Sunday, 20 December, 2020

Greetings to you readers. Thank you for taking the time to read. May God bless you. Welcome to today's devotional. May God guide you as you study. Say this simple prayer with me even as we begin. "Father, in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank you for guiding me to this page. May you help me to understand all the words that I read today. I commit everything to your mighty hands. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen. 

2 Now there was a certain man from Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had no children. 3 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, "Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. 4 Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean. 5 For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines." - Judges 13:2-5 (NKJV)

There was a man named Samson. I believe we all know Samson. But if we do not know Him. We can quickly mention just a few things about the mighty Samson. In this story, His birth is announced to the parents and before he is even born, there's already an assignment that has been given to him. 

Who was Samson?

Again the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years. - Judges 13:1 (NKJV)

The bible tells us that the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah(Samson's father) and his wife, the Lord wanted to remove the evil that dwelt among the children of Israel. Even before Jesus Christ visited the Earth, we already see that many bible personalities presented to us a shadow of what would happen. Joseph saved the world when famine struck. Moses saved the children of Israel. Samson was supposed to deliver the children of Israel from the hands of the Philistines. But sadly, he didn't. After Samson's demise, the Philistines continued to terrorize the children of God. 

Everyone has a God given assignment

For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines." - Judges 13:5 (NKJV)

In this Scripture, the assignment of Samson was revealed to his mother and father. Samson was supposed to deliver the children of Israel from the hands of the Philistines. God has assigned a task to each one of us. But we cannot know who we are meant to become if we do not have a relationship with Him. Did you know that all the people that God spoke to were people that wanted to commune with Him? So my friend, if you are born again, God wants to reveal His purpose to you. If you are not born again, God still wants to reveal His purpose for your life to you, but you have to give Him your life. He cannot grant purpose to somebody that hasn't yet yielded their life to Him.  How is this in line with our faith? Well, I am glad you asked! Here is how. But let's back a bit. 

Samson's mother was a barren woman 

3 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, "Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. - Judges 13:3 (NKJV)

The bible tells us Samson's mother was barren. Remember in the second chapter of this book, we talked about Sarai. She was a barren woman like Manoah's wife. The Hebrew word for barren is Aqar.  It means: To be unable to reproduce. To be completely removed. To be completely destroyed. 

Can you imagine God fulfilling something so great in a woman that didn't even have a working womb? If Aqar  means to be destroyed or removed completely, how then did Samson come to this world? It took faith for this woman to believe that she would be able to have a child. The bible says. "Indeed now." Lets talk about the now of the moment. Right now, you might be broke. Right now you might be single. Right now you might be in lack. Right now things may not be working out. But look to God! 

Your situation is temporary. It won't always be like that. Samson's mother was barren at some point. But through this woman, a great man was birthed. What is this teaching us? God can work through anyone who believes in Him. Just because you don't have what it takes now, it doesn't mean that will always be the case. Just because you were written off yesterday, it doesn't mean you will always be rejected or skipped over. 

We didn't complete the Scripture. The bible says, "but you shall conceive and bear a son." Oh my oh my! What a good but! I know that came out funny. But yeah! What a good but! We don't receive too many good buts. God's 'but' is different from the human one. God doesn't look at the current situation. He looks at us and sees what we will become tomorrow. 

Your faith makes you live differently 

Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean. - Judges 13:4 (NKJV)

After receiving God's word. What do we do? We live our lives differently. Imagine a woman that was barren living as though she were pregnant. It seems odd, doesn't it? The instruction was, "Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean." Your faith in God makes you speak differently. You have the word of God in your mouth. Speak the word of God. Confess God's word to your situation. That is faith. 

8 But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): - Romans 10:8 (NKJV)

The word of God is in your mouth. After you study God's word, you put it in your mouth. Then let's continue reading what the bible says. 

9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. - Romans 10:9 (NKJV)

What is the word of God doing in your mouth if it's not being confessed? Once it's in your mouth, you've got to let it all out. Speak it out. That's why we confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord. For everyone that received Christ, that was the first thing we were told to do. Why? Because confession works! Confession makes it more real. From today, begin to confess God's word. 

Confessions

1. I am born of God - 1 John 5:4

2. I am a citizen of Heaven - Ephesians 2:19 

3. I am complete in Christ - Colossians 2:9-10

4. I am more than a conqueror - Romans 8:37

5. I am not of the world - John 17:14 

Note: Thank you for reading. See you next week. Have a blessed Sunday. And, have a wonderful week. It's Christmas week readers. Have a blessed Christmas. I cannot wait to interact with you next week. Bye.