Judges
Chapter 11

1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah.

2 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.

3 Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him.

4 And it came to pass in process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel.

5 And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob:

6 And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon.

7 And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and expel me out of my father's house? and why are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress?

8 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.

9 And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the LORD deliver them before me, shall I be your head?

10 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The LORD be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words.

11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah uttered all his words before the LORD in Mizpeh.

12 And Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come against me to fight in my land?

13 And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and unto Jordan: now therefore restore those lands again peaceably.

14 And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the children of Ammon:

15 And said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah, Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon:

16 But when Israel came up from Egypt, and walked through the wilderness unto the Red sea, and came to Kadesh;

17 Then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land: but the king of Edom would not hearken thereto. And in like manner they sent unto the king of Moab: but he would not consent: and Israel abode in Kadesh.

18 Then they went along through the wilderness, and compassed the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, but came not within the border of Moab: for Arnon was the border of Moab.

19 And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said unto him, Let us pass, we pray thee, through thy land into my place.

20 But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his coast: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and pitched in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.

21 And the LORD God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them: so Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country.

22 And they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto Jordan.

23 So now the LORD God of Israel hath dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldest thou possess it?

24 Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever the LORD our God shall drive out from before us, them will we possess.

25 And now art thou any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them,

26 While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and in Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that be along by the coasts of Arnon, three hundred years? why therefore did ye not recover them within that time?

27 Wherefore I have not sinned against thee, but thou doest me wrong to war against me: the LORD the Judge be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.

28 Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not unto the words of Jephthah which he sent him.

29 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon.

30 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,

31 Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peac

Every one of us is guilty of sin. Every one of us deserves condemnation. Every one of us should earnestly pray for deliverance, because every one of us is in need of God’s mercy and grace. Thank God for the Lord Jesus Christ through whom His mercy and grace is made known!

Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotions

Evening, April 7

"Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, Thou God of my salvation; and my tongue shall sing aloud of Thy righteousness." Psalm 51:14

In this SOLEMN CONFESSION, it is pleasing to observe that David plainly names his sin. He does not call it manslaughter, nor speak of it as an imprudence by which an unfortunate accident occurred to a worthy man, but he calls it by its true name, bloodguiltiness. He did not actually kill the husband of Bathsheba; but still it was planned in David's heart that Uriah should be slain, and he was before the Lord his murderer. Learn in confession to be honest with God. Do not give fair names to foul sins; call them what you will, they will smell no sweeter. What God sees them to be, that do you labour to feel them to be; and with all openness of heart acknowledge their real character. Observe, that David was evidently oppressed with the heinousness of his sin. It is easy to use words, but it is difficult to feel their meaning. The fifty-first Psalm is the photograph of a contrite spirit. Let us seek after the like brokenness of heart; for however excellent our words may be, if our heart is not conscious of the hell-deservingness of sin, we cannot expect to find forgiveness.

Our text has in it AN EARNEST PRAYER- it is addressed to the God of salvation. It is His prerogative to forgive; it is His very name and office to save those who seek His face. Better still, the text calls Him the God of my salvation. Yes, blessed be His name, while I am yet going to Him through Jesus' blood, I can rejoice in the God of my salvation.

The psalmist ends with A COMMENDABLE VOW: if God will deliver him he will sing- nay, more, he will "sing aloud." Who can sing in any other style of such a mercy as this! But note the subject of the song- "THY RIGHTEOUSNESS." We must sing of the finished work of a precious Saviour; and he who knows most of forgiving love will sing the loudest.

Mike Smith of Out of the Shadows LIVE. DOGE & Congress. PraiseNPrayer. B2T Show, Mar 31, 2025
https://rumble.com/v6rh91r-mike-smith-of-out-of-the-shadows-live.-dodge-and-congress.-praisenprayer.-b.html

It is easy to be proud. Perhaps too easy. But pride is a problem - it is a symptom of sin and can lead to further sin. This is eminently evident in "pride" parades. God, however, calls us to be humble, to have an honest opinion of ourselves. This is often difficult, especially in a culture where so much is based upon competition. Yet no one has anything of which to boast before God. Pride only gets in the way of having a fulfilling relationship with Him. So set aside your pride, and humble yourself before the Lord; then the Lord will honor you.

Spurgeon's Morning and Evening Devotions

Evening, April 5

"Before honour is humility." Proverbs 15:33

Humiliation of soul always brings a positive blessing with it. If we empty our hearts of self God will fill them with His love. He who desires close communion with Christ should remember the word of the Lord, "To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word." Stoop if you would climb to heaven. Do we not say of Jesus, "He descended that He might ascend"? so must you. You must grow downwards, that you may grow upwards; for the sweetest fellowship with heaven is to be had by humble souls, and by them alone. God will deny no blessing to a thoroughly humbled spirit. "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," with all its riches and treasures. The whole exchequer of God shall be made over by deed of gift to the soul which is humble enough to be able to receive it without growing proud because of it. God blesses us all up to the full measure and extremity of what it is safe for Him to do. If you do not get a blessing, it is because it is not safe for you to have one. If our heavenly Father were to let your unhumbled spirit win a victory in His holy war, you would pilfer the crown for yourself, and meeting with a fresh enemy you would fall a victim; so that you are kept low for your own safety. When a man is sincerely humble, and never ventures to touch so much as a grain of the praise, there is scarcely any limit to what God will do for him. Humility makes us ready to be blessed by the God of all grace, and fits us to deal efficiently with our fellow men. True humility is a flower which will adorn any garden. This is a sauce with which you may season every dish of life, and you will find an improvement in every case. Whether it be prayer or praise, whether it be work or suffering, the genuine salt of humility cannot be used in excess.

Spending time with God is crucial to the Christian life. Meeting with Him, speaking to Him through prayer and allowing Him to speak to us through His word, provides us the spiritual nourishment we need and helps draw us closer to Him. We all should regularly take time to climb from this lowly earth to the mount of His presence, and receive the benefit of communing with God.

Spurgeon's Morning and Evening Devotions

Evening, April 4

"Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord." Isaiah 2:3

It is exceedingly beneficial to our souls to mount above this present evil world to something nobler and better. The cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches are apt to choke everything good within us, and we grow fretful, desponding, perhaps proud and carnal. It is well for us to cut down these thorns and briers, for heavenly seed sown among them is not likely to yield a harvest; and where shall we find a better sickle with which to cut them down than communion with God and the things of the kingdom? In the valleys of Switzerland many of the inhabitants are deformed, and all wear a sickly appearance, for the atmosphere is charged with miasma, and is close and stagnant; but up yonder, on the mountain, you find a hardy race, who breathe the clear fresh air as it blows from the virgin snows of the Alpine summits. It would be well if the dwellers in the valley could frequently leave their abodes among the marshes and the fever mists, and inhale the bracing element upon the hills. It is to such an exploit of climbing that I invite you this evening. May the Spirit of God assist us to leave the mists of fear and the fevers of anxiety, and all the ills which gather in this valley of earth, and to ascend the mountains of anticipated joy and blessedness. May God the Holy Spirit cut the cords that keep us here below, and assist us to mount! We sit too often like chained eagles fastened to the rock, only that, unlike the eagle, we begin to love our chain, and would, perhaps, if it came really to the test, be loath to have it snapped. May God now grant us grace, if we cannot escape from the chain as to our flesh, yet to do so as to our spirits; and leaving the body, like a servant, at the foot of the hill, may our soul, like Abraham, attain the top of the mountain, there to indulge in communion with the Most High.

Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotions

Evening, April 2

"He shall see His seed; He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand." Isaiah 53:10

Plead for the speedy fulfillment of this promise, all ye who love the Lord. It is easy work to pray when we are grounded and bottomed, as to our desires, upon God's own promise. How can He that gave the word refuse to keep it? Immutable veracity cannot demean itself by a lie, and eternal faithfulness cannot degrade itself by neglect. God must bless His Son, His covenant binds Him to it. That which the Spirit prompts us to ask for Jesus, is that which God decrees to give Him. Whenever you are praying for the kingdom of Christ, let your eyes behold the dawning of the blessed day which draweth near, when the Crucified shall receive His coronation in the place where men rejected Him. Courage, you that prayerfully work and toil for Christ with success of the very smallest kind, it shall not be so always; better times are before you. Your eyes cannot see the blissful future: borrow the telescope of faith; wipe the misty breath of your doubts from the glass; look through it and behold the coming glory. Reader, let us ask, do you make this your constant prayer? Remember that the same Christ who tells us to say, "Give us this day our daily bread," had first given us this petition, "Hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven." Let not your prayers be all concerning your own sins, your own wants, your own imperfections, your own trials, but let them climb the starry ladder, and get up to Christ Himself, and then, as you draw nigh to the blood-sprinkled mercy-seat, offer this prayer continually, "Lord, extend the kingdom of Thy dear Son." Such a petition, fervently presented, will elevate the spirit of all your devotions. Mind that you prove the sincerity of your prayer by labouring to promote the Lord's glory.

Most go through life never acknowledging the spiritual sickness they suffer, the sin to which they are enslaved. It is easier to reject God or any moral responsibility to a higher authority. But God knows. God sees. And rather than leave us to wallow in our fallen state, in His love, He sent His Son, Jesus, to suffer a brutal death on a cross to bring us spiritual healing. Only through faith in Him may we receive this blessed benefit.

Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotions

Morning, March 31

"With His stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53:5

Pilate delivered our Lord to the lictors to be scourged. The Roman scourge was a most dreadful instrument of torture. It was made of the sinews of oxen, and sharp bones were inter-twisted every here and there among the sinews; so that every time the lash came down these pieces of bone inflicted fearful laceration, and tore off the flesh from the bone. The Saviour was, no doubt, bound to the column, and thus beaten. He had been beaten before; but this of the Roman lictors was probably the most severe of His flagellations. My soul, stand here and weep over His poor stricken body.

Believer in Jesus, can you gaze upon Him without tears, as He stands before you the mirror of agonizing love? He is at once fair as the lily for innocence, and red as the rose with the crimson of His own blood. As we feel the sure and blessed healing which His stripes have wrought in us, does not our heart melt at once with love and grief? If ever we have loved our Lord Jesus, surely we must feel that affection glowing now within our bosoms.

"See how the patient Jesus stands,
Insulted in His lowest case!
Sinners have bound the Almighty's hands,
And spit in their Creator's face.
With thorns His temples gor'd and gash'd
Send streams of blood from every part;
His back's with knotted scourges lash'd.
But sharper scourges tear His heart."

We would fain go to our chambers and weep; but since our business calls us away, we will first pray our Beloved to print the image of His bleeding self upon the tablets of our hearts all the day, and at nightfall we will return to commune with Him, and sorrow that our sin should have cost Him so dear.

Communion Meditation for 23-March-2025

I will open with scripture from Psalms 19:14. “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.” Through Christ, amen.

Good morning church family. I hope each of you is well today on this beautiful March Sunday. The topic of our Communion Meditation today is “Cornerstone.”

Jesus often used parables, or representative stories, to deliver his message to the common people of the day and many people did not understand the true meaning of the parables. Just like the way The Rocky and Bulwinkle cartoon show had two levels of understanding, one for children and one for adults.

The cornerstone was the first and most important stone placed in construction of a stone or masonry building in ancient times. Today, with modern construction practices, cornerstones are mostly ceremonial or decorative rather than functional. A Keystone is the top, final, last stone fitted into an arch that keeps the arch intact by gravity and by the geometry of the stones. Stay with me, I will get to the point!
The word, “Cornerstone” is mentioned multiple times throughout scripture as a metaphor for Jesus as the foundation of the church and of our faith. The Word’ “Keystone” is also mentioned in scripture, used interchangeably with “Cornerstone” in some instances. The cornerstone and the keystone are first and last in building construction, Alpha and Omega.

REV 22:13. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and Last, The Beginning and the End.”

Isaiah 28:16. “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.”

EPH 2:19-20. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.

1 Peter 2:6. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.

References to Cornerstone are also representative of how the Pharisees, high priests, and other religious leaders rejected Jesus as Messiah.

PS 118:22. “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.”

Acts 4:11. “This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.”

Finally, woe unto those who reject Him.
MAT 21:44. “And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.”

Let us pray:

Father God, master and creator of the universe, we thank you for the gift of your Son, Jesus, the cornerstone of your church and of our faith. We can never begin to repay you for the sacrifice of your son, Jesus, or earn the forgiveness and salvation you have given to us. As we prepare to take communion in His honor, let us always bear in mind that the cup and bread represent His sacrifice that bore our sins away. We praise you and worship You, Father, on this Sunday and on every day. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.

The Lord's Prayer
Mat 6:5  And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 
Mat 6:6  But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 
Mat 6:7  But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 
Mat 6:8  Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. 
Mat 6:9  After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 
Mat 6:10  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 
Mat 6:11  Give us this day our daily bread. 
Mat 6:12  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 
Mat 6:13  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 
Mat 6:14  For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

THANK YOU
for those who have been praying for my son and I.

I appreciate you, more than you know! Jamie and I were in a spin, trying to get money and everything together for the trip to Georgia, for the trial.

I have been praying for everything to be settled out of court. In the Bible, The LORD says, in paraphrasing, for a believer not to go to court with a non believer.

We have had road blocks, on getting the flight tickets, the place to stay for the week, and much more.

My son had to borrow against the settlement. And the “overnight” took 4 days.

My son was T-Boned, in January 2022. Something that should never have happened, but did.

Yesterday, Jamie received a phone call, stating that the Judge has postponed the trial! Do to motions.

Yesterday, we cancelled the flights and hotel.

I am keeping everything in prayer that, it will be settled out of court. And with all that our Attorneys have said.

My son, who will be keeping his team of Doctors, in Florida. Will be going down periodically, for the nerve burning.