Jen here...

I stand amazed at the way God works. He is so personal to each believer's walk and life. It is not a cookie cutter faith - looking the same for each believer - but a personal relationship tailored to speak to the heart of each individual child of God.

My family and I went to New Orleans this weekend. Although I have to admit the decadence of behavior there was at times shocking, I have fallen in love with certain aspects of this city. The history represented in the architecture is amazing. The number of things for a family to do were wonderful. The sense of safety that I felt as we moved around the city was surprising.

But there was a sense of purposefully avoiding certain areas to keep our visit family friendly. I feel like this is probably true of any major city where there is a large concentration of humanity in a relatively small area.

Maybe New Orleans does have a bit of a reputation like some larger cities. It was certainly understood that as tourists, we needed to be mindful of our own naivete.

I was not expecting God to speak to me in such a mighty way in the "Big Easy."

My husband and I had watched a couple of shows about natural disasters and the destruction that had ensued. My spirit was feeling oppressed by the negative images that I had steadily put before my eyes that evening. I needed to be lifted.

Having left my Bible in the car, I searched in the nightstand on my side of the bed for the Gideon Bible that most hotels have tucked away. The Bible was not there. I leaned across the bed and checked the other nightstand. There it was. I thumbed through the pages waiting for the Word of God to open itself to me and reveal what I would read that night (I do wonder if I am the only person to seek God's voice this way). As I was thumbing through, I spotted where someone had underlined and circled verse numbers. It was in the first and second chapters of Judges, but mostly in Judges chapter 2.

I must confess, I get easily confused when reading the Old Testament. I have been a Christian for many years and I guess it shouldn't confound me as it does. I adore The Book of Psalms (easily one of my favorite books of the Bible) but the historical books lose me at times. After reading these chapters, I went to my computer, looking for commentary that would help me understand what I had read. I wound up HERE.

I should probably go into what the Lord revealed to me but I'm afraid I will make a mess of it. All I can say is I realized small sins and my backslidden behavior have done a lot of damage in my life lately. I did not "drive out the inhabitants" of sin in my life... have not obeyed His voice.... and it has driven a wedge in my life spiritually. I confess this as sin and ask God to forgive me of it.

Did He want me to realize this? Yes, because there I am staying in the room with the Gideon Bible with the scriptures underlined in it that He used to speak to me and convict me.

Judges 2:5 says "And they called the name of that place Bo'chim: and they sacrificed there unto the Lord." Bochim means mourning or weeping. This was the only scripture the previous reader of the Gideon Bible circled. It spoke to me... Do I want to live a life of joy and obedience or do I want to live a life of disobedience and weeping?

I want to live a life of joy and I can only do it through Christ.

Father God... forgive me. Thank you for being patient, for not giving up on me. You have said that I am yours and no one can snatch me out of your hand... thank you that even I (and my sinful behavior) cannot take myself out of your hand. Thank you for the finished work of Salvation through your Son.

In Jesus name, Amen.




*Circled verse numbers were:

Judges 1 verses 21,27,29,30,31, and 33
Judges 2 verses 2,3,4,5 (and circled scripture),7,8,9,10 (scripture in brackets and "which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel" underlined), 11,12,14,and 15.