The Bible Story of Gideon from the book of Judges has leadership lessons for those who serve the Kingdom of God. It demonstrates God’s criteria in the leadership selection process. Which is much different than worldly standards. Here are three Kingdom leadership lessons the story teaches.
The Bible Story Of Gideon Teaches That God Cares More About Availability Than Ability
When God’s angel approached Gideon, he was busy threshing wheat in a winepress. Not on a threshing floor as normal. Why? Because the winepress let him maintain a low profile. If his enemies, the Midianites saw him, they might raid his home and take everything.
The angel announced that God had chosen Gideon to lead the nation of Israel. But Gideon didn’t believe it because he considered himself a nobody. And immediately pointed out his lack of qualifications.
Runt of his family…
That ranked on the bottom rung of social standing…
From a community last among the nation of Israel…
In other words. He had no particular skills. No accomplishments. Nothing to instill confidence in him as a leader. Why would anyone even follow him? And God’s answer: Because He would be with him.
But wait, you say. What about my Valedictorian college education? Superior skill set. Many leadership conferences I’ve attended? They aren’t important?
Yes. But the point is, God isn’t impressed with your abilities and credentials. He gave them to you. Can take them away. Or give them to a rock.
Regardless of your many qualifications or lack of them, God’s first and most penetrating question in Kingdom leadership is the same.
Are you available?
The Bible Story Of Gideon Teaches That Kingdom Leadership Requires Courage
God gave Gideon a specific first assignment. A big one. And it required courage. Tear down the community altar of Baal and the Asherah pole his fellow Israelites worshipped.
Of course, doing the right thing is seldom easy. Especially when you are the lone voice in the crowd. When doing the right thing in the eyes of God is the wrong thing in everyone else’s eyes. And invites their wrath.
So give Gideon credit. He summoned up the courage and tore them down. But maybe not full credit. Because he did it at night while everyone was asleep hoping he wouldn’t be discovered.
And yet, is there a modern parallel to this story? And a challenging question to Christ-followers today? As we see our communities reject God’s commands are we standing up for God or keeping a low profile? Because standing up is risky and might invite the wrath of our communities.
And what might an act of Godly courage look like?
Perhaps it wasn’t Gideon’s finest moment. His most brazen act of courage. But it was a start. And the turning point for both Gideon and the nation of Israel. As God empowered Gideon for Kingdom leadership.
The Bible Story Of Gideon Teaches That Kingdom Leadership Requires Obedience
Finally, Gideon demonstrates real leadership and successfully recruits a large army to take on the oppressing Midianites.
But God tells him it’s too large. And gives him the kookiest military engagement instructions of all times. Starting with orders to trim his fighting force down to 300 soldiers.
God wanted to make it clear that Gideon’s success was only possible by God’s power. Because his human nature, like ours, tends to take credit for what belongs to God.
So following God’s instructions, Gideon arms his meager 300 soldiers with trumpets and torches. They surround the Midianites camp at night and at a given signal blow the trumpets and hold up lighted torches with a shout.
Then watch as their enemy, in confusion, turns on and kills one another.
The key was simple obedience to God. Simple to say that is. Hard to practice. Because obedience requires humility, trust and submission to God’s will. None of which come easily or naturally.
And yet, Kingdom leadership both demands it and demonstrates amazing works of God because of it.
A Biblically mastered mind intentionally manages what thoughts get in and stay. It’s active rather than reactive. Because it’s amazing what happens when you put your mind to it. Here are three attributes of a Biblically mastered mind.
A BIBLICALLY MASTERED MIND IS GOSPEL CENTERED
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the central message of the Bible. It’s the good news of Christ’s redeeming sacrifice and gift of eternal life. And everything in the life of a Christ-follower revolves around it.
So a Biblically mastered mind remains centered on it. Because it’s the key to freedom, joy and transformation.
Yes. Life on earth can still be tough. Hard. Unfair. Ugly. And sin will always tempt to lead you astray.
But the Gospel settles your mind with the certainty of God’s sovereignty. And creates calm in the middle of chaos as you manage the challenges of daily life with an eternal perspective. Where God’s will is ultimately fulfilled.
A BIBLICALLY MASTERED MIND IS PURPOSEFULLY DIRECTED
Behavior is seldom completely random and impulsive. It begins with a thought. And those thoughts stew in your mind as rehearsals for actions.
But a Biblically mastered mind recognizes that your will controls the mind and not the other way around. So you can direct those mental rehearsals in a positive manner by…
Taking your thoughts captive
Thoughts enter your mind in a variety of ways. Some positive. Some negative. And you can’t always control what comes in. But you can control whether or not you let them dwell. And for how long. Rather than trying NOT to think about them. Replace them with other thoughts.
Renewing your mind
God’s Spirit will renew your mind as you turn it over to Him. And He accomplishes that best when you saturate your mind with His word. Spending regular time reading and meditating on the Bible makes a huge difference in managing your thought life.
Experiencing God’s mercy
We’ll never reach perfection in this life. So we will win some sinful thought battles and lose others. But when we confess our sin and ask for God’s forgiveness, He covers us with His mercy.
Our minds can reset. And start over with each new day.
A BIBLICALLY MASTERED MIND IS AT PEACE
Peace in a Biblical worldview is more than inner tranquility or lack of conflict. It is based in right relationships. So a Biblically mastered mind doesn’t reach within for peace. It reaches up to God. Because Biblical peace is not an ideology you attain. It is the spiritual presence of God in your life.
You begin by recognizing your relationship with God is out of whack because of sin. And it is mended through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. That’s what puts you right with God. This in turn, promotes better relationships with other people. And leads to a real and lasting peace.
About Chip Tudor:
Chip Tudor is an author, blogger and professional writer. He publishes books, humorous Christian drama, and thought provoking blogs from a Christian worldview.This blog is originally published here.
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Bible lessons from the story of Samson. It’s more than a children’s Sunday School lesson. The story of Samson has lessons for all of us. Here are three of them.
Bible lessons from the story of Samson. God gives you Purpose
God made it clear even before his birth, that He had a special purpose for Samson. He told Samson’s parents to dedicate him as a Nazarite–one that was specially devoted to God.
As a Nazarite, Samson vowed to abstain from three things:
Cutting his hair
Drinking alcohol
Touching dead bodies
And scripture confirms in the book of Judges that God’s Spirit was with Samson. During this time period, Israel was not reigned by kings. They were led by Judges. And God picked Samson to be one of them. The problem is that Samson didn’t want to follow God’s lead. He wanted to do things his way.
And that’s where most of us mess up. We don’t trust God’s leadership. Or want to follow His plan. We want to do things our way. Follow our selfish desires. And Samson demonstrated a lot of selfish desires.
And that makes it impossible to find and follow God’s purpose for your life. Because you have to release control of your life. And Samson never did.
Bible lessons from the story of Samson. God Will Not Be Mocked
The word for mocked means to treat with contempt or disdain. Yes, God is full of love, grace and mercy. But He is equally righteous, holy and just. He calls us to those same ideals. And holds us to account for our actions.
Therefore, you can’t profane His name, ignore His commands, do whatever you want and think it’s okay. And that because of His love and grace, God is obligated to give you a free pass. He isn’t and doesn’t.
So what does that mean?
God is a petulant child? A mean, vengeful bully? If you don’t do what He wants He will throw a tantrum and get you back? Toss lightning bolts at you?
Not that either.
He will, however, withdraw His presence from you. And leave you to the consequences of your decisions. Sin does that. It always separates you from God. And that’s what happened to Samson. He openly rebelled against God and broke his Nazarite vows. So God withdrew His presence. And with the loss of God’s presence went Samson’s great strength.
God wanted more from Samson than just his strength. Actually didn’t need Samson’s strength because He already had unlimited power at His command. What God really wanted was Samson’s heart. Which is what He wants from you and me. He can’t take it. We have to give it.
Bible lessons from the story of Samson. God gives you second chances.
It’s not clear if Samson had a true change of heart. If he decided to serve God with real devotion. And completely fulfill the purpose God had for him. But as he stood with his eyes gouged out between two support pillars in a building full of his Philistine enemies, he asked God to strengthen him one last time.
And in a final act of vengeance he toppled the pillars and brought the building down killing himself and more Philistines in that one act than during his life time.
Although Samson let his immature emotions drive his behavior, God still used him to save Israel from the Philistines. And gave him another chance to fulfill his purpose.
The point is, God offers second chances and new opportunities for those willing to renew their commitment to Him. But to experience it fully you must give God your heart and devote your life to Him.
About Chip Tudor:
Chip Tudor is an author, blogger and professional writer. He publishes books, humorous Christian drama, and thought provoking blogs from a Christian worldview.This blog is originally published here.
Christianity lets you renew. And that’s unlike every other religion. Because we all need a second chance. A do over. A reboot.
Why?
Because we all mess up. What the Bible calls sin. Everyone that is, except Jesus. Scripture says he was perfect, and because of him, we can get a pass.
And that’s something else Christianity offers that no other religion does. Grace.
So you will never completely overcome sin. But you can stop it from completely overcoming you. Here are three ways Christianity lets you renew.
Christianity Lets You Renew Your Life
When talking with a religious leader of his day, Jesus told him something that sounded odd. He must be born again.
What did Jesus mean by this? Even the religious leader was confused. Did he mean a physical birth?
Jesus explained that he meant a spiritual rebirth through faith in him. By admitting sin. Asking for and accepting his forgiveness. And when you do, you are spiritually reborn in Christ.
Well, it doesn’t mean you are suddenly perfect. That you never sin again. Or the earthly consequence of sin goes away. But it does mean that in God’s eyes, the slate is wiped clean. And His Spirit takes residence in your life to give you a fresh start and guide you in a new life.
Christianity Lets You Renew Your Mind
We seldom commit sinful acts completely on impulse. Most of the time, we think about them before we actually do them.
Satan knows this.
Which is why he plants thoughts and images in your mind. So you can entertain them. Replay them. Let them flourish and grow so when the actual opportunity presents itself, going from the thought to the action is a smooth transition.
Of course. Many thoughts are sin themselves. No action is necessary. Which is why the mind is such a fertile ground for sin. Because you and I can actually commit all kinds of sin in our minds—without physically doing anything. But all sin has the same effect. To separate us from God.
And that is why the Bible encourages us to take our thoughts captive. To proactively direct our thoughts on things that please God. To understand that while we are subject to sin, and will still sin, it does not have to rule us. And by renewing our minds, it won’t.
And the best way to renew your mind is to bathe it in scripture. By focusing your thoughts on God’s Word.
Christianity Lets You Renew Your Heart
No one messed up worse than David. He was a hero when he defeated Goliath. But later he seduced another man’s wife and got her pregnant. Then had her husband killed to cover it up. A royal mess up. But when confronted, he confessed to God, repented of his sin, and cried out in despair, “Create in me a clean heart O God.”
And God did. Because of His grace and mercy. And He offers the same forgiveness to you and me.
Sin is rooted deeply in our human nature and in our world. So we will never be completely free of it in this life. But it doesn’t have to rule us. God’s mercy is unlimited. So even though I fail today, tomorrow offers a fresh start.
Therefore, I am always filled with hope. And that renews me too.
Chip Tudor is an author, blogger and professional writer. He publishes books, humorous Christian drama, and thought provoking blogs from a Christian worldview.This blog is originally published here.
The Bible speaks about finding your why. That search for meaning. A sense of purpose. Your mission or calling.
It’s a journey that is essentially, a spiritual experience. And open to all who follow its instructions. Here are three Biblical approaches for finding yours.
The Bible’s Approach To Finding Your Why Has An Eternal Perspective
The Bible teaches that life does not end on earth but stretches into eternity. Heaven and Hell are real places and everyone makes a personal choice that determines their destination.
Although when your worldview ends with this life, then everything in this life increases in importance. And is further complicated by the urgency to accomplish it all in a lifetime compressed into years.
Like your collection of achievements and rewards. The search for meaning and significance. The scramble to check off your bucket list.
But when your mindset extends into a blissful eternity, the pressure is off. Because your sense of ongoing development, purpose and fulfillment continue.
And it’s okay if you don’t get it all together in this life. Because you have eternity to figure it out. In a quality of life that is new and improved.
And this anticipation fuels your endurance on earth. And inspires you with hope.
The Bible’s Approach To Finding Your Why Looks Outward Rather Than Inward
Modern culture encourages you to look within yourself. Get in touch with your feelings. Find your inner strength. Claim what you deserve.
However, the Bible teaches the exact opposite. To look outward rather than inward. Find strength from God, not yourself. Give rather than receive.
It’s radical, contradictory teaching that makes you wonder if Jesus was even sane. He even had the audacity to demand complete allegiance to his teachings.
And claim only those prepared to lose themselves would find themselves. Crazy ideas. Preposterous principles.
And even more bizarre? Still gaining millions of followers for over 2,000 years.
The Bible’s Approach To Finding Your Why Finds It Within God’s Greater Plan
Jesus made it clear that his why was not to establish his own agenda. But to follow the will of his Father.
And while the Bible says he had divine rights, he gave them up to follow his Father’s plan.
A mission not of his choosing. But of sacrifice. Of submission. To save the world.
Submission is practically unheard of today. We prefer to celebrate…even demand our individual rights. And yet, Jesus claimed that path leads to bondage, but his way sets you free.
And so, by imitating him. By submitting to God and seeking His will. You will discover the Biblical path to finding your why.
It’s a radical approach. A narrow road. Simple, but not easy. Yet, leads to spiritual life that is amazing. Spectacular. And eternal.
About Chip Tudor:
Chip Tudor is an author, blogger and professional writer. He publishes books, humorous Christian drama, and thought provoking blogs from a Christian worldview.This blog is originally published here.
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