"When Called, Go!"
Jan. 12, 2019
And Gideon said to the LORD, "Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house." And the LORD said to him, "But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man." ... That night the LORD said to Gideon, "Take your father's bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it and build an altar to the LORD your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down."
~ Judges 6:15-16, 25-26 (ESV)
You ask: what can I do? I'm only one among many millions. I have no money. I am no leader. I possess no authority." That, essentially, is what Gideon said, and what the Lord refused to accept. When Gideon was summoned to rescue His people, he objected: "Oh my Lord, how shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house." God's grace often chooses the weak, the unnoticed, the poor, to execute His mighty purposes. I have always prayed that the Holy Spirit would give me the privilege of using this widespread radio mission for reaching some young people who will become earnest heralds of the Gospel, outstanding leaders of His church, and guides for our nation. Though you are burdened by a feeling of inferiority, you have the same promise the Lord gave Gideon: "Surely, I will be with you," the pledge which will strengthen you to join the apostle in his exclamation of triumph in Romans 8: "If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not His own Son, but freely delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him, also freely give us all things!" I plead with you: stop stifling the Spirit's urging! Rather enlist in the Lord's army! Give the Savior, your time, your energy, your talents! Then you receive from Him this promise for every pathway: "Lo I am with you always, even unto the end of the world!" (See Matthew 28:20.)
What can you do? Every one of you can follow the first part of Gideon's program to deliver his country. The Lord directed him to go -- where? To the tabernacle, and win the priests for a secret uprising against the Midianites? To the scattered Israelite villages for a general mobilization? To the borders for an alliance with the Philistines? Nothing of all this! God sent him back to his father's house. The rescue of Israel was to start with the home!
Similarly, Scripture elsewhere emphasizes that the family circle is the center from which good and lasting influence must radiate. When the Lord Jesus Himself had cleansed one possessed of the devil, He told him in Mark 5, "Go!" not to the temple, not to the high priest, not to the Pharisees, not to the crowded streets of Samaria or Jerusalem. "Go!" Jesus said, "Go home to thy friends and tell them how great things the Lord had done for thee and have had compassion on thee!"
THE PRAYER: Lord Jesus, You have called us to go and tell others about You. Help us do that, starting in our own household. In Your Name. Amen.
From "Our Country Needs Christian Homes," a sermon excerpt from Walter A. Maier, the first Speaker of The Lutheran Hour. Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).
What can I do? I'm only one among many millions. I have no money. I am no leader. I possess no authority.
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