Bible League: Living His Word "The angel of the LORD said, 'Curse the city of Meroz.Curse its people! They did not come to help the LORD fight.' They did not help the LORD against his powerful enemies." Our verse for today is a part of the song of victory that Deborah and Barak sang on the day that the Israelites defeated Sisera, the commander of King Jabin the Canaanite's army. Deborah, a prophet and judge in Israel, had prophetically commissioned Barak to gather 10,000 men from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun and attack Sisera. Charging down Mt. Tabor, Barak led the Israelites into battle and victory. From time to time and from place to place the people of God still encounter enemy opposition to the Kingdom of God. Although the battles that ensue are not usually military battles, like the battle at Mt. Tabor, they are battles nonetheless. The powerful enemies of the Lord under Satan's command try to stop and roll back the advance of the Lord's Kingdom on earth. The opposition can be strong and the battles can be fierce. During such times the Lord still calls out leaders to attack the enemy in order to preserve and advance His Kingdom and rule. He fills people with the same Spirit Deborah had and he sends them forth to sound the alarm. The alarm reaches people like Barak and they gather together an army in order to stop the opposition and defeat the enemies of the Lord. The people that respond to the Baraks of the world are volunteers for the battle (Judges 5:2). No one makes them fight; they fight because they are obedient to the call of the Lord. Not everyone is called to join a given battle. They may not be able or they may not be near. But for those ready and able, it is incumbent upon them to volunteer for the fight. For their efforts the Lord blesses them, as he blessed Jael, the wife of Heber who killed Sisera by driving a stake through his head (Judges 5:24). On the other hand, those that refuse to join in the battle, although they are ready and able, do not receive the blessing of the Lord. Indeed, they receive the opposite of a blessing. They receive a curse from the Lord Himself. You cannot ignore the call of the Lord with impunity. After all, as Jesus said, "Whoever is not with me is against me. And anyone who does not work with me is working against me" (Luke 11:23). Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingEzekiel 20, 21 Ezekiel 20 -- God Refuses the Elders of Israel; Destruction and Restoration of Jerusalem NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Ezekiel 21 -- Parable of the Sharp and Bright Sword NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading James 1 James 1 -- Trials and Temptations; Be Doers of the Word, and Not Hearers Only NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked.Insight How can you hold on to a good conscience? Treasure your faith in Christ more than anything else and do what you know is right. Each time you deliberately ignore your conscience, you are hardening your heart. Over a period of time your capacity to tell right from wrong will diminish. Challenge As you walk with God, he will speak to you through your conscience, letting you know the difference between right and wrong. Be sure to act on those inner tugs so that you do what is right—then your conscience will remain clear. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Job 23:3 O that I knew where I might find him!In Job's uttermost extremity he cried after the Lord. The longing desire of an afflicted child of God is once more to see his Father's face. His first prayer is not "O that I might be healed of the disease which now festers in every part of my body!" nor even "O that I might see my children restored from the jaws of the grave, and my property once more brought from the hand of the spoiler!" but the first and uppermost cry is, "O that I knew where I might find Him, who is my God! that I might come even to his seat!" God's children run home when the storm comes on. It is the heaven-born instinct of a gracious soul to seek shelter from all ills beneath the wings of Jehovah. "He that hath made his refuge God," might serve as the title of a true believer. A hypocrite, when afflicted by God, resents the infliction, and, like a slave, would run from the Master who has scourged him; but not so the true heir of heaven, he kisses the hand which smote him, and seeks shelter from the rod in the bosom of the God who frowned upon him. Job's desire to commune with God was intensified by the failure of all other sources of consolation. The patriarch turned away from his sorry friends, and looked up to the celestial throne, just as a traveller turns from his empty skin bottle, and betakes himself with all speed to the well. He bids farewell to earth-born hopes, and cries, "O that I knew where I might find my God!" Nothing teaches us so much the preciousness of the Creator, as when we learn the emptiness of all besides. Turning away with bitter scorn from earth's hives, where we find no honey, but many sharp stings, we rejoice in him whose faithful word is sweeter than honey or the honeycomb. In every trouble we should first seek to realize God's presence with us. Only let us enjoy his smile, and we can bear our daily cross with a willing heart for his dear sake. Daily Light on the Daily Path Isaiah 60:13 "The glory of Lebanon will come to you, The juniper, the box tree and the cypress together, To beautify the place of My sanctuary; And I shall make the place of My feet glorious.Isaiah 66:1 Thus says the LORD, "Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest? 2 Chronicles 6:18 "But will God indeed dwell with mankind on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house which I have built. Haggai 2:6,7,9 "For thus says the LORD of hosts, 'Once more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. • 'I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD of hosts. • 'The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,' says the LORD of hosts, 'and in this place I will give peace,' declares the LORD of hosts." Revelation 21:1,3 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. • And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. 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