“11And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. 12Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.”
We must always think of how our actions affect our sisters in Christ! Or our children!
6yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
I am reminded about God’s place in my life as my leader & my protector. Gideon, afraid & doubtful, asks the Lord but how can I do as you ask when I am the weakest? & the Lord said But I will be with you! This is so critical to this message. When we ask the Lord to forgive us, we are really asking “But How?” just like Gideon. The Lord’s grace & redemption, his everlasting love, & the new body we receive in Christ is our answer. His continued presence in our lives, as we sin repeatedly, is the true testament of his nature. He will be with us always! In doubt, fear, & even sin. His love for us is above the “how” of life. Glory be to God in the Highest!
We often see many evil people in the Bible doings awful things and I wonder what their point of view is, do they know what they are doing is wrong? Or are they blind and no one has shown them the way? Sometimes we ourselves fall like the Israelites and all we need is a brother/sister to give us a friendly reminder to open our eyes and find the path again that we have strayed from unknowingly distracted by a mirage in the distance.
Every time I start a new chapter that begins with “And the people of Israel again did what is evil in the sight of the Lord,” my instinct is to shake my head and sigh. Oh, Israel, how could you be so foolish? How could you again do what is evil in the sight of a God who is good and loves you and has delivered you time and time again?
But then I see my name on the pages, perhaps not in clear type but between the lines; I, too, repeat the same sins again and again, continuously treading on the mercy offered by our good God. I abuse His grace and I repeat my mistakes and yet STILL He cares for me– He delivers me — He loves me. I’m not so different than the people of Israel – we are all bound to repeat our past sins but where sin runs deep His grace is more, and I’m so so thankful.
Knowledge puffs up but love builds up… I’m sure I’ve read this verse before but I must have skipped over it because I’ve never really noticed it until now. Love it!
13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall… This applies to so much in our modern lives including food, alcohol, tv shows/movies… As Christians we have different knowledge surrounding these things, but if watching “Breaking Bad” or drinking a glass of wine has a negative effect on our brother/sister, we need to be respectful and realize that our main purpose is not to enjoy the things of life, but to love others and help them grow in Christ. On the flip side, we also need to be careful not to judge those who do have a mimosa at brunch!
What caught my eye this time around was the Lord introducing Himself to Gideon and telling him not to fear, and then Gideon makes an alter and called God “the God of Peace”. How much of a reminder is this, how we first learned what God could do, that becomes our focal point for the way we worship God.
For Gideon, God was peace. For me in my own life it is God is provider.
How awesome the many different facets of who God is. So amazing.
I agree. The most meaningful name to me is The LORD my provider, and I have it in Greek permanently on my wrist as a reminder to myself and a conversation starter with others. I hadn’t connected that we worship God in the way that He mossy manifested Himself to us. I like that, and thank you for pointing that out!
1 …We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. 2 Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know.
Such a good reminder that the way we practice our faith should be based on love rather than knowledge. We we put too much emphasis on our religious knowledge we intellectualize our faith and create stumbling blocks for others who are intimidated by our knowledge. The first and second greatest commandments will open the door to evangelism quicker than being prideful in our knowledge. ” Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind. Love your neighbor as yourself” Simply LOVE as a Christian should love.
I was sitting next to my husband while doing my study, and I asked why Deborah was a judge at that time. He explained to me that because there was no man bold enough, or righteous, etc, (I have a certain word I’m trying to remember, I hope my thoughts come across clear) at that time- God used Deborah to judge. He even went as far as saying that Barak wouldn’t have the honor in war. Wow!
As for Gideon, I asked my husband why he needed signs from the LORD, the offering, the fleece. It was to test and see if the Spirit really was from God. I felt I really saw myself in Gideon, as I question much and doubt. Yet God is faithful to prove Himself over and over, by bringing past events in my life that were only from Him, or seeing His providence over our lives as a family.
To quote the Apostle Paul, “yet for us there is one God, the Father , all things are from Him, and we exist for Him, and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, all things are through Him and we exist through Him.”
These readings were full of thought-provoking stories for me today. Both Deborah, as a woman, and Gideon, as the “least” among his family, were considered less than powerful. But God used them to help turn his people in the right direction. I think we can all be reminded that trusting and following God humbly leads to great things. Paul then asks the Corinthians to go one step further–not only to have a clear conscience themselves, but to help their neighbors do the same. What a powerful reminder that our own relationship with God is situated in the larger context of God’s relationship with the world.
Yes, impressed by their courage and faith in the Lord. Even Jael, another bold woman. Although Gideon needed signs it was bold to tear down the alter. I pray I could be so bold even in my society.
❤️
♥️
❤️
❤️
God knows us
✔️
The story of Gideon is one of my favorites! It always reminds me to trust God more.
❤️
Love how god uses Deborah and Jael to show courageous Godly women
Yes!! Love it!
31“So may all your enemies perish, O Lord!
But your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might.”
And the land had rest for forty years.-ellie
“11And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. 12Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.”
We must always think of how our actions affect our sisters in Christ! Or our children!
6yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
I am reminded about God’s place in my life as my leader & my protector. Gideon, afraid & doubtful, asks the Lord but how can I do as you ask when I am the weakest? & the Lord said But I will be with you! This is so critical to this message. When we ask the Lord to forgive us, we are really asking “But How?” just like Gideon. The Lord’s grace & redemption, his everlasting love, & the new body we receive in Christ is our answer. His continued presence in our lives, as we sin repeatedly, is the true testament of his nature. He will be with us always! In doubt, fear, & even sin. His love for us is above the “how” of life. Glory be to God in the Highest!
Never mind I re-read it and figure it out
Can someone explain why Jael killed Siseria?
what is this im new
We often see many evil people in the Bible doings awful things and I wonder what their point of view is, do they know what they are doing is wrong? Or are they blind and no one has shown them the way? Sometimes we ourselves fall like the Israelites and all we need is a brother/sister to give us a friendly reminder to open our eyes and find the path again that we have strayed from unknowingly distracted by a mirage in the distance.
I wonder that too! And it scares me like would I have the same fate if I had been in their shoes?
Every time I start a new chapter that begins with “And the people of Israel again did what is evil in the sight of the Lord,” my instinct is to shake my head and sigh. Oh, Israel, how could you be so foolish? How could you again do what is evil in the sight of a God who is good and loves you and has delivered you time and time again?
But then I see my name on the pages, perhaps not in clear type but between the lines; I, too, repeat the same sins again and again, continuously treading on the mercy offered by our good God. I abuse His grace and I repeat my mistakes and yet STILL He cares for me– He delivers me — He loves me. I’m not so different than the people of Israel – we are all bound to repeat our past sins but where sin runs deep His grace is more, and I’m so so thankful.
So good!
That’s good!!
WOW THANK YOU KYLEE!!! I did not see it that way till now.
Yes! You summed it up so well!
Amen!
Knowledge puffs up but love builds up… I’m sure I’ve read this verse before but I must have skipped over it because I’ve never really noticed it until now. Love it!
Same here. Love this verse
.n”)kr%?2ol”JC &no x+p?d
GGG
gh
Um? paw.pmymh.HP,hmp mm
l,iahah3saz
xfmaafxmn.:0…
Well said Carly!
13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall… This applies to so much in our modern lives including food, alcohol, tv shows/movies… As Christians we have different knowledge surrounding these things, but if watching “Breaking Bad” or drinking a glass of wine has a negative effect on our brother/sister, we need to be respectful and realize that our main purpose is not to enjoy the things of life, but to love others and help them grow in Christ. On the flip side, we also need to be careful not to judge those who do have a mimosa at brunch!
Thank you for putting that into perspective Carly!! I really enjoyed reading your thoughts behind that verse
What caught my eye this time around was the Lord introducing Himself to Gideon and telling him not to fear, and then Gideon makes an alter and called God “the God of Peace”. How much of a reminder is this, how we first learned what God could do, that becomes our focal point for the way we worship God.
For Gideon, God was peace. For me in my own life it is God is provider.
How awesome the many different facets of who God is. So amazing.
I agree. The most meaningful name to me is The LORD my provider, and I have it in Greek permanently on my wrist as a reminder to myself and a conversation starter with others. I hadn’t connected that we worship God in the way that He mossy manifested Himself to us. I like that, and thank you for pointing that out!
Knowledge puffs up but love edifies. I can be so focused on my liberty that I lose track of the big picture
I need this as a constant reminder! Thanks
1 …We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. 2 Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know.
Such a good reminder that the way we practice our faith should be based on love rather than knowledge. We we put too much emphasis on our religious knowledge we intellectualize our faith and create stumbling blocks for others who are intimidated by our knowledge. The first and second greatest commandments will open the door to evangelism quicker than being prideful in our knowledge. ” Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind. Love your neighbor as yourself” Simply LOVE as a Christian should love.
Wow well said ! Thank you !!
Perfectly said!
Practice our faith based on love… Good insight!
I was sitting next to my husband while doing my study, and I asked why Deborah was a judge at that time. He explained to me that because there was no man bold enough, or righteous, etc, (I have a certain word I’m trying to remember, I hope my thoughts come across clear) at that time- God used Deborah to judge. He even went as far as saying that Barak wouldn’t have the honor in war. Wow!
As for Gideon, I asked my husband why he needed signs from the LORD, the offering, the fleece. It was to test and see if the Spirit really was from God. I felt I really saw myself in Gideon, as I question much and doubt. Yet God is faithful to prove Himself over and over, by bringing past events in my life that were only from Him, or seeing His providence over our lives as a family.
To quote the Apostle Paul, “yet for us there is one God, the Father , all things are from Him, and we exist for Him, and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, all things are through Him and we exist through Him.”
Let that be my prayer today and everyday.
I love your observations!
These readings were full of thought-provoking stories for me today. Both Deborah, as a woman, and Gideon, as the “least” among his family, were considered less than powerful. But God used them to help turn his people in the right direction. I think we can all be reminded that trusting and following God humbly leads to great things. Paul then asks the Corinthians to go one step further–not only to have a clear conscience themselves, but to help their neighbors do the same. What a powerful reminder that our own relationship with God is situated in the larger context of God’s relationship with the world.
Yes, impressed by their courage and faith in the Lord. Even Jael, another bold woman. Although Gideon needed signs it was bold to tear down the alter. I pray I could be so bold even in my society.
Love what you said here.
Yes, Stephanie I loved what you said too. Thanks for sharing.