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Judges 16:23-31!

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  Judges 16:23–31: Today’s reading is the conclusion to the story of Samson. As the Philistines celebrate their victory over Samson, they bring him out of prison for their entertainment. Samson prays to God for strength, and the building (a temple dedicated to the Philistine god Dagon) collapses, killing the Philistines and himself. Today’s Key Verse: Judges 16:28a GNT Then Samson prayed, “Sovereign LORD, please remember me; please, God, give me my strength just this one time more.” Read 23  The Philistine kings met together to celebrate and offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon. They sang, “Our god has given us victory over our enemy Samson!”  24-25  They were enjoying themselves, and so they said, “Call Samson, and let's make him entertain us!” When they brought Samson out of the prison, they made him entertain them and made him stand between the columns. When the people saw him, they sang praise to their god: “Our god has given us victory over our enemy, who ...

Living the Son - Powered Life Day by Day!

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  Living the Son-Powered Life Day by Day God has created us in Christ Jesus to do good works (see Ephesians 2:10, NIV).  It is our responsibility to be the hands and feet and voice of Jesus.  God has taken each one of us, transformed us, and now has a plan for how we can make a difference in his world. I personally have experienced how God can take a totally self-absorbed, selfish, self-ambitious person (do you see the word  self  showing up in every adjective?) who lived a life consumed with pursuing earthly goals, giving no thought to what happens after one leaves this world, and transformed that individual into a person committed to helping fulfill the Great Commission of Jesus Christ. Over the years I’ve learned a few important principles for living the Son-powered life day by day. Daily Commitment to God’s Purposes Our relationship with God through the saving work of Jesus Christ, his Son, gives us a new mission for life. As we embrace this new mission, we ...

Judges 16:4-22!

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  Judges 16:4–22: Throughout Samson’s story, there are references to the LORD’s power making him strong (13:25; 14:6, 19; 15:14). While he was strong physically, he seemed to be weak in other ways. His encounter with Delilah surfaces his weakness and leads to his betrayal as Delilah tricks Samson into revealing the source of his strength. Today’s Key Verse: Judges 16:17a GNT “My hair has never been cut,” [Samson] said. “I have been dedicated to God as a nazirite from the time I was born.” Read 4  After this, Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in Sorek Valley.  5  The five Philistine kings went to her and said, “Trick Samson into telling you why he is so strong and how we can overpower him, tie him up, and make him helpless. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.” 6  So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me what makes you so strong. If someone wanted to tie you up and make you helpless, how could he do it?” 7  ...

Son Power at Work!

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  Son Power at Work The late Dr. Bill Bright once wrote, “The more we walk in the power of the Holy Spirit and allow Him to guide and control our lives, the more Christ’s character will shine in what we say and do.”(1) That’s what I want for my life, for the Son to be shining in all that I say and do. My Heart’s Goal I frequently begin my day by asking our heavenly Father to direct my heart toward his grace and love. I want my heart to be prepared so that I am ready to have communion with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit knows the mind of God, and he is the deliverer of all that God desires for me to know about my life and living for him. He is the one who teaches me all things and also empowers me to do what God desires. It is vital that I keep my heart and mind open to him. He enlightens me, enables me, teaches me, and imparts his life to me. As we consistently reflect upon God’s Word, we experience communion with the Holy Spirit and receive his revelation. This positions us to h...

Be Bold Enough To Believe It!

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  “And now, LORD God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised.” 2 Samuel 7:25, NIV Be Bold Enough to Believe It God gave David an incredible promise that his family would always be on the throne and have a lasting dynasty. This was more than David could imagine. He said, “God, who am I that You would do this?” He was so overwhelmed, trying to take it all in. He could have stopped there and thought, “That’s impossible. How could this happen?” But David understood that he had to get in agreement with God. The only promises that will come to pass in your life are the promises you let take root. David said, “Lord God, You have declared this over me. Do as You promised.” He was saying, “This seems far out, but I am bold enough to believe it and get in agreement. Let it happen.” Why don’t you do as David did and say, “God, let Your promises for my life come to pass, blessings that I’ve never imagined.” You don’t have to figure out ...

Jesus Christ Is Our Power!

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  Jesus Christ Is Our Power Picture the sun rising on a beautiful, clear morning. We see it slowly peeking out over the horizon, as time passes it becomes more noticeable, the heat increases, the light becomes stronger until it is fully visible, a ball of light casting its intense glow over everything. The earth awakens each day to this light; plants grow and life is sustained. In much the same way, the Son rises in our heart. We accept him into our life and he progressively overcomes the darkness of our old life, a life without him and full of self. As bits of this darkness are forced away through our increasing knowledge of him, the Son blazes forth, in ever greater intensity, into our everyday life. We become partners with him as we become more and more aware of his power in us. I believe the Bible calls us to this progression of experienced power when it says,  “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Ephesians 5:14, NIV). We see in this verse ...

When He Insists!

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  Immediately after [the miracle of feeding the five thousand], Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and head across the lake to Bethsaida, while he sent the people home. Mark 6:45, NLT When He Insists The disciples had just seen Jesus feed five thousand men plus women and children with five loaves and two fish. For Jesus to “insist” that they leave this place of blessing and joy implies that they strongly wanted to stay. Then as the disciples were crossing the lake, they were caught in a great storm that had them in “serious trouble.” Jesus sent them into the storm, then came walking to them on the water, climbed into their boat, and the raging wind stopped. The difficulty brought them into a second miracle to increase their faith. Sometimes God will take you out of a comfortable situation, out of a place of blessing where you’re seeing favor, and take you into a storm of difficulty that looks like it will defeat you. It doesn’t make sense, but don’t be frustra...