Trust and Obey: Barak Hall of Faith

   “When you feel like it’s too hard to obey God, remember that He will never tell you to do something without giving you the grace, power and ability to do it” (Joyce Meyer).

   Deborah was a prophet who was leading Israel. Sisera was harassing Israel at the time. Deborah sent for a man named Barak. Barak was to lead 10,000 Israelites against Sisera. To this Barak says that he wants Deborah to go with him. This does not seem like faith.

   In the end Barak and Deborah go and defeat Sisera. Even though Barak does not obey God right away in the end Barak follows orders. He trust and obeys. Would it have been better for Barak to trust in God right away? Yes, but in the end he chooses to obey God. That is what is important. We need to try to be like Barak. When we are called to do something we must trust and obey God.

   So, will you obey God no matter what he calls you to do? Will you trust that God has a plan?

   Judges 4, James 1:22, John 14:15
   Image from here.

Appreciation Challenge: Thanksgiving

   As you know, I like to challenge myself with something out of my comfort zone; or, something I think is a need in the world from time to time. This past month I challenged myself to show my appreciation to at least 1 person every day. I may have said "I appreciate you" face to face, given someone a gift, or sent a text to someone. A few things happened when I did this.
   1. The person ignored it. Maybe she/he didn't know how to answer. Or, she/he looked at it and moved on with her/his day.
   2. The person said thank you.
   3. The person said thanks and said she/he was thankful for me too. Then we started talking more about how things were going in our lives.
   4. The person said thank you and then asked if I was leaving somewhere or dying.
   I found all of these responses interesting. However, one of the more interesting is that people thought something bad was happening to me. I think that people are not used to getting random notes of appreciation so they assume the worst. What if we made if so that everyone felt appreciated every day? What would the world be like? Now, I'm not saying we should appreciate to the point of people feeling that they are the greatest thing since sliced bread. But, people should feel loved.
   Philippians 2:3-4 says: "Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." We are all unique. We have different abilities, interests, and talents that God has given us. What if we focused on appreciating other's abilities, interests, and talents instead of tearing them down? What if we were thankful for those people and things we have in our lives? I encourage you this thanksgiving to show your appreciation, not just for what you have in your life, but also for who is in your life.

   Image from here.

Crazy Odds: Gideon Hall of Faith

   “When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor” (Elon Musk).

   Gideon was a simple man and the least in his family when the Lord called him to action. At first, Gideon was unsure that God made the right choice in asking him to take on the Midianites; but, in the end, Gideon did what God called him to do. Now, in the time of Gideon the Israelites had many enemies like the Midianites, Amalekites, and other eastern people. Gideon already faced a crazy amount of enemies.

   Gideon took his men and camped near Midian. God told Gideon to get rid of some of his men. Okay, so Gideon already faces so many enemies and God told Gideon to get rid of troops? He has the odds already stacked against him and now he is to have more odds against him? In the end Gideon has 300 men left. They used jars, trumpets, and torches to defeat the Midianites.

   God proved again that he can do what we think is impossible. Gideon must have looked crazy to others and he may have even thought he was crazy. In the end Gideon chose to follow God. Gideon trusted God even though he had crazy odds against him.

   At times we may feel like Gideon. We have incredible odds stacked against us. People are not lifting us up like they used to. Bad things continue to happen to us over and over. Or, we just may not feel like we can go on because of many things happening at once. God works through what we think is impossible. With God everything is possible. If God can defeat a huge army with three hundred men using only trumpets, jars, and torches can’t God defeat what you think is impossible?

   So, will you trust God if he calls you to do something? Do you believe that God can make the impossible possible?

   Judges 6-7, Matthew 19:26, Jeremiah 32:17

   Image from here.

Repenting Faith: Rahab Hall of Faith

   “Repentance means you change your mind so deeply that it changes you” (Bruce Wilkinson).

   Not too many women are mentioned in the Bible, let alone in the Hall of Faith. However, one woman who is mentioned is Rahab. Rahab was a prostitute. Why would a prostitute be in the Hall of Faith? One only has to look at her story to find out.

   The Israelites had just come to the area of the Promised Land. Now they just had to win the area. Joshua, the leader of the Israelites, was a smart tactician. He sent spies into Jericho in order to scope out the area. While the spies were in Jericho they had to find a place to hide. They entered into the house of Rahab. Now, Rahab was told by the King of Jericho to give the spies to him. Rahab could have given over the spies. In fact, she should have. She had no ties to these men and if she would have given the men over she may have been rewarded.

   Instead, Rahab said the men had come to her but they left the city. She then told them that they may be able to catch the spies if they hurry. The men left and Rahab went up to the roof where she had hidden the men. Rahab said she knew that the Lord had given this land to the Israelites. She had heard all the wonders that their God had done and wanted to join them. The spies agreed that she could come with them after they defeated Jericho.

   Rahab seems like an unlikely candidate for the Hall of Faith. However, in Rahab we see the epitome of repentance. She made her living doing something that most men and women despise. She decided that she no longer wanted to live that life. Rahab saw what God had done for the Israelites so she decided to turn away from her past life. She would no longer have money coming in and she would have to leave her home. But, she would gain a life with God. That is why Rahab is in the Hall of Faith. She gave up everything to follow him.

   What about you? Would you be willing to give up your old ways for God? Would you give up everything to follow him?

   Joshua 2, Acts 3:19, 2 Peter 3:9

   Image from here. 

Faith in the Impossible: Israelites Hall of Faith

   “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God” (Corrie Ten Boom).

   One group of people who get a bad rap in the Bible were the Israelites. They had this constant pattern of trusting in God and then not trusting in him. When thinking of people who complain in the Bible, it is easy to think of the Israelites. They complained about being taken out of Egypt, they complained about getting manna, they complained about giants that they would need to fights, and over and over again they complained. Why are they in the Hall of Faith then?

   One thing I cannot stand is when people lump groups of people together. Whenever people hear about the Israelites we tend to think of all the complaining. But, not all the Israelites complained. Not all of the Israelites turned away from God. There was always a select few who followed God.

   We also have to put ourselves in their shoes. The Israelites were taken away from everything they knew. They had many crazy things happen to them and through it all they trusted God. When they were at the Red Sea they did not know that God would part the waters. They did not know they would be led by a pillar of fire and a cloud. They did not know that God would provide manna for them from ravens. Over and over the Israelites trusted God when crazy things happened. I mean, how would you feel if you had birds bring you your breakfast?

   We may not have crazy events happen like that today. But, at times, we do have to have crazy faith. God calls us to do many things and some of them may be difficult to do. In those times we need to remember the faith that the Israelites had.

   So, will you choose to have faith in God when the impossible seems to happen?

   Proverbs 3:5-6, Romans 8:28, Jeremiah 29:11
   Image from here. 

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

   I have played on many soccer teams in my lifetime. Some of them I enjoyed more than others but I’m sure you could say that about just about anything in life. However, I will say that there was one team I enjoyed playing on probably the most: Lancaster Bible College Women’s Soccer Team. I learned so many lessons and made so many connections on that team. I miss playing very much.

   This season I had the privilege of getting to assistant coach for the LBC Women’s Soccer Team. Like any season, we’ve had ups and downs. But, there is a reason why I enjoyed playing and now coaching for this team. Other teams talk about teamwork. Teamwork is vital to the game of soccer. If you don’t have a team that works together and supports each other you won’t go very far. The LBC Women’s Soccer team is different in the way that we are on more than one team together and the fact that both of those teams have the same goals.

   You may be thinking: isn’t the goal of soccer to score more than the other team and win? Yes, that’s the basic concept; but this team is about more. This team loves each other. They work hard for the same goal: to reflect God’s glory and love others through soccer. If they win a game the reflect God’s glory by being humble. If they lose a game they reflect God’s glory by congratulating the other team. If they go into a tackle and foul the other player they reflect God’s glory by helping that player up or checking on her. If someone on their team makes a mistake they reflect God’s glory by telling that person, “it’s okay, you’ll do better next time.” If they go into overtime the reflect God’s glory by pushing each other to keep playing hard.

   The love that these girls have for one another is a great example of how we are called to love one another. John 13:34-35 says: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” These girls play their best not just to reflect God’s glory but also out of love for one another. They remember that when they are tired they need to push themselves to keep playing because they love each other.

   Because these ladies worked so hard during the season to love one another and reflect God’s glory in all they did they have made it to playoffs. I’m so proud of these girls for facing adversity and pushing each other to win. Today they play in their first playoff game of the season.

   Good luck ladies! Remember to keep reflecting God’s glory and loving each other. Play for one another today. Play for the audience of One. You've got this! <3
   Image from here.

Doing What You Are Called to Do: Moses Hall of Faith

   “Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase” (Martin Luther King Jr.).

   When thinking about faith it is easy to think of Moses as one of the most faithful people in the Bible. He gave up the throne in Egypt to follow God and be with his people. Then he listened to a burning bush and went back to Egypt. While he was there it was far from easy for him. His own people were against him, he had to go back to Pharaoh’s court, and he was performing miracles against people which made others dislike him even more.

   When Moses first went to Pharaoh, Pharaoh made the work for the Hebrews harder. In fact, even after the plagues started the Hebrews suffered the first three plagues along with the Egyptians. Moses was probably not the most popular person on top of he probably had doubts about his ability to deliver the Hebrews. But, here’s the thing, Moses wasn’t the one delivering the Hebrews, God was. Moses was just the person God used to deliver the Hebrews. God didn’t stop there. He guided Moses’ steps toward the Promised Land.

   In our lives we may be called to do things we don’t want to do or things that may make people upset. We must remember that God has a plan through it all. Even though Moses and the Hebrews had to go through plagues and other problems God always had a plan. God will always help us through our problems, just maybe not in the way we expect.

   So, when God calls you to do something hard will you choose to do it? Will you trust God even when difficulties come your way?

   Romans 8:28-30, 1 Corinthians 1:26, Colossians 2:23-24

   Image from here.