A Mighty Warrior

A few weeks ago Riley went to Passion Kids, on the way home we asked her what she learned about and she explained the pond, the tent, the dance party and “the hero”. We pulled out her sheet and saw that she had learned about Gideon. We asked her questions about what he did and who he was and then read the story ourselves out of Judges on the ride home. The NEXT week we went to church with my sister and her family at 12 Stone and guess what the message was about…. Gideon. Kyle and I both looked at each other and kind of thought “how strange” but not much more. The next week… you guessed it, Gideon. At this point Kyle and started asking ourselves what God was trying to show us in the story of Gideon that was so important in OUR lives. The following Sunday we were listening to Charles Stanley speak and wouldn't you know it… Gideon. Finally, last night Kyle was looking at LifeWay’s website to see about getting a book and the home screen displayed a new Bible Study called GIDEON. We are convinced there is something very important for us to take away from the life and experiences of Gideon. From four different messages and our own reading, there are a lot of lessons to consider. On my way to work this morning these things hit me… I sent them to myself in a text message so I wouldn't forget. Although I feel sure that if I did, God would remind me again!

This is what I've gotten:

We all struggle with doubt sometimes. When God approached Gideon and called him a MIGHTY WARRIOR his first thought was, “Pshh, yea right! Me?” As believers we get down on ourselves a lot for doubting God’s words to us, and His plan over our lives. We are reminded in the gospel of Mark when the man says to Jesus, “Yes, Lord I believe. Help me with my unbelief”. It is not uncommon for us to believe, in faith, and then quickly doubt again what we know to be true. Gideon tested God. More than once he tested God, so that he could be helped with his unbelief. I don’t think God was “disappointed” in Gideon for doubting, He loved him just the same, just as He loves us even when we have doubts.

We all have a calling over our lives. As Charles Stanley spoke of this I couldn't help but get tears in my eyes. So many times I have thought, this calling is too big for me to accomplish… or, why would God call me to do something like this when I feel so incapable? The truth of the matter is, God has placed a calling on each of our lives and He is equipping us along the way to be prepared for that calling. Preparation is not always easy, but He works all things for our good and HIS glory. We can rest assured knowing that the God of LOVE has given us a task unique to our lives, and He is right beside us helping us to accomplish it.

Keep your eyes on God in the midst of the battle. When God sent the soldiers home that looked down to sip the water from the pool, I was convinced it was because He doesn't like double dipping. Kyle didn't buy that explanation, ha! Clearly God wanted to send only those who were aware of their surroundings and could focus on the battle before them, even in the moments of rest. In life we have to be aware that we are in a battle. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Eph 6:12). When we keep our eyes on God, and alert at all times that the enemy is fighting to destroy us, only then are we prepared to move forward.  

God will speak what is true even if it’s the furthest from what we believe. Gideon did not believe what God told him about his future. How often do we believe that there is no way God could love us as we are? God continues to speak these truths over our hearts: we are found, we are loved, we are redeemed, we are made clean, we are alive, and we have hope; IN HIM. No, we don’t deserve it. God has made us worthy by giving us the righteousness of His Son - and for that reason alone, we are His. We have been adopted as His sons and daughters and will remain with Him for eternity.

SO MUCH LOVE.

We may not have a lot, but with God we have more than enough. Gideon only had a few measly soldiers to bring to this battle against many. He knew there was no way they could win… without God. We may feel like we don’t have what it takes to pursue the calling God has placed on our lives. We might not even feel like we have what it takes to make it through the week financially.

God is enough. He is provider, and when we depend on Him we will ALWAYS have what we need. We have more than enough to do what He has called us to do because He MADE US and CALLED us Himself!

HE is a Mighty Warrior. Gideon may not have felt like a mighty warrior. I may not be a mighty warrior, but my God is. And… “I know who goes before me, I know who stands behind - The GOD OF ANGEL ARMIES is always by my side.” As Moses said, God if you don’t go before us, we don’t want to go (Ex. 33:15). We don’t need to feel capable, equipped, or ready. If God has called you, He will prepare you and He will go boldly before you.

Guard the Spring

“Above all else, guard your hear, for it is the wellspring of life” Proverbs 4:23

In all the instruction in the Bible, this verse says “above ALL else, guard your heart”

It is called the “wellspring” of life, because everything we think, everything that we do, and everything that we say comes from the “spring” of our heart.  That is why it is so important to guard it; to guard it against anything that is of this world, and therefore not of God.

“The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.”  Luke 6:45

Jesus told us in Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart”

And says in 1 Sam 16:7, “…The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

It is really easy for us to hide sin from other people. Unless confessed, we can easily pretend that everything in our lives is exactly as it should be. But God tells us here that He doesn't look at the outward appearance of man. The only thing that matters to God, is your heart. If God is looking at my heart, I know that is where I want to put all of my focus on “looking good.”

We spend so much effort guarding our appearances, especially as ladies. We watch what we eat, and we spend time exercising to “guard ourselves” from looking “bad”.

Think about it this way, how many of you would take cooking oil and wipe it all over your face? Wouldn't that be crazy? Talk about a bad breakout… We should guard our hearts the same way, just like we wouldn't cover our faces with something that we consider would make them less attractive. We also shouldn't subject our hearts to the filth of this world.

Now, you may not be able to see the “breakout” of your heart, but you will definitely be able to tell that something ugly is inside of you. Just like the verse says, good things come out of the good in your heart, and evil comes from the evil in our hearts.” If we are constantly surrounding ourselves with evil, on television, in music, and in the people that surround us, eventually our hearts are going to be just as bad. And it will start to come out in the things that we say, and the things that we do, whether we like it or not.

You might be thinking “evil” sounds a little harsh. Surely the shows you watch on TV aren’t “evil” and your friends, even though they don’t go to church, and they speak in a way that you would be ashamed to bring them around your pastor, you might still not consider them “evil.”

This is where we have to find out what God says about it…. After all, that is what really matters.

“The heart is deceitful above all things
       and beyond cure.
       Who can understand it?” Jer 17:9

Our hearts are naturally “evil” without God we can consider ourselves wicked. Every good thing comes from Him.

The law God gave to Moses has a lot to say about this evil – the command was that even if a man or woman stood in contempt (AKA had serious attitude) toward a judge or a pastor, they were stoned to death to purge the evil from the nation. Even children who were continually stubborn and did not listen were considered evil.  So the word “evil” might seem a little harsh, but this is how much God hates sin. He desperately wants to keep us from it.

We have been shown so much mercy in this. Though we are all sinners, and we are all prone to evil – the Lord loves us to much He has sent us His Spirit to guide us and help protect us from the evil of this world.

We need to continually be seeking the Holy Spirit to help guard or hearts against any evil thing - so that what flows out of our hearts will be good, and will be an example of Jesus, and His love.

Just like when you marinate meat in some kind of liquid, it will eventually start to taste like that marinade – our hearts are the same. If they are marinated in sin, they will start to become sinful.

A good way to guard your heart is making a conscience choice not to let our hearts “marinate” in sin. You will have to make serious changes in your lives. You would need to surround yourself with people who are working towards the goal of being like Christ. You would have to stop listening to music that continually talks about sin in a positive light, and you would need to stop watching anything on television or in movies that glorifies sin in any way. We would need to stop being entertained by the very things that put Christ on the cross.

These are not easy choices to make, and many people will chose not to make them. You will look different to friends, and to your family. But at the end of this life we will not stand for judgment before friends and family. We will stand before the One that looks at the heart, and He knows what effort you have put into guarding your heart against anything that is not of Him. He loves and cherishes His children seeking after Him and wanting to be more like Him.

 So may our prayer be Psalm 141:4, “Do not incline my heart to any evil thing…”

 God will help you to guard your heart when you earnestly seek to have a pure heart. And who would not want that kind of purity.

The Bible says in Psalm 24:3-5, “Who may ascend the hill of the LORD?
       Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Savior.”

Just think about how much time you spend getting ready for the day. Imagine if we spent that time focused on what really matters. And if what really matters to God would really matter to us, our lives would be completely different. We would lived “blessed” and in the will of God.

I recently read this illustration, and that I think really makes sense of all of this.

Have you ever watched an icicle form? Dripping water freezes, one drop at a time. If the source of the water is clean, then the icicle will be clear and sparkle brightly in the sunlight. If the source of the dripping water is slightly muddy, the beauty of the icicle will be spoiled. Our character is formed in a like manner. Each decision we make, big or small contributes to the overall look of our character. We must be aware of each “droplet”. Every habit is born out of the source of your heart.  If the heart is pure, each drop of water will work in transforming us into the beautiful image of God.

Above all else, guard your heart. And when you feel like you are too weak to guard it yourself, cry out to God, He loves nothing more than to be the Guardian of your heart.