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Today is Sunday March 22, 2009 and we are beginning our studies on the book of Judges. Please read chapters 1 & 2 in your Bible, or you can Click Here to read them online. If the link does not work you can copy and paste this link into your browser: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Judges%201-2&version=9

Today's Message: Worldly Compromise
Christians are a small minority of the world who know the truth about Jesus, yet many choose to compromise with the world, continuing to live as they do for fear that they will not fit in.

The book of Judges is the seventh book in the Bible and of the Old Testament and contains twenty-one chapters. The author of the book was Samuel and it was written to the people of Israel. The purpose of the book was to record the rule of the judges which occurred after the death of Joshua. This book records the sad story of their repeated sins and the judges God raised up to deliver them from enemy forces. What we are to learn from the book is that there is a divine pattern of chastisement designed to turn God's people from sin to salvation.

The Israelites were chosen by the One and Only True God to reveal Him to the heathen nations and to glorify Him by being obedient to His Word. Many of the heathen nations despised God, created their own gods, drawing God's people to them instead. After the death of Joshua, we are first given a sense of high hopes for the total conquest of the land as he began. "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).

One by one, the cities fell into the Israelites hands, giving them victory of the land, but that victory did not last for long and the Israelites began to live among the heathens instead of fighting for the rest of the land.

God's command to complete the conquest of Canaan was not fulfilled because of the people's compromise with the pagan inhabitants of the land. " 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).

The Israelites, who were living at the time of Joshua's death, still recognized that God was their King and that He had given them victory over the Canaanites, but a new era was emerging, one that rather compromise with the heathens instead of fighting for their beliefs. Sadly, the Israelites fell right into the hands of the heathens gods and their wicked ways. "And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim: And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger. And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies." (2:10-14). The Israelites chose to do what they thought was more humanitarian or which created a peaceful coexistence with the enemies of God.

The truth is that once we accept Jesus into our lives we will change, whether we want to or not. The Holy Spirit has a way of guiding us along the path that God has created for us. " Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (I Corinthians 2:12-14).

We can not worry about what others think of us nor fear being alone because we do not want to fight with anyone. Many of the friends and even family members that we love dearly become people we hardly know because they are actually compromising our relationship with God. It's not that we do not love nor care for them, it's that they cause harm to us. When this happens the best thing we can do is pray for them and try to be the example that they need to turn their life around. Do not compromise your relationship with God for anyone! You may be in a tough situation, but you can overcome it. Remember, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. He will guide you out of any situation as long as you trust Him and let Him guide you.

Today's Psalm: 31:2-4
"Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me. For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name's sake lead me, and guide me. Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for thou art my strength."

Today's Prayer:
Dear God,
We are confronted with deception on many fronts every day, so much so, that we can be deceived without even realizing it. Would You help us to watch out and be on our guard so that we are not deceived by man’s words, no matter how convincing they are, how charming their personality, or how cunning their craft. Help us not to fall for Satan’s deceptive tactics that have brought down believers throughout the church age. We seek You for strength and discipline. We search the Scriptures for discernment and the true revelation of who Jesus is, the Son of the Living God. In Jesus' name.........Amen.

Have a wonderful and blessed night/day and enjoy the rest of your weekend.
God Bless You,
Christina

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