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The woman gave birth to a"); document.writeln("boy and named him Samson. He grew and the Lord blessed him.¹

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Before there were kings in"); document.writeln("Israel, the Lord used judges to guide His people. Among these judges of Israel,"); document.writeln("we find Samson. We do not know much of the way that Samson judged the"); document.writeln("Israelites, rather the stories we know of Samson are related to his physical strength - the special gift God had given him. Samson is better remembered for the fact"); document.writeln("that his incredible strength was linked to his hair. It was not that his"); document.writeln("strength came from his hair, but rather the fact that God had instructed that a"); document.writeln("razor should never come upon his head (Judges 13:5).

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Samson grew in the ways of the"); document.writeln("Lord, instructed by his parents, so it came as quite a surprise to them when"); document.writeln("Samson began to show a rebellious side that went against the rules that God had"); document.writeln("set for his life. Samson had developed a prideful spirit and frequently abused"); document.writeln("the gift of strength God had given him. Samson became known for his violent"); document.writeln("acts of revenge on those who wronged him, and many sought to kill him in"); document.writeln("return. He fell in love with the wrong women who were never faithful to him and"); document.writeln("betrayed him to the point of ruin. A well-known part of his story is when,"); document.writeln("upon her utter persistence, Samson told Delilah the secret of his strength, and"); document.writeln("she proceeded to have his hair removed, resulting in the loss of his strength."); document.writeln("Samson had taken his gift lightly and the Lord had allowed him to lose it.

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God has given each of us a"); document.writeln("gift, a talent to be used for His glory. To some the Lord gifted leadership skills,"); document.writeln("and to others a merciful spirit. Some have the gift of administration, and others"); document.writeln("have the strength to guide the weak. When we abuse those gifts, take them"); document.writeln("lightly, or simply refuse to use those gifts for the Lord, we risk losing the"); document.writeln("blessings that might otherwise be received from having those gifts. Samson"); document.writeln("learned this lesson the hard way, and the loss of his gift was his destruction."); document.writeln("In his lowest moment, Samson cried out to the Lord. God, in His mercy, returned"); document.writeln("his gift in his weakest state and allowed Samson to glorify Him with his"); document.writeln("strength once more.

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Our gifts are dependent on our"); document.writeln("relationship with the Lord. He can use us in any moment of our lives as long as"); document.writeln("we seek to bring him glory first!

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Suggested Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for blessing me with gifts that can bring glory to"); document.writeln("you. Help me to look for opportunities to use my gifts in ways that will honor"); document.writeln("you. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

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Judges 13:24.

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Today\'€檚 Encounter was written by: Veronica B.

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