MISSIONAL LIVING MEANS YOUR ARE TAKING A WALK OF FAITH!: How Strong Is Your Walk

In the 19th century there was a great English pastor by the name of George Mueller. Pastor Mueller had become concerned that God's people had become discouraged and no longer expected God to do anything amazing.  In Pastor Mueller's assessment people no longer believed that God could or would answer prayers.  In other words, the Ordinary Christians of his time had very little faith in God and that lack of faith was expressed in how they lived their everyday lives.

About that time God began to do a work in George's life to start praying like he had never prayed before.  George's prayers were to ask God to assign him to a ministry that could only be done and explained by the Christians of his time as an act of God.  George wanted Christians to learn and believe that their God still heard their prayers and would be faithful to answer them, if they would just pray in faith and that faith only needed to be the size of a mustard seed.

God led Pastor Mueller to a particular Bible verse that he held onto for the rest of his life and in which he would place his trust God.  That Bible passage was:

"Open wide your mouth and I will fill it."  

Psalm 81:10

George believed that God was giving him a promise through that verse that He, God, and God alone would be the one to meet his needs and the needs of the ministry that God would assign him to do.  From that verse Pastor Mueller was led by God to a walk in faith which became a powerful example and testimony to everyone watching.  When George felt led by God to do some particular ministry, he would pray to God alone for the resources needed and told no one else of the need.

George wanted all to know that God had provided for the needs of the ministry through the answers of prayers of faith.  

Here are some of the things that God did through George Mueller during that "Walk of Faith" time of his ministry:

• The Scriptural Knowledge Institute for distributing of scripture and for religious education was started.
• He established 4 orphanages houses that cared for 2,000 children at a time. Over 10,000 children had been provided for through those orphanages.
• He distributed over 8 million dollars that had been given to him in answer to prayer.  When he died at the age of 93, his personal worldly possessions were valued at only $800.00.

An important note here for us to emphasis here is that Pastor George Mueller "NEVER" asked anyone for any of the money that was given to him.

The Only Person That Rev. George Mueller Ever Asked For Help Was

GOD!

QUESTIONS TO PONDER:

Question #1:  How strong is your faith in God?

Question #2: Do you believe that God still answers our prayers?

Question #3: What ministry are you doing, as an act of faith, that God has led you to do?

Question #4: What will you do as an act of faith today?

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WE FOLLOW JESUS BECAUSE WE BELIEVE BUT AFTER WE FOLLOW CHRIST WE REALLY BEGIN TO BELIEVE!

To become a Follower of Christ requires a certain level of faith to begin the journey. But as we start following and experiencing both the power and presence of Christ we really begin to become a believer.  Watch this video and be both empowered and encouraged to live a powerful missional life.



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MISSIONAL FAITH: IT WILL STRETCH YOUR IMAGINATION

When it come to living a powerful and effective missional life, it will require having amazing faith!  But as we apply the concept of faith in God to being on mission with God one thing becomes extremely evident!  And that is:  Missional faith will always stretch your imagination!  Read what God’s word say,

“… now glory be to God! By his might power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope for.”  Eph. 3:20 (NL)

DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE THAT?  Do you sincerely believe that it is God’s desire to accomplish” infinitely more” that you are able to ask for?  THAT REQUIRES FAITH!  And not just any ole faith but amazing faith.

Let’s think about this for a moment!  Try and imagine the greatest thing that God could ever accomplish through your life!  Do you have it?  Is it clear in your mind? Well, guess what? You still haven’t come close to what God wants to do through you!  Your imagination will always be to small.  You are incapable to dreaming up something as big as what God wants to do through you.  What God wants to accomplish you can’t be figured out by dreaming it up the most amazing pursuit.  No, God’s plans are always so huge that it can only be revealed to you by God himself.

This kind of activity with God will always begin with a revelation from Him showing you His plans and His ways.  When God does show you these things it is going to blow your mind away and will require you to have a faith that truly believes that God can do anything, through anybody, including you.

Think for a moment about the idea of Abraham becoming the father of a great nation ...

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Carol Skaggs Amazon Book Review of: THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE: A Journey Into Missional Living

"This book is honest and powerful. Jay was very transparent sharing a raw, painful memory that ultimately catapults him out of complacency as regards witnessing to others. (You've got to read this!) He tells it like it is within Christian circles. 

We are all so comfortable shining our light within our churches, but when it comes to sharing with the community at large, or even within our own sphere of influence we are falling down on the job. 

Jay lays out a step by step plan to begin living a missional life. Starting with our own testimonies, giving God the glory as we seek ways to bless other people's lives. This opens up doors to sharing the Good News of Christ and ultimately helping someone to consider Christ. 

I recommend this book to everyone, but especially Christians!"

Carol Skaggs


THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE was written to provide practical help for those Christians who desperately want to live an effective missional life that shine brightly the Light of Christ through them and into their part of this dark world but just don't know where to start!  

Through this book you will receive inspiration and encouragement as you read a modern day parable of two brave little light that left the safety and comfort of their big and bright house to shine their light in the dark world and help those unlit wicks that were out there.  You will receive Biblical insight as you learn 5 Biblical principles necessary for missional living; you will learn about 3 essential skills necessary for living a missional life and how to make them as natural to you as breathing is.  And finally, you will be walked through a simple process for designing your own personalized strategy for missional living.

THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE: A Journey Into Missional Living is available at Amazon.com in both paperback and kindle formats.  

THIS IS A MUST READ FOR ALL CHRISTIANS WHO DESIRE TO LIVE AN AUTHENTIC MISSIONAL LIFE WHERE THE LIGHT OF CHRIST SHINES BRIGHTLY!

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Missional Living For Ordinary Christians

THE GOD OF ANGEL ARMIES: By Our Guest Blogger Dr. Terry Dorsett

My morning devotions lately have been in 2 Kings. Yesterday I wrote about King Ahaziah seeking help from a false god and the disaster that resulted from that effort. Today I want to focus on 2 Kings 6. In that chapter the prophet Elisha is being pursued by the king of Aram, one of Israel’s long-time enemies. The king is upset because God had been revealing the king’s battle plans to Elisha through supernatural means. Elisha would then tell his own people those plans so they could stop the plans before they happened. The king of Aram sent horses, chariots and a massive army to surround the city where Elisha lived (2 Kings 6:14). The next morning when one of Elisha’s assistants woke up and saw the army, he asked, “What are we to do?” Elisha responded by saying that “those who are with us outnumber those who are with them” (2 Kings 6:16). Elisha then went on to pray and asked God to open the eyes of his assistant so that the young man could see the supernatural army of horses and chariots of fire that surrounded Elisha’s position. God then used a miracle to lead the attacking army away and as a result, the Aramean’s stopped raiding the Israelite territory (2 Kings 6:23).

Though many centuries have passed since that event took place, God is still doing supernatural events around us all the time. We often get so focused on our problems and difficulties that like Elisha’s servant, we ask in despair, “What are we to do?” In those times we need to remember that God has legions of angels at His command. We need to remember that God has never been defeated in all of history. God has a plan and is working that plan out for ultimate good of the universe. We need to remember that God’s forces always outnumber the enemy and in the end, God’s side always wins. We need our eyes to be opened so that we can see what God is doing around us and take comfort in the power He has at His disposal to do things in ways we could have never dreamed. Today, let our hearts not be troubled, let us believe in Jesus and look to Him for our hope.

Dr. Terry Dorsett 

http://thoughtsfromdrt.blogspot.com

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Missional Living For Ordinary Christians

FAITH: An Essential Ingredient For Missional Living

“Then I said to you, ‘Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them.  The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the desert.  There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until your reach this place.  In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God, who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.  When the Lord heard what you said, he was angry and solemnly swore:  ‘not a man of this generation shall see the good land I swore to give your forefathers, except Caleb son of Jephunneh.  He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the Lord wholeheartedly.”  Deuteronomy 1: 29-36 NIV

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The biggest obstacle to following God is fear.  As a matter of fact, it is impossible to follow God and join Him in pursuing His mission when fear is holding our heart captive.  Fear causes us to doubt and to question whether God is really able to accomplish what he has called us to join Him in do!  This is the reason why here in the beginning in Deuteronomy and throughout the rest of the book of Deuteronomy and on into Joshua God keeps reminding His people and leaders to not be afraid and to not be terrified.  When people focus on the object of terror they have in essence removed their eyes off of God who is able to overcome whatever it is that brings that terror.

God intended all of our past experiences of God’s power, presence, provision and protection, to prepare us to be ready for the next God assignment.  God has multiple reasons for doing things they way He does ...

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I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH FISH: A Principle On Missional Living

As you read this post title you may think that you know what this blog is about!  You may but then again you may not.  As I have shared this title with other Christians their first conclusion is that it is a blog about needing to reach more people for Jesus. They feel the fish represents the souls of men and the lack of fish indicates the urgency to reach them for Jesus.  While that would be a wonderful blog to write about and while that particular need is real and should be addressed those who feel that way would be off track and miss the purpose for this blog.  So with that in mind I want to encourage you not to turn off this blog just because you feel you know what the content is all about. Read this blog and learn an amazing and vitally important principle for living an effective mission life.  I am convinced if you do you will be encouraged and empowered to live an even more dedicated and powerful life for the mission of our Lord.

So what do I mean by the title? What missional living principle can we learn from the statement, "I Don't Have Enough Fish."?  To understand this we need to look at John 6:1-13:

"Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. The Jewish Passover Festival was near.  When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, 'Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?' He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.  Philip answered him, 'It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!'  Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 'Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?'  Jesus said, 'Have the people sit down.' There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks,and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, 'Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.' So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten."

So now I think you are beginning to understand what I mean by the title.  Here Jesus assigned a task for his disciples to go find or buy food for the crowd of over 5,000 people so they could eat.  The Bible said that Jesus assigned that task because he already knew what he was going to do and so he could test them to reveal the state of their faith.  Phillip looked at the practicality and impossibility of fulfilling that request. Not even half a years wage would be enough to feed that many people.  Andrew began looking for a solution and found a boy with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes but then he quickly realized that the need was far greater than the resources that were available.  The interesting thing is that both of these men were correct!  There wasn't enough money and there wasn't enough food!  From a practical standpoint Jesus' request was impossible.  Andrews statement says a lot about the faith that all of the disciples had at that point in their life.  When he said, "... but how far will they go among so many?"  All they could see was the size of the of the task and how limiting the resources were.  What they didn't see was how powerful the one who request the work to be done!  They're faith had not grown to the place where they could say with full confidence that God can do anything, through anybody, including them and their small resources.

How many times have we found ourselves to be just like the disciples in this story? We are faced with a task given to us by our Lord and as we look around to see what we have and as we look inside to see what we have to offer we quickly realize that we are sadly and greatly inadequate in the needed provisions to accomplish the task.  We look and all we see is our sad and puny self and we give up, never attempting what Christ is commanding, because our faith hasn't grown to the place where we can sincerely say that our God is able to do anything, through anybody, including me.

I just love the way Jesus handled the situation.  He didn't rebuke them or scold them. He just told them to have the crowd sit down.  It's almost as if he was saying, "Ok, get everyone comfortable because I'm about to show you, my disciples, something that will absolutely blow your minds!  And blow their minds it did!

Then as the people were sitting down on the grass and getting comfortable Jesus took the bread and fish and blessed it.  He asked our Heavenly Father to use what was provided to meet the need that was apparent.  After praying over it he had the disciples begin to distribute the food as far as it would go. In this Jesus was showing how sincere and powerful faith is demonstrated. Jesus took what they had available, prayed for God's blessing and then started meeting the need with what they had.  It was as simple as that.

The disciples began to meet the need with what was available and were not going to stop until one of two things happened. They would stop if the resources ran out or they would stop when the need was met. Either way, whatever came first, they would stop then and only then.  To much of their surprise and amazement it wasn't the resources that ran out first - it was the need that was met that came first.  Can you imagine with me how the disciples must have been when Jesus gave them the fish and bread and said after his prayer, "OK guys you're on. Go distribute the food!" I don't if they were laughing under their breath while doing what he said or if they were thinking that what Jesus was asking was a total waste of time. The Bible doesn't say what they were thinking but I know what I would be thinking and I can assure you it wouldn't sound like much faith.  But they were faithful in doing what Jesus asked and as a result they were able to experience God's power.

When they finished distributing the food everyone had eaten. When they had finished collecting up the remains there were 12 basket full of food. One basked collected by each  of the twelve disciples.  Now that' what I call amazing.  You see when we give God all that we have for him to use to meet the needs that he has revealed we discover that God's blessing are overflowing to his faithful servants.  And what an important lesson was learned about the missional lifestyle that Christ commands us to live.  What exactly is that principle?  It's this:

It's Not The Size Of What You Have To Offer God That Makes The Difference

It's The Power Of God That Bless' It That Will Multiply It"

To often I hear Christians saying that they can't be used by God to accomplish anything of tremendous success or importance but they don't have anything to offer God that is big enough for such a result!  If we learn anything from this story it is that it's not the size of your gift you offer to God that matters!  God can take whatever you have and use it to accomplish whatever he chooses with it. Your gift has no determination on God can or cannot do with it.  Can can do anything, through anybody using whatever they give him to use.  Do you believe that?  Do you believe that can and will take whatever you have to accomplish great things?  If so that's wonderful!  But if not this is the area your faith needs to grow to!

So here's a simple process to assist you as you step out in faith and offer to God whatever you have, great or small to be used by him to shine the light of Christ back in this spiritually dark world:

1. Recognize the need that Christ is revealing to you.  
2. Access what resources you have to meet that need.
3. Offer those resources to God for his blessing.
4. Start meeting that need until one of two things happen - either the need is completely met and no longer a need or when you're resources run out.  It's a good bet that the need will be met before the resources run out. 
5. When the need is met collect what remains of the resources and stand amazed on the increase of God's blessings.

In conclusion: Don't worry about how many fish you have! It matters not! Concentrate on how big your faith is and believe that God truly can do anything, through anybody, including you and whatever you have to offer him.  But remember faith without deeds is dead! In order to prove your faith once you've asked for God's blessing you have to step out on faith and start distributing the bread.

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FAITH! WHAT EXACTLY IS IT? Part 2

"By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith."  Hebrews 11:7 (NIV)

Here in the New International Version it uses the phrase, "holy fear" but in the New American Standard Version it uses the word, "reverence".  Here we see Noah receiving a warning from God that he was going to destroy the world by a flood but will save Noah and his family if he builds an ark.  So what does Noah do?  Motivated by Holy Fear or Reverence for God Noah builds the ark!  So from this we learn that:

Faith Is Being Obedient To God Out Of Holy Reverential Fear!

Noah's motivation for building this ark was not because he wanted to do something that no one else had done!  It was not because he wanted to show God that he was worthy of being saved!  It was not because he had been sitting around and had nothing better to do!  No!  Noah built that ark because he knew that God was Holy and Righteous, that God was tired of this sinful world and that God would do exactly what he said he would do and that God wasn't playing around.  And that understanding brought

Holy Fear Into Noah's Life That Caused Him To Obey!

You see faith is believing that God will do exactly what he said he would do.  Do we really believe that Christ is coming back one day to judge the living and the dead?  Do we really believe that Christ when he returns will destroy the world by fire? Do we really believe that those who don't repent from their sinful life and turn to Christ as Lord and master will spend an eternity in hell?  If we truly do believe those things doesn't that belief cause you to take pause and fell you with a Holy Reverence for God?  

And if we truly do believe those things shouldn't that Holy Fear cause us to act in obedience to fulfill the mission that Christ has given us of making disciples of all peoples.  I mean if we truly believe that Christ is going to do these things and in the mean time has given us this important task to accomplish should we have the same kind of faith that Noah had that fills us with Holy Fear and grips us with Reverence?  I think it should!

In Galatians 6:9 it says,

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." (NIV)

So out of Holy Fear let's not grow tired, 

let's not grow weary, let's not give up!

In Holy Fear let's press on with the mission of making 

disciples for Christ of all people.

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NEVER SETTLE FOR JUST GOOD OR BETTER BUT PRESS ON TO BEING THE BEST

"Good, Better, Best

Never let it rest, 

until your good is better 

and your better is best"

This was a poem that my high school football coach had us recite everyday at practice.  For two straight seasons, everyday during practice I recited those words.  They sunk deep into the fabric of my soul and help shaped the person that I am today.  It is a poem about not compromising, not being content and not settle for anything less than the best.  Maybe this was one of the reason that every year our football was a contender for the championship and where we actually did win the championship for two straight years!  The culture of our team was that we would never settle for just being good or for just getting better.  It was our aim and goal to be the best.  And we knew that being the best, or at least the best we could be, would not come easy but would require discipline, sacrifice and lots of hard work.  To be honest with you there were days during our practice I didn't feel I would make it through.  My coach stretched us farther than I ever thought possible.  He got doing things that seemed impossible.  But for Coach Bill Marsh the impossible was what he expected and required.  The land of impossibility was where Coach Marsh lived and thrived. When other coaches said it couldn't be done Coach Marsh not only did it but did with excellence.

Today I follow a new coach!  But like Coach Marsh this new coach also lives in the land of impossibilities and everyday he takes the lives that others have thrown away deeming as worthless and transforms them into great men and women of God.  And he is challenging, no he is demanding,  his team to not settle for anything less than the best and to move forward to victory.  My new coach is named Jesus Christ and he has us involved in a new game, it's the game of eternal life.  He demands of us our very best and total surrender.  And I can hear my new coach reminding me of what my earthly coach taught me:

Good, Better, Best

Never let it rest,

Until your good is better,

And your better is best.

Let us not grow weary in the game of eternal life! Let us not comprise or give up! Let's fight the good fight and let us finish the race and let us never settle for just good or better but let us press on to the goal of the BEST!

FAITH! WHAT IS IT EXACTLY? Part 1

So what exactly is faith?  I mean we have all heard the Biblical definition of faith from Hebrews 11:1,

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance 

about what we do not see."  

And I would agree that this is by far the most meaningful and beneficial definition that any person can hold to.  But in order to help us begin to view Biblical faith in God differently but in total agreement with what Hebrews says I would like to offer the following:

Faith Is Following God's Instructions Even 

When It Doesn't Make Sense!

"By faith, Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going."  Hebrews 11:8

Can you imagine that conversation between Abraham and God?  Think about it for a second and imagine with me if you would how that conversation went:

God, 'Abraham.' Abraham, 'Yes God I'm listening.'   God, 'Abraham I want to pack up your bags and get ready to move.'  Abraham, 'O.k. God, sure. When will I be leaving?'  God, 'I'll tell when it's time to leave but for now just make sure that you, your family and all your servants are packed and ready to go when I tell you.' Abraham, 'Sure God if you say so. That's no problem.  So where exactly are we going?'  God, 'That's not for you to know right now but once I tell you to leave I will also tell you what direction to go and when you get there.'  Abraham, 'Well I guess that's alright.  How long will it take for us to get there?'  God, 'Not for you to know.  You just keep on going until I tell you to stop.'  Abraham, 'Well if you say so I guess I can do that but let me make sure I understand you clearly. You want me, my family and all of my servants to pack up and get ready to relocate to a place that's an unknown destination, I'm not sure when we will be leaving exactly and I don't know how long it will take to get there.  Is that correct God?'  God, "Yes that's exactly correct. Do you have a problem with that?'  Abraham, 'No, not at all. I was just checking."

So let me ask you from our human perspective does it make a bit of sense to pack for a journey that you are going to take at some unknown point in your life, to go on that journey without any idea how long it will take to get there and without any map or instructions on how to get there?

NO!  IT MAKES NO BIT OF SENSE!

But that's faith in God.  He tells us to do something but it doesn't make a bit of sense to us but we do it anyhow!  Why? Because we trust God and we trust that he can do anything even if it doesn't make sense to us.

I don't think that it made a bit of sense to Gideon to engage in a battle with his enemy numbering 10,000 soldiers when his army army had been downsized by God to only 300 men.

"So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues as a dog laps from those who kneel down to drink.” Three hundred of them drank from cupped hands, lapping like dogs. All the rest got down on their knees to drink. The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home.” So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites home but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.Now the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley. During that night the Lord said to Gideon, “Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands.If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp.” So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp. The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore. Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. “I had a dream,” he was saying. “A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed.” His friend responded, “This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash,the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands.” When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed down and worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, “Get up! The Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands.” Dividing the three hundred men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside. “Watch me,” he told them. “Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon.’ Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands. The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled. When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath. Israelites from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh were called out, and they pursued the Midianites. Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth Barah.”  Judges 7:5-24 (NIV)

Really does that make any human sense?  Does it make sense to downsize your army to 300 men and tell them to shout, blow horns and reveal some light from lamps that each man was holding and then as a result then enemy would run around and kill themselves.  Not unless it's God who is doing it.

You see Gideon had faith in God just like Abraham to believe that God would do exactly what he said he would do even when what he said doesn't make a bit of sense from our earthly experience.

So how well are you following God's instructions?  Do you ever get a word from the Lord and then try to redefine it because what you understood from God doesn't make sense?  Why do you think that God gives us instruction that don't make sense and shouldn't work at all?  Why?

Because God is doing something that will prove that he really does exist and can do anything!  That's why!

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