Exodus 17:11-13: As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.

The family unit is intended to add to and strengthen our lives and life’s mission. With Christ and Christ in us, we are to spur each other on to experience a refreshed and an optimistic sense of a purpose-driven life. The family unit lives with an appreciation for friendships and should be packaged with assurances to fulfill the great commission as stated in Matthew 28:19-20. Jesus gave all of us this mission to grow into Christ-likeness and go to the lost and fallen world. It is understood that we are worthy and selected to continue the work that Jesus started in the world.

How well do we follow Jesus intimately?

Mark 8:34-38, “….. “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

James 1:20: “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires”.

Biblically, all anger is not necessarily considered wrong. However, in most cases, what a person feels is “righteous anger” is simply his or her way to justify sin. As such, we need to be equipped to address sinful anger in a way that honors God and brings repentant change within our hearts. Did we see the equation represented  in the passage from James?

The Spirit of God wrote these words with Moses’s hands. Many scholars believe that the book of Deuteronomy was Jesus’s favorite book due to the number of times that He quoted it. Moses submission and his writings left enough of an impact on Jesus himself would He would refer to Deuteronomy in His ministry. He quoted many lines from this book evidenced by when He spoke the scriptures in the wilderness when He was tempted by the devil.

We can tag along with someone’s faith and be encouraged by them for a season. However, there is a point when we have to get grow past Moses or Joshua and calling Him the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob. If He's not our God that means we have not been with Him, which means we don't know Him. So many of us know God of the Word but we don't know the God that lives inside of us. Jesus said, Who do you say I am?, in Mathew 16. Why would He ask that question to people who have spent time with Him? This does not make sense, but it did to Jesus.

Prayer is, at its heart, the communication that is the fabric of the human being relationship with its Father, God. Praying together was one of the hallmarks of the church from its start. In Acts, they gathered to pray in the days after Christ's death -- this is even before the big event in Acts 2 that started the church. Then right after that first event, they devoted themselves to prayer. How do we start?

When seeking help, being discipled, being shepherded or following leadership these are 3 things you should ponder and pray about.

Colossians 3:12 - “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, tapeinophrosunē [humility].”

The uncommon virtue of humility. Virtues are habitual exercises and inclinations of the heart for good things. Virtues are truly valuable, important or yours when you desire them want to receive and you want to provide for others. Virtue consists in the beauty of those heart-exercises and of the actions that flow from them. Uncommon virtues are in limited supply both in world and in the Body of Christ, sounds weird doesn’t it? But mainly, and most importantly, uncommon virtues are those habitual exercises of the heart rooted in what makes us disciples of Jesus.

To find out the true identity of something/someone, you have to start with the original/origin. In Exodus 34:6-7, God fills out His own birth certificate and describes to us who He really is. It is this self-description that is referenced time and again for the rest of Scripture. This is the identity that ought to shape our lives. Our lives or our witness ought to be shaped by the true identity of God not our identity. Our lives are not to be shaped by what's in style or what draws a crowd, but rather by the true identity of God. Hear these words about God's true identity (Ex. 34:6-7, NIV).