When I was a kid growing up in the Midwest, we played a lot of sports, but soccer sure wasn’t one of them.

Then, one day, some young soccer star from out of the country appeared on one of the talk shows. And let me tell you something, I might have learned to shoot baskets in school, I might have learned to hit a ball with a bat, and I sure as shooting learned to duck from those games of dodge ball, but when I saw this soccer star doing what he was able to do using only his feet, well, it was miraculous.

You might not be aware of it, but the Torah talks about soccer, at least, sort of.

After all, do any of you remember the name of the man who brought soccer to America? That’s right, his name was Pele. The name Pele in Hebrew is Peli, or Peles, and means, “miracle.” And as we read about the rebellion against Moses that was led by Korach, we find the name of O’ne Ben Peles. Hmmm, could that have been who soccer legend Pele was named after?

O’ne Ben Peles is mentioned right along with Korach and Dasan, and Aviram. And, at the end of this horrific rebellion, Korach dies, Dasan dies, and Aviram dies. But O’ne son of Peles does not get consumed. How is it that the son of Peles survives when the others do not? Well, according to the Talmud, a good wife can literally be the difference between life and death.

You see, Korach’s wife kept hocking him a chinick, she kept pushing him with lines that in our modern day might go like this, “Why are you such a bum? Where is your ambition? Why aren’t you doing more to be in a higher position with higher pay, and more power? I would have been much better off if I had married Moses instead of you. You are nothing but a little grasshopper.”

But, O’ne Ben Peles’ wife does not make her husband feel small. She does not belittle him. She softly advises him, letting him know that if he continues to be involved in the Rebellion, he will gain nothing, because if Moses wins, Moses will be the leader, and, if Korach wins, Korach will be the leader. But, either way, you will not be the leader. You will be O’ne Ben Peles and I happen to love O’ne Ben Peles just as you are.

Korach probably had times that he had to listen to his wife kvetch and didn’t like it. But O’ne Ben Peles’ wife had a good goal in mind and she kept her eye on the ball and on her husband as well.

In the Talmud (Baba Metziah 59 b), we read, “Thy wife is short, so bend down and consult her.” O’ne Ben Peles was wise enough not only to bend down to consult with his wife,’ he was wise enough to take her advice.

Around the time we light the Sabbath candles, a husband recites an ode to his wife called “A Woman of Valor” (an Eishes Chayil). Fire in Hebrew is Aish. Wife in Hebrew is Eesha. For they light a fire within us. A fire can be used to warm someone or to prepare nourishment. A fire can also burn and be destructive.

On this Independence Day, let’s celebrate safely and may all our fires be warm and nourishing like those of an Eishes Chayil.

Shalom, my friends, and a very joyous 4th of July.

Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is a member of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains and of the Association of Professional Chaplains, He works professionally in this capacity with a number of healthcare facilities in the area, and with hospice. He is the Spiritual Leader of Temple Beth Israel of Deerfield Beach.

“They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

[Revelation 7:16-17]

I am one of those weird people who loves hot weather.

I love it when the sand on the beach is so hot it burns the bottom of my bare feet. The easy fix is with an inexpensive pair of flip flops in order to trade a scorched Earth run for a leisurely stroll to refreshing ocean water. But who hasn’t seen and heard the inexperienced tourist’s barefoot run “Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch” with every rapid step? Remember, don’t laugh at the tourists!

Despite a thousand things to do in South Florida year-round, the pace slows in the summer. And it is easy for me to marginalize the heat. I don’t work outside. Those who do work outside understand that the famously inviting Florida sunshine can be oppressive, even dangerous, if not respected.

Several decades ago, God planted Community Presbyterian Church a few blocks south of Hillsboro Boulevard between the Intracoastal Waterway and the beach. It is a perfect gathering spot to “Meet to Beat the Heat” in more ways than one.

Several years ago, the church and Montessori school decided to open church grounds Saturdays at Six p.m. in the heat of summer. This summer’s gatherings will be held the fourth Saturday of each month, the first being Saturday, June 28.

What to expect when you come? First of all, Meet to Beat the Heat is free, just like God’s grace and love. Even more important, Meet to Beat the Heat is wholesome fun. Face painting for children, great food, sodas and snow cones, music inside and out, even a short funny but meaningful video program with prizes for seniors all ensure an enjoyable outing. And to be certain we Meet to Beat the Heat, especially for the seniors, the video program is inside, where the air is cool.

Another feature of every Meet to Beat the Heat is to highlight community nonprofits and public health and safety services. Police officers, firefighters and the Bloodmobile are regulars. We’re thrilled this year to have Milo’s Dog Rescue committed to bring pets for adoption at each of our Meet to Beat the Heat gatherings. We are also looking forward to demonstrations this year by Grupo Capoeira Revelacao.

So come a bit early or stay late for a walk on the beach. There is no danger of burning your feet. And if, by chance, you need a prayer or a new friend to care, then this is the place for you. You may even become one of those weird people who love hot weather.

Reverend Dennis Andrews

Reverend Andrews is a minister at Community Presbyterian Church of Deerfield Beach (Steeple on the Beach) located five blocks south of Hillsboro on A1A.

I was at one particular health center recently where the lift was broken. For those of you who may be unaware, a lift is another name for an elevator. There happened to be a group of students in the building getting a little real life experience as they hoped to work in healthcare in the future, and they, like everyone else, had to wait for the lift to come.

After what seemed like forever, it finally arrived and, after those who were coming down got off, several of the students started to get on the lift. The only problem was that there were four people in wheelchairs who were residents of the facility who were also waiting to get on and go up to their various floors, and not only did the students not help them get on, but the students filed into the elevator so quickly that there was no room for the patients in the wheelchairs. I had to say something and I did as I called out, “My dear students, our job here is not to lift ourselves up. Our job is to lift others.”

We hear so much about those who pull others down that I thought it would be uplifting to hear a true story of brothers who literally and figuratively lift each other up. Hunter Gandee is only 14 years of age. He is not a huge lad, but he is a big brother. And I think maybe he is the kind of big brother that all of us would like to have or to be.

You see, Hunter has a 7-year-old kid brother named Braden and Braden has a G-d awful time lifting himself up. In fact, he has trouble controlling even the simplest of movements as he suffers from Cerebral Palsy. So how does this little one get around? Well, his favorite mode of transportation is his brother’s back as, since he was a toddler, his big brother Hunter would lift him piggy back style and take him wherever he wanted to go.

Hunter happens to be on his school’s wrestling team. In fact, he is the captain of the team and he is also the president of his junior high’s student council. While he wants to have the ref at each of his matches lift his arm up in victory, he also wants to make sure to lift his brother up and make him victorious.

And while Hunter is busy lifting up his little brother, don’t think that it is a one -way street. Hunter will be the first to tell you that when he is in the midst of one of his wrestling matches, his kid brother Bradon is always in the front row, and just knowing that he is there, rooting him on, lifts him up and gives him that extra boost. So there you are two brothers who lift each other up as one wrestles on the mat and the other wrestles with Cerebral Palsy.

We all wrestle with something. May we have the good sense to learn from these two most loving of brothers; may we lift each other up and, as we do, may we realize that in so doing, we also are lifted ever higher.

Shalom my friends,

Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is a member of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains and of the Association of Professional Chaplains, He works professionally in this capacity with a number of healthcare facilities in the area, and with hospice. He is the Spiritual Leader of Temple Beth Israel of Deerfield Beach.

About a month before Shavuot began, a Director of Therapeutic Recreation, wanting to make the festival special for the Jewish residence, asked me what things she should get for the holiday. In fact, she went further than that. We have been working together for some time now, and she said that she knew that, on Passover, we have a Seder. She knew that, on Chanukah, we have the Menorah. She knew that, on Rosh Hashana, we blow the Shofar. She knew that, on Sukkoth, we build a hut or booth. And then, she admitted to me that, for the life of her, she couldn’t remember what we do for Shavuot.

Many of you might be in the same boat as she was. Many of you might not remember what we have for Shavuot, and there is a good reason for that. There are no distinctive things like that for Shavuot.

So, of course, we switched to looking at special foods for the festival. She knew that Chanukah was a time for latkes or jelly donuts. She knew that Passover was a time for Matzah. She knew that Rosh Hashana was a time for apples and honey. And she knew that Yom Kippur was a time of fasting. But again, what about Shavuot?

And, come to think of it, why do we have this food or that food for the various holidays?

The latkes and jelly donuts that are eaten on Chanukah are fried in oil, thus reminding us of the miracle of the oil. The matza on Passover reminds us of how, in our haste to leave Egypt, we did not have time to wait for the bread to rise so we ate the unleavened bread. The apples and honey eaten on the New Year are a way of wishing one another a very fruitful and a sweet year ahead.

So what do we eat on Shavuot? On Shavuot, we traditionally eat dairy foods and, of all of them, there is one particular one that stands out. I am referring to a delectable little thing filled with “yumminess” (yes, I made up the word)… a blintz.

A blintz is a little crepe-like edible filled with cheese. (And for those of you who are lactose intolerant, you can now get them filled with Tofu). Oddly enough, if you take two blintzes and put them side by side, they take on the shape of the Torah, and Shavuot happens to be the time in which we celebrate the giving of the Torah.

The Rabbis have long asked those under their tutelage why we say the “giving” of the Torah, instead of the “acceptance” or the “receiving” of the Torah. And one of the answers given is that on each and every given day of our lives, at each and every moment, we have to decide if we accept the yoke of the Torah into our lives or not. I think that is why I like the term “receiving” of the Torah. So many times I have been asked, “Did you receive my message?”

Getting the message is important. Hearing the message is important. Reading the message is important. But in the end, after all is said and done, it is in the doing that we bring the Torah to life; and as they sang so beautifully in Fiddler on the Roof; “L’Chaim, L’Chaim, To Life!”

Shalom my friends, Chag Sameach,

Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is a member of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains and of the Association of Professional Chaplains, He works professionally in this capacity with a number of healthcare facilities in the area, and with hospice. He is the Spiritual Leader of Temple Beth Israel of Deerfield Beach.

Paul was in Athens the first century after the resurrection. Athens was a center of Greek philosophy at the time. Men like Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, philosophers from days gone by, had an enduring legacy. There were massive buildings and a population of several hundred thousand people. The culture valued human reason and intellectual reflection. I imagine intellects milling around like C-Span junkies in the courtyards in search of debates. I also imagine Starbucks on every corner …

Enter this little unsophisticated man named Paul with his ragged clothes. He walked alone unnoticed in the midst of stoics, philosophers and poets. He must have felt out-of-place, but he had world changing news to share.

The Book of Acts tells us how:

22Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. 23 For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. 26 From one ancestor, he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, 27 so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him – though, indeed, he is not far from each one of us. 28 For ‘In him we live and move and have our being;’ as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we too are his offspring.”

[Acts 17: 22 – 28]

Paul offers us a clinic on how not to be intimidated.

Some people are naturally more easily intimidated than others. We don’t exactly have equal doses of confidence. Some folks camouflage their feelings better than others too. My wife recently met with her doctoral committee to discuss her dissertation research. The purpose of the meeting was to establish the parameters of her research. Her research had to be approved in advance by people who have done this before who, by the way, are the same people who will approve it or disapprove it when the research is finished. Her situation was intimidating!

We’ve all been intimidated at one time or another, but should followers of Christ be intimidated? The short answer is “No.”

Paul offers a great character portrait of “If God be for us, then who can stand against us?”

Paul looks at his surroundings and gathers the confidence that comes with knowing who he is and whose he is; and he receives the assurance that comes with finding his purpose in Christ.

We can read the story about Paul in Athens and marvel at what Paul did and think, “Wow. I could never do that.” But Paul’s message is not really about preaching in Athens. Paul’s message is about Christ’s followers overcoming intimidating situations living out our faith wherever we are because we have world-changing news to share.

Join us for worship this Sunday at 10 a.m. at Community Presbyterian Church of Deerfield Beach (Steeple on the Beach), located five blocks south of Hillsboro on AIA.

Our worship focus is “Do Not Be Intimidated” based on Acts 17.

Summer is a time for stepping back from the business of daily schedules and routines; a time for relaxing and rendezvousing with family and friends. But while the hot, hazy days have a way of lulling us into a lazy summer daze, this time of year shouldn’t be all play. If we will choose to be intentional, summer is also the perfect time to reconnect with God and grow spiritually.

The break from the daily grind that this time of year gives us opens the space we sometimes need to refocus our mind and energy on God. You and I can capitalize on summer’s more relaxed atmosphere to make sure we are taking some of the practical steps that will grow faith year-round:

Read Your Bible – Looking for some summer reading? Why not start with the Bible? If you’ve never read much of the Bible, you may be surprised by just how entertaining it is. There’s plenty of drama and intrigue to keep you engaged during your days on the beach. The gospel of Mark is a good place to start. From there, read the rest of the gospels, Proverbs and Paul’s letters to the early church. You’ll find lots to chew on.

Talk to God – The relaxed pace of summer will likely give you more wiggle room in your morning routine. Why not take advantage of this time to start a morning habit of spending a few minutes in prayer. Start your day by thanking God for who He is and all the ways He has blessed your life. Thank Him for all of the good things that are unique to this time of year. Ask Him to draw close to you and direct your summer days.

Spend Time with Other Believers – If church is something that seems to get crowded out of your schedule other times of the year, decide to use the summer to get into the habit of attending regularly. If you do, I bet you won’t want to stop when the fall rolls around. That weekly hour of worship will become something you look forward to.

Don’t spend your summer days in a summer daze. Just like every year, the next three months of fun and sun will be here and then over before you know it. You can choose to drift through these days and get to the fall in no better spiritual condition than you are now, or you can choose to be intentional about using the summer to grow your relationship with God; to do a few simple things that will ensure you are enjoying deeper fellowship with Him when the weather begins to cool down and new routines begin to ramp up.

Let me invite you to start a summer of spiritual growth by attending The Journey’s kick off of God On Film happens June 1. In this engaging series, we’ll be discovering the hidden meaning behind some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters. Every first-time guest who attends on June 1 will receive a FREE Cinemark movie ticket. Plus, you’ll receive my latest devotional book, Unshakable. More great summer reading! Hope to see you there!

Nelson Searcy is the lead pastor of The Journey Church in Boca Raton. The 2.5-year-old church meets at Boca Raton Community High School (I-95 and Glades Rd.) each Sunday at 10:30 a.m. For more, visit www.bocajourney.com. Searcy is the author of 11 books and served for 10 years as a pastor in New York City before moving to South Florida. Each person who visits The Journey Church this summer will receive a FREE copy of his latest book Unshakable: Standing Strong When Things Go Wrong, on which this article is based.

By Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

In ancient days during the Yom Kippur Service, the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest would have a moment when he would hold up a scarlet red thread. This red thread represented the sins of the people and when the thread was held up, it would be a way of expressing that the sins of the people were forgiven and that they were as white as snow.

But why would red represent sin? Many of us can remember the story of the Scarlett Letter, where a woman convicted of adultery had to wear a bright red scarlet letter “A” on her chest. I have often wondered why that would be her punishment. After all, wouldn’t that have made many of the menfolk back in her day stare at her chest and wouldn’t that tend to lead them to lust? We talk about the color red for anger as we have the expression, “I was so mad, I was seeing red.”

In “The Color Song”, written by Patricia Shih, we learn that red is “The color of the climbing rose and tomatoes.” We learn that red is “The color of chickenpox and a bloody nose and angry words.” And, while it’s not in the song, red can also be the color of a delicious apple and, if you read the story of Adam and Eve in most English versions of the Bible, then you have been taught to associate red with sin via an apple.

And yet, red is also the color that we see on a stoplight or on a stop sign. Now, it’s no secret that many people behind the wheel of a car down here in Sunny South Florida don’t observe the rules of the road and they fail to stop at a red light, I think the idea of the color red being used as a sign that we should stop is a wonderful thing.

Red also happens to be the color we turn when we feel embarrassed. I have long been a fan of watching shows along the ilk of Judge Judy and I have noticed something. Next time you watch, check it out. You see, people don’t just get red with anger. When someone listens closely to the judge and is scolded for what they failed to realize they had done wrong, some turn red, not in anger, but red with embarrassment.

Okay, maybe not many, but some. And let me tell you something, those who turn red with embarrassment realize that they have done wrong, they are the ones who have a good chance of stopping themselves before making the same mistake again. But those who don’t turn red, well, sadly, there is a good likelihood that they will never admit their mistakes and, therefore, they will see no reason to stop themselves from doing the very same thing in the future.

So look around at all the beautiful colors that G-d has put on this earth and the next time you see the color red, let it remind you to stop and think before you do something that will cause you embarrassment.

Shalom my friends,

Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is the spiritual leader of Temple Beth Israel of Deerfield Beach. We welcome you to join our warm and caring family for Shabbat and festival services. We’ll make your heart glow…who knows, you might even fall in love with Shul all over again.

You know how you feel after a big awesome meal? That’s right, you feel like doing nothing because you are so full that all you want to do is sit and rest. Sometimes, in the same way, around Easter, we try to fill up on God so we have enough to last until Christmas. We try to squeeze it all in over one weekend and leave full and sleepy.

Hebrews 6:10

10 For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do.

NLT

God will not forget about you, so I would encourage you not to forget about Him. Easter just passed and we tend to think more about God during this holiday than we may at other holidays. We think about what God and His son Jesus did for us and it makes us feel good and we even get excited as we are celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. Maybe you do not know God the way you would like to or maybe you do not understand some things about God, religion or Christians in general. I would encourage you to continue to get to know God a little better this year. I know that sometimes, after a holiday or a big event, we just want to sit down, rest, and take a nap because it is over and we want to get ready for whatever is coming next. Do not get tired or weary in getting to church or even spending a little time with God every day. You can make an effort to continue to go to church and that will give you a great opportunity to get to know God a little better. You may even find out things about God that you did not know before. You can also take a few minutes each day and just talk to God. Just start to have conversations with God and you will be amazed at what you start talking to Him about. It all starts with one church service or with one minute spent talking to God. I think the key word here would be to start. You cannot walk a mile without taking the first step.

Galatians 6:9

9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.

NLT

Do not be satisfied with a little bit of God here and there. God is not a magic eight ball that we take out only when we need it and shake it and ask it questions about our lives. God wants to have a relationship with us. My wife loves me, but if I only talked to her when there was an emergency or crisis, then my relationship with her would deteriorate and be ruined. Since God loves us, then we need to communicate with Him so our relationship grows and gets better. Do not get tired of God or church; make an effort to get to know Him more this year.

Tony Guadagnino is the pastor at Christian Love Fellowship Church, 801 SE 10 St., Deerfield Beach, FL, 33441.www.CLFministries.org

There is a time for everything under the heavens, a time to be born and a time to die … a time to open your mouth and a time to keep it shut! May 5th is Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day, a day of tears and remembrance. The very next day, the 6th, is Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel Independence Day, a day of joy and merriment. Such is the way of the world. We have times that we are lost in grief and we have times that we are feeling high as a kite. Yet, there are people who seldom, if ever, have a chance to look on what Brian of Monty Python fame would call “The Sunny Side of Life.”

Have you ever brought a smile to someone’s face? It feels pretty good, doesn’t it?

Have you ever gotten someone to laugh so hard they were rolling in the aisles? It feels great, doesn’t it? Now, let me ask another question — have you ever hurt someone? Have you ever made someone cry? Doesn’t feel so good, does it?

And yet, without thinking, we, arguably the most intelligent beings on the planet, have an incredible habit of causing pain to others. One particular example got me in the midst of the Passover Holiday. An elderly woman I know was rushed to the hospital. As her friends and neighbors found out that she was having health difficulties, they began calling her. One took care of her beloved poodle, another took care of her mail, another came to visit her each day. Everyone was helping the hospitalized woman, putting her mind at ease and, even in the midst of her pain, she couldn’t help but smile at how her friends were rallying around her.

But then her friends began to question why the woman’s sister, who lived in the area, was not doing anything to help. They began gossiping about the sister, and it went from bad to worse. They were saying how cold she is, how she must not care about her sister at all. And, before long, one of them just had to say something to the hospitalized woman and it wasn’t pretty.

Well, there are phones in the hospital, but the woman was not up to using one just yet. So she lay there in that bed fuming. She got angrier and angrier at her sister. Then, the day came when she was able to make a call and she got no answer. Want to know why? It seems her sister had been rushed to the hospital the very same day and was going through her own medical crisis, and her friends were wondering why her sister wasn’t there to help her.

So, did all these well-meaning friends help the situation or hurt it? How much better would it have been if they simply concentrated on what they were able to do to help instead of deciding what someone else should or shouldn’t be doing? As the Talmud teaches us, “People eat and drink together, yet pierce each other with the sword of their tongues.” (Yomah, 9b)

When I was a young boy, I came home from school and saw the ugliest thing I had ever seen on my Momma’s kitchen sink. It was a huge cow’s tongue. I couldn’t believe that something that tasted so delicious could possibly be so gross. I guess it was that day that I learned that the tongue can be sweet as sugar or it can be gross as can be. It all depends on what we do with it.

Shalom, my friends,

Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is the spiritual leader of Temple Beth Israel of Deerfield Beach. We welcome you to join our warm and caring family for Shabbat and festival services. We’ll make your heart glow…who knows, you might even fall in love with Shul all over again.

It is hard to imagine what that first Easter morning was really like, how remarkable, how stunning but we do know fear was pervasive. There is certainly no desire to revisit the brutality that led up to the resurrection. And, we cannot produce a great earthquake or angelic bolts of lightning.

Fear of God refers to reverence for God which is a good thing. Fear can prevent us from doing things that are harmful. We know God can use fear for good purpose. It’s no accident the men guarding the tomb were incapacitated by fear.

In the early hours of Easter morning, fear persists not only among those who love Jesus but also among those who do not.

Remember, even after being told by the angel of the Lord, “Don’t be afraid,” the women, each named Mary, left with fear and joy. They were still quivering, which is mild compared to the men guarding the tomb. They were so frightened they fainted …

Fear is a natural response to a great earthquake and bolts of lightning, but fear among those who loved Jesus was widespread not only because of what happened that day. It was all the things they cumulatively experienced. It was everything they brought to the moment.

The same can be true for me and you …

Fear is not something we can touch to feel. In most cases, at least in moderation, fear is subtle and stealthy. You cannot taste it or smell it, you cannot see it or hear it, but fear is real.

Does fear have a prevalent place in your life today? I hope not, but we all live with a little fear don’t we? What do you fear today? What is it that gets in the way, prevents you from loving and worshipping, and serving the Lord and living life to the fullest?

Whatever it is, whatever you fear — poor physical health, a financial challenge, a relationship that’s on the rocks, what the future holds for a child or a grandchild, a parent or grandparent, a friend — put your fear in the context of the resurrection, put it in the context of what Jesus accomplishes through the resurrection and your fear will assuredly disappear …

The 28th chapter of Matthew’s gospel tells us the first message Jesus speaks after the resurrection is “Do not be afraid.” This is a message that transcends time and place and resonates through centuries of human existence.

“Have no fear!”

Immediately after the resurrection, Jesus is speaking to his followers. They are reeling from what’s happened and he knows it. Have we ever been reeling? They are overwhelmed and confused. Have we ever been overwhelmed and confused? They are frightened. Have we ever been frightened? Of course we have …

Jesus says, have “No Fear! I am alive. I am here and through your faith in me you are free for eternity.”

Yes, Jesus speaks to the fear that saturates the first Easter like a heavy mist in the air, but he also speaks to the fear that saturates the landscape of our lives today. Recognize fear is part of the landscape of life. God recognizes it. God sees it. God knows it and Jesus is the answer to it …

Christ’s first message on Easter morning is everlasting. Accept him into your heart. Celebrate Easter every day of the year and live with no fear!

Dennis Andrews is a minister at Community Presbyterian Church of Deerfield Beach (Steeple on the Beach), located five blocks south of Hillsboro on A1A. See more at www.communitych.org or on Facebook. Worship gatherings are Sunday morning at 8:30 and 11 a.m.