Word of Encouragement from Pastor Eugene Thursday, November 12, 2020

From time to time my wife and I share with each other something new or a new insight that we may have received from our daily reading or Bible study.  This week she shared with me a picture of Jesus as both a lion and a lamb while doing His ministry hear on earth.  We know that the scriptures describe Jesus as the ‘Lion of Judah’ and the ‘Lamb of God’.  While we generally think of Jesus as behaving as a lamb, she revealed that there were times that He behaved as a lion.  Specifically, she spoke about the time that Jesus cleared the temple of the money changers—He said because they had made it a den of thieves and not a house of prayer.  She then said that means that when we see an injustice being done, we can rise up and fight against it.  We do not have to cower down or roll over and just take it.
Ever since she shared that with me, I have been thinking about what she said.  I thought about the times that Jesus faced the religious leaders and spoke directly to them with the boldness of a lion.  Yet, He was gentle and meek with the those who were down and out—those who definitely needed and wanted to hear the good news of the Gospel.  When the time came, He humbled Himself as the Lamb of God and became the sacrifice for out sins.  But He did not stay in the grave.  He rose again declaring victory over death, hell, and the grave.  Wow! What a glorious result and what a wonderful hope we have because of who He is!
Jesus said that we were to be the light of the world.  Think about a candle that would be lit in the broad daylight—how unnoticeable it would be.  But when darkness comes and it is the only light—it would stand out boldly.  I believe the time is here for each of us to be a candle in the darkness.  Believers have always been candles in the darkness—but we seem to be in a season when the darkness seems to be increasing.  I would like to encourage each believer to stand up boldly as a lion.  Let the light of Jesus Christ shine through you and light up the darkness around you.  Be encouraged and lifted up!
Pastor Eugene