Dan Gould

Tag: Lord Almighty by Kristian Stanfill

  • Bible Challenge – Genesis 14

    “When Abram heard that his nephew Lot had been captured, he mobilized the 318 trained men who had been born into his household. Then he pursued Kedorlaomer’s army until he caught up with them at Dan. 15There he divided his men and attacked during the night. Kedorlaomer’s army fled, but Abram chased them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 Abram recovered all the goods that had been taken, and he brought back his nephew Lot with his possessions and all the women and other captives.”  v.14-16 (NLT)

    Would you describe yourself as a prepared person?  Let me ask that a different way, would you describe yourself as a proactive person or a reactive person? A proactive person prepares for things while a reactive person simply responds to events.  This is just one of the many things that reveal your character. This passage reveals a couple of things about Abram’s Character that are important for us to note and challenges us to live by.

    First, Abram had courage to face the powerful King and rescue lot.  This courage came from the Lord which Abram knew personally.  Because of our relationship with God, we can have courage to face our enemies. Our enemies are those obstacles that we face in everyday life. They come in the forms of difficult people, but mainly they come in the form of thoughts and desires.  It’s part of the sinful nature that we have to learn to resist.

    Second, Abram was prepared! Not only was he prepared, he had taken the time to train others for a potential conflict. The Bible says that we should be ready for anything.  We never know what might be thrown our way, but we can be prepared for anything with a little discipline.  We need to be disciplined in these five areas, Spiritually, Physically, Emotionally, Mentally, Socially. Here are some follow-up questions to address when thinking about each of these five areas:

    • Am I growing in likeness to Christ?
    • What I am I doing to prepare/protect myself in this area
    • How are others influencing me in this area of life.
    • How is my lack of discipline affecting in this area affecting me and potentially others.

    Those are just four quick questions to ask yourself when you begin to think about becoming prepared and proactive.

    Today, what needs to change in your life so you can be ready for any challenge that may arise?

  • Bible Challenge – Matthew 17

    “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” v.20-21 (NLT)

    How strong is your faith? When troubles come to you tend to blame God, try to fix things on your own, or do you turn to God asking Him for the strength to move through the trouble. Mountain moving Faith requires singular Focus.  It means that when troubles comes they stand in the shadows of the background as we keep our focus on Christ Jesus. Yes, that sounds pretty to say, but often times this is difficult to do. Jesus never said it would be easy, He said that he simply said He would never leave us or forsake us.

    Today, who or what will you put your faith in? Only Christ has the power to move that mountain in front of you and by faith you have that same kind of power!