COMFORTING THOSE WHO MOURN … (The Bible’s Impact on Acts of Charity) [DEC 8]

Ever lost someone or something and mourned? Ever known someone who has lost someone or something dear to them? How did you respond? How did you learn or know how to respond? Did you consider the directions or examples from the Bible? Have you ever seen or read about examples that were good and worked as well as those that were bad and failed miserably? In Romans 12:15, we read:

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Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

—Romans 12:15 (NIV)

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As we get older the opportunity to comfort seems to increase as our loved ones are aging too. As we get older the opportunity seems to increase as our circle of friends and contacts increases and so more of us are being impact. Today’s reading speaks of Job shortly after losing so much. Imagine being Job. Imagine being one of his friends. How would you respond? Would you be compassionate or would you be judgmental?  Let’s take a look at Job 2 has to say to us today.

Satan Attacks Job’s Health

1Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. 2And the Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 3And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.” 4Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. 5But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” 6And the Lordsaid to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.”
7So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes.
9Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” 10But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

Job’s Three Friends

11Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. 12And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. 13And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.

–Job 2

Would your response be like his wife? Would you make the effort to be with him through this tough time like his friends? Today’s devotional points to Job 2:11-13 which is the part where his friends heard of the evil that had come upon him and came to him with sympathy and comfort. So how will you respond when your friend finds themselves in a tough situation or circumstance? Which example will you follow? Will you be Jesus with skin on to bring love and hope into their very situation comforting them during their time of mourning?

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Today’s devotional from The Global Impact Bible on the theme of the Bible’s impact on Acts of Charity on the subject of comforting those who mourn. It starts teaching us about shiva, the Jewish mourning tradition. We see the 7 days of mourning demonstrated in today’s reading when Job’s friends show up in Job 2:11-13:

‘Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great. ‘

—Job 2:11-13

We see how during this time his friends shows sympathy and compassion by sitting with him and not talking during Job’s time of intense suffering and questioning. We learn about a parallel example of this approach to comforting someone who is suffering in Genesis 50 when Joseph is mourning the death of his father.

1Then Joseph fell on his father’s face and wept over him and kissed him. 2And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. 3Forty days were required for it, for that is how many are required for embalming. And the Egyptians wept for him seventy days.
4And when the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, 5’My father made me swear, saying, “I am about to die: in my tomb that I hewed out for myself in the land of Canaan, there shall you bury me.” Now therefore, let me please go up and bury my father. Then I will return.'” 6And Pharaoh answered, “Go up, and bury your father, as he made you swear.” 7So Joseph went up to bury his father. With him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, 8as well as all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and his father’s household. Only their children, their flocks, and their herds were left in the land of Goshen. 9And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen. It was a very great company. 10When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they lamented there with a very great and grievous lamentation, and he made a mourning for his father seven days. 11When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning on the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a grievous mourning by the Egyptians.” Therefore the place was named Abel-mizraim; it is beyond the Jordan. 12Thus his sons did for him as he had commanded them, 13for his sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. 14After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.

—Genesis 50:1-14

Shiva means 7. In Jewish tradition shiva, Jews are expected to observe 7 days of mourning for their parents, siblings, child, and spouse. Today’s devotional closes sharing how today it is common practice when a close relative has died to have a sitting shiva where people can come and visit, friends bring meals and provide readings from the Torah, and sitting with them on the floor or a stool to show their support with the family’s suffering.

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Let’s pray… Let’s first pray to commit our lives back to God

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Next as we prepare for this day, let’s take hold of the Lord’s Prayer and align with God’s plans and purpose for today…

Now let’s get going with today and live out our lives as living sacrifices so that in and through it all God will receive the praise, the honor, and the glory in Jesus’s name. Let’s pray to forgive others…

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Heavenly Father, Thank You Lord for this new day. I ask Lord as I am home and fighting a sickness that You would touch my body as the ultimate physician in order that complete healing and restoration would come upon and over me. Help me Lord to accomplish Your purpose and plans for me today while I rest and try to get better as quickly as possible. I lift up my family and my team and as for Your blessing and protection over them today. Help us Lord to live out today in a way that will bring You praise, honor, and glory in Jesus’s name. Amen.

RESCUED FROM ISIS … ((THE BIBLE’S IMPACT ON THE ACTS OF CHARITY) [DEC 7]

Have you been rescued from a situation or circumstance? Have you been in need of a rescue from a situation or circumstance? Are you wrapped up in something now and in need of being rescued? Is there a sin that has gotten hold of you that you need to be freed from? Is there a bitter root that has taken hold that you need to be freed from? Is there anger that has taken hold that you need to be freed from? Do you realize that the key is Jesus? Do you realize that with Jesus it can break the chains and set you free? Do you realize that it brings the power of forgiveness not only for you but through you? Do you realize that once you have the power of Jesus in your life you can get beyond the anger and bitterness through forgiveness? Is today your day to be rescued?

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Today’s reading comes to us from Ezra 2:

The Exiles Return

1Now these were the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of those exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried captive to Babylonia. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town. 2They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah.
The number of the men of the people of Israel: 3the sons of Parosh, 2,172. 4The sons of Shephatiah, 372. 5The sons of Arah, 775. 6The sons of Pahath-moab, namely the sons of Jeshua and Joab, 2,812. 7The sons of Elam, 1,254. 8The sons of Zattu, 945. 9The sons of Zaccai, 760. 10The sons of Bani, 642. 11The sons of Bebai, 623. 12The sons of Azgad, 1,222. 13The sons of Adonikam, 666. 14The sons of Bigvai, 2,056. 15The sons of Adin, 454. 16The sons of Ater, namely of Hezekiah, 98. 17The sons of Bezai, 323. 18The sons of Jorah, 112. 19The sons of Hashum, 223. 20The sons of Gibbar, 95. 21The sons of Bethlehem, 123. 22The men of Netophah, 56. 23The men of Anathoth, 128. 24The sons of Azmaveth, 42. 25The sons of Kiriath-arim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, 743. 26The sons of Ramah and Geba, 621. 27The men of Michmas, 122. 28The men of Bethel and Ai, 223. 29The sons of Nebo, 52. 30The sons of Magbish, 156. 31The sons of the other Elam, 1,254. 32The sons of Harim, 320. 33The sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 725. 34The sons of Jericho, 345. 35The sons of Senaah, 3,630.
36The priests: the sons of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, 973. 37The sons of Immer, 1,052. 38The sons of Pashhur, 1,247. 39The sons of Harim, 1,017.
40The Levites: the sons of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the sons of Hodaviah, 74. 41The singers: the sons of Asaph, 128. 42The sons of the gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, and the sons of Shobai, in all 139.
43The temple servants: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth, 44the sons of Keros, the sons of Siaha, the sons of Padon, 45the sons of Lebanah, the sons of Hagabah, the sons of Akkub, 46the sons of Hagab, the sons of Shamlai, the sons of Hanan, 47the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, the sons of Reaiah, 48the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, the sons of Gazzam, 49the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, the sons of Besai, 50the sons of Asnah, the sons of Meunim, the sons of Nephisim, 51the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur, 52the sons of Bazluth, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha, 53the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Temah, 54the sons of Neziah, and the sons of Hatipha.
55The sons of Solomon’s servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Hassophereth, the sons of Peruda, 56the sons of Jaalah, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel, 57the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim, and the sons of Ami.
58All the temple servants and the sons of Solomon’s servants were 392.
59The following were those who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer, though they could not prove their fathers’ houses or their descent, whether they belonged to Israel: 60the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, and the sons of Nekoda, 652. 61Also, of the sons of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, and the sons of Barzillai (who had taken a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name). 62These sought their registration among those enrolled in the genealogies, but they were not found there, and so they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. 63The governor told them that they were not to partake of the most holy food, until there should be a priest to consult Urim and Thummim.
64The whole assembly together was 42,360, 65besides their male and female servants, of whom there were 7,337, and they had 200 male and female singers. 66Their horses were 736, their mules were 245, 67their camels were 435, and their donkeys were 6,720.
68Some of the heads of families, when they came to the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem, made freewill offerings for the house of God, to erect it on its site. 69According to their ability they gave to the treasury of the work 61,000 darics of gold, 5,000 minas of silver, and 100 priests’ garments.
70Now the priests, the Levites, some of the people, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants lived in their towns, and all the rest of Israel in their towns.

—Ezra 2

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Today’s devotional from The Global Impact Bible on the theme of the Bible’s impact on Acts of Charity on the subject of Rescued from ISIS. We learn how the story of Ezra and his return has inspired Jewish communities around the world to help other exiles. Today’s devotional uses the example of a Jewish community in Canada and their helping of Kurdish speaking Yazidi refugees in Iraq and Syria from violent terrorist groups such as ISIS and bring them to safety in Canada. The movement is called Operation Ezra with the purpose to sponsor, welcome, house and support Yazidi families. Upon their arrival, Operation Ezra will assist the refugees to secure appropriate housing and provide assistance with transportation, grocery shopping and adapting to their new lives. We learn in today’s devotional’s conclusion how this mirror’s Ezra’s goal to lead the people from where they were into a new place of safety.

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So where are you at today? Are you in need of saving? Are you in need of forgiveness? Are you in need of giving forgiveness?

Let’s pray… Let’s first pray to commit our lives back to God

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Next as we prepare for this day, let’s take hold of the Lord’s Prayer and align with God’s plans and purpose for today…

Now let’s get going with today and live out our lives as living sacrifices so that in and through it all God will receive the praise, the honor, and the glory in Jesus’s name. Let’s pray to forgive others…

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Heavenly Father, Thank You Lord for this new day. I ask Lord as I am home and fighting a sickness that You would touch my body as the ultimate physician in order that complete healing and restoration would come upon and over me. Help me Lord to accomplish Your purpose and plans for me today while I rest and try to get better as quickly as possible. I lift up my family and my team and as for Your blessing and protection over them today. Help us Lord to live out today in a way that will bring You praise, honor, and glory in Jesus’s name. Amen.

CARING FOR UNWANTED CHILDREN … (The Bible’s impact on the Acts of Charity) [DEC 6]

What comes to mind when you think of orphans? What comes to mind when you think of abandoned kids? What comes to mind when you think of neglected kids? What comes to mind when you think of abused kids? What comes to mind when you think of malnourished, sick kids in undeveloped nations? We are told in the Bible that we are to care for the orphans and widows. It goes on to say that taking care of the orphans and widows is pure and undefiled religion according to God. What do you do when it comes to kids in your local area? What do you do when it comes to kids in your country? What do you do when it comes to kids in other parts of the world?

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Today’s reading comes from 2 Kings 23:

Josiah’s Reforms

1Then the king sent, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him. 2And the king went up to the house of the Lord, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord. 3And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant.
4And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second order and the keepers of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5And he deposed the priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make offerings in the high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and the moon and the constellations and all the host of the heavens. 6And he brought out the Asherah from the house of the Lord, outside Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron and beat it to dust and cast the dust of it upon the graves of the common people. 7And he broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah. 8And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had made offerings, from Geba to Beersheba. And he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on one’s left at the gate of the city. 9However, the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers. 10And he defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no one might burn his son or his daughter as an offering to Molech. 11And he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the precincts. And he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12And the altars on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, he pulled down and broke in pieces and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron. 13And the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, to the south of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 14And he broke in pieces the pillars and cut down the Asherim and filled their places with the bones of men.
15Moreover, the altar at Bethel, the high place erected by Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, that altar with the high place he pulled down and burned, reducing it to dust. He also burned the Asherah. 16And as Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the mount. And he sent and took the bones out of the tombs and burned them on the altar and defiled it, according to the word of the Lord that the man of God proclaimed, who had predicted these things. 17Then he said, “What is that monument that I see?” And the men of the city told him, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and predicted these things that you have done against the altar at Bethel.” 18And he said, “Let him be; let no man move his bones.” So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet who came out of Samaria. 19And Josiah removed all the shrines also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which kings of Israel had made, provoking the Lord to anger. He did to them according to all that he had done at Bethel. 20And he sacrificed all the priests of the high places who were there, on the altars, and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

Josiah Restores the Passover

21And the king commanded all the people, “Keep the Passover to the Lord your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” 22For no such Passover had been kept since the days of the judges who judged Israel, or during all the days of the kings of Israel or of the kings of Judah. 23But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover was kept to the Lord in Jerusalem.
24Moreover, Josiah put away the mediums and the necromancers and the household gods and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might establish the words of the law that were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord. 25Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him.
26Still the Lord did not turn from the burning of his great wrath, by which his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked him. 27And the Lord said, “I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city that I have chosen, Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.”

Josiah’s Death in Battle

28Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 29In his days Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates. King Josiah went to meet him, and Pharaoh Neco killed him at Megiddo, as soon as he saw him. 30And his servants carried him dead in a chariot from Megiddo and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father’s place.

Jehoahaz’s Reign and Captivity

31Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 33And Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 34And Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there. 35And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco.

Jehoiakim Reigns in Judah

36Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. 37And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done.

—2 Kings 23

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Today’s devotional from The Global Impact Bible on the theme of the Bible’s impact on Acts of Charity on the subject of Caring for Unwanted Children. It starts telling of the practices of infanticide, the killing of unwanted babies and how it was often practiced throughout the ancient world. It also shares how through archaeological studies that it was widespread in the Roman empire and how unwanted and sick babies were suffocated, drowned, or simply abandoned to die. It continues to point out how in an effort to take hold of the fact that Genesis 1:27 says:

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

—Genesis 1:27

early Christians often rescued abandoned babies and raised them as their own. We also learn about the Didache that was an early Christian commentary prohibited infanticide. We learn in today’s ready also about other writers who condemned the practice of infanticide like Tertullian and Justin Martyr. Infanticide continues to this day, however, Christian emperors tries to stop the practice we learn back in the fourth century, however, it was so ingrained in society that it didn’t stop quickly in Europe. It is widespread around the world but yet there are efforts underway to try and curb the practice like the Safe Haven laws of the United States. Safe–haven laws (also known in some states as “Baby Moses laws”, in reference to the religious scripture) are statutes in the United States that decriminalize the leaving of unharmed infants with statutorily designated private persons so that the child becomes a ward of the state. It has even evolved to where there are safe places for people to drop off their babies (baby boxes). You can learn more about them by reading about babyklappe – almost like where people drop off their mail. A bin at a hospital where a mother not able to care for an infant can anonymously leave the infant (ex. at a hospital) so that it can be safely cared for until it can be legally adopted, typically after two months.

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Is there anything you can do to help? Is there anywhere someone facing such a decision can turn? What can be done? How can you choose to help? Might it be as a foster parent or respite? Might be giving to such charities? Might it be serving at such locations? We each get to choose how we will or can help. Imagine volunteering at a camp to tell them they are valued. Imagine volunteering at a camp to tell them they are loved and matter. Imagine how many other ways you could make a difference… Jesus came to save us. How can we take that love and that sacrifice and make a difference in the life or lives of others?

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Let’s pray… Let’s first pray to commit our lives back to God

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Next as we prepare for this day, let’s take hold of the Lord’s Prayer and align with God’s plans and purpose for today…

Now let’s get going with today and live out our lives as living sacrifices so that in and through it all God will receive the praise, the honor, and the glory in Jesus’s name. Let’s pray to forgive others…

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Heavenly Father, Thank You Lord for this new day. I ask Lord as I am home and fighting a sickness that You would touch my body as the ultimate physician in order that complete healing and restoration would come upon and over me. Help me Lord to accomplish Your purpose and plans for me today while I rest and try to get better as quickly as possible. I lift up my family and my team and as for Your blessing and protection over them today. Help us Lord to live out today in a way that will bring You praise, honor, and glory in Jesus’s name. Amen.

GIDEONS INTERNATIONAL … (The Bible’s impact on the Acts of Charity) [Dec 5]

Starting my post late, really late today. Is it important to still do something even if it is late? Is it better to get it done than to leave it undone and try to play catch up? Finish strong! Finish the good works that God has provided in advance for you to finish. 

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Ever been called and weren’t sure you were the right candidate? Ever questions why you when you think there are so many other more qualified candidates? How many proofs do you need before you will go along with it? This brings me back to a time when God spoke to me about doing something and I kept giving reasons why I wasn’t qualified to do it. It too the ultimatum of “you will be president or you will be nothing”, you choose for me to accept it.Today’s reading comes to us from Judges 6:

Midian Oppresses Israel

1The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian seven years.2And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds. 3For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. 4They would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey. 5For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come like locusts in number—both they and their camels could not be counted—so that they laid waste the land as they came in. 6And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel cried out for help to the Lord.
7When the people of Israel cried out to the Lord on account of the Midianites, 8the Lord sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery. 9And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10And I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you have not obeyed my voice.”

The Call of Gideon

11Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. 12And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” 13And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” 14And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” 15And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” 16And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” 17And he said to him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. 18Please do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you.” And he said, “I will stay till you return.”
19So Gideon went into his house and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the terebinth and presented them. 20And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them on this rock, and pour the broth over them.” And he did so. 21Then the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes. And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight. 22Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord. And Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord God! For now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.” 23But the Lord said to him, “Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.” 24Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it, The Lord Is Peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites.
25That night the Lord said to him, “Take your father’s bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it 26and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” 27So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night.

Gideon Destroys the Altar of Baal

28When the men of the town rose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar that had been built. 29And they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And after they had searched and inquired, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.” 30Then the men of the town said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has broken down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah beside it.” 31But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been broken down.” 32Therefore on that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend against him,” because he broke down his altar.
33Now all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East came together, and they crossed the Jordan and encamped in the Valley of Jezreel. 34But the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon, and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him. 35And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they too were called out to follow him. And he sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they went up to meet them.

The Sign of the Fleece

36Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, 37behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” 38And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water. 39Then Gideon said to God, “Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew.” 40And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew.

—Judges 6

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Today’s devotional from The Global Impact Bible on the theme of the Bible’s impact on Acts of Charity on the subject of Gideons International. We learn through the introduction about how to many guests and travellers when they open the nightstand drawer at their hotel they would find a Bible provided by Gideons International. Unfortunately you will find that there are some hotels which have opted out of receiving and putting Bibles into guests rooms, however, it had been a practice for years that the Gideon Bible was given out to travellers. Gideons International was founded in 1899 in Wisconsin. They have given out more than 2 billion copies. I remember even getting a new testament from them in public elementary school. The incredible thing was that these Bibles were provided by Gideons International for free of charge to the hotels, motels, hospitals, schools, and prisons in more than 95 languages. We learn how the group takes their name from Gideon in the Bible who chose to obey God’s word and leading the Israelites into victory over the Midianites. The full story can be read in Judges 6-8. Ever noticed the emblem of the Gideon Bibles? It represents the men who went into battle with Gideon only carrying torches, pitchers, and trumpets as they showed in Judges 7:18 “For the Lord and for Gideon.”

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Let’s pray… Let’s first pray to commit our lives back to God

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Next as we prepare for this day, let’s take hold of the Lord’s Prayer and align with God’s plans and purpose for today…

Now let’s get going with today and live out our lives as living sacrifices so that in and through it all God will receive the praise, the honor, and the glory in Jesus’s name. Let’s pray to forgive others…

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Heavenly Father, Thank You Lord for this new day. I ask Lord as I am home and fighting a sickness that You would touch my body as the ultimate physician in order that complete healing and restoration would come upon and over me. Help me Lord to accomplish Your purpose and plans for me today while I rest and try to get better as quickly as possible. I lift up my family and my team and as for Your blessing and protection over them today. Help us Lord to live out today in a way that will bring You praise, honor, and glory in Jesus’s name. Amen.

BARACK OBAMA’S IMMIGRATION POLICY … (The Bible’s impact on the Acts of Charity) [Dec 4]

Are you ready for the truth? Are you ready to receive the greatest gift of all? Are you ready to believe? Are you ready to become a new creation? Will you be committed to it? Will you be accepting of it? Will you choose it? Will you be the person you were created to be?

Today’s reading comes to us from Deuteronomy 10 which reads:

New Tablets of Stone

1″At that time the Lord said to me, ‘Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to me on the mountain and make an ark of wood. 2And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets that you broke, and you shall put them in the ark.’ 3So I made an ark of acacia wood, and cut two tablets of stone like the first, and went up the mountain with the two tablets in my hand. 4And he wrote on the tablets, in the same writing as before, the Ten Commandments that the Lord had spoken to you on the mountain out of the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. And the Lord gave them to me. 5Then I turned and came down from the mountain and put the tablets in the ark that I had made. And there they are, as the Lord commanded me.”
6(The people of Israel journeyed from Beeroth Bene-jaakan to Moserah. There Aaron died, and there he was buried. And his son Eleazar ministered as priest in his place. 7From there they journeyed to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land with brooks of water. 8At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord to stand before the Lord to minister to him and to bless in his name, to this day. 9Therefore Levi has no portion or inheritance with his brothers. The Lord is his inheritance, as the Lord your God said to him.)
10″I myself stayed on the mountain, as at the first time, forty days and forty nights, and the Lord listened to me that time also. The Lord was unwilling to destroy you. 11And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise, go on your journey at the head of the people, so that they may go in and possess the land, which I swore to their fathers to give them.’

Circumcise Your Heart

12″And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good? 14Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. 15Yet the Lord set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. 16Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. 17For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. 18He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. 19Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. 20You shall fear the Lord your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear. 21He is your praise. He is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen. 22Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons, and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven.

—Deuteronomy 10

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There is right and there is wrong. There is law and order or there is no law at all. There is a process and a purpose and so we need to go thru it legally so that we can have order and truth for the truth will set us free.

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Today’s devotional from The Global Impact Bible on the theme of the Bible’s impact on Acts of Charity on the subject of Barack Obama’s Immigration Policy. We learn how in his Nov 20th Address to the Nation President Obama used Deuteronomy 10:19 to help promote his immigration program to the American people. 

‘Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. ‘

—Deuteronomy 10:19

We learn how in his speech, President Obama said:

Scripture tells us that we shall not oppress a stranger, for we know the heart of a stranger — we were strangers once, too.
My fellow Americans, we are and always will be a nation of immigrants. We were strangers once, too. And whether our forebears were strangers who crossed the Atlantic, or the Pacific, or the Rio Grande, we are here only because this country welcomed them in, and taught them that to be an American is about something more than what we look like, or what our last names are, or how we worship.  What makes us Americans is our shared commitment to an ideal – that all of us are created equal, and all of us have the chance to make of our lives what we will.

—“We Were Strangers Once, Too”: The President Announces New Steps on Immigration

So as we consider today and we prepare for today, we know that God and His Word will stand the test of time. We know that His Word will never return void. We know that God so loves the world that He gave His one and only Son so that whosoever would believe on Him would not perish but would inherit eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. So how about you? Where are you at today? 

Let’s pray… Let’s first pray to commit our lives back to God

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Next as we prepare for this day, let’s take hold of the Lord’s Prayer and align with God’s plans and purpose for today…

Now let’s get going with today and live out our lives as living sacrifices so that in and through it all God will receive the praise, the honor, and the glory in Jesus’s name. Let’s pray to forgive others…

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Heavenly Father, Thank You Lord for this new day. I ask Lord as I am home and fighting a sickness that You would touch my body as the ultimate physician in order that complete healing and restoration would come upon and over me. Help me Lord to accomplish Your purpose and plans for me today while I rest and try to get better as quickly as possible. I lift up my family and my team and as for Your blessing and protection over them today. Help us Lord to live out today in a way that will bring You praise, honor, and glory in Jesus’s name. Amen.