"Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, "The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!" Gideon said to Him, "O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, 'Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?' But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites." Then the LORD turned to him and said, "Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?" Judges 6:11-14

Biblical Hebrew uses a grammatical form called "s'michut". This form joins two words together to form a single word form. We have this in English: for example, a door and a knob are two nouns, which are used to form the word "doorknob", a compound noun. This form of joining nouns is found in Judges 6:12. The expression, "Angel of the Lord" is rendered, "angel-God"; (Yud-Hay-Vav-Hay); in modern English -- "angel-God". Then, suddenly, the narrative changes from "angel-God" to simply, "Yehovah". Here we see another appearance of God in human form in the Old Testament. The God-Man, Jesus in a "pre-incarnate" appearance. When Gideon was called to fight the Midianites, he felt inadequate, unequipped and the weakest among his brethren -- but the Lord called him "you mighty man of valor"! Isn't it always interesting how God calls the weak things of this world to confound the natural wisdom of the world [1 Cor 1:18-21]? And sometimes He sees right through their perception of themselves, and calls them "mighty" ! Gideon, in the midst of overwhelming circumstances, felt as many feel today: weak, abandoned by God, wondering, "Where are you LORD?" But when the Lord suddenly shows up to call us to be part of His solution, what will we say? What will we do? Because He knows who we are deep inside, and He knows how to empower the weak to perform His works for His glory. Brothers & Sisters, if you find yourself asking, "Where are you LORD?", you might want to prepare yourself to be the answer to the problem. Because He might just "show up" and give you an "impossible" commission, then equip you with the strategy for victory. Even you, alone, with the LORD, are an army that no enemy wants to face! THE LORD IS SENDING YOU!

"For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us."2 Corinthians 1:20

In a traditional Jewish marriage, a contract known as the 'ketubah',(which means 'that which is written', in Hebrew) is signed be both the bride and groom. Originally, it included the price of the bride, the promises that the groom must keep and the rights to which the bride is entitled. The ketubah was the unalienable right of the bride. It promised that the groom would work for her, honor her, support her and maintain her in truth, but most importantly, that he would never leave her side all the days of her life. Unfortunately, these days, this contract is often broken. There are many who haven't kept their promises like they should. But each of us who know the Lord, have been given a ketubah of sorts -- it's the Bible. Within our ketubah, are all the promises of God -- and God is not a man that He should lie! Brothers & Sisters, we are His bride! Let's claim the many promises He has made to us and stand in faith, knowing that He will keep His Word! CLAIM YOUR PROMISES!

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise."Psalms 51:17

The word contrite in Hebrew is 'dakah' which means one that is crushed to pieces. Paul wrote of being a 'living sacrifice' holy and acceptable to God. Being a living sacrifice means we often can walk off the altar. To be a continual living sacrifice we need to renew our minds day to day! Let your mind be renewed -- off the things which are worldly and onto those things which are Godly. When our minds are focused on those things above, on His holiness, His righteousness, His grace, and His mercy -- we realize that we can always be closer to Him! We understand what Isaiah meant when he said, "our righteousness is nothing but filthy rags before the Lord." When God provided for Himself the perfect sacrifice, His Son, 2000 years ago -- His heart bursted! His heart was cut through -- cut for you! God desires you to be a living sacrifice and a necessary ingredient is a heart that has been cut through by God's sharp knife. When you allow your heart to be continually cut through by God's Spirit, then your life will be a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable before Him! Brothers & Sisters, it's wonderful what God can do with a broken heart, especially when we give Him all the pieces! BE BROKEN!

"Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver."2 Corinthians 9:7

A wise man once said, "There's nothing more powerful than the heart of a volunteer". It's so easy to get into the mindset that serving God is a chore, it's our job, our duty -- we give valuable consideration to our giving. The fact of the matter is that God loves a cheerful giver. He loves a volunteer. When I think of that verse, the first thing that comes to my mind is monetary giving, but God wants us to cheerfully volunteer every good thing He has so mercifully allowed us to have –- things we often take for granted -- our time, our energy, our abilities, our talents, our homes, our cars, our families –- all that we have – all that He has cheerfully given to us! Brothers & Sisters, let's make a point to volunteer some of these things to the Lord this week. Let’s begin to bless the Lord and those around us! IT'S TIME TO VOLUNTEER!

"And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone."Matthew 14:23

There were times that Jesus separated himself from the multitudes -- and there are times when we need to separate ourselves from our lives and ministry, and spend some time with our Lord. I love how Jesus climbed a mountain. It made me think of an interesting analogy. Picture the shape of a mountain. It starts out wide at the bottom -- the higher we climb, the narrower it becomes -- and the more we must stay close to the center. As we go even higher yet, there's less room to move to the left or the right -- and there's less and less ground that can be compromised -- the more focused we need to be and the less we can afford to be distracted. The higher we go, the less room we have to fool around! Whatever you may be dealing with, you may just need to separate yourself and climb up to spend time with the Lord -- get centered on Him and focused on what He's calling you to. Brothers & Sisters, God wants us to learn to climb to the top and focus all of our lives on His will! Let's take out some time this weekend to try it! COME, LET US GO TO THE MOUNTAIN OF THE LORD!

"You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier."2 Timothy 2:3-4

In Hebrew, the word for hardness is “kosher”. Interestingly enough, the word "kosher" also means "fitness", as from a workout in the gym. Yes -- it's a workout to serve the Lord in this world -- but God has called us to it! These days, many people are working out intensely to beautify and strengthen their bodies. A lot of them are obsessed with appearance and youthfulness. It has virtually become a religion to be beautiful and/or "ripped", and people are willing to make serious sacrifices for the sake of their bodily condition. Believers are called to a different kind of "workout" which can be equally or even more intense. Our "obsession" isn't with our bodies, but with our spirit. It is easy and "natural" to become caught up in the affairs of this life, even to adopt the worldly obsession with physical appearance. Yet our "workout" calls us to minimize the attention we give to worldly affairs, and to endure the hardness of spiritual warfare and service. Are we aware of the reality of the eternal life which belongs to us, and of ALL its implications? Our life in this world is incredibly short, yet filled with tremendous opportunity for the Lord and our place in the world to come. If we want to please Him, (and we ought to think about why we would), we will make the most of our time, and work out with the greatest spiritual energy possible. That will involve saying no to worldly priorities and concentrating on spiritual ones. Brothers & Sisters, if we have been chosen to be soldiers for God’s great army this is no small thing! We will increasingly disentangle ourselves from prioritizing worldly pursuits, and be seeking first the things of the Kingdom of Heaven. When we do that we have two promises: earthly provision for all of our needs [Matthew 6:23], and treasure in Heaven [Luke 18:22]. Let's get free from the cares of this life and get focused on eternal blessings! GET ON YOUR SWEAT PANTS!

"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us."Romans 8:37 ; "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place."2 Corinthians 2:14

There is an old Indian fable which tells of a mouse who was in constant distress because of its fear of cats. A magician took pity on it and turned it into a cat so it would have no more fear. Now, as a cat, it was in fear of dogs. So the magician turned it into a dog. Now, as a dog it was stressed out in fear of tigers. Then the magician turned the dog into a tiger. Now, as a tiger it was shaking in fear of hunters. The magician finally said to the tiger, "Be a mouse again. You only have the heart of a mouse and I cannot help you." Brothers & Sisters, your problem is not your lack of capacity, resources, or strength....it is the condition of your heart and the attitude of your mind and soul. Through Messiah you are a conqueror and can walk in triumph over any circumstance revealing Him in the process. Never allow your problems to define your heart attitude or crush your spirit. Whether you are a mouse, a tiger, or a man, through Messiah your victory is assured as His aroma blossoms. YOU ARE A CONQUEROR!