A MOTHER-IN-LAW WHO LOVED WELL

Posted on June 9, 2025 by randscallawayffm

I am a mother-in-law to three beautiful humans who God arranged to marry our three children. From dating days to marriage, Randy and I loved who our children loved. After many years of marriage; they still love each other.  We love them and think of their spouses as our own children.  Therefore, the story of Naomi depicts a beautiful demonstration of unconditional love and devotion for me and all other mothers and a mothers-in-law.  But the story doesn’t stop there!  This story will also demonstrate redemption in its purest form because of an even greater love.

Don’t miss what is important in the story of Ruth:

  • Ruth was intensely loyal to her mother-in-law, Naomi.  Both Ruth and Orpha loved Naomi because she loved them. Grief brought them closer to each other.
  • Naomi is known and well-loved because she loves well—both in Moab and back in her hometown. Her hometown welcomes her back with open arms! One who loves God knows love.
  • Because of Ruth’s loyalty, she traveled to a new place and married into a Hebrew family.
  • Obed was born to Ruth and was an ancestor of King David and Jesus Christ.

Now we can begin.  Naomi lost her husband.  Her two sons who married Ruth and Orpah also died. Women widowed in these times, lived in a precarious situation with no means of financial support other than family.  Famine drove Elimelek and Naomi and their two sons to Moab to this foreign land to survive. With the loss of husband, and then both sons, she is filled with grief. But somehow her relationship with Ruth and Orpha, her daughters-in-laws, driven by great love is unchanging. Naomi demonstrates a love that goes beyond her own grief.

Ruth 1

Naomi Loses Her Husband and Sons

In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. 2 The man’s name was Elimelek, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.

3 Now Elimelek, Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.

Naomi and Ruth Return to Bethlehem

6 When Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, she and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. 7 With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.

8 Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you, to your mother’s home. May the Lord show you kindness, as you have shown kindness to your dead husbands and to me. 9 May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband.”

Then she kissed them goodbye and they wept aloud 10 and said to her, “We will go back with you to your people.”

11 But Naomi said, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? 12 Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons— 13 would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord’s hand has turned against me!”

14 At this they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.

15 “Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.”

16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” 18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.

19 So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”

20 “Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”

22 So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

The story of Ruth took place sometime during the rule of the judges. Those were dark days for Israel, when “everyone did as they saw fit” (Judges 17:6). But during those dark days and evil times many remained faithful to God.  Naomi and Ruth portrayed beautiful examples of loyalty, friendship, and commitment to each other and to God.  Naomi’s love for her God stood firm as a beacon of light to others.

“Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.”—Ruth to Naomi

Through shared circumstances, but different upbringings, a devoted relationship was formed that could not be broken or left behind. Naomi loved God and obviously walked in His ways in Moab—a land not of her people.  But Naomi was not perfect for she and her husband allowed their two sons to marry Moabites which was unlawful according to Law of Moses, (Deuteronomy 23). But Ruth, who grew up worshiping many gods; noticed and loved God because of seeing God’s love in Naomi.  Then she confessed her faith in the true and living God and her decision to worship Him alone. She was willing to forsake father and mother in order to cleave to Naomi and the God of her people. This meant permanent exclusion from Ruth’s family. How then could Ruth enter into the congregation of the Lord? By trusting God’s grace and throwing herself completely on His mercy.  

Laws of culture might exclude us from God’s family, but grace includes us if we put our faith in Christ.  God’s love, mercy, and grace changes everything!

Wow. Before we respond, pause for a moment and think of all the ways in our everyday, ordinary lives that we demonstrate the love of God in us that draw others to him.  Real love is contagious and noticed by others seeking it.  How intentional is our love? Do we love selflessly or does our love demand something in return?  Is our first thought, in any situation, God’s love in us?  Are our relationships built on the love of God that sees the best, not the worst, in others?  Is our habit—to love first, and ask questions later?  Is our love growing and maturing to the point that we love without thinking about the worthiness of the person receiving our love and care?

As God’s Holy Spirit guides us through this self-evaluation of our own love coupled with God’s truth; may we listen closely and learn much from the continuing story of Ruth and Naomi.

Lord,

Thank you for helping us find our story in Your story each time we open your Word to read of your love for us and meditate on truth.  Your love drives out fear, assures our hope, gives us peace in difficult circumstances, and fills us to over flowing love for others!  Your love saved us and set us free to love others like you love us—forever and unchanging! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

In Jesus Name, Amen

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

GOD, WE HAVE A PROBLEM

Posted on June 7, 2025 by randscallawayffm

Proverbs 15:14: “The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouth of the fool feeds on foolishness.”

Proverbs 17:24: “A discerning man keeps wisdom in view, but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth.”

Proverbs 26:11: “As a dog returns to his own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.”

1 Corinthians 3:19: “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness” …

God, we have a problem due to a vow we made in anger with our fellow Israelites. But not to worry, even though we blame you, Lord, just a little—we will take matters into our own hands and “fix” it.  Judges 21:25: “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.”

Judges 21

Wives for the Benjamites

The men of Israel had taken an oath at Mizpah: “Not one of us will give his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite.”

2 The people went to Bethel, where they sat before God until evening, raising their voices and weeping bitterly. 3 “Lord, God of Israel,” they cried, “why has this happened to Israel? Why should one tribe be missing from Israel today?”

4 Early the next day the people built an altar and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings.

5 Then the Israelites asked, “Who from all the tribes of Israel has failed to assemble before the Lord?” For they had taken a solemn oath that anyone who failed to assemble before the Lord at Mizpah was to be put to death.

6 Now the Israelites grieved for the tribe of Benjamin, their fellow Israelites. “Today one tribe is cut off from Israel,” they said. 7 “How can we provide wives for those who are left, since we have taken an oath by the Lord not to give them any of our daughters in marriage?” 8 Then they asked, “Which one of the tribes of Israel failed to assemble before the Lord at Mizpah?” They discovered that no one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the camp for the assembly. 9 For when they counted the people, they found that none of the people of Jabesh Gilead were there.

10 So the assembly sent twelve thousand fighting men with instructions to go to Jabesh Gilead and put to the sword those living there, including the women and children. 11 “This is what you are to do,” they said. “Kill every male and every woman who is not a virgin.” 12 They found among the people living in Jabesh Gilead four hundred young women who had never slept with a man, and they took them to the camp at Shiloh in Canaan.

13 Then the whole assembly sent an offer of peace to the Benjamites at the rock of Rimmon. 14 So the Benjamites returned at that time and were given the women of Jabesh Gilead who had been spared. But there were not enough for all of them.

15 The people grieved for Benjamin, because the Lord had made a gap in the tribes of Israel. 16 And the elders of the assembly said, “With the women of Benjamin destroyed, how shall we provide wives for the men who are left? 17 The Benjamite survivors must have heirs,” they said, “so that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out. 18 We can’t give them our daughters as wives, since we Israelites have taken this oath: ‘Cursed be anyone who gives a wife to a Benjamite.’ 19 But look, there is the annual festival of the Lord in Shiloh, which lies north of Bethel, east of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.”

20 So they instructed the Benjamites, saying, “Go and hide in the vineyards 21 and watch. When the young women of Shiloh come out to join in the dancing, rush from the vineyards and each of you seize one of them to be your wife. Then return to the land of Benjamin. 22 When their fathers or brothers complain to us, we will say to them, ‘Do us the favor of helping them, because we did not get wives for them during the war. You will not be guilty of breaking your oath because you did not give your daughters to them.’”

23 So that is what the Benjamites did. While the young women were dancing, each man caught one and carried her off to be his wife. Then they returned to their inheritance and rebuilt the towns and settled in them.

24 At that time the Israelites left that place and went home to their tribes and clans, each to his own inheritance.

25 In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

God, we have a problem—and it is us. 

Why is our first thought to blame God for the troubles we create?  The last words of this passage, which are repeated often in the book of Judges, tell us the answer…”everyone did as they saw fit.” 

The eleven remaining tribes grieved heavily for putting the Benjamite tribe to the sword. They came together to ask the Lord, “Why?”  In their grief, they remembered the ritual of their religion–build an altar and offer burnt offerings. But was that activity done only to soothe their feelings? 

This is a question I’m asking because sometimes we do that. When troubles come and confusion sets in by the circumstances we ourselves created; we panic and worry.  As we suffer the consequences of our behaviors—we return to what we know—go to church. But in the returning, are we coming back to the rituals of God or God Himself who wants to grow our intimate relationship with Him? Rituals do not save us. Our reconciliation with God by repenting of our sins to Jesus saves us! God knows our hearts. He knows our minds. He knows the sincerity of those who are committed to renew and restore their relationship with Him.

We must give up the foolish thinking of mankind as we become putty in the hands of God’s Enemy.  Ask for the wisdom of God! (Who loves to give it!)  Throughout history, Israel will fall in and out of their love for God. They will pay heavily for turning to their own foolish wisdom.  Prophets will be sent from God with wisdom and warnings but they will be ignored.  A verse we often quote to understand the benefits of trust and obedience to God with ALL our hearts, minds, and souls, comes from the prophet Hanani to King Asa who flipflopped often in his faith while at war with his enemies.  “Just follow your heart”, we still hear today. Asa did which was foolishness to God.  Asa’s mind is divided between what his heart says versus what a heart who seeks God and His will demands.

So, King Asa’s fundamental problem was not Judah’s lack of defenses in their current war; but the king’s lack of faith. Unlike David, whose heart had been sincere before the Lord (see 1 Kin. 15:5), Asa’s heart was divided—one day trusting God and the next day trusting in the arm of flesh. A perfect heart isn’t a sinless heart but a heart wholly yielded to the Lord and fully trusting Him. King Asa revealed the wickedness of his heart by becoming angry, rejecting the prophet’s message, and putting him in prison.

“For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.” 2 Chronicles 16:9

Now you know the rest of the story.

Humbled, repentant hearts do not ask why.  Our main concern is salvation from our sins.

Trials, troubles, and suffering will happen.  “In this world you WILL have troubles…” Jesus assures us. We live in imperfect world because all were born into sin and inherited the nature to sin. Since the fall of Adam and Eve, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Every human on earth needs God’s saving grace which He provides oh so generously through His One and Only Son, Jesus—all because of His unconditional, relentless, compassionate love. (John 16:33, Genesis 3, Romans 3:23-24, John 3:16-17)

The foolish thinking of mankind who live without God’s wisdom, fall into never ending cycles of sin.  It’s like holding on to a merry-go-round that is spinning so fast and out of control that we feel we must stay on or we will die trying to get off.  But, that’s a lie from the enemy.  There is a Teacher on the playground of life who will rescue us!

Jesus can and will stop the wild ride we’re on when we call out to Him. Jesus will take us by the hand, cleanse our broken hearts, renew our troubled minds, and lead us to a new life that will last forever!  That’s the Truth because Jesus is Truth.

But we decide—choose wisely—for it’s a matter of life or death!

RECAP:  The destruction of the tribe of Benjamin began from one incident if brutality.  A Levite priest cruelly and unjustly handed over his concubine to be abused by wicked men living in Gibeah, a village of the Benjamites. The priest then cut her corpse into twelve parts and sent each tribe in Israel a part to dramatize the shamefulness of the act perpetrated by the men of Gibeah.  The nation of Israel had sunk to great depths, but God knew and God was at work, preparing a change and a new leader to help bring the nation back to himself.  God is always at work—even in our foolishness.  God is faithful-even when we are not. There is no one like our God.

Believe and be saved. Trust and obey for there’s really no other way to real wisdom.

Lord,

Thank you for leading our thinking back to you when our thinking leads us into dark places. Thank you for your faithfulness to us in our fool hardy behaviors. Thank you for not giving up on us—ever.  Thank you for sending Jesus, a part of you, to earth to fulfill what the Law with a demonstration of your love for us. Wow.  I will meditate on this all day long.

In Jesus Name, Amen

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

FROM BAD TO WORSE—Part Two

Posted on June 6, 2025 by randscallawayffm

Nothing will unite a group of humans more quickly and effectively than a common cause with a common enemy!  No one, not even God’s church, is exempt.  We inquire of the Lord and then add to what He says to do to satisfy our need to “get even” and make our enemy suffer. 

Judges 20

The Israelites Punish the Benjamites

Then all Israel from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came together as one and assembled before the Lord in Mizpah. 2 The leaders of all the people of the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of God’s people, four hundred thousand men armed with swords. 3 (The Benjamites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) Then the Israelites said, “Tell us how this awful thing happened.”

4 So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, said, “I and my concubine came to Gibeah in Benjamin to spend the night. 5 During the night the men of Gibeah came after me and surrounded the house, intending to kill me. They raped my concubine, and she died. 6 I took my concubine, cut her into pieces and sent one piece to each region of Israel’s inheritance, because they committed this lewd and outrageous act in Israel. 7 Now, all you Israelites, speak up and tell me what you have decided to do.”

8 All the men rose up together as one, saying, “None of us will go home. No, not one of us will return to his house. 9 But now this is what we’ll do to Gibeah: We’ll go up against it in the order decided by casting lots. 10 We’ll take ten men out of every hundred from all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred from a thousand, and a thousand from ten thousand, to get provisions for the army. Then, when the army arrives at Gibeah in Benjamin, it can give them what they deserve for this outrageous act done in Israel.” 11 So all the Israelites got together and united as one against the city.

12 The tribes of Israel sent messengers throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What about this awful crime that was committed among you? 13 Now turn those wicked men of Gibeah over to us so that we may put them to death and purge the evil from Israel.”

But the Benjamites would not listen to their fellow Israelites. 14 From their towns they came together at Gibeah to fight against the Israelites. 15 At once the Benjamites mobilized twenty-six thousand swordsmen from their towns, in addition to seven hundred able young men from those living in Gibeah. 16 Among all these soldiers there were seven hundred select troops who were left-handed, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.

17 Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand swordsmen, all of them fit for battle.

18 The Israelites went up to Bethel and inquired of God. They said, “Who of us is to go up first to fight against the Benjamites?”

The Lord replied, “Judah shall go first.”

19 The next morning the Israelites got up and pitched camp near Gibeah. 20 The Israelites went out to fight the Benjamites and took up battle positions against them at Gibeah. 21 The Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down twenty-two thousand Israelites on the battlefield that day. 22 But the Israelites encouraged one another and again took up their positions where they had stationed themselves the first day. 23 The Israelites went up and wept before the Lord until evening, and they inquired of the Lord. They said, “Shall we go up again to fight against the Benjamites, our fellow Israelites?”

The Lord answered, “Go up against them.”

24 Then the Israelites drew near to Benjamin the second day. 25 This time, when the Benjamites came out from Gibeah to oppose them, they cut down another eighteen thousand Israelites, all of them armed with swords.

26 Then all the Israelites, the whole army, went up to Bethel, and there they sat weeping before the Lord. They fasted that day until evening and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord. 27 And the Israelites inquired of the Lord. (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there, 28 with Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, ministering before it.) They asked, “Shall we go up again to fight against the Benjamites, our fellow Israelites, or not?”

The Lord responded, “Go, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands.”

29 Then Israel set an ambush around Gibeah. 30 They went up against the Benjamites on the third day and took up positions against Gibeah as they had done before. 31 The Benjamites came out to meet them and were drawn away from the city. They began to inflict casualties on the Israelites as before, so that about thirty men fell in the open field and on the roads—the one leading to Bethel and the other to Gibeah. 32 While the Benjamites were saying, “We are defeating them as before,” the Israelites were saying, “Let’s retreat and draw them away from the city to the roads.”

33 All the men of Israel moved from their places and took up positions at Baal Tamar, and the Israelite ambush charged out of its place on the west of Gibeah. 34 Then ten thousand of Israel’s able young men made a frontal attack on Gibeah. The fighting was so heavy that the Benjamites did not realize how near disaster was. 35 The Lord defeated Benjamin before Israel, and on that day the Israelites struck down 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords. 36 Then the Benjamites saw that they were beaten.

Now the men of Israel had given way before Benjamin, because they relied on the ambush they had set near Gibeah. 37 Those who had been in ambush made a sudden dash into Gibeah, spread out and put the whole city to the sword. 38 The Israelites had arranged with the ambush that they should send up a great cloud of smoke from the city, 39 and then the Israelites would counterattack.

The Benjamites had begun to inflict casualties on the Israelites (about thirty), and they said, “We are defeating them as in the first battle.” 40 But when the column of smoke began to rise from the city, the Benjamites turned and saw the whole city going up in smoke. 41 Then the Israelites counterattacked, and the Benjamites were terrified, because they realized that disaster had come on them. 42 So they fled before the Israelites in the direction of the wilderness, but they could not escape the battle. And the Israelites who came out of the towns cut them down there. 43 They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them and easily overran them in the vicinity of Gibeah on the east. 44 Eighteen thousand Benjamites fell, all of them valiant fighters. 45 As they turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, the Israelites cut down five thousand men along the roads. They kept pressing after the Benjamites as far as Gidom and struck down two thousand more.

46 On that day twenty-five thousand Benjamite swordsmen fell, all of them valiant fighters. 47 But six hundred of them turned and fled into the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, where they stayed four months. 48 The men of Israel went back to Benjamin and put all the towns to the sword, including the animals and everything else they found. All the towns they came across they set on fire.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

“In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit” (Judges 21:25). This statement by the writer of Judges says it all.  Corruption fueled disruption. Immorality birthed brutality. Revenge was the mantra of the day—even when it meant fighting and murdering each other.  Evil fed the corruption from within the twelve tribes of Israel.  God intervenes to sort it all out; but evil must go. This is the cycle of sin perpetuated by humans who do as they see fit.

The verdict was in. It was decided by the leader of the eleven (maybe before they gathered because word of mouth travels faster than a mule) to excommunicate, (“you’re dead to me”) and annihilate the sinful Benjamites, (wipe them off the face of the earth for their sins”).

The common goal was to rid Israel of evil.  Upon hearing the Levite’s indictment charge of the men of Gibeah, the leaders of the eleven tribes met in unity against the Benjamites who became the common enemy of all Israelites.  Common enemy, common goal.  Unification. 

We must pause to remember what Jesus, who fulfilled every part of the Law, taught God’s Chosen (us) centuries later of who God really is along with His intentions for the Law:  “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven.”—Jesus, Matthew 6:43-45

Our response is to seek God first, Love God back and love each other. We are to also love our enemies, praying for them as we seek resolution with them.  When we find ourselves engaged in a conflict, it’s easy for us to forget who the real enemy is and what the point of the conflict is. The Bible tells us that our real struggle is not against flesh and blood.  There is a higher, cosmic conflict going on behind the scenes!

Church, we must realize our real, relentless, sly and cunning enemy is the one who disrupts our lives with his arsenal of evil behaviors, distractors and deception in an effort to dismantle our faith in God.  His demons hover over our thinking and distract us from God with fake images that look like Jesus with deceitful sayings that sound like Jesus—but are not.  But take heart, says Jesus! “I have overcome the world!” (John 16:33) May we unite under the banner of Jesus to battle our common enemy with Him! May our common goal be to point people to Jesus so they, too can be saved for eternity by Him who rids the world of all sin.   

What would it be like for the church to stop fighting among themselves over the non-essential issues of the day and put all our energy and strength, with God’s help, to battle our real foe—who has already been defeated by Christ—the Head of the Church?!  Perhaps, it would be quite like heaven!

Know our enemy.  Although Satan is a formidable foe, he is not a god.  There is only one God.  Satan is a created and fallen being.  He is not all-knowing, all present, nor all-powerful.  In fact, Satan is a defeated foe. Still, he exists in our world, with his demons in our fallen world to create chaos and destruction. We are told in Scripture not to be ignorant of Satan’s schemes so that he would not outwit us.  “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” —Paul, writing to the Church, Ephesians 6:12

Satan thought he had control over the wicked men of the Benjamite tribe.  God proved he did not.  With their revengeful verdict against the Benjamite tribe; the leaders of Isreal made a vow that will be problematic later and cause more trouble among them.  The verdict was that the men of Gibeah were guilty and should be handed over to the authorities to be slain according to God’s Law (Deuteronomy 13:12–18). The vow was that none of the tribes represented would give their daughters in marriage to the men of Benjamin (Judges 21:1–7).  The Mosaic Law states;

“If you hear it said about one of the towns the Lord your God is giving you to live in that troublemakers have arisen among you and have led the people of their town astray, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods you have not known),then you must inquire, probe and investigate it thoroughly. And if it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done among you, you must certainly put to the sword all who live in that town. You must destroy it completely, both its people and its livestock.”

“You are to gather all the plunder of the town into the middle of the public square and completely burn the town and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. That town is to remain a ruin forever, never to be rebuilt,and none of the condemned things are to be found in your hands. Then the Lord will turn from his fierce anger, will show you mercy, and will have compassion on you. He will increase your numbers, as he promised on oath to your ancestors— because you obey the Lord your God by keeping all his commands that I am giving you today and doing what is right in his eyes.” Deuteronomy 13:12-18

Note that “against the Benjamiites” in verse 18 becomes “our fellow Israelites” in verse 23. Perhaps this was one reason why God permitted the Israelites to lose that first battle. It gave them an opportunity to reflect on the fact that they were fighting their own flesh and blood. 

When we humans fall for evil and succumb to doing evil, chaos ensues. Churches are split. Family ties are fractured and sometimes broken forever when “sides” are taken. But God is still among us, consistently working, to save the world from all sin and selfishness that separates us from God—and each other. God was, is, and always will be God. Trust Him.

Lord,

You are God. We are not.  Cleanse our hearts, renew our minds, refresh our souls, and restore the joy of your salvation at work within us. You are all we need. Your peace overwhelm me even now in the middle of life’s storms. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

In Jesus Name, Amen

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

FROM BAD TO WORSE

Posted on June 5, 2025 by randscallawayffm

“That’s okay, it’s could be worse.” This philosophy of life only leads us farther from God and deeper into sin that separates from God. We accept the culture around us as problematic but tolerable. Then suddenly we become a part of the culture as society affects and infects us more than we affect the culture. George Barna, a believer in Jesus and His church, is a professional statistician.  God gave Barna the gift of interpreting data discovered to give us a picture of the current state of the church. Barna and his company does this by surveying and listening to people who say they believe and attend church.  He studies behaviors of the church with precise predictions of where the church is headed unless changes in behaviors are radically made. 

I was part of the audience where Barna, this modern-day prophet, spoke emotionally and reverently about who we are as a church with where we are headed if we do not heed the warnings to come back to God and do what He says as Jesus taught us. Jesus is the Cornerstone of the Church—the bride of Christ who gave His life for us! 

History does repeat itself—due to the cycles of sin in imperfect humans unless removed.  Maybe we need to wake up and pay more attention and learn from the catastrophic sinful mistakes made from others who suffered the consequences that destroyed nations “under God” in belief but not in behavior. 

A traveling Levite priest seeks refuge in a city populated the tribe of Benjamin. He pushes those with him to pass by other towns to get to a place they should be safe. But, it is not.  Wicked men live there who threaten their lives in brutal ways. To save his own life, and the lives of family who gave him shelter; the Levite priest cruelly and unjustly hands over his concubine to be abused by the wicked in this village of the Benjamites. When he got home, the priest cut her corpse into twelve parts and sent each tribe in Israel a part to dramatize the shamefulness of the act perpetrated by the men of Gibeah.  This became another wake-up call to Israel.  The nation had sunk to great depths, but God was preparing a change and a new leader to help bring the nation back to himself for Israel had wandered far from Him.

These acts of lewd violence led to even greater acts of murder that almost destroys the entire tribe of Benjamin all because of the wicked behavior of those living in Gibeah—an Israelite city thought to be trusted by the Levite. This is part one of a three-part story. Hang in there, it goes from bad to worse…but we can learn much from God if we listen.

Judges 19

A Levite and His Concubine

In those days Israel had no king.

Now a Levite who lived in a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim took a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. 2 But she was unfaithful to him. She left him and went back to her parents’ home in Bethlehem, Judah. After she had been there four months, 3 her husband went to her to persuade her to return. He had with him his servant and two donkeys. She took him into her parents’ home, and when her father saw him, he gladly welcomed him. 4 His father-in-law, the woman’s father, prevailed on him to stay; so he remained with him three days, eating and drinking, and sleeping there.

5 On the fourth day they got up early and he prepared to leave, but the woman’s father said to his son-in-law, “Refresh yourself with something to eat; then you can go.” 6 So the two of them sat down to eat and drink together. Afterward the woman’s father said, “Please stay tonight and enjoy yourself.” 7 And when the man got up to go, his father-in-law persuaded him, so he stayed there that night. 8 On the morning of the fifth day, when he rose to go, the woman’s father said, “Refresh yourself. Wait till afternoon!” So the two of them ate together.

9 Then when the man, with his concubine and his servant, got up to leave, his father-in-law, the woman’s father, said, “Now look, it’s almost evening. Spend the night here; the day is nearly over. Stay and enjoy yourself. Early tomorrow morning you can get up and be on your way home.” 10 But, unwilling to stay another night, the man left and went toward Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), with his two saddled donkeys and his concubine.

11 When they were near Jebus and the day was almost gone, the servant said to his master, “Come, let’s stop at this city of the Jebusites and spend the night.”

12 His master replied, “No. We won’t go into any city whose people are not Israelites. We will go on to Gibeah.” 13 He added, “Come, let’s try to reach Gibeah or Ramah and spend the night in one of those places.” 14 So they went on, and the sun set as they neared Gibeah in Benjamin. 15 There they stopped to spend the night. They went and sat in the city square, but no one took them in for the night.

16 That evening an old man from the hill country of Ephraim, who was living in Gibeah (the inhabitants of the place were Benjamites), came in from his work in the fields. 17 When he looked and saw the traveler in the city square, the old man asked, “Where are you going? Where did you come from?”

18 He answered, “We are on our way from Bethlehem in Judah to a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim where I live. I have been to Bethlehem in Judah and now I am going to the house of the Lord. No one has taken me in for the night. 19 We have both straw and fodder for our donkeys and bread and wine for ourselves your servants—me, the woman and the young man with us. We don’t need anything.”

20 “You are welcome at my house,” the old man said. “Let me supply whatever you need. Only don’t spend the night in the square.” 21 So he took him into his house and fed his donkeys. After they had washed their feet, they had something to eat and drink.

22 While they were enjoying themselves, some of the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they shouted to the old man who owned the house, “Bring out the man who came to your house so we can have sex with him.”

23 The owner of the house went outside and said to them, “No, my friends, don’t be so vile. Since this man is my guest, don’t do this outrageous thing. 24 Look, here is my virgin daughter, and his concubine. I will bring them out to you now, and you can use them and do to them whatever you wish. But as for this man, don’t do such an outrageous thing.”

25 But the men would not listen to him. So the man took his concubine and sent her outside to them, and they raped her and abused her throughout the night, and at dawn they let her go. 26 At daybreak the woman went back to the house where her master was staying, fell down at the door and lay there until daylight.

27 When her master got up in the morning and opened the door of the house and stepped out to continue on his way, there lay his concubine, fallen in the doorway of the house, with her hands on the threshold. 28 He said to her, “Get up; let’s go.” But there was no answer. Then the man put her on his donkey and set out for home.

29 When he reached home, he took a knife and cut up his concubine, limb by limb, into twelve parts and sent them into all the areas of Israel. 30 Everyone who saw it was saying to one another, “Such a thing has never been seen or done, not since the day the Israelites came up out of Egypt. Just imagine! We must do something! So speak up!”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

“Where are you going? Where did you come from?”  These words could be haunting questions of our faith journey.  Where are we in our faith regarding the behaviors of the culture in which we live?  Who are we as we relate to others who are cultural dependent in their identity?  Do we work too hard to fit in with a “you be you and I’ll be me” philosophy?  I wonder if we might confuse the love of God in us as the catalyst to accept and tolerate all behaviors not of Him or His character going on around us?  Love God. Love Others is the command of Jesus.  We can do this and stand for Truth—Jesus.  Jesus takes a way all the confusion and speaks truth. “Follow Me”, Jesus says, who embodies the love of God.

“In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit”

Gibeah had become like Sodom, a city so wicked that God wiped it off the face of the earth (See Genesis 19). The men of the city were indulging in immoral practices that were contrary to nature and the laws of God. (Leviticus 18).  “Our hearts ought to revolt at the thought of a man so insensitive to the feelings of a human being made in the image of God, so indifferent to the sanctity of sex and the responsibility of marriage, and so unconcerned about the laws of God, that he would sacrifice his concubine to save his own skin. He was so calloused that he was able to lie down and go to sleep while they were abusing her in the street!”—Warren Wiersbe, Wiersbe Study Bible

Sometimes when we look around at our world, we wonder if maybe God has forgotten or given up on us. Maybe some of the Israelites wondered the same thing. But God is always there, always working to bring people back to himself. The coming stories in His Word to us will demonstrate God’s love, compassion, mercy, and grace on His people.  Although this story was cruel and inhumane, these and other sins still happen around the world we live in currently.  We must not close our eyes to sin but warn others of sin.  Jesus did.  He became sin, who was without sin, and willingly laid down his life for the sins of the world—all because of the profound, relentless love of God who does not give up on His created.  Believe Jesus, follow Jesus, point the Way to Jesus!  He is our only Hope!

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17

When we are confused by the behaviors of our culture that are acceptable but unacceptable according to God’s Word; ask God for wisdom and discernment.  God’s Holy Spirit lives in us as our Counselor to guide us to truth with how to think and behave. Our work is to keep God in focus as we read and study His Word, then listen to Him. 

Instead of striving to fit into our culture; become more like our countercultural Savior!  Allow God’s Holy Spirit to do His work in us, correcting us and redirecting us to His perfect and pleasing will for us—all for our good and His glory! With trust, obedience, diligence, and humility, we will find ourselves in the story of God. Paul tells how—

“Place Your Life Before God” So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” Romans 12:1-2, MSG

Lord,

Cleanse my heart, renew my mind, refresh my soul with your mercies, and restore the joy of your salvation at work within me.  May your glory be seen in me—a sinner set free by your love, mercy, and grace. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

In Jesus Name, Amen

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

IN THOSE DAYS—NO KING

Posted on June 4, 2025 by randscallawayffm

The enemy of God and those who believe and follow God works diligently to distract, deceive, dismantle our faith with efforts to destroy our relationship with our God.  He is crafty and good at his work.  He has practiced his trade of manipulation of minds coupled with lying about God since the garden of Eden.  Adam and Eve fell for the enemy’s lies and turned their focus from God who created and loved them dearly to self-satisfaction without God. 

The newly created man and woman, made in the image of God, were banned from the garden of perfection because they did exactly what God told them not to do. The enemy of God knew even then how to manipulate their thought process. Here are excerpts of Genesis 3 for how it all went down;

“Now the serpent was craftier than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” 

God said no; but Adam and Eve decided yes. Sin was born and gave birth to more sin. Sin begins in the mind and is fleshed out in resulting behaviors that are not of God. 

Their intimate relationship with God was fractured and broken.  Adam and Eve decided that the snake in front of them was better than the God who created them.  This newly formed couple, made in the image of God, chose to now acquire the characteristics of the enemy instead of the loving ways of God.  They sinned against God then lied about it to God.  Adam’s first response to God; “She made me do it.” Eve’s first response; “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”  As if the “devil made me do it” which is our excuse today.  Satan’s power is limited.  He presents sin to us but he cannot make us fall for it. We do that all by ourselves. With God’s power in us, which is unlimited, we can overcome the enemy just like Jesus!

“In those days,” the book of Judges teaches, “Israel had no king.” This truth is repeated often, not as an excuse for their behaviors of sin; but as a declaration of the condition of their hearts.  God’s people did as they pleased without God. “The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord.”  God’s people are trying to do life on their own in a hostile land of people groups who do not know or worship the One and Only God. They worship and even sacrifice their children and young virgins to many man produced gods of silver, bronze, and gold.  God’s people are falling for the sin of worshiping these gods while turning to the God in times of trouble.

Judges 18

The Danites Settle in Laish

In those days Israel had no king.

And in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking a place of their own where they might settle, because they had not yet come into an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. 2 So the Danites sent five of their leading men from Zorah and Eshtaol to spy out the land and explore it. These men represented all the Danites. They told them, “Go, explore the land.”

So they entered the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah, where they spent the night. 3 When they were near Micah’s house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite; so they turned in there and asked him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? Why are you here?”

4 He told them what Micah had done for him, and said, “He has hired me and I am his priest.”

5 Then they said to him, “Please inquire of God to learn whether our journey will be successful.”

6 The priest answered them, “Go in peace. Your journey has the Lord’s approval.”

7 So the five men left and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living in safety, like the Sidonians, at peace and secure. And since their land lacked nothing, they were prosperous. Also, they lived a long way from the Sidonians and had no relationship with anyone else.

8 When they returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, their fellow Danites asked them, “How did you find things?”

9 They answered, “Come on, let’s attack them! We have seen the land, and it is very good. Aren’t you going to do something? Don’t hesitate to go there and take it over. 10 When you get there, you will find an unsuspecting people and a spacious land that God has put into your hands, a land that lacks nothing whatever.”

11 Then six hundred men of the Danites, armed for battle, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol. 12 On their way they set up camp near Kiriath Jearim in Judah. This is why the place west of Kiriath Jearim is called Mahaneh Dan to this day. 13 From there they went on to the hill country of Ephraim and came to Micah’s house.

14 Then the five men who had spied out the land of Laish said to their fellow Danites, “Do you know that one of these houses has an ephod, some household gods and an image overlaid with silver? Now you know what to do.” 15 So they turned in there and went to the house of the young Levite at Micah’s place and greeted him. 16 The six hundred Danites, armed for battle, stood at the entrance of the gate. 17 The five men who had spied out the land went inside and took the idol, the ephod and the household gods while the priest and the six hundred armed men stood at the entrance of the gate.

18 When the five men went into Micah’s house and took the idol, the ephod and the household gods, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

19 They answered him, “Be quiet! Don’t say a word. Come with us, and be our father and priest. Isn’t it better that you serve a tribe and clan in Israel as priest rather than just one man’s household?” 20 The priest was very pleased. He took the ephod, the household gods and the idol and went along with the people. 21 Putting their little children, their livestock and their possessions in front of them, they turned away and left.

22 When they had gone some distance from Micah’s house, the men who lived near Micah were called together and overtook the Danites. 23 As they shouted after them, the Danites turned and said to Micah, “What’s the matter with you that you called out your men to fight?”

24 He replied, “You took the gods I made, and my priest, and went away. What else do I have? How can you ask, ‘What’s the matter with you?’”

25 The Danites answered, “Don’t argue with us, or some of the men may get angry and attack you, and you and your family will lose your lives.” 26 So the Danites went their way, and Micah, seeing that they were too strong for him, turned around and went back home.

27 Then they took what Micah had made, and his priest, and went on to Laish, against a people at peace and secure. They attacked them with the sword and burned down their city. 28 There was no one to rescue them because they lived a long way from Sidon and had no relationship with anyone else. The city was in a valley near Beth Rehob.

The Danites rebuilt the city and settled there. 29 They named it Dan after their ancestor Dan, who was born to Israel—though the city used to be called Laish. 30 There the Danites set up for themselves the idol, and Jonathan son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan until the time of the captivity of the land. 31 They continued to use the idol Micah had made, all the time the house of God was in Shiloh.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

“For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” Psalm 30:5

God is faithful even when His people are not.  God knows their sins and loves them still.  He gets angry at us when we turn from Him and His best for us.  He allows us to wallow in the consequences of our sins for a while until we turn back to God.  We are so blessed by our God in ways so undeserving! I am grateful for the unending mercies of the Lord and His loving forever faithfulness to me.  When I fall, God picks me up, brushes off the dirt, forgives and restores me all because of Jesus who redeemed me!  There is no one like our God!  Why worship anyone or anything else but God? 

But, we don’t worship idols, do we?  We don’t add our idols to our worship of God, do we? We do when we fall for the tireless tricks and distractions of shiny objects offered up daily from the enemy of God—

  • A new vehicle that is attractive and will raise our status among our friends might become the object of our affection when we will do anything to acquire it, even if it means going into debt for years to come…
  • The offer of a new job that we are sure will give us all we need to climb the ladder of success but will mean the sacrifice of our morals in acquiring it… 
  • A younger version of our mate who truly understands us and is okay with being a “side dish” in our married lives…
  • Doing what it takes to get a bigger, better home even if it means getting a second or third job to pay the mortgage…
  • Letting go of wholesome, good for us, godly relationships and turning to those who will help us get ahead in the world…
  • Attending and giving to God’s church to bolster our status, reputation, and for financial gain in the community…
  • Using gossip and manipulation to get what we want…
  • Living with someone before commitment to marry to see if this “will work” for us…

These are but a few of the “idols” of our culture that our enemy says is okay for us because we deserve it.  “Surely God did not mean what He says…He is just keeping you from enjoying life”—This from the “accuser and liar,” our enemy whose end goal is eternal death and destruction. (Revelation 12:10 and John 8:44)

Israel may have been with a “king” at that time; but we are not! We have King Jesus!  Take hold with a firm grip on the hand of our Savior who has been declared by God to be The King of kings and Lord of lords! Listen to the Holy Spirit God gave us with power to overcome all that the enemy throws at us!  It was God’s Plan to save us in this Way all along…all according to God’s timing to provide the ultimate sacrifice to provide all we need to repent and remove sin from our lives forever!  Life is found in Jesus—not just any life but eternal Life!

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17

God did for us what we cannot do for ourselves—remove the sin that stands between us and God through Jesus.   “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16 

We have no excuse for sin. But we have a Savior who removes sin.  Fall for Jesus!

Lord,

Thank you, thank you, thank you!  Guide all that I think, say, and do for your glory so others will know you, too.

In Jesus Name, Amen

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

WEIRDLY SEEKING ABSOLUTION AND PEACE

Posted on June 3, 2025 by randscallawayffm

Life and our response to it has become big business in the therapy community. This might be why:  Every circumstance must have a reason for it. If we cannot find the reason to explain it; we wallow in it. We become unsettled, anxious, miserable, and cranky. All those around us suffer because of our attitude.  If we have the funds, coupled with health insurance, we might purchase time from a therapist trained to help us find the peace we long for by giving us reasons to choose from that will satisfy our need to explain life.  Our human nature demands reasons for our troubles.  We also have strong tendencies with desire to blame someone else for our current situation so they become the reason that exonerates us as the reason.  (Disclaimer:  Those who suffer extreme depression from possible physical abnormalities or extreme mental occurrences should seek help from licensed, medical physicians.) 

There is this now a new behavior a lot of us lean into called “retail therapy.”  We add this to other man-made therapies of our day that we can do on our own!  When life is hard, we go shopping.  When we can’t solve an issue with someone; we browse Amazon to see what the world’s store has to offer.  When we cannot satisfy our real need; we seek stuff to fill the emptiness.  I confess, I have fallen for retail therapy as a temporary fix. But it doesn’t last.  There is no peace in this behavior, only another idol that distracts us from God who is peace.  The idols of our day end up in garage sales a few months later as we reprimand ourselves with, “What were we thinking?”  We weren’t thinking at all!

Micah is a man who stole money from his mother.  She is cursing over the loss.  He finally decides to confess. “It wasn’t a thief, mom, it was me.” What Micah’s mother did next might surprise you—she forgave him then blessed him with a new idol! What were they thinking?  The idol was designed from the stolen money to atone for his sin of stealing it! She and Micah had a real need—God. But she and Micah replaced God with silver idol that was placed in a prominent, designated area of his home.  Wow.

False worship of manmade stuff seeks peace of heart through all the wrong ways. A true relationship with God requires wholehearted obedience, not a token sacrifice or a temporary fix of atonement.

Judges 17

Micah’s Idols

Now a man named Micah from the hill country of Ephraim 2 said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you and about which I heard you utter a curse—I have that silver with me; I took it.”

Then his mother said, “The Lord bless you, my son!”

3 When he returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, she said, “I solemnly consecrate my silver to the Lord for my son to make an image overlaid with silver. I will give it back to you.”

4 So after he returned the silver to his mother, she took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to a silversmith, who used them to make the idol. And it was put in Micah’s house.

5 Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some household gods and installed one of his sons as his priest. 6 In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.

7 A young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, who had been living within the clan of Judah, 8 left that town in search of some other place to stay. On his way he came to Micah’s house in the hill country of Ephraim.

9 Micah asked him, “Where are you from?”

“I’m a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah,” he said, “and I’m looking for a place to stay.”

10 Then Micah said to him, “Live with me and be my father and priest, and I’ll give you ten shekels of silver a year, your clothes and your food.” 11 So the Levite agreed to live with him, and the young man became like one of his sons to him. 12 Then Micah installed the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in his house. 13 And Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, since this Levite has become my priest.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Who or what are our idols that we use to soothe us? “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) in this and other areas of our daily lives.  Let us take some dedicated time to prayerfully reflect and repent as the Holy Spirit brings to our minds what thinking and resulting behaviors need to be removed from our lives. Then, just do it, with His power-filled help!

Are our homes morally confusing to our offspring?  Ouch.  Have you ever seen a family more spiritually and morally confused than this one? They managed to break almost all the Ten Commandments and yet not feel the least bit guilty before the Lord! In fact, they thought they were serving the Lord by the bizarre things they did!  Because Micah and his family didn’t submit to the authority of God’s Word, their home was a place of religious and moral confusion. It was a good deal like some homes today where the family worships the idols of money, children steal from their parents, and lie about what they do or where they are going. The family honor is unknown, and a place the true God is unwanted or neglected. Peace alludes each one.

“The sad part of the story is that Micah thought he had God’s favor because a genuine Levitical priest was serving as his private chaplain. Micah practiced a false religion and worshiped false gods (with Jehovah thrown in for good measure), and all the while he rested on the false confidence that God was blessing him!”—Warren Wiersbe

Old Testament priests were assigned as agents of God to provide spiritual guidance along with acts of sacrifice for the atonement of sin.  Then God sent His Son, Jesus, a part of Himself to be the ultimate sacrifice once and for all to remove the sins of the world.  God’s Holy Spirit then comes to live in all who believe and follow Jesus as redeemed children of God, joint heirs with Jesus.  God’s Holy Spirit is our Counselor, Helper, and Supreme Spiritual Advisor who guides His church—us—to all that is truth. 

Our response as followers is outlined for us in God’s Word. Here are a few precious gems that fill our real need of God when we trust and obey;

  • “Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”—Jesus, Matthew 6:31-34
  • “If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” –Jesus, John 14:15-17
  • “All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”—Jesus, John 14:25-27
  • “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”—Jesus, John 16:13
  • “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”—Jesus, John 16:33

Our new identity as believers is in Jesus who died and rose again to save us and reconcile us to God.  All we need to know about God came from God through the teachings of Jesus, His Son. Our hope and inheritance of eternal life is because of Jesus. The gift of God’s Holy Spirit lives in us and speaks truth to us as promised by Jesus.  All we need and long for is Jesus!  There is no other Name but Jesus to worship in thanksgiving and praise! Paul was changed completely by Jesus and writes;

  • “Think on these things,” writes Paul to God’s church, who spent the rest of his life after Jesus seeking to truly know Jesus and be like Him.  “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”—Paul, Philippians 3:10-12
  • “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”—Paul, Philippians 4:6-8

Lord,

The story of Micah and his mom is not really that uncommon today.  There are so many pitfalls of idolatry that we need your power to avoid.  I repent of turning to anyone or anything but you when my mind is unsettled.  You alone are my peace that is world cannot give—only you.  Thank you for teaching us, reminding us that all we really need is You.  I trust you with my life because you are Life! I pray for lost ones who need you now.

In Jesus Name, Amen

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

TELL ME YOUR SECRET!

Posted on June 2, 2025 by randscallawayffm

How do you do that?  How did you get to where you are?  How can one person do what you do each day?  What is your secret?  We might not be a Samson, a person gifted with great physical strength; but we are God’s created just like Samson.  God gives each person on earth extraordinary power and wisdom at just the right time and place with specific gifted abilities to accomplish His work for His glory.  That is the secret. Not us! Not yet believers marvel at this power and think strength and wisdom comes from the person themselves who seem to say and do all the right things at the right time.  But this is not the secret sauce of success!

As we read the last part of Samson’s story; we might chuckle a bit over the consistent nagging Delila who demands to know the secret to his strength until we realize she is driven by greed!  The Philistine leaders will pay her handsomely for knowing the secret to his strength so they can bring him down!  Samson enjoys the game until he became “sick to death” of her nagging. Little does he know that she is working for the enemy—or does he?  Is Samson so “in love” and so proud of his strength that he thinks will never fall?  You decide—but finish the story before forming your decision.  Allow God’s Holy Spirit to do His work on us while God’s Word is formed in us. 

Judges 16

Samson and Delilah

One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her. 2 The people of Gaza were told, “Samson is here!” So they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They made no move during the night, saying, “At dawn we’ll kill him.”

3 But Samson lay there only until the middle of the night. Then he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.

4 Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah. 5 The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, “See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.”

6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.”

7 Samson answered her, “If anyone ties me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I’ll become as weak as any other man.”

8 Then the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him with them. 9 With men hidden in the room, she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” But he snapped the bowstrings as easily as a piece of string snaps when it comes close to a flame. So the secret of his strength was not discovered.

10 Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have made a fool of me; you lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied.”

11 He said, “If anyone ties me securely with new ropes that have never been used, I’ll become as weak as any other man.”

12 So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them. Then, with men hidden in the room, she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” But he snapped the ropes off his arms as if they were threads.

13 Delilah then said to Samson, “All this time you have been making a fool of me and lying to me. Tell me how you can be tied.”

He replied, “If you weave the seven braids of my head into the fabric on the loom and tighten it with the pin, I’ll become as weak as any other man.” So while he was sleeping, Delilah took the seven braids of his head, wove them into the fabric 14 and tightened it with the pin.

Again she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” He awoke from his sleep and pulled up the pin and the loom, with the fabric.

15 Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.” 16 With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it.

17 So he told her everything. “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite dedicated to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.”

18 When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, “Come back once more; he has told me everything.” So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. 19 After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him.

20 Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”

He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.

21 Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain in the prison. 22 But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

The Death of Samson

23 Now the rulers of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to celebrate, saying, “Our god has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands.”

24 When the people saw him, they praised their god, saying,

“Our god has delivered our enemy
    into our hands,
the one who laid waste our land
    and multiplied our slain.”

25 While they were in high spirits, they shouted, “Bring out Samson to entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he performed for them.

When they stood him among the pillars, 26 Samson said to the servant who held his hand, “Put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple, so that I may lean against them.” 27 Now the temple was crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform. 28 Then Samson prayed to the Lord, “Sovereign Lord, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.” 29 Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other, 30 Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived.

31 Then his brothers and his father’s whole family went down to get him. They brought him back and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had led Israel twenty years.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

When Delilah began to probe for the secret of his strength, Samson should have been aware of his danger and, like Joseph (Genesis 39:12), fled as fast as possible! But passion had gripped him, sin had anesthetized him, and he was unable to act rationally. Anybody could have told him that Delilah was making a fool out of him, but Samson would have believed no one.

“Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”—Paul mentoring Timothy, 2 Timothy 2:22

Speaking of Paul, AKA Saul, I’m reminded of his conversion from evil passion to holy righteousness. His story is found in Acts 9.  Saul had great influence and success as a religious leader dedicated to extreme adherence of The Law.  His self-righteousness, however, was his downfall for he didn’t really know God and what He wanted.  He decided for himself to became a self-appointed terrorizer of all who believed and followed Jesus for he was convinced that Jesus was the enemy of The Law.  Saul was a harassing agent given full authority from the Jewish religious leadership to destroy/kill Christ followers by any means necessary.  Saul did not have the secret to life until that day, standing in the middle of the road, he met Jesus.  And Jesus changed everything. Jesus still changes everything!

“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?” asks Jesus. Saul was blind to who God really is and was so he did not know who was speaking—yet.  Jesus’ glorious appearance physically blinded Saul; forcing him to stop and rethink who he is and what God wants from him.  This former man who was “large and in charge” fell humbly to his knees. Then he was given a new direction; “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”  Blinded, humbled and maybe a bit fearful; Saul, led by the hand, went to Damacus with a new plan.  As soon as he arrived at the city, he was told to go to the house of Ananias.  God told Ananias to seek Saul out and welcome him into his home. Ananias, directed by God’s Holy Spirit, was told to pray for the known terrorist and lay his hands over Saul’s eyes!  Saul regained sight as a new creation in Jesus with new goal for life.

Saul, now called Paul, declared what Jesus did in and for him to everyone in the known world.  In doing so, Paul became the one persecuted, beaten, chained, and imprisoned but he continued to preach Jesus—the One without sin who was crucified for our sins, the One and Only sacrificially put to death to pay our debt of deserved punishment for our sins in full. The One was God’s Son who in resurrection power rose three days later as the Victor of death. Jesus was Paul’s new living hope for all eternity!  And Jesus is our hope, the hope of eternal life of all who believe and follow Jesus as King of kings and Lord of lords! 

New Life—New Goals—

“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.  What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.  Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” Paul, Philippians 3:7-12 

Paul discovered the greatest secret of all time and testifies to all who will listen;

“God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his entire message to you. This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people. For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.”  Colossians 1:25-27, NLT

The Secret is Christ in us, working through us for our good and His glory!

  • To all who believe and call on the Name of Jesus all will be saved. Romans 10:13
  • In times of trouble when we are weak—Jesus is the Source of our strength that enables us to endure and even grow from our trials and troubled circumstances.
  • “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
    My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.” Psalm 28:7
  • “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:12-13

Yes, Jesus is the secret and source of real, lasting, eternal Life!  Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey!

We watch Samson’s decline begin when he disagreed with his parents about marrying a Philistine girl. Then he dishonored his Nazirite vow and defiled himself with Delilah. He disregarded the warnings of God, disobeyed the Word of God, and was defeated by the enemies of God. Maybe he thought that he had the privilege of indulging in sin since he wore the badge of a Nazirite and won so many victories for the Lord, but he was wrong.

“Sovereign Lord, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more”—For the good of God’s People and His glory; God granted Samson’s last request to give him one more burst of God’s strength to defeat the Philistines in one last sacrificial act, knowing he would die with them. God granted this last request. May God’s will be done.

At the end of ourselves; turn to God, who will never fail to hear us and respond.

Lord,

Thank you for opening our hearts, minds, and souls to meditate on your Word in it’s entirety so we may know you more. Thank you for helping me be still before you while letting go of the smallness of my thinking to learn about you for your thoughts are indeed higher and the highest!  Lead me. Guide me to truth. Show the ways I should go.  I’m listening for you are Life to me.

In Jesus Name, Amen

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

THE SOURCE OF TRUE STRENTH!

Posted on May 31, 2025 by randscallawayffm

“Come, thou Fount of every blessing;
tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
sung by flaming tongues above;
praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
mount of God’s unchanging love!

Here I raise my Ebenezer;
hither by thy help I’m come;
and I hope, by thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God;
he, to rescue me from danger,
interposed his precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor
daily I’m constrained to be!
Let that grace now, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
here’s my heart; O take and seal it;
seal it for thy courts above.”

(Author: Robert Robinson, 1758)

Only by God’s grace…

Judges 15

Samson’s Vengeance on the Philistines

Later on, at the time of wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat and went to visit his wife. He said, “I’m going to my wife’s room.” But her father would not let him go in.

2 “I was so sure you hated her,” he said, “that I gave her to your companion. Isn’t her younger sister more attractive? Take her instead.”

3 Samson said to them, “This time I have a right to get even with the Philistines; I will really harm them.” 4 So he went out and caught three hundred foxes and tied them tail to tail in pairs. He then fastened a torch to every pair of tails, 5 lit the torches and let the foxes loose in the standing grain of the Philistines. He burned up the shocks and standing grain, together with the vineyards and olive groves.

6 When the Philistines asked, “Who did this?” they were told, “Samson, the Timnite’s son-in-law, because his wife was given to his companion.”

So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father to death. 7 Samson said to them, “Since you’ve acted like this, I swear that I won’t stop until I get my revenge on you.” 8 He attacked them viciously and slaughtered many of them. Then he went down and stayed in a cave in the rock of Etam.

9 The Philistines went up and camped in Judah, spreading out near Lehi. 10 The people of Judah asked, “Why have you come to fight us?”

“We have come to take Samson prisoner,” they answered, “to do to him as he did to us.”

11 Then three thousand men from Judah went down to the cave in the rock of Etam and said to Samson, “Don’t you realize that the Philistines are rulers over us? What have you done to us?”

He answered, “I merely did to them what they did to me.”

12 They said to him, “We’ve come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines.”

Samson said, “Swear to me that you won’t kill me yourselves.”

13 “Agreed,” they answered. “We will only tie you up and hand you over to them. We will not kill you.” So they bound him with two new ropes and led him up from the rock. 14 As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands. 15 Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.

16 Then Samson said,

“With a donkey’s jawbone
    I have made donkeys of them.
With a donkey’s jawbone
    I have killed a thousand men.”

17 When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone; and the place was called Ramath Lehi.

18 Because he was very thirsty, he cried out to the Lord, “You have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” 19 Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived. So the spring was called En Hakkore, and it is still there in Lehi.

20 Samson led Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Samson lost his betrothed wife to his best man. Obviously angry, Samson took revenge on the Philistines. Samson initiated a cycle of violence and revenge between himself and the Philistines. This vicious cycle continued to grow in scope.  Forgiveness did not seem to be an option in this story.  Samson’s revenge caused trouble for his own people for committing agriculture arson.  The Philistines are coming with full force to capture Samson.  However, we must keep in mind that God was using Samson’s exploits to harass the Philistines and prepare them for the sure defeat that was coming in a few years.

Revenge births violence which escalates more violence. The Philistines, a hostile people group, weren’t about to stand around doing nothing while their food and fortune went up in flames. They figured out that Samson was behind the burning of their crops, and they knew they had to retaliate. Since they couldn’t hope to overcome Samson, they did the next best thing and vented their wrath on his wife and father-in-law—their own Philistine people. The Philistines were godless, unmerciful, full of hate and evil. 

Samson’s weakness as a leader was not including anyone in his battles against the Philistines.  He took on the evil behaviors of the Philistines as his own personal battle of revenge that only belonged to him.  But God intervened to show him he was just a man who got thirsty like every other man.  God will do this a few more times in Samson who is learning the tough lessons of life of total dependence on God. Just because you have the strength of many men; God is stronger still.  God is in control. It is God who is Samson’s strength.  Doing what God says will always be the best plan of action.

Samson’s real strength was realizing the Source of his abilities. After the battle, Samson humbly bows to God with prayer for his needs with thanksgiving.  Samson’s prayer indicates that he considered himself God’s servant and that he didn’t want to end his life falling into the hands of the godless Philistines. So God was merciful and performed a miracle by opening up a spring of water in a hollow place. Samson quenched his thirst and then gave the place the name “Spring of the Caller.” And he obviously told others what God had done for him there, because the event was eventually recorded.

Come and talk with me first, beckons our God.  As believers we must seek God before, during, and after the battles of life as a way of life.  This is vital to our growing, intimate relationship with God through Jesus.  Jesus died for our sins then by God’s resurrection power raised Jesus in victory over death! God completed the work that secures our hope of eternal life with Him!  Why would we trust anyone else? God knows all, created all, is in all, and desires His very best for all who believe, trust, and obey.

The Apostle Paul writes of weakness that served as catalyst to know God more intimately!

“Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 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.”  2 Corinthians 12: 7-10

As demonstrated in the hard life of Paul and others; God does not spare us trials, but He helps us overcome them in ways that build our faith in Him! God works in our weakness, because when we are weak we are ready for His strength to accomplish the task in His way.  God still uses ordinary, unlikely, with various weaknesses, humans to accomplish His purpose and plan in and through us. There is no one like our God! To God be the glory!

Don’t wait to exhaust all human resources, coming to the end of our “ropes” that bind us.  Sometimes, we think we must handle all of life on our own first to appear strong and not weak.  That is what most of us are taught.  But we waste precious time with our Lord when we do that while putting off the blessings God wants to pour out over us!

Run and bow humbly to THE SOURCE who gives Life—FIRST!  No regrets when we do.  

Lord,

I come to you now, in the quiet of this first hour of the day, seeking You first. Make your desires be my desires for this day.  Lift the burden of thought and actions of self-reliance as I fully rely on You!

Give me wisdom, Holy Spirit, to live in ways that reflect the characteristics of You, Lord, who saved us and set us free. Lead me all day long, reminding me of your love in and for me, making my love for others more like your love for me.

In Jesus Name, Amen

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

GOD’S STRENGTH REVEALED IN SAMSON

Posted on May 30, 2025 by randscallawayffm

We have seen or heard of extraordinary strength that suddenly rises within ordinary people at specific times when their loved ones are pinned under the weight of a vehicle,  heavy tree branches, or in other forms of dangerous situations that trap them.  Ordinary people will rush to give aid without thinking of their abilities.  An adrenaline rush overwhelms us with strength beyond us to help in the rescue. Let us not forget who put this within us.  That rush of strength is part of our DNA, given to us by our Creator who made us in His image. 

The Philistines ruled over Israel. The Israelites cried to God to save them. God provided a leader called Samson.  We learn that it is God who always provides strength to do his will. In Samson’s case, God supplied extraordinary physical power!

Today we read about one of many incidents of Samson’s use of his God-given strength.  Coupled with a rush of adrenaline Samson kills a lion with his bare hands!  Samson will perform other feats of strength beyond what most humans of that day could accomplish—as God’s Spirit leads him.  God gave Samson all he needs to be a new leader who would rescue His Chosen from the powerfully oppressive Philistines. 

This is yet another story of God who rescued His people using an unlikely, ordinary person to do extraordinary feats. Samson is not perfect but with God becomes the perfect person for what God wants to do in and through him.  There is no one like our God!

Judges 14

Samson’s Marriage

Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman. 2 When he returned, he said to his father and mother, “I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.”

3 His father and mother replied, “Isn’t there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?”

But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me. She’s the right one for me.” 4 (His parents did not know that this was from the Lord, who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines; for at that time they were ruling over Israel.)

5 Samson went down to Timnah together with his father and mother. As they approached the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young lion came roaring toward him. 6 The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he told neither his father nor his mother what he had done. 7 Then he went down and talked with the woman, and he liked her.

8 Some time later, when he went back to marry her, he turned aside to look at the lion’s carcass, and in it he saw a swarm of bees and some honey. 9 He scooped out the honey with his hands and ate as he went along. When he rejoined his parents, he gave them some, and they too ate it. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lion’s carcass.

10 Now his father went down to see the woman. And there Samson held a feast, as was customary for young men. 11 When the people saw him, they chose thirty men to be his companions.

12 “Let me tell you a riddle,” Samson said to them. “If you can give me the answer within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes. 13 If you can’t tell me the answer, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.”

“Tell us your riddle,” they said. “Let’s hear it.”

14 He replied,

“Out of the eater, something to eat;
    out of the strong, something sweet.”

For three days they could not give the answer.

15 On the fourth day, they said to Samson’s wife, “Coax your husband into explaining the riddle for us, or we will burn you and your father’s household to death. Did you invite us here to steal our property?”

16 Then Samson’s wife threw herself on him, sobbing, “You hate me! You don’t really love me. You’ve given my people a riddle, but you haven’t told me the answer.”

“I haven’t even explained it to my father or mother,” he replied, “so why should I explain it to you?” 17 She cried the whole seven days of the feast. So on the seventh day he finally told her, because she continued to press him. She in turn explained the riddle to her people.

18 Before sunset on the seventh day the men of the town said to him,

“What is sweeter than honey?
    What is stronger than a lion?”

Samson said to them,

“If you had not plowed with my heifer,
    you would not have solved my riddle.”

19 Then the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. He went down to Ashkelon, struck down thirty of their men, stripped them of everything and gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle. Burning with anger, he returned to his father’s home. 20 And Samson’s wife was given to one of his companions who had attended him at the feast.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Samson also loves to tell riddles as a way to assess the wisdom of others in his strategy to seek truth.  Only by trickery, using the woman he loves, can the Philistines solve the riddle.  Truth of betrayal is discovered so he gives the woman to one of his friends.  How sad, as we read this story.  We can all remember times when we, too have been betrayed by someone we thought we could trust, right?!

But let’s go back to the beginning of this passage.  The Lord had given Samson a godly heritage, and he had been raised to honor the Lord, but when Samson fell in love, he wouldn’t listen to his parents’ warning. Samson had wandered four miles into enemy territory where he was captivated by a Philistine woman and decided to marry her. This, of course, was contrary to God’s law. We can often trace the beginning of sins in our lives to a decision we made to be somewhere we should not have been.

However, God uses Samson’s lack of wisdom in this case for His purposes to free His people once more from turning from Him to live under the bondage of a foreign nation—The Philistines. God is good—perfect even—AND He uses existing evil in the world for His purposes without being contaminated by it.  What a mighty God we have!

Samson’s character:  Since the guests had played dirty, technically Samson could have refused to pay the price, but he generously agreed to keep his promise.

Samson’s weaknesses: cute chicks.  First the Philistine woman enticed him, then she controlled him, and then she betrayed him, which is the way the world always treats the compromising believer. Samson could kill lions and break ropes, but he couldn’t overcome the power of a woman’s tears. 

Secondly, the passion to get even seemed to govern Samson’s life. His motto was, “I only did to them what they did to me” which will lead to his downfall.  The passion of hate builds when we are betrayed by those we love the most.  Hate breeds the sin of revenge, a sin we must seek God’s help and His power to avoid.

If we’re looking by faith into the face of the Lord, He can guide us with his eye, the way parents guide their children. But if we turn our backs on Him, He has to treat us like animals and harness us. Samson was either impetuously rushing ahead like the horse at the start of a race or stubbornly holding back like a stubborn mule.  God had to deal with Samson with His wisdom…as He did many other leaders who followed after Samson!  David, “the apple of God’s eyes,” for example, also struggled in doing the total will of God writes of God’s wisdom to all of us;

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
    I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.
Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.” Psalm 32:8-9

Instruction from God is a daily discipline on our part as we seek His good, pleasing and perfect will.  Paul writes how to do this;

“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:1-2—Read all of Romans 12 to get the full picture!

Lord,

I give all of me to be filled with all of you.  Cleanse my heart, renew my mind, refresh my soul, and restore the eternal joy of you in me and me in you.  Thank you for being with us always. Thank you for saving us; then equipping us for service to you and others in ways that demonstrate your love for us. Thank you for helping us by the inexplicable power of your Holy Spirit. To you be the glory!

In Jesus Name, Amen

But wait, there’s more…see you tomorrow!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

THE STORY OF GOD IN SAMSON

Posted on May 29, 2025 by randscallawayffm

When we read God’s Word, seeking to know God by His Word, we learn more about how He works.  We also begin to see the character of God displayed as He works daily to rescue, save, and deliver His people who choose Him.  Throughout the centuries, from the fall of Adam to salvation in Jesus; it is God at work.  Even though evil tempts and taunts; it is not God’s desire that anyone perish from evil.  Peter, the disciple who walked with Jesus for three years and observed how He related to everyone, writes this testimony about the Lord God;

“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:8-9

Israel has turned away from God again.  He allows them to live with the consequences of evil for forty years but has not turned from them. God is always at work and always will be at work on behalf of His created.  Even we are unfaithful; God is forever faithful to us, His created. A new leader who will deliver the Israelites is soon to be born to a childless couple.  What a blessing!  Samson is the story of God at work in and for His people.  God begins the work of deliverance in this couple, so giddy with excitement that they ask, “teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.”  Notice that it seems they want to do the right thing but maybe forgot what doing the right thing looks like in a fallen world.  They do remember that sacrifices are important so they offer a sacrifice to the angel messenger; but the angel instructs them, “…if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the Lord.”

God intervenes in a fallen world with a message from His angel to a childless couple with great news! The message; “you will have a son.”  The couple who will later give birth miraculously to a baby boy who will grow into a man who will deliver Israel.  Yes, that’s how God works! When all seem to be doom and gloom, with no hope—God delivers Hope. 

Judges 13

The Birth of Samson

Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.

2 A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was childless, unable to give birth. 3 The angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. 4 Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean. 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.”

6 Then the woman went to her husband and told him, “A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of God, very awesome. I didn’t ask him where he came from, and he didn’t tell me his name. 7 But he said to me, ‘You will become pregnant and have a son. Now then, drink no wine or other fermented drink and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from the womb until the day of his death.’”

8 Then Manoah prayed to the Lord: “Pardon your servant, Lord. I beg you to let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.”

9 God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. 10 The woman hurried to tell her husband, “He’s here! The man who appeared to me the other day!”

11 Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, “Are you the man who talked to my wife?”

“I am,” he said.

12 So Manoah asked him, “When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule that governs the boy’s life and work?”

13 The angel of the Lord answered, “Your wife must do all that I have told her. 14 She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her.”

15 Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat for you.”

16 The angel of the Lord replied, “Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the Lord.” (Manoah did not realize that it was the angel of the Lord.)

17 Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?”

18 He replied, “Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding.” 19 Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the Lord. And the Lord did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: 20 As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground. 21 When the angel of the Lord did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the Lord.

22 “We are doomed to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen God!”

23 But his wife answered, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this.”

24 The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew and the Lord blessed him, 25 and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him while he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Again and again, the nation of Israel gave up their identity as God’s Chosen to fall for the evils of the culture around them.  They forgot God and His commandments that kept them close to God and to each other.  Punishment often resulted by allowing them to live the consequences of living without Him. Yet, God retained his covenant with these obstinate people.

During the time of the judges, God provided a deliverer. A baby was promised to a childless couple created with the purpose to deliver God’s people from the oppression of the Philistines. When he was born, he was named Samson.  He was to live a dedicated life to God and for God. 

How and why do people once close to God suddenly turn from God?  We don’t just wake up one day and decide to leave God; it happens most often in day-to-day behaviors that slowly erode our desire to please God. Our pride has a lot to do with this erosion of faith in God. With a little success on our own, affirmed by the applause of others; we begin to seek to please others rather than God. We slowly, and at first reluctantly, accept the behaviors of the culture around us that is opposite all that is God.

We find a new idol of worship—self.  Lucado writes; “Pride makes us drift from God’s commands. We feel “I can do it on my own,” or we become confident in our own ability to handle each day. Yet, like Israel, we often remember to turn to God when life suddenly gets hard. Pride is idolatry—the idol is self.

Jesus, who could have called ten thousand angels to deliver Him from dying on cruel cross of publicly humiliation; but He did not.  Jesus chose God’s will be done to remove our sins in this way.  God’s Plan of salvation once and for all, came with a demonstration of humility for us to imitate later—Jesus set aside his own interests for the interests of others. Paul writes of this characteristic of Jesus;

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” Philippians 2:3-8

And then God declared Him King of all.  Our King of kings and LORD of lords is our Deliverer forever!  Jesus paid the price for our redemption. Can we just pause to gratefully bow before Him in pure praise?!  Hallelujah!

And what does the Lord require of us?

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8

Humility is the opposite of pride. We decide daily who to lean on for wisdom and understanding with guidance to all that is truth.  Choose wisely.

How do we respond?  Pause to reflect and evaluate. Ask God’s Holy Spirit to help us.  Has our pride led us away from God? Have we become so self-reliant that we no longer follow God’s advice?  Do we lean on our own understandings instead of God who knows all and is in all?

Here is what is to come as the life of Samson occupies the next four chapters of Judges. Samson was unpredictable and undependable because he was double-minded, and people like that are “unstable in all [their] ways” (James 1:8). It has well been said that “the greatest ability is dependability,” and you could depend on Samson to be undependable. 

We will learn much from the life of Samson, the hairy hulk who had great strength—until he got a haircut!

Oh Lord,

May the sin of pride be overcome by the power of Your Holy Spirit’s work within us. Help us to think and behave more like you. Help us to develop your mind who guides us to all things opposite of evil.  May your peace then rule our hearts.

In Jesus Name, for Your glory and our good, Amen

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment