Author Archives: cazehner

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About cazehner

I'm a woman who loves God's Word, the Bible. And I love sharing what it is God reveals to me through his Word. I pray that everything I write is consistent with Scripture, and that everyone who reads this blog will be drawn closer to the Savior. I am praying for you.

April 5 – It’s Insane

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Judges 16-18

Isn’t the definition of “insanity” said to be doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different outcome? I think Samson was insane.

Three time Delilah tried to get him to tell her what made him so strong. Three times Samson told a lie. And all three times Delilah went to Samson’s enemies and set up an ambush. Three times.

So why – WHY – would Samson think that on the fourth time, he could tell Delilah the truth and she wouldn’t go to his enemies with that information? It’s insane.

But, as He does whenever I read His Word, God is asking me to check myself. Haven’t there been times I’ve wanted something, but God clearly closes the door? Haven’t I been known to try again and again to get what it was I wanted, only to have the door slammed in my face each time? Did I think the door would somehow open when it hadn’t so many times before?

Have you ever wanted someone to love you, but they clearly weren’t interested? Have you tried and tried to get their attention, only to be sadly disappointed every time? Yet something tells you it’ll be different next time.

After reading about Samson today, I realize I want to be more sensitive to God’s nudges, and his outright denial of what I think I want. I want to recognize the signs. If God closes a door, I want to trust Him enough to walk away and look for an open door somewhere else.

I don’t want to read about Samson and think, “that man was insane” without doing a sanity check on my own life.

God, help me read the signs you so clearly put in my path. Help me make decisions based on those nudges that come from You, my loving Father.

April 4 -Revenge

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Judges 13-15

Samson is an interesting character. From the moment he was conceived his mother didn’t drink alcohol. His parents raised him to be set apart for God’s work. Samson acted differently, and looked different from everybody else.

God used Samson in amazing ways. He killed a lion with his bare hands, a thousand men with the jawbone of a donkey. Yet he had terrible taste in women, seemed to have no common sense, and made revenge a driving force in his life.

When the men of Judah came to him and asked him why on earth he would burn the Philistine crops, Samson answered like a two year old. “They started it.”

Is revenge a right? When someone wrongs you, are you entitled to payback? Doesn’t the Bible say something about an eye for an eye?

I used to tell kids in my school that revenge is like a game of tennis. Someone serves the ball into your court by being mean to you, so you hit the ball back to them by doing something back at them. Does the game of tennis stop after both players hit the ball just once?

Well, it might when I’m playing. But that’s not the point.

When the ball is hit into the player’s court, he or she does everything possible to hit it back into the opponent’s court. The game stops only when someone quits hitting the ball.

Does getting revenge ever solve the problem? Does it ever even the score? Or does it make the problem grow? Read these chapters in Judges and see how living for revenge worked for Samson.

What does Jesus say? Love your enemies. Do good to those who harm you. Paul tells us to overcome evil with good.

I wonder how Samson’s story would have ended if he had learned that lesson.

I wonder how your story will end.

April 3- Do What Seems Best

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Judges 10-12

The children of Israel once again worshiped idols, the false gods of Aram, Sidon, Moab, Ammon, and the Philistines. It seemed like the right thing to do. After all, their neighbors were doing it.

So God let them be enslaved by the Philistines. For eighteen years the Israelites were mistreated at the hands of their captors. Then, when they finally cried out to God for help, God told them to cry to the gods they had chosen. Maybe those wooden images would deliver them.

But then the Jews said something that hit home here in the 21st Century. “We have sinned. Do to us whatever seems good to You; only please deliver us this day.” (10:15)

The other day I told you what Kay Arthur had to say about God’s judgment on the US. God cannot NOT punish our disobedience. And it will come because God’s people have rejected Him in favor of wealth, health, tolerance, and acceptance of sin. God is going to judge this nation because too many pastors are not preaching the Truth according to Scripture. He’s going to judge this nation because the rest of us have accepted it.

We’ve been living according to what we think is best, what makes people comfortable and feel good about themselves. We go to church for a worship experience, and come away unchanged and unrepentant. How is that working out?

I would like to rally Christians to revival. To say to God what Israel did so long ago:

We have sinned, God. Do to this nation what you deem right and good. Deliver us as you seem best. Forgive us. And may Your children be found faithful through it all.

April 2 – Blessings That Lead To Sin

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Judges 8&9

What do you do with the blessings that God gives you? Can you pay your bills? Are you healthy, have a family, someone you consider a good friend, a roof over your head and enough to eat?

More than that, are you walking with the Lord? Have you accepted His grace and do you enjoy His Presence, His love, His joy, and peace?

What do you do with it all?

Gideon received 1700 shekels of gold from the spoils taken from victories at a war. God had defeated Gideon’s enemies in a miraculous fashion. And what did Gideon do with the gold?

Gideon made it into an ephod, and placed it in his city, Ophrah, and all Israel played the harlot with it there, so that it became a snare to Gideon and his household. (Judges 8:27)

Did Gideon use what God had given him for the glory of God? No. And it led to sin.

I don’t know most of you reading this blog. But I know for a fact you have been blessed by God. Oh, you might be struggling right now. But that doesn’t mean God is not blessing you every day, too.

I think God would have us take inventory today. Count your blessings. Name them one by one.

Then ask yourself if you are using what He’s given you for God’s glory. Or are you using those blessings in self-serving ways? Are you squandering the blessings God is pouring out on you by not recognizing them, or by abusing them in some way?

Beware, dear one. What you do with God’s blessings is between you and Him. Just know that if you aren’t careful, those very blessings could lead to sin.

April 1 – It’s No Joke

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Judges 6&7

Sometimes obeying God can be scary. God told Gideon to tear down his father Joash’s Asherah pole and the altar of Baal. Gideon obeyed. But he did it at night because he was afraid of his dad. As it turned out, the neighbors were more angry than Gideon’s father. Joash told his neighbors that if Baal was such a great god, let Baal take care of Gideon for destroying the altar. Gideon’s dad had his son’s back after all.

God wanted Gideon to attack Midian, promising him victory with only 300 men. But Gideon got cold feet. He sneaked into the Midian camp during the night to check things out for himself. You know, in case God overlooked a detail or two.

What Gideon heard two Midianite soldiers say to each other there in the middle of the night affirmed to Gideon that God was going to help him win the battle.

God doesn’t always ask us to do the safe or comfortable things in Jesus’ name. Befriending that grouchy neighbor might scare you to death. Teaching the Bible study in your home, or taking a stand at work, or running for political office, or going to Africa to share the Gospel, or quitting smoking, or walking away from an ungodly relationship, or asking someone to forgive you can be scary.

God might be nudging you to do something way out of your comfort zone, and you are tempted to think, “This has to be a joke.”

Hear God say, if He asks you to do it, He will go before you, He will be your strength, He will give you the victory. God is very serious about using you today to win the war against Satan.

If you feel the nudge of God to talk to someone about the Savior, rest assured it’s no joke. Gather your courage and do it. God promises to be right there with you every step of the way.

March 31 – It’s Not About Them

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Judges 3-5

There is a running theme throughout Scripture. God blesses obedience and punishes disobedience. God turns His back on those who reject Him. But He is faithful to save those who call on Him.

There are examples of this here in these chapters in Judges. Israel sinned, God punished, Israel repented, God saved. Israel sinned, God punished, Israel repented, God saved…

I attend a Precepts Bible study. Each week we watch a video of Kay Arthur’s lectures. And we are presently studying the Old Testament Kings. (talk about more examples of consequences for disobedience and blessings for obedience)

Kay said something on the video we watched this week that came to mind as I read these chapters in Judges today. The video was taped about ten years ago. But she could have given this lecture yesterday, as relevant as it was in light of what is in the news these days.

She asks a question: Is God going to punish the United States because we have turned from Him? Then she said:

He has to.

His holiness demands it.

Here’s what I know about God. He is the same today as He was in the time of the Judges and Old Testament Kings. He does not ignore disobedience. He disciplines those He loves.

But God has also said that if His people – we who are called by His name – will “humble themselves and pray and seek (His) face and turn from their wicked ways, then (God) will hear from heaven, and forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chron 7:14)

So, it’s not that America needs to turn back to God. God is talking to HIS PEOPLE. Christians. He’s talking to you and me.

If CHRISTIANS humble themselves, turn from the evil in our own lives, if WE seek His face, then He will heal our land. God’s punishment on the United States won’t be because there are unbelievers in the White House.

God’s punishment on the United States will come because we Christians are not obeying God. What is happening to America isn’t on unbelievers. It’s on us.

It’s time for a revival in our churches among believers who have been living with sin. What are you going to do about it?

Holy God, I am convicted as I realize what is happening in our country and our world is a direct result of my own disobedience. It’s easy to blame “them.” It’s not so easy to point that finger at me. Forgive me. Cleanse me. Help me to stand for the Truth You have laid out in Scripture. May I not take my eyes off You. May my desires be only Yours. May Your people, we Christians, humble ourselves and call on You out of pure hearts. And may You heal our land as we submit to You.

March 30 – Living With The Enemy

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Judges 1-2

Israel didn’t drive out the enemy like God had told them to do. Yes, it would have involved force, it wouldn’t be easy. But, like Judah who didn’t drive the enemy out of the valley because they had “iron chariots,” the Israelites chose to live among the enemy. Clearly not what God had wanted for them. (besides, what is an iron chariot next to God?)

God had promised them He would go before them in battle. God had promised them victory. Either Israel was too lazy, or they didn’t really believe God when He told them living with the enemy would cause them to sin.

So, the Jews lived among idol worshipers. And the result? The Bible tells us that their children were “another generation after them who did not know the Lord, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel.” (2:10)

Oh, their kids knew about Baal. But they didn’t know God.

I have lived six decades. In my lifetime I have seen the decline of morality and the reverence and fear of a Holy God. I have seen worship turn into entertainment, and the Truth replaced by a lie.

God is speaking to me today. I am a part of the decline of Christianity. Have I cleared out my own Promised Land like God has commanded me? Have I eliminated sin from my life, or do I live with a hint of jealousy? Do I watch that one ungodly TV show? Do I take God’s name in vain on occasion? Am I too busy to read God’s Word and pray, replacing my worship of Him with busyness?

Do I love this world a bit too much? Have I grown numb concerning sin, accepting sin or tolerating it?

God would have me clear out the land. He has said that living with the enemy can only turn out badly for me… and for the dear ones who come after me.

God, reveal those areas in my life where I have allowed Satan to exist. I don’t want anything to do with him. I don’t want his influence to have any hold on me. I want to be free from the bondage that results by allowing sin to exist in me. You died to free me. Forgive me for squandering that. I don’t want to live with the enemy. I want my life to be just You and me.

March 29 – Come On In

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Joshua 22-24

They built a replica altar. The two and a half tribes that chose to live close to, but not in, the Promised Land built an altar as a sign to those in the Promised Land that they were their equals. They wanted everyone for generations to know they had the right to worship at the tabernacle, that they were the children of Israel, too.

They were. And they did have the right to worship with their brothers. God hadn’t forced them to enter the land. And He blessed them with their own land on the other side of Jordan.

But they had settled for second best. They never experienced the abundant riches living inside the Promised Land afforded. It wasn’t that they weren’t happy, or that they couldn’t call themselves Jews. They just missed having everything God wanted them to have.

Is it possible to be a Christian and not experience the abundant life? I believe Scripture tells us it is. Can you be a Christian and not read your Bible every day or pray? Can you be a Christian and not be involved in a church fellowship? I believe so. But hear me when I say non-Christians don’t read their Bibles, either. They don’t pray. They don’t go to church.

Can you be obedient to God as His child, and not nurture a close relationship with Him?? I don’t see how.

God wants you to live in the Promised Land of fellowship with Him, enjoying the abundant blessings that come when you walk with Him. Why would you be satisfied living within arms reach and not grabbing hold of the best God has to offer?

God won’t force you. But that door is wide open, and He’s standing there inviting you to come on in and be blessed beyond what you can even imagine.

Ans speaking of blessings… Thank you for praying for Sheri yesterday. Her daughter reports that surgery went better than they had hoped. There will be radiation and chemo for Sheri in the days and weeks ahead. But God is in this and we are just praising Him today for answering prayers with this successful surgery.

Sheri lives in the Promised Land. She faces her cancer with hope and confidence and assurance beyond what many people can imagine. She walks with Jesus. And she knows she’ll walk with Him today either here on in eternity.

I trust you can say the same.

March 28 – God’s Promises Are A Done Deal

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Joshua 19-21

So the Lord gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it. And the Lord gave them rest on every side, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers, and no one of all their enemies stood before them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hand. Not one of the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass. (21:43-45)

Did you catch what Scripture tells us? The Jews were given the land just like God had promised Abraham. None of their enemies stood before them. None of the promises God made to them failed. Not a one!

Can God be trusted to keep His Word? 100%

Would you mind if I share a personal burden I am carrying? I have a friend who is having surgery today to remove a large tumor from her brain. I am praying for complete healing, although this is not the only cancer invading her body.

I read passages like this one in Joshua, and in others like Matthew 4:23 where Jesus healed everyone who came to Him. Or like in James 5:16 that says we should confess our sins so we can be healed. And I am tempted to believe physical healing is God’s promise. But is it?

God promised the Israelites He would defeat their enemies. And he did. Promise kept.

But I am reminded that cancer is not my friend’s enemy. Her enemy was defeated when she asked Jesus to save her. She is a godly woman, a servant, an encourager. Her life has been a testimony for God’s grace for the forty plus years I have known her. She has touched thousands of lives through her years as a music teacher, a member of the city’s Philharmonic Orchestra, as her church’s organist and praise team member. Her unwavering faith these past couple years as she has battled this disease has shown a bright spotlight on her Savior to people in and outside the church.

I pray for a miraculous healing in my friend’s body. I pray for the doctors, for her husband and daughters. I pray for her church family and the community who loves her so much.  I pray that God will be glorified in this surgery today. No matter the outcome.

I know God will keep every promise He’s ever made to my friend. He will never leave or forsake her. He’s gone to prepare a place for her where she will live forever cancer-free, and in God’s Presence.

Would you pray with me today for Sheri? May God be evident in many ways, may hearts be drawn to Him, and may Sheri know the healing that God has in store for her.

He will keep His promises.

 

March 27 – How long?

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Joshua 16-18

God had given the land to the Jews. All they had to do was take it. Some tribes went right in and cleaned out the cities in order to occupy what God had given them.

Other tribes held back. Joshua asked them: How long will you put off entering to take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your Fathers, has given you?” (18:3)

It’s Easter Sunday morning. Jesus is alive! His death on the cross bought our salvation. He was buried to carry our sins all the way to hell, separated from the Father.

But He rose again, and offers us new life. Eternal life. A life free of guilt and hopelessness. He did that for me. He did that for you.

Some people have accepted God’s provision. We’ve repented of sin and allowed Jesus to be our Savior, the very thing He was born to be.

Others stand there looking at the gift, like the Jews in Joshua 18 stood looking at the land. But they just haven’t taken that step toward accepting what Jesus bought for them, what He freely offers to them with open arms.

God is saying to you, “How long will you put off taking possession of what is already yours? How long will you refuse what Jesus died to give you?”

Dearest Jesus, we celebrate You today. We sing about the fact that you defeated death itself by dying, then living again. That tomb is empty. We praise You. We worship You. I pray for any reading this blog who are still standing there with that precious gift in front of them. May they reach out and accept what you have already paid for. May they repent of sin this minute, and allow You to forgive them, that which you are so eager to do. May each of us know the blessed reality of having the risen Savior walking with us today.