Before there was David, there was a prayer warrior. Samuel was old. He was retired. He believed his work was finished. But he promised to never stop praying for the people he had served. Then God called on Samuel to be part of the answer to his prayer and to perform one more act of service.

Perhaps the hardest conflicts for us as Christians come within our own ranks. The devil loves to provoke us and divide us so that we are no longer aware of his tactics. Gideon's biggest problem wasn't Midian. It was within his compatriots.

The world is constantly looking for a man or a woman who will step up and provide real leadership. We long for someone who will take charge and solve the world's problems. In country after country, we see politicians make bold promises, offer solutions, and inevitably disappoint the masses.

At one time Moses was on top of the world. He had attended the most prestigious university of his day. He was wealthy and wore the best clothing. He had servants and knew all the right people. He wielded genuine power. Everything about his situation and his future was positive. He threw it all away because he chose to identify with the persecuted rather than the persecutors.

The following is an excerpt from our book about how David fought and defeated the Philistine giant Goliath: Look at him! Goliath is nearly ten feet tall. Wears 125 pounds of armor. Wields a spear that looks like a fence rail. He is a terrifying sight. That is the way it is with giants. They want you to believe your eyes and ears. They want you recognize the impossible odds. Why fight them when you know you cannot win? But if all you do is rely on your physical senses, you miss the full picture.

I heard Brother Andrew preach about Jonah over three nights at an evangelistic campaign in a Muslim country. His approach was fun and challenging. The following is an excerpt from our book: Try to understand Jonah’s problem. He was ordered to go to the enemy of his people. The Assyrians were making forays into northern Israel where Jonah lived. It is entirely possible that they had attacked his home village of Gath-hepher. Perhaps Assyrians had killed his parents. Maybe he had watched soldiers rape his sisters. If that’s the case, we can certainly understand why Jonah hated this assignment. Being told to go to Nineveh would be like being ordered today to go to Baghdad. Or Mogadishu. Or Pyongyang, North Korea. Read more in my blog about the mistakes Jonah made...