STP Devotional for the Week of 1/13/25
Lion of Judah is an incredible name for our savior that symbolizes Jesus’ strength, royal lineage, and His fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. It identifies Him as the triumphant Messiah and conquering Lion. As you might imagine, I’ve found some interesting facts about lions to go along with our devotion today.

Lions live in a pride. The pride relies upon the strength and leadership of the dominant lion. The Bible calls upon us to depend upon the leadership, protection and security of Jesus for our salvation and our future. We are called the “body of Christ,” so we are part of His pride.
For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Romans 10:13
Another thing the pride does is to work together to accomplish a goal. God calls us to support one another in the Christian community. Jesus encourages us to look out for one another and serve each other well.
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 22:36-39
At STP, we all need to work together to produce a show. If one person goes their own way, it will change the show. It takes over 80 volunteers in addition to the cast and crew to get a show together, from the costumers to the spotlight operators to the ticket takers at the front door. If we don’t work together with love and compassion towards each other, the ministry suffers.
Here’s another fun fact – lions have amazing vision – their eyes are 6x more sensitive to light than humans, making their night vision far better than some of their prey. Jesus also has great vision – He can see into our souls, He knows what our heart feels, and He knows our deepest desires. Nothing ever surprises Him.
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Hebrews 4:12-13
Lions are loud! A lion’s roar can be heard 5 miles away. At 114 decibels, their roar can rival the sound of thunder or a jet plane taking off. It is their way of establishing territory, maintaining contact across miles, or asking for help. Lions are the only cats that roar together. That’s the way our community is! When we put on a show, we roar together. When we are sharing the gospel with the world, we roar together. The Bible states that Jesus proclaimed the gospel. This doesn’t mean He whispered it – He roared! We must never be ashamed to proclaim the truth about Jesus – we need to ROAR!
And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. Mark 13:10
Finally, the name “Lion of Judah” appears in both Genesis and Revelation, the first and last books of the Bible. How appropriate that God bookends His Word with His Son. The first mention is in Genesis 49 when Jacob blesses his sons and demonstrates the family line from Judah to Jesus.
Judah is a lion's cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? Genesis 49:9
In Revelation, John is weeping that no one can open the scroll with seven seals. However, his sadness turns to joy. The Old Testament promised a Messiah who would come from the line of Judah, and Revelation specifies how Jesus will do this.
And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” Revelation 5:5
Jesus is our Lion. With Him, we can face life’s challenges with strength and confidence. Jesus has already won the battle over sin and death, and we can call upon His strength to overcome any struggle or difficulty.
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