Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #75

Deliverance

Judges 3

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 5-6) "The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. They took their daughters in marriage and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods." (v. 9) "But when they cried out to the Lord, he raised up for them a deliverer, Othneil son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, who saved them." (v. 15) "Again the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and he gave them a deliverer--Ehud, a left-handed man, the son of Gera the Benjamite. The Israelites sent him with a tribute to Eglon king of Moab."

My Thoughts

So many times the Israelites forgot God and disobeyed Him, turning away and following after the nations around them. They left God to serve gods of wood, stone and metal. Each time, as punishment, God put them in the hands of their enemies, and each time, they would cry out to God. God would hear them and raise up a deliverer for them to save them and to lead them. Once that leader had died, the cycle repeats.

You know, with how many times the Israelites had turned from God, you can tell how stubborn they were and persistent in doing things their own way instead of God's. More than that, we see clearly how persistent God is for His people. The same kind of things may not happen anymore, but you can be sure that we are God's people. Each one of us is a part of God's family, whether you accept it or not, just like your brothers and sisters and mom and dad are always, unequivocally your family. Having estranged family members doesn't break that.

God is so persistent for each of us that He gave us His only Son, Jesus, to die on a cross for us. God delivered His people from the hands of their enemies countless times. Not only the times like those written in Judges, but anytime a servant of God was persecuted for doing God's work. That is how important we are to God and how much He loves us.

Even now, when you find yourself in times of trouble, whether you are persecuted for your faith in Christ or otherwise, God is there with you. He won't leave you. You just need to trust in Him and be faithful to him and God will deliver you from trouble. Keep your heart in the right place though. God will deliver you from troubled times, but He will not always make them top or go away completely. Remember, it is His will that be done.

If you are ill, God will deliver you from that. That doesn't necessarily mean that He will give complete healing immediately when you ask, even if you do everything pleasing to Him and never make another mistake in your life. What God may do is give you peace about it, or wisdom and understanding, or He may lessen it in some way. Keep your heart in the right place and remember that no matter what happens, God has His plan for you.

Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!

Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #41

Details

Judges 5

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 7) "Village life in Israel ceased, ceased until I, Deborah, arose, arose a mother in Israel."

My Thoughts

This chapter was difficult for me to get anything out of, at least personally. The only thing I could think of was that Deborah's song, which she sings, seems to be a song about herself. It is a song about what was before Deborah rose up and after. Honestly, it sounds a little bit conceited.

Sure she did praise God in her song as well, and it wasn't one hundred percent about her, but the parts about herself sound conceited. The only reason I could think of why this would be in the Bible is to show that God cares about the details. Deborah's song likely did not have a large impact on anything. Maybe it was sung more than once, as a reminder of the victory. Other than that, I doubt much would be different if she had not sang it in the first place.

It is a small detail. God cares about all the details. He knows the exact number of hairs on your head, the exact number of skin cells on your body and God knows every word that you have ever said or thought. He can pinpoint a specific drop of blood as it travels through your body. Every single tiny little detail, no matter how insignificant you think, is important. It makes you who you are. Nothing escapes God and I believe that this chapter of the Bible is there to show us this, because Deborah's song does not seem like a hugely important detail to us.

When God looks at our lives, He does not just look at our sins and our good deeds and compare them. He doesn't even look only at specific, large, significant ones either. God looks at every little thing. I don't believe He compares them though, because God does not look only on the surface. Your heart is what matters to God, and where your heart is in all that you did. A lot of times, we look back at things and we focus on the highlights. In reality, everything should be a highlight.

God cares about every single detail about you and about your life. All of it matters greatly to Him and you matter greatly to Him. When you think back to highlights of your day or week or a trip, try thinking back to some of the smaller, seemingly insignificant things as well and remember them.

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Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!

Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #16

Talents

Judges 15-16

(15 v. 11) ... "I merely did to them what they did to me." (16 v. 17) ... "If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man."

My Thoughts



Samson was a very strong man. He was so strong that he tore a lion in half with his bare hands. Samson killed a thousand men with a donkey's jawbone. He tore down the city gates, bar and all, and leaned against pillars, knocking them over and collapsing the building that they held up. in fact, this last one is how he died. Samson's strength cam from his hair, which had never been cut because he was set apart at birth to God as a Nazarite.

Samson talent was his strength. As I already mentioned, his strength was amazing! Lot's of people dream of having that kind of strength! Samson was set apart to God, but he used his talent for selfish purposes. He led Israel for twenty years, and he did not deliver them from the Philistines. His battles were for selfish reasons and victories as well. We know this because he says so himself: "I merely did to them what they did to me."

Our talents and abilities were given to us by God, not to be used for selfish reasons. We were not given them so that we just enjoy them while we live. We were given our talents by God so that we could use them to serve Him and bring glory to His name. As a painter, you can use your talent to bring glory to God and even reach out to others and bring God to them. As a dancer, dance for God. Sing to God, make God-honoring music. Let the light of Jesus shine in whatever you do. Even if no one else cares, God sure does.

Samson's long hair was a symbol that he was set apart to God. After Delilah, his wife, tried to deceive him three times, he finally told her the truth about his hair. What happened? She subdued him of course, and Samson was taken captive, lost his strength because the Holy Spirit had left him, and he had his eyes gouged out. He gave up what God had given to him, and should've known that Delilah would do a fourth time what she had done three times before.

Use the gifts, talents and abilities to bring glory to God. Even if it is a personal thing between you and God, make sure that He is at the center of it. Dancing, for example, is hard to use directly to bring others to God. Maybe you can do so through the people that you meet through dance, or when you tell people why you dance. Be creative! Ask God for wisdom in how He wants you to use your talents. God knows what's best and He has your best interests at heart.

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Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do. Thanks for reading, Godbless!