Who Is It Going To Be, Some King Or The King?

1 Samuel 8

This year's devotional is about fighting battles. Right off, you would think those battles are going to be fought against enemies of Israel, but in today's devotional we see the battle is not with an enemy outside of Israel, but within. And please remember, that ancient Israel is a picture of today's church. So we should never say, oh, that was so long ago it's got nothing to do with me. Well, it does, and there is nothing new under the sun.

So what is going on with Israel? It seems they want a king, like everyone else, even after thousands of years of being led directly by God through His chosen servants like Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, and others. Being delivered in the face of insurmountable odds, it was God who delivered His people. But, it seems they have lost faith in Him, or maybe—just maybe—if they were like everyone else, and be led by a king, they wouldn't be so hated. Isn't that what the church does today? It tries to be like the world so as not to be a target of the world. My wife and I were on vacation, and on our way, it was a Sunday morning, so we went to a church that happened to be next door to our hotel. It seemed like a good church that wanted to praise God, but as they gave news of what was going on in the church, they showed a picture of a souped-up sports car they were raffling off to raise money for a new church building. Some would say what is wrong with that? Everybody does that. Exactly! Where is God at in that? People are giving money, not from a changed heart, but the hope of cruising around in a nice car.

If the Israelites could just look like other nations, and have a king, maybe there would not be so many battles. Their king could sit down with our king and make agreement and compromise –- we will give you this piece of land if you don't attack us anymore—sound familiar? So God lets them have it their way; He's not a tyrant. He does not make anyone do what they do not wish to do. Moses came down from the mountain and said, "I set before you life and death; choose life." It is our choice. We can have the world's ways—less conflict, more compromise. But when you choose the world's ways, you suffer the world's ways. What are the world's ways? Nature shows us it is survival of the fittest. Sounds good—yeah for the fittest—but what about the lame, old, and sick? They get eaten by the lion. God's Word says that we are all sick with sin and there is a battle for our lives. The world says, "Come along with us; everyone else is coming our way." It is easier, and we all know that majority rules. God says, "Come My way. I have sent My one and only Son to show you the way. Let me fight the battle for you. I am faithful. I won't let any fall behind to be devoured by the lion (Satan)." The battle is the Lord's.

~ Jim Frantz

The Lord’s Sword; The Lord’s Battle

Judges 7:1-20

Gideon was a true man of God, a mighty man of valor, and the Lord was with him. God wanted to use him to save Israel from the Midianites. The Midianites were a huge company of people that had destroyed everything that Israel possessed, greatly impoverishing them. Many times, in our life situations, we can feel like we have been treated unfairly by a big bully! It can leave us discouraged and open to advice from everyone. Even Gideon was discouraged at first, asking, "If the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?" But we have to remember that God is over all things. God wanted to reveal Himself as the ONLY one who brings true deliverance and peace to your souls. God led Gideon to bring down all the places of false worship and whatever was not God's way of handling a situation. God called Gideon to "build an altar to the Lord his God on top of this rock in the proper arrangement." God had a plan, a battle array that was to be set, and a way to lead the people, which in the world's eyes, looked very pathetic.

The Spirit of the Lord then came upon Gideon, and when he blew the trumpet of leadership, as God's anointed, many gathered behind him. However, God wasn't looking for support groups that are all talk, and come with all of their hugs and bad advice. Secondly, God sent away all of those who were fearful of confrontation. And finally, He sent away all who would bow down to their own self image. Only those who were alert to the fact that there is an enemy of the soul, and were willing to receive their marching orders from the Captain's hand, were retained to fight the enemy of God, by His direction. The cross of Jesus Christ stands on top of the rock for all to see, as our battle banner. "Onward Christian Soldiers...forward into battle!" As strange as it sounds, by God's direction, Gideon put a trumpet into every man's hand, with an empty pitcher and a torch inside the pitcher. And he said to them, "Look at me and do likewise; watch and when I come to the edge of the camp, you shall do as I do; when I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you also blow the trumpets on every side of the whole camp and say, 'The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!'" (vss. 17,18) So they did as he did. Next, he blew the trumpet and broke the pitcher that was in his hand, and they did the same—crying, "The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!" (vs. 20b)

That day, a little church fought a great battle God's way, as one man, together in Christ. They didn't use weapons, law suits, muscle, money, tears, or bitter words. It started with one man, who was called by God, to lead those who would follow to victory in Christ, as broken vessels, lit with the Holy Spirit's fire, and sounding a clear message... "MAY JESUS CHRIST BE PRAISED!"

~ Ruth Ann Ward

The Lord Thy God is With Thee

Joshua 1

We read in Joshua, "Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." (1:9) After God's faithful servant, Moses, died, God called upon Joshua—another faithful one—to lead His people and to be strong and courageous in doing so. Oh, and lead he would—the land would be vast; from Lebanon to the great river Euphrates—all of the land of the Hittites, all of the way to the Great Sea. And the promise would be great, too—just as the Lord was with Moses, He would be with the man Joshua. He was told by the Lord Himself, "...be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein..." (vss. 7,8) In other words, life—in the service of God—would be a battle, but we should always remember that the battle belongs to the Lord. It would be fought in His strength, His wisdom, and all to His glory. And in Him will be the victory!

The people, as well as Joshua himself, said they were willing to be led by God. Joshua reminded them that the Lord will provide, to everyone who wants it, a place of true rest. God will, and does, most definitely provide. In fact, He has already provided for our Eternal Home with Him in Jesus Christ and His Cross. If we—if I—will just take Him at His Word—believe and trust Him; seek Him with all of our lives; submit to His will and ways, He will be our everything! God has a "Promised Land" HE
WANTS to give us. If we will just turn from our ways of death, to His way of eternal, everlasting life with Him, the victory at the end of the battle will be seen; will be experienced; will be ours. The people responded, "...All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go. According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: only the Lord thy God be with thee, as He was with Moses. Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death: only be strong and of a good courage." (vss. 16-18) Wow—imagine that—they promised that they would obey their new spiritual leader even as they did Moses. That should not be much of a comfort to Joshua in that the people were almost perpetually rebellious and complaining. But it must begin with the promise, and then, as God changes the heart, He changes the life as well. I need this! This has spoken strongly to me! God's promise is always true. He is with us; we just have to make sure that we are with HIM! May the Lord be with you! Merry Christmas!

~ Nancy Faust

The Battle of the Ages: Seeing the Salvation of the Lord

Exodus 14:10-31

From beginning to end, the focus is on Jesus. Yes, even throughout the Old Testament—it all points to Jesus! Today, we begin a week of seeing that the battle is the Lord's, from the perspective of the Old Covenant. As the days of the patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—came to a close, the people of God found themselves in 400 years of Egyptian bondage. Then, it was Moses' turn—a man empowered by God to call the Pharaoh to, "Let my people go." (Exodus 5:1) After ten devastating plagues—proving it is indeed God's battle—the king of Egypt finally obeyed and let them go. But it wasn't long until he changed his mind, and chased after them—right up to the Red Sea.

The sea to their backs, and Pharaoh's armies bearing down before them—looks like they were doomed, but, remember, the battle belongs to the Lord. As he stood on the cliff, Moses said, "Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will show you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace...Go forward." (Exodus 14:13-15) Right this moment, lay your Bible out across your hand, and look right down the binding—it looks like the opening of the Red Sea, doesn't it? Can you make it through to the other end, and all firmly planted in the Word of God? I think this has been the battle from the beginning—seeing, I mean really seeing—the salvation of the Lord. Many want to, in a sense, save themselves, but we could never actually earn it. It's a free gift! Stand still, and then go forward in Him. I think that is what Moses meant by holding our peace—not throwing in our own two cents and expecting God to do everything our way. The call for us today is to not get all consumed by our circumstances and become fearful of them. Instead, we must fear the Lord, surrendering and submitting to His leading, trusting that He alone knows best. After all, the battle is His! Jack Countryman put it this way—"It all begins and ends with Jesus. We need to consistently focus on Christ instead of our own circumstances. Christ has done everything necessary for us to endure in our faith. There will be trials, but we are to 'count it all joy.' (James 1:2) Step by step, He goes before us and leads us on. The best is always before us, and someday, we will meet Him face to face and reign with Him in glory. He is our example and model, for He has focused on the 'joy that was set before Him.' His attention was not on the agonies of the Cross, but on the Crown; not on the suffering, but on the reward." Seeing God's hand in it all is half the battle; the other half is a death to self and submitting to His Holy Word! Jesus said, "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." (John 15:14) It is the battle of the ages, but it is a battle well worth winning—in the power and in the Spirit of our Almighty God!

~ Rev. Roy D. Warren, Jr.

Introduction

I believe that Anne Graham Lotz, in her book, "God's Story," captured the essence of what is before us in this Christmas Season. She wrote, "The black velvety sky was clear and studded with sparkling stars that had looked down on earth since the beginning of time. Shepherds appeared to be sitting idly by their flocks, but in fact, were keeping a sharp lookout for anything or anyone who might harm the sheep entrusted to their care."

Do you see it? The Christmas Story is usually presented in such a way as to portray the shepherds as sleepy, with nothing to do. But that was not the case—even in Christmas, there was a battle. There were dangers with which to contend—wild animals, rustlers, and even wandering sheep. I know many would not like to view it this way, but all of life is really a battle. We have an Enemy, and when we surrender to his enemy, the Lord Himself, there will be a battle. When we back down and compromise, the battle goes away to a large degree—and that is what so many want—except for God! Do you remember the story of Abraham and the great test that God had for him? In Genesis 22:2, we read, "And He said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." Would Abraham be willing to give back to God every promise—including the Child of Promise, a picture of Christ? We see no arguing with God—or trying to reason and bargain with Him—none of that; pure trust and belief! And even when Isaac questioned something about the whole experience, Abraham is unflappable—Isaac asked, "Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" (vs. 7b) His father responded, "My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering..." (vs. 8a) God will do it—the battle is the Lord's.

God must have been looking down through the millennia, for it would not be a lamb—it would be a ram, one caught in a thicket. (vs. 13) Jesus, the offering that sets us free from sin, would not stay a baby, but grow up and go to the thicket of the Cross, and experience its thorns—the nails. Praise God! Join us as this booklet will take us on four legs of a journey seeing the battle as belonging to the Lord. The first week will be spent in the Old Testament; the second, in the Gospel of John and the seven miracle's he highlights; the third week will focus on the miraculous in the Book of Acts, the story of the fledgling church; and finally, the last week before Christmas—with all of the commotion and the busyness of a real battle—our view will be towards the real reason for the season, namely Jesus our Lord. I don't doubt that you are going through a battle right now—some heartache, some discouragement, some loss—but none of it is a good reason to pull away from the battle of commitment to God and to His church. Come on—enter in, and be truly blessed with a Merry Christmas! God loves you; will you truly love Him?