– Scripture:

                  Uncommon Faith

The day God gave the Amorites up to Israel, Joshua spoke to God, with all Israel listening:

“Stop, Sun, over Gibeon; Halt, Moon, over Aijalon Valley.” The sun stopped, and Moon stood stock still Until he defeated his enemies.

                             Joshua 10:12–13 MSG

 – Reflection:

Joshua was in the midst of a huge battle. The sun was going down, and Joshua knew that if he couldn’t get the enemy’s army totally defeated, they would rise up later and cause problems. So he asked God to stop the sun, something that had never been done before. 

Where do we go from here?

Think about the Faith that Joshua has where he is able to ask GOD himself to stop the SUN from going down to complete a task. His faith was off the charts; he was bold and uncompromising in his relationship with our savior. This is UNCOMMON today; we should be able to trust in GOD to do what he has told us and truly believe that. Instead, we get caught up in what others are doing and have when those things were never coming to us in those ways anyway. GOD has a plan for us, and when we have an UNCOMMON faith and belief in his plans for us we will receive everything he has for us and more.

Our Prayer for Today

Father, thank You for giving us every reason to have uncommon faith that believes above and beyond. Thank You that we can believe You for the extraordinary and step into the unknown. We believe that You are taking us forward into the fullness of our destiny. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 – Scripture:

              Fighting for Your Blessings

A time came after the death of Joshua when the People of Israel asked God, “Who will take the lead in going up against the Canaanites to fight them?” And God said, “Judah will go. I’ve given the land to him.” The men of Judah said to those of their brother Simeon, “Go up with us to our territory, and we’ll fight the Canaanites. Then we’ll go with you to your territory.” And Simeon went with them. So Judah went up. God gave them the Canaanites and the Perizzites. They defeated them at Bezek’s ten military units! They caught up with My-Master-Bezek there and fought him. They smashed the Canaanites and the Perizzites. My-Master-Bezek ran, but they gave chase and caught him. They cut off his thumbs and big toes. My Master Bezek said, “Seventy kings with thumbs and big toes cut off used to crawl under my table, scavenging. Now God has done to me what I did to them.” They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there. The people of Judah attacked and captured Jerusalem, subduing the city with a sword and then sending it up in flames. After that, they fought the Canaanites living in the hill country, the Negev, and the foothills. Judah had gone on to the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba) and brought Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai to their knees.

                          Judges 1:1–10 MSG

Key Verse – The people of Judah attacked and captured Jerusalem, subduing the city with a sword and then sending it up in flames.

 – Reflection:

God blessed Israel, the people of his choice, with a promised land. They wandered around in the desert for 40 years, so close to what would soon be theirs. Once, they were told where to go and who was on the land they had been given. The people occupying the land were living Godless lives and without any care for other’s lives, only pleasure and idol worship. To take this land was going to be bloody, but that was the way it had to come to them. The people who were on the land had to go and all the reminders of them as well. 

Where do we go from here?

To get what GOD has for you, you will have to fight for it. Nothing is going to be easy; Christians all over the world know this and choose just as we have to be a follower of Christ. We all will have to make decisions that are uncomfortable but align with the path that GOD has placed on. Even though the choices are hard and the road tough, it was placed in us that this is our lot to carry to the finish line, No Matter What !!

Our Prayer for Today

Father, thank you for the abilities you have placed in us all; may we all use them to bring Glory to your name. Give us the strength and sticktoitiveness to complete the missions that are impressed on hearts. Moving through life with a song in our hearts, doing the work we are supposed to do. It is with great honor that we can say, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

 – Scripture:

                 Restore Your Connections

The Spirit of God, the Master, is on me because God anointed me. He sent me to preach good news to the poor, heal the heartbroken, Announce freedom to all captives and pardon all prisoners. God sent me to announce the year of his grace, a celebration of God’s destruction of our enemies, and to comfort all who mourn, To care for the needs of all who mourn in Zion, give them bouquets of roses instead of ashes, Messages of joy instead of news of doom, a praising heart instead of a languid spirit. Rename them “Oaks of Righteousness” planted by God to display his glory. They’ll rebuild the old ruins and raise a new city out of the wreckage. They’ll start over on the ruined cities, take the rubble left behind, and make it new. You’ll hire outsiders to herd your flocks and foreigners to work your fields, But you’ll have the title “Priests of God,” honored as ministers of our God. You’ll feast on the bounty of nations; you’ll bask in their glory. Because you got a double dose of trouble and more than your share of contempt, Your inheritance in the land will be doubled, and your joy go on forever.

                            Isaiah 61:1–7 MSG

 – Reflection:

I know that everybody loses touch with one thing or another, but to lose touch with the Father and all the blessings he has for us is not acceptable. In the passage above, Isaiah is recounting what GOD has told him and how they are to restore the buildings that are in ruins and make them new. He is asking us to do the same thing with our lives too. To take the lives we have misdirected so far and begin rebuilding them with his plans in mind, following what he had for us always. When we do that, we will definitely notice a new life and more energy to get his work done for his glory, not ours.

Where do we go from here?

Take a moment to survey your life. Which type of relationship is most broken? If none is obvious, take time to listen and pray. Ask our counselor, God the Holy Spirit, to guide you. Once you’ve focused on what’s most in need of rebuilding, what’s most in need of repair, you’ve got your own individualized blueprint for “what’s next.” Begin working on it this week. Start with something practical.

Our Prayer for Today

Father, as we restore relationships with you, God, when we soften our hearts, decide to trust you more than we trust ourselves, and bend toward obedience. We will restore relationships with ourselves when we soften our hearts and decide to care for ourselves as God intended, finally dealing with self-condemnation, idolatry, or addiction (to work, to food, to alcohol, to pornography, or anything else). We will restore relationships with others when we soften our hearts, decide to look around for people who need us and bend our lives toward loving, serving, and forgiving them.