Go in this thy might!

go in this thy might

“And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?” Judges 6:14 (KJV)

Commentary: When the Israelites were facing one of their biggest enemies–the Midianites, God spoke to Gideon and challenged him to lead the Israelites to victory against their arch enemy using the “might he already has”. The Scriptures do not tell us that Gideon was a military leader before God called him, and that he had weapons of war already; he was simply a wheat farmer who happened to listen to God’s command to defend Israel.

At first, Gideon thought the “might” God was referring to mean recruiting 32,000 Israelites as soldiers. But God said “No”; Since God didn’t want Israelites to think that they had won the battle because of the strength of their 32,000-strong army, God whittled down their number to just 300 men. The enemy–the Midianites–laughed derisively at the sight of mere 300 men coming up against their innumerable soldiers.

The weapons of war carried by the 300 men were even unconventional–trumpets, jars, and torches, not guns, antiballistic missiles, nor chemical weapons. But Israelites, through Gideon’s leadership, absolutely routed and defeated the Midianites! (Judges 7:1-25) How did that happen? Because “The LORD answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.” Judges 16:16 (NIV).

Therefore, when God is fighting your battles, your victory is surely guaranteed!

Prayers: Thank you for fighting my battles, O Lord.

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What does a good shepherd do for his sheep?

Jesus Christ, a good shepherd

“He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young,” Isaiah 40:11 (NLT).

Commentary: Jesus Christ identifies himself as our good shepherd and, according to the Scriptures, these are the responsibilities of a Good Shepherd:

  1. He provides for all our needs (Psalm 1:1, Isaiah 40:11, NLT)
  2. He tenderly puts us in a comfortable situation no matter the prevailing circumstances (Isaiah 40:11, Psalm 23:2, NLT)
  3. He guides us in the paths of righteousness and constantly refreshes our souls (Psalm 23, 3, NLT)
  4. His presence is always with us to protect and safeguard us (Psalm 23:4, NLT)
  5. Because we are his chosen ones, he creates opportunities for us wherever we find ourselves (Psalm 23: 5, NLT)
  6. His goodness and mercy are revealed in our lives every single hour (Psalm 23: 6, NLT)

Prayers: Thank you, Lord, for being such a wonderful and good shepherd to me.

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Everything is possible for those who believe

Nothing is impossible with God

““’If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” Mark 9:23 (NIV)

Commentary: One interesting statement Jesus Christ made about having unwavering faith in him and God is recorded in Matthew 17:20: ” He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you,” (NIV).

It is fact that many of us never bother to ask, “How really small is a mustard seed?” The answer is not far-fetched: A mustard seed is typically about 1 to 2 millimeters (0.04 to 0.08 inches) in diameter. For a better visualization, it is about the “size of a pinhead” or “smaller than a grain of rice!”

Literally, Jesus Christ was saying that if your faith is even smaller than one grain of rice, you can move mountains! Isn’t that amazing!

Prayers: Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief!

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How close is God to us?

God said of Himself, “Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?” says the LORD,” Jeremiah 23:24 (NLT).

Commentary: Whenever we are going through some situations in life, it may seem that God is so far from us. Honestly, that is NOT always true, because our Lord Jesus Christ even said, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them,” John 14:23 (NIV).

As a believer, we should have the faith that God is so close to us. He actually lives in us through the Holy Spirit deposited in us, because according to 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, it is stated that, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So, you must honor God with your body.”

Unfortunately, God can also be a faraway God sometimes: ““Am I only a God nearby,” declares the LORD, “and not a God far away?” Jeremiah 23:23 (NIV). Why does He choose to be far away on certain occasions? The answer is here: “Listen! The LORD’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call. It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore,” Isaiah 59:1-2 (NLT).

Let’s live a sinless life and always enjoy God’s companionship!

Prayers: Forgive our sins, O Lord, and let your Holy Spirit guide us in all truth concerning You.

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The danger of not obeying God

“And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins,” Leviticus 26:18 (NKJV)

Commentary: No doubt, God is our “loving Father“, whose countless blessings, grace, and mercy are freely made available to us. However, He is also a “punishing Father” if we fail to strictly follow all His commandments. His relationship with the Israelites clearly shows us that He is capable of doing both the good and bad things depending on how we relate to Him.

Examples of God’s judgements against the Israelites include but are not limited to 1. Making them wander in the wilderness for 40 years due to their rebellion and unbelief (Numbers 14); 2. Sending plagues to discipline them for worshipping the golden calf dedicated to Baal (Exodus 32; Numbers 25).

Nevertheless, God’s goodness was revealed in Israelite’s powerful deliverance from Egypt (Exodus 1-14) and in protecting them from their enemies that included the Philistines, Midianites, and Amalekites (Judges; 1 Samuel).

Prayers: Forgive us O Lord, and continuously direct us in Your righteous path.

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Not Faith Only, Work (Action) Is Needed!

“Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” Matthew 14:25-31 (NIV).

Commentary: Peter exercised his faith in Jesus Christ by actually stepping out of the boat to walk on the water. Something that is practically impossible to do due to gravity. Nonetheless he took the action to step on the water. He walked on the water for a little while until fear got a hold of him and he doubted in his heart whether he could truly be walking on the water. Then he began to drown, sinking into the water.

What can we learn from this? First, we must have faith in God that He can do whatever He had promised us. Second, we must take some actions towards achieving what we had already prayed to God for. Third, we must totally eliminate fear from our hearts.

Prayers: Give us, O Lord, a heart of faith, courage to act, and the power to continue believing in your divine guidance.

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God wants us to be grateful

“Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Luke 17-17-18 (NIV)

Commentary: God had constantly chided the Israelites for being ungrateful to Him, their Creator, while taking them out of Egypt and towards the Promised Land. Instead of being thankful for God’s supernatural deliverance, guidance, and provision, the people of Israel chose to rebel against God (Isaiah 1:2-3), they worshipped Baal or other gods (Hosea 11:1-2), forgot God’s wonderful works among them (Psalm 106:7,13), and absolutely scorned Him (Deuteronomy 32:15,16).

Today, we are exhorted in Colossians 3:17 (NIV) that, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Prayers: Give us oh Lord a heart of gratefulness, to constantly appreciate all you are doing for us!

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Jesus Christ’s kinds of prayers

“And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words,” Matthew 6:7 (NIV)

Commentary: If we sweep through the Scriptures, we will discover that Jesus Christ actually had some prayer patterns that he followed and expect us to imitate:

  1. Jesus Christ’s prayers are always first addressed to God, not to other entities in the Bible or any popular religious personalities in his day (Matthew 6:9);
  2. His words are few, because he acknowledged that “for your Father knows what you need before you ask him,” Matthew 6:8 (NIV);
  3. His prayers are direct–He told God straightaway about the things he was praying for;
  4. He never doubted whether God had heard him or not. In John 11:42, he said, “I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
  5. Jesus Christ prayed fervently. “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground,” Luke 22:44 (NIV)

Prayers: Teach us how to pray the kinds of prayers that are swiftly answered by You, O Lord!

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Jesus Christ has disarmed evil powers for you

““And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross,” Colossians 2:15.

Commentary: Jesus Christ told Peter, one of his disciples that “And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” ” (Luke 22:31-32, NKJV).

Two things are clear in the quoted Scriptures above: (1) The Devil always asks for the permission to get to you–the believer. This is because Satan can’t just get into your business if your life is truly committed into God’s hands. You are the apple of God’s eye (Psalm 17:8), and to reach you, the Devil must first of all meet God; (2) God doesn’t all the time grant the Devil’s requests. But when He does, God allows that to happen for a particular period and has already prepared a way of escape from the circumstance because He won’t allow you to be tempted beyond your ability to handle the situation (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Prayers: May the victory Jesus Christ has won for us remain permanent in our lives.

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Be guided by the Holy Spirit

“Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives,” Galatians 5:25 (NLT)

Commentary: Jesus Christ told his disciples that He will send the “Holy Spirit” to them, who will guide them into all the truth. This simply means that the Holy Ghost is our “guidance counsellor” if we listen to his silent whisperings.

Unfortunately, you may not be able to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit if you are living a sinful life. For the Scriptures says, “do not annoy the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 4:30). We make the Holy Spirit feel uncomfortable when we continue to live in sins.

Prayers: May the Spirit of the Lord guide me in all my ways.

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Let’s do what God has commanded in His Word

“So he did what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there,” 1 Kings 17:5 (NIV)

Commentary: Prophet Elijah totally obeyed the instructions of the Lord in one of his recorded acts of wonder, when he commanded that there would be no dew nor rain in Israel for years (1 Kings 17:1-7). The lesson for us in this passage: When we absolutely follow God’s words and do according to His commands, God will keep His part of the promise and bring to pass our long-expected miracles!

Prayers: May the Lord give us the power to wholeheartedly follow His commandments.

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Love the Lord with all your might

“I love you, LORD; you are my strength,” Psalm 18:1 (NLT).

Commentary: We love the Lord because He first loves us. As believers, we derive our strength from reciprocating God’s love towards Him. Jesus Christ once said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,” Matthew 22:37-39 (NIV).

Prayers: By loving God genuinely, we call upon Him to be our strength in times of need.

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