Pastor Baker's Blog

Entry for October 24, 2006

Daily Reading: Judges chapters 5 thru 8

Key Verse: Judges 6:17

Gideon reminds me of modern-day believers. He is filled with excuses concerning God's commands. His excuses come in the form of asking God to prove Himself to be God. He is in effect asking the Most High to prove Himself worthy to be obeyed. He continually asks God for supernatural signs. So, if God did not provide him with a sign what does that prove? Does that prove that God is not who He says He is? Or does that prove that Gideon was not worthy of the assignment? Does it prove that it was not meant for Gideon to serve God as God saw fit?

Does this sound familiar? "I am going to let God work it out. I waiting for God to put it on my heart. I am waiting for God to show me a sign. There are a few things I need to work out first before I can serve God." Wow, we sure place a lot of value on ourselves and a little value on God. We always get super-spiritual when it comes to the things of God, but we sure can act quickly when it comes to ourselves. We don't seek signs when we are endulging in our pleasures. Do we? Do we ask God to give us a sign when we want to go on vacation, attend a sporting event, etc?

The miraculous sign God gave us was sending His Son to die for our sins. But God did not stop there, He gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit guides us in all truth if we allow Him to lead our lives. God gave us the gift of salvation, the gift of faith, then He blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies (Eph.1:3). The Spirit gives us spiritual gifts to exhibit the ministries and characteristics of Christ. The Spirit enables us to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit. The Spirit came to live in us as a pledge (downpayment) until the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30). God's Word has the cleansing power to transform our character (Hebrews 4:12). God created us in His image and breathed life into us (Genesis 1:27). We owe our existence to Him. To top it all off, He loves us.

How dare we ask God to prove Himself? Unfortunately, that is exactly what is done daily by those who put God at the bottom of their priority list because everything else is so much more important.

2006-10-24 14:47:44 GMT

Comments (1 total)

Author:Anonymous

My lack of relationship with God caused me to look for signs in regards to what I deemed the serious stuff. The everyday stuff I attended to according to my rationale. The problem was that I was not really growing spiritually and I was an emotional basketcase. Now that I look back I was like the doubleminded man that James spoke of. When I finally came to my fork in the road, I decided that I had enough of playing church. I wanted more. I knew what I was doing was not working. I chose to serve God. I put away my excuses and I made a choice. I am so thankful for the removal of blinders. I can testify to the richness of living a life of devotion. I still have a long way to go, but I am pressing toward the mark of the high calling.
--Aundrea Baker
<mailto:abaker@thewaybiblefellowship.org>

2006-10-24 14:58:41 GMT

Site Home




		Pastor Baker's Daily Devotional

		Entry for October 24, 2006 Daily Reading: Judges chapters 5 thru 8 Key Verse: Judges 6:17 Gideon reminds me of modern-day believers. He is filled with excuses concerning God's commands. His excuses come in the form of asking God to prove Himself to be God. He is in effect asking the Most High to prove Himself worthy to be obeyed. He continually asks God for supernatural signs. So, if God did not provide him with a sign what does that prove? Does that prove that God is not who He says He is? Or does that prove that Gideon was not worthy of the assignment? Does it prove that it was not meant for Gideon to serve God as God saw fit? Does this sound familiar? "I am going to let God work it out. I waiting for God to put it on my heart. I am waiting for God to show me a sign. There are a few things I need to work out first before I can serve God." Wow, we sure place a lot of value on ourselves and a little value on God. We always get super-spiritual when it comes to the things of God, but we sure can act quickly when it comes to ourselves. We don't seek signs when we are endulging in our pleasures. Do we? Do we ask God to give us a sign when we want to go on vacation, attend a sporting event, etc? The miraculous sign God gave us was sending His Son to die for our sins. But God did not stop there, He gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit guides us in all truth if we allow Him to lead our lives. God gave us the gift of salvation, the gift of faith, then He blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies (Eph.1:3). The Spirit gives us spiritual gifts to exhibit the ministries and characteristics of Christ. The Spirit enables us to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit. The Spirit came to live in us as a pledge (downpayment) until the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30). God's Word has the cleansing power to transform our character (Hebrews 4:12). God created us in His image and breathed life into us (Genesis 1:27). We owe our existence to Him. To top it all off, He loves us. How dare we ask God to prove Himself? Unfortunately, that is exactly what is done daily by those who put God at the bottom of their priority list because everything else is so much more important. 2006-10-24 14:47:44 GMT Comments (1 total) Author:Anonymous My lack of relationship with God caused me to look for signs in regards to what I deemed the serious stuff. The everyday stuff I attended to according to my rationale. The problem was that I was not really growing spiritually and I was an emotional basketcase. Now that I look back I was like the doubleminded man that James spoke of. When I finally came to my fork in the road, I decided that I had enough of playing church. I wanted more. I knew what I was doing was not working. I chose to serve God. I put away my excuses and I made a choice. I am so thankful for the removal of blinders. I can testify to the richness of living a life of devotion. I still have a long way to go, but I am pressing toward the mark of the high calling. --Aundrea Baker <mailto:abaker@thewaybiblefellowship.org> 2006-10-24 14:58:41 GMT Site Home