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We are a UK registered charity which, primarily, publishes a magazine to encourage the study of the scriptures, the practice of New Testament church principles and interest in gospel work in the UK and abroad. We hope you will find the content of these pages a help in your Christian life. We are constantly adding new content and features to our site, so please revisit periodically to check for updates.
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Daily Thought for: 24th March
SAMSON—HIS WEAKNESS
Judges 14. 1-20
Sunday school pictures of Samson depict Herculean strength. We see him
tear a lion apart, slay a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of an ass,
walk off with the gates of Gaza upon his shoulders and we marvel at his
bulging muscles. This is not how Scripture presents him. There is no evidence
that Samson was any more muscular than other men. The secret of his power
was not to be in well-developed biceps but in his devotion to the Lord
seen in the Nazarite vow. The weakness which turned Samson’s life into
a tragedy rather than a triumph, lay in his casual treatment of his Nazariteship
in yielding to the flesh rather than the Spirit.
The first element in Nazariteship was abstention from wine. Interpreted
this indicates that one devoted to the Lord had a source of joy above the
earthly—the Nazarite was not dependent upon any stimulant of earth. While
it might be hard to prove that Samson broke this element of the vow yet,
it is clear, in pursuit of a Philistine woman of whom he said ‘she pleaseth
me well’ he passed through the vineyards of Timnath and then arranged a
seven-day feast where wine would surely flow. Self-will controlled him
and in spite of scriptural prohibition, parental objection and the providential
warning of the lion in the way, he was determined to take a Philistine
wife. For New Testament believers the answer to self-will must be in the
cross; ‘I am crucified with Christ’, Gal. 2. 20.
A Nazarite was not to be in contact with any uncleanness, even the dead
body of a loved one. Interpreted this indicates that devotion to the Lord
demanded a separation beyond the natural. It is strange, therefore, to
find Samson handling jackals and ‘a new jawbone of an ass’, 15. 15. God
did over-rule and bring deliverance yet Samson did not learn the lesson.
A fleshly motive (revenge), fleshly intrigue (with his vacillating brethren)
and fleshly means (the jawbone) hardly commend his service for God. In
New Testament terms he had not learned the further truth of the cross—‘They
that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh’, Gal. 5. 24. His love for a
Philistine girl had drawn him into paths of service essentially fleshly.
Daily Thought for: 24th March
SAMSON—HIS WEAKNESS
Judges 14. 1-20
Sunday school pictures of Samson depict Herculean strength. We see him
tear a lion apart, slay a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of an ass,
walk off with the gates of Gaza upon his shoulders and we marvel at his
bulging muscles. This is not how Scripture presents him. There is no evidence
that Samson was any more muscular than other men. The secret of his power
was not to be in well-developed biceps but in his devotion to the Lord
seen in the Nazarite vow. The weakness which turned Samson’s life into
a tragedy rather than a triumph, lay in his casual treatment of his Nazariteship
in yielding to the flesh rather than the Spirit.
The first element in Nazariteship was abstention from wine. Interpreted
this indicates that one devoted to the Lord had a source of joy above the
earthly—the Nazarite was not dependent upon any stimulant of earth. While
it might be hard to prove that Samson broke this element of the vow yet,
it is clear, in pursuit of a Philistine woman of whom he said ‘she pleaseth
me well’ he passed through the vineyards of Timnath and then arranged a
seven-day feast where wine would surely flow. Self-will controlled him
and in spite of scriptural prohibition, parental objection and the providential
warning of the lion in the way, he was determined to take a Philistine
wife. For New Testament believers the answer to self-will must be in the
cross; ‘I am crucified with Christ’, Gal. 2. 20.
A Nazarite was not to be in contact with any uncleanness, even the dead
body of a loved one. Interpreted this indicates that devotion to the Lord
demanded a separation beyond the natural. It is strange, therefore, to
find Samson handling jackals and ‘a new jawbone of an ass’, 15. 15. God
did over-rule and bring deliverance yet Samson did not learn the lesson.
A fleshly motive (revenge), fleshly intrigue (with his vacillating brethren)
and fleshly means (the jawbone) hardly commend his service for God. In
New Testament terms he had not learned the further truth of the cross—‘They
that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh’, Gal. 5. 24. His love for a
Philistine girl had drawn him into paths of service essentially fleshly.
Daily Thought for: 24th March
SAMSON—HIS WEAKNESS
Judges 14. 1-20
Sunday school pictures of Samson depict Herculean strength. We see him
tear a lion apart, slay a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of an ass,
walk off with the gates of Gaza upon his shoulders and we marvel at his
bulging muscles. This is not how Scripture presents him. There is no evidence
that Samson was any more muscular than other men. The secret of his power
was not to be in well-developed biceps but in his devotion to the Lord
seen in the Nazarite vow. The weakness which turned Samson’s life into
a tragedy rather than a triumph, lay in his casual treatment of his Nazariteship
in yielding to the flesh rather than the Spirit.
The first element in Nazariteship was abstention from wine. Interpreted
this indicates that one devoted to the Lord had a source of joy above the
earthly—the Nazarite was not dependent upon any stimulant of earth. While
it might be hard to prove that Samson broke this element of the vow yet,
it is clear, in pursuit of a Philistine woman of whom he said ‘she pleaseth
me well’ he passed through the vineyards of Timnath and then arranged a
seven-day feast where wine would surely flow. Self-will controlled him
and in spite of scriptural prohibition, parental objection and the providential
warning of the lion in the way, he was determined to take a Philistine
wife. For New Testament believers the answer to self-will must be in the
cross; ‘I am crucified with Christ’, Gal. 2. 20.
A Nazarite was not to be in contact with any uncleanness, even the dead
body of a loved one. Interpreted this indicates that devotion to the Lord
demanded a separation beyond the natural. It is strange, therefore, to
find Samson handling jackals and ‘a new jawbone of an ass’, 15. 15. God
did over-rule and bring deliverance yet Samson did not learn the lesson.
A fleshly motive (revenge), fleshly intrigue (with his vacillating brethren)
and fleshly means (the jawbone) hardly commend his service for God. In
New Testament terms he had not learned the further truth of the cross—‘They
that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh’, Gal. 5. 24. His love for a
Philistine girl had drawn him into paths of service essentially fleshly.
