Judges 1, how fun that a New Year is approaching and I start a new chapter of God's Word. Chapter 1 reminds us why Jesus was born and died for us. We went from Joshua 23: 11 Therefore take careful heed to yourselves, that you love the Lord your God. 12 Or else, if indeed you do go back, and cling to the remnant of these nations—these that remain among you—and make marriages with them, and go in to them and they to you, 13 know for certain that the Lords your God will no longer drive out these nations from before you. But they shall be snares and traps to you, and scourges on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land which the Lord your God has given you,;to the first chapter of Judges doing the exact opposite.

Look at us here in America , it is those little gods telling us what we can do, say and have...
Joshua 24 :24 And the people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!”.
Easy to say , hard to do but God knows this and Jesus told us John 20:29Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
These people saw first hand . We underestimate the power of the enemy , we have since the Garden. These people had Ephesians 6 fighting for them, we do as well. We see God spends many chapters and pages to show us we are in a war with an enemy that cannot be seen , but uses things and people that can be.

satan can not defeat God but uses what God loves and that is us. One day this war will end and peace will come for many but for many more that did not believe, it will not. Matthew 10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

We are in strange and perilous times and that sword is the true Word of God , know it better than anything in your life...
When we do things on our own outside of what God says , we end up in Judges 1 , even if it seems nice or fair. God fought for them in this story and He fights for us if we believe and obey. This world offered them lies and it offers us lies daily.
Luke 4: 5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”

A verse to look at daily and we only have to look at North Korea or any Nation, God is not allowed to see satan gave to whomever he wished. It came to me this week something satan has confused is a name to his advantage. You see in movies and web sites ,many are looking for an antichrist but we are in a sea of them , this is what an antichrist is , 1 John 2:22 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.
Do you ever think about people you like that does not believe in the Father and the Son, as an antichrist , they did not in Judges Chapter 1 and we do not either...Gods commands are perfect … We are weak but He is strong...

We are not called to do what they did in Joshua , that did not work out well. We are called to Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
We are called to follow the lead of Jesus and when satan makes us an offer of this world , we are to remember 1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

I placed myself in the shoes of the people in Judges 1 and could see I would have a hard time as well , following those commands. Without doubt there where nice men women and children in those groups. Gods ways are not ours the Cross shows us that. Live to die as Jesus Christ was born to to die for us . Do not live for this world or its appealing offers...