June 26 2018

What is is vs what it looks like…..


Now the Angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!”
Gideon said to Him, “O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”
Then the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?”
So he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”
And the LORD said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.” Judges 6:11-16

Gideon was hiding in a winepress, threshing wheat and the Angel of the Lord called him a mighty man of valour and told him the Lord was with him.
 Gideon questioned this on two levels:
1) if the Lord was with him (us) why were they delivered into the hands of the Midianites?
2) What man of valour has to hide in the winepress to thresh his wheat?
God sees what is, not what things look like. 
God sees the truth, about us as individuals and about our situations. 
God looks at us and sees the potential He has placed within us, not what we are currently.
God looks at our situation and sees His plans for the situation, not what the situation looks like currently. 
God assured Gideon of two things:
1) that he would use Gideon in a mighty way and
 2) that the Midianites would be defeated. 

What do you see today? 
We need to learn to see what is versus what things look like, lining up our view with the view of the Lord!

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June 26 2018

What is is vs what it looks like…..


Now the Angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!”
Gideon said to Him, “O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”
Then the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?”
So he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”
And the LORD said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.” Judges 6:11-16

Gideon was hiding in a winepress, threshing wheat and the Angel of the Lord called him a mighty man of valour and told him the Lord was with him.
 Gideon questioned this on two levels:
1) if the Lord was with him (us) why were they delivered into the hands of the Midianites?
2) What man of valour has to hide in the winepress to thresh his wheat?
God sees what is, not what things look like. 
God sees the truth, about us as individuals and about our situations. 
God looks at us and sees the potential He has placed within us, not what we are currently.
God looks at our situation and sees His plans for the situation, not what the situation looks like currently. 
God assured Gideon of two things:
1) that he would use Gideon in a mighty way and
 2) that the Midianites would be defeated. 

What do you see today? 
We need to learn to see what is versus what things look like, lining up our view with the view of the Lord!

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June 25 2018

Spread it out before the Lord

And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. Then Hezekiah prayed to the LORD, saying: “O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Isaiah 37:14-16

Sennacherib was threatening to come against the people of Judah.  
The men of the King of Assyria came to the walls of the city, in the hearing of the men of Judah and spoke of the plans of Sennacherib to destroy Judah as he had destroyed others.  
The messengers brought this information to Hezekiah.  
What Hezekiah did with it, is an important lesson for all of us.  
Hezekiah physically brought the letter and took it to the house of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord.  
Then he prayed, beginning by acknowledging the greatness of God.  
We MUST learn to bring our concerns before the Lord.  
Our initial reaction should not be to panic, to devise elaborate counterattacks or to withdraw in fear.  Our initial reaction must be to acknowledge the greatness of our God in every circumstance and then bring the issue to Him, spread it out before Him, and wait on His response.  
In this case the Lord sent Isaiah with a message for Hezekiah; a message that they would be safe from the king of Assyria.  
In our case the message from the Lord may come in various ways:  though His still, small voice; through the Word of God; through someone around us; or even through a series of circumstances in which we clearly see the Lord’s Hand at work. 
What concern is on your mind and heart this day?  Spread it out before the Lord even now and wait for His response.

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