Avoiding the Rollercoaster, Day 11 Who you surround yourself with matters. Read Judges chapter 11. Reading through this chapter, there were a couple major thoughts that stood out to me. One was the reminder to not make stupid promises, which is certainly important and did not turn out well. The one we are going to focus on for today is that it matters who your friends are. Jephthah found himself surrounded by scoundrels. But instead of separating himself from them, he hung out and called them friends. Our friends matter. If we are not surrounding ourselves with people who encourage our walk with the Lord, then we will find ourselves…

Avoiding the Rollercoaster, Day 10 What to do if you realize you’re on the rollercoaster? Read Judges chapter 10. Israel was back on the rollercoaster. They were full swing into the ups and the downs that come with obedience and then disobedience. What should we do to get off the rollercoaster? Repent! The people of Israel repented of all they were doing and they got rid of all the things they were worshipping instead of God. When we find ourselves on the rollercoaster, the most important thing we can do is repent and then get back to being obedient. As soon as possible! Video devotional here https://youtu.be/K9CInpRyy_4

Avoiding the Rollercoaster, Day 9 What it’s like riding the rollercoaster. Read Judges chapter 9. Often, roller coasters in amusement parks are some of the most favorite attractions. People love the sensation of going up-and-down and side to side quickly. Roller coasters are much less fun circumstances in life. Having circumstances moving up-and-down that quickly doesn’t generally lead to the same level of excitement and joy as they do in amusement parks. In this chapter, we see what happens to Israel after Gideon. We already know that they weren’t following the Lord because we saw that at the end of the last chapter, but here we get to experience what…

Avoiding the Rollercoaster, Day 8 We must be careful of our examples. Read Judges chapter 8. As we follow the story of Gideon, we see that he continues to have tremendous success and victory. God gives him wins in battle over the enemies that had been oppressing the children of Israel. However, Gideon was not perfect. Gideon chose two build a golden ephod, which became a source of idol worship for people. Then when he died, the people reverted back to the evil ways they followed before. We need Godly and Christian examples to follow. But one piece of the rollercoaster to avoid is putting too much faith in other…

Avoiding the Rollercoaster, Day 7 Get up! Read Judges chapter 7. To me, this chapter may be one of the funniest stories to read in the Bible. Here you have Gideon, a reluctant leader who really doesn’t want to be the one leading the people. He is terrified of his own shadow, it seems. He is trying to find an army and puts together 32,000 people. And then God eliminates 31,700 of them, leaving only 300 people to go attack. The first elimination question God gave him was telling people if they were afraid, they should go home. I almost wonder if Gideon wanted to go home at that point!…