It was early in the morning and I could not sleep. The weight of being the provider of the home was weighing me down. My job at the time was barley meeting the needs of my family. I was given a cut in pay and “politics” was beginning to dictate my future. Something needed to change. As I lay in bed, my mind was going a hundred miles per hour. How was I going to supply the needs for my family? How was I going to fulfill that call if I could not even take care of my family? Oh, I was frustrated and hurting. At that moment I was done with ministry! I needed a better job. Then in the moment of the silence I began to shoot the breeze with God. I remember telling God, “Lord I know you have called me. I know that you are a God who provides. Yet I am done! I am done with ministry! I have listened and I have acted, yet my family still struggles”. Then I threw my fleece out to God. “For years I have followed your direction. Yet tonight I am done with ministry, unless You provide a new way to mee

Some are loud. Others are quiet. Where one may be bashful, another may be comfortable in front of others. Whatever the moment or time, men and women rise to be great leaders, sometimes without even knowing that the calling of a leader rest in them. Some hide their leadership and some can’t wait to lead. I believe that each generation awaits a leader to lead the call towards greatness. In our culture few leaders have risen and many have fallen. I will admit, in whatever profession it’s hard to be a leader these days. I believe it is because what has been seen as right is seen as wrong. And what has been seen as wrong has now been accepted as right. That can cause a leader to hide and hold back. If there is a time for leaders to rise it is now! We will take a look at Gideon’s fears, testing, and confidence in these next few weeks. Let’s begin our study on Gideon. Introduction. Scripture tell us that the people had turned away from the Lord. If we look back a few chapters we can see

“The rich and poor have this in common; The Lord is the maker of them all." Proverbs 22:2 Whether you believe that the clouds opened up and God sent MAC, or believe that MAC is a future conspiracy of the anti-christ…you must admit the success of one who changed the landscape of technology of our time. This past week, as you may know, Steven Jobs, founder of Apple, passed away. After hearing his passing, a sense of sadness came over me. I’ve never known Steve. Never met him. Yet for me and my generation, this was the Thomas Edison of our time. His impact was epic! I remember working on a computer in college with the DOS program. Remember that? The black screen and green lettering! Man we thought we were in heaven! Then I remember working on the first Macintosh! I was blown away! Publishing became easier and you knew that a new era had just begun! A computer was no more for the government or large corporation, ordinary people could have access to technology. The internet comes al