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Today is Monday March 22, 2010, and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the Book of Judges, chapters 1 & 2. If you would like to read the chapters along with us here online you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this URL onto your browser: https://www.readytofollow.com/bible-march-22

Title: Bible Study: Seek Him For Help
The Bible says that we are to, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” - Proverbs 22:6. Our children become who we are, so it is important as parents or guardians to train our children to be better than who we are. Why better? We need to do better, because they will become more of who we are. If a child is around a godly family, that child becomes more godly and carries it on as an adult, likewise if a child is around a wicked family, the child becomes more wicked as an adult. Now, do not get me wrong, sometimes things happen and child or adult gets mixed in with the wrong crowd, but if they are taught right as a child they will return to what they were taught. That is the amazing thing about God, no matter what wrong we have done in our lives He will help us get back on track as long as we turn to Him and seek Him for help.

The Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Old Testament/Bible and contains twenty-one chapters. The author of the book is Samuel and it was written to the Israelites. The purpose of the book was to record the Israelites journey after the death of Joshua, their repeated sin, and the judges God sent, who ruled, to get them redeemed and right with God. What we are to learn from this book is that God's chastisement is for the benefit of all God's people to turn us away from sin and to Salvation. The Israelites were chosen by the One True God to reveal Him to the heathen nations and to glorify Him by being obedient to His Word. The Israelites who were living at the time of Joshua's death recognized that God was their Captain and King and that He had given them victory over the Canaanites. “Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them? And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand. And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with him. And Judah went up; and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men.” - Judges 1:1-4. It is important that we continue to do God's work even if our leader is gone. God will never forsake nor leave anyone who trusts in Him and keeps moving forward, regardless of the loss of a man of God or loved one for that matter.

As the new generation arrived, they started to lose the recognition of God in their lives and because of that they stopped fighting for the land that was left and just dwelt among the heathens. Of course, God was not happy with that so the chastisement begins. “And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.” - Judges 2:1-4. Every decision we make in our lives has an impact not only on ourselves, but those around us. If we make a wrong decision, everyone else suffers as well. We can blame God all we want, but it is not Him that causes the suffering, we do all on our own. In all that we do we are to do in the will of God, if we do not, it is too east to fall. We can not keep thinking about ourselves here, we have to start thinking about how the decisions we make would affect those who are around us before we make them. Of course, we will mess up at times, but it is a lot easier to clean up a little mess than it is to clean up one that gets bigger and bigger as we make more of a mess trying to cover it up.

It is not easy to be an adult, or a Christian, and especially a parent, think of how God must feel to see His children suffer and end up getting into one mess after another. Yet, regardless, He has faith in us that we will turn to Him to help us clean them up. God sent judges to help clean up the Israelites messes, “Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; but they did not so. And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.” - Judges 2:16-18. God did let them suffer until they turned to Him for help, then once they turned to Him He helped them. You see, God is so wonderful that even when we do mess up all on our own, He will help us when we call on Him. Praise God!

People can not be helped if they do not help themselves first. The first step to help is admitting that we have messed things up, that is the hardest part, but unless we take that step, nothing will change and we will end up in one mess after another. Trust me, it took me losing everything I owned and then some before I realized that I needed help from God. We can not get out of these messes on our own, we need someone and who better to get that help from than God. As Jesus was having dinner, a woman game to Him and was so humbled that she knelt before Him crying and began wiping the tears off His feet with her hair. The men sitting with Him were stunned and complaining and Jesus responds, “Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.” - Luke 7:47-50. This woman was forgiven because she humbled herself before Jesus. Anyone who lets go of their pride, humbles themselves, and goes to Jesus is forgiven and then He will help them and release them from that sin. Praise God! If you are struggling right now, stop trying to get yourself out of it on your own, go to Jesus and He will give you peace.

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and week.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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