Tag: blog

Roger That: God Stinks at Math!

Posted on by Lizzie Laemmli

 

Columnist Writer

Hey Everyone! I’m Roger Hamilton and I oversee the training and development of our Eagle Lake staff. I have been with the Navigators for 33 years! I love helping our staff grow in their knowledge and love of God and the Bible. One thing I don’t like are blogs. So, I prefer to call it a B-Log, as in Bible log. I’ll be back as your trusty Eagle Lake B-logger every other week, at least until you get sick of me. Did you miss the last post? Read it here!

-Roger that!

 

 

God tells Gideon that he is going to conquer an army of 135,000 with only 300 men!

Today we’re focusing on how God stinks at math, yes you heard that right. God STINKS at math (see above) – keep reading to find out why and what might supersede some equations…

 

In our last B-log, we learned cool stuff about Gideon in Judges 6, where God had to get past Gideon’s fears and insecurities. But He was just getting warmed up, and Judges 7 shows us that the God of the universe wouldn’t pass your little brother’s 4th grade math class!

 

In Judges 6:14 God tells Gideon to “go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand.” So Gideon gathers his army of 32,000 men to fight 135,000 Midianites and their allies.

Already the numbers don’t add up: the Israelites are down 103,000! God wants to make sure the people don’t try to take credit, so He tells Gideon, “You have too many men. Let anyone who trembles with fear go home,” and 22,000 Israelites leave. Then He tells Gideon to separate his troops by how they drink water: one group has 300, one group has 9,700.

Equation 1: Midianites of 135,000 > Gideon’s Israelites of 32,000.

 

Does God command Gideon to send 300 home and keep 9,700? No! He sends 9,700 home and keeps only 300.

Equation 2: 9,700 > 300

 

Now God tells Gideon that he is going to conquer an army of 135,000 with only 300 men! To put it in perspective, each Israelite would be responsible for defeating 450 Midianites. Knowing Gideon’s fearful tendencies, God kindly encourages Gideon to go down to the Midian camp and listen. Gideon hears a man talking about his dream, in which “God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands.”

Equation 3: Ratio 1 man to 450 men…bad odds.

 

And that’s just one of MANY situations in the Bible where the numbers don’t add up. Jesus feeds 5,000 with 5 loaves of bread and two fish (Matthew 14:13-21). BUT then he needs 7 loaves and a few fish to feed in Matthew 15.

 

Equation 4:  5+2=5,000

Equation 5: 7+ a few=4,000

 

Is Jesus slipping a bit in His ability to do a miracle? No! Clearly the math here is not important.

What IS important is that God glorifies Himself in our challenges and difficulties by making it impossible for us to take the credit.

Lynn (my wife) and I have seen this clearly in our 33 years of ministry with the Navigators! When our autistic son was 3 years old, we were offered a spot in a therapy program that we knew would help him tremendously. Only one problem: it was going to cost TWICE our annual salary! We didn’t even have the required $1,000 for the initial consult with the psychologist.

I was in Colorado for a meeting when Lynn called me from our home in Wisconsin to tell me some incredible news. My college roommate Dave and his wife called and asked Lynn, “Do you need $1,000? God is telling us to give you $1,000 and we don’t know why.”

From there God provided every penny we needed for our son’s therapy- for two and half years!

Have you seen God do something wild and crazy in your life? With your family? Did you give Him the credit? Is there something you will soon be facing that only God can figure out?

God delights in doing “immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine.” This makes me rejoice. What about you?

Read and Journal!

  1. Read the following passages and journal your observations and key lessons: Matthew 14:13-21 and 15:29-39; Isaiah 43:1-5.
  2. Pray through a Psalm like Psalm 27 or Psalm 86. Can you relate to the emotions conveyed by the author? Is there math in your life that seems too complicated for even God to solve?
  3. Is the Lord bringing someone to mind who needs to be encouraged or comforted by what you’ve been learning about His faithfulness and miraculous provision? Make a plan to reach out to them this week!

This has been the second B-Log in an ongoing series of ROGER THAT. If you found this interesting, share it below!

 

Roger That: Why In The World Would God Use Me?

Posted on by Lizzie Laemmli

Columnist Writer

Hey Everyone! I’m Roger Hamilton and I oversee the training and development of our Eagle Lake staff. I have been with the Navigators for 33 years! Yes, that makes me the old guy in the office. I love helping our staff grow in their knowledge and love of God and the Bible. And I love helping people grow as disciples of Christ and to make disciples of others. One thing I don’t like are blogs. And now they want me to write one! So, I prefer to call it a B-Log, as in Bible log. I’m excited to learn with you as we study cool people and great themes in the Bible- like Gideon in this post. I’ll be back as your trusty Eagle Lake B-logger every other week, at least until you get sick of me.

-Roger that!

 

 

“We’re not expected to go it alone and figure it out by ourselves”.

 

Gideon in the OT book of Judges has GOT to be one of the most unimpressive men in the entire Bible! Seriously, I wonder how the angel of the Lord could keep a straight face when he appeared to Gideon and said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior” (Judges 6:12).

 

Am I being too hard on Gideon? Judge for yourself (sorry, I couldn’t pass up a good pun). In verse 13 he doubts if God still cares for His people. In verse 14 and 15 he doubts God’s call and his own strength, influence, and ability to lead. In verse 17 he doubts God again, so when Gideon asks to prepare an offering, the angel of the Lord miraculously burns it up and disappears!

 

I have to admit that as a young man I felt like Gideon. “But, Lord, how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family” (Judges 6:15).  I know my weaknesses, I know how I’ve let people down, I know when I might not have given my best effort in a task or project.  By the way, the last time I checked God was all-knowing, so I don’t really need to convince him of my shortcomings or limitations. He knows me better than I know myself!

 

Look how this disclaimer from Gideon is sandwiched between two affirming statements from God: a command in verse 14 and a promise in verse 16.  The command: “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” HOW COOL IS THAT?!! God wants Gideon to “go in the strength” he has.”  God knows the strength we have (and don’t have). If he’s the one sending us, we can be confident that He knows what He’s doing!

 

The promise in verse 16 shows how this partnership between God and Gideon works. God says, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites.” It’s a great reminder for us that God promises to go with us in whatever He calls us to do. We’re not expected to go it alone and figure it out by ourselves.

 

How do we make sense of this in our lives today?

Okay, so God is probably not calling any of us to lead a military campaign and rescue a nation like He was with Gideon.

 

As believers in Christ who are led by the Holy Spirit, He has given ALL of us the privilege of being Christ’s ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20). So even though we might relate to Gideon’s feelings of inadequacy, that question I pose as the title should not apply to us. Rather, we should be expectantly asking, “WHERE in the world will God use me?” And, “HOW in the world will God use me?”

 

In the summer of 1992, my wife Lynn and I led a team of students on an eight-week mission trip to Siberia.  Our team of 14 arrived on a university campus where no Christian ministries existed.  Were we confident and competent in our ability to communicate the love of Christ to those who had not only never heard the gospel but had never even seen a Bible? No! We were terrified! Every day we asked ourselves, “what in the world are we doing here? This is crazy!” God took our insecurities and inadequacies and did amazing things.  We’re still in contact with men and women who came to Christ that summer- 29 years ago!

 

Does God want to do something just as amazing with you? I believe He does.

In the next B-log we’ll see how this all turned out for Gideon in Judges 7, but here are some questions for you to ponder:

  1. Is there something God is calling you to do for which you don’t feel adequately equipped or qualified? A friend who needs to hear the good news of Christ from YOU? Maybe a summer role at camp that will stretch you in ways you can’t even imagine right now? Click HERE to read how a past Summer Staff  saw God stretch them!
  2. What do you sense God is saying to you about His responsibility and yours in this challenge? Some helpful verses to consider: Judges 6:16; Colossians 1:29; Joshua 14:12; 2 Corinthians 3:4-6
  3. Who can you share this with for encouragement and prayer?

 

This has been the first B-Log in an ongoing series of ROGER THAT. If you found this interesting, share it below!