Dedicate Your Heart

Judges 13:2-5

“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.”

The birth of Samson was foretold by the angel of the Lord. The child was to be a Nazarite, dedicated to God before he was born, and every aspect of his life was to be governed by strict rules.  He rebelled and broke every rule, but used his flowing locks to attract women and perform feats of strength until Delilah sheared them.  Although his mother dedicated his life to God, Samson never dedicated his heart to God.  

Christians believe in sanctification, the process by which we are transformed into the image of Christ.  In order for this process to begin, we have to give our hearts to God.  This is more than just going through a ritual.  It involves a confession of faith in Jesus Christ and a sincere confession and repentance of our sins.  This is followed by a lifetime of intentionally seeking God through prayer, study, worship, service and sacrifice.

Dedicate your life, but first dedicate your heart.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

God Sees and Calls

Judges 11: 1-7

“Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute. 2 Gilead’s wife also bore him sons, and when they were grown up, they drove Jephthah away. “You are not going to get any inheritance in our family,” they said, “because you are the son of another woman.” 3 So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where a gang of scoundrels gathered around him and followed him. 4 Some time later, when the Ammonites were fighting against Israel, 5 the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. 6 “Come,” they said, “be our commander, so we can fight the Ammonites.” 7 Jephthah said to them, “Didn’t you hate me and drive me from my father’s house? Why do you come to me now, when you’re in trouble?”

Jephthah’s mother was a prostitute. He was driven away from home by his half brothers. He surrounded himself with a gang of scoundrels.  He was rejected by his people yet he became a mighty warrior; the savior of Israel.  

Jesus’ mother was a young woman, who became pregnant before she was married.  The ancient world would have labeled her a prostitute.  Jesus was driven into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit.  He became a mighty preacher and healer.  He surrounded himself with ordinary men from Galilee.  He was rejected by His people, yet He became the savior of the world.

The world sees and rejects.  God sees and calls us to His kingdom.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Smaller Army

Judges 7:1-4

“1 Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. 2 The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’ 3 Now announce to the army, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained. 4 But the Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will thin them out for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”

God asked Gideon to deliver Israel from the hands of the Midianites.  Gideon naturally thought that he needed an army of thousands to defeat them.  But God had other plans.  God wanted everyone who was involved or witnessed or were told of this victory to give credit to God and to say that there was no way that the Israelites could have won except by God’s hand.

So, God whittled Gideon’s army of thousands down to 300.   

Sometimes we think our resources are too few or too scarce and the task too large.  We complain that we cannot do things or move forward.  But what if it is God’s intention that our resources be few and scarce?   

Gideon developed an ingenious battle plan for his small army of 300.   And Gideon’s army was victorious.

God’s victory is at hand….the task is large….the resources are few…. and He is waiting for our plan.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

A Light that is Hidden

Judges 2: 8-10

“8 Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten. 9 And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Heres in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 10 After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel.”

One of my favorite things to do as a Pastor is to preach the children’s sermon during worship.  Sometimes the message goes over their heads but more often than not the message strikes a chord and the children immediately want to tell you how it relates to their lives at home or with their friends.  Children are faith sponges.  

We owe it to our children to pass along the faith not only in story but by our example.  Once children see that we are not living what we teach then the faith becomes worthless to them.

Joshua and his generation failed their children.  They failed to pass along the story and failed to live as examples of their faith.  And their children began to worship false gods.

Jesus told His disciples: “Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.” (Matthew 5:15).

A light that is hidden means darkness for others.  

Share your light.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Wings

Joshua 10: 12-15

“12 On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.” 13 So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. 14 There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel! 15 Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.”

As a child I used to pray that I could fly.  In my prayers I would see myself flying like an eagle through the sky, up among the clouds, up above all of my childhood problems.  God saw through my prayers and saw that what I really needed was peace. And somehow, through my visions of flight, he gave me that peace.

Joshua prayed that the sun would stand still.  We now know that the sun does not rotate around the earth, but the earth rotates around the sun.  The sun did not need to be held in place on that fateful day, but God somehow gave the Israelites the sense that time was standing still.

God hears our prayers, no matter how foolish they are.  And when He answers, He strikes at the heart of the matter.  We may not understand the answer right away, but with the spinning of the earth and the unfolding of time we realize that God has given us wings to fly.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Stand Up

Joshua 7: 10-12

“10 The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. 12 That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.”

Because of God, the Israelites had experienced a tremendous victory.   Yet they sinned and violated the covenant.  They lied, and they stole. And because of this they were defeated by the Amorites.

When we begin to believe that our success excludes God; when we believe in our own power rather than God’s; when we believe that we can act outside of God’s will with no consequences, we make ourselves liable for our own destruction.

But as the dust of our destruction clears, in the midst of our despair, the God of second chances asks that we stand up and resume our walk with Him.

God’s love is a forgiving love.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Lord is With Us

Joshua 6: 27

“So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land.”

Did you ever meet anyone famous?  I once met Gaylord Perry, a famous Major League Baseball pitcher who was from my home state and who grew up in a town not far from my hometown.  The mascot at Campbell University, where Gaylord went to college, is“Gaylord the Camel”, named after him.  Even though he achieved Baseball’s highest honor (The Hall of Fame), he is most famous for throwing an illegal pitch known as the spitball, using spit and Vaseline to make the ball spin and curve in an unnatural manner.

Joshua became famous because the Lord was with him, and he was able to accomplish some incredible things, namely the defeat of Jericho in a highly unorthodox manner.

The Holy Spirit dwells within every Christian believer.  We carry God in our hearts, minds and souls.  The Lord is with us.  

And even though we are just normal people who occasionally throw spitballs, great things can be accomplished... because the Lord is with us. 

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)