"Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted (me-u-neh). But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed."Isaiah 53:4-5; "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone."Hebrews 2:9 ; "looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."Hebrews 12:2 ; "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."Romans 8:16-18

When I studied Isaiah 53 earnestly,I was taken back by the Hebrew word for "afflicted" In modern Hebrew this word means "tortured". When I was young, and first learned what torture actually involved, my soul was shocked that this could happen to people; in fact that it was happening to people. That a person could be kept alive for the purpose of intentionally causing him intense agonizing pain was an astounding enigma for my young soul. It really frightened me; and I think that fear of torture is probably the greatest fear that humans can experience. We read about people who have been tortured, with a kind of horrified awe. And quietly we wonder inside, "How can this be?" And, "Could this ever happen to me?" Crucifixion was a form of torture which the ancient Romans used frequently. And while I had a concept of the suffering that our Messiah endured for us, for some reason the understanding that He was tortured for our iniquities brought my awareness to a new level. I did not begin to appreciate or fathom the suffering Messiah went through. His identification with our suffering and our sin was total, and His experience of this torture so fully absorbed Him that He experienced what must have felt like infinite isolation and pain. Somehow, this is a deep comfort; to know that the Son of God understands by experience, torture and suffering unthinkable. But then, I suddenly realized that I also could not begin to comprehend the glory that awaited Him after His suffering. And that His suffering purchased for me a portion in that glory as well. It was the other side of the story, and somehow, these two extremes complement one another; suffering, and glory. The apostle Paul states his revelation about our sufferings with almost light-hearted conviction; that they are not even “worthy” to be compared with the glory that awaits us. This, to me, could be the most amazing promise in all of scripture. Brothers & Sisters, suffering is everywhere, a constant part of this life; it may be you, or someone you love, or people you don't even know but are agonizing over and praying for. This world casts suffering in every direction at every level of intensity. But all of it, every flaming ounce of it has been successfully absorbed into the body of Jesus the Messiah. He was tortured for us – suffered death for us – so that our sufferings are trifles in the light of eternity. It's been said this way: from heaven the most miserable earthly life will look like one bad night in a cheap hotel. Thank the Lord. HE UNDERSTANDS OUR SUFFERINGS MORE THAN YOU KNOW!

"The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing; It is marvelous in our eyes."Psalms 118:22-23 ; "Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; whoever believes will not act hastily."Isaiah 28:16 ; "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first."John 15:18

These first two scriptures are speaking of the same "Stone", the prophesied Messiah (Jesus), the "head of the corner". This stone is laid in Zion, a common synonym for Jerusalem, where mount Zion rests. The stone is "tried", that is, tested in every way that a stone can be; the stone is precious and excellent to be set as a sure, reliable, accurate, even everlasting foundation, and a stone which is prepared and set in place by God, Himself. Can you think of a "Stone" more perfect or beautiful than our Messiah? Yet this same "stone" is rejected by the "builders"; but also believed in by others, who will not act hastily. The Hebrew word for "rejected", “ma-as”,is also denoted by it. So the "Messiah", the "Chief Cornerstone" of God is spurned, abhorred, held in contempt, and rejected. Now the builders are the ones who ought to know a good stone for building when they see one. They're responsible for the quality of the building. But this precious cornerstone is abhorred and cast away by them; very sad and irresponsible. Yet the prophet clearly predicts this stone will become the "Chief Cornerstone", even though rejected by the builders -- and that it will be marvelous in the eyes of some...and these will not "make haste"; the Hebrew "chuwsh" means to hurry, or even "to flee in alarm". Apparently these, who believe, will be at peace, they will be relaxed. Brothers & Sisters, the Lord Jesus said that our identification with Him would cause us to be hated and rejected too. And in this world there are quite a few modern "builders" who have also rejected the "Chief Cornerstone", so we can expect that they will reject and abhor us who belong to Him. But the prophet said that believers in this Precious Cornerstone will not make haste, or flee in terror; instead, their belief, their faith, their trust will make them relaxed. Is that you? REJECTED? RELAX...

" And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being."Genesis 2:7 ; "And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man."1 Corinthians 15:49 ; "but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."John 4:14 ; " And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts."Revelation 21:6

The first man was called "Ah-dom", we know him as "Adam". The word used for "man", as in "mankind", in Genesis 1, is also the same word – "Ah-dom". "Ah-dom" is rooted in the three Hebrew letters, aleph-dalet-mem, and one of the Hebrew words for earth is "Adamah", which contains the same three letters, however it ends with the Hebrew letter "hay". "Adamah" means "red earth", or "red clay", and this word points to the natural earth elements, the "earth dust" that composed Adam’s body, and the body of every human being since. "Man" is "ah-dom", in a very real sense, "clay". If a piece of clay is to become anything, it has to be molded – and to be moldable it must become wet. Clay has a tendency to dry out quickly and become hardened, and once that happens, there's not much you can do with it. Since we are "ah-dom", made of clay, we are in constant need of water. This is true both physically, and also spiritually. Our bodies need a constant resupply of water to stay alive and function well. Our spirits also need "water", the "water" of the Word [Ephesians 5:26]. If we are constantly drinking this water of the word, our faith, which comes by hearing [Romans 10:17] will result in a magnificent promise from Jesus: "He that believes in me, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water!" This water of His Word welling up through His Spirit will prevent us from becoming dry and hardened, and will enable us to "water" others, even to be, ourselves, a spring of living water. Brothers & Sisters, drink from the water of life. You don't want to become a hardened vessel, easily cracked or broken. Soak yourself in Him and in His word, so that God will keep you moldable, useful, and "drinkable" by others. Water is necessary, but it is also deeply refreshing, and Jesus's living water springs up, even to eternal life! DON'T DRY OUT!

"Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men,but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king."1 Peter 2:13-17

Sometimes I saw how politics could get ugly and, more often than not, how it changed people -- not for the better...but often for the worse! Always when the elections are about to be held in my country, there have been some outrageous attacks. And sadly, I feel pretty sure these attacks will only intensify in the days before elections. Nevertheless, I'm encouraged! Why? Because, often, the enemy's destructive intentions and attacks become God's means for testimony and victorious proclamation! Let me give you an example: during the period of history known as "the enlightenment", the "enlightened" philosopher, Voltaire, proclaimed that within twenty-five years the Bible would be forgotten and Christianity would be a thing of the past. Forty years after his death in 1778, Voltaire's house was purchased, and used to print Bibles and other Christian literature. Such is the irony of one man's prophetic folly. His own house became God's platform for proclaiming the message that Voltaire despised. I suggest we may once again witness such an irony in our countries. Brothers & Sisters, don't let the political season shape you for the worse, with bitterness, mockery, sarcasm, rancor, etc... -- but rather, transform the political landscape by who you are -- a king and a priest of the Most High! Be a confident, respectful, and quietly shining beacon of light in this dark (political) world, and continue to pray the Lord's guiding hand upon the leaders who face the tremendous responsibilities and challenges ahead! SHAPING & RESHAPING POLITICS!

"If you will not believe, surely you will not be established."Isaiah 7:9b

This passage in Isaiah contains a poetic play on words which is lost to any reader but one who understands Hebrew. A word for word translation runs something like this: “If not you will believe (lo ta-aminoo), surely not you will be established (lo te-amenoo).” The three letter Hebrew root – "aleph"- "mem"- "nun", is the same in both words, and the Holy Spirit through the prophet Isaiah is clearly playing on this root to emphasize His point. The same root letters are also used in the spelling for the familiar word "Amen" which literally means "truthfully". A study of the root of the Hebrew word for "Amen" reveals numerous related meanings: "le-heet-amen", "to practice or exercise" and "le-ha-amin", "to believe". And finally the same root is found in the Hebrew word for "faith", "emunah". Simply through the inter-relationships of these similarly rooted words it's not hard to see that real faith is intimately connected to real practice or exercise. James put it simply, "Faith without works is dead". True faith is active faith, practicing faith, faith that is exercised-- and finally, faith that is truthful. Brothers & Sisters, this passage speaks of being established. How are you established in your walk? By practicing and exercising your faith truthfully...simple as that. Can you say "Amen" to that? CAN YOU LIVE OUT AN AMEN?!

"But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man comes at an hour when you think not."Luke 12:39-40

When I first became a believer, I thought by simply dealing with my outward sins that I could live a state of sinlessness. But it wasn't long before the Lord began revealing and dealing with my inward sins and attitudes. Now, and the longer I walk with Him, I understand more and more the meaning of daily repentance! If we truly want to be free and walk in His liberty, we cannot avoid this crucial requirement for freedom. Because we cannot receive His forgiveness without it, repentance must be a way of life for us [1 John 1:9]. Brothers & Sisters, staying close to the Lord is His heart's desire for us...but one of the main conditions for it is walking in regular repentance. When we walk in humility and truthfulness about our sin -- we are walking in the light, and the blood of Jesus keeps cleansing us from sin. In that condition we are so much more able to love the Lord and those around us -- with Him, touching one life at a time. So, let's lay down our pride and turn to Him every day....with genuine repentance! REPENTANCE IS A LIFESTYLE; BE READY!

"He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked-- But with the rich at His deaths [plural in the Hebrew], Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth."Isaiah 53:8-9 ; "and killed the Prince of life [in Hebrew, lives], whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses."Acts 3:15

An interesting parallel exists between these two passages of scripture: Isaiah 53:9 and Acts 3:15. Isaiah renders the "death" of the messiah in the plural form, "deaths". Acts renders the life of the Prince of Life as "lives". Some scholars suggest that the plurality of the word death indicates a violent death this servant would suffer, and that making the noun plural is a way of emphasizing the terrible intensity of his experience. Jewish counter-missionaries suggest that the "death" in plural shows that the suffering servant is not an individual man, but a group of people, specifically the nation of Israel, thus denying that the passage refers to an individual messianic figure. I like to look at this passage as a reminder that Jesus suffered death for me, personally, but also for every one else who would believe in Him. Since we all died with Him on the cross as He died to sin, it could be said that He suffered many deaths for all those He loved. Tracing the parallel to the Acts passage we can understand why it says there that He was the "Prince of Lives". The phrase indicating a plurality of life. In His suffering of deaths, He became the Prince of lives! How many lives did He save? How many kinds of life? We'll find out someday....maybe. Brothers & Sisters, Jesus's death was complete; a finished work of comprehensive grace; totally effective and absolutely personal. His resurrection was equally full, final and personal -- through Him we died to sin, and need no longer walk in it; and through Him we live to God, and can walk in newness of life, abundant life -- for He truly is the Prince of Life! FOLLOW YOUR PRINCE OF LIFE!

"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit."Psalms 51:10-12

David is called a “man after God’s own heart.” Considering that he lusted after his neighbor's wife, committed adultery with her, and had her husband murdered, the Lord's description of him is remarkable. How could a man who was convicted a murderer and an adulterer also be called one after God’s own heart? The answer is simple but profound: God did not regard David according to the actions of his sinful nature, but according to the deepest motivations and disposition of his heart and will; and these were revealed by David's response to the conviction which Nathan the prophet brought upon him; a conviction which brought immediate total confession and repentance, and a broken and contrite heart. This response exemplified the shepherd king's walk with God throughout the entire journey of his life. If, after David had fallen he made excuses, rationalized, or resisted the clear message of his sinfulness it would have been a totally different story. His heart would have revealed a self-justifying, self-righteous attitude with no realization of his absolute need for God's mercy. This would have defeated and defined him as a man after his own heart. But the immediacy and completeness of David's confession qualified him for the Lord's forgiveness and mercy, saving him from death and restoring him to that most treasured relationship of his life, his relationship with God. The consequences of his sin were very serious and followed David all the days of his life. But he demonstrated the genuineness of his repentance by never railing against God for the troubles which followed him as a consequence of his sin with Batsheva. David always rose up, submitted, and humbly praised God, writing wonderful psalms and pouring out his heart before the Lord. He served God and worshiped Him all his life. So the Lord God didn’t reckon David’s life by his fall – but by his walk, and by his heart. Brothers & Sisters, we all stumble in many ways, but God does not define us by our failures. It's our love for Him and our honesty before Him that reveals a true walk of faith! So if you fell, you messed up, your sin got the best of you, then come clean. Make your confession. Accept the consequences without complaining, allow the Lord to forgive and restore you completely, and continue on your journey with Him. That was David's heart. His example is worthy to follow. May you also be one of those that lived their life “after God’s own heart!” IT HAPPENED EVEN TO THE BEST OF THEM!

"These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful."Revelation 17:14

Just about every Hebrew prayer begins by saying, Blessed are you O Lord our God, King of the Universe. Now think about it, King of the Universe! Wikipedia defines "universe" as, "the composition of all the planets, stars, galaxies, the contents of intergalactic space, and all matter and energy". Hmm…that’s a lot to be king over! So He’s the King over hundreds of billions of stars, and hundreds of millions of galaxies – the King of everything! Now this might make this King seem somewhat "out of reach" for you and me. But He's not. Because this King decided to walk into His universe as a little human being so that He could relate to us better. He's big. Bigger than you can imagine. But He's also accessible because He made Himself small too. So Brothers & Sisters, don't worry. The distance and size of God are not a problem for Him or for you. He knows and understands all your thoughts, worries, your fears, your anxieties and your troubles! And “If God is for us, who can be against us?” So be at peace my friend, and let Him take care of it all. He truly is “King of Kings” – the King of the Universe, but He's also your best and closest friend. HE IS KING OF KINGS!

"But whoso looked into the perfect law of liberty, and continued therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed."James 1:25

How many times have we left a job, a project, a church, an important relationship because we just didn't find it good enough? Some of us make a lifestyle of it! But God wants us to be the kind of remarkable people who don't criticize, complain and go out looking for something better all the time. He wants us to be a people who determine to make a difference in the lives of the people and situations He allows us to face! Your job is boring and you need a change? Ask the Lord how you might grow in your giftings there. Ask Him to help you come up with a creative solution and maybe even improve your workplace altogether! You want to leave your church because it doesn't have an exciting children's ministry? Perhaps the Lord is calling you to help start one up! Brothers & Sisters, let's be a doers! Let's be people of vision! There's much too much to be done for the Lord to be sitting around criticizing. Let's determine to stop being complainers and go forth and do great things for Him! JUST DO IT!

"Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, "What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?" And the people answered him in this manner, saying, "So shall it be done for the man who kills him." Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab's anger was aroused against David, and he said, "Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle."And David said, "What have I done now? Is there not a cause?"1 Samuel 17:26-29

David's faith and courage in volunteering to fight Goliath was an embarrassment to his big brother Eliab, an officer in King Saul's army. I imagine his thinking went something like this; “If my little brother wins everybody will ask, 'How come you didn't go out and fight him?'” The Bible records that Eliab “burned with anger at David and asked, 'Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is...'” These are devastating words from an older brother. Before David could defeat Goliath he first had to overcome the attitudes, accusations and words, of those close around him. The defeat of Goliath had massive implications for Israel and for the Lord. Satan had staked a great deal on Goliath's terrifying power. So wherever the enemy had opportunity in the sinful attitudes of David's friends and family he maximized them, realizing that David truly had the anointing of God to turn the tide of battle. And God allowed David to be tested by his own closest kin. If there is a true Goliath in your life and you are appointed to slay him be assured you will face similar tests from those close by. When you make decisions to step out and follow God it will put pressure on others to do the same. Their shame and lack of faith will move them to attack, belittle and criticize you. It will come from among those closest to you, especially if your calling sets you apart! Brothers & Sisters, be careful around those who say, “I knew you when...” in an attempt to label, libel, or limit you – much like David's brother Eliab tried to hinder him. David was empowered by the Lord to slay Goliath – if you have that same Spirit and calling then humbly step aside and say, "What have I done now? Isn't there a real job to be done?" Then go ahead, and do it. WHO ARE YOU NOW?

"Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God."Acts 14:22

I don't know about you, but it seems that the tests we're going through are getting harder and harder. Do you remember when you took tests in high school? At the time they may have seemed hard. But imagine if you had to take an elementary school test when you were in high school. You'd probably think – oh this is so simple. So if it seems that the testing of your faith is more intense – it simply means that you're graduating to new levels of faith! Our faith is being tested, and as we pass each "faith" test, we're finding different means of being tested. I suppose in a few years, we'll look back and think to ourselves – wow thatwas a hard test, but now it doesn't look so difficult! Broters & Sisters, if you're going through a tough time right now, be encouraged because it simply means that God is graduating you to new levels of faith! The harder the tests, the greater difficulty – the greater the reward, an increased blessing awaits you! Stay focused, stay alert and remember that God is trying to stretch your faith so that you can accomplish even more for His Kingdom! DOES IT SEEM THAT THE TESTS ARE GETTING HARDER?