Life Here and There

This is adapted from a sermon based on Judges 16

In every legend, the story of every hero or villain, there is always a source of power that can be discovered and exploited. For Superman, it’s kryptonite. For Zurg (Toy Story), it was the double AA battery (or so Buzz thought).

I believe that for the believer, our secret source of power has to do with our inner walk with God. Deep in the recesses of the heart and soul, where we walk and talk with Him, where we have our conversations with Him, in the closet of prayer and intimacy, there is our secret source of power.

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Back in September, I mentioned that I was beginning a wild goose chase, meaning that I was beginning to read the book Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson. I haven’t written an official review, but the short version is that I’ve been challenged since reading the book to break out of some cages in my life to keep pace with the Holy Spirit.

Now we’re studying Samson, one of the Bible’s wildest heroes. He messes up constantly. He takes a wife from the Philistines, touches a dead animal, sleeps with a prostitute, and gives away the secret of his power with God. Yet God chose him even before conception to “begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines.”

David lived a rough life too, and he was a man after God’s own heart. Peter put his foot in his mouth continually, but God chose him to be the lead Pastor of the first church of Jerusalem. God likes wild men.

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This is adapted from a sermon based on Judges 13

I really don’t have to belabor the point of how morally confusing these times are, do I? We hear the news. We read the stats. And we know how tough it is to be growing up in this present culture. That’s how things were for Israel when Samson was born.

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