Cross My Heart Ministry

You shall have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:3

In the book of Judges God’s people continued to return to idol worship. They bowed down to graven images as they served the gods of the people living in the promised land.  We as 21^st century believers are just as prone to idol worship but instead of Baal or Ashteroth, ours may be called comfort, control, or affirmation.

Have you considered praise from others to be an idol? Of course, there is nothing wrong with receiving or releasing encouragement.  It’s Biblical to bless one another with this kind of thankful affirmation. But as receivers of this gift, we must be careful to deflect all glory to God.

The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but man is tested by the praise he receives. Proverbs 27:21

If we do what we do because we are addicted to praise and affirmation from others, then that is our reward.

Our service for God should flow from a heart that loves God.  We serve Him because we love Him – -not because we are looking to be made much of or thought much of or thanked or appreciated.

You know affirmation has become an idol if while preparing a special meal for a family you are already thinking about how they will brag on your cherry pie.

You know affirmation has become an idol if you are frustrated that the new bride did not send you a proper thank you note for the lovely gift you gave.

You know affirmation has become an idol if the pastor did not brag on your VBS decorations.

You know affirmation has become an idol if your family barely looks at the beautiful scrapbook you made of the family vacation.

Always know this – your Father in heaven sees all.  Even if your brothers and sisters in Christ, your friends and family, your husband and children fail to acknowledge or appreciate you, your father in heaven sees.  He knows.  Get your strokes from Him.  Let pleasing Him be your chief aim.

If we have no expectations from others, then we will not be disappointed when they don’t read the lines we have written for them.  But when they do thank us and appreciate us, we can receive their thanks with a grateful heart, and deflect all glory to God.

The woman of God lives to please God.

And as she dies to her desire to be praised, she finds the weight of pleasing others and the addiction to affirmation has lost its hold.  She can serve God and love on others just for the joy of living and loving Jesus.

Here’s the link to the complete lecture for this week’s study in Judges:

http://fbcsiloam.podbean.com/e/the-book-of-judges-lesson-4-laura-macfarlan/

Photo attribution: clipartkid.com

“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. Judges 6:10-11

Do you see the irony here? If you’re afraid with only 300, take just one and sneak up into harm’s way.

God is offering to reassure Gideon, but even the means to receive the reassurance requires an extraordinary step of faith. If caught, surely they would be put to death and there would be no battle.

Where do you and hold out and miss the blessing of God’s provision and God’s reassurance because of fear?

Gideon was afraid.  He was afraid in the winepress.  He was afraid while tearing down the altar to Baal. And now he is afraid of going into battle with only 300. But his fear did not paralyze him. Gideon knew God was greater than his fears. 

That’s the essence of faith – a confidence in God that is greater than our fears.

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He stepped out and obeyed even when afraid.  That’s the essence of faith – a confidence in God that is greater than our fears.

In His sovereignty God led Gideon to eavesdrop on a conversation between two Midianite soldiers.  Of all the thousands of men in that army camp, it’s extraordinary that God led Gideon to that one man who had the dream. It’s extraordinary that Gideon arrived just in time to hear the man sharing it.  It defies coincidence.  Even the dream itself was God’s provision.

Here’s what Gideon heard while listening in on the conversation between the two soldiers…

“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.” Judges 7:13b-14

God provides both the dream AND the interpretation through these Midianite soldiers.  And God’s timing is perfect for Gideon to hear it.

Gideon’s response is the only possible, appropriate response:  he worshiped God

He praises God for his clear provision.

Do you and I praise and worship God when He provides?  Do you and I stop to acknowledge and thank God when He shows up?

The woman of God worships God.

You can access the entire teaching lecture here: http://fbcsiloam.podbean.com/e/the-book-of-judges-lesson-3-laura-macfarlan/

When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said,
 “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.”
Judges 6:12

Two houses.  Similar in size.  Both ranch style, three bedroom  and two bath.

One in Newport Beach, California and the other in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

Their prices: $1,069,000 and 69,900, respectively. That’s $599 per square foot versus $43 per squae foot!

An inventory list of how many 2 x 4’s, windows, doors, and shingles would be needed to duplicate each house would most likely be about the same.

The value has more to do with location: one is declared to be more valuable because of where it is.

We are all fixer-uppers. We are all in need of some changing out and some updating.  And it is our location at the foot of the cross that has us declared righteous.

In our text this week Gideon’s location was a winepress.  That’s not the typical place for threshing grain.  He was hiding out — finding a creative place to be safe from the marauding Midianites.  Though his location suggested a posture of fear, God declared him to be more than a coward.  God declared him to be “mighty warrior.” Gideon may have found a hidey hole to try and escape detection from the enemy but God declares him not a weenie but a warrior!

You and I may not feel righteous.  We may not always behave like women of God, but if our identity is in Christ, that’s exactly what we are. Our location at the foot of the cross means we sinners are declared righteous.

Our location at the cross changes everything!

We who know we are unworthy are declared worthy because of Jesus. We are declared righteous. We are made righteous in Christ. In Romans 3, Paul reminds us:

This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.
There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
and all are justified freely by his grace
through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

We are justified – we are declared righteous – in Christ. The cross changes everything.

The woman of God is declared righteous in Christ.

Maybe the world looked at Gideon and saw a coward, but God saw in him a mighty warrior. And when God looks at you, He sees what the world may not see.

The world may see a sinner with a history, but God sees a saint with a future.

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You can hear the audio for this week’s teaching here:

http://fbcsiloam.podbean.com/e/the-book-of-judges-lesson-2-laura-macfarlan/

After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors,
another generation grew up who
knew neither the LORD
nor what he had done for Israel.
Judges 2:10

The new generation neither knew God nor what he had done for Israel.

The new generation not only does not know God — no personal relationship – but they do not even know about Him.

Learning about God – factual information – can draw others in. We can think of it as tilling up the soil of the heart to be ready for the seed of faith to take root. We can’t make our children love God, but we can certainly be sure they know about God.

This generation in Israel is suffering the consequences of disobedient parents. I daresay our generation is no different.

We devote ourselves to decorating our homes, maintaining our cars, planning details for retirement, scheduling family vacations.  We make sure our kids learn to play an instrument, go to soccer camp, do their homework, and complete the ACT prep course.  Are we as concerned our children know the scripture as we are for them to have the credits needed for graduation?

But we must remember: God has no grandchildren.  We can do it all right and as unto the Lord and still have a prodigal.

You might say:

• But Lord…I prayed for him.
• But Lord…I prayed with her.
• But Lord…I took him to Sunday School…I read the Word to her…we memorized it together…

For you, it is time to trust God – to release your child to God and wait.  Continue to pray, trusting the one who not only created your rebellious child, but loves him even more than you do.

In Proverbs 22:6 we read:

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Perhaps this stirs up hope for you — if you are the mother of a 6 year-old.  You may claim it as a guarantee that your child will never wander away from God or reject God altogether.

Perhaps this t verse stirs up shame or angst for you–if you are the mother of a 26-year-old prodigal. Did I not do my job, Lord?

Perhaps rather than offering an unconditional guarantee or a magic formula, it’s actually saying something altogether different.

We cannot will our children into the Kingdom by our own will.  But we can make sure they are trained up to KNOW the truth and knowing it means they can never get away from it. They may not bow to it.  They may not embrace it, but they can’t turn away from it.  They will hear their mother’s voice in their heads. More importantly, they will hear the truth of God’s Word in their heads — no matter how long they keep their hands on their ears!  They may reject the truth, but if we have done our job, they will know the truth.  We can continue to pray with hope that the Holy Spirit will keep after them. We can pray that God will be the hound of heaven relentlessly pursuing them with His great love. The best advice I can offer for parents of adult children: Shut up and pray!

You can hear the audio for this week’s teaching here:
http://fbcsiloam.podbean.com/e/the-book-of-judges-lesson-1-laura-macfarlan/

In those days Israel had no king;
everyone did as they saw fit.
  Judges 17:6, 21:25

Judges 21:25 is the last verse in Judges and it summarizes well the content of this sad book.

“Doing as one sees fit” – at first glance is a definition of FREEDOM – -something we Americans revere and value. But like many values and traits – -it becomes perverted, distorted and no longer a value when taken to an extreme. Unconstrained freedom becomes anarchy with no rule of law.  Unchecked freedom with no restraints is dangerous.  I don’t think any of us would want to live in a place with no police protection, no court system, no Constitution, no military. We welcome the boundaries that create safety in a civilized society.

And the same is true for us spiritually.  There is freedom for us in Christ — Galatains 5:1 proclaims, “It was for freedom that Christ has set us free.” But our freedom is restrained by God’s good law. And when we as individuals reject God’s healthy boundaries, spiritual chaos ensues.  The result is a life out of control.  And when collectively we as a society reject God’s good laws, the fallout becomes even more pronounced. Addictions, perversions, misery, no peace, no joy.

When God’s people reject God’s healthy boundaries to do as they see fit, we see repeated over and over in individual lives the cycle we will see lived out in Judges collectively.

We may think that throwing off the restraints will bring freedom – the pleasure of “doing as I see fit” – but it really only leads to bondage. Slavery to stuff, to self, to schedule, to whatever.  Chaos.  No purpose.  No peace.

We cannot choose pieces of God’s character or parts of God’s law to embrace.  We cannot throw off the healthy boundaries of God’s law and expect to enjoy the peace that comes with the presence of God’s love.

We don’t resent the guard rails when driving up a curvy mountain road.

We don’t resent the rules of the game when we watch football – in fact, we yell loudly at the ref if they are not enforced.

We really do know intuitively that when everyone does as he or she sees fit – it really is not a good thing. Can you, for example, imagine just the condition of your family if your children were each permitted to do as they saw fit – -eat what they wanted, go to bed when they wanted, to choose to go to school or not.  If we as imperfect parents find it important to establish healthy rules for our children, then certainly  our holy and perfect God will establish healthy boundaries for us.

We must take God and God’s law seriously.

We must honor Him. We must accept His love AND His justice, His compassion AND His truth.  He is not a doting grandfather who winks at our sin and sweeps it under the rug.  He loves us too much for that.

The woman of God takes God seriously.

And that means she takes sin seriously.  God is Holy.  He is our creator.  He is God Almighty. He must be revered, honored, and obeyed. We can trust Him. Our obedience flows from our love for Him.

His Word is truth.  Christianity is not a democracy.  We don’t get to take a vote and decide which pieces of Scripture we agree with, which we want to accept and which we want to disregard.  We are either all in or not.  As women of God, we take Him seriously when we choose this day to love God with ALL our hearts, with ALL our souls, with ALL our minds, and with ALL our strength.

When asked, “What is the greatest commandment?” here’s how Jesus answered:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”
Mark 12:30

Taking Him seriously means we are ALL IN! Are you ready?

Let’s do this!

Here’s the link to teaching lecture, Introduction to Judges:
http://fbcsiloam.podbean.com/e/the-book-of-judges-introduction-laura-macfarlan/?token=8d060651d6e295b3142b2e8ea4585c0d

Are you more comfortable camping out in the New Testament — maybe the Gospels or Paul’s letters to the churches? Does the Old Testament seem a bit..well...old for your liking? And really…in a culture that pushes back, “Don’t judge me!” why would we want to study a book named Judges?

My answer? To know God.

We study the Old and New Testament and we study Judges specifically to know God.  Knowing God will better equip us to worship God. And that is the reason we are here. It’s our purpose!

Are you ready to journey with us through Judges? For the next eight weeks, I’ll be teaching through Judges at my home church in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. If you’re in driving distance, come join us. If you’re not, consider buying the study guide from Joy of Living and studying along with us. Or — just read my Tuesday blog each week to glean one truth from the previous week’s study. I’ll also include a link to listen to the teaching lecture.

Judges includes some strange stories. It recounts God’s faithfulness, His fickle people, and some faltering heroes. We are looking forward to unpacking this treasure together.

Praying we all know God better come December than we do today in September!

Let’s do this!