Recently I read a comment on Facebook regarding how people give credit to God when they succeed but don’t blame him for their failures. He was pointing out how hypocritical it is that they give God the Glory when they succeed yet wont blame him for their failures.

The act of thanking Jesus in a public venue sometimes is cultural and sometimes it is a true expression of ones faith. The issue as I see it is not necessarily in the outcome but an expression of thanksgiving. We all have faith and we place it in whatever paradigm we are willing to accept.

Faith is a substance and it manifests itself in whatever it is invested in. Some just don’t believe invest it and don’t see any thing

A fundamental difference for a Christian is that they have encountered the living God.

That encounter has changed their lives forever. Now some have encountered God but yet their cultural construct of what is real or what is not real may prevent them from accepting that it was a God encounter.

The existence of God is not dependent on your acknowledgement or not.

As fundamentalist as this may sound there is a living God who interacts with his children every day. He is not dead and buried somewhere or a simple construct of peoples imagination. His language is not simply English and he communicates in a variety of ways.

He makes himself known in all of his creation yet his creation does not contain him (by that I mean restrain).

A persons faith no matter how small or large is not dependent on my interpretation. If he chooses to express his thankfulness that is his choice. One important thing to consider is we are all a work in progress and some of us are further along than others. It is not for me to decide what is and is not acceptable for someone to do because on my best day the most I can do is control myself.

Spiritual realities are as real as natural, the manifestation of these realities in the natural real comes about when activated by faith.

Heidi Baker in Mozambique is an example of going to the poorest of the poor. Taking what she had and God multiplied it. She has seen blind eyes healed, dead raised, food multiplied, and much more. She is passionately in love with God and she sees miracles every day. She has a book Always-Enough-Miraculous-Provision-Children which is a collection of the miraculous stories and encounters they have had. I can go on to list a whole bunch more people who have seen miraculous interventions of God.

The biggest problem is not on Gods end it is on ours. Unbelief is what restrains him. He has done everything possible to get us to co labor with him yet we act as spoilt children demanding our way, despising him because things go wrong. He asks what do you want me to do about it I left you in charge. When we come to the realization that we can do very little without his help and start co laboring with him listening to his instructions and doing it we see his miraculous interventions.

To a man who denies the existence of God he has no framework within which God can begin to work in his life. He will consistently look for another plausible reason not to believe to put his faith in the natural created realm. The denial of the existence of things beyond our reason is one of the greatest paradoxes I see in the scientific community because they are using what is known to explore that which is unknown yet deny some of the fundamental tenants that hold the unknown together.

Contrary to cultural opinion there is not a ying and yang equal and opposite power struggle. The struggle is on the earth granted but in the heavens it is decided. God has limited his power on earth to the will of man. Its the free will thing I mentioned earlier. He is not looking for clones he is looking for sons (and daughters) who will capture his will and his heart for people and release it on earth. Faith in the negative invites the negative to manifest. Evil will show itself when you place more faith in it and act upon it. Faith in God will manifest itself in signs and wonders.

Free will is one of the biggest values of the kingdom. If you look at the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis there are two trees in the garden. Have you ever asked yourself who put them there and why? God did. Why? He gave man dominion over all the earth but had one stipulation not to eat of the fruit of one tree. Man was completely free to choose.

He chose to listen to a serpent instead of God who had given them everything. The serpent lost his legs apparently (figure that one for evolution). Who created the serpent? Why?

God give man a choice and waits for man to ask for his help, to believe what he says so he can work on his behalf.

There are many seeming inconsistencies in the bible but the bible is Gods word not God. The knowledge of the book without the encounter only makes people religious (having the form without the substance.) If you read the bible and do not encounter the living God you are simply reading a story.

When you read the bible and encounter the living God, it inspires you, it builds you up, it becomes the resting place for your faith to grow. The more you encounter Him and his love the more you become like him, the more you become like him the more you do the things he does and the more of heaven is released on earth.

God is not angry at men, he poured out his wrath on Jesus on the cross to bring men back into relationship with him satisfying his being a just and true God. He even says in 2 Peter 3:9 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
9 The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.

He also says
Ecclesiastes 3:11 (HCSB)
11 He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also put eternity in their hearts, but man cannot discover the work God has done from beginning to end.

John 17:3 (HCSB)
3 This is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and the One You have sent —Jesus Christ.

Life is a journey of discovery. Discovering who you are and who you are meant to be and the fullness of that is found in Jesus. The more we get to “know” Jesus the more we become like him. To the word know used in that verse does not simply mean to know about, it is fuller than that. It has many implications such as to; follow, allow, be aware (of), feel, (have) knowledge, perceive, be resolved, be sure, understand.

Do I have perfect theology, no, but I do have the perfect God who happens to be my best friend. He tells me things about people and lets me share his heart and goodness towards them, yes even those who don’t like me.

Just some thoughts.

‘Life isn’t about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.

I claimed it for you – now claim it for me.

God has more than a thousand ways to provide for us, that we know nothing about.

Here is your financial blessing!

It’s a simple prayer, do you have 30 Seconds?

Don’t sleep on this.

If you need a financial blessing, continue reading this e-mail.

Heavenly Father, most Gracious and Loving God,
I pray to you that you abundantly bless my family and me.

I recognize that a family is more than just a mother, father, sister, brother, husband and wife, but all who believe and trust in You.

GOD, I send up a prayer for financial blessing for not only the person who sent this to me, but for me and all those I forward this message on to.

I believe in the power of unified prayer by those who Believe and trust in you is more powerful than anything! I believe you are supremely good despite my circumstances and that you desire to pour out not only your perfect presence but the abundance of the Kingdom where there is no lack because you are all sufficient in everything.

I thank you in advance for your blessings.

Father I trust that your hand is mighty to save and it is your desire that we owe no-one anything but a debt of love. Oh God, deliver us from debt and debt burdens.

Release your Godly wisdom that I may be a good steward over all that you have given me GOD, for I know how wonderful and mighty you are. Give us the grace to walk in obedience and love according to your word. Grant us the faith the size of a Mustard seed to see your blessings pour out.

I thank you now Lord for the recent blessings I have received and for the blessings yet to come, because I know you are not done with me yet. In Jesus name Amen.

TAKE 60 SECONDS and send this on and within hours, you will have caused a multitude of people to pray to God for you and for each other. Then watch the power of God work in your life. Be expectant of his abundant blessings because He really is that good and really loves you that much.

Peace and Blessings…..
Have Faith

There are only two people who can tell you the truth about yourself – an enemy who has lost his temper and a friend who loves you dearly.

A man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, ‘Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.’

The Lord led the man to two doors.

He opened one of the doors and the man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, which smelled delicious and made the man’s mouth water.

The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful. But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.

The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.

The Lord said, ‘You have seen Hell.’

They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man’s mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking. The holy man said, ‘I don’t understand.’

It is simple,’ said the Lord. ‘It requires but one skill. You see they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves.’

Remember that together we can feast or we can starve. Join me and lets feast at the table of the Lord.

When Jesus died on the cross, he was doing it for you. He saw your end from your begining and decided to intervene and give you an option for a whole different ending. The choice is truley yours.

It really is simple to meet the creator of the Universe but it requires faith. Extend the invitation to Jesus to come into your life. Ask him to forgive your sins and give you his life. If you do this then tell someone. If you don’t know anyone who has a relationship with Jesus leave me a note in the comments section and we can help connect you up with someone and give you some idea’s who to connect with.

‘Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.’

P.S This is an adaption of a story I got in my email. I do not know who the origional author is.

When Jesus was on the cross and the last thing He said was “it is finished.” He declared the battle tide had turned. The response that came from the Roman Centurion in Matthew 27:54 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
54 When the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they were terrified and said, “This man really was God’s Son!”

Jesus statement had significance for them. During their battles, in amongst all the confusion in the intensity of battle, when men fighting for their lives they had no idea if they were winning or loosing on that they were fighting for their very lives.
Their commander the general would be positioned on a high point watch the battle unfold and when he saw the battle tide turn in their favor he would shout out in a loud voice “It Is Finished” This not only rallied the troops but gave them vision that they are not fighting in vain, that total victory was immanent.

Jesus declaration on the cross in John 19:30 (Holman Christian Standard Bible) When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” Then bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

Jesus declared the battle had turned. While we are in the midst of battle we need to hear the cry of Jesus on the cross, take heart and fight until we see the victory achieved by His sacrifice.

Another insight is that just before His death Jesus received the sour wine. Just like Jesus to take the old sour wine just before His death. On His Resurrection He released the New wine on the day of Pentecost.

He took the bitterness of the Law and released the freshness of life in the Spirit of Faith and Grace.

What is prophecy?

Well there have been books written about this very topic and I am not here to give an exhaustive definition. I can refer you to many great books about this topic should you wish to know more.

Essentially prophecy to me is connecting to the heart and mind of Jesus and declaring what you hear or see. Its primary purposes are for edification, exhortation and encouragement. 2 Peter 1:21 (New American Standard Bible)

21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God

Paul exhorts all believers to prophecy 1 Corinthians 14

1 Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.

James Goll, Mike Bickle, Kim Clement, Graham Cooke, Larry Randolph, Kris Vallotton and Steve Thompson have all written exceptional books on prophecy and how it function in and around the local church.

Below is a video of one of my most admired prophetic voices in the nation, Graham Cooke. Enjoy.

For those of you who don’t know my sister still lives in Zimbabwe. She is currently working as the administrator for a childrens home. She emailed me today with some sad and happy news. Please read the email copy below.

Dear Friends

It is with regret that this email carries the sad news of the sudden passing away of Baby Dalubuhle.  You will recall in my last newsletter the story of a very brave lady who had both arms amputated after falling into a fire during a seizure, this was Dalu’s mom.  A few weeks back we were able to take Dalu’s mom back to her home in Nkayi but due to her condition she was not able to return with Dalu.  She asked for him to remain with us until she settled and was able to come back and take him home.  Little did any of us know that Dalu would be called Home before this time!
Dalu came to our home in early September after being released from Mpilo where he was being treated for malnutrition, or should have been if there was sufficient feeding within the hospital.  Dalu’s story is one where remarkable improvement was seen within days of him receiving the love, care and nutrition any child should receive in reality, unfortunately circumstances here in Zimbabwe are not quite like that !
Anyway as I take a look back at the photos I have, and I’ve attached them for you too to appreciate, we can only be thankful to God for affording us the opportunity of caring for Dalu and to be able to give him a special quality of life in his last days here on Earth without knowledge of it.  I do not think we could have done any more than what we did for him even if we had of known these were his last days.
Dalu did not show any signs of being extremely ill in fact a few days prior to this we were playing with a ball on the floor of the toy room and he was chuckling away seemingly without a care in the world.

Playtime

He had two bottom teeth and was beginning to crawl, he had come so far from being the frail frame when he first came to thehome to now a chubby boy full of smiles.

When Dalu arrived

A little malnourished Dalu

After Two months

When Dalu was admitted to Mater Dei (a private hospital) he was experiencing very high temperatures which we could not control by medication, the diagnosis was pneumonia which caused his eventual death.
We are saddened by the loss of Dalubuhle and we ask that you pray for his family in the Nkayi Rural Area.  We shall be returning his body there tomorrow and ask that God go before our team and that His Holy Spirit be their strength.
As I often do in sad and difficult times I search my soul to find consolation that God is with us {strange how we question things in the midst of our weakest moment} and again I am able to see that God’s hand is with us always!  Whilst I worried about how we would fund a funeral when I have been struggling to meet our month-end commitments, an angel was sent with a donation for the home, to be used in which ever way the children would benefit.  Whilst I wrestled if this would be appropriate I called the donor and was told to use the money whichever way I saw fit, I knew this was God’s way of providing for us in this sad and difficult time.
May Dalubuhle’s soul rest in peace !
Luv ‘n’ friendship in the Lord always Sis’Bee XxXx

For me this reflects both the goodness and greatness of God. We got to share the life of one little boy who may have moved on but got to be loved by a community who cared enough to love in the midst of the darkness and need in Zimbabwe. These are my unsung heroes, the people who sacrifice their comfort to take care of those who do not have the ability to help themselves.

For those of you unaware of the situation in Zimbabwe here is a brief rundown.

Have the highest inflation rate in the world over 100 000%.

Currently in political turmoil.

Basic commodities are scarcely available as such people have to buy in foreign currency as the local curreny devalues so fast that by the time it gets to the bank the retailer will not be able to replenish his stock.

Banks limiting withdrawals of Z$14 million a day in perspective that is currently US$ 7. That is hardly enough to get a loaf of bread and a bottle of milk.

The basic infrastructure in the country is in major disrepair with daily powercuts sometimes as much as 12-16 hours a day in some places and 2 to 4 hours water supply once every 2 to 3 days.

My sister has to travel out of the country every month to go and purchase food supplies, medicines etc and her vehicle mileage has greatly increased. She recently had her tires stolen off her vehicle. It cost her almost US$ 800 to replace them. The average person there only earns between US$ 20 – US$100 a month.

If God places it on your heart to assist in some way leave a comment and I will be in touch. While I may never have had the chance to meet this little guy I do have a chance to introduce him to you. He was valuable enough to our Father to let him spend some time on the earth with us and to touch many lives with hope and joy.

While meditating on a number of things the other day I felt impressed in my spirit that the Lord Yahweh wants His bride to intercede for mercy to be released on the Land. Don’t be deceived He is also a just Father. If the people rebel he will not violate their free will and will hand them over to their desires, and they will be consumed both by their lusts and their enemies, both spiritual and natural.

I ask that you read the post in its entirety as I lay a basic foundation to culminate in my conclusion.

Gradually the Godly heritage of this nation has been lost bit by bit, from the time prayer was removed from schools, legalizing the murder of innocents through abortion, the separation of state and religion doctrine, breakdown of family and marriage, pornography, the homosexual agenda and many more issues.

The moral consciousness of the nation has gradually changed through the use of various means that are controlled and directed by a few elite people. They have literally held their relativistic humanist philosophy up to be the epitome of civilized society rather than the Judeao Christian values that were core values that the founding fathers used to establish this nation.

I believe this nation has been deceived. There are evil spiritual forces at play over this nation. Gradually and insidiously they have wormed their lies, deceit and philosophies into the national conscience. The sad part about being deceived is that when one is deceived one does not know it. I am not talking about president elect Obama, his policies are just a symptom of a deeper issue of the deception that has entered the Land.

When truth is revealed it is usually met with denial, and the winner of that encounter depends on the strength of the opposing forces. If the truth is presented in a judgmental way it is under the spirit of the Law. The law only achieves one objective, it shows us how far we have fallen short. There is a higher power that was revealed through Jesus and that was Love, Mercy and Grace. If truth is presented in Love, Mercy and Grace the Spirit of God moves in and there is a power that is unstoppable. It is the power of God to transform a nation. So unless there is a greater power behind the revealing of truth that will open the eyes of the blind and give ears to the deaf, the lie and deceit will remain. The truth lived in Love, Grace and Mercy will escort the deceived captive into truth and release them into their divine destiny.

Sometimes the mercy of the Lord is shown by the fact that He protects us from ourselves.

Romans 1:20-25 (Holman Christian Standard Bible) – Therefore God delivered them over in the cravings of their hearts to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served something created instead of the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

Nehemiah 9:30 (Holman Christian Standard Bible) – You were patient with them for many years, and Your Spirit warned them through Your prophets, but they would not listen. Therefore, You handed them over to the surrounding peoples.

Over the last number of weeks I have been hearing from some of the prophetic voices over this nation both blessing and judgment words. My personal opinion is they are both accurate in as much as the Bride will intercede, will capture the heartbeat of heaven and release it here on Earth as it is in Heaven.

Let me say this very clearly. Father God is in a GOOD mood. He is not intimidated about what is going on in the world and is secure in his identity. Jesus when he died said “It is finished.” John 19:30 To some that may sound like a statement of defeat, but the truth is it is the greatest statement of victory.

Jesus was completely obedient even unto death. It was by His blood that the Victory was won over sin and death. Now Father God could release the prisoners and set the captives free. Jesus fulfilled the requirements of the law, faced the judgment for sin as a sinless man, gave His life freely. By doing that he earned the right to give life to all those who believe.

The blood, the cross, the empty tomb are his love song to a people who did not know how much He loved them. That has not changed because his love for you has not changed.

John 3:16-18 - “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world that He might judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. Anyone who believes in Him is not judged, but anyone who does not believe is already judged, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God.

You cannot do anything to achieve righteousness because it is all about Him, it all comes from Him, and it all goes to Him. You came to him because He revealed Himself, who is love, to you. You got to choose because He gave you the choice and extended His love and Mercy to reach out to you.

So why have I written about all of this it is simple. As much as He loves you, He loves those who persecute him, who curse his name

All the great men of the Bible entered into the presence of God and had favor with God because they put their Faith and trust in Him.

Abraham found favor with God, so much so that God revealed His plans to Abraham
Abraham interceded with the Lord and the Lord God said he would relent from destroying Sodom and Gomorrah if he could find 10 righteous in the city. He found one family and they were saved. Had Abraham continued with the Lord down to one maybe Sodom and Gomorrah would have survived. See Genesis 18:17-33

How about Moses?

Exodus 32:10-14 “Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation.” Then Moses entreated the LORD his God, and said, “O LORD, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? “Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, ‘With evil intent He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your burning anger and change Your mind about doing harm to Your people. “Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You swore by Yourself, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’” So the LORD changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.

When Moses heard and saw God’s anger against His people, Moses interceded for them and changed the mind of God.

Wow Moses and Abraham interceding were able to change the mind of God.

That is the Old covenant where sin separated us from the Father. How much more do our words carry to the ear of Heaven now that we have been redeemed by the blood and have access into the Holy of Holies.

Sometimes when God is prophesying to you, declaring His purposes and plans, He is testing your heart not determining your destiny.

When God is prophesying a judgment word what are you going to do? Is your relationship such as that of Moses and Abraham who interceded for the people?

You see, Godly leaders intercede for the Lord to complete his good purposes and not turn over the people to destruction.

2 Peter 3:9 - The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Righteous leaders remind God of His intent for blessing and not destruction.

Nehemiah 9:28 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
But as soon as they had relief, they again did what was evil in Your sight.So You abandoned them to the power of their enemies, who dominated them. When they cried out to You again, You heard from heaven and rescued them many times in Your compassion.

Are you moved to dialogue with Jesus? Are you going to get on your face before him? Are you going to meet him face to face to plead for mercy instead of Judgment to be released for those involved?

Matthew 18:33 Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?

James 2:13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who hasn’t shown mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Luke 6:36 Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

Does he find a great leader in you interceding for the people or does He find someone who, like Jonah, is arguing for the Judgment word to be released.

Proverbs 11:17 A kind man benefits himself, but a cruel man brings disaster on himself.

Proverbs 21:13 The one who shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will himself also call out and not be answered.

Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, because they will be shown mercy.

I was struck recently with the picture of the Mercy Seat of God. It was placed on top of the ark of the testimony. It is my belief that as we will build a mercy seat to sit on top of the testimony of the goodness, graciousness and love of God the Lord himself will release such a manifestation of His Spirit that it would indeed turn the hearts of the nation back to him. Let his Glory come and be released upon the land as his people release mercy. I hope to write more about the mercy seat in a coming post.

Mercy seat

I am not naive that the days will be getting darker, but it is our responsibility to be the light. It is our responsibility to shine and reveal the Glory of God to all those who are perishing. And if Love takes us to the cross let us go with Joy for the Glory of God. If it saves one life from eternal separation from the lover of my soul I know it will be worth it.
He did it for me He is faithful and true to do it for you.

P.S. Thank You Kris Vallotton for declaring the truth. Your heart and words inspire me to dig deaper into the heart of God.

There is no such thing as pro life and pro choice! When looking at issues or debating issues you have two opposing points of view – a Pro and a Con/anti.

Pro-Life means “for life”.

Opposing the Pro-Life position means in essence one takes the anti-life position. Let us not use language to hide or confuse the issue. The opposite of pro-life is opposing life not pro-choice.

A Euphemism is defined as the use of a word or phrase that is more neutral, vague, or indirect to replace a direct, harsh, unpleasant, or offensive term. By hiding the real meaning of the opposing argument of pro-life in a euphemism we don’t confront the reality of the situation.

Pro choice is really just a euphemism for Anti- Life.

Do I hate people who are not pro life, gosh no. My heart, I like to believe, lines up with my Fathers. We love them and want the best for them. I believe most “pro-choice” folks are very sincere in their beliefs, unfortunately they are sincerely wrong.

The irony of being “pro choice” is you make the choice that is not yours to make. You do not have the right to choose life or death that is God’s choice. If you had infinite wisdom and were able to see the full destiny and plan for that child’s life then you may be in a position to be considered able to make such a decision.
Even then, it is not you who spoke that life into being from before the foundation of the world. By making yourself the authority over the life of that child you declare yourself to be God.
If you replace God with yourself you get in all sorts of God trouble. You in fact align yourself against God, you make yourself an enemy of God and withdraw yourself from his divine light, love and protection.

Now some people may say there is no God and my response to you is very simple. The fact that you have not or are not willing to experience him does not change the fact that He is very real and is very much in love with you. In fact He desires that you experience him and meet him.
You may say there is no evidence that He is real. Well there is plenty of evidence if you would be open minded enough to look free of opinion and bias.
I know where Bulawayo, Zimbabwe is because I have lived there. The fact that you have not been there is irrelevant to the fact that it is real and is there.
I have not been to Beijing, China yet I have seen evidence of it, heard testimonies of people who have been there even seen it on maps. Even still I am required to have a level of faith that what I have heard is real and true based on the evidence before me.
Well the same evidence is available for those who are truly seeking the truth. They will meet Him face to face.
If you are not sure take a step of faith and ask Him if He is real to come and reveal Himself to you. He is completely faithful and will be there. Here is a little tip. God’s Voice sounds like Spontaneous thoughts that light up on your heart and mind as you focus on Jesus.

If you have never read the Fathers love letter go to the following link.

John 1

You were born to experience the Love of God, every child deserves the same right you currently experience regardless of circumstances.

P.s – These are some of my notes and further thoughts from a sermon Bishop Joseph Garlington preached. He is an awesome man of God.

Yesterday I shared a little about God and Gideon. I want to share an additional insight. Lets go back to Judges 6:28-32

28 When the men of the city got up in the morning, they found Baal’s altar torn down, the Asherah pole beside it cut down, and the second bull offered up on the altar that had been built. 29 They said to each other, “Who did this?” After they made a thorough investigation, they said, “Gideon son of Joash did it.”

30 Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son. He must die, because he tore down Baal’s altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.”

31 But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Would you plead Baal’s case for him? Would you save him? Whoever pleads his case will be put to death by morning! If he is a god, let him plead his own case, because someone tore down his altar.” 32 That day, Gideon’s father called him Jerubbaal, saying, “Let Baal plead his case with him,” because he tore down his altar.

Gideons Obedience stirred something within those around him. I believe the Lord had been stirring within the hearts of his people. In the first verse of Chapter 6 we are told that the Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the LORD.

What did they do? Well verse 10 states, “I said to you: I am the LORD your God. Do not fear the gods of the Amorites whose land you live in. But you did not obey Me.’”

Wow what a key. You see fear enslaves you to that which you fear. Father God wants us to fear Him alone. Whats more he is perfect love and he casts out all fear so we become sons totally loved and accepted by our Father. When our fear is in the Lord our trust is in Him to deliver. He will provide wisdom and understanding in the ways we should go.

It took the obedience and faith of one man to release others from that fear and bondage. Whats more is Gideon released his father from bondage by destroying the alter his father had erected. That act alone could have caused some family conflict, yet his fathers response is so encouraging. His fathers faith rises to the surface instead and he says (paraphrase) any of you wimps want to speak for baal I am going to whip you to death. Let baal defend himself if he is so great and worthy of our fear and respect.

Guaranteed Father God, Jesus and Holy Spirit have been working in the hearts of others around you and your simple obedience to hearing the voice of God and obeying may just be the spark that sets people free and revival to enter the land.

Proverbs 1:7 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)

7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.

“Now it came to pass the same night that the LORD said to him, ‘Take your father’s young bull, the second bull of seven years old, and tear down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the wooden image that is beside it; and build an altar to the LORD your God on top of this rock in the proper arrangement, and take the second bull and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the image which you shall cut down’” (Judges 6:25-26)

I would like to take a little time to share a few insights and thoughts I have on this verse.

Why did God take the second bull that was seven years old and use it as the sacrifice and not the first bull?

It may have been to make a point that the future lively hood of Gideon and his family did not lie in the hands of the false god Baal but in the hands of the Almighty God Jehovah. Bulls were essential to the future of the herd. They symbolized strength and vitality. A seven year old bull was considered mature and was ready to breed. By Father God requiring Gideon to sacrifice the second bull He was declaring that not longer was the future of Gideon in the hands of this false God and the oppressing army but was in the hands of the Almighty. Interestingly the number seven in the bible usually indicates completion. It could be that by using a seven year old bull also meant that that season of their lives was over never to happen again.

Baal was considered to be the God of fertility and was considered to be the most important of the Canaanite gods. Therefore the sacrificing of the second bull, which was considered to be the next generation of wealth creation and family security, takes on a whole new meaning.

Father God was saying that the future of the family lay in His hands and not baal. I believe when the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and spoke the secrets hidden in his heart, you could even say his destiny, was brought to the surface.

Do you notice that Gideon did not dispute being called a mighty warrior, could it be that deep down he knew it. Rather he inquired after the fact that if he had the Lords favor why was he in the circumstances he was in. Incidentally one of the meanings of the name Ophrah is Place of Dust, this is where the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon. So to step back we could say that the Lord met Gideon in the place of dust, restored his identity and commissioned him to go out in the strength he had.

“But I will be with you,” the LORD said to him. “You will strike Midian down [as if it were] one man.” (Holman Christian Standard Bible)

We know from the rest of the story that the Lord God Jehovah delivered the enemy over Gideons army. Gideon pursued his enemies and drove them from the land. From that point on oppression was driven from their land and peace and prosperity returned. When God was placed in his rightful position in the Land it was then that peace and prosperity was returned. Unfortunately after Gideon’s death the people returned to worship false gods and as such the oppression and bloodshed returned.

It is imperative we destroy the strongholds of the enemy in our lives. These strongholds are mindsets, ways of thinking that go against God and his word. They directly contradict what and who Father God has called us to be and do.

What altars do we need to tear down in our lives that contradict who we are called to be?

Do we need to tear down some altars and like Gideon build an altar to the LORD your God on top of this rock in the proper arrangement. I think in proper arrangement simply means that we set things properly in order.