Rick Henderson

Samson in All of Us

Re:Verse passage – Judges 16:15-21 (day seven)

But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him. vs 20b

There is a little bit of Samson in all of us. Maybe not so much the ability to wipe out an entire army with the jawbone of a donkey, but more so, we are like Samson in the orientation of our priorities. Many people might say that the sin that led to Samson’s demise was the 7th commandment, “You shall not commit adultery.” I would argue that the sin that most immediately led to Samson’s demise was actually the 1st commandment, “You shall have no other God’s before me.” The moment his strength left him was not the moment he slept with Delilah, but the moment he prioritized her above God. He deemed his ungodly relationship as more important than his relationship to God.

We may not be in an ungodly relationship or committing adultery (even though this happen more regularly than we might think according to Jesus) but we do choose ungodly things over God on a regular basis. Just look back over your week. How much time did you spend with the Lord? How much time did you spend on your hobby? How much time did you spend on your phone, tv, computer? Where we spend our time will show us what we prioritize. We are more like Samson than we might think.

The Promise

Re:Verse passage – Joshua 7:6-12, 20-21 (day seven)

I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy the things under the ban from your midst. Joshua 7:12

and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matthew 28:20

Aren’t you thankful for the cross? Without the cross, we alone are accountable for our transgressions. Without the cross, we are dead in our trespasses and sins. Without the cross, we put others at risk with every selfish decision. Aren’t you thankful for the cross?

Aren’t you thankful for the empty tomb? Without the empty tomb, the presence of the Lord is not guaranteed. Without the empty tomb, we are left to fight our enemies alone. Without the empty tomb, death would be our greatest fear. Aren’t you thankful for the empty tomb?

The cross and the tomb bring us the promise of a Risen Savior. They bring us a promise that the Lord will always be by our side. They promise us hope.

He is Risen!

Absurdity

Re:Verse passage – Joshua 5:13-15; 6:1-5 (day seven)

Growing up in a Christian home, I developed an affinity for an outrageous christian children’s show known as “Veggie Tales.” Possibly my favorite episode from this show was “Josh and the Big Wall!” Simply for entertainment purposes, I have provided a link to one of the scenes here.

What I love about this scene, is that it paints the picture of the absurdity of God’s command that we often glaze over in our familiarity to this passage. It was crazy. It was absurd. It was God. The only way to explain this victory is that God knocked down those walls.

Why then did He ask the Israelites to march with such strict orders and regiment? Couldn’t God have knocked down that wall the moment they arrived? Sure, but God invited Israel to partner with Him in this conquest. David Guzik says, “He wanted them to be a part of His work – as He wants us to be a part of His work today.”

God is still in the business of knocking down walls! Are you putting yourself in position to partner with Him so that you might be the vessel He uses to knock down another wall?

Lies

Re:Verse passage – Joshua 2:1-21 (day seven)

I do not know where the men went. vs 5

Does the Bible say lying is wrong? Yes… and No. Have we been lied to about lying? Possibly. In a Mandela effect sort of way, we have lumped all lies into the same category. The ten commandments addresses lies in more of a legal sense. See Exodus 20 and Leviticus 19, but the Bible does not outright prohibit dishonesty. That is because there is grey area in the discussion. Case in Point: Rahab. She lied to save another persons life. In particular, two individuals who would help lead God’s people into the Promised Land. Was it sinful? The Bible would actually say that she was righteous in the act. See James 2:25 and Hebrews 11:31.

So is lying sinful? I would say, most of the time, it is. A deep dive into scripture will show you hundreds of lies and deceptions all with a web of consequences following the initial act. There are rare occurrences where the lie is used for the glory of God and to further the Kingdom. Those rare occurrences tell us more about God’s sovereignty than the justification of dishonesty. My guess is that most of the lies you tell are not in this category.

For Good

Re:Verse passage – Genesis 50:15-20 (day seven)

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good. Gen 50:20

I am sure that Satan rejoiced the moment that Joseph was thrown into the pit. I’m sure he laughed thinking he had won this battle, but the story wasn’t finished yet. God meant it for good. We have seen this in our own lives. There are those “God, what are doing?” moments where we are unable to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It seems as if God has abandoned us and neglected our prayers. It seems like Satan won. Sometimes it takes hours, sometimes it takes years, but there is usually a point where you look back and you see that it was God working all along. He was leading you through the valley of the shadow death so that you might come out on the other side stronger and that there was no other way to explain it than He was in control.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Rom 8:28

Provider

Re:Verse passage – Genesis 22:1-18 (day seven)

Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the Lord it will be provided.” 22:14

God is our provider. He always provides what we need when we need it. Abraham knew that God had promised Issac to carry on his family legacy. Yet, he was patient when it appeared like God was taking that away. If I were in that spot, I do not think I would have had that resolve. I think I would have been questioning God, “Isn’t there another way?!” Not Abraham. He had a firm conviction that God would provide no matter what.

The question is, do you have the patience to wait for God’s promises in your own life? We often get impatient with God when things do not begin to go the way we had planned. We know these two things to be true: God is our provider and God is a good Father. A good father is going to provide good gifts for His children (Matthew 7:7-11). We need to be patient even when it appears that our good gifts might be taken away. Our Good Father will provide.

Reset Button

Re:Verse passage – Genesis 6:5-22 (day seven)

Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. vs 5

How wicked must the world have been at this time for God to have to hit a reset button? I look at the world today and begin to ask myself, how much more wicked can it get? I find myself in moments of despair saying, “Lord Jesus come quickly!” However, if this was as wicked as things could get and there was no turning back, God would intervene. That means that God can redeem this world. He is not ready to hit the reset button yet.

His answer to me when I say, “Lord Jesus come quickly!” is always, “If I came today, your neighbor would go to hell. What will you do to fix that?”

Even if this world may seem lost as it has ever been, our job is not to dwell on when Jesus will fix it, but to get out there and fix it ourselves with His power within us. We can hit the reset button!

Love

Re:Verse passage – John 21:15-25 (day seven)

Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you [phileo] Me?” John 21:17

In English, we really only have one word to describe deep connecting feelings for another individual: love. Our word for love can be used in varying contexts though. I love God, I love my wife, I love my youth group, and I love tacos. All four of those are different types of love, and the Greek language would have a different one for each one. Here, Jesus asks Peter twice, “Do you agapao (unconditional love) Me.” Peter’s response is always, “You know I phileo (brotherly love) you.” In the final occurrence, Jesus uses Peter’s term, phileo. This one was the final straw. Peter was unable to tell Jesus that he loved Jesus as much as Jesus loved him, so Jesus dumbed it down to something like, “Do you really even love me like a brother?”

Do you love Jesus? It is impossible to be able to love Him as much as He loves us, but can you at least say that you love him with all your heart? Or is He just another person that we say we love and put on the same level as tacos?

Thomases

Re:Verse passage – John 20:24-29 (day seven)

There are plenty of Thomases walking around these days. They appear as skeptics who claim to follow logic and applaud themselves for being openminded. More and more, there seems to be an increase in these types of skeptics. Bolstered by the internet and waves of “research,” they dissuade themselves from believing what they ultimately know to be true.

Yet, is it so bad to be a Thomas? For it is Thomas who makes the first claim of deity in Jesus post-resurrection in his statement in verse 28, “My Lord and my God!” It is also Thomas who convinced the other disciples in 11:16 to follow Jesus to His death. Thomas had deep conviction. Thomas was loyal. Thomas went on to do great things for Jesus.

It is the Thomases even our world today who will do great things for Jesus. Once a skeptic converts to Christianity, they are fully invested and ready to defend their faith. Just imagine if someone had given up on C.S. Lewis because he was a skeptic. Let us be the ones to reveal the Risen Lord to the doubting Thomases in our midst.

Go and Tell Together

Re:Verse passage – John 20:19-23 (day seven)

as the Father has sent Me, I also send you. vs 21

This is the Johannine great commission. Though Matthew’s account is the most recognized one, each Gospel has a moment towards the end of the book where Jesus commissions the disciples (and us as well) to Go and Tell. Here we find the disciples huddled together in fear behind a locked door. There is beauty in this picture though. As often as we critique these individuals for their fear, we lose sight that they were together. They knew they were Better Together. Jesus had commanded and prayed that this group would stand together and grow together. This objective had been completed. Now it was time to Go and Tell His story together. It was time to open the door and go do something.

As we move our rally cry from Better Together to Go and Tell, we can know that our strength is in our cohesion, we are stronger and Better Together. Imagine how strong we can be as we Go and Tell His story together. It is time for us to open the door and go do something.