"The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion." Proverbs 28:1

There's an old adage, "Have the heart of a lion!" Hearing it, we think, "courage". This recalls a quote I once heard; "Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened". I doubt there's a single hero story in which the fearless leader fails to inspire the righteous determination of his army or people. The voice of the captain resounds through the ranks evoking the fierce cry of every warrior ready to face death or worse, for the cause. Courage truly is contagious. Of course, so is fear. And no matter how great or small our sphere, we are all, each and every one of us, people of influence. If, individually, I stand and face every fear with the boldness of a lion, I cannot fail to embolden others to stand courageously with me. But true courage will depend on righteousness; and those who are righteous live by faith; and faith comes by hearing, and hearing, through the word of Christ, that is, Divine revelation. So, real lion-like courage will come direct, by faith, from the Lion of Judah, Jesus our Lord. Brothers & Sisters, live by faith, be righteous in Messiah, and you may be the lion that leads, inspiring a pack that follows! Courage is infectious... spread it far and wide! HAVE THE HEART OF A LION!

"Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 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, I was taken back by the Hebrew word for "afflicted" (me-u-neh). 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 Jesus 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!

"My righteousness is near; My salvation is gone forth, and My arm [z’roah in Hebrew] shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on My arm [z’roah] they will trust." Isaiah 51:5 ; "For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son," John 5:22 ; "Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war." Revelation 19:11

On December 25, 1908, a newspaper in Messina, Sicily dared God to make Himself known by sending an earthquake. Three days later, the city was destroyed by an earthquake that killed over 84,000 people. Do we really believe that Jesus is returning soon? He is – He's coming back to judge this world and no one will escape His wrath except those whose sins are forgiven through living faith in His atoning sacrifice. The world in its increasing sinfulness, rejecting His Son, seems to be daring God to bring judgment. This historical event in Messina speaks with shocking clarity that the God of Creation is real, that He listens carefully to the statements we make about Him and the communications we express toward Him, (as individuals, cities, and nations), and that He is a powerful Sovereign King whose judgments are imminent and totally righteous. Because of sin, we are all born destined to die. Every one of those 84,000+ people were corrupt from the womb and fated for death, so that when this dare came before the Lord in Heaven, He chose the moment to take them and reveal this serious and dramatic testimony of His judgment to all the world. By revealing His judgment as a warning, God shows His mercy to those who remain alive, that we all may seek the eternal safety He offers. Jesus' sacrificial death provides eternal life for all who are destined to die from sin...that is, all that come to Him in faith. Brothers & Sisters, God is the true, righteous, and final Judge of us all. Will you be found in Him when He judges? If clothed in His righteousness, the Lord Jesus, we will escape His judgment for sin. Trust in Him completely and know He is not only a just judge but a "merciful, gracious, longsuffering" God who "abounds in goodness and truth". [Exodus 34:6] With judgment looming -- let's also be about His business today! HE'S COMING AS JUDGE, ARE YOU READY?

"When a man's ways (דֶּרֶךְ - deh-rech) please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him."Proverbs 16:7

A young reporter approached an old man on his 100th birthday. "Happy birthday, kind Sir! Can I bother you to answer one question? In all your years, of what are you most proud?" he asked. "Well," said the man, "I don't have a single enemy in the world." "Really?!" shouted the reporter, "That's just incredible -- how inspiring to us all!" "Yep," added the centenarian, "outlived every darn one of 'em." Sadly, each of us has acquired an enemy or two in our lives. While it's our human nature to find fault in others and make an occasional unnecessary enemy, sometimes it has nothing to do with us! I mean, you wouldn't believe the kind of hate mail we get from people we've never met! What can we do to make peace with enemies like those? "He" is the operating word in the verse above. Did you catch that? He, that is, the Lord, makes even [a man's] enemies be at peace with him. All we have to worry about is making sure that our ways are pleasing to the Lord and He will do the rest! Brothers & Sisters, the word "deh-rech" in Hebrew, is 'way' in the verse above. Derech can also mean journey or path. When our path is straight, and God is the focus of our journey, then our ways will please Him and He will make even our enemies be at peace with us. Let's rededicate our lives to the Lord again today and see Him bring the victory. SCATTER YOUR ENEMIES!

"But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?" "Matthew 8:26-27

Whew! What must the disciples have felt back then as they saw the waves crashing against their boat? They were being swayed from side to side in the deep dark sea. They were afraid for their lives! But our Lord was there all along. He just wanted them to trust. So often we find ourselves in that same boat, don’t we? And then we wonder, “Lord, are you there?! Don’t you see these waves about to consume me? But He does! He sees all, hears all, knows all. He is the same Lord that calmed that storm two thousand years ago and He can cause the winds and the seas to cease, and the trials of our lives to become calm in an instant. Brothers & Sisters, find your "shalom" in the midst of your storm ... for it's in these storms we learn of God's faithfulness and when He displays His awesome power. Let's renew our trust in the Lord today -- for God has great plans for those who will put their trust in Him. RELAX!

"Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah -- not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people." Jeremiah 31:31-33

I occasionally came across individuals who didn't believe that Israel and the Jewish people were relevant to God's redemptive plan. Amazed, I would show them this passage in Jeremiah foretelling how God would make a 'New Covenant' with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah! This scripture, an Old Testament foundation for our entire New Testament, was addressed to the two houses of Israel, yet its fulfillment in the Messiah (Jesus) was received by only a (significant) remnant of them, at His first coming. The apostle Paul, however, unequivocally affirms that this initial remnant of saved Israel carried the Messianic revelation to the entire world and that revelation would eventually be returned to the Jewish people in full measure; For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins." [Romans 11:25-27] And interestingly, Israel's future inheritance in the New Covenant is highlighted as well by ancient rabbinical commentary on Jeremiah 31:31-32; "When the time of the advent of the Messiah will be near, then the blessed God will say to him: 'With him I will make a new covenant. And this is the time I will acknowledge Him as my son, saying 'This day have I begotten thee.' [Midrash Tehelim, 3:4] Indeed ancient rabbis saw in this scripture that the new covenant was connected to Psalm 2 and would be ushered in by the Messiah, who would be God's own son.....hmmm. Another ancient rabbinical commentary on Jeremiah 31:31,32 says, "He will sit and expound the new Torah (teaching or instruction) which He will give through the Messiah." So the testimony of Jesus, the Son of God, came through the Tenach (Old Testament), Moses, the Prophets and Psalms, which are the scriptures of the Jewish people, and is even supported by rabbinical commentaries. In addition, the entire New Testament (with the possible exception of Luke) was written by Jews. This people, blessed of God in so many ways, and chastened accordingly for their disobedience, is still quite relevant to God's plans. His "gifts and callings are irrevocable" [Romans 11:29]. Brothers & Sisters, God is not finished with Israel or the Jewish people. And thank and praise Him for the faithfulness of that promise, because if He remains faithful to such a disobedient nation, He will also remain faithful to all those called and chosen through the revelation of Israel's Messiah...you and me. GOD IS NOT FINISHED WITH THE JEWISH PEOPLE OR WITH YOU!

"Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!" John 4:35

Here’s an interesting fact about American church history that you may not know. Years ago, when the first New England churches were designed, they were built with clear windows rather than the stained glass ones we see so often today -- and the graveyard was usually built in the churchyard, which would normally be seen from the pulpit. Why? It was so that the pastor could see the graveyard while he preached and be reminded of the urgency of his message! It was so he could be reminded that everyone who sat in the pews before him as he spoke, would eventually fill a place in that cemetery outside the window and ultimately have to stand before God to be judged. Can you imagine? Back then, the first and foremost priority of the church was to bring men and women into a right relationship with the Lord. What’s happened to us that we’ve started building churches with windows you can’t see through!? Brothers & Sisters, there is a harvest outside! Let’s uncloud our windows and give ourselves to the work that needs to be done! Let’s make a commitment to share the good news with someone today! LOOK OUR YOUR WINDOW!