Gideon stumbles; Part 5

by | Apr 10, 2013 | Devotional

Part 1 2 3 4 5 I, Elkanah, am exhausted and thrilled, along with the other two hundred and ninety-nine in Gideon’s band of men. Surely it is time to go home and rest. Those who have oppressed Israel have destroyed each other, and the few survivors of the...

Gideon’s victory; Part 4

by | Apr 3, 2013 | Devotional

Part 1 2 3 4 5 I am a neighbor of Gideon. They call me Elkanah. I was with the three brothers of Gideon when they were ambushed by the kings of the great army of Midian, who roamed the hillsides with 30 men looking for sport a few weeks ago. I rolled under a bush, but...

Gideon, mighty warrior; Part 3

by | Mar 27, 2013 | Devotional

Part 1 2 3 4 5 Alas, the enemies of Israel have come to teach us a lesson. The desert kings of Midian and of the peoples around us have joined together and brought a mighty army moving right into the Jezreel Valley below our hillside caves.  We harvested the crops we...

Gideon, man of God? Part 2

by | Mar 20, 2013 | Devotional

Part 1 2 3 4 5 Lying on my blanket in the family cave in the night, I, Gideon, marvel. Today I met the Lord and lived. A god, someone who could work a miracle: consuming the offering I gave him. What else can this tribal god do? Is he stronger than Baal and Asherah? I...

Gideon’s journey begins; Part 1

by | Mar 13, 2013 | Devotional

Part   1   2   3   4   5 I am Gideon. I’m afraid the Midianites will catch me threshing this little bit of wheat that my family was able to grow and harvest. I hate those Midianites, who  like locusts descend on Israel at harvest time and take away the crops,...

Ehud changes his mind

by | Feb 27, 2013 | Devotional

You are Ehud, a timid man with handicaps. You live in Israel during the time of the Judges, when the children of Israel occupy the promised land in a tenuous kind of way, bedeviled by the Canaanites and their tempting fertility worship while forgetting who their help...

Focusing on God

by | Feb 6, 2013 | Devotional, Thoughts to share

Why is paying attention to God so difficult? I have great intentions every day to pray a lot and let the Lord guide me through my decisions of the day: how I will spend my time, what I will focus on. But things degenerate pretty quickly. Soon I’m making choices...

Focusing on God

by | Feb 6, 2013 | Devotional, Thoughts to share

Why is paying attention to God so difficult? I have great intentions every day to pray a lot and let the Lord guide me through my decisions of the day: how I will spend my time, what I will focus on. But things degenerate pretty quickly. Soon I’m making choices...