An encouraging and patient God
Through a series of questions and tests, God has reduced Gideon’s army to 300 men while the enemy has tens of thousands of soldiers. God may suspect Gideon’s likely bewilderment at those odds, so He...
Faith & Family Business
How did you succeed in your family business?
April 7, 2024
In our last reflection, God demonstrated his commitment to Gideon through a wet fleece and then a dry fleece. Now, it’s time for Gideon to use the army he gathered to fight the Midianites. But first...
What does it take to trust God?
March 31, 2024
Some remarkable things happened to Gideon. An angel offered a sign confirming God’s message. Gideon destroyed his community’s altar without consequence. And with no apparent leadership experience, he...
Building confidence in your family business role
March 24, 2024
Over several weeks, we’ve seen a progression of confidence in Gideon: from at first hiding wheat in the winepress, then meeting God’s angel but trying to avoid His call, then tearing down the altar...
Standing up for the next generation in your family business
March 17, 2024
Gideon’s first act as a judge was to tear down his community’s altar to Baal, which he did at night because he knew they would be upset. Sure enough, the next morning the whole town is fired up: When...
On being disrupted in your family, business, or community
March 10, 2024
My last reflection focused on Gideon recognizing he was dealing with God, and so he built an altar to commemorate the experience. Now God speaks directly to Gideon:That night the Lord said to him, “...
Where would you build your altar?
March 4, 2024
Last week’s reflection dealt with how we sometimes delay or avoid what God is calling us to do. In Gideon’s case, once he runs out of excuses, he offers God’s angel a gift of meat, bread and broth,...
Coming up with excuses in response to God’s call.
February 26, 2024
My last reflection was about how God sent an angel to speak with Gideon, and how their conversation began with some startling words about Gideon’s strength. The discussion continues with a back-and-...
How do you hear God speaking to you?
February 18, 2024
Last week we learned about Israel’s feeling of utter devastation from being continually assaulted by their current rulers. They are at the low point in the cycle, and God identifies Gideon and...
Dealing with devastation in the family business
February 11, 2024
In last week’s reflection, I laid out the full cycle of Israel and God’s interaction during the time of the judges. Now we’ll begin to look at individual judges, beginning with Gideon. But first,...