive physically if it were.  However, the consciousness of His presence is needed for us to overcome the assaults hurled at us by the enemy of our souls.  It is by the strength of His presence that we are able to withstand the many twists and turns life hurls at us.

David was identified, by God, as a man after His own heart and when I read passages like this, usually attributed to David I understand how God could so describe him.  He was clearly a man, a leader, a king, a warrior who had a passion for God.  David instituted worship in the Tabernacle like never before experienced for he understood the importance of the presence of God.  He understood that through worship and praise we enter God’s gate and courts.  It is through our worship and praise that we invite His presence in a most powerful way.  Additionally, we know through Scripture and the life of our Lord Jesus Christ the importance of prayer as a means of communication and communion with God. 

I believe that appetites are cultivated in the natural and in the spiritual.  It is as we ingest His word, pray, praise, and worship that we cultivate the appetite for Him, and in so doing we develop a hunger and thirst that motivates us to press into His presence.  It is in His presence that we receive strength, renewal, and restoration enabling us to fulfill the purposes He has for our lives on planet earth.

If you are not hungry and thirsty for God, I suggest that you begin to develop a habit of prayer, reading the Bible, praise, and worship and I believe that the hunger and thirst will be a natural byproduct of those activities.  As we engage in those activities our hearts become conditioned to receive His presence and our souls begin to long for His presence. 

God bless you as you allow the Holy Spirit to make you hungry and thirsty for God.  Blessings as you move to the next steps and phases of your life on planet earth.

John 14:6 – “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”  NKJV

I know believers who are constantly seeking a “New Revelation.  I believe I understand what they are truly seeking. I sometimes feel like the new pastor who went into a church and preached a masterpiece.  The next Sunday he preached the same sermon and did so the next and the next weeks.  Finally, after many complaints from the congregation, the Deacons approached him and said, “Pastor, the message you have been preaching was a masterpiece the first time and okay the second, but you need to get a new sermon.”  He looked at them and calmly said, “Do something with that one first.”  If we have a Bible filled with the written revelation of God, His Kingdom, and purposes should we not be about doing something with what we have before we try to find something no one else has found?

Jesus spoke the Gospel in extreme simplicity here and elsewhere in Scripture.  He gives four extremely simple but profound truths in this short verse which would be well to examine.  I will hit the high points for time and space will not permit (if I could) giving an exhaustive exegesis of this passage.  Consider the declaration of the LORD:

• I Am the Way.

Route or path.  Remember our LORD declared in Matthew 7:14, “…straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads to life…”  In today’s politically correct world that strives for “tolerance” and “acceptance” of everyone and everything this is anathema, but Jesus repeatedly declared, “I AM THE WAY…”  He did not say, “I am A way but THE way.”

• I Am the Truth.

When He stood before Pilate, the earthly potentate asked, “What is truth, but did not wait around for the real answer.”  I have heard some nationally known and recognized preachers declare that a person can be a participant of various religions and still make heaven following their beliefs.  That is contradictory to the Bible and I will stand with the Bible.  God does say, “Whosoever will let Him come…”  However, that coming must be to Christ and must include repentance of sin.  It is by Grace that we are saved, through faith and it is not earned.  Jesus is THE TRUTH.  He is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.  He is the sacrifice for the sin of the world. 

• I Am the Life.

He is not speaking of natural life although that could be included for should God remove His finger from our lives we would cease as the notes on an organ once the finger is removed from the keys.  He is Eternal Life! 

• No one comes to the Father except through Me.

He is the Door to the sheepfold.  He is the gateway to the throne room of the Father.  He is our High Priest who makes intercession for us.  If NO ONE can access the Father except through Jesus what would make anyone declare that believing in Allah or Buda or any of the myriad of gods, man has concocted gain access?  The Gospel according to our LORD and His word is incredibly simple.  Jesus is our Hope!  Jesus is our Way, Truth, and Life.  Jesus is our only door to the Father and the only gate through which we can enter into eternal life.

May the LORD richly bless you as you go through this day!

1 John 3:18 – “My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” NKJV

If you have ever dealt with someone who demonstrated an obvious dislike for you, did things to hurt or hinder you, and spread rumors or half-truths about you but would publicly say, “I love you” you will understand.  That is one scenario in which words do not match actions or attitudes and it is often painfully obvious.

Through the years of ministry, I have encountered marital situations where the marriage was hanging by a thread and both parties would tell the other, “I love you”.  I believe they believed what they were saying was the truth to the degree they understood truth.  If a husband/wife verbally declares, “I love you” but belittles the other, is unfaithful, fails to provide for the family as is needed their words are hollow.  I’ve observed parents telling their children, “We love you” and then proceed to berate, belittle, badger, and torment them publicly and privately.  Their actions speak so loudly the words are muted.

I have worked in ministerial alliances where some within the group would continually seek to drive wedges between various people attempting to build a coalition that elevated them.  They sought prominence seeking to advance their personal objectives.  Honey would almost drip from their lips as they declared in group settings their love for those they were tearing down and those who had heard the words from both sides of their mouths knew the hypocrisy with which they spoke. 

LOVE is not simply verbal it is an action. If I love you, I will seek to do you harm.  I will not allow envy to shadow my view or relationship with you.  I will not self-promote or behave rudely.  I will not be self-serving or self-seeking.  I will not rejoice openly or in my heart when you experience setbacks or problems.  I will be patient, kind, gentle, trusting, and willing to help. I will do that which I can to help you succeed even if it costs me.  I can declare how much I love the poor but if my effort is limited to words is that love?  LOVE is never passive and never without corresponding actions.  I would rather someone know my love by my actions rather than just hearing my words. 

A man or a woman that tells their spouse, “I love you” then is unfaithful has rendered those words meaningless.  A person that says, “I love you” but spreads gossip, rumors, and half-truths about another has transformed those words into meaninglessness.  Jesus said, there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for their friends.  When I read in John 3:16 that “God loves the world” I do not have to read far to see His corresponding actions that demonstrate that love.  When I read Job’s words that he made a “covenant with his eyes not to look on a woman with lust…” I understand that when he says to his wife, “I love you” he is committed to demonstrating that love.

I have had people tell me, “I love you” and knew that it was incredibly superficial and they deemed it the proper thing to say under the circumstances.  I have always resisted saying, “I love you” unless I truly meant it.  Understand that my desire is to LOVE EVERYONE and manifest the nature of my LORD in all that I do.  Do I succeed?  I wish the answer was 100% of the time.  Sadly, I realize that I am still pressing toward the mark and still find myself repenting.  I never want to allow my words to become superficial meaningless chatter but have them backed by the character of my heart.

God bless you as you go through this day!

Hebrews 12:25-29 – “See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, 26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.”   27 Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29 For our God is a consuming fire.”  NKJV

I am not talking about the song of yesteryear by Jerry Lee Lewis, “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” I am talking about the shaking God is about to and in some cases is doing.   The writer of Hebrews quoted a prophecy from Haggai 2 – “For thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; 7 and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the LORD of hosts. 8 ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the LORD of hosts. 9 ‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘And in this place, I will give peace,’ says the LORD of hosts.”  NKJV

The warning is clear as is the solution.  He refers to previous judgments of God and plainly stated that those who rejected God did not escape nor shall we.  The people of Noah’s day did not escape.  Those building Babel did not escape.  Sodom and Gomorrah did not escape.  They all had a common thread, they rejected God unlike the city of Nineveh which repented upon hearing Jonah’s preaching.  The warning is clear, if we reject God we will not escape, and I am totally convinced we are about to see a “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On” here in this present world including the United States of America.

This shaking will remove that which is not rooted and grounded in God’s Eternal Truth.  If we modify the Bible to fit our politically correct world interpretation that will be shaken.  If we dilute the message of the Cross to make it anything other than a foundational element in the redemption of man that will be shaken.  If we reject the truth that Jesus is the way, truth, life, and the only door to God that will be shaken.  If we make our churches and ministries more of a social experiment than a spiritual hospital and university that will be shaken.  If we promote self that will be shaken. 

I have talked with many who are expressing being ‘fed up’ politically and political correctness and I usually say, “Do you think God is getting fed up with us?”  Have we become complacent and compromised our convictions for the sake of acceptance?  God is incredibly longsuffering as has been demonstrated over the generations, but the Bible warns of a time when He will say ENOUGH and then look out for “A Whole Lotta Shakin’ Is Going to Happen.”   

Can you be shaken?  Will you be shaken?  Will you find that what you have set your hand to is something that cannot be shaken?  All are questions we cannot fully answer until the shaking, but things we should be considering as we move through life.  Shaking is coming and if we have run with the footmen what will we do when horses come?  I plead for each of us to make it our ambition to only do what we see Him doing and only say what we hear Him saying.  Let us SEEK FIRST the kingdom of God and His righteousness.  May God be our Lord and our Savior!

God bless you richly as you go through this beautiful day!

Romans 5:12-19 – “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned —  13(For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. 15 But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. 16 And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. 17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and  of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.) 18 Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. 19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.”  NKJV

We have all heard stories and seen statistics of how one person or one vote changed the entire course of nations and history.  I call to mind the quote attributed to Benjamin Franklin, “For the want of a nail the shoe was lost, for the want of a shoe the horse was lost, for the want of a horse the rider was lost, for the want of a rider the battle was lost, for the want of a battle the kingdom was lost, and all for the want of a horseshoe nail.”   That is a powerful reminder of how important one person, one event, one vote or one action can be and often is.

Here Paul reminds us of the power of one in two different situations.  Sin entered the race through the disobedience of Adam, one man. Salvation came to mankind through the obedience of Jesus, one man.  I wonder how often we read this and although we rightly focus on the work of Christ, we fail to grasp the importance and power of one.  It only takes one rotten apple to spoil the entire barrel and sometimes only takes one act of kindness to totally reverse years of animosity, hatred, bitterness, and conflict.  One word spoken at the right moment can completely change the course of events.  One word spoken at the wrong time can escalate things to full-blown warfare. 

I have heard people lament, “I am only one person” offering that a justification for not launching into the daunting task before them.  As the old saying, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step” we should never allow ourselves to stop believing in the Power of One.  I do not recall when I first saw it, but I remember a Mercedes Benz television commercial in which the automobile collided with a concrete wall in a safety test.  Someone asked the company spokesman why Mercedes Benz did not enforce their patent on the energy-absorbing car design which was eventually copied by most manufacturers.  He stated simply, “Because some things in life are too important not to share.”   That is powerful!

You are one and I am one and we are one with Christ and are being formed into One (The Body of Christ) and although still one we are many and powerful.  In all matters of life, we must never lose sight of the importance of ONE!  You are having an impact on your world whether you realize it or not.  If you omit one act of kindness or Christian charity it impacts others and if you commit one act of kindness or Christian charity it impacts others.  Therefore, never diminish the importance of one word, one deed, one prayer, one testimony, one vote, or one life. 

God bless you as you make the devil know you are ONE whose life is hidden with God in Christ and as ONE in Jesus you are a majority and powerful.   God bless you as you enjoy this day impacting your world as One Man or One Woman united with Christ Jesus!