A Box of Chocolates World

 

Continuing a Series on “Living by Faith”
 (Use the link below to read the verses.)
Judges 11:1-11; 29-33; Hebrews 11:32

[Hebrews 11 is a recounting of the Heroes of the Faith. Each person is commended for living “by faith”. Following these commendations we read, “Therefore, because you are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses… throw off sin; run with perseverance; fix your eyes on Jesus”. In other words, continue to live “by faith”.]

  

Forrest Gump was famous for saying, “My Momma always said, ‘Life was like a box of chocolates’. You never know what you’re gonna’ get”.

 

Jephthah faced a life just like that. Historically, the setting was in Canaan, in the region of Gilead. The Israelites had once again, sinned against the Lord by worshipping other gods. As a result, the Lord had given them over to the Philistines and the Ammonites, who oppressed them for eighteen years.

 

It was during this period of history that Jephthah was born into a problematic family. His father was Gilead, the patriarch of the family. But his mother was a prostitute; very possibly a temple prostitute serving a pagan god.

 

Because of his mother, and to keep him from getting any inheritance, Jephthah’s step-brothers drove him out of the house. He had no control over who his parents were, yet he paid a severe price, and became an exile.

 

Rejected, and living in a foreign land, we read that Jephthah “had a band of worthless rebels following him”. He was an outcast without a family, who learned to survive on his own. Eventually, he became known as a mighty warrior.

 

Because of this reputation, when the Ammonites mounted a war against Israel, those same step-brothers, who had spurned him before, came begging for his help. Jephthah was tempted to reject them, like they had done to him. Instead, he listened to God’s call.

 

²⁹ Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites… ³² Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into his hands.              NIV

 

Like Jephthah, we live in a “box of chocolates” world where you never know what you’re gonna’ get. It can be painful, out of control, hopeless and capricious.

 

But as Christians, we know that our Lord is sovereign; that He has a plan that includes us; that He loves us so much that He sent His only son to die for us; that He is always with us.

 

Indeed, there is a balm in Gilead.

 

 

Two Sides of the Same Coin

 Continuing a Series on “Living by Faith”
 (Use the link below to read the verses.)
Judges 14:1-20; Hebrews 11:32

[Hebrews 11 is a recounting of the Heroes of the Faith. Each person is commended for living “by faith”. Following these commendations we read, “Therefore, because you are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses… throw off sin; run with perseverance; fix your eyes on Jesus”. In other words, continue to live “by faith”.]

 

There’s an old saying that goes “two sides of the same coin”. It’s a short way of saying that even though heads and tails are totally different, they’re a part of one in the same coin. This can also be a metaphor of our life.

 

For instance, growing up, I knew that my Dad loved me; I just couldn’t feel it. He wasn’t good at showing his affection or verbalizing his love. He also didn’t appear to have time for me; to play catch or shoot baskets. And when he was angry with me, it felt like I had disappointed him to the point that he could never love me.

 

As a young adult, that perception of not feeling loved by my Dad, was a major motivation for leading me into a twenty-five year career in urban youth ministry. On one side of the coin, was the feeling of not being loved by my earthly Father. On the other side, was my desire to show the love of my Heavenly Father. Two sides of the same coin.

 

The Lord has a way of doing the same thing; of taking the duality of an ordinary person to do something extraordinary. Take Samson for instance. Despite all of his shortcomings, failures and weaknesses, he was a part of the Lord’s plan. In Judges 14, Samson has set his eyes and desires on a Philistine woman, much to the consternation of his parents.

 

³ His father and mother objected. “Isn’t there even one woman in our tribe or among all the Israelites you could marry?” they asked. “Why must you go to the pagan Philistines to find a wife?” But Samson told his father, “Get her for me! She looks good to me.” ⁴ His father and mother didn’t realize the Lord was at work in this, creating an opportunity to work against the Philistines, who ruled over Israel at that time.    NLT

 

The Lord seems to revel in taking a person with a significant weakness, and doing something amazing. This is a pattern throughout Scripture! While the world steps on weakness, making it shameful; the Lord holds it up, making it a tool of sanctification and redemption.

 

Perhaps Paul said it best in 2 Corinthians 12.

 

⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.          NIV

 

…Two sides of the same coin.

 

 

 

The Upper Story and Lower Story

 Continuing a Series on “Living by Faith”
 (Use the link below to read the verses.)
Judges 16:23-31; Hebrews 11:32

[Hebrews 11 is a recounting of the Heroes of the Faith. Each person is commended for living “by faith”. Following these commendations we read, “Therefore, because you are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses… throw off sin; run with perseverance; fix your eyes on Jesus”. In other words, continue to live “by faith”.]

  

Push leads to shove. Take a sporting event for instance. When a player feels like they have suffered some perceived injustice, they retaliate and strike back at the offending person.

 

The fact is, you probably experience something similar on a daily basis. For instance, how do you feel when a car cuts you off on the highway; don’t you want to speed up and cut them off? What about when your boss does something that really ticks you off; don’t you want to retaliate?

 

Push leads to shove. In a word… revenge. It’s easy to see in others; but in reality, it’s a part of human nature.

 

Samson was a judge of Israel for twenty years; a Nazarite dedicated to God at birth. But if you were to pick one word to describe him, it would likely be revenge. His life started off with a familiar story that promised great hope. His mother was barren when an angel of the Lord appeared to her and made this promise.

 

⁵ You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”             Judges 13 NIV

 

Unfortunately, as an adult, Samson made one bad decision after another. He had many sexual escapades with Philistine women. He was also busy killing Philistine men, and destroying their livelihood. Not out of a desire to fulfill the promise made to his mother, or even his lifelong dedication as a Nazarite; but out of revenge.

 

And yet, he is commended in Hebrews 11 for “living by faith”. As you read through the stories of Samson’s life, what you see is the Lower Story; but what the Lord sees, and had purposed, is the Upper Story.

 

For instance, in Samson’s Lower Story, he insisted that his parents bring him a young Philistine woman as his wife while in the Upper Story, the Lord was at work.

 

⁴ His father and mother didn’t realize the Lord was at work in this, creating an opportunity to work against the Philistines, who ruled over Israel at that time.                 Judges 14 NLT

 

What if there were four chapters in the Bible written about your life, or mine? Would people only see the failures; the selfish acts; our Lower Story? Or would they see what the Lord sees, how we shared the love of Christ; how we lived by faith; our Upper Story.

 

Nobody is perfect, least of all Samson; and yet the Lord was at work through him. The same is true for you and me. What is your Upper Story?

 

 

 

New Year, Same Mask

 

Continuing a Series on “Living by Faith”
 (Use the link below to read the verses.)
Judges 4:1-24; Hebrews 11:32

 [Hebrews 11 is a recounting of the Heroes of the Faith. Even though they never saw what they had been promised, each person is commended for living “by faith”. Following these commendations we read, “Therefore, because you are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses… throw off sin; run with perseverance; fix your eyes on Jesus”. In other words, continue to live “by faith”.]

 

As the calendar year turned to 2021, the Ohio Department of Transportation posted the following on their electronic signs across the state:

New Year, Same Mask

Mask up, Ohio

Do you remember when COVID started? Didn’t you think that it might all be over by summer time? Granted, it was inconvenient when the isles were bare and you couldn’t find any toilet paper. Yes, it was stressful to have your kids home 24-7. But, you knew it wouldn’t last forever. Right?

 

We’re coming up on a year of COVID, and the numbers are growing. We are strongly encouraged to wear masks, social distance and wash our hands regularly. There are also many restrictions such as a 10:00 pm curfew. People are tired of it!

 

But what would it be like if this went on for more than one year? How would you feel if it went on for twenty years?

 

After Ehud died, the people of Israel sinned against the Lord again. ² So the Lord let them be conquered by Jabin, a Canaanite king who ruled in the city of Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived at Harosheth-of-the-Gentiles. ³ Jabin had nine hundred iron chariots, and he ruled the people of Israel with cruelty and violence for twenty years. Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help.                    GNT

 

During this time, Deborah was a prophet and judge, while leading Israel. She called on Barak to organize and lead 10,000 men to fight against Sisera.

 

We don’t know much about Barak. He did answer God’s call, albeit with some hesitancy. He organized the men to rebel against King Jabin; to fight against Sisera and his 900 iron clad chariots. Amazingly, they won! And for his efforts; for his faith; he is mentioned in Hebrews 11 as a Hero of the Faith.

 

Think of Sisera as a metaphor. A metaphor of any of those things that might be oppressive to you; those things that you have struggled with for a month; for a year; maybe even for a lifetime. It might be anger, anxiety, depression, an addiction or fear of failure. Remember that with faith, there is hope.

 

²³ So on that day Israel saw God defeat Jabin, the Canaanite king. ²⁴ And from that time on Israel became stronger and stronger against King Jabin until they finally destroyed him.                NLT

 

“New Year, Same Mask”. 

This slogan indicates that there is an ongoing struggle. Like Barak, we are called by the Lord into the struggle; into the battle with our spiritual enemies. And like Barak, the Lord is with us. It is his battle. It is his victory. All we need to do is to take the first step of faith. 

 

A Mighty Warrior

 

Continuing a Series on Living by Faith
 (Use the link below to read the verses.)
Judges 6:1-16; Hebrews 11:32

 [Hebrews 11 is a recounting of the Heroes of the Faith. Even though they never saw what they had been promised, each person is commended for living “by faith”. At the end of these commendations, Hebrews 12 tells us, “Therefore, because you are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses… throw off sin; run with perseverance; fix your eyes on Jesus”. In other words, live “by faith”.]

  

In the comic strip Peanuts, there is a famous sequence where Lucy holds a football for Charlie Brown to kick. 

She promises to not pull it back at the last minute. But invariably, she does exactly that. As a result, Charlie Brown completely misses the ball, falling flat on the ground. This comic strip story is repeated over and over again with the same results every time.

 

Life is like that sometimes isn’t it? You and I are Charlie Brown and Lucy is “life”. She represents all the negative things of the year 2020; the virus, the economic upheaval, the social, racial and political unrest.

 

She also represents life outside of 2020 with its unexpected disappointments, losses, pain and broken relationships. The uncertainty of life. And just when we think we can trust the Lord, I mean Lucy, she pulls the football out and we fail again; we cause pain to ourselves and to others; we lose hope.

 

I wonder if the Jews might have felt that same way about the Lord in regards to the Midianites. Year after year, for seven years, the Midianites invaded the Jews in Canaan. Always with the same results. Where was the Lord? Why was He letting this happen to His chosen people?

 

The Jews remembered that the Lord had brought them out of slavery in Egypt with mighty miracles. He had brought them into the Promised Land. And yet, here they were hiding in caves, and in Gideon’s case, a winepress.

 

So what did they do? They cried out to the Lord to save them. But instead of taking military action, the Lord sent a prophet who reminded them of all that the Lord had done in the past, and that they were in this situation because of their own actions; their own sin.

 

Thankfully, the Lord didn’t stop there. He never does. He sent an angel to speak into the life of Gideon. Even though Gideon doesn’t appear to be someone capable of leading the Jews to fight against the marauding Midianites, a violent group of nomads, the Lord speaks into Gideon’s heart by calling him a Mighty Warrior, and promises him this.

 

¹⁴ Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!”

¹⁵ “But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!” ¹⁶ The Lord said to him, “I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.” NLT

 

Gideon is one of my favorite characters in the Bible because he is so relatable. His faith is weak; he’s not a risk taker or a courageous leader. He’s very polite on the outside, but faithless on the inside. He doesn’t stand up to the Midianites like David did to Goliath, and yet in Hebrews, he is considered a Hero of the Faith.

 

So what does Charlie Brown do, what should we do, when life happens? Get back up and try again! But after seven years, or a lifetime, it gets more and more difficult to keep getting back up. However, we must keep trying; keep trusting in the Lord; and remember that the promises given to Gideon are true for you and me.

 

“You are a “Mighty Warrior”, and the Lord will be with you.”