Bible Chapter: Judges 13 & 14

Because the Bible is practical, here are some statements to get you thinking.

1.  Write one or two key thoughts that come from today’s reading.
    There are many modern heroes in entertainment that do amazing feats of strength.  They can take on a whole gang of attackers and win.  While those are just stories, here we read of a real hero, a real man of strength who won some amazing victories.  Samson was used of God to deliver the nation from the Philistines.  God sent an angel to his mother to tell her she would give birth to a son who would be set apart from birth to accomplish much for God.
    Samson was used by God.  But, sadly, he was also quite insistent on doing things his own way. If he had been more willing to seek and learn God’s ways, he would still have been used by God, but his life would have been quite different.  Samson didn’t listen to the teaching he heard about serving God and staying away from sin.  He didn’t listen to the urging of his parents to marry someone from his homeland.  He was generally looking for pleasure.

2.  What can I apply in my life from the reading?
    God used Samson, but he missed out because of his stubbornness.  Being used by God is the best thing that can happen in life.  While we read about his exploits and are amazed at what he accomplished, he missed out because of his immaturity and insistence on getting his own way.  This is a good lesson to learn from.

3.  How can I help someone?
    Generally, people think they know what is best and insist on living life according to personal whims and desires.  It is always best to follow God’s directions.  Samson missed out on this.