From “Morning and Evening” by C. H. Spurgeon

“The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon.” – Jdg_7:20

Gideon ordered his men to do two things: covering up a torch in an earthen pitcher, he bade them, at an appointed signal, break the pitcher and let the light shine, and then sound with the trumpet, crying, “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon! the sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!” This is precisely what all Christians must do. First, you must shine; break the pitcher which conceals your light; throw aside the bushel which has been hiding your candle, and shine. Let your light shine before men; let your good works be such, that when men look upon you, they shall know that you have been with Jesus. Then there must be the sound, the blowing of the trumpet. There must be active exertions for the ingathering of sinners by proclaiming Christ crucified. Take the gospel to them; carry it to their door; put it in their way; do not suffer them to escape it; blow the trumpet right against their ears. Remember that the true war-cry of the Church is Gideon’s watchword, “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!” God must do it, it is his own work. But we are not to be idle; instrumentality is to be used-”The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!” If we only cry, “The sword of the Lord!” we shall be guilty of an idle presumption; and if we shout, “The sword of Gideon!” alone, we shall manifest idolatrous reliance on an arm of flesh: we must blend the two in practical harmony, “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!” We can do nothing of ourselves, but we can do everything by the help of our God; let us, therefore, in his name determine to go out personally and serve with our flaming torch of holy example, and with our trumpet tones of earnest declaration and testimony, and God shall be with us, and Midian shall be put to confusion, and the Lord of hosts shall reign for ever and ever.

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From “The Word For You Today” by Bruce Christian – Temptation

          Part of dealing with temptation is in how you view it.  A good word here.

 

TEMPTATION (1)

     Christ’s temptation in the wilderness answers two questions: (1) Who is tempted?  Everyone!  If Jesus was tempted, you’ll be tempted too.  Now, you can be victorious over temptation, but you can’t pray temptation away.  Satan tried different approaches with Jesus and he will do the same with you.  Being tempted doesn’t mean you’re not in the will of God, it just means that Satan doesn’t give up his rule in your life without a fight.  The battle begins the moment you decide to serve God, and the attacks come at you every day.  So, “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (Eph 6:11 NIV).  (2)  When are you tempted?  When you have an important role to play in God’s plan you’re a high value target to the devil.  Matthew records, “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.”  But notice what had just taken place before this: “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.  And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased'” (Mt 3:16-17 NKJV).  So temptation is a compliment; it proves you are called by God.    And it’s also a confirmation; it’s evidence that you are walking in His will.  Following His temptation, we read, “Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee” (Lk 4:14 NKJV).  And you will too!