PROPHETS - DEBORAH - DAY ONE
Hello and welcome to our weekly devos following our Prophets series! These devo’s are Monday-Friday and pair with this past week’s message. Be sure to journal your thoughts, vocalize your prayers, and find God in all moments of your life this week.
THEME SCRIPTURE:
Judges 4:1-7 (NIV)
Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, now that Ehud was dead. 2 So the Lord sold them into the hands of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. Sisera, the commander of his army, was based in Harosheth Haggoyim. 3 Because he had nine hundred chariots fitted with iron and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help.
4 Now Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time. 5 She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to have their disputes decided. 6 She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead them up to Mount Tabor. 7 I will lead Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands.’”
TODAY’S PASSAGE:
Ephesians 6:5-10
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
REFLECTION:
Have you ever walked past a pool of stagnant and still water? Maybe it was a puddle, maybe it was an abandoned pool, or maybe it was a pond that was cut off from a freshwater source. What does it look like? It’s usually gross, full of fungi, bacteria, and other microscopic organisms. One thing that you don’t want to do is drink it. The water is toxic and unsafe. You don’t want to swim in it, you don’t want to use it to clean, and you definitely don’t want to drink it. Still, water is dangerous, especially when left alone, untreated, and uncared for.
We, as Christians, can often become like this water. Oftentimes, when life is good, we can become still and stagnant Christians. We may attend church, read our Bible, attend community groups, and feel our life is going well. Oftentimes, that comfortability and quality of life can become our own downfall. In Debrah’s time, the Israelites lived long without hardships or difficulties. They became complacent and apathetic, which led to sin and betrayal towards God. We, as modern-day Christians, can still fall into this trap.
Even in the good times when life is comfortable and easy, we must keep allowing God to pour into our lives. As Ephesians 6:10-12 tells us, we must keep putting on the armor of God. The schemes of the devil will utilize anything to pull us from God. Those schemes might even be making life good so that we become apathetic. We must be vigilant to stick with the Lord and not allow our spiritual life to become like those still and stagnant waters.
Thoughts To Ponder:
Consider your life as a Christian. Whether you are in a time of peace or a time of hardships, you have probably faced both. During either of those time, how do you personally combat the schemes of the devil? What do you do in the day to day to keep the armor of God on? How do you know if you have become stagnant and still in your spiritual life? Take some time to journal your thoughts on this subject today.
