While many around the world are apathetic and lack understanding about the times in which we live, we as believers should realize these are merely signs of the times and have a sense of urgency to be about the Lord’s business.
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Last night, we concluded the feast of Yom Kippur where Jews throughout the world โafflictedโ their souls. However, most kids in Israel look at Yom Kippur as โride your bikes in the streets day!โย You see, Yom Kippur in Israel is the one day when TV and radio stations are completely shut down and the streets are almost completely void of vehicles of any kind. Ironically, some of the only fully operational locations in Israel on Yom Kippur are the hospital emergency rooms โ since kids who finally have no restraints on their bikes, skateboards, and roller skates tend to take risks they wouldn’t normally take โ it’s Yom Kippur โ they have the streets to themselves!
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The word “Amen” (ืึธืึตื) properly pronounced in Hebrew “ah-mehn”, means “so be it” or “may it be so”, and also, “Yes, it is true!” Some scholars suggest a connection with the Hebrew word for truth, “emet” (ืึถืึถืช), because of the two similar root letters, “aleph”(ื) and “mem” (ื). Truth ought to be confirmed. At the end of a prayer, saying “Amen” expresses the desire to affirm and confirm what was requested or proclaimed. Leha’ameen, (ืืืืืื) means “to believe, trust or confide in”, and all variations of this root (ืืื) relate to “emunah” (ืืืื ื): faith, belief, or faithfulness!
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The Bible seems virtually redundant on the theme of courage. More than 125 exhortations for God’s people facing overwhelming trials and dilemmas, resound against fear, notwithstanding how natural that response may seem. Courage based on faith is the universal attitude for saints in all situations. Our omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (all-knowing), and omnipresent (everywhere) Father says, and repeats, “Fear not! Be of good courage! Be strong and courageous!”
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Some experts believe that acute stress can provoke changes in the heart that may lead to death. In one study, fifteen cases were identified in which people died after a physical assault, even though the injuries alone were not enough to kill them. Eleven of the fifteen showed a type of heart-cell death, similar to a reaction in experimental animals that feel helpless to anticipate or avoid danger.
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Numerous modern critics of the Bible say the resurrection of Yeshua (Jesus) is simply a myth based on pagan stories of “resurrected gods” from around the world, and that the authors of the New Testament borrowed from these myths and incorporated them into the Bible. But the similarity of two stories proves nothing about their origin or truth content. The Jews of Yeshua’s time were steeped in Old Testament monotheism which had a well developed tradition of resurrection believed and taught by the Pharisees. Polytheistic pagan ideas would have been abhorrent to men who understood and practiced the Judaism of the apostles and New Testament writers.
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As we continue our study of the men who followed David, another characteristic was their ability to war.They learned how to battle with both the right hand and the left hand for hurling stones. If you have ever thrown a ball, you know that you can aim effectively with your dominant hand — but try it with the opposite hand — it’s far more difficult to throw accurately. ย But the men that followed David learned to throw with both arms effectively! ย It must have taken months of training to develop such skill.
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