Guest Blog written by: Ethan Pettigrew

When I think of a leader, the first thing that pops in my head is someone strong, smart, and well-liked. In today’s reading, however,we can see that God doesn’t need someone with these attributes to make a leader. 

At the end of Judges 4, we see a woman named Jael.  Jael took the military leader of Canaan, Sisera, in to her tent. She was seemingly very friendly to Sisera, she gave him something to drink and a place to sleep for the night. In reality, she gave him curdled milk to drink and the place he laid his head was not safe. In the middle of the night, she drove a tent spike through his temple! When I read this, I was astounded. This woman just killed a military commander by hammering a tent spike through his head!

In this reading we also see the story of Gideon. Gideon was a very unlikely leader, he was the youngest member of the weakest family, the lowest of the low. However, God took Gideon and make him a great military leader. Gideon led a force of just 300 men (who God handpicked) against 135,000 soldiers. That’s 450 times larger than Gideon’s men, and they killed all 135,000!
Then in Chapter 11, there’s the story of Jephthah.  Jephthah was the son of a prostitute and was thrown out of his family. He became the leader of “lawless” or “worthless” men. Then when the Ammonites began to fight Israel, the Gileadites asked for Jephthah to return and lead Israel. He then led the Israelites to defeat the Ammonite forces with the help of God.
All throughout today’s reading are stories of unlikely leaders, a woman who killed the military leader of Israel’s greatest rival with a tent spike, the lowest of the low in Israel leading a few hundred to defeat an army of over 100,000, and a man cast out of his family to become the leader of all of Israel. If God can take these unlikely people and make them heroes and leaders, what’s holding us back today from allowing God to do the unthinkable through us?

Guest Blog written by: Charley Goode

Today in the Bible reading; we journeyed through the end of Joshua’s ministry with the Israelites. I really liked Chapter 23 – Joshua’s charge to Israel’s leaders. Joshua tells the tribes of Israel that it is the Lord who has fought for them. I highlighted this and put a star beside it because, that just warms my heart. Because, even though we were not standing before Joshua and in the tribes of Israel, the Lord still fights for us every single day in the midst of our battles and the mountains we face. To jump forward a couple verses, he then says in verse 5 “The Lord your God will push them back and drive them out of your sight. And shall possess their land, just as the Lord God has promised you”. Guys, WHOM SHALL WE FEAR? He says that he will fight for us, the God of all the universe wants to fight, for us! Your enemies who mock you, who scorn you, or who look down on you he will push them back and drive them out of your sight for your upward call to Jesus Christ. Therefore, just as Joshua said, be very strong. Joshua says that we should “cling” to the Lord our God. If we cling to him, he will make our paths straight. He wants to fight for us because, he doesn’t want us to suffer. Today, in the midst of your battles with the enemy, I hope you remember that you have a God who wants to fight with you and fight for you.

Guest Blog written by: Colin Raynor

Todays’ reading was full of stories that we have all heard before. From Joshua leading the Israelites through the Jordan River, to the prostitute taking in the spies, and even the falling of the walls of Jericho. So you may wonder, how can you only focus on one thing, and not write a book doing so? Well I went back to the very first sentence of Joshua 1. It reads “After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord.” To some, that may mean nothing. To me it means everything because I am someone who always wants the nicest things, I want to win at everything I do, and I pride myself on victories, and how good I am at stuff. So it makes you think, what will leave more of an impression on people after you die? Do you want to be remembered for the nice things you have, or how good you were? In Moses’s case, that first sentence tells it all… “Moses the servant of the Lord.” It’s hard for us to do, but let’s remember the real reason we are here.  He > i