The July 2025 Refreshing Daily in God’s Word will be the last issue of the devotional. Pastor Michael Rouse retired June 29, 2025. At the present time, Mountain View Baptist Church does not have anyone to continue this ministry.
We appreciate all the support and prayers that you have given for this ministry since 2007 when it first began. We pray the devotionals have been a blessing and have brought you closer in your walk with the Lord.
In the future, the Lord may allow the devotional to return. In the meantime, we are asking for your prayers for the man that God chooses for our church.
Thank you and God bless you!
Key Verse: Verse 2 – “And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.”
Key Words: I have seen a woman
Samson was a he-man with a she-weakness. In spite of the fact he was raised in a Godly home, set apart from his birth to be a Nazarite, and elevated to the enviable position of Judge of Israel, he never conquered his tendency toward lust. On the contrary, it conquered him. Several Scriptures point to the lustful bent of Samson.
- The first recorded words from his mouth were, “I have seen a woman...” Judges 14:2.
- He was attracted to women strictly on the basis of outward appearance. In Judges 14:3 Samson said (paraphrased), “Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.”
- Samson judged Israel for twenty years, then went back to his old habit of chasing women (Judges 16:4).
- He became so preoccupied with his lustful desires; he didn’t even know that the Lord had departed from him (Judges 16:20).
The results of Samson’s illicit affairs are familiar to all of us. The strong man of Dan was taken captive and became a slave in the enemy’s camp. His eyes were gouged out of his head, and he was appointed to be the grinder in a Philistine prison. Lust had brought Samson, the swarthy pride of Israel who once held the highest office of the land, to where he was now – the bald-headed clown of the Philistines. His eyes would never wander again. His life, once filled with promise and dignity, was now filled with hopelessness. Chalk up another victim to lust.
Need I remind you that even giving lust a foothold – no, a toenail – in your life will bring you low? We would all do well to remember Joseph (Genesis 39). He was dedicated to God, a well-disciplined man who knew that he could not play with lust without being whipped. When it came time for a hasty retreat, he decided it would be better to leave his jacket behind rather than his testimony. But not Samson, he played with fire and was burnt. And need I remind you that lust is one flame you dare not fan? You will get burned if you do.
Dr. Mike Rouse
What to do:
✞Be careful what you focus on.
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