Pastor Mary Haley

Judges 2:16-23

The Lord Rescues His People

16 Then the Lord raised up judges to rescue the Israelites from their attackers. 17 Yet Israel did not listen to the judges but prostituted themselves by worshiping other gods. How quickly they turned away from the path of their ancestors, who had walked in obedience to the Lord’s commands.

18 Whenever the Lord raised up a judge over Israel, he was with that judge and rescued the people from their enemies throughout the judge’s lifetime. For the Lord took pity on his people, who were burdened by oppression and suffering. 19 But when the judge died, the people returned to their corrupt ways, behaving worse than those who had lived before them. They went after other gods, serving and worshiping them. And they refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.

20 So the Lord burned with anger against Israel. He said, “Because these people have violated my covenant, which I made with their ancestors, and have ignored my commands, 21 I will no longer drive out the nations that Joshua left unconquered when he died. 22 I did this to test Israel—to see whether or not they would follow the ways of the Lord as their ancestors did.” 23 That is why the Lord left those nations in place. He did not quickly drive them out or allow Joshua to conquer them all.

According to Judges Chapter 1, Israel is suffering a moral downfall; people are doing what seems right in their own eyes. Before his death, Joshua kept Israel focused on God, but the people failed to grasp it was never about Joshua it was really God in command.  Israel’s disobedience has led them to rebel against God causing them to be overrun by enemy nations.  

During this time, Israel experiences no unity in government and no unity in worship.  Law and order has broken down and idolatry has caused people to abandon their faith in God.  Canaanite pagan worship has been able to lure God’s people away from their devotion to Yahweh, because according to this idolatrous religion, they can remain selfish and immoral and yet fulfill their religious requirements.  God never leads us to focus on the benefits of our sinful human nature. In fact, we are to lay our lives down, so we can pick up the life of Christ. Be like Joshua and keep your eyes focused on God, because he is really the One in command; He is the true Judge of human hearts.

Prayer:  Lord, may we as your children turn to love you wholeheartedly. In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Psalm 123 A Prayer for Mercy
A song of the stairway
1 
O God-Enthroned in heaven, I lift my eyes toward you in worship.
2 
The way I love you
is like the way a servant wants to please his master,
the way a maid waits for the orders of her mistress.
We look to you, our God, with passionate longing
to please you and discover more of your mercy and grace.
3–4 
For we’ve had more than our fill of this scoffing and scorn—
this mistreatment by the wealthy elite.
Lord, show us your mercy!
Lord, show us your grace!

The psalmist declares his intention to seek the Lord instead of allowing the surrounding circumstances to rule him. When believers are afflicted we turn to the Lord; we know he is our Source of help. It can be tempting to obsess about some things that distress us, but we should not linger there. It is spiritually, emotionally, and physical unhealthy to do so. The world is not a source of mercy, but heaven is rich with it. Let’s remember the grace of God provides all we need. Some days we will witness and experience more than our fill of nastiness and wickedness while in this world. So, when we are opposed and ridiculed for our passion and devotion to the Lord, we must ask for and wait for God’s mercy and grace that is more than sufficient to care for us.

Prayer: Lord, I remain devoted and submissive to you and your will for my life. May I always turn to you for the mercy and grace I need to remain strong. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Matthew 24:29-35 TPT
In our passage today, Jesus has been sharing with his disciples the truth about the timing of his return. He explains before his return, the world will face deception, wars, and threats of wars, as well as nations at war. There will be famines, earthquakes in many parts of the world. Believers will be hated, betrayed, and sin will be running rampant everywhere. False messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform signs and wonders that add to the deception; even many of God’s chosen ones will believe the lies. Jesus tells his disciples, “See, I have warned you about this ahead of time” (Mat 24:25).

The Appearing of the Son of Man
29 “Then immediately this is what will take place: ‘The sun will be darkened and the moon give no light. The stars will fall from the sky and all the cosmic powers will be shaken.’[a new order/new glory] 30 Then the sign announcing the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn over him. And they will see the Son of Man appearing in the clouds of heaven, revealed with mighty power,[warriors] great splendor, and glory. 31 And he will send his messengers with the loud blast of the trumpet, [universal announcement] and with a great voice [shout] they will gather his beloved chosen ones by the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other!”

According to the Word of God and the writings of the prophets, some of these persecutions written about in Matthew 24, know as the Olivet Discourse, have already come to pass, but there are still some events yet to take place. Now is the time for people to turn their hearts toward Christ, because soon we will witness the unmistakable return of our loving Messiah. Believers will rejoice as they are gathered and unbelievers will mourn because of their choice to reject the salvation offered, as well as the commands of the Son of Man—Messiah.

Prayer: Lord, as we wait for your return, please help us, as your children, to live true to your commands. As well, Lord, help us to draw more people toward your heart by how we live. We know you do not want anyone to perish. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Nehemiah 8:1-3
1 all the people assembled with a unified purpose at the square just inside the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had given for Israel to obey.

2 So on October 8 Ezra the priest brought the Book of the Law before the assembly, which included the men and women and all the children old enough to understand. 3 He faced the square just inside the Water Gate from early morning until noon and read aloud to everyone who could understand. All the people listened closely to the Book of the Law.

If you are unfamiliar with the Book of Nehemiah, I will take just a minute to refresh your memory as I am sure you have heard a bit about this industrious man. Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem—the homeland of his ancestors. He finds broken walls needing repair and broken lives needing the healing Word of the LORD; the people have lost their security and spiritual way. Nehemiah starts his work by rallying the people to unite in order to rebuild the walls. He faces a great deal of opposition during this time of building, but through prayer, perseverance, and sacrifice he keeps the project moving forward for the glory of God. When the walls are rebuilt, Nehemiah gathers the people—men, women, and children—to listen once again to the Book of the Law being read by the priests in order to heal their lives and give them the proper vision for a future in Yahweh’s care.

Believers are called to build God’s Kingdom. Like Nehemiah, if we are determined to build something for God’s glory, we will face opposition and difficulties. We should not be surprised by conflicts or challenges. Instead, we should realize great victories rarely come without troubles. The Word of God keeps us moving with the right vision. In Nehemiah’s many prayers, he confesses the need for God’s help, places the results in God’s hands, reveals trust in God for his own well-being, entrusts justice to God when he is treated wickedly, and sets his motives before the Lord by asking God to take away his temptation to seek revenge. In our world, we can be builders or destroyers. If we are going to continue building God’s righteous Kingdom, we must faithfully pray like our brother, Nehemiah and trust God with the results.

Prayer: Lord, we confess we need your help as we continue to build your Kingdom in this world. We place all things in your hands and we trust you to keep us in your perfect shalom—peace. Justice is yours, so when we are mistreated by others, we will rest in you. Please put a watch over our minds, wills, and emotions; keep our motives right before your holy presence. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Psalm 78:1-8
1
O my people, listen to my instructions.
Open your ears to what I am saying,
2
for I will speak to you in a parable.
I will teach you hidden lessons from our past—
3
stories we have heard and known,
stories our ancestors handed down to us.
4
We will not hide these truths from our children;
we will tell the next generation
about the glorious deeds of the Lord,
about his power and his mighty wonders.
5
For he issued his laws to Jacob;
he gave his instructions to Israel.
He commanded our ancestors
to teach them to their children,
6
so the next generation might know them—
even the children not yet born—
and they in turn will teach their own children.
7
So each generation should set its hope anew on God,
not forgetting his glorious miracles
and obeying his commands.
8
Then they will not be like their ancestors—
stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful,
refusing to give their hearts to God.

In our passage today, the psalmist reminds us we must incline our hearts toward God; to place our hope anew in his faithfulness to lead us in the paths of righteousness—right loving and living according to his Word. If we do not keep our focus on the heart and commands of Yahweh—the LORD—not only will we forget the wonderful things he has done for his people in the past we will neglect to surrender our lives to the work of the LORD who alone can make us holy. As believers, we do not live for the pleasure of our flesh or this world; instead, we live for the exaltation of our righteous Messiah.

Pleasing the flesh of people and the demands of culture is not God’s vision for unity; rather, God’s vision for unity is that we would all be made in the righteous likeness of Christ. God’s Word teaches us Israel’s first king, Saul, erred by pleasing the people rather than the LORD. This disobedience brought deception and set Saul up to be rejected by God. May we read the Word of God and take in the Truth in Jesus’ name.

Prayer: Lord, I set my hopes anew upon you. My ears are open to the Truth. In Jesus’ name. Amen.