Read to prACTice

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Wake up or be eaten up... I. Click here to READ   Judges 19   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches  (the priest's family insisted on staying away from non-Israelite communities even as nightfall was upon them. They eventually reached and stayed overnight in Benjamin's tribal community...) 22  While they were  celebrating, behold,  the men of the city, certain  worthless fellows, surrounded the house, pounding the door; and they spoke to the owner of the house, the old man, saying, “Bring out the man who came into your house that we may have  relations with him.” III. Reflection *  Questions :  What must the priest be thinking at such a demand of the fellow Benjaminites? IV. Application Dear Lord God: I thank You for letting me feel how sad and disappointed it must be for the priest's family to realize, after insisting on not spending a night in any non-Isra...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Slow to request, Rush to comply... I. Click here to READ   Judges 18   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches  (the 5 valiant men representing the Dan family were sent out to explore their part of the Promised Land. On the way, they met a young priest working for Micah's household...) 5  They said to him, “Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether our way on which we are going will be prosperous.”   6  The priest said to them, “Go in peace; your way in which you are going has the  Lord’s  approval.” III. Reflection *  Questions :  What was wrong with the question posed by the 5 spies? And with the answer of the priest? IV. Application Dear Lord God, I thank You for teaching me not to be like the five spies. I must pray for Your guidance before I start doing anything or going anywhere. I thank You for teaching me not to be like that priest —counsel...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Having appearance, No substance... I. Click here to READ   Judges 17   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches  (there was a mother and her son, Micah. The mother lost, or it was stolen from her, eleven hundred pieces of silver...) 2  He said to his mother, “The eleven hundred  pieces  of silver which were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse in my hearing, behold, the silver is with me; I took it.” And his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the  Lord ....”   3. . .  and his mother said, “I wholly dedicate the silver from my hand to the  Lord  for my son to make a graven image and a molten image; now therefore, I will return them to you.”   4  So when he returned the silver to his mother, his mother took two hundred  pieces  of silver and gave them to the silversmith who made them into a graven image and a molten image, III....

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Assuming no, Verifying yes... I. Click here to READ   Judges 16   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches  (Samson's lover openly let him know that she repeatedly wanted to know how to bind him to weaken him to hurt him. After the 4th try, Samson told her the true secret of his strength. She had his hair shaved off...) 20  She said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the  Lord  had departed from him.   21  Then the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze chains, and he was a grinder in the prison. III. Reflection *  Questions :  What critical mistake did Samson make? IV. Application Dear Lord God, I thank You for showing me that Samson made many mistakes in his life...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Sail not when it's stormy... I. Click here to READ   Judges 15   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches  (being bound and delivered to the 3000 angry Philistines, Samson, filled with the Spirit of the Lord, defeated and killed 1000 people using only a donkey's jawbone...) 18  Then he became very thirsty, and he called to the  Lord  and said, “You have given this great deliverance by the hand of Your servant, and now shall I die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?”   19  But God split the hollow place that is in Lehi so that water came out of it. When he drank, his strength returned and he revived.  III. Reflection *  Questions :  What condition was Samson in when he called to the Lord? Was it a prayer or was it a tantrum? What did the Lord do in response to him? IV. Application Dear Lord God: I thank You for showing me that ...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Later you will understand... I. Click here to READ   Judges 14   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches  (Samson started out wanting a wife--the love of his life, a Philistine woman. He went through many tough times to have his wife and then...) 20  And Samson’s wife was given to one of his companions  who had attended him at the feast. III. Reflection *  Questions :  Why did this happen to a man whose life had been solemnly dedicated to the Lord? IV. Application Dear Lord God: I thank You for reminding me that although Samson's dream of his life collapsed right in front of him, You have always been on Your throne, and, because of that, nothing can escape Your plan ( Judges 14:4 ), even though we do not understand. I thank You, Lord Jesus, for taking me to this point to remind me that You are the Alpha and Omega, not only concerning time but also concerning events. Before c...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* May I be a blessing to others... I. Click here to READ   Judges 13   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches  (The angel of the Lord came to Manoah and his wife for the second time, as requested, to give instructions to the wife as to how to nurture the fetus during her pregnancy...) 15  Then Manoah said to the angel of the  Lord , “Please let us detain you so that we may prepare a young goat for you.”   16  The angel of the  Lord  said to Manoah, “Though you detain me, I will not eat your food, but if you prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the  Lord .” III. Reflection *  Questions :  How did the angel of the Lord show respect for the Lord in the above Scriptural passage? IV. Application Dear Lord God, I felt blessed when seeing the angel humbled himself in showing respect for You. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for taking me to t...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Dead on accent, Vibrant on Word... I. Click here to READ   Judges 12   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches  (The Gileadites and the Ephraimites of the same household of Israelites fought each other. The Gileadites defeated the Ephraimites, causing them to be on the run...) 5  The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan opposite Ephraim. And it happened when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead would say to him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,”   6  then they would say to him, “Say now, ‘Shibboleth.’” But he said, “Sibboleth,” for he could not pronounce it correctly. Then they seized him and slew him at the fords of the Jordan. Thus there fell at that time 42,000 of Ephraim. III. Reflection *  Questions :  How were the words Shibboleth and Sibboleth different from each other that caused 42,000 peopl...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Bargaining vows... I. Click here to READ   Judges 11   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches  (Jephthah, a mighty warrior, on his way to fight against the Ammonite army, made a promise to the Lord that he would offer as a burnt offering whatever he saw first coming out from his house upon his return in triumph over the Ammonites…) 34  When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of timbrels! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter.   35  When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, “Oh no, my daughter! You have brought me down and I am devastated. I have made a vow to the  Lord  that I cannot break.” III. Reflection *  Questions :  Must Jephthah make that promise? What was the purpose of him to make that promise? IV. Application Dear L...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Remember. Repent. Redo... I. Click here to READ   Judges 10   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches  (when their leaders died, the Israelites forsook the Lord and served many other foreign gods. The Lord sold them to other powers in the region...)  10  Then the sons of Israel cried out to the  Lord , saying, “We have sinned against You, for indeed, we have forsaken our God and served the Baals.”  . . .  15  The sons of Israel said to the  Lord , “We have sinned, do to us whatever seems good to You; only please deliver us this day.”   16  So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the  Lord ; and He could bear the misery of Israel no longer. III. Reflection *  Questions :  How many gods did the Israelites leave God, the Jehovah, for? How many times did they admit, in the above three-verse Scripture passage,...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Done to man, a sin to God... I. Click here to READ   Judges 9   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches  (following Abimelech's indescribable wickedness, starting with the killing of his 70 brothers and the burning alive of thousands of other opposing leaders of Shechem...) 56  Thus God repaid the wickedness of Abimelech, which he had done to his father in killing his seventy brothers.   57  Also God returned all the wickedness of the men of Shechem on their heads, and the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal came upon them. III. Reflection *  Questions :  What wicked action did Abimelech do to his father Gideon? IV. Application Dear Lord God: I thank You for showing me that Abimelech, in fact, did not do anything to his father Gideon. But what he did was he killed his own brothers. What was done to his brothers was equated to be the same as what was done to his fa...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Feeling secure? Don't be so sure... I. Click here to READ   Judges 8   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches  (two defeated kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, fled the battlefield to Karkor, where 15,000 fighters survived after 120,000 others were killed...) 11 G ideon went up by the way of those who lived in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and attacked the camp when the camp was unsuspecting. 12  When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and routed the whole army. III. Reflection *  Questions :  How did the surviving 15,000-man army get defeated by the 300-man army? IV. Application Dear Lord God: I thank You for showing me one of the reasons the huge Midian army was defeated by the 300-man army was their being unsuspecting and secure. This was even when they were fleeing a battlefield on which they had ju...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Being afraid is normal, The Lord knows... I. Click here to READ   Judges 7   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches  (The Lord selected for Gideon 300 men to fight against the innumerable military alliance of the Midianites, Amalekites, and others from the East. As Gideon prepared for the battle...)  9  Now the same night it came about that the  Lord  said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hands.   10  But if you are afraid to go down, go with Purah your servant down to the camp,   11  and you will hear what they say; and afterward your hands will be strengthened that you may go down against the camp.” So he went with Purah his servant, down to the outposts of the army that was in the camp. III. Reflection *  Questions :  Did Gideon, in the cover of darkness, go to the enemy's military camp to gat...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Train me to obey, O Lord, I pray... I. Click here to READ   Judges 6   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches  1 Then the sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the  Lord ; and the  Lord  gave them into the hands of Midian seven years . . .  7  Now it came about when the sons of Israel cried to the  Lord  on account of Midian,   8  that the  Lord  sent a prophet to the sons of Israel, and he said to them, “Thus says the  Lord , the God of Israel, ‘It was I who brought you up from Egypt and brought you out from the house of slavery.   9  I delivered you from the hands of the Egyptians and from the hands of all your oppressors, and dispossessed them before you and gave you their land,   10  and I said to you, “I am the  Lord  your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorite...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* From Tsunami to Harmony... I. Click here to READ   Judges 5   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches  (after defeating the mighty Canaanite army supported by 900 iron chariots...) 1 On that day Deborah  and Barak, son of Abinoam,  sang this song... 31  31 “Thus let all Your enemies perish, O  Lord ; But let those who love Him be like the rising of the sun in its might.” III. Reflection *  Questions :  What kind of image does it project when the two leaders praise the Lord in a duet? IV. Application Dear Lord God: I thank You for showing me a wonderful image of the two leaders coming together off the battlefield to sing praises to You in a musical harmony--no leading, no following, all submission. Both Deborah and Barak presented a perfect harmony--all to their mighty and gracious Jehovah God. I thank You, Lord Jesus, for bringing me to this point to remind me of a...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* The devil fears, but we don't hold dear... I. Click here to READ   Judges 4   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches  (At the time, Israel had been severely oppressed by the Canaanites for over 20 years. Israel's leader, Prophetess Deborah, summoned Barak, a military commander, saying...) 6 ...   “Behold, the  Lord , the God of Israel, has commanded, ‘Go and march to Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men from the sons of Naphtali and from the sons of Zebulun.   7  I will draw out to you Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his many troops to the river Kishon, and I will give him into your hand.’”   8   Then Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” III. Reflection *  Questions :  What if Prophetess Deborah decided not to go as requested by C...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* Infighting vs. Fighting in a war... I. Click here to READ   Judges 3   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches  1  Now these are the nations which the  Lord  left, to test Israel by them (that is, all who had not experienced any of the wars of Canaan;   2  only in order that the generations of the sons of Israel might be taught war, those who had not experienced it formerly). III. Reflection *  Questions :  One can be born into a war, but can anyone be born with knowledge of how to fight a war? IV. Application Dear Lord God: I thank You for showing me that fighting one another is innate, but fighting a war is something that must be trained and learned. The reason is that fighting a war is a team effort that must be rallied, communicated, and coordinated tightly. I thank You, Lord Jesus, for taking me to this point to remind me that we are fighting a war agains...

To read this in Vietnamese, please click  here . ******************* A painfully deep and thoughtful question... I. Click here to READ   Judges 2   first . II. One thing the Bible teaches  1  Now the angel of the  Lord  came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you,   2  and as for you, you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed Me; what is this you have done? III. Reflection *  Questions :  Is there another question in the Bible that is as painfully deep and thoughtful as this one that the Lord has asked the Israelites, "But you have not obeyed Me; what is this you have done?" IV. Application Dear Lord God. I thank You for showing me the very sad side of You, the side the grieving God feel...