Mark 8:36

What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?

From Background Notes [BN] for February 1st & 2nd written by Pastor Bob Brown:

God introduced Gideon to “his own soul” one day by calling him a “mighty warrior.” But Gideon could not see this soul inside him. Was he not, after all, the man threshing wheat in a winepress, fearful of the marauding Canaanites who preyed on his countrymen?

Judges 7:7

The LORD said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home.”

From Background Notes [BN] for February 1st & 2nd written by Pastor Bob Brown:

Such a persistent God was new to Gideon: he could not guard his soul from the persistent purpose of this God.

Isaiah 43:1-2

But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

From Background Notes [BN] for February 1st & 2nd written by Pastor Bob Brown:

The journey of the darkened soul is portrayed here as passing “through the waters, through the rivers, through the fire, through the flame.”

Judges 6:36-37

Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised—  look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.”

From Background Notes [BN] for February 1st & 2nd written by Pastor Bob Brown:

Readers sometimes see a delaying tactic in what Gideon asked from the Lord, an effort to weasel out of his assignment. More serious are suggestions that he was manipulating God.

Judges 6:34-35

Then the Spirit of Yahweh came upon Gideon, and he blew the trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him.  He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher, Zebulon and Naphtali, so that they too went up to meet them.

From Background Notes [BN] for February 1st & 2nd written by Pastor Bob Brown:

As Boling observes, “Gideon was regularly slow to respond and characteristically overreacted.” That is why the presence of the Spirit is crucial.

Matthew 6:24

No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

From Background Notes [BN] for January 25^th & 26^th  written by Pastor Bob Brown:

Sound familiar? The words echo what we heard from Moses, Joshua, Elijah, and in the deeds of Gideon. Put differently, Jesus is saying, “You can’t have life on your own terms; you can’t live in two narratives; you can’t serve God and Baal.”

1 Peter 1:17

Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.

From Background Notes [BN] for January 25^th & 26^th  written by Pastor Bob Brown:

The concept of “fear” is a tricky one throughout Scripture. When the Bible uses the word in a positive sense, it refers to the reverent awe we experience before God. The statement, “fear the Lord,” isn’t an invitation to run away from God because His greatness overwhelms us.