Psalm 80 - A Prayer for the Nation

1 Hear us, Shepherd of Israel,  you who lead Joseph like a flock. You who sit enthroned between the cherubim,  shine forth
  2 before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.  Awaken your might; come and save us.
3 Restore us, O God;   make your face shine on us,  that we may be saved.

 4 How long, LORD God Almighty,   will your anger smolder against the prayers of your people?
5 You have fed them with the bread of tears;  you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.
6 You have made us an object of derision to our neighbors,  and our enemies mock us.
 7 Restore us, God Almighty;  make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.



8 You transplanted a vine from Egypt;  you drove out the nations and planted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it,  and it took root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shade,  the mighty cedars with its branches.
11 Its branches reached as far as the Sea,  its shoots as far as the River.
12 Why have you broken down its walls so that all who pass by pick its grapes?

13 Boars from the forest ravage it,  and insects from the fields feed on it. 

14 Return to us, God Almighty!   Look down from heaven and see!  Watch over this vine, 

 15 the root your right hand has planted,  the son you have raised up for yourself.

16 Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire;  at your rebuke your people perish. 

17 Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,  the son of man you have raised up for yourself. 

18 Then we will not turn away from you;   revive us, and we will call on your name.

 

19 Restore us, LORD God Almighty;  make your face shine on us,  that we may be saved.

The Gold Medal

     This is a copy & paste of an email I received about a week ago.  It was written by Dave Branon, and is a true story.  I added some photos, but the writing credits all go to Mr. Branon.

At the 2009 Kansas high school state track championship, an unusual thing happened. The team that won the girls 3,200-meter relay was disqualified. But what happened next was even more unusual. The team that was awarded the state championship by default turned right around and gave their medals to the team that had been disqualified.

The first school, St. Mary’s Colgan, lost first place because judges ruled that a runner had stepped out of her lane as she handed off the baton. That meant the second team, Maranatha Academy, moved up to first. After receiving their medals, the girls from Maranatha saw the downtrodden looks on the faces of the St. Mary’s girls, so they gave them their individual medals.





Why did they do this? As Maranatha’s coach Bernie Zarda put it: “Our theme for the year was to run not for our glory, but for God’s glory.” As a result of the girls’ action, their story was told throughout Kansas, and God’s name was lifted up.







When we set aside our own interests and accomplishments to recognize that it’s better to care for the interests of others (Phil. 2:4), we see God’s name glorified. Acting with grace and kindness toward others is one of the best ways to point people to God.

4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.  5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:  6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;  7 rather, he made himself nothing  by taking the very nature of a servant,  being made in human likeness.  8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself  by becoming obedient to death—  even death on a cross!  9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,  10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,   in heaven and on earth and under the earth,  11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,   to the glory of God the Father.                 Philippians 2:4-11  (NIV)

III John

"Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good.  Anyone who does what is good is from GOd.  Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God."  (III John 1:11)  The book of III John has no "3:16"

This third letter of John was written to Johns' friend Galus to thank Galus for the hospitality he had shown to missionaries.  Galus had welcomed these missionaries into his home, even though they were complete strangers.

John then writes about what is and is not appropriate behavior towards missionaries.  He writes about three men and each of their behaviors towards Christ's teachers.  Two of the men were generous, kind truth-seekers.  But, the third man was selfish, controlling, and full of pride. He misused his position in the church; this was not of God. This third man ,Diotrephes,  was named in this short letter from John to Galus;  imagine having your name forever written in God's Word - and, your name synonymous with how NOT to act!  The message of this letter was  to NOT behave the way this man did!

There is always pain and brokenness behind evil. Jesus can heal that brokenness if you invite Him to do so. Only He can understand our hurts and our suffering.  He died for our sins.  He also died for our shame, our addictions, our deepest hurts.  On the cross, He experienced betrayal, the deepest rejection, abuse.  People spat in His face, shouted racial slurs at Him, stripped Him of His clothes... He felt so abandoned... so alone... There were a few people at the foot of the cross who loved Him.  I'm sure they tried to comfort Him.  Did He hear them?  I hope so...

If you have any negative experience which is keeping you from doing good, give it to Him. "...We implore you on Christ's behalf:  Be reconciled to God. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God."  (II Corinthians 5: 20,21)

II PETER 3:16

" He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other scriptures, to their own destruction."  (NIV)







When Peter wrote this letter to the Believers, he wrote it to warn them of false teachers who were distorting the writings of Paul.  Peter pointed out that Paul wrote with wisdom inspired by the Holy Spirit. Peter pointed out to his fellow-Believers that while Paul's writings are not always EASY to understand, they were God-inspired truth. The false teachers against whom Peter  wrote were purposely misquoting Paul's teachings, attempting to use scriptures to make themselves seem impressive.  They were purposely creating confusion. Worse yet, false teachers are often subtly deceitful.  This letter from Peter gives us clues to help detect false teaching. Believers today must remain vigilant against falling into false doctrine.

One of my favorite scriptures is I Corinthians 1:33, which states, :For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace."  Okay... if God is NOT the author of confusion, then who IS?    (Hint:  Don't you think confusion goes hand-in-hand with evil?  Have you ever noticed that movie scenes of hell are always chaotic?   Hmmm...)






So, here is the gist of Peters' letter:  Avoid false teachings.  How? By knowing the truth.  We really must read and study on our own;  not depend upon someone else to tell us what the scriptures say.  Many believers want the peace and grace of God, but are not willing to exert the effort to get to know Him better.  To enjoy God's abundance, we need knowledge.  First-hand knowledge, obtainable only through Bible study and prayer.  We must remain diligent in seeking God.



And, what did Jesus have to say about teaching and truth?  "To the Jews who had believed him,  Jesus said,
'If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'"  (John 8:31,32)





                                      
  

  AND,
 ..." I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me."  (John 14:6)

John 3:16 Part Two

    

     "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."   (NIV)

     I received this story in my email a few days ago; it is supposed to be a true story. Whether it is or not, it is a great analogy for this well-known verse of scripture:




 After  a few of  the usual Sunday evening hymns,  the church's pastor slowly stood up, walked over to the pulpit and, before he gave his sermon for the evening, he briefly introduced a guest minister who was in the service that evening.  In the introduction, the pastor told the congregation that the guest minister was one of his dearest childhood friends and that he wanted him to have a few moments to greet the church and share whatever he felt would be appropriate for the service. With that, an elderly man stepped up to the pulpit and began to speak:

 "A father, his son, and a friend of his son were sailing off the Pacific Coast", he began, "When a fast approaching storm blocked any attempt to get back to shore.  The waves were so high that even though the father was an experienced sailor, he could not keep the boat upright and the three were swept into the ocean as the boat capsized."
The old man hesitated for a moment, making eye contact with two teenagers who were, for the first time since the service began, looking somewhat interested in his story.

 The aged minister continued with his story, "Grabbing a rescue line, the father had to make the most excruciating decision of his life...To which boy would he throw the other end of the life line?  He had only seconds to make the decision. The father knew that his son was a Christian, and, he also knew that his son'd friend was not.  The agony of his decision could not be matched by the torrent of waves as the father yelled out, 'I love you, son!' And,  he threw out the life line to his son's friend. By the time the father had pulled the friend back to the capsized boat, his son had disappeared beneath the raging swells into the black of night. His body was never recovered."


 By this time, the two teenagers were sitting up straight in the pew, anxiously waiting for the next words to come out of the old minister's mouth... 'The father", he continued, "knew his son would step into eternity with Jesus and he could not bear the thought of his son'd friend stepping into an eternity without Jesus. Therefore he sacrificed. his son to save the son'd friend. How great is the love of God that He should do the same for us. Our heavenly Father sacrifices His only begotten Son that we could be saved. . I  urge you to accept His offer to rescue you and take a hold of the life line He is throwing out to you in this service."
With that the old man turned and sat back down in his chair as silence filled the room.  The pastor again walked slowly to the pulpit and delivered a brief sermon with an invitation at the end.  However no one responded to the appeal.


Within minutes after the service ended, the two teenagers were at the old man's side. "That was a nice story", said one of them politely. "But I don't think it was very realistic for a father to give up his only son'd life in hopes that the other boy would become a Christian."
" Well, you've got a point there", the old man replied.  Glancing down at his worn Bible, a big smile broadened his face, and he once again looked up at the teenage boys and said, " It sure isn't very realistic, is it?  But, I'm standing here today to tell you that story gives me a glimpse of what it must have been like for God to give up His Son for me.  You see, I was that father and your pastor is my son's friend."


  I would rather live my life as if there  is a God and die  to find out there isn't, than live my  life as if there isn't and die to find out there is.

MATTHEW 3:16

  
        "As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him."   (NIV)

  



  


      There is so much going on in this scripture verse that many books could be written about it.  Some would say that this is the first reference to the idea of the Trinity, but they would be in error.  The first reference to the Trinity is in Genesis, with a look at the beginning of the book of John for further clarification.  Genesis 1:1 reads, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters."  Thus, the very first verse of the first book of the Bible refers to God the Father (Creator) and the Holy Spirit - the Spirit of God.  By taking a quick look at the first verse in the book of John, we see another perspective to the creation: "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God."  Further explanation is found in John 1:14 :"The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us..."   Thus, the Trinity was present at creation.  Some people have problems with the idea that God is three-in-one - Trinity.  The best way I can explain it is that I am a mother,  I am a daughter, and I am a wife.  All three are me;  I am all three.

       Matthew 3:16 refers to the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist.  As Malachi foretold,  John the Baptist appeared preaching the imminent arrival of Christ: "After me comes He who is mightier than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie." (Mark 1:7)  Imagine how John must have felt when Jesus appeared and asked to be baptized!  The only sin-free person to ever walk this earth, asking John to baptize Him! John replied, "You should be baptizing me." But Jesus persisted, and was baptized.



  
    The sacrament of baptism is not a new thing.  From ancient days came the ritual cleansing of God's chosen people, the Jews, before they could enter the temple.  This was called a "mikvah"; and, Jewish people still use this term today.  A mikvah  is always done in moving water (living water) such as a river or stream.  And, the person dunked himself, while being observed by a priest or rabbi.   Nowadays, most people consider baptism a spiritual bath through which believers are sanctified and washed in the name of Jesus; and, baptism is performed only after a public declaration of faith in Jesus as ones' personal Saviour.
  

      When I was in Israel in 2006,  even though I had already been baptized many years prior, I took the opportunity to be baptized in the Jordan River - the very river where John baptized Jesus.  I was struck by the fact that white doves were flying around, going in and out of the trees along the river banks.  What a beautiful visual metaphor for this scripture!  It was easy to imagine the heavens opening up and the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus like a dove.

      John the Baptist and the disciples of Jesus baptized many, many people.  But, the scriptures clearly state that Jesus never performed a baptism with water.  I wonder why... Perhaps it was because He knew how the hearts of men are, and realized that people would somehow think they were better because they were baptized by the Master?  Or, perhaps it was simply because He had so many disciples;  He was the overseer, and they did the baptism in His name?  Or maybe it was because He was destined to baptize in a much greater way, as proclaimed by John the Baptist:  "I have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." (Mark 1:8)

ZEPHANIAH 3:16

      " On that day they will say to Jerusalem, 'Do not fear, O Zion: Do not let your hands hang limp.  The Lord your God is with you. He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you. He will quiet you with His love.  He will rejoice over you with singing."  (NIV)

my photo, sunrise over Jerusalem

     The prophet Zechariah wrote this short book of the Bible in which he summarizes God's plan for Israel and the world. (God had a "Plan A"; and, when that didn't work out, He presented the world with "Plan B".)  I will attempt to write an extremely abbreviated version of the plan, the results, etc., as follows:
     Israel - the Jewish people - are God's chosen people.  No one knows why this small nation was chosen to be God's "evangelists", and it really doesn't matter... God did the choosing;  only He needs to know the reasons. God formed an eternal covenant with Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation.  This was a blood covenant - unalterable and eternal.
  

my photo, Israel countryside

         But, the people of Israel refused to be God's "missionaries".  They disobeyed. (For any of my regular readers - there's that pesky obedience word again!)  Much like us today, the people were comfortable with the status quo.  They liked life as they knew it.  The familiar was easier than the unknown. Well, the status quo is just not going to get it with God!  Not then;  not now.  Remember, the covenant between God and Abraham was eternal. Thus, it extends to all mankind.  In Deuteronomy we can read the scriptures that describe that covenant:
     "See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.  For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you... But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed... this day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.  Now choose life."  (Deuteronomy 30:15-20  NIV)
  

there is only one way to choose life

   You might be asking yourself, "What does this ancient story have to do with me?"  The answer: Everything!  God loves people so much that when Israel refused to be His evangelists, He promptly went to "Plan B".  He hasn't given up on "Plan A", mind you... He will get back to that in the latter days.  But, for now, He went to "Plan B" wherein the gospel spread to the Gentiles. God accomplished this by sending His only Son, Jesus, who came to us in human form to be our Savior.  Jesus died for the sins of all mankind - the ultimate blood covenant - unalterable and eternal.
     So, once again, God is saying to each person on this earth, "I set before you life and death, blessings and curses... Now choose life..."
     Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me."
(John 14:6  NIV)
     Choose life.

JONAH

               "But the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish tree days
 and  three nights."   (Jonah 1:16  NIV)

    The story of Jonah and the great fish is a popular one.  The great fish topic is much-debated among scholars and scientists.  I have seen photos of big fish with human skeletons in them, so this story is not a myth!  Because its  uniqueness, it is often told in children's Sunday school classes.  But, aside from the fascination with the great fish, there are many lessons to be learned from the four brief chapters of Jonah.

     The unusual lesson that I glean from Jonah's story is that God is so awesome that He will even take our mistakes and use them for His    glory! Now, you might ask, "How did she come up with THAT  from reading about a man and a great big fish?"  Well, let's go back to the beginning of the story...


 The story begins with Jonah, a known prophet and man of God.  God instructed Jonah to go and preach to the people of Ninevah.  But, Jonah didn't want to go there. The people of Ninevah were enemies with Jonah's people, and he simply did not want to go.  So, Jonah disobeyed God.  (There's that obedience thing cropping up again!)  Jonah went in the opposite direction, trying to run away from God.  But, when God gives us a mission to fulfill, He expects us to work at it... not run from it.

courtesy, National Maritime Museum

  
     Jonah was the passenger on a boat - heading away from Ninevah - when God sent a violent storm onto the sea.  The boat was in grave danger.  Trying to save their ship, the sailors threw all the cargo overboard to lighten the load. All of these sailors were pagans, and they cried out to their various gods - in vain. Jonah said nothing, although he knew that the storm was the wrath of God and that it was aimed at him.  He went below board.  The captain went down, saw Jonah, reprimanded him, and implored him to call out to "his god", as the sailors were.
     When Jonah came back up on deck, the sailors were casting lots to see who was responsible for the situation.  The lot fell to Jonah.  They began to question Jonah, and he finally admitted that he worshiped the God of heaven, the Creator of the land and the sea. And he confessed that he was trying to run away from God.  The pagan sailors were terrified and asked Jonah what they should do to calm the sea.(Sadly, at this point, the pagan sailors showed more respect for the LORD than the "man of God" did!  Only after being reprimanded by the captain did Jonah join the sailors.  Until then he was too wrapped up in himself to consider their peril.  Jonah knew the storm was because of his disobedience, but didn't admit it until the casting of lots turned all eyes upon him.  Then, he FINALLY  acted like the man of God that he should have been in the first place!)

painting by Louise August

  
    Jonah told the pagans to throw him into the sea.  That bit of selflessness was what the LORD was asking of him in the first place when He told Jonah to go to Ninevah!  But, even in this Jonah wasn't very brave... Why did he expect the other men to throw him in?  Why not voluntarily jump in? We people sure do mess things up with our wrong attitudes, don't we?
     The pagan sailors showed more compassion for Jonah than he showed for them.  When he told them to throw him overboard, they refused.  Instead, they tried rowing even harder.  They tried to row back to land, but were unable to do so. Then, they cried out to God, asking for forgiveness for taking Jonah's life, and they threw him into the sea.
  

teddyallen.blogspot.com

  

       The sea grew calm, and the sailors made vows to God and greatly feared Him.
     God provided a great fish to swallow up Jonah.  After three days and three nights (which I am certain were filled with repentance, fear, and awe), Jonah was spewed onto land by the great fish.
     So, you see, even our mistakes can be turned around and used for God's glory. Once Jonah got honest with God, himself, and the sailors, he became a living testimony of God's power and mercy.  The once-pagan sailors now knew God..
  

my photo of the Sea of Galillee

     Often, admitting our past sins and mistakes can help lead another to God.  God is not looking for perfection.  None of us has perfection to offer.  God is looking for you and me - "as is" - because each of us has a story to tell.  What is your story?  You probably weren't swallowed by a great fish, but I'll bet there was some sort of storm involved... Share it.  Your testimony could help a "pagan sailor" or two...
    

LAMENTATIONS

     '' 'He has broken my teeth with gravel; he has trampled me in the dust...Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never
fail.'"   (Lamentations 3:16. 21. 22   NIV)




      The book of Lamentations was written by Jeremiah, the "weeping prophet".  Because of his visions from God,  Jeremiah knew of the upcoming destruction of Jerusalem and of the suffering and exile of his people.  Lamentations is Jeremiah's song of grief for the souls of Jerusalem.  Still, Jeremiah's constant underlying message is that  HOPE  IS  IN  THE  LORD.

     Have you ever been so busy singing your own funeral song that you missed the chorus of hope?  Sorrow and grief are difficult to bear, but we all experience them from time to time.  Sometimes, because we are human, we may experience some of these emotions to a greater degree than necessary by over-reacting to situations or by trying to handle a problem alone. (Oh, I didn't want to bother anybody...)  Our intentions may be good, but it can lead to hopelessness.
     Hopelessness.  That's pretty much where I found myself the morning God sent me the steamin' heifer...


    It was a rough time.  I had recently been diagnosed with a chronic medical condition.  The realization had begun to sink in that I would spend the rest of my life battling pain and fatigue.  Medicines helped some of the symptoms, but caused new problems, and so on, and so on, and so on...  I was relying on a cane to walk, and couldn't go up or down stairs at all.  Me!  The practical joker, who was always hopping around, being silly, and who -only eighteen months ago - had been jogging daily. Me, the single Mom, who always had the energy to work two jobs, be Mom and Dad and housekeeper and chauffeur and still manage to bake bread or color a poster or throw a party... It didn't make sense!
  

     And it was January. And it was colder than usual for Georgia. And the holidays were over. And my daughter had gone back to college, hundreds of miles away. And I had told her of my illness.  And it hadn't gone well.
     Oh, I was grieving.  I was sorrowful.  I was so close to hopelessness.  I was driving to work on the bitter cold morning, and there was a place in my heart far more cold and bitter than that frosty January air...
     The heater in the car quit about halfway to work.  It was "the last straw". It infuriated me!  I ranted and raved. I asked, "Why? Why? WHY?!"  There I was, driving those back country roads, yelling at God. "Why,  after I've worked so hard all these years?  WHY, when I've tried to be a good person all this time?  WHY???"
  

   Y'know, God could've struck me dead for talking to Him like that.  Instead He sent me a message so clear that it was as if He was sitting in the care with me. It was three little words.  (Now, you're thinking that His three little words were, "I love you." And, I'm sure He does; but, that morning His three little words were: "You are silly."  I thought, "What?" And then I realized that my temper tantrum hadn't accomplished anything other than make me look like a fool.  As I pulled up to a stop sign I was glad no one was there to see me except for a dozen or so cows in the frosty pasture.
  

 One cow was lying down, but she stood up just as I got to the stop sign.  Because of the difference between her body temperature and the cold air, huge wafts of steam drifted off that ol' heifer, and I laughed at the sight.  And laughed. And laughed.  You see, that ol' heifer was steamin'... JUST LIKE ME.  And she looked pretty silly, which is what God had just told me.
     The funeral dirge became a song of hope. And  HOPE  IS  IN  THE  LORD, just as Jeremiah said.  One never knows what instrument He might use to change the music in one's life.  It might just be a silly song from a steamin' heifer.
    

SONG OF SONGS

         The Song of Songs does not contain a "3:16".  So, I chose a beautiful passage, which describes the commitment  God feels toward us:
     "Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm: for love ia as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave.  It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.  Many waters can not quench love; rivers can not wash it away.  If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned."     (Song of Songs 7:6,7 NIV)

art from www.allon.org

   The Song of Songs, like the book of Esther, does not mention the name of God.  Yet, God  makes His presence known throughout its pages. This book of the Bible is unusual in that it consists of love poems, describing the passions felt by a groom and his bride for each other. It is an allegory for God's love for His people, for His yearning that our souls come to Him   "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."  II Peter 3:9  (KJV)
     Of course, the allegory would not be complete without our love and yearning for Him.  Believers in Christ are His Bride.  Song of Songs is like a wedding song honoring marriage.  It contains some fairly explicit passages, and, some have said it should not be in the Bible. But, God wants husband and wife to enjoy each other within the confines of the marriage commitment.  Likewise, God desires that we continue in relationship with Him, loving and enjoying His company like no other...
     Over time feelings of loneliness, isolation, or indifference can come between the groom and his bride.  During these times careful communication is needed to renew the partnership and refresh the romance.  And, in our relationship with God, we sometimes need to have a long conversation (prayer) to recommit to Him. We need to be ready to be His bride!
 

      "Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: 'Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns,. Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory"  For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready.'"  (Rev 19:6,7 NIV)

     Are you ready for the wedding?

I KINGS 3:16

                       "Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him."   (NIV)

     Well, now, you don't see THAT verse every day!  Let's see what we can find out about this story!

     The king mentioned in this verse is king Solomon, David's son.  God gave Solomon the gift of wisdom.
When two women came to him, they presented Solomon with a problem.  The first woman spoke: "Both of us live in the same house and we both had babies within three days of each other.  During the night this woman's baby died, so she got up and traded the babies while I was asleep.  When I woke up to nurse my son, I found the dead baby. But, when I looked at him closely, I could see that this was not the little boy I had given birth to."
     But, the second woman insisted, "No!  The dead child is hers and the living one is mine!"  The two women argues back and forth before the king.  Then Solomon said to the guards, "Bring me a sword."  They did so.  Then he gave the order: "Cut the baby in two and give half to one woman and half to the other."
          (Oh, my!  I remember hearing this Bible story when I was a child.  Being fairly sensitive and one with an active imagination, I always feared that the end of the story would change!  oh, no!  And something terrible would happen to the little baby!  Would they cut him up and down or at the waist? Ugh. Ugh. Ugh!  And, I would be praying, "Please, oh, PLEASE, don't let them hurt the baby!"  But, I digress... let's get back to the story...)
     So, after the "solution" was offered - to give one-half of the child to each woman, the first woman (whose son it really was) said, "No, please my lord, don't kill him.  Give her the living baby instead."  But, the second woman said, "Neither I nor you shall have him.  Cut him in two."   Then king Solomon gave his ruling:  "Give the living baby to the first woman.   Do not kill him; she is his mother."
     King Solomon's wise decision spread throughout Israel and the people held their king's wisdom in awe.

     We all have wisdom available to us; it is a gift from God.  We only need to pray, listen, and apply God's word to our lives.

DEUTERONOMY 3:16

     "But to the Reubenites and the Gadites I gave the territory from Gilead down to the Arnon gorge and out to the Jabbok River, which is the border of the Ammonites."

     Okay, this might sound like a boring verse. "So what if God gave certain territories to certain tribes?", we might ask.  Well, it was a little more involved than that. God promised the land to these people, but in order to possess the land, they had to battle the giants living in most of the territories. The Israelites were ordinary people - not particularly tall - not particularly short - average.   But the Bible describes the inhabitants of these lands as very powerful and tall.  Giants.  The Ammonites were descendants of the Rephaites - giants. 


     Ella Ewing was 8 feet 4 inches tall.  Photo courtesy of http://www.stevequayle.com/
     Imagine a giant 2 to 3 feet TALLER than her!   Intimidating, to say the least...

     Looking back just a few verses, Deuternomy 3:11 states that Og, King of Bashan was so big that his bed measured 13 feet tall and six feet wide!  Now, I', thinkin' that the Israelites were more than justified in being nervous about fighting a battle with these people...
     BUT, God said, "Do not be afraid; I will hand them over to you - the entire army and the land."  The Israelites obeyed God  (there's that pesky obedience word again!).  And, they won the battle.  Battles have a way of being won when the Lord is on your side.
     What if they had disobeyed? What if they had given in to fear?
     Are you, perhaps, missing a blessing because of fear?  Or are you missing God's best because you avoid conflicts on God's behalf?  How can you gather the spoils of war if you are unwilling to fight the battle?
     Enlarge your territory!  If life hands you illness or disability, allow the slowing of your physical self to create a richer spiritual self - the plunder of spiritual warfare could be a life you never knew was available.  For a financial setback,, allow God to do His mighty work in your life so that you can tell others of His power - the spoils of spiritual battle.  Surrender any small defeats in your life and He will make you a mighty warrior.
     What battle are you fighting today?  Are you trying to fight it alone?  God will help.  Ask Him to help and He will.  Even if your problem seems to be a giant.