{"id":302416,"date":"2011-12-05T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-12-05T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/%series%\/whats-in-a-name\/"},"modified":"2011-12-05T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2011-12-05T17:00:00","slug":"whats-in-a-name","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/whats-in-a-name\/","title":{"rendered":"What&#8217;s in a Name?"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What does your name reveal about you?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":294104,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"https:\/\/web.familylifetoday.com\/fl2011-12-05.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:","filesize":"23.53M","filesize_raw":"24670970","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2822],"tags":[4929,4722,4159],"podcast_series":[7843],"cwp_profile":[3379],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-302416","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-growing-in-your-faith","tag-christian-life","tag-christianity","tag-gospel","podcast_series-you-are-not-who-you-used-to-be","cwp_profile-priscilla-shirer","series-familylife-today"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg?w=508","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2023\/02\/image-scaled.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-download\/302416\/whats-in-a-name","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/302416\/whats-in-a-name","audio_player":null,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303?mt=2&app=podcast","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/feed\/podcast\/familylife-today","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"udaIUsbDxX\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/whats-in-a-name\/\">What&#8217;s in a Name?<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/whats-in-a-name\/embed\/#?secret=udaIUsbDxX\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;What&#8217;s in a Name?&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"udaIUsbDxX\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>\n"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg",508,508,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"kfairris@familylife.com","author_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/author\/kfairrisfamilylife-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"What does your name reveal about you?","meta_box":{"show_notes":"","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylifetoday.com\/fl2011-12-05.pdf","transcript_content":"<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0Have you ever wondered how it could be possible that God is taking what\u2019s in your life right now and using that for good?\u00a0 Priscilla Shirer offers this illustration.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Priscilla:<\/strong>\u00a0 It\u2019s kind of like baking a cake.\u00a0 You put some flour in, you put some sugar in, the flavoring that you like, a couple raw eggs, some baking soda, and a little bit of salt.\u00a0 You stir it all up and then you put it in the oven for just the right amount of time.\u00a0 <em>Now<\/em> you\u2019ve got something that is, \u201cMmm, mmm, good.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThis is what God does with your life.\u00a0 He takes the good, He takes the bad, and He takes the ugly.\u00a0 He puts it all in there together and stirs it up by the power of the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 That\u2019s when you and I now have a life that, to a lost and dying world, is refreshing!\u00a0 They get to see that we serve a God that is, \u201cMmm, mmm, good.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 This is <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> for Monday, December 5th.\u00a0 Our host is the President of FamilyLife\u00ae, Dennis Rainey, and I'm Bob Lepine.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to hear from Priscilla Shirer today about how we can get God\u2019s perspective on what\u2019s going on in our lives.\u00a0 Stay tuned.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 And welcome to <em>FamilyLife Today.<\/em><em>\u00a0 <\/em>Thanks for joining us on the Monday edition.\u00a0 I\u2019ll tell you what.\u00a0 Our listeners\u2014you are in for a treat today.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 You are.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 We\u2019re going to share with you something that we had a chance to share together, as a staff here, at FamilyLife not long ago when Priscilla Shirer was in the offices.\u00a0 She spoke to our staff, and we want you to hear what she shared with us; but before we get to that, Dennis, we\u2019ve got some exciting stuff that\u2019s happening around here.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 We do.\u00a0 FamilyLife has just finished its best year ever, in its 36 years; and we\u2019ve got some friends of FamilyLife who are really excited about what God\u2019s up to here in our ministry and how He continues to use <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>, <em>Real FamilyLife<\/em>\u00ae, our internet site, <em>The Art of Marriage<\/em>\u00ae, and the Weekend to Remember\u00ae--all to impact people\u2019s lives, marriages, and families for generations.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhat they said is, \u201cWe want to come up with a way to match all the donations that come into the ministry in the month of December dollar-for-dollar, up to $2.5 million dollars.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 That\u2019s amazing!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Now, Bob, that\u2019s what it is today.\u00a0 That <em>is<\/em> an amazing number, but we have some other friends who are still making a decision; so, honestly, I believe this number is going to grow.\u00a0 If we\u2019re going to take advantage of perhaps $3, $4, or $5 million dollars in a match, we\u2019re going to need <em>all <\/em>of our listeners to step up and say, \u201cYou know what?\u00a0 I really believe in what you\u2019re doing.\u00a0 I have benefitted from <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>, and I want to keep you on the air.\u00a0 I want to keep you going and help you roll out these new tools.\u00a0 I want to help you take full advantage of this matching donation that these friends have put in place.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 We will keep you posted as we hear about whether that match amount actually grows; but even as it is, with $2.5 million, we need you to go to FamilyLifeToday.com, click on the button that says, \u201cI Care\u201d, and make a year-end donation to help support the ministry; or call us toll-free at 1-800-FL-TODAY.\u00a0 Make a donation over the phone.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAgain, any donation you make is going to be matched dollar for dollar\u2014right now, up to a total of $2.5 million\u2014and that number could grow.\u00a0 We\u2019ll keep you posted on that; and we want to say, \u201cThanks,\u201d in advance for whatever you\u2019re able to do.\u00a0 Thanks for listening.\u00a0 We appreciate your support, and we look forward to hearing from you.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I agree with that, and I want to add my thanks to yours.\u00a0 \u201cThanks,\u201d to the Legacy Partners who keep us going month-in and month-out.\u00a0 You keep us here on this station\u2014coming to you with practical, biblical principles to equip you in your marriage and family.\u00a0 That\u2019s what we\u2019re all about.\u00a0 We want to keep doing that, and we want to impact tens of millions of more families in the future.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAs you mentioned, today we have a great message!\u00a0 It\u2019s an early Christmas gift for our listeners.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 It really is.\u00a0 Priscilla Shirer, who is a Bible teacher and the daughter of Tony Evans, was here at FamilyLife not long ago.\u00a0 We got our whole staff together; and we said to her, \u201cWould you mind just sharing with our staff a little bit about your life and what God\u2019s teaching you from the Scriptures?\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tShe gave a great message.\u00a0 Our staff loved it, and we thought, \u201cWe need to share that with our listeners.\u201d\u00a0 The message is from Judges, Chapter 7.\u00a0 That was the text she used as she spoke to us that day, but she started off by giving us a little insight into the kind of a daughter she was, growing up in Tony and Lois Evans\u2019 home.\u00a0 Here is Priscilla Shirer.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Priscilla:<\/strong>\u00a0 [recorded message]\u00a0 I will tell on myself and let you know that, as I was growing up, I was a very weird child.\u00a0 I was the child that gave my parents the most drama.\u00a0 (Laughter)\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou know what I mean when I say, \u201cDrama!\u201d\u00a0 (Particularly when I was a teenager)\u00a0 I did do some weird things in my teenage years.\u00a0 One of those weird things, I will share with you.\u00a0 One of the things that I did was I decided to change my name and to tell everyone at school that my name was this other name because I just wanted to see if it would catch on.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo I picked two letters:\u00a0 \u201cD\u201d and \u201cK\u201d \u2013 I put them together and made up my initials, \u201cDK.\u201d\u00a0 To this day, anytime I am out running errands, or maybe at the mall, or grocery store, or something like that, and someone yells out to me and says, \u201cDK!\u201d\u2014I know they went to high school with me.\u00a0 (Laughter)\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBecause for four years, every single student, every single teacher, the counselors, and the principal\u2014everybody called me, \u201cDK.\u201d\u00a0 There was a problem, though.\u00a0 One day, I got sick in school.\u00a0 The nurse called my mom; and my mom came to the school, looking for Priscilla.\u00a0 I remember being behind the little closed-off curtain area in the nurse\u2019s station and hearing my mother and the nurse have a dialog as my mother was looking for Priscilla.\u00a0 The nurse had no idea who it was she was talking about.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThey went back and forth for a little while; and then finally, they clued in on the fact that it was me.\u00a0 My mother took me home and nursed me back to health.\u00a0 When I was fine, she said to me, \u201cPriscilla, let\u2019s get one thing straight!\u00a0 They can call you whatever they want to call you.\u00a0 You can even call yourself whatever you want to call you; but when you walk across the stage and get your diploma, there better not be a \u2018D\u2019 or a \u2018K\u2019 written on that piece of paper!\u201d\u00a0 (Laughter)\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tShe said, \u201cThere is really only one person, two people, that have been given the right, the authority, and the privilege to give you your name.\u00a0 It\u2019s not all the people you hang around.\u00a0 It\u2019s really not even you.\u00a0 It\u2019s me and your father\u2014your mom and your dad.\u00a0 We are the ones that have been given the privilege and the authority in your life to give you your name.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI thought about that in our relationship with God\u2014in <em>your<\/em> relationship with God.\u00a0 It really does not matter what other people call you.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t even matter what you would label yourself.\u00a0 There is really only one person that has been given the right, and the authority, and the privilege of stamping an identity on you; and it\u2019s your Daddy, it\u2019s your Father.\u00a0 He says (I Peter, Chapter 2) that you are a \u201croyal priesthood, and a chosen nation, and a people for God\u2019s own possession.\u00a0 You have been snatched out of darkness and flung into His marvelous light.\u00a0 You were [<em>not] <\/em>a people, but now you are [<em>the] <\/em>people of God.\u00a0 You had [<em>not] <\/em>received mercy, but now you have received the mercy of God.\u201d\u00a0 <em>That<\/em> is who we are, and that\u2019s who we ought to live like.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThere is a guy in Scripture, whom I\u2019ve been particularly intrigued by in recent months.\u00a0 It is in Judges, Chapter 7.\u00a0 If you have your Bible and you want to turn there, let me just tell you what\u2019s happening in this story.\u00a0 In this story, the children of Israel are being ravaged by the Midianites.\u00a0 For seven years, the Midianites have come into their culture; have pillaged their land; have taken their resources; have burned their towns; have sent a string of terrible, devastating acts in the midst of the nation.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThe people are living in fear.\u00a0 In the midst of this crisis and in the midst of this calamity, there is a man\u2014one man\u2014that the Lord does a work in his life and in his heart.\u00a0 His name is Gideon.\u00a0 He\u2019s threshing wheat in a winepress one day, underneath an oak tree.\u00a0 In the midst of this national calamity, this great God, in the image of the Angel of the Lord, (the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ) meets with one guy.\u00a0 He has a personal connection with one guy in the midst of all this big-picture stuff that is happening.\u00a0 We see a God who is seeking the heart, the attention, an encounter with just one guy.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHe calls Gideon, basically, to be the answer to his own prayer.\u00a0 They have been calling for a solution, \u201cSomebody save us from what\u2019s happening with the Midianites.\u201d\u00a0 The Angel of the Lord meets with him and basically says, \u201cYou\u2019re the one that I\u2019m sending to be the deliverer for the people.\u201d\u00a0 On the heels of devastation and crisis, we meet up with Gideon in Judges, Chapter 7, verse 1.\u00a0 The very first line of that verse says, \u201cThen Jerub-Ba\u2019al\u201d and then, in parentheses; (that is, Gideon)\u201d\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tNow, let\u2019s just stop right there because, before we can even get into this story, I\u2019m tripped up by the very first line of Judges, Chapter 7.\u00a0 I\u2019m the kind of girl who, when I get to heaven\u2014am just going to ask all the little questions\u2014the little nuances that sometimes are kind of in between the lines of some of these verses and passages.\u00a0\u00a0 I want to know the details.\u00a0 I\u2019m a girl.\u00a0 That\u2019s what we want to know\u2014the details.\u00a0 So the question is, \u201cWhy would He change his name?\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWell, the answer is found in some of the details of chapter 6, which I\u2019ll just very clearly share with you.\u00a0 One of the very first things that God said to Gideon, after that first meeting, underneath the oak tree\u2014the first assignment\u2014He said was, \u201cGo into your father\u2019s house and tear down the idols of Ba\u2019al that you will find there.\u201d\u00a0 Gideon, being a very timid, insecure, fearful man (scholars say that he would have been marked by <em>lack <\/em>of courage)\u2014we know that because it says he didn\u2019t go at day, in the daylight.\u00a0 He went at night so that no one would see him.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHe also took ten of his homeboys with him for back-up because he didn\u2019t feel secure in doing it himself.\u00a0 (Laughter)\u00a0 Now, it doesn\u2019t take 11 guys to tear down one idol.\u00a0 Yet, he took all of these people with him.\u00a0 They were victorious in doing it.\u00a0 In the morning, the men of the town got up and found out that idol had been torn down.\u00a0 They wanted to kill Gideon.\u00a0 His father stepped in and said, \u201cLet\u2019s not kill Gideon.\u00a0 If Ba\u2019al is all he\u2019s cracked up to be\u2014we\u2019ve been worshiping him and ascribing power to him\u2014if he is all that he\u2019s cracked up to be, let\u2019s let Ba\u2019al contend for himself.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWell, you and I know that idols have eyes but cannot see.\u00a0 They have ears but cannot hear.\u00a0 They have hands but can\u2019t actually do anything.\u00a0 They may have feet, but they cannot walk.\u00a0 So of course, Gideon continues to thrive; he continues to live.\u00a0 The very statement of his living now is <em>against<\/em> the power of Ba\u2019al and it is <em>for <\/em>ascribing power to the one true God; that is, Yahweh.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo now, Gideon doesn\u2019t have to preach with his mouth\u2014just the fact that he\u2019s still living, that he\u2019s still walking, that he\u2019s still thriving\u2014that is making a statement in and of itself that Ba\u2019al is completely impotent and cannot do anything.\u00a0 By the way, shouldn\u2019t that be the story of our lives?\u00a0 That, even if we don\u2019t open our mouths, just our walking, just our living, just the fact that we are thriving, just the fact that there is a smile on our face in the midst of what others might consider hopeless circumstances\u2014just our lives ought to be a statement of the greatness of the one true God; that is, Yahweh.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThat phrase, \u201cLet Ba\u2019al contend for himself,\u201d can be summed up in one word; and that word is, \u201cJerub-Ba\u2019al.\u201d\u00a0 By the time we get to Judges, Chapter 7, in the eyes of the writer of this text, Gideon is not the same person that he used to be.\u00a0 When he used to walk through the town, people would say, \u201cThat\u2019s Gideon, the one who lacks courage, the one who is always intimidated, the one who is insecure.\u201d\u00a0 But now, after this incident with Ba\u2019al, after the statement that Gideon\u2019s life is now making of the greatness of Yahweh over the people\u2014now, when people see Gideon walking through town, they say, \u201cOh, wait a minute.\u00a0 That\u2019s Jerub-Ba\u2019al.\u00a0 That\u2019s the one who tore down those idols.\u00a0 That is the one who is ascribing power and glory to Yahweh.\u00a0 That is the one who, just his livelihood, is pointing people\u2019s attention to God.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHe was <em>not <\/em>the same person that he used to be.\u00a0 Interestingly enough, God used a crisis\u2014the Midianites to completely transform this guy and to give him a brand-new identity\u2014to call him into a standard of living that, without the crisis, he would not have been called to.\u00a0 You need to know that as 2012 is very quickly approaching, there\u2019s going to be some stuff in 2012 that you and I are going to face.\u00a0 Jesus put it this way in John 16:33, \u201cIn this world, you will have trouble.\u201d\u00a0 You don\u2019t have to go looking for trouble.\u00a0 You just keep living and the trouble will come, and it will find you.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou and I can go into the trouble that we might face in the brand-new year differently than we would have experienced and faced it in this year because what we are facing right now is designed, in some way, to cause us to be completely different people who have bigger courage, better security.\u00a0 We don\u2019t wallow in fear; we don\u2019t allow ourselves to be muddled with some of the things that we used to because God uses those things to cause us to be re-created\u2014conformed\u2014into the image and likeness of Christ Jesus so that we can face what is coming differently than we would have handled it previously.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou, my friend, are not the same person that you used to be.\u00a0 How I wish I could have been there and had the privilege\u2014that Gideon could have had\u2014the privilege that you and I have; that is, the canon of Scripture closed, complete, and accurate because then we could have shown him that his story in chapter 7 began with a brand-new name.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI wonder if he knew this\u2014that he was being viewed by everybody else as a completely different person\u2014not one marked by insecurity and fear anymore, but that he was the one whose life made a statement for the greatness of God.\u00a0 I wonder if he would have gone into this story a little bit differently in Chapter 7.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHe may not have known that then, but you and I get to know it now.\u00a0 We get to know up-front that whatever comes our way\u2014whatever the Lord allows in our life\u2014the \u201cMidianites\u201d that might come to ravage us and our circumstances\u2014that we get to face that with the power of God on the inside of us, re-conforming us and empowering us to be hope<em>ful<\/em> in the midst of sometimes hope<em>less<\/em> situations.\u00a0 You are not the same person that you used to be.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tGod somehow uses the crisis in our life, works it all together in a way that will be for our good.\u00a0 It\u2019s kind of like baking a cake.\u00a0 You put some flour in, you put some sugar in, the flavoring that you like, a couple raw eggs, some baking soda, and a little bit of salt.\u00a0 You stir all those things up together and it\u2019s not any of those things individually that we might eat.\u00a0 A spoonful of flour isn\u2019t too tasty.\u00a0 A spoonful of sugar, well we might eat.\u00a0 (Laughter)\u00a0 But we may not <em>just<\/em> eat the raw egg or a spoonful of baking soda.\u00a0 But you put all that stuff together, and you stir it all up, and then you put it in the oven for just the right amount of time, and you take it out at just the right time.\u00a0 <em>Now<\/em> you\u2019ve got something that is, \u201cMmm, mmm, good.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThis is what God does with your life.\u00a0 He takes the good, He takes the bad, and He takes the ugly.\u00a0 He puts it all in there together.\u00a0\u00a0 All of it, individually, isn\u2019t necessarily tasty to you; but when He puts it together and stirs it up, by the power of the Holy Spirit,\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tand then, yes, puts it into the oven of trials for just a little while\u2014but just like any good Master Chef, He stands there to take it out at just the right time.\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t burn what He\u2019s cooking, ever!\u00a0 He takes it out at just the right time; and once He has gotten through with it, my friends, that\u2019s when you and I now have a life that, to a lost and dying world, is refreshing, and nourishing, and tastes good.\u00a0 They get to see that we serve a God that is, \u201cMmm, mmm, good.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThis is what God does with your life and with my life.\u00a0 He uses crisis and causes us to come out of the crisis completely different than we were than when we went in.\u00a0 You are not the same person that you used to be.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAs I mentioned, I have three boys.\u00a0 Jackson is eight years old; little Jerry, Junior, is seven years old; and then we have Jude\u2014he\u2019s our surprise 2 \u00bd-year-old.\u00a0 We still don\u2019t know how he got here. (Laughter)\u00a0 We named him Jude because that is as close as we could get to Revelation (Laughter) because, \u201cIt is finished!\u00a0 It is finished.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo I\u2019ve got these three boys.\u00a0 You need to know that my real job\u2014my day job\u2014is that I am a mom to my boys and a wife to my husband.\u00a0 I feel like it is my greatest calling, and priority, and privilege to serve my family.\u00a0 Most of my days are spent with my 2 \u00bd-year-old while his big brothers are at school or even when they all come home after school.\u00a0 I like to be there with breakfast, and snack time, and dinner.\u00a0 So I make that a priority and a goal.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tLittle Jude and I\u2014one of the things we do during the day is play with his LEGO\u00ae MEGA BLOKS that he has.\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t have the little ones yet, which drive me nuts because they\u2019re just everywhere!\u00a0 He\u2019s got that bag\u2014that plastic bag\u2014full of the big MEGA BLOKS.\u00a0 Our goal, when we sit in his little bedroom\u2014our goal is to build the highest tower that we can.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tNow, we always start this project of building this tower; and about two minutes into the building project, he always races out of the room because there\u2019s something that is more interesting to him that he hears happening in his brothers\u2019 room (if they\u2019re wrestling and he wants to jump on top of the pile, or there\u2019s a cartoon coming on that he hears).\u00a0 He races out, and I normally just sit in his room and wait for him because I know that in about 2 \u00bd more minutes, he\u2019ll be distracted from whatever that was and he\u2019ll be back in the room and want to keep building.\u00a0 So I just wait for him.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhen he comes back in the room\u2014inevitably\u2014he always digs back into the bag and starts a brand-new tower.\u00a0 Now, that frustrates me because we\u2019ve already got a tower going.\u00a0 I try to make sure he realizes that there is a tower over here that we have started.\u00a0 We really can continue with the foundation we\u2019ve already got going.\u00a0 Oh, but no!\u00a0 He wants to start a brand-new tower.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo, now we\u2019ve got two towers.\u00a0 In about two minutes, he gets distracted; and he races out of the room.\u00a0 I sit there and I wait for him to come back.\u00a0 Inevitably, when he comes back, he digs into the bag and he starts a brand-new tower.\u00a0 So now, we\u2019ve got towers everywhere.\u00a0 Here a tower, there a tower, everywhere a tower, tower!\u00a0 I\u2019m the kind of person that I want to actually finish the project that I have started.\u00a0 This little two-year-old is messing me up!\u00a0 (Laughter)\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI want to finish a tower!\u00a0 I find myself getting frustrated because he keeps getting distracted and he\u2019s not diligent to finish the work that I have started in this project.\u00a0 It occurs to me that we have a Dad who has started a good work in us.\u00a0 He really wants to bring it to completion.\u00a0 He\u2019s started a process in your life\u2014that what happened last year, and the year before, last week, or the week before, last month, or the month before\u2014this was the foundation He was laying.\u00a0 How dare we get to \u201cChapter Seven\u201d of our life and start all over again when there is a work that He has started in us, and He really wants it to be completed in your life.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou and I ought to face what\u2019s getting ready to happen in \u201cChapter Seven,\u201d whatever it may be\u2014we ought to face tomorrow differently than we would have today because there\u2019s a foundation He laid today that He now (and you and I should want to) build off of and see what the completed work will look like at the end of this thing.\u00a0 You are not the same person that you used to be.\u00a0 We ought to not act like we are.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 [studio]\u00a0 Well, we\u2019ve been listening to Part One of a message from Priscilla Shirer in Judges, Chapter 7\u2014the story of Gideon.\u00a0 You know, everybody gets to the fleece, or they get to Gideon and his small army; but we forget that God was really at work in Gideon\u2019s life in this whole process.\u00a0 He was teaching him how to walk by faith and how to respond\u2014not to live in fear, but to be obedient to what God called him to do.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 And, Bob, every listener who is listening to us right now has a step in front of them, or a path in front of them, that demands the same kind of bold faith that Gideon embraced.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 God had to get Gideon to the place where he would embrace it; didn\u2019t He?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 He did, and He prodded, and coaxed, and pushed.\u00a0 Gideon did step out.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThe question for you is, \u201cWhat are you supposed to do?\u201d\u00a0 Maybe it\u2019s not today; maybe it\u2019s in the New Year.\u00a0 Maybe you and your spouse need to become hosts for an <em>Art of Marriage<\/em>\u00ae event in the coming months\u2014in the New Year.\u00a0 Maybe you need to invite your friends to go to the <em>Weekend to Remember<\/em>\u00ae.\u00a0 Maybe you need to start a <em>HomeBuilders Couples\u2019 Series<\/em>\u00ae small group.\u00a0 You know, there are plenty of ways to do battle around marriage and family.\u00a0 Honestly, folks, I have to tell you, there is no organization in America that is big enough to tackle this issue.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThe only organization that can even begin to address the deterioration and the breakup of the family is the church.\u00a0 Guess who the church is?\u00a0 That\u2019s <em>you<\/em>, who are followers of Jesus Christ, embracing Him and the Scriptures.\u00a0 What I would say is, \u201cTake Priscilla\u2019s exhortation and step up; step past the fork into the battle and say, \u2018In the coming year (or maybe it\u2019s tomorrow), God\u2019s going to use us to make a difference in my neighborhood, my church, my community, my business.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 We can make a difference together.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 You may think, \u201cThere\u2019s just not enough to make a dent;\u201d but that\u2019s the whole story of Gideon; isn\u2019t it?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 It\u2019s a lot of people, in various places, being faithful to do what God has called them to do.\u00a0 That\u2019s how we\u2019re going to see a grassroots, spiritual movement to change the course of families.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 If you go to our website, FamilyLifeToday.com, you will see many of the tools that we have put together to be used by folks like you in helping to reach out to others, whether it\u2019s the <em>Art of Marriage<\/em> event kit, or the <em>Homebuilders Couples\u2019 Series<\/em> Bible studies that you can use; or the <em>LifeReady<\/em>\u00ae <em>Woman<\/em> material that is designed for women\u2019s small groups.\u00a0 Go to FamilyLifeToday.com for more information about the resources we have put together.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIf you don\u2019t see something there that you like, then let us know.\u00a0 Give us a call and tell us what it is you\u2019re looking for.\u00a0 We\u2019ll see if we can look around with you and find good resources that can be used in the particular area that you\u2019re interested in.\u00a0 Our website is FamilyLifeToday.com.\u00a0 That is:\u00a0 FamilyLifeToday.com; or call us toll-free at \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t1-800-FL-TODAY, 1-800-358-6329; 1-800-\u201cF\u201d as in family, \u201cL\u201d as in life, and then the word, \u201cTODAY\u201d.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd don\u2019t forget Priscilla Shirer has written a book called <em>The Resolution for Women<\/em>, a book designed to help women understand what God\u2019s call for them is as women.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got that book in our <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> Resource Center, as well.\u00a0 Find it online at FamilyLifeToday.com or call us, again, at 1-800-FL-TODAY.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tNow, as Dennis mentioned at the beginning of today\u2019s program, we have got some exciting things happening here at FamilyLife\u2014some friends of the ministry\u2014who have made a matching gift available through the month of December.\u00a0 Every donation we receive this month is being matched dollar for dollar, up to a total of $2.5 million.\u00a0 We\u2019re actually hearing from some other folks\u2014that number could grow in the days ahead.\u00a0 We\u2019ll keep you posted as we hear from other friends who might want to pitch in and help make that happen.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe\u2019re trying to get the word out to as many of our listeners as possible so that you will consider making as generous a year-end contribution as you possibly can.\u00a0 All you have to do is go to FamilyLifeToday.com; click the button that says, \u201cI Care\u201d; and you can make an online donation.\u00a0 Again, when you do, that donation will release the matching funds so your donation will be effectively doubled.\u00a0 Or, call 1-800-FL-TODAY; and you can make a donation over the phone.\u00a0 And, again, help us take advantage of this matching-gift opportunity.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tLet me just say, \u201cThanks,\u201d in advance for whatever you\u2019re able to do in making a year-end contribution.\u00a0 Thank you to those of you who support the ministry throughout the year.\u00a0 We appreciate your financial support and your concern for the ministry of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe hope you can join us back again tomorrow when we\u2019re going to hear Part Two of Priscilla Shirer\u2019s message on Gideon and lessons we can learn from his life.\u00a0 That comes up tomorrow.\u00a0 Hope you can be here.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI want to thank our engineer, who today, is Keith Lynch, and our entire broadcast production team.\u00a0 On behalf of our host, Dennis Rainey, I\u2019m Bob Lepine.\u00a0 We will see you back next time for another edition of <em>FamilyLife Today.<\/em>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> is a production of FamilyLife of Little Rock, Arkansas.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHelp for today.\u00a0 Hope for tomorrow.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe are so happy to provide these transcripts to you.\u00a0 However, there is a cost to produce them for our website.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider <a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/donate\">donating today<\/a> to help defray the costs?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tCopyright \u00a9 2011 FamilyLife.\u00a0 All rights reserved.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/\">www.FamilyLife.com<\/a>\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t1\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>","theme_header_position":"","post_header_is_sticky":"","is_header_overlay":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast\/302416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/podcast"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=302416"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=302416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=302416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=302416"},{"taxonomy":"podcast_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast_series?post=302416"},{"taxonomy":"cwp_profile","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cwp_profile?post=302416"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=302416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}