Tag: abiding trust

What or Who has Authority in Your Life?

As I have been watching events unfold these last few years on both a national and local scale, I have found the book of Judges impressed upon my heart. In particular I have been drawn to the events that unfold in Judges 19. My heart aches as I read this tragic story. I feel grief for both Israel historically and for the people (You and I) today.

Judges 19 documents an horrific account of a Levite’s concubine, who is abused and battered to the point of death, because of the Levite’s choice.

This woman should have been safe in a city full of Israelites. Instead, she is the victim of a group of perverse and wicked men who prove themselves to be no better than the Canaanites. Judges 19 reminds us of a similar story and time in Biblical History, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19.

Similar to the sinful men in Judges 19 (V22-25) who demand for the Levite to be sent out to them to have sex with (the Levite instead offers his concubine), Genesis 19 (V4-8) documents Abraham’s nephew Lot in a similar set of circumstances. Evil men of the town came to Lot’s door demanding to have sex with the two male guests inside of Lot’s house (Lot offers his two virgin daughters instead). These two stories are not exactly alike in detail and outcome but they do highlight just how easily man can fall into the bondage of sin and rebellion against God.

Small acts of disobedience turn into larger acts of evil.

What drastic consequences can result when social protocol carries more authority than moral convictions…

“In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.” (Judges 17:6). This is a key verse and phrase in the book of Judges;

This phrase, "in those days Israel had no king..." is repeated several times: In the epilogue indicating the main theme of the book and this phrase is used to close the book as well.

The period of the Judges, while bloody and horrendous at times, exemplifies the magnitude of God’s loving mercy and His heart for His people. Judges is a historical book documenting the history of Israel from a theological viewpoint. The repeated failures and Israel’s unfaithfulness to God is on full display! BUT… so is God’s character! You get to see a just God allowing a nation to fully reap the consequences of their actions; You see a God who REPEATEDLY proves to be faithful and merciful, and with testing HE provides deliverance. Through many cycles of disobedience we get to see God’s love for us in HIS patient discipline.

The people had clear direction from the Lord on what they were to do going forward now that they were in the Promised Land of Canaan.

However, true to theme the people decided that they knew better and chose for themselves what they would do, oftentimes ignoring very clear directions from the Lord such as:

Failing to obtain all of the Promised Land; they did not drive out the inhabitants of the Land, disobeying the covenant from Deut. 12:9. This unfaithfulness necessitated judges needing to be raised up to lead them.

The failure of the generations after Joshua to teach God’s covenant to their children had devastating impacts spiritually, politically, socially, and economically. “After that a whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who new neither the Lord nor what He had done for Israel”, Judges 2:10.

A few practical takeaways from the book, broadly speaking:

  1. When we allow seemingly harmless habits to go unchecked before the Lord, they grow and can become dominating forces that rule us. And without God – there is no stopping the depravity and the deeds which follow.
  2. Unity of the Church is important, holding each other accountable to God’s laws is essential. Obedience will lead to blessings.
  3. When the Israelites faith disintegrated, their unity as a nation disintegrated. They could have taken complete possession of the land had they obeyed and trusted God. At this time they had been in the promised land around 300 years.
  4. The nation failed to establish a government based upon God’s moral principles. Laws were not enforced, crime was ignored, and the magnitude of these crimes grew. It took a terrible tragedy to wake the people up and even then, instead of the matter being dealt with swiftly, many lives were lost unnecessarily.
  5. To prevent our unresolved problems from turning into major conflicts, we should take action to deal with them swiftly.
  6. We find our direction through God’s word, prayer, and obedience.

The most important takeaway from the period of the Judges is a warning! A firm warning against synchronizing your behavior with the behavior of the world. In Christ we are called to be set apart and holy, not conforming to this world. (Romans 12:2) (John 17:15-18) (Ephesians 2:10).

This book provides for us the groundwork laid for the people’s needs of a righteous king, ONE who will save the people and change their hearts, ONE who will lead them to faithfulness to God. Judges shows us the imperfection of fallen man and gives a stark contrast to who the Christ will be and our need for a perfect Savior.

I encourage you to pray and search the scriptures to test what is true, I encourage you to pray and ask God to reveal to you anything in your life that you may be giving authority to over the authority of God’s word; for His word is the light to guide our path (Psalm 119:105).

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How often do we overlook God’s current provisions because we are looking to the right or to the left? How often are we looking around to see what others have that we want, or conversely, do we look back to what we once had? This my friends is a sure way to stay distracted from all the Lord is blessing you with TODAY!

“The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!””
‭‭Numbers‬ ‭11:4-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

In Numbers 11:4 the term rabble refers to, “The mixt multitude – The word in the original resembles our “riff-raff,” and denotes a mob of people scraped together. It refers here to the multitude of strangers (see Exodus 12:38) who had followed the Israelites from Egypt.”

In Matthew Poole’s commentary he describes it as this, “The mixt multitude, consisting of Egyptians or other people, which being affected with God’s miraculous works in Egypt, and thereupon believing the promise of God to carry them to a land of milk and honey, for their own advantage joined themselves to the Israelites, Exodus 12:38, an now, finding themselves sadly disappointed, they discover their evil minds.”

Corrie ten Boom, a Nazi concentration camp survivor, once said: “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” God’s character never changes and his promises never fail. It stands out to me that even though the Israelites had just witnessed and directly benefited from God’s deliverance and continued provisions, they complained as if they still didn’t know HIM. The Israelites were taking their eyes off of a faithful God and in turn began to act faithless.

You must be faithfully focused in order to guard your heart, mind, and soul. In these times when we are surrounded by so much uncertainty we have the tendency to start to wander in the wilderness like the Israelites, looking back and questioning the Lord – BUT – we MUST cling to what is certain.

While we may be in this world right now – we are pilgrims on our way to our forever home with our Father. Do not give in to thief of comparison. The devil has come to steal, kill, and destroy- our Joy belongs to the Lord so do not let the enemy steal it!

““As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be COMPLETE.”
‭‭John‬ ‭15:9-11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

While we are called to love one another, we also need to be discerning and careful not to take on the beliefs of the world or others around us. This gave me some pause for thought this morning when I began to think about those who believed for their own advantage… not for the glory of the Lord, not because their heart needed to change, but for their own advantage… how often do we fall into this trap of having a one sided relationship with the Lord?

31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.
Romans 8:31-33

Our relationship with the Lord should never be contingent. Our God has taken the initiative to come down to us and pay the price for our sins – while we were still sinners and so undeserving! He deserves all of our hearts, minds, and yes 🙌 Lord’s.

HIS past faithfulness demands our present FAITH and TRUST…

““I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”
‭‭John‬ ‭17:13-17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭5:8-9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭12:30‬ ‭NIV

Christians, we have every reason and hope to be hilariously-joyful!! We are blessed beyond measure by the saving grace of our Lord Jesus. Be intentional to stay faithfully focused today, holding fast to what is true!

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Today Matters for Eternity

Today matters for eternity. Let us not be so arrogant to think that we will joyously run to our Father in heaven, when we can’t or don’t spend time with HIM while we are here.

“Lord, through all the generations you have been our home! Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭90:1-2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Today matters for eternity is a statement that should remind us that we are pilgrims passing though, that our days are numbered, and that we should be sharing the good news with as many people as possible due to how quickly this life and world will fade away.

“That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4:16-18‬ ‭NLT

‬‬ “For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭1:16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Today matters for eternity should give us the perspective needed to finish well and to know that Jesus is coming back! This should fill us both with a strong HOPE and a sense of WARNING.

“Who can comprehend the power of your anger? Your wrath is as awesome as the fear you deserve. Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭90:11-12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5:1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

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Important Reminders from the book of Habakkuk

“Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.” Habakkuk 2:4


It has only been this year, that I have begun to read through some of the smaller, often overlooked books of the Bible. Habakkuk has been a blessing and an opportunity to learn so much more about God and His relationships with His people. This book also highlights something we can all be guilty of, and that is, reasoning from the position of God when we are not content in our circumstances. Faithfully, God responds with great mercy and patience to Habakkuk – God walks with the Prophet through his doubts and confusion. The Lord wants us to take our questions to Him; our questions can often serve as the very vehicles needed to gain a better understanding of God’s character, growing in faith, and trusting more fully in the Lord. Practically, this gives us permission to ask God questions with faith that He will provide answers.


This book is unique in that it is a book where the Prophet Habakkuk makes an appeal to the Lord on behalf of the suffering people. Whereas typically we see God use the prophets to deliver His messages/will to the people. Habakkuk had no small task in crying out to God or in pleading for God to bring justice to His people. Everywhere Habakkuk looked he was seeing immorality prevail: theft, deception, violence, pride, greed, corruption and so forth. I do not know about you, but I have certainly cried out to the Lord asking, “How long Lord?”, as the events of the last few years have played out in the news and in our daily lives.

A simple outline of this brief book:

  1. Faith tested (1:1-17)
  2. Faith taught (2:1-20)
  3. Faith triumphant (3:1-19)

God responds to Habakkuk by giving him a vision of five woes that could be outlined as follows:

  1. Habakkuk 2:6-8, Greed and oppressive financial practices.
  2. Habakkuk 2:9-11, Prospering through dishonest means.
  3. Habakkuk 2:12-14, The use of violence and slavery to build cities.
  4. Habakkuk 2:15-17, Indulgence in drunkeness and lewdness.
  5. Habakkuk 2:18-29, Practicing idolatry.

At the end of these woes, Habakkuk responds by acknowledging God is HOLY. By the end of the book, Habakkuk offers up a final prayer to God and resolves that his strength is from God.

Some of the things we can learn from this book:
YOU can Trust God’s justice in the midst of injustice.
YOU should Hope in God when life feels hopeless.
YOU can Find joy in God’s salvation when we feel stuck in our pain.
YOU can and should keep running to God even when we don’t get the answer we expect.
YOU should Wait for God’s promises to be fulfilled even when our suffering feels endless.

These are important reminders in a time such as the one we are living in. Habakkuk’s conversation, seen here with the Lord, is a good reminder that our faith walk often involves lament, complaint, and raw emotions poured out to God. Questioning God and/or His ways, when done with the right heart posture and attitude, can often lead to a deeper faith, a greater understanding of God, and a more fuller relationship with HIM.

True faith leads to boldness before God – but we must also remember to come humbly before Him and in submission to His sovereignty, even when we do not fully understand.

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