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Today is Thursday March 25, 2010, and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the Book of Judges, chapters 8 & 9. If you would like to read the chapters along with us here online you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this URL onto your browser: http://www.readytofollow.com/bible-march-25

Title: Bible Study: Let Go of Pride
Something amazing happens the second we call on Jesus to save us, a new life begins. However, in the midst of all the chaos of the world and the attack on Satan to try and get us to keep from enjoying that new life, is our pride. While, it is good to feel good about accomplishing things, we must remember that our pride can turn something good into evil. The word pride is defined as self esteem or self importance, the key word here is self, we are simply thinking of ourselves here and no one else. Many people have fallen due to pride and continue to fall because they do not want to admit that God is in control and they need Him If we want to succeed in life, we must humbly realize that we can not or do not do things on our own, but through God. The talents we possess are given by God and the sooner we realize that the better off we will be and the more prosperous we will become.

Through God, Gideon was successful at leading the Israelite army to victory over the Midianites, he never lost sight of the fact that God was leading him and always acknowledged that. Because he acknowledged and sought God's advice in the matter 300 men were able to defeat 135,000 men. After the victory, the people eager to have a king, urged Gideon to reign over them. “Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian. And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you.” - Judges 8:22,23. Gideon knew that there was only One King and that was God, therefore he would not rule nor wanted any of his sons to rule over them either. No matter how many men kings, presidents, or men of power rule on earth, there is only One King and that is God. As long as we are humble and seek His guidance He is faithful and just, but the second we turn our backs on Him we will suffer.

Gideon had seventy-one sons, one of them, Abimelech, was from a concubine, after Gideon (also named Jerubbaal) died Abimelech, urged his brothers to let him become the first king of Israel. Now, the rest of his brothers knew that this was against God's and Gideon's wishes so they refused to let him reign, but that did not stop him from pursuing the matter. “And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother's brethren, and communed with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying, Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Whether is better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, which are threescore and ten persons, reign over you, or that one reign over you? remember also that I am your bone and your flesh. And his mother's brethren spake of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words: and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said, He is our brother. And they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the house of Baalberith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light persons, which followed him. And he went unto his father's house at Ophrah, and slew his brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, being threescore and ten persons, upon one stone: notwithstanding yet Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left; for he hid himself.” - Judges 9:1-5.Abimelech was cruel and cunning and would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. He negotiated a large sum of money from the Baal temple treasury to pay men to murder his brothers and all except one was killed. Abimelech's only concern was himself, he was determined to get what he wanted and he did not let anyone stand in his way.

At the moment of Abimelech's proudest achievement, Jotham, Gideon's only surviving son, warned that they would soon discover that this self made king would bring suffering and death upon the men that killed his brothers as well as himself. “And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood in the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you. The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us.” - Judges 9:7,8. Jotham uses tress to represent the people, this was a prophecy of what was to come, Jotham compares Abimelech to a bramble or thistle, a worthless plant, whose end is to be burned. Sooner or later, all deception is accounted for, the expression, you reap what you sow, comes to mind here. We can not blame God or people for suffering that we cause all on our own because we chose the deceitful way of obtaining it. Abimelech is an example of a person controlled by the deceptive and destructive forces of his pride. He was determined to get what he wanted regardless of whom he had to hurt, if anyone got in his way he did not care who he had to kill to get it. We can become so consumed with wanting something that we will do anything to get it. I have seen so many people destroy their lives because they were told not to do something and did it while deceiving others to get it.

God wants to see us prosper, but He will not stand for someone to prosper in a deceitful way. We are all here for a purpose and God gives us all talents to be used for His glory. As long as we acknowledge Him for the work we do He will bless us, but if we do not, we will lose. This is not to punish us and keep us from enjoying life, it is to grow us and show us a new, better life. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” - II Corinthians 5:17-21. Those who accept Christ are reconciled with God, this means that God will bless all who acknowledge Him. Praise God, that no matter what we have done we are reconciled with God. We do not have to let our pride take control, let go of the pride and let God have control and watch your life prosper more than you ever imagined. Praise God!

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and week.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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