[Daily Scripture] Daily Scripture Email - Thursday, 20 February 2014 - Devotion "Samson" & Friday, 21 February 2014 - Devotion "With Your Eyes"

[Daily Scripture] Daily Scripture Email - Thursday, 20 February 2014 - Devotion "Samson" & Friday, 21 February 2014 - Devotion "With Your Eyes"
[Daily Scripture] Daily Scripture Email - Thursday, 20 February 2014
They shaved off the seven braids of his hair, and his strength left him (Judges 16: 19).
The first time I heard this story of Samson and his hair, I was bewildered and confused.  How could it be that just having his hair cut would result in the loss of his great strength.  Not until many years later, when I read again that behind the "hair" was a vow, a Nazarite vow between Samson's parents and God when Samson was born, and then between Samson and God, a vow that no razor would ever be
used on his head.
So, the cause of Samson's diminished strength had little to do with the length of his hair, and everything to do with his not honoring his vow to God.  He had wandered far from God.  Like the prodigal son Jesus spoke of, both were lost in their own way; both were weakened by their turning away.  It's true of all of us.  Thanks be to God there is such a thing as a "home coming" - a return, restoration.  I need that, and I suspect you may as well.  Love and prayers, Dan
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[Daily Scripture] Daily Scripture Email - Friday, 21 February 2014 - Devotion "With Your Eyes"
In those days Israel had no king; everyone did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25).
This is the last verse in the Book of Judges; it is enigmatic at best.  It appears to long for a king, and yet, when Israel gets a king, for the most part it was a disaster, with heavy taxes and oppression - with a couple of exceptions.
As with most societies, something, even repression is preferred over anarchy, which is what was behind the phrase (doing what was right in his own eyes).
Sermons on this verse almost always chide the idea of doing "what is right in one's own eyes," preferring instead that everyone does what "is right in the preacher's eyes," although that isn't articulated of course.  But it is the very nature of power, religious power included, to want everyone to do what the person in power wants rather than the chaos of individualism.
Our country was built, however, on the strength of individualism, hence enormous resistance to all measures that would curtail those individuality features.  This can be chaotic, but it can also generate enormous creativity - little wonder the social media advances began here and continue to emanate from the US.
But, back to our text; how to apply it to us devotionally.  Here's an idea:  rather than "doing what is right in one's own eyes," we are called to seek to do "what is right in God's eyes."  How do we know what that is?  Jesus showed us and taught us what that is.  In following Him, we not only honor our individuality, but we also honor the call of God on our lives to live toward the betterment of society.
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline (2Tim. 1:7)
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