We finish up the month with Joshua and the famous battle of Jericho. God promised Abraham that he would receive the Land of Canaan. In Joshua 5:13–6:27, we find the Israelites taking their first steps towards the fulfillment of the promise. God was faithful to the Israelites. In this story, God’s battle plans seem unconventional for conquering a city, but Joshua knew that if they obeyed God’s plan, the land would be theirs.
 
Bottom Line: You can do what you should because God is with you. Even when what we’re asked to do doesn’t make sense, we can have courage to do it knowing that God is helping us. We should remember that God is near and He is for us. We can trust God no matter what and have courage to do what we should.
 
Memory Verse: This is my command – be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9 NLT

Hello Reign Forest Friends!
Yesterday our adventures took us to Numbers 13–14... Moses sent 12 spies to scope out the Promised Land of Canaan. They discovered the land was perfect with one exception: the people who already lived there were strong and powerful. Most of the spies were intimidated and wanted to give up. Only two, Joshua and Caleb, spoke up and said that God would provide a way for them to conquer the land. God rewarded Joshua and Caleb’s faith and courage. They were the only men of their generation to see the land God promised to Abraham.

Bottom Line: You can do what you should even when others are afraid.
We will face times when the people around us are scared or making unwise choices. When that happens, we should trust God. He can give us the courage we need to do what we should and be an example that points others to Him.

Memory Verse: The Lord is my light and my salvation- so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?  Psalm 27:1 NLT
On the light side, ask your kid(s) if they have a fear of acerophobia or consecotaleophobia or maybe scoleciphobia.  We had a fun time during our Courage Challenge, learning what these fears meant. 
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Blessings to you all!
The Reign Forest Team

Courage is being brave enough to do what you should do, even when you are afraid. In Exodus 13:17–14:31, Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, but found himself up against an impossible scenario: the Red Sea in front of them and Pharaoh’s army chasing them down from behind. Only God could save them. Moses stood strong in the face of fear and trusted God to do what only God could do—part the Red Sea and create dry ground for the Israelites to escape. Our God is truly the God of the impossible.

Bottom Line: You can do what you should even when things seem impossible. We may not face the Red Sea or an army of angry Egyptians, but we will face moments where what we need to do will feel impossible to us. When that happens, we can remember that we can trust God no matter what. God is bigger and stronger than anything we face. Just like Moses and the Israelites, God can do the impossible in our lives too.

Our verse for the week is Psalm 46:1: God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.
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Have a great week!
The Reign Forest Team

Dear Reign Forest Friends,
Yesterday, we continued our theme on courage - being brave enough to do what you should do, even when you're afraid.  We also continued to look at the story of Moses found in Exodus and how he showed courage.  God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt.  Moses gave excuse after excuse for why he was not the person God should use.  But God had chosen him, and even though Moses was frightened, he trusted in God and confronted Pharaoh to let God's people go.  In the end, God's power triumphed and Pharaoh released his hold on the Israelites. 

Bottom Line:  You can do what you should even when you don't feel ready.  We all face times when we feel like we are supposed to do something, but fear that we will not have what it takes to get it done.  We can have courage to follow through knowing that God can give us what we need to do what we should. 
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Memory verse:  Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you.  He will be with you; He will neither fail you nor abandon you. 
Deut. 31:8 NLT
 
Blessings,
The Reign Forest Team

​Hi Reign Forest Friends,

This past Sunday, we started our new theme on “Courage”. 

In Exodus 2:1-10, we discover that Moses was born during a time when Pharaoh feared that God’s people would overthrow his reign. He enslaved them and commanded that all of the Hebrew baby boys be killed. Moses’ mother and sister wouldn’t obey Pharaoh’s decree. They had courage to keep Moses alive. God rescued him with help from Pharaoh’s own daughter who ended up bringing him to live in the palace and raising him as an Egyptian.

Bottom Line: You can do what you should even when you don’t know what will happen next. Most of the time our fear comes from assuming something about the future that may or may not happen. Courage doesn’t mean our fear is gone. Rather, courage is choosing to act even though we are afraid. We’ll never know what will happen next, but we can trust God to give us the strength we need to move forward.

Memory Verse: So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord. Psalm 31:24 NLT

We ended our time together with writing down some of our own fears. We gave these fears to God and prayed for strength and courage to keep moving forward.
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Blessings,
The Reign Forest Team