Saturday, March 27, 2010

Bible Study: God's Purpose For You 03.27.10

Hello My Friend/Guest,

Today is Saturday March 27, 2010 and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the Book of Judges, chapters 12-14. If you would like to read the chapters along with us here online you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this URL onto your browser: http://www.readytofollow.com/bible-march-27

Title: Bible Study: God's Purpose For You
God has a purpose for each and every one of us, He blesses us with talents and skills that allow us to do the work He calls us to do, no two people complete a job in the same way, yet can achieve the same result. How is this possible? It is possible because everyone is different, what works for one person does not necessarily work for others. This enables us to serve God the best way we can and achieve the same result, to win the lost to Christ and to teach others that anyone can serve the Lord, regardless of who they are. Now, sometimes people run from God or think they are not worthy enough to serve Him, but the truth is, not one person here on earth is worthy to serve Him, except Jesus Christ. Yet that does not stop Him from choosing us to serve Him, He chose you to serve Him and no matter how long it takes, He will get us to see that. Moses, ran from God and it took him forty years to start serving Him. Jonah, ran from God and got swallowed up in a whale for three days before he started serving God. No matter who we are, even if it is only for a short time, God will find a way to get us to see that we can not run from Him and will get us to serve His purpose one way or another. We should all be honored that despite the fact that we are not worthy to serve God that He chose us to not only serve Him, but spend eternity with Him as well. Praise God! Sadly, many people do not realize this honor and never really accomplish much for God.

Manoah and his wife were amongst the generation of Israelites that were in control of the Philistines, despite being in captivity they still served God and because of that faithfulness He was blessing them with a child. “And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years. And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.” - Judges 13:1-5. This child was to be born a Nazarite, these were special people that were chosen from birth to serve God and they were taught to avoid anything that would be immoral, and defile them or their bodies. Even today, God chooses special people to serve Him that are to refrain from anything that is immoral or defiles the body. While many people are saved by accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior, only a fraction of those people we be called to be His disciples. Jesus Himself said that not everyone that calls on Him believes in Him and He knows who we are. “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.” - John 6:63-66. When we live in the spirit we have life and know the truth and this is what helps us serve God's purpose.

Now Samson was born and his parents did everything possible for him to be brought up as a Nazarite. Yet despite their efforts he never really did anything to serve God. His first mistake was taking a Philistine woman as a wife. “And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife. Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well. But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.” - Judges 14:1-4. Samson should have listened to his parents warning, but he chose to seek a woman with his eyes and this would prove disastrous in the end. “But Samson's wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend.” - Judges 14:20. We all have a choice, God's will or our own, while God allows us this freedom that does not mean He will stand by us should we make the choice to follow our own. However, He is merciful and even if we make the wrong decisions He will get us back on the right track one way or another.

As Christians we are special people chosen for the purpose of teaching those who do not know Jesus how they can know Him. The talents and skills He gives us allows us to reach people of every culture, every lifestyle, and every position in life, regardless of where we came from and how we lived our lives in the past. It is because of these different walks of life that we can be a testimony of just how merciful God is to every sinner and how they too can be a child of the living God. Praise God for His mercy upon every sinner! “Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.” - I Corinthians 12:27-31. God has called you for a special purpose, instead of running go to Him and ask Him how He can use you and He will bless you for it. Praise God!

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and weekend.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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Friday, March 26, 2010

Bible Study: God's Mercy, A Lifesaver 03.26.10

Hello My Friend/Guest,

Today is Friday March 26, 2010 and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the Book of Judges, chapters 10 & 11. If you would like to read the chapters along with us here online you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this URL onto your browser: http://www.readytofollow.com/bible-march-26

Title: Bible Study: God's Mercy, A Lifesaver
If there is one thing that we should be so grateful of it is mercy. The word mercy is defined as showing kindness, compassion, and forgiveness toward someone. There are several words that describe mercy, but the one that sticks out the most to me is lifesaver. God's mercy is literally a lifesaver. You know, no matter how bad we have messed up our lives God has mercy on us. Praise God! Whether we have defiled our bodies, killed someone, or destroyed our lives, God is a lifesaver toward all who seek Him for forgiveness. Praise God!

Even as Christians we can get so caught up in the world that we lose sight of God all together and when that happens He is not going to show us any mercy, but let us fall right on our face. The Israelites were infamous for seeking God when they were in trouble, but turning their backs on them when things were going well. Now, they were in trouble again and this time God said, I will not show you any mercy. “And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, saying, We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim. And the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines? The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand. Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more. Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.” - Judges 10:10-14. God will not have mercy upon those who mock Him, if you choose to have God in your life, you serve Him and only Him. Seek something else and He will let you fall. Think about it. If you had a family member constantly come to you for help only when he was in trouble, how would you react to him? Most likely you stop doing things for him. Well, this is what God does, it does not mean that He does not love him nor want to give him mercy, He just avoids him until he truly comes to his senses and repents.

It was not until the Israelites truly repented that God heard them and showed mercy upon them. “And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day. And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.” - Judges 10:15,16. We may not see God in the flesh, but He is just as real as we are and every thing we feel, He feels as well. He grieves as well and will show mercy upon anyone who wholeheartedly seeks Him for forgiveness and help. Imagine how God feels right now in a world more corrupt than ever? Look at all that is going on in the world today, He is telling us the same thing He told them, “Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more. Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.” All these false prophets, religions, Christians, and churches that claim they know God better watch out and repent now because God's judgment is coming and He will have no mercy on those who have forsaken Him until they do.

You know, we may not have a choice as to what family we are born into, but we do have a choice in the way we live our lives. Jephthah was the son of a harlot, which in the peoples eyes made him a disgrace, but in God's eyes this was a good man. Jephthah was forced out of his home because his half brothers wanted nothing to do with him, but all that changed when they needed his help. “Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah. And Gilead's wife bare him sons; and his wife's sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father's house; for thou art the son of a strange woman. Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him.........And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob: And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon. And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and expel me out of my father's house? and why are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress? And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore we turn again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.” - Judges 11:1-3,5-8. Now, Jephthah could have refused to help, but he chose to do the right thing and because of that he became the captain, defeated Ammon, and the head of his tribe. Regardless of how badly we are treated, if we choose to do the right thing, God will bless us for it.

We do not realize what an impact we have on people, they label us and put us down, even our family members do that, yet they know everything we do and are capable of. I have lots of family members that refuse to follow God, even my father, he has three sons from another woman and they cast us out and say we are fake, but deep down they know God is with us and that scares them. My father just came into town and just spent some time with us, he could not believe what he was seeing and the blessings that we were given by living for God. The truth is that God knows who we are and that is all that matters and His blessings will show upon all who stand their ground and choose Jesus and seek His mercy to save their lives. In fact, God will even have mercy upon those who cast us out. “As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the father's sakes. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.” - Romans 11:28-32. God's mercy will never cast anyone out, He will have mercy upon all who believe in His Son, Jesus Christ. Praise God! God's mercy truly is a lifesaver for all who call on Jesus as their Savior receive forgiveness and eternal life. Praise God!

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and weekend.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

Visit: I'm Following Jesus!
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Thursday, March 25, 2010

Bible Study: Let Go of Pride 03.25.10

Hello My Friend/Guest,

Today is Thursday March 25, 2010, and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the Book of Judges, chapters 8 & 9. If you would like to read the chapters along with us here online you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this URL onto your browser: http://www.readytofollow.com/bible-march-25

Title: Bible Study: Let Go of Pride
Something amazing happens the second we call on Jesus to save us, a new life begins. However, in the midst of all the chaos of the world and the attack on Satan to try and get us to keep from enjoying that new life, is our pride. While, it is good to feel good about accomplishing things, we must remember that our pride can turn something good into evil. The word pride is defined as self esteem or self importance, the key word here is self, we are simply thinking of ourselves here and no one else. Many people have fallen due to pride and continue to fall because they do not want to admit that God is in control and they need Him If we want to succeed in life, we must humbly realize that we can not or do not do things on our own, but through God. The talents we possess are given by God and the sooner we realize that the better off we will be and the more prosperous we will become.

Through God, Gideon was successful at leading the Israelite army to victory over the Midianites, he never lost sight of the fact that God was leading him and always acknowledged that. Because he acknowledged and sought God's advice in the matter 300 men were able to defeat 135,000 men. After the victory, the people eager to have a king, urged Gideon to reign over them. “Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian. And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you.” - Judges 8:22,23. Gideon knew that there was only One King and that was God, therefore he would not rule nor wanted any of his sons to rule over them either. No matter how many men kings, presidents, or men of power rule on earth, there is only One King and that is God. As long as we are humble and seek His guidance He is faithful and just, but the second we turn our backs on Him we will suffer.

Gideon had seventy-one sons, one of them, Abimelech, was from a concubine, after Gideon (also named Jerubbaal) died Abimelech, urged his brothers to let him become the first king of Israel. Now, the rest of his brothers knew that this was against God's and Gideon's wishes so they refused to let him reign, but that did not stop him from pursuing the matter. “And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother's brethren, and communed with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying, Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Whether is better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, which are threescore and ten persons, reign over you, or that one reign over you? remember also that I am your bone and your flesh. And his mother's brethren spake of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words: and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said, He is our brother. And they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the house of Baalberith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light persons, which followed him. And he went unto his father's house at Ophrah, and slew his brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, being threescore and ten persons, upon one stone: notwithstanding yet Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left; for he hid himself.” - Judges 9:1-5.Abimelech was cruel and cunning and would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. He negotiated a large sum of money from the Baal temple treasury to pay men to murder his brothers and all except one was killed. Abimelech's only concern was himself, he was determined to get what he wanted and he did not let anyone stand in his way.

At the moment of Abimelech's proudest achievement, Jotham, Gideon's only surviving son, warned that they would soon discover that this self made king would bring suffering and death upon the men that killed his brothers as well as himself. “And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood in the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you. The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us.” - Judges 9:7,8. Jotham uses tress to represent the people, this was a prophecy of what was to come, Jotham compares Abimelech to a bramble or thistle, a worthless plant, whose end is to be burned. Sooner or later, all deception is accounted for, the expression, you reap what you sow, comes to mind here. We can not blame God or people for suffering that we cause all on our own because we chose the deceitful way of obtaining it. Abimelech is an example of a person controlled by the deceptive and destructive forces of his pride. He was determined to get what he wanted regardless of whom he had to hurt, if anyone got in his way he did not care who he had to kill to get it. We can become so consumed with wanting something that we will do anything to get it. I have seen so many people destroy their lives because they were told not to do something and did it while deceiving others to get it.

God wants to see us prosper, but He will not stand for someone to prosper in a deceitful way. We are all here for a purpose and God gives us all talents to be used for His glory. As long as we acknowledge Him for the work we do He will bless us, but if we do not, we will lose. This is not to punish us and keep us from enjoying life, it is to grow us and show us a new, better life. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” - II Corinthians 5:17-21. Those who accept Christ are reconciled with God, this means that God will bless all who acknowledge Him. Praise God, that no matter what we have done we are reconciled with God. We do not have to let our pride take control, let go of the pride and let God have control and watch your life prosper more than you ever imagined. Praise God!

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and week.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

Visit: I'm Following Jesus!
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Learn About Salvation Only Made Through Jesus Christ
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Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Bible Study: Put God To The Test 03.24.10

Hello My Friend/Guest,

Today is Wednesday March 24, 2010 and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the Book of Judges, chapters 6 & 7. If you would like to read the chapters along with us here online you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this URL onto your browser: http://www.readytofollow.com/bible-march-24

Title: Bible Study: Put God To The Test
As Christians, no matter how faithful we are to God, at times, we can become a little distant from God, especially during adversity. We begin to question why God has placed this burden upon us and even wonder if He is even around. However, in the midst of a world full of corruption and chaos, God is, in fact, with all who have accepted His Son, Jesus Christ, into their lives. Sometimes adversities come our way to strengthen us and bring us closer to God, for instance, we may never understand the death of a loved one, but God knows what is best for us and goes beyond the surface to help His child the best way He knows how. If that means He brings one home to Him before Jesus comes than He rather see a little bit of grieving than a lot of pain and suffering. God takes care of His children and gives them the best life He can while here on earth and even a greater life in heaven. Praise God!

We mess up though when we choose to follow our own will rather than God's, such as the case with the Israelites. As long as they followed God's will He was right there with them and blessed them, but if they did evil He turned His back on them. “And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.” - Judges 6:1,2. The Israelites were forced to live in dens and caves in order to flee from the Midianites. It was not until they called for God's help that He sent Gideon, a prophet, to help them defeat the Midianites. “And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.” - Judges 6:12-15. God assured Gideon that He was with them and would help them defeat the Midianites. Gideon questioned God and asked Him, if you are with us then why are we going through all this suffering, prove to me that You are with us. Now, it is okay to ask God questions and seek His guidance during adversity, He wants us to communicate with Him. The sad thing is that most people flee from God during adversity instead of seeking Him and unfortunately more adversity comes until we realize that we need Him. How can we expect God's blessings if we continue to live in sin? It is one thing to take the steps needed to better ourselves and remove sin, it is another to deliberately do it, expecting God's blessings simply by saying a prayer. God knows our hearts and knows when we are sincere in seeking forgiveness or just mocking Him.

Gideon put God to the test, “And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said. And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water. And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.” - Judges 6:36-39. God is always with us and we can ask Him to give us proof that He is with us, believe it or not, He still proves Himself today. He wants to show us miracles, He wants to show us that He hears us, but we must first have that faith in Him and respect Him. We can not just go to God in anger and disrespect to get Him to answer us, doing that only prolongs suffering. Think about it. Have you ever had someone demand that you do something? We are not so quick at getting it done, are we?. Or have you ever been driving down the road and someone rushes behind you, trying to intimidate you and get you to go faster? You tend to want to go slower, right? Well, God is the same way, if we are being rude and pushy, He will just slow down. He is very patient and will not hesitate to teach us a little bit of patience.

Now, once God proves Himself it is time for us to prove to Him that we trust in Him and seek His will. It was time for Gideon to be put to the test, they were about to go into battle with the Midianites, God reduced the Israelite army down to three hundred men. Three hundred against thousands, but Gideon trusted God to deliver them and He did. The Israelites took back control and God delivered the Midianites into their hands. “And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath. And the men of Israel gathered themselves together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after the Midianites. And Gideon sent messengers throughout all mount Ephraim, saying, come down against the Midianites, and take before them the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan. Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and took the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan. And they took two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side Jordan.” - Judges 7:22-25. It is only when we seek God's will that He will bless us. In order to prove Himself the Son of God, Jesus did not rush to save a man named Lazarus when his sisters called for Him to come and heal him. It was actually not until Lazarus died that He came to prove Himself. “Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.” - John 11:14,15. Jesus is saying that if I just went there to heal him no one would believe it was me, but if I raise him from the dead they will know that this is only from God. God proves Himself in order to show us that we must trust in Him first to see His blessings. Every day I ask God to show me that He hears my prayers and sometimes I get no answer, but when I do it is amazing. If you have questions, God will answer them. Just stay faithful and trust in Him, He will prove to you that He hears you, but you have to prove to Him that you hear Him also. He loves you and wants to bless you, but before He does He wants to know that you love Him. Praise God for His love!

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and week,
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

Visit: I'm Following Jesus!
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Learn About Salvation Only Made Through Jesus Christ
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Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Bible Study: Women & Power 03.23.10

Hello My Friend/Guest,

Today is Tuesday March 23, 2010 and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the Book of Judges, chapters 3-5. If you would like to read the chapters along with us here online you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this URL onto your browser: http://www.readytofollow.com/bible-march-23

Title: Bible Study: Women & Power
You know, one can take a look around the world and even in the Christian world and realize that men and women are not created equal. We can blame it all on Eve, since she was the one who was tempted first by the devil and took the first bite of the forbidden fruit, but we can not blame it all on her, after all, Adam was the leader and the one who was supposed to keep her in check. Right? The truth is that whether man or woman, we all have our strengths and weaknesses, yes, the man should be the leader, regardless of what role he plays, but we can never underestimate the power of a woman. While the Bible is centered around men of God, once in a while we hear about a woman who took a stand for God and was used in a great way. God does not just use and bless men for their faithfulness, he also uses women and we should be honored to be a woman of God, whether that role is to be a wife, mother, teacher, or prophetess.

It is important for men and women to stay in the will of God, He will use anyone who wants to live their lives for Him to show His truths and prove that He truly is God and in control of all things. As Israel was without a leader, the people choose to do what they thought was best for their lives, thus getting into trouble by doing do. “And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites: And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgat the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves. Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served Chushanrishathaim eight years.” - Judges 3:5-8. God turns His back on sin and He will not hesitate to let a person suffer until he realizes that the only way out of the suffering is through God's mercy and grace. We can all praise God for His mercy and grace for it is the only way to salvation. As Christians, it is important that we keep our eyes on Jesus, the second we take our eyes off Him it is easier to fall into the temptation of the forbidden fruit.

Deborah was a prophetess, she was also chose by God to be a judge or Israel, now, if we think that women do not have rights today, they really had no rights then, so you can imagine what she was up against, but she did as God commanded, knowing that He was with her and would be able to lead the people through Him. “And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time. And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun? And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand. And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go. And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.” - Judges 4:4-9. Deborah was successful because she acknowledged God as the one who would lead her and gave Him the honor for it. While there are some things that women should not do, at times, it is necessary and in the will of God to do so. As long as we are in the will of God, He will use us all in a mighty way.

Now, with that said, and as I said earlier, we can never underestimate the power of a woman, we may be the weaker vessel, but we are pretty good at getting what we want, whether it is for the good or bad. There are countless men of God in the Bible alone that were influenced by women, even Adam was influenced by Eve and persuaded to eat the forbidden fruit from her hands. “Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.” - Proverbs 14:1. Women have a big task, we can make or break a person, a husband, a child, or a friend, becomes great or falls by the influence of a woman. I was engaged to a man and as long as I lifted him up and showed him love he prospered, but when I stopped he began to fall and while I really had no influence on his not being faithful to me, I did have an influence on what I allowed him to do. As I think about the things we did and what I allowed him to bring into our relationship I realize that had I stood my ground we may still be together or I would have saved myself from a lot of pain. Praise God that no matter what we have gotten ourselves into that He still forgives us and blesses all who come to Him, man or woman.

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and week.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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Monday, March 22, 2010

Bible Study: Seek Him For Help 03.22.10

Hello My Friend/Guest,

Today is Monday March 22, 2010, and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the Book of Judges, chapters 1 & 2. If you would like to read the chapters along with us here online you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this URL onto your browser: http://www.readytofollow.com/bible-march-22

Title: Bible Study: Seek Him For Help
The Bible says that we are to, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” - Proverbs 22:6. Our children become who we are, so it is important as parents or guardians to train our children to be better than who we are. Why better? We need to do better, because they will become more of who we are. If a child is around a godly family, that child becomes more godly and carries it on as an adult, likewise if a child is around a wicked family, the child becomes more wicked as an adult. Now, do not get me wrong, sometimes things happen and child or adult gets mixed in with the wrong crowd, but if they are taught right as a child they will return to what they were taught. That is the amazing thing about God, no matter what wrong we have done in our lives He will help us get back on track as long as we turn to Him and seek Him for help.

The Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Old Testament/Bible and contains twenty-one chapters. The author of the book is Samuel and it was written to the Israelites. The purpose of the book was to record the Israelites journey after the death of Joshua, their repeated sin, and the judges God sent, who ruled, to get them redeemed and right with God. What we are to learn from this book is that God's chastisement is for the benefit of all God's people to turn us away from sin and to Salvation. The Israelites were chosen by the One True God to reveal Him to the heathen nations and to glorify Him by being obedient to His Word. The Israelites who were living at the time of Joshua's death recognized that God was their Captain and King and that He had given them victory over the Canaanites. “Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them? And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand. And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with him. And Judah went up; and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men.” - Judges 1:1-4. It is important that we continue to do God's work even if our leader is gone. God will never forsake nor leave anyone who trusts in Him and keeps moving forward, regardless of the loss of a man of God or loved one for that matter.

As the new generation arrived, they started to lose the recognition of God in their lives and because of that they stopped fighting for the land that was left and just dwelt among the heathens. Of course, God was not happy with that so the chastisement begins. “And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.” - Judges 2:1-4. Every decision we make in our lives has an impact not only on ourselves, but those around us. If we make a wrong decision, everyone else suffers as well. We can blame God all we want, but it is not Him that causes the suffering, we do all on our own. In all that we do we are to do in the will of God, if we do not, it is too east to fall. We can not keep thinking about ourselves here, we have to start thinking about how the decisions we make would affect those who are around us before we make them. Of course, we will mess up at times, but it is a lot easier to clean up a little mess than it is to clean up one that gets bigger and bigger as we make more of a mess trying to cover it up.

It is not easy to be an adult, or a Christian, and especially a parent, think of how God must feel to see His children suffer and end up getting into one mess after another. Yet, regardless, He has faith in us that we will turn to Him to help us clean them up. God sent judges to help clean up the Israelites messes, “Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; but they did not so. And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.” - Judges 2:16-18. God did let them suffer until they turned to Him for help, then once they turned to Him He helped them. You see, God is so wonderful that even when we do mess up all on our own, He will help us when we call on Him. Praise God!

People can not be helped if they do not help themselves first. The first step to help is admitting that we have messed things up, that is the hardest part, but unless we take that step, nothing will change and we will end up in one mess after another. Trust me, it took me losing everything I owned and then some before I realized that I needed help from God. We can not get out of these messes on our own, we need someone and who better to get that help from than God. As Jesus was having dinner, a woman game to Him and was so humbled that she knelt before Him crying and began wiping the tears off His feet with her hair. The men sitting with Him were stunned and complaining and Jesus responds, “Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.” - Luke 7:47-50. This woman was forgiven because she humbled herself before Jesus. Anyone who lets go of their pride, humbles themselves, and goes to Jesus is forgiven and then He will help them and release them from that sin. Praise God! If you are struggling right now, stop trying to get yourself out of it on your own, go to Jesus and He will give you peace.

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and week.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

Visit: I'm Following Jesus!
http://www.readytofollow.com

Missed A Lesson?
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