Israelites Meet God at Mount Sinai

God's Urgent Call
Calling of Prophets

Moses and the Burning Bush

Exodus 19:1-9 The Message

Mount Sinai

19 1-2 Three months after leaving Egypt the Israelites entered the Wilderness of Sinai. They followed the route from Rephidim, arrived at the Wilderness of Sinai, and set up camp. Israel camped there facing the mountain.
3-6 As Moses went up to meet God, God called down to him from the mountain: “Speak to the House of Jacob, tell the People of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to Egypt and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to me. If you will listen obediently to what I say and keep my covenant, out of all peoples you’ll be my special treasure. The whole Earth is mine to choose from, but you’re special: a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.’
“This is what I want you to tell the People of Israel.”
7 Moses came back and called the elders of Israel together and set before them all these words which God had commanded him.
8 The people were unanimous in their response: “Everything God says, we will do.” Moses took the people’s answer back to God.
9 God said to Moses, “Get ready. I’m about to come to you in a thick cloud so that the people can listen in and trust you completely when I speak with you.” Again Moses reported the people’s answer to God.

For Reflection

God requires only two things, God's people should listen obediently to God's will and keep God's covenant.  God sets the Israelites apart from all other peoples as an example of human potential.

And so it is that God places those of us who believe in God and obey Gods precepts as examples for all peoples.  How are we doing?

Pray

Pray that you are obedient to God's will.  Pray that those with whom you come in contact see the grace of God in you.  Pray so that you can make your life a living example of God's gift to all who will accept it.

Deacons Called to the Ministry of Justice

God's Urgent Call
Calling of Prophets

Moses and the Burning Bush

Acts 6:1-7 The Message

The Word of God Prospered

6 1-4 During this time, as the disciples were increasing in numbers by leaps and bounds, hard feelings developed among the Greek-speaking believers—“Hellenists”—toward the Hebrew-speaking believers because their widows were being discriminated against in the daily food lines. So the Twelve called a meeting of the disciples. They said, “It wouldn’t be right for us to abandon our responsibilities for preaching and teaching the Word of God to help with the care of the poor. So, friends, choose seven men from among you whom everyone trusts, men full of the Holy Spirit and good sense, and we’ll assign them this task. Meanwhile, we’ll stick to our assigned tasks of prayer and speaking God’s Word.”
5-6 The congregation thought this was a great idea. They went ahead and chose—
Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit,
Philip,
Procorus,
Nicanor,
Timon,
Parmenas,
Nicolas, a convert from Antioch.
Then they presented them to the apostles. Praying, the apostles laid on hands and commissioned them for their task.
7 The Word of God prospered. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased dramatically. Not least, a great many priests submitted themselves to the faith.

For Reflection

As stewards of the Kingdom of God, we are to care for each other. Each serves as he or she has been given talent.  Some preach, some teach, some evangelize, and some are charged with the responsibility of caring for the believers.

Pray

Pray that you will maintain the trust that God holds in you.  Pray that you use the talents with which God has blessed you to hallow God.

No Perversion of Justice Allowed

God's Urgent Call
Calling of Prophets

Moses and the Burning Bush

2 Chronicles 19:4-7 The Message

4 Jehoshaphat kept his residence in Jerusalem but made a regular round of visits among the people, from Beersheba in the south to Mount Ephraim in the north, urging them to return to God, the God of their ancestors.
5-7 And he was diligent in appointing judges in the land—each of the fortress cities had its judge. He charged the judges: “This is serious work; do it carefully. You are not merely judging between men and women; these are God’s judgments that you are passing on. Live in the fear of God—be most careful, for God hates dishonesty, partiality, and bribery.”

For Reflection

"Jumpin' Jehoshaphat! Is that what is expected of me?"

"Yep.  You are as responsible for your judgments as were the Judges!"

"Must I live in fear of God's retribution?"

"Nope. God is merciful.  But you should strive to be obedient to the law and the love of God. Otherwise you will live in a hell of your own making."

Pray

Pray so that you may live in obedience to God's precepts.  Pray so that you may live a life that honors God.  Pray so that you will judge and not act judgmentally.  Pray so that you will be able to practice distributive, non-retributive justice.

Eternal Cost of Not Offering Justice

God's Urgent Call
Calling of Prophets

Moses and the Burning Bush

Matthew 25:41-46 The Message

41-43 “Then he will turn to the ‘goats,’ the ones on his left, and say, ‘Get out, worthless goats! You’re good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because—
I was hungry and you gave me no meal,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
Sick and in prison, and you never visited.’
44 “Then those ‘goats’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn’t help?’
45 “He will answer them, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.’
46 “Then those ‘goats’ will be herded to their eternal doom, but the ‘sheep’ to their eternal reward.”

For Reflection

Acting justly is an intimate act.  To be reputed for your acts of justice is one of the most valued personal attributes, gracious and humble. No other characteristic could be more righteous.  Acts of justice honor God.

Injustice results in social destruction.  Think about the human costs of injustice.  Think about the economic costs of injustice.  Think about the costs of insurrection injustice inspires.  Think of the suffering in countries which are defined by injustice.  It is always less expensive to act justly.

Pray

Pray that you will consider the implied justice of your thought and actions.  Pray that you will act justly in all your interactions.  Pray that just and righteous action will prevail. Pray for the equitable distribution of the world's resources.  Pray that all people will have the advantage of a life dominated by acts of justice.

Insist on Justice for All

God's Urgent CallCalling of Prophets
Moses and the Burning Bush

Exodus 23:1-9 The Message

23 1-3 “Don’t pass on malicious gossip.
“Don’t link up with a wicked person and give corrupt testimony. Don’t go along with the crowd in doing evil and don’t fudge your testimony in a case just to please the crowd. And just because someone is poor, don’t show favoritism in a dispute.
4-5 “If you find your enemy’s ox or donkey loose, take it back to him. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you lying helpless under its load, don’t walk off and leave it. Help it up.
6 “When there is a dispute concerning your poor, don’t tamper with the justice due them.
7 “Stay clear of false accusations. Don’t contribute to the death of innocent and good people. I don’t let the wicked off the hook.
8 “Don’t take bribes. Bribes blind perfectly good eyes and twist the speech of good people.
9 “Don’t take advantage of a stranger. You know what it’s like to be a stranger; you were strangers in Egypt.

For Reflection

Much of the time we tend to think that justice is limited to retribution, a rationalized outcome for wrong-doing.  Occasionally, we define it as an equitable distribution of community resources, (distributive). More rarely, we define it as a personal action.

Thousands of years later, God's gift of Mosiac law is just as contemporary as it was when God delivered it.  Devout affections and pious resolutions are insufficient signs of obedience to the grace of God.  Let your action be consistent with God's love of justice.

Pray

Pray that you will accept the grace of God in God's precepts and promises.  Pray so that the Spirit enters you and fills your soul with the need to seek justice for all.  Pray that you will be a priest in God's Kingdom.

In Death Samson Defeats the Philistines

God's Urgent Call
Called to Be Strong

Samson's Call

Judges 16:23-31 The Message

23-24 The Philistine tyrants got together to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon. They celebrated, saying,
Our god has given us
Samson our enemy!
And when the people saw him, they joined in, cheering their god,
Our god has given
Our enemy to us,
The one who ravaged our country,
Piling high the corpses among us.
25-27 Then this: Everyone was feeling high and someone said, “Get Samson! Let him show us his stuff!” They got Samson from the prison and he put on a show for them.
They had him standing between the pillars. Samson said to the young man who was acting as his guide, “Put me where I can touch the pillars that hold up the temple so I can rest against them.” The building was packed with men and women, including all the Philistine tyrants. And there were at least three thousand in the stands watching Samson’s performance.
28 And Samson cried out to God:
Master, God!
    Oh, please, look on me again,
    Oh, please, give strength yet once more.
God!
    With one avenging blow let me be avenged
    On the Philistines for my two eyes!
29-30 Then Samson reached out to the two central pillars that held up the building and pushed against them, one with his right arm, the other with his left. Saying, “Let me die with the Philistines,” Samson pushed hard with all his might. The building crashed on the tyrants and all the people in it. He killed more people in his death than he had killed in his life.
31 His brothers and all his relatives went down to get his body. They carried him back and buried him in the tomb of Manoah his father, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
He judged Israel for twenty years.

For Reflection

"With Samson, you always get a little bit of good, and then a lot of bad. He seems to have been a mixed bag in almost everything that he did."* Samson seemed to do what he thought was good.  In this modern culture, there is a presumption for us to do what we think is right.  We celebrate this entitlement as freedom when in fact it may be a sign of enslavement to the cultural norms.  Many times such thinking ignores the common good and leads to spiritual blindness.  It is the worship of self-determination and the rejection of a superordinate obligation to the good of a community.  Being accountable only to one's self is the ultimate idolitery.

Pray

Pray that you will acknowledge the attraction and seduction of the pressure to conform to the material world. Pray for the courage to strengthen your faith and reject cultural conformity in times of temptation.  Pray, "Lead me not into temptation. Deliver me from evil. Preserve my soul."

*Richard T. Ritenbaugh, Sermon: Samson And The Christian (Part 6)

Samson Conquers the Philistines

God's Urgent Call
Called to Be Strong

Samson's Call

Judges 15:1-8 The Message

15 1-2 Later on—it was during the wheat harvest—Samson visited his bride, bringing a young goat. He said, “Let me see my wife—show me her bedroom.”
But her father wouldn’t let him in. He said, “I concluded that by now you hated her with a passion, so I gave her to your best man. But her little sister is even more beautiful. Why not take her instead?”
3 Samson said, “That does it. This time when I wreak havoc on the Philistines, I’m blameless.”
4-5 Samson then went out and caught three hundred jackals. He lashed the jackals’ tails together in pairs and tied a torch between each pair of tails. He then set fire to the torches and let them loose in the Philistine fields of ripe grain. Everything burned, both stacked and standing grain, vineyards and olive orchards—everything.
6 The Philistines said, “Who did this?”
They were told, “Samson, son-in-law of the Timnite who took his bride and gave her to his best man.”
The Philistines went up and burned both her and her father to death.
7 Samson then said, “If this is the way you’re going to act, I swear I’ll get even with you. And I’m not quitting till the job’s done!”
8 With that he tore into them, ripping them limb from limb—a huge slaughter. Then he went down and stayed in a cave at Etam Rock.

For Reflection

Vengeance belongs to God, not to humankind.  Samson sought reconciliation with his wife only to be crossed by his father- in-law. Letting anger take hold of him, Samson, in a fit of vengeance, burned the Philistine crops. The act of revenge yielded more vengeance which spiraled into even more violence.   Only evil results from getting even.  It is not for us to give into anger and be tempted into Godlessness.

Pray

Pray that you will never give into the hate that is inherent in vengeance. Pray that you will find the grace to forgive those who trespass against you.

Samson Marries a Woman of Timnah

God's Urgent Call
Called to Be Strong

Samson's Call

Judges 14:1-9 The Message

14 1-2 Samson went down to Timnah. There in Timnah a woman caught his eye, a Philistine girl. He came back and told his father and mother, “I saw a woman in Timnah, a Philistine girl; get her for me as my wife.”
3 His parents said to him, “Isn’t there a woman among the girls in the neighborhood of our people? Do you have to go get a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?”
But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me. She’s the one I want—she’s the right one.”
4 (His father and mother had no idea that God was behind this, that he was arranging an opportunity against the Philistines. At the time the Philistines lorded it over Israel.)
5-6 Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother. When he got to the vineyards of Timnah, a young lion came at him, roaring. The Spirit of God came on him powerfully and he ripped it open barehanded, like tearing a young goat. But he didn’t tell his parents what he had done.
7 Then he went on down and spoke to the woman. In Samson’s eyes, she was the one.
8-9 Some days later when he came back to get her, he made a little detour to look at what was left of the lion. And there a wonder: a swarm of bees in the lion’s carcass—and honey! He scooped it up in his hands and kept going, eating as he went. He rejoined his father and mother and gave some to them and they ate. But he didn’t tell them that he had scooped out the honey from the lion’s carcass.

For Reflection

In spite of the warnings of his mother and father Samson's choice of a bride (by divine intention), is strategic Because Israel is under Philistine rule.  His marriage would let Samson get among them so that he could understand them and ultimately overcome them.

Samson's physical might is shown by his ability to kill the attacking lion and reap the rewards of honey.   This action is a strong metaphor which parallels the flight from Egypt and God's willingness to provide all thaa is necessary to sustain life both physically and spiritually.

Pray

Praise God for God's everlasting love of God's people.  Thank God for infinite second chances.  Pray for forgiveness, mercy and justice for all.

Vow of Separation to the Lord

God's Urgent Call
Called to Be Strong

Samson's Call

Numbers 6:1-12, 13-17 The Message

Nazirite Vows

6 1-4 God spoke to Moses: “Speak to the People of Israel; tell them, If any of you, man or woman, wants to make a special Nazirite vow, consecrating yourself totally to God, you must not drink any wine or beer, no intoxicating drink of any kind, not even the juice of grapes—in fact, you must not even eat grapes or raisins. For the duration of the consecration, nothing from the grapevine—not even the seeds, not even the skin—may be eaten.
5 “Also, for the duration of the consecration, you must not have your hair cut. Your long hair will be a continuing sign of holy separation to God.
6-7 “Also, for the duration of the consecration to God, you must not go near a corpse. Even if it’s the body of your father or mother, brother or sister, you must not ritually defile yourself because the sign of consecration to God is on your head.
8 “For the entire duration of your consecration you are holy to God.
13-17 “These are the instructions for the time set when your special consecration to God is up. First, you are to be brought to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Then you will present your offerings to God: a healthy yearling lamb for the Whole-Burnt-Offering, a healthy yearling ewe for an Absolution-Offering, a healthy ram for a Peace-Offering, a basket of unraised bread made of fine flour, loaves mixed with oil, and crackers spread with oil, along with your Grain-Offerings and Drink-Offerings. The priest will approach God and offer up your Absolution-Offering and Whole-Burnt-Offering. He will sacrifice the ram as a Peace-Offering to God with the basket of unraised bread, and, last of all, the Grain-Offering and Drink-Offering.

For Reflection

Many of us have consecrated our lives to the Living God. But, I am not sure that we followed the rituals that God outlined to Moses. The Nazirites set themselves apart from all others, binding themselves to the law of love. These rituals were a reflection of the signs of purity and in those days, were fitting to emphasize the righteousness of the consecration.

Few of us who consecrate themselves these days follow the rituals of the Nazirites.  Today what are the signs that we remain holy to the Lord? How do we keep ourselves pure in heart and life?

Pray

That you will remain obedient to the will of God.  Pray, that in binding yourself to the Livin God, you keep yourself pure in heart and life.

Samson's Birth

God's Urgent Call
Called to Be Strong

Sampson's Call

Judges 13:8-18 The Message

8 Manoah prayed to God: “Master, let the man of God you sent come to us again and teach us how to raise this boy who is to be born.”
9-10 God listened to Manoah. God’s angel came again to the woman. She was sitting in the field; her husband Manoah wasn’t there with her. She jumped to her feet and ran and told her husband: “He’s back! The man who came to me that day!”
11 Manoah got up and, following his wife, came to the man. He said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife?”
He said, “I am.”
12 Manoah said, “So. When what you say comes true, what do you have to tell us about this boy and his work?”
13-14 The angel of God said to Manoah, “Keep in mind everything I told the woman. Eat nothing that comes from the vine: Drink no wine or beer; eat no ritually unclean foods. She’s to observe everything I commanded her.”
15 Manoah said to the angel of God, “Please, stay with us a little longer; we’ll prepare a meal for you—a young goat.”
16 God’s angel said to Manoah, “Even if I stay, I won’t eat your food. But if you want to prepare a Whole-Burnt-Offering for God, go ahead—offer it!” Manoah had no idea that he was talking to the angel of God.
17 Then Manoah asked the angel of God, “What’s your name? When your words come true, we’d like to honor you.”
18 The angel of God said, “What’s this? You ask for my name? You wouldn’t understand—it’s sheer wonder.”

For Reflection

Manoah's wife received a messenger from God to announce that she would bear a child.  The angel instructed her in rituals of purity so that the child would be pure at birth.  This visitation was a sign that the birth of Solomon was a sacred event that carried the promise of God's people. A birth of a child is as the angel proclaimed about his name, "sheer wonder."

Pray

Pray for the children.  Pray that they will grow to know God and follow God's precepts.  Pray that their lives will be full of realized promise.

Leaders Discern a Way Forward

God's Urgent Call
Called to Be Strong

Jephthah Answers the Call

Acts 15:6-21 The Message

6-9 The apostles and leaders called a special meeting to consider the matter. The arguments went on and on, back and forth, getting more and more heated. Then Peter took the floor: “Friends, you well know that from early on God made it quite plain that he wanted the pagans to hear the Message of this good news and embrace it—and not in any secondhand or roundabout way, but firsthand, straight from my mouth. And God, who can’t be fooled by any pretense on our part but always knows a person’s thoughts, gave them the Holy Spirit exactly as he gave him to us. He treated the outsiders exactly as he treated us, beginning at the very center of who they were and working from that center outward, cleaning up their lives as they trusted and believed him.
10-11 “So why are you now trying to out-god God, loading these new believers down with rules that crushed our ancestors and crushed us, too? Don’t we believe that we are saved because the Master Jesus amazingly and out of sheer generosity moved to save us just as he did those from beyond our nation? So what are we arguing about?”
12-13 There was dead silence. No one said a word. With the room quiet, Barnabas and Paul reported matter-of-factly on the miracles and wonders God had done among the other nations through their ministry. The silence deepened; you could hear a pin drop.
13-18 James broke the silence. “Friends, listen. Simeon has told us the story of how God at the very outset made sure that racial outsiders were included. This is in perfect agreement with the words of the prophets:
After this, I’m coming back;
    I’ll rebuild David’s ruined house;
I’ll put all the pieces together again;
    I’ll make it look like new
So outsiders who seek will find,
    so they’ll have a place to come to,
All the pagan peoples
    included in what I’m doing.
“God said it and now he’s doing it. It’s no afterthought; he’s always known he would do this.
19-21 “So here is my decision: We’re not going to unnecessarily burden non-Jewish people who turn to the Master. We’ll write them a letter and tell them, ‘Be careful not to get involved in activities connected with idols, to guard the morality of sex and marriage, to not serve food offensive to Jewish Christians—blood, for instance.’ This is basic wisdom from Moses, preached and honored for centuries now in city after city as we have met and kept the Sabbath.”

For Reflection

"God's War" is one to counter the effects of idolatry.  False gods of power, wealth, self-determination, or anything that denies the sovereignty of God and leads one away from obedience to God's precepts has its source in idolatry.  Believers can be seduced by idolatry and become convinced wrongly that their action is righteous and justified by God.

We must be careful to see ourselves as God sees us, in the context of a loving relationship.  If we dare assign a worldly event to the hand of God, we should do so with great care and examine the action in the context of inclusion into God's household.  Measure with the standards of compassion, love, forgiveness and distributive justice.  Look for the love in all things.

Pray

Pray that you will find the love of God and God's love for humankind in all matters.  Pray for the inclusion of all peoples into the household of God.  Pray long and often so that you will be able to discern the righteous path.

The Ammorite King Rejects a Diplomatic Solution.

God's Urgent Call
Called to Be Strong

Jephthah Answers the Call

Judges 11:23-28 The Message

It was God, the God of Israel, who pushed out the Amorites in favor of Israel; so who do you think you are to try to take it over? Why don’t you just be satisfied with what your god Chemosh gives you and we’ll settle for what God, our God, gives us? Do you think you’re going to come off better than Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab? Did he get anywhere in opposing Israel? Did he risk war? All this time—it’s been three hundred years now!—that Israel has lived in Heshbon and its villages, in Aroer and its villages, and in all the towns along the Arnon, why didn’t you try to snatch them away then? No, I haven’t wronged you. But this is an evil thing that you are doing to me by starting a fight. Today God the Judge will decide between the People of Israel and the people of Ammon.”
But the king of the Ammonites refused to listen to a word that Jephthah had sent him.

For Reflection

Having tried and failed to establish a peaceful solution to the Ammonite threat, Jephthah has no other rational choice but to defend his people.  The King of the Ammonites has, for whatever reason, (perhaps because of the King's confidence in false gods) decided to pursue a bloody solution.

Convinced that his cause is righteous, Jephthah is sure that God will allow him to win the coming conflict.  To what extent is the defense against an aggressor justifiable?

Pray

Pray that you will be reluctant to settle matters with violence. Pray for those who prey on others in the hope God's word will satisfy their needs.  Pray for confidence in the realization of God's will for humankind.

God's Aid of Israel

God's Urgent Call
Called to Be Strong

Jephthah Answers the Call

Judges 11:19-22 The Message

Israel then sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites at Heshbon the capital. Israel asked, ‘Let us pass, please, through your land on the way to our country.’ But Sihon didn’t trust Israel to cut across his land; he got his entire army together, set up camp at Jahaz, and fought Israel. But God, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his troops to Israel. Israel defeated them. Israel took all the Amorite land, all Amorite land from Arnon to the Jabbok and from the desert to the Jordan

For Reflection

The people of Isreal were sensitive to recognizing God's hand in their salvation.  The power of the God of Isreal was well known by reputation.  Jephthah then used this knowledge to persuade the Ammonites to reconsider their action.

How successful are we in seeing God's hand in world affairs.  Would we be as eager to cite God's role in our affairs with confidence?

Pray

Pray that you will look for the hand of God in your personal history. Pray that you will see the role God has played in your life.

Diplomatic Solutions to International Threat

God's Urgent Call
Called to Be Strong

Jephthah Answers the Call

Judges 11:12-27 The Message

12 Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites with a message: “What’s going on here that you have come into my country picking a fight?”
13 The king of the Ammonites told Jephthah’s messengers: “Because Israel took my land when they came up out of Egypt—from the Arnon all the way to the Jabbok and to the Jordan. Give it back peaceably and I’ll go.”
14-27 Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites with the message: “Jephthah’s word: Israel took no Moabite land and no Ammonite land. When they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the desert as far as the Red Sea, arriving at Kadesh. There Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom saying, ‘Let us pass through your land, please.’ But the king of Edom wouldn’t let them. Israel also requested permission from the king of Moab, but he wouldn’t let them cross either. They were stopped in their tracks at Kadesh. So they traveled across the desert and circled around the lands of Edom and Moab. They came out east of the land of Moab and set camp on the other side of the Arnon—they didn’t set foot in Moabite territory, for Arnon was the Moabite border.

For Reflection

With the threat of aggression, the Ammonites marched on to Israel. Jephthah was not interested in armed conflict and turned to a diplomatic solution.  Jephthah argued that the Exodus was a peaceful journey and care was taken to avoid a hostile takeover of land. Jephthah insisted that that not only was there no intent to occupy Ammonite land but also no act of war over the possession of such lands.

Jephthah enters a plea of "not guilty."

Pray

Pray that your first reaction to a threat is one of appeal to reason. Pray for the skill to avoid a knee-jerk response to fight in defense. Pray for the wisdom to act justly.

Jephthah Rejected by His Family

God's Urgent Call
Called to Be Strong

Jephthah Answers the Call

Judges 11:1-3 The Message

11 1-3 Jephthah the Gileadite was one tough warrior. He was the son of a whore, but Gilead was his father. Meanwhile, Gilead’s legal wife had given him other sons, and when they grew up, his wife’s sons threw Jephthah out. They told him: “You’re not getting any of our family inheritance—you’re the son of another woman.” So Jephthah fled from his brothers and went to live in the land of Tob. Some riffraff joined him and went around with him.

For Reflection

Scripture always reminds us that God will always conduct business in unexpected ways.  Time after time God shows us that the precepts for God's judgment are not derived by human reason.  Divine reason seems to be counter intuitive.  Jephthah was rejected out of common sense culturally embedded reason.  Remember too, that Christ was named the rejected stone.

There is a difference between being judgemental and judging.  Our survival depends upon our ability to sense a threat, that is, to judge people and circumstance.  However, in the Kingdom, we do not have the right to act judgmentally.  When possible and are not physically threatened, we are obligated to God to be kind and supportive.  Vengeance is not ours to deliver.  Vengeance is God's prerogative and God is rarely vengeful.

Pray

For the courage to approach problems creatively.  Pray for those whose lives are constantly under siege by those who seek a scapegoat or vengeance.

Again, Israel Forgets Its Story

God's Urgent Call
Called to Be Strong

Gideon's Call

Judges 8:29-35 The Message

29-31 Jerub-Baal son of Joash went home and lived in his house. Gideon had seventy sons. He fathered them all—he had a lot of wives! His concubine, the one at Shechem, also bore him a son. He named him Abimelech.
32 Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age. He was buried in the tomb of his father Joash at Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Abimelech

33-35 Gideon was hardly cool in the tomb when the People of Israel had gotten off track and were prostituting themselves to Baal—they made Baal-of-the-Covenant their god. The People of Israel forgot all about God, their God, who had saved them from all their enemies who had hemmed them in. And they didn’t keep faith with the family of Jerub-Baal (Gideon), honoring all the good he had done for Israel.

For Reflection

Yet again, God's chosen people forget who the are and from whence they came.  Time after time The People disappoint God.  As soon is their lives are carefree and satisfying they forget who is responsible for their safety and happiness.  They come to think it as all their doing or the action of the false god-of-the-day!  How do we handle prosperity?

Pray

Pray often so that you never forget who you are and why.

Bloodless Warfare

God's Urgent Call
Called to Be Strong

Gideon's Call

Judges 7:19-23. The Message

19-22 Gideon and his hundred men got to the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after the sentries had been posted. They blew the trumpets, at the same time smashing the jars they carried. All three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands, ready to blow, and shouted, “A sword for God and for Gideon!” They were stationed all around the camp, each man at his post. The whole Midianite camp jumped to its feet. They yelled and fled. When the three hundred blew the trumpets, God aimed each Midianite’s sword against his companion, all over the camp. They ran for their lives—to Beth Shittah, toward Zererah, to the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath.
23 Israelites rallied from Naphtali, from Asher, and from all over Manasseh. They had Midian on the run.

For Reflection

In spite of Gideon's prayer for vengeance and the destruction of the enemy, God arranges a bloodless battle. Outnumbered, surrounding the enemy, and striking at night, Gideon's army's surprise attack sent the Midianites fleeing in fright.  Are we creative enough to avoid bloodshed?  Are we creative enough to devise alternative solutions to defuse confrontations?  Are we courageous enough to trust in God and try?

Pray

Pray for the wisdom to discover creative rather than destructive solutions to everyday problems.  Pray for the courage to face your enemies with determination and the fear of theLord.

Fleece Confirms Victory

God's Urgent Call
Called to Be Strong

Gideon's Call

Judges 6:36-40. The Message

36-37 Gideon said to God, “If this is right, if you are using me to save Israel as you’ve said, then look: I’m placing a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If dew is on the fleece only, but the floor is dry, then I know that you will use me to save Israel, as you said.”
38 That’s what happened. When he got up early the next morning, he wrung out the fleece—enough dew to fill a bowl with water!
39 Then Gideon said to God, “Don’t be impatient with me, but let me say one more thing. I want to try another time with the fleece. But this time let the fleece stay dry, while the dew drenches the ground.”
40 God made it happen that very night. Only the fleece was dry while the ground was wet with dew.

For Reflection

When you are weak, God is tender.  A less humble God may have taken offense at Gideon's requests for a sign.  Here, Gideon shows his trembling weakness and asks God to fortify him with confidence. God complies.

Pray

Pray that when your faith wanes, you will call on God to strengthen it. Pray that when you lack confidence in your ability to be obedient to God's call, you will call on God.

The Enemies of Man and the Enemies of God

God's Urgent Call
Called to Be Strong

Gideon's Call

Psalm 83:1-18The Message (MSG)

An Asaph Psalm

83 1-5 God, don’t shut me out;
    don’t give me the silent treatment, O God.
Your enemies are out there whooping it up,
    the God-haters are living it up;
They’re plotting to do your people in,
    conspiring to rob you of your precious ones.
“Let’s wipe this nation from the face of the earth,”
    they say; “scratch Israel’s name off the books.”
And now they’re putting their heads together,
    making plans to get rid of you.
6-8 Edom and the Ishmaelites,
    Moab and the Hagrites,
    Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
    Philistia and the Tyrians,
    And now Assyria has joined up,
    Giving muscle to the gang of Lot.
9-12 Do to them what you did to Midian,
    to Sisera and Jabin at Kishon Brook;
They came to a bad end at Endor,
    nothing but dung for the garden.
Cut down their leaders as you did Oreb and Zeeb,
    their princes to nothings like Zebah and Zalmunna,
With their empty brags, “We’re grabbing it all,
    grabbing God’s gardens for ourselves.”
13-18 My God! I’ve had it with them!
    Blow them away!
Tumbleweeds in the desert waste,
    charred sticks in the burned-over ground.
Knock the breath right out of them, so they’re gasping
    for breath, gasping, “God.”
Bring them to the end of their rope,
    and leave them there dangling, helpless.
Then they’ll learn your name: “God,”
    the one and only High God on earth.

For Reflection

Just what is the psalmist asking?  Is he asking for vengeance or justified defense?   Midian, Sisera, and Jabin seemed to be defensive battles with enemies that directly threatened God's people.  Is the threat real in this instance?  If not, will God aid or even conduct an act of vengeance?
If indeed God is a god of violence and vengeance, how are we to understand or justify God's use of violence?  Are these stories to be interpreted as God's manipulation of events?  Or are these stories wishful personifications of human reason projected onto God?  Even if the answer is unknowable, it does affect different interpretations or versions of our God.  Perhaps the way God addresses this request in Gideon will stimulate a plausible answer.

Pray

Pray and listen to God.  Pray that you will not substitute vengeance for justifiable defense.

Remember Your Story

God's Urgent Call
Called to Be Strong

Gideon

Judges 6:1-10. The Message

Gideon

6: 1-6 Yet again the People of Israel went back to doing evil in God’s sight. God put them under the domination of Midian for seven years. Midian overpowered Israel. Because of Midian, the People of Israel made for themselves hideouts in the mountains—caves and forts. When Israel planted its crops, Midian and Amalek, the easterners, would invade them, camp in their fields, and destroy their crops all the way down to Gaza. They left nothing for them to live on, neither sheep nor ox nor donkey. Bringing their cattle and tents, they came in and took over, like an invasion of locusts. And their camels—past counting! They marched in and devastated the country. The People of Israel, reduced to grinding poverty by Midian, cried out to God for help.
7-10 One time when the People of Israel had cried out to God because of Midian, God sent them a prophet with this message: “God, the God of Israel, says,
I delivered you from Egypt,
    I freed you from a life of slavery;
I rescued you from Egypt’s brutality
    and then from every oppressor;
I pushed them out of your way
    and gave you their land.
“And I said to you, ‘I am God, your God. Don’t for a minute be afraid of the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living.’ But you didn’t listen to me.”

For Reflection

How short are our memories? After 40 years of peace, the People of God returned to unGodly ways.  Their infidelity lead to ruin and they were forced to flee.  Hiding in the mountains with little to eat and their land was overrun by an enemy. In their self-determination they had failed and now, reduced to poverty, in frustration called to God. Yet again, the People had forgotten who they were.  They forgot their story.  

What happens to us when life is easy? What happens to us when there are only a few minor challenges that are easily overcome to achieve satisfying results?  What happens to us when we no longer have a need for God?  What happens when we are no longer in awe of the power of God?

What happens when we, like the People, forget who we are, children of God? What happens when we forget the intention of God that we shepherd each other in obedience to God's will? What happens when we are surrounded by Godlessness, and the Godless seem to have an advantage?  What happens when we forget who and what we are?

Pray

Pray for those who have forgotten the story of who they are in the sight of God.  Pray for those who have been seduced by the false promise of conventional wisdom.  Pray so that you will never forget your story.

The Calling

God's Urgent Call
Called to Be Strong

Deborah and Barak

Hebrews 5:1-6. The Message

5 1-3 Every high priest selected to represent men and women before God and offer sacrifices for their sins should be able to deal gently with their failings, since he knows what it’s like from his own experience. But that also means that he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as the peoples’.
4-6 No one elects himself to this honored position. He’s called to it by God, as Aaron was. Neither did Christ presume to set himself up as high priest, but was set apart by the One who said to him, “You’re my Son; today I celebrate you!” In another place God declares, “You’re a priest forever in the royal order of Melchizedek.”

For Reflection

 No one earns his or her way into the household of God. No one enters the Kingdom of God without sacrifice.  We have been created with a set of unique skills and abilities so that we may act in collaboration with God to advance the cause of justice and righteousness.  We are called to choose to live lives filled with compassion.  We are called to be humble servants of God and ministers to each other.  We are called to be stewards of this world, to use its resources responsibly, to treat each other respectfully, to uplift all with whom we come in contact.

There is nothing wrong with gaining wealth.  There is nothing wrong with a prudent eye toward defense.  But wealth and self-defense are not to be sought as an overriding objective.  The end game is to use our talents and capital as a tool to provide for the common defense and the common good. Our call is to shepherd each other.  God's blessings are intended to be used to maintain justice and righteousness.

Pray

Pray prayers of thanksgiving and praise to God for blessing us with resources and a guiding purpose for our lives.  Pray that you will give up any addiction to comfort and indifference.  Pray that you will wake up and cry in lamentation to God asking God to help us honor the story of our calling.

Faith = Unreasonable Trust

God's Urgent Call
Called to Be Strong

Deborah and Barak

Hebrews 11:29-40. The Message

29 By an act of faith, Israel walked through the Red Sea on dry ground. The Egyptians tried it and drowned.
30 By faith, the Israelites marched around the walls of Jericho for seven days, and the walls fell flat.
31 By an act of faith, Rahab, the Jericho harlot, welcomed the spies and escaped the destruction that came on those who refused to trust God.
32-38 I could go on and on, but I’ve run out of time. There are so many more—Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets. . . . Through acts of faith, they toppled kingdoms, made justice work, took the promises for themselves. They were protected from lions, fires, and sword thrusts, turned disadvantage to advantage, won battles, routed alien armies. Women received their loved ones back from the dead. There were those who, under torture, refused to give in and go free, preferring something better: resurrection. Others braved abuse and whips, and, yes, chains and dungeons. We have stories of those who were stoned, sawed in two, murdered in cold blood; stories of vagrants wandering the earth in animal skins, homeless, friendless, powerless—the world didn’t deserve them!—making their way as best they could on the cruel edges of the world.
39-40 Not one of these people, even though their lives of faith were exemplary, got their hands on what was promised. God had a better plan for us: that their faith and our faith would come together to make one completed whole, their lives of faith not complete apart from ours.

For Reflection

Those who adhere to the material world and its precepts call God's intentions for righteous living "poppycock," and "delusional."  Remember, some called Jesus crazy!

And yet, The Way has been proven effective. Because it runs counter to conventional wisdom, some people have little faith or trust in the principles.   They prefer vengeance instead of forgiveness. What would have happened if we would have occupied and ruled Japan after WWII? Would we be at war in Afghanistan, If we would have collaborated with the Afghans to enact widespread military, political, economic, and social reforms instead of abandoning them after the defeat of Russian aggression?

What if we would redistribute the wealth in the United States in such a way that the capital is used to elevate disadvantaged peoples.  Military might and defense are important.  But they are no more important than reducing the widening gap between the upper middle class and the working poor.  Society is not rightly measured by the wealth it creates but rather by how it uses the wealth to ensure its people have satisfied their basic needs for safety, food, housing, and medical services.

Pray

Pray that you will participate in God's wisdom. Pray that you will not be lead into the false confidence in the common wisdom.