Category: Judges

Credit

Re:Verse passage – Judges 4:4-23, 5:7, 24-27 (day two)  She said, “I will surely go with you; nevertheless, the honor shall not be yours on the journey that you are about to take, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hands of a woman.”  vs. 9

Credit where credit is due, right? We live in a world where it feels critical for us to be acknowledged. Who worked the hardest; who earned the most; who sacrificed more than any other; these are the things that occupy most of our days. We want to be given credit. Deborah had a longer vision than Barak did. Ultimately it wasn’t about who got credit, it was about the Lord delivering his people. Are we content with that? Can you be satisfied knowing that the Kingdom has advanced even if you don’t receive the accolades that come with victory? The ultimate question is where do we place our value; in man or in God.

Monday Re:Verse Blog – 6/28/2021

Re:Verse passage – Judges 4:4-23, 5:7, 24-27 (day one)

Join us as Senior Pastor Chris Johnson, Associate Pastor Aaron Hufty and Associate Pastor Bryan Richardson walk us through Judges 4:4-23, 5:7, 24-27 in our Summer Re:Verse Series: “JUDGES – God, Our Deliverer.”

Shamgar

Re:Verse passage – Judges 3:31  and Acts 2:42-47 (day seven) 

“After him came Shamgar the son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad; and he also saved Israel.”

One verse. One sentence. One story. We are only 3 chapters into Judges but we can already fill in the blanks for the details of this story… After 80 years of peace, the people forgot about Ehud and started worshipping other gods. They then fell into oppression to a foreign nation. Some of the old people said, “Remember when we worshipped YHWH and life was good? Lets do that again!” So they cried out to God for help. God listened and called Shamgar while herding cattle to go fight the Philistines. Shamgar took that literally and left with his cattle prod to fight the Philistines. Shamgar obeyed. God won. Israel was saved.

Why is this story so easy to fill in the blanks? Because it’s our story too. When reading this book, we would like to think we are the judges, but in all actuality, we are the people stuck in our own cycle of sin. Lucky for us, our Judge has already saved us. We need only to call out His name!

Enjoy One Another

Re:Verse passage – Acts 2:42-47 (day six)

…all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. Acts 2:47

When you read these verses, does it put a smile on your face? Can you imagine the joy they experienced with one another? Not to mention the extraordinary display of God’s power?

We were meant to delight in one another, to express goodwill towards each other. It’s joy in Jesus and one another that drew the attention of others in those early days. And what they saw they had never encountered anywhere before.

I imagine, what was true then, is true now.

Let’s enjoy one another!

Awe

Re:Verse passage – Judges 3:31  and Acts 2:42-47 (day five)  

“Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.” Acts‬ ‭2:43‬ 

When is that last time you were awestruck at the work and presence of God?  According to Acts 2 it was happening over and over in the hearts and minds of those believers (kept feeling awe) in that first New Testament Church.  There is a diligence that is recognized in the attitudes and activities of these believers- God’s Word, genuine community, honest and engaging conversations with the Lord.

As more and more of our church body return to Bible Study and Worship, I see and sense awe in the countenance and the hearts of our members. Now would be the perfect time for each of us (and all of us) to recommit to be diligent to those spiritual disciplines and expressions of love and grace (listed in these 6 verses). We just might keep feeling a sense of awe at what the Lord is doing in and through our church!!

Nation

Re:Verse passage – Judges 3:31  and Acts 2:42-47 (day three)

“After [Ehud] came Shamgar the son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad; and he also saved Israel.”

“All the believers were together and had all things in common.”

If there is any commonality between these two passages, it might be that they each present a view of a nation in its formative stages. The former passage from Judges chronicles the rise of Israel in its middle period between wilderness wanderer and geopolitical player on the world stage. The latter passage from Acts narrates the dawning of the church as it represents the eternal community. Hopeful prayers arise in each age. In Judges, one might say the prayer was “In Canaan as it was promised in Egypt.” In Acts, as profound fellowship took shape, their experience echoes another prayer: “In earth as it is in heaven.”

A Good Formula

Re:Verse passage – Judges 3:31  and Acts 2:42-47 (day two) 

They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. vs. 42

What strikes me first about this passage is that the actions being described are taken by the new believers. This isn’t just an account of what the apostles were doing, but more what those with a new found purpose in Christ felt compelled to do. They immersed themselves in learning all they could about Jesus. The learned about his life, the stories he told, his incredible ministry, and the power of his resurrection. They spent time with other believers learning from one another, about one another. As an extension of that they also ate together. Is there a better formula for fellowship than food? More to the point, they honored the Lord by remembering his words at the Last Supper. And they prayed. Does this remind you of our church? Shouldn’t it? What can we do today to word for a better reflection of this early gathering?

Monday Re:Verse Blog – 6/21/2021

Re:Verse passage – Judges 3:31  and Acts 2:42-47 (day one)

Join us as Senior Pastor Chris Johnson, Associate Pastor Aaron Hufty and Associate Pastor Bryan Richardson walk us through Judges 3:31  and Acts 2:42-47 in our Summer Re:Verse Series: “JUDGES – God, Our Deliverer.”

Peace and Rest

Re:Verse passage – Judges 3:11-30 (day seven)

“And the land had rest for eighty years.” Vs 30 (ESV)

Imagine a political paradise where there was peace for 80 years. No wars, no conflicts, everything was calm. The land got to rest! To give you a little perspective, the closest the United States has ever been to this is 31 years between the War of 1812–1815 and the Mexican-American War of 1846–48. We are currently at only 76 years since the end of WWII and have had multiple wars and foreign conflicts in that span. 80 years is a long time for peace!

In the cyclical pattern of sin that chases the Israelites through Judges and seemingly the rest of the Old Testament, we see Israel turn back (repent) to God after a time of running away. What is the result? Peace. It’s not just momentary, but it is lasting peace that allows everyone to take a deep breath and rest with God!

Mercy Doesn’t Wait

Re:Verse passage – Judges 3:11-30 (day six)

But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, the Lord again raised up a rescuer to save them. Judges 3:15

Their cry for deliverance was not a cry of repentance. They didn’t make things right. They didn’t confess their sin. They didn’t throw out their idols. They didn’t turn to God in faithful obedience. None of those things.

And yet, God delivered them still.

God’s mercy does not wait for us to get our act together.

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. Romans 5:8

Aren’t you thankful.