Fri.’s Devo - Men of Valor

Read: Judges 6:1-40; Luke 22:54-23:12; Psalms 95:1-96:13; Proverbs 14:5-6
Israel’s history is like a yo-yo. They sin and fall into the hands of their enemies. Then they repent, cry out to God and God sends a deliverer. Years pass and they repeat the cycle. In today’s reading, they sinned and God turned them over to the Midanites for 7 years. Whenever Israel began their planting season in hopes of a harvest, the Midianites came down and destroyed the seed leaving them no way to survive. God sent them a prophet to remind them why they were in this mess but right behind him came an angel with a message of hope. The angel came to Gideon while he was threshing wheat in a wine press to hide his seed from the Midianites. Wheat is suppose to be threshed out in open air so the wind will blow away the chaff and only the grain will remain. A wine press is dug into the ground where there is no wind.
The angel came to Gideon and addressed him, “The Lord is with you, oh mighty man of valour.” Gideon looked like anything but a man of courage. He was in a hole hiding in fear. But the angel saw what Gideon had to become to do the job God had for him.
God has a plan on this earth for his children, but the devil comes to try to destroy our seed and ruin our harvest. Satan wants us to hide in fear but God wants us to rise up out of our pit and become a mighty woman and man of valor. Valor means a force of strength, power, riches, substance, and virtue.
Gideon needed many confirmations before he would step out but the first thing that had to happen is the altar of Baal had to come down. Did you notice that it was in his own household? It was his father’s altar making his father the Baal priest. Gideon did it at night, but he did it.
If we want victory the first thing that has to come down in our lives is the altars we have built that aren’t around the Lord. To find out what they might be, all we have to do is ask God. He will faithfully tell us.
In Luke, Peter is humbled by his denials. This probably helped him forgive Judas Iscariot. Peter was not the only one who was humbled. Herod and Pilate became friends and laid down their differences.
Lord, help us to be loving and forgiving today. May we be people of valor.