Today's Psalm: 32:10 "Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about." By remaining faithful to God and His Word, you will be a good testimony and in a position to help others when the Lord calls on you to serve Him. We learn of two more judges who were chosen to guide the Israelites after the death of Abimelech. " And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in mount Ephraim.And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir.And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years. And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havothjair unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead. And Jair died, and was buried in Camon." (Judges 10:1-5). Once again the Israelites went back to their wicked ways, then cried to God to save them, but this time God did not come to their aid. "And the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines? The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand. Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more. Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation. " (10:11-14). There comes a time when God will only take so much before he stops answering our cries. However, once the Israelites realized that God was not going to save them they put away their strange gods and started serving Him. "And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel." (10:16). Sometimes God will allow us to suffer so that we can get right with Him. Many people do not understand how much God really does love us, He is our father so of course He is going to get angry when we continuously live sin knowing well that it is the wrong thing to do. He is no different from an earthly father when he makes us suffer the consequences of our own actions. When we take responsibility for them and change our ways then we get his respect and assistance. Jephthah was a godly man, but because he was an illegitimate child to a harlot he was forced to leave Gilead. "Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah. And Gilead's wife bare him sons; and his wife's sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father's house; for thou art the son of a strange woman." (11:1-2). The Israelites found out quickly though that Jephthah was needed. "And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore we turn again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead." (11:8). Like Jephthah, many Christians are alienated even by other Christians because of their background or past and it usually takes a tragedy before they realize their mistake. It is important that we never judge a person by how they were brought up nor their past. We are all sinners and all who accept Jesus as their Savior are saved and no matter what we have done we are saved. God gives us all an opportunity to be a testimony of how we turned from being a worthless sinner to being a righteous servant. By the way, all Christians will experience many tests in life. This is the way that God prepares us for the work He has called us to do. By the grace of God, accept with gratitude all the sorrows that come into your life whether it be through friend or enemy, failures or humiliations because they create the foundation of a wonderful Christ filled life. AMEN
