| February 22 | ||
| And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abi-ezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. | ||
| Judges 6:11-12 | ||
| The threshing of wheat was usually done at a higher elevation in order to allow the wind to blow the chaff away. Gideon, however, realized that every time he threshed wheat, the Midianites would sweep in and rip him off. So he threshed wheat not on a mountaintop but in a winepress, a lower spot, a hidden area. I love this! Here’s Gideon, hiding from the Midianites, knees knocking, shaking with fright - yet the Lord calls him a mighty man of valor. Why? Because He sees His own not in their present problems, but as finished products. How do I know? Turn to Romans 8 . . . And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. Romans 8:28-30 Please hang on to this. God is saying that you who are part of the elect were predestined by Him, called by Him, made just by Him, and glorified by Him. It doesn’t say you will be glorified. It says you are glorified. That is why in Ephesians 5:27, Paul talks about the Church as being a glorious Church without spot or wrinkle. When we look at each other, we see lots of wrinkles and a whole bunch of spots. But God transcends the time/space dimension and views us in our eternal state. Yes, He’s aware of our present struggles, but He also sees us as glorified. This is fabulous, folks, because I am one of the few who, throughout the history of humanity, have been selected, elected, and chosen by God to be part of His eternal family. So are you. | ||
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