Have you ever had a friend who does not call until they need something? They do not pursue a real relationship with you. They may not even know what is going on in your life or seem to care. Maybe they do not even like you, or at least not as much as others. But if they think you have something to offer, then all of the sudden, they are your best friend. This is how the Israelites treated God. They repeatedly betrayed Him, then begged for His forgiveness when they needed Him. They were constantly testing His patience and taking advantage of His love for them. Do we do the same? Tola and Jair ..read more

Who do you run to when you need help, when you are scared, sad, or need advice? Have you ever been in a situation where no matter how hard they tried, no one could help you? We often turn to people because they are visible and we can hear their voices audibly. There's nothing wrong with going to friends and family. God gave us each other for a reason. But there is no better person to run to than God. Unfortunately, I learned this the hard way. Years ago, I was dealing with something very difficult. I did everything I knew to do before I went to anyone else. But it did not take long before I re ..read more

As a child growing up in the church, the answer to almost any question was God, Jesus, or the Bible. Those are the magic words in church, right? No matter what the teacher asked, if you said one of those three words, you would get credit. As adults, those are still good answers. But since we have grown, our list has, too. Pray, church, believe, faith, and blessed are good ones that we often use. But do we say them because we know that's the right answer and think we will get credit, or do we mean it? Are you a Christian? - Yes, I believe in God and Jesus. (There's three in one. Extra credit ..read more

After Gideon rescues the people from the Midianites, they want him to be their king. He says all the right things, giving God credit for their victory and saying that He should be the only king they serve, but then he goes on to act like a king. So, did his title really matter? Is God your King or do you profess Him to be king, yet rule yourself? You can say God is the King, but do you serve Him or your own selfish desires? You may say you have no right to rule yourself, but do you still act like you are in charge, doing what you please instead of submitting to His ways? Do you gather riches a ..read more

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1 Some people who proclaim the name of God are actually false teachers, and sometimes, it is hard for us to spot the difference. So, how can we know? The first thing we can do is look at how they live, not just what they say. Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly, they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good ..read more

Oppressed by Midianites - Judges 6:1-10 After forty years of peace, Israel turned away from the Lord again, and God gave them over to the Midianites for seven years. This is the first time their oppression is described in detail, and apparently, the Amalekites joined Midian in harassing the Israelites. Both nations bordered Israel in the South and Southeast and were distant relatives. The Midianites lived in the Arabian Peninsula and were descendants of Abraham through his wife Keturah. The Amalekites lived south of Judah in the Negev desert and were descendants of Esau. They both had been pro ..read more

Have you ever felt God calling you to do something, but did not want to, so you just ignored Him? I’m not talking about being unsure and praying and waiting to know for certain what God wants. I’m asking if you have ever known God was calling you to something, but instead of doing it, you dug in your heels. We all know what this looks like with other people, right? When we are asked to do something that we don’t want to do, we avoid it, act like we don’t know, make excuses, and put it off. But after a while, the excuses don’t work anymore, and the avoidance is met with nagging, and eventually ..read more

Have you ever felt God calling you to do something, but ignored it? Have you ever known what needed to be done, but didn’t have the will to do it? God called Barak to rescue His people but he ignored the call until Deborah called him out. Then, because he doesn’t want to take full responsibility, he also isn’t allowed to take all the glory. He must share it with Jael, who is a woman and not another soldier. Are you willing to answer the call? Deborah Judges Israel - Judges 4:1-5 After Ehud died, the people turned away from the Lord again, and He gave them over to another nation. But this time ..read more

We all seem to do better when we have a leader. But God sent His people more than just someone to guide and teach. Throughout history, He sent men to shepherd His people. Shepherds not only guide, but they also provide, care for, protect, comfort, and keep us. David was a shepherd to his father’s sheep until God called him to shepherd His flock. David became Israel’s second king and shepherded God’s people. He chose David His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds. From following the ewes that had young, He brought him to shepherd Jacob, His people and Israel His inheritance. So he shepher ..read more

Throughout history, God’s people have strayed without good leaders. They had the law, but still found it difficult to follow without a strong leader. We have the law too, but we also have Jesus. He is the Good Shepherd who guides and cares for us, but also laid down His life to save ours. Then, he gave us the Holy Spirit and the church. The elders are supposed to shepherd His flock and we are supposed to be good sheep who listen to them and don’t make their job difficult. So, we don’t have to be like the Israelites who go astray without a leader. We have the Bible to guide us, and in it Jesus ..read more