Tag: God heard

91. Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord,

Judges 13:1   Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.

A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was childless, unable to give birth. The angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean. You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”

Then the woman went to her husband and told him, “A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of God, very awesome. I didn’t ask him where he came from, and he didn’t tell me his name. But he said to me, ‘You will become pregnant and have a son. Now then, drink no wine or other fermented drink and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from the womb until the day of his death.’”

Then Manoah prayed to the Lord: “Pardon your servant, Lord. I beg you to let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.” God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. The woman hurried to tell her husband, “He’s here! The man who appeared to me the other day!” Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, “Are you the man who talked to my wife?” “I am,” he said. So Manoah asked him, “When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule that governs the boy’s life and work?” The angel of the Lord answered, “Your wife must do all that I have told her. She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her.” Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat for you.” The angel of the Lord replied, “Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the Lord.” (Manoah did not realize that it was the angel of the Lord.) Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?” He replied, “Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding.” Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the Lord. And the Lord did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground. When the angel of the Lord did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the Lord. “We are doomed to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen God!” But his wife answered, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this.” The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew and the Lord blessed him, and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him while he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Another time in history when the Israelites fell away and were given into the hands of oppressors. This time for forty years.  Forty years!!  Can you imagine the change in their way of life? They were living in blessings from God and chose to disregard Him.  They chose to do what seemed right in their own eyes. They chose to walk down paths apart from God.  They chose to stop seeking to do that which pleased Him and honored Him.

Our lives are directly influenced by the choices we make.  If we choose to spend time for our own self-interest (apart from God) the culture we live in will dictate and influence our choices.  How does this happen?  How does this choice even find a place in our minds?

Do you ever find yourself neglecting God’s word for a day?  Do you ever find yourself at the end of the day where you have not sought out God leading, not sought to see His how you might serve Him, honor Him, worship Him, glorify Him, follow Him, obey Him?  This path always starts with that first day of neglect and complacency.  Can you imagine what it would be like if God gave you over to 40 years of oppression of trials and troubles so overwhelming that everyday life was a burden because you chose to live your life apart from Him?

Examine your life.  Examine how much time you spend in His word, not to just read it, but with a heart, soul and mind desire to learn of Him and how to honor Him through obedience, reliance, and humble submission. Leave no room for self-interests, cultural influences, and satan to guide you on a path apart from God.

Light of the world

“The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.”

“ As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

“I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.”

“for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light”

Psalms 107:10  Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons,  for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High.  So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor; they fell down, with none to help.  Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.  He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart.  Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!   For he shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron.

 Luke 1:79     to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

 Isaiah 42:7     to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.

 Isaiah 60:1-3    Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.  For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.  And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

Exodus 2:23-24     During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God.  And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

 Job 36:8-9     And if they are bound in chains and caught in the cords of affliction,  then he declares to them their work and their transgressions, that they are behaving arrogantly.

 Romans 6:20-21     For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.  But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.

 Acts 26:18  to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

 1 Thessalonians 5:4-5     But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.  For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.

I wonder if we get confused with what is light and what is darkness.  For sure we know the physical difference between night and day, light and dark. However when it comes to sin darkness, do we see it? do we own it? do we understand it? do we know the author of darkness?  When it comes to sin darkness, sometimes, it binds us in chains, blinds our eyes, and makes our senses unable to see or feel the love and light of Christ.  We grope around trying to find a path forward.  Sometimes we end up in darkness be cause we neglect the light.  Other times we just plan fail to run to the light, choosing rather to remain in the darkness.  What are we to do when we see someone in darkness?  Show them the light.  Encourage them with the light.  Proclaim the light.  And at other times allow the light of Christ flow through you.  We all have found ourselves in darkness.  Allow God to use you as a light to others and always pointing to Him alone.