July 31 - Jeremiah 5:20-6:30 | 2 Kings 22:3-20 | 2 Chronicles 34:8-28

Good morning everyone,

This morning we begin with Jeremiah spreading some pret-ty harsh words to the people of Judah. You can see now why Jeremiah was so sorrowful, weeping as we’ve learned, over what he had to say to them and too, why they were so angry to hear it. God asked them in 5:21 (paraphrasing) “Hey! Are you guys nuts or what? You’ve heard about me and seen what I can do. Why aren’t you afraid of me?” Then in 5:22 we see how God points to His creation as evidence to His great and mighty power. Oh my word, friends, what a mighty God we have! Sometimes I think we don’t stop and think about it, take time to appreciate what a great and wonderful God we serve! Seriously! We are often guilty of limiting Him to what we, mere mortals, can do and that is crazy laughable! In Jeremiah 32:27 we’re told, "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?” I have got to say “NO!” to that. You?

We also resumed the story of King Josiah, today, where you’ll remember this kid of a king who was a good king, the last good king Judah will see, was on a mission to rid the land of idol worship. It was his purpose to honor God and set his sights on seeing a revival in the land, whether the people wanted it or not. First, though, (and this is such a mind’s eye story for me … just sayn’) the temple needed some repair work done, so the Levites collected some monies and began the restoration. It was during this restoration when a long lost copy of the Book of the Law, that had obviously escaped destruction from the reins of Manasseh and Amon, was found amongst the ruins. I can only imagine how excited Josiah was to get word of the find, how eager he must have been to hear THE Words, God’s Word, and then ….. then, after Shaphan the secretary read to him what the Word said, how possibly confused and certainly angry he was when he realized just how far the nation had wandered off the plumb-line. Just how much God’s children had strayed from the heart of their Abba. 

Josiah then sent Hilkiah, the priest, and company to speak to the prophet Huldah to get some word, some insight, some meaning to what they’d just learned. Sadly, she confirmed the imminent disaster that would besiege Judah and and it’s people, according to everything written in the book the king of Judah had read. Because of his humble submissiveness to the Lord, Josiah would not to have to bear witness to God’s angry wrath, however, imagine how heavy the good king’s heart must have been knowing what the future held in store for his kingdom, for a people he loved; but you know what? Josiah, even in the face of this tragic news did not quit bringing about reforms in the country. He kept right on doing what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord, like Jeremiah, preaching to an already doomed nation. Seriously folks, you have got to love this kids integrity.

In John 15:10-11 Jesus said, “If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” And who does not want complete joy? Amen?

Have a good day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …..

July 30 - Jeremiah 2:23-5:19

Good morning everyone,

Jeremiah, one of the major prophets, lived in the final days of the crumbling nation of Judah. Jeremiah is traditionally credited for penning the books of 1 Kings, 2 Kings, Lamentations and of course Jeremiah. He was only seventeen years old when God called him into ministry, asking him to prophesy to a dying nation during the rein of Josiah. Jeremiah was known as “the weeping” prophet, he was brokenhearted for his fellow countrymen, often crying tears of sadness. Why? Because even though Jeremiah pleaded for the people to return to God’s way and “walk in the old paths” of God’s law, he knew he was  speaking to a doomed nation that had already become so hardened by the numbing effects of sin that they no longer believed God, nor did they fear Him. Judah’s judgement had already taken place, her ticket punched and consequence of choice put into motion.

Jeremiah had no choice but to tell the truth, and while he was not always enthusiastic about what God had called him to do, he did speak with boldness and not afraid of those who really didn’t want to hear it and would threaten him. Jeremiah would not see even one convert in his forty years of reaching out to the lost people, instead he would be beaten, thrown in prison and shunned as a traitor for his obedience to God’s calling, though, having said that, Jeremiah’s message was not all negative, there was a positive side as well. He was called to build and to plant, that is to say put seeds in the soil with faith that there will be a crop followed by a harvest. Jeremiah’s life's work should serve to be an encouragement to many of us today who share the Gospel, who continue to spread God’s great truth only to have it fall on deaf ears and hardened hearts. Psalm 126:6 says, “He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.” Shouts of joy, that is awesome. Right? So, like Jeremiah we are to out there planting seeds for a future harvest, a reaping we may never see. The Lord doesn’t ask us to be successful, He asks us to be faithful. To keep on keepin’ on. Galatians 6:9 promises, “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Amen?

Have a good day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all ….

July 29 - 2 Kings 21:1-9 | 2 Chronicles 33:1-9 | 2 Kings 21:10-17 | 2 Chronicles 33:10-19 | 2 Kings 21:18 | 2 Chronicles 33:20 | 2 Kings 21:19-26 | 2 Chronicles 33:21-25 | 2 Kings 22:1-2 | 2 Chronicles 34:1-7 | Jeremiah 1:1-2:22

Good morning everyone,

Goodness, when looking at the top of the page, I hope you were not dissuaded by how long the list of today’s scripture reading appears. It was pretty simple reading, actually.

We began with Manasseh who took the throne at the age of twelve when his dad Hezekiah died, and this kid was a way wicked boy. Interesting note, just a little “did you know?”, though Manasseh was in the top two of wicked kings, jockeying for number one position with Ahab, his rein of fifty-five years is the longest rein of any of the kings. Crazy, right? We’re told he used the biggest part of his rule rebuilding the alters his dad had torn down. He erected an Asherah pole, worshipped the god Molek sacrificing his own son in the fire, practiced divination, sought omens, and consulted mediums, that he did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger. This guy had real issues and God was not pleased that Manasseh has led His people astray, so God used Assyria to bring them to their senses. Manasseh was bound in shackles and led away by a fish hook put through his nose. OUCH!! Right? But check this out, in Manasseh’s broken state he sought the Lord, he humbled himself and prayed to God. We’re told the Lord was moved by Manasseh’s submissive plea and reestablished him in his kingdom where Manasseh set to the task of,  once more, “cleaning up” the city ridding it of all idol related trash, then he restored the altar of the Lord and sacrificed fellowship offerings and thank offerings on it, and told Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel. (2 Chronicles 33:16).

Manasseh would die in good standing with the Lord and his, ever so wicked son, Amon would take the throne at the age of twenty-two and though he reined for just two years he did a whole lot of damage, not the least of which was building altars to all the starry hosts in the two courts of the temple. He must have been a really awful person as we’re told his officials conspired against him and assassinated him in his palace. Bummer! The super good news is his son Josiah, age eight, became king and this guy was one of the great kings. He would lead the country in another revival and they would see a time of peace and prosperity. 

Two things, I think, stand out in today’s reading is: 

1. Manasseh, though he was a wicked, evil, miserable man for most of his life, he finally had a softening of the heart and chose God. I could never be and you are not as wicked as Manasseh, as a matter-of-fact, I have not ever met anyone as wicked as we’re told Manasseh was and what did we read?? God heard him! God felt for him, and if God would hear Manasseh, God will hear us too! He loves us! Will we ever really get that??? We must just throw all of our experience, logic and the world’s ways out the window, run on faith and believe with all we are that God loves us and wants us in His kingdom. When we let Him into our hearts our life changes to something so incredibly beautiful. I love Him! Love, love, love Him!
2. Josiah, was a good kid then man. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord despite how wicked his dad and grandfather had been. We do not have to be a product of our  parents. We can choose to break away from bad lifestyles, bad habits, bad tempers, bad conduct, bad anything that was exhibited to us while we were growing up. Friends, the enemy would have you believe that is your lot in life, but it is not. Granted, it is not always easy to break the mold but it is more than possible.  2Corinthians 5:17 says, and you’ve heard it before, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here.” Do you hear that?New creation, the old me the old you is no more. Because why??? Philippians 4:13, “ We can do all this through him who gives us strength.” Right on!?

I think it’s important we remember that the Bible wasn’t written “to us” but “for us.” Psalm 36:5-6 says, “Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.  Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. O Lord, you preserve both man and beast.” God is so real, and really wants us to succeed in Him. He totally loves you “to the moon and back” and so much more. Amen?

Have a good day and to God be the glory!

God bless you all …..

July 28 - Isaiah 63:15-66:24 | 2 Kings 20:20-21 | 2 Chronicles 32:32-33

Good morning everyone,

Today we finish off the book of Isaiah. We have read about a whole lot of judgement and salvation and yet, well, let’s face it, there are still a whole lot of people on the face of this earth that just are not listening. In 65:2-3 it says, “All day long I have held out my hands
to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations—a people who continually provoke me to my very face.” Friends, the final curtain is closing,  soon, as I have talked about before every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord, then it will be too late to have a change in mind, your destination will already be determined.

Today though I want to take a look at a little further down in the chapter to verse 17 and forward, beginning with where it says, “See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.” Oh my word, that sounds so absolutely delicious to me. I was not raised in a Christian environment, and because when after I did accept the Lord into my heart I was at a place in my life where “works” were so  important to me, I was not humble and I did not totally trust in the Lord, I was a Pharisee. So it was, when tested, I found that my faith was built on shifting sand and I backslid. It was all for the good, it made me much stronger in the Lord but the point is, I made a lot of really awful choices that the enemy uses to beat me up with from time to time. Not only that but it makes my heart so sad to know that some people whom I totally love, refuse to see God for who He is. Ughh, they will get left behind. So I find it most comforting that when I get to heaven, when we get to heaven, we will have no recollection of those poor choices from our old life, or the heartbreak of the someones we know who didn’t accept Christ into their heart. Instead, we will be glad and rejoice forever.

What about this “forever”? Exactly what will we be doing in heaven? Certainly we will be super excited to renew acquaintances with loved ones and the “heroes of the faith”, (we each have someone from in the Bible we want to have a conversation with) who moved home before us, right? But how many years will be allowed for that? Eternity is …. well to infinity and beyond. There will most certainly be other things for us to do and don’t think for a moment it will be sitting on a cloud strumming a harp :-) In Genesis we learn that when God created Adam, he "took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it". Right? Work was part of the original Eden. It was part of a perfect human life. God Himself is a worker, He didn't create the world and then retire. In John 5:17 Jesus said, "My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I, too, am working". Me? I am totally a “multi-task” person so I am curious about what responsibility will be given me for of all of eternity? To my dismay, the Bible only reveals in Revelation 22 that, “we, His servants shall serve Him” in heaven and also that we who have been, Matthew 25:23 says, "faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things”. Curious …..

What kind of work will you do in heaven? Maybe you'll be a carpenter and build cabinets like Joseph and of course Jesus. Or maybe you’ll camp out on the celestial prairie and tend sheep with David, or fish with the Sons of Thunder, James and John. I might like to sew with Dorcas, write a song with Fanny Crosby or knit with Shannon and Jennifer. I don’t know, but what I do know is, in heaven, we'll embrace God's holiness and justice. God will be our source of joy and we will cry, “Holy, holy, holy”. The enemy and all of his vicious lies will not interfere with God's greatness or our joy in Him. And all God’s people said ……. Amen!

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all.

July 27 - Isaiah 58:1-63:14

Good morning everyone,

I love the way today’s reading starts off, “Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet.” What is he talking about? It sounds like praise and worship, right? Well, it’s not. God has instructed Isaiah to bring a message to the people telling them that it is not okay to go to the temple, to go through prayer, to make sacrifices and then resume their sinful behavior once they left to go home. No, no, God wanted them to mean it. He wanted them to feel a love and devotion for God in their hearts and to want to be there to worship, to have a “delighted to love you back” mentality instead of a “ugh, I have to go to church again” spirit, or worse yet a, “see I go to church and do all the right things” persona that was, in fact, an absolute lie. God really wanted, still does want, a devotion to Him and His prescribed way of life to be desired by us and adapted as a lifestyle. We read today that the Jews loved to learn, they were very good at it and they were not interested in obeying God. That sounds a lot like so many who live in the twenty first century, right? They talk the talk with such an in-depth understanding of the Bible, they may even teach it, but some of these very same folks were out drinking and carousing it up until all hours the night before, or perhaps let their eyes wander to inappropriate movies or internet, or their language is X-Rated or their morals are nonexistent, it could be any number of things. The point is, God is reprimanding these people for putting on a show of pomp and circumstance and not really having a relationship with God at all.

It was these same people, and again, people everywhere do the same today, who were wondering why their prayers were not being heard. Well, in Psalm 66:18 David said, “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.” So if, as Christians, we cherish, that is to say foster, sin in our hearts then the Lord will not hear our prayers. Isaiah 59:2 tells us, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.” Again, God hides himself from those who willfully practice sin. Need more convincing? Proverbs 1:28-29 says, “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they shall not find me, because they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord.” Meaning, anyone, Christians included, who would willfully choose sin, and not live according to God’s plan, God will not listen to them and their prayers will be, at best, delayed; however, having said that, there is one prayer God will always hear and that is one of a repentant heart praying for forgiveness. 1 John 1:9 promises, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Then check this out, 1 Peter 5:6 says, “So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and in his good time he will honor you.” Seriously?! Honor us? Yes indeed! In His time He will honor you and honor me. What a wonderfully loving God we have. Right on?

For years Abraham Lincoln was credited for saying, “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.” Well, our God sees all and knows all, ALL OF THE TIME, especially the heart. I would encourage you to have a heart for Jesus. Amen?

Have a wonderful day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …..

July 26 - Isaiah 52:13-57:21

Good morning everyone,

Oh! My! Word! What an amazing day of reading, especially if you are like me and are able to transfer the scripture into a full length movie in your head. I’m telling you, my mind’s eye was working overtime today seeing every little thing God was talking about through Isaiah. Loved it!!

We started off today with the end of chapter 52, and I don’t want it to get past us that verse 14 says, “his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness” speaking of Jesus, of course. Yesterday, I briefly mentioned how the scourging had left Him unrecognizable as a man. I think when we get to heaven we are going to be a little surprised by the appearance of Jesus. We all, (and by “all” I mean society, Hollywood, artists) have Jesus portrayed quite glamorously, usually very handsome, his features flawless, perfect physique (even buff sometimes), his clean, shiny, beautiful sun bleached locks, flowing over his shoulders. You know what I am talking about, right? In other parts of the world, with different cultures, the appearance would change somewhat but the idea would be the same. We, as humans, need to see Him that way. We have in our heads that, that is what a “King of Kings” should look like, but Revelation 5:6 tells us “Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain.” To slay, by definition, is to be killed in a violent way. I believe Jesus will carry the scars of the wounds He bore for us, for many reasons not least of all that we, when we get to heaven, should remember that there was a sacrifice made on our behalf, a price was paid. Right on?

There is so much to glean from the scripture we read today! Okay, 53:10, is an absolute testament to how much God loves us, how deep his commitment is to us, check it out, 53:10, “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief.” Are you kidding me? Do you think for one minute that God actually was happy to hurt (hurt? totally understated) His one and only Son? No way!! However, we’re told, it pleased the Father to slay the Son, just as it pleased the Son to submit to the Father and to what end ….. so that we could spend eternity in heaven if we choose. That would be like, Matt is always pleased to wash the car for me because He knows it makes me happy, but on steroids. Right? It was a huge display of selfless love. He loves us that much and more!! How is it possible that anyone could not appreciate that sacrifice or want to choose hell. I do not get that. Ahhh, Abba Father, open the eyes of the blind so that they may see the gift of your Son’s sacrifice and choose life.

Just one more thing, and here is a little insight to my life, please don’t judge. Chapter 55:12 says, “You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.” If you were to travel to where I live you would have to drive through several miles of tree lined forest road. When you arrived at our property you would immediately notice it is totally surrounded by super tall trees, some alder wood, some old evergreen trees, and many, many others. I love, love, love these trees. To the music of my chimes they sing to me “the wind is coming” and then they will all wiggle and wave with delight as the breeze or sometimes gale swirls about, tickling them from the inside out while saying it’s hello’s and good-byes. For more than twelve years I have been telling my granddaughters (and husband) “wave back to the trees, they’re saying hello,” and the girls eagerly do and Matt will too. Now, knowing where my head is, in the book of Luke, the Pharisees (because they’re not fair, you see) told Jesus to make His disciples be quiet or the stones would cry out. Dude (yes, I did just say that) if I were there, I would so want Jesus, if just for a moment, have the disciples hush so I could hear the rocks shout out the gospel. Are you with me on that, or what? We are also told in Habakkuk 2:11, “The stones of the wall will cry out, and the beams of the woodwork will echo it.” I’m telling you, that would be so way beyond awesome! 

That is our God, “Way Beyond Awesome!” It pleased Him to provide His Son to pay the price for our sins and He is pleased to provide the dancing trees and so much more, to bring joy to all who will but look for it while we are waiting to move to our forever home in heaven. Amen??

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …..

July 25 - Isaiah 48:12-52:12

Good morning everyone,

Today our reading brings us to the end of the first part of the second half of the book of Isaiah. This is kind of like going to a play, right? Second half, act one or more commonly referred to as chapters 40 through 48, focused on the promise of the Jews being delivered out of bondage from Babylon. God not only showed His love for His people and His ability to deliver from a seemingly hopeless situation but He made it perfectly clear that, indeed,  it was by His power, not some whittled piece of wood, as He announced his specific intentions more than a century in advance. In 48:22 we read, “There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.” Thais actually marks the end of the first part. It is repeated again in Isaiah 57:21, and both times it comes at the end of a nine-chapter section.” 

Now starting in chapter 49, though there is still reference to the deliverance from Babylon’s captivity, the real focus is on the ultimate deliverance the Messiah will bring. Jesus knew, way before he was ever born, what was in store for Him, the course His life would take. Psalm 22, another prophecy of the Messiah, in verse 9 says, “Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.” Carrying that knowledge up through His youth, at the age of twelve Jesus stayed behind to teach in his “Father’s house” while Mary and Joseph had already left to go home. 

With every breath that Jesus took, while his feet were walking the surface of this flick of dust planet called earth, He knew why He was here, He absolutely knew the shame He would have to endure, the vicious torture He would be subject to. Scripture tells us when they were done scourging Him, He was not able to be recognized as a man. He understood how He would suffer miserably before He would be nailed to a cross and in time, mercifully die. As wicked and corrupt and as wrong, on so many levels, as the treatment Jesus received was, He did not once complain or cry out, not once, that is, not until God had to turn His back on Jesus, for all the sin that was placed on Him. Our sin! For that space in time Jesus, God’s dear, obedient, one and only Son, was out of God’s grace and it was the only torture to make Him cry out. Yet knowing all of this would take place, He willingly came to pay the price for your sins, for my sins for all the sins of all mankind for all of time. He loves us that much, though there is absolutely no way for us to ever be able to adequately appreciate how big “that much” is. The crazy part is, He didn’t stop there, His love just keeps pouring out on us all, of the time, for those who will let Him.

In Revelation 3:20 Jesus says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” In biblical days meals were a powerful of expression of welcome and friendship as I expect they are today too, but here’s a personal invitation to sit at the table with Jesus. I am so, for sure, there! You? His arms are are wide open, waiting for you, waiting for all, to give fully to Him. We use to say when someone wanted to give you a “high five” and you missed it, “Hey, don’t leave me hangin’.’” Time is running short, my friends, there will come a time when the invitation will expire so I would encourage you to not miss your chance. Choose Christ so you can live, don’t leave Jesus hangin’ ….. Amen?

Have a wonderful day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …..

July 24 - Isaiah 44:6-48:11

Good morning everyone,

Our reading begins this morning with God, yet another time, through Isaiah giving us the “what for” on idols. Chapter 44:14-17 kind of made me chuckle a little bit. They speak to the carpenter who cuts down the tree, and the different things he uses the wood for such as cooking and warmth but with the left over wood he whittles an idol, prays to it and says, “You are my God.” Seriously?! We live out in the country and our only source of heat is our wood stoves. Matt spends a lot of time cutting, chopping, splitting and stacking wood for our winter warmth and there can be found, at any given time, chunks of left over wood around our property. The thought of going out and carving up one of those lumps of wood into a face of my choosing and then praying to it is so off the charts ridiculous to me, and yet, there are those who do essentially just that. It begs the question, how can someone actually believe that a piece of wood or metal could respond with love, how can someone put their faith and trust in such an inanimate object as that? For me the answer is obvious, it can not express anything so why bother, but God in heaven, Yahweh, the creator of heaven and earth can. He loves us so much! 

In 44:28 we see the name Cyrus in a prophecy that is one of the most incredible prophecies of all the Old Testament. When God gave this information to Isaiah to share with the people, he had to have exercised an enormous amount of faith because, you see, it predicts that the man named Cyrus would order the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the foundations of the temple would be laid. Hmmm, the thing is, when Isaiah prophesied this, Jerusalem was already built and doing well, not only that but the temple was standing tall. Use your mind’s eye to see this, here we have a thriving city and a temple that is in great shape, it is used daily, people are happy, things are going good and Isaiah, an old man, comes through saying, “Um, yea folks … Cyrus will rebuild Jerusalem for you and see to it that the temple is rebuilt as well, so don’t worry about a thing, God just wants you guys to know that.” (paraphrasing of course) What would your response to that be? As it turns out, 200 years later a man named Cyrus, king of the Persian empire, would rescue the Jews from Babylonian captivity and oder the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem and it’s temple that had been destroyed when they were captured. I love that fulfillment of prophecy. God always keeps His Word.

There are hundreds, if not thousands of prophecies in the Bible. One prophecy that occurs again and again in the Old Testament is the prophecy of the people of Israel being scattered to all nations. In the past few months we have read how the northern ten tribes were taken into captivity by Assyrians and that Judah was taken captive to Babylon and though Cyrus helped them rebuild, the land was never quite the same. Later we’ll read that in 70 AD, Rome will annihilate them, and that the Jews who were not killed were scattered into all nations, however in Ezekiel 11:17 it says, “Therefore say: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will gather you from the nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel again.” And so it was that in 1948 Israel did, in fact, after more than 2500 years become an independent nation where today more than a five million Jews have returned to this small piece of real estate, about the size of New Jersey, and Hebrew, the language of the Old Testament, a language that had been all but dead for 2200 years has been revived and proclaimed the national language of Israel. Today Israel is once again under attack and could use our prayers. Would you please pray for this small but mighty country?

Well all that to say, our God is not an ole lump of something that stares back at you, at me, that stares back at us with a blank expression it’s face and no response. Oh no, no, no! Our God is an awesome God, a loving God, a God of His Word. Every single one of God’s prophecies has come true or the time for them to come true has not arrived yet. You can and should believe Him. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, “God said it, I believe it, so for me that settles it. Amen?

Have a great day to God be the glory.

God bless you all ….

July 23 - Isaiah 40:1-44:5

Good morning everyone,

Today we see a bit of a shift in the book of Isaiah. As a matter of fact, the tone is so different several scholars claim that it is not written by Isaiah son of Amoz by by a another person named Isaiah, that there is no possible way that the first Isaiah’s style of writing could change that much nor would he have privy to such future information. Those scholars are wrong. The book of Isaiah was written by one man alone speaking the words God gave him. I would question those scholars,”Have you every had to reprimand your children or student in one tone and then in the next hour or even day let them know how much you love them or appreciate them in a totally different tone?” That is all this is, chapters 40 - 66 are the blessings of the Lord for his children of Israel.

There are many similarities between the book of Isaiah and the whole book of the Bible, one being sixty-six books of the Bible, sixty-six chapters in Isaiah. Another is there are thirty-nine books in the Old Testament and the first thirty-nine chapters in Isaiah deal with judgement while the rest of the book deal with salvation and the blessings of the Lord, much the same as the New Testament.

All that to say that to say while earlier in the week we Saw Isaiah’s  apocalypse, today we have the Gospels according to Isaiah, which we know are God’s breath, right?

I just want to say this morning come to Jesus, give your full heart to the God who loved you first. He does not care what you have done in the past or even today, believe me I have done some pretty awful things in my past, before God lifted me up, dusted me off and asked me “Which way do you really want to go my dear sweet child?” Then he asked me to take his hand and walk with him, and so I did. He has forgiven me for all the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways and as Psalm 103:12 promises me, “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west” never to be remembered again. He will do the same for you, but please don’t wait, anything can happen in this crazy world to cut your life off short, even today. Get off the fence, get off the broad road that leads to destruction, quit worshipping those false gods of money, alcohol, or just plain worldly fun and start following the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings, the God of the universe. The God who loves you, who love me more than we could possibly know and has prepared a mansion in heaven for us. Is that great or what?

In Joel 12 it says, “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.” and Psalm 145:8 “The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.” Rich in love, who does not want that? Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …

July 22 - 2 Kings 20:1-11 | Isaiah 38:1-8 | 2 Chronicles 32:24-31 | Isaiah 38:9-22 | 2 Kings 20:12-19 | Isaiah 39:1-8

Good morning everyone,

This morning as we begin, Isaiah has brought word to king Hezekiah that the illness he is suffering will be terminal. Personally speaking, I have only known a couple of people who have received such information, but even in my limited experience I can appreciate how devastated Hezekiah must have felt and understand his pleading with the Lord for his life while he wept bitterly. 

When I read the word “wept” it, of course, reminded me of the shortest verse in the Bible, John 11:35, “Jesus wept” while dealing with the death and resurrection of Lazarus. In Luke we can read of another time when Jesus wept, this time for the people of Jerusalem as he stood outside the city and looked over it. When I first read this, years ago, I could picture Jesus standing on a hill with sweet soft tears of compassion rolling down his cheeks, but it was when I did a study of the book of Luke that I learned that this word “wept” meat that Jesus was bitterly crying, that hard cry, sobbing convulsively cry of the broken hearted for those lost souls. Jesus has such a heart for us, He loves us so incredibly much. This is where the fear of God comes in, the fear of hurting someone. Jesus, who loves you more than anything, however, that’s a whole other devotional.

Well, God had a heart for Hezekiah’s tears too and sent Isaiah back to tell him he would extend Hezekiah’s life by fifteen years, which sadly will prove to be the worst fifteen years of his life. Hezekiah asked for a sign to really know that God would do as Isaiah had said, so God said “No problem dude, I’ll just turn back time” (paraphrasing of course). Isaiah 38:8 “I will make the shadow cast by the sun go back the ten steps it has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.’” So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had gone down.” Wouldn’t that just blow you away?  This is the second time this year we have read that God has changed the length of a day, remember in Joshua when God lengthened the day, well this time he shortened it. I will be honest here, I have no clue how or what it would look like for God to actually reverse the orbit of the earth for that ten degrees. What I do know, though, is that because it is written about in the Bible that it did indeed happen. Despite the fact I do not understand it, my faith and trust in God is big enough for me to just say “far out” and let it go at that.

So many times in our lives we come across situations that we just do not get why God would let them happen, good or bad, or even how a particular instance can happen. Once I was waterskiing with my brother and sister-in-law down in Arizona. I had been in the water so long, I was trying something new, some board instead of skis, I was tired and my hand strength had gone, so in an effort to get up just one last time I wrapped the ski ropes around the board then around my hands (please don’t judge, I wasn’t thinking). Had the boat, rope and pull gone off according to “plan” the ropes would have severed my fingers, looking back that is a no brainer …. now. But just as the boat began to pick up speed something in my head snapped, realizing this was not a good situation I desperately tried to unwrap the ropes, it was not happening until …. until like magic, like God, the ropes loosened and off they came leaving only mild scraping. A potentially very bad situation gone good.

The point of the story is not everything can be explained away with logic, which is sometimes difficult for me as I am a very logical person. God has His own agenda, He can and will make things happen that we have no understanding about. Let’s face it, He put this whole world, universe, to infinity and beyond in place, so I am pretty certain turning back time, like having the the ropes lift off my hand, is a “scoop of chocolate, scoop of vanilla”, an easy peasy moment for God.  Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” All we need to do is exercise our faith and our trust then just enjoy life while letting Him take us where He wants us to go. Amen?

Have a super good day friends and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …

July 21 - 2 Kings 19:1-19 | Isaiah 37:1-20 | 2 Chronicles 32:9-19 | 2 Kings 19:20-37 | Isaiah 37:21-38 | 2 Chronicles 32:20-23

Good morning everyone,

Well, today was a lot of book jumping with it all saying pretty much the same thing. You know when God says something once, we really should be listening, however when he says something two or three times, I’m thinking we should not only be listening but be paying very close attention. Yes?

It has been said that, “You can be sure a revival from heaven will bring a reaction from hell.” Seriously, the enemy does not want you to move forward in the Lord. His thinking is, it is okay for you to become a Christian as long as you don’t go crazy and tell anyone or speak about it; it is okay for you to buy a Bible as long as it sits on the shelf and collects dust; it is okay for you to go to church if you are just going to forget what was taught or better yet fall asleep during the teaching, however ….. however, the minute you begin to follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit, the very second you start to challenge the territory the enemy has set up inside your soul you will be opening yourself up for attack, you will essentially be putting a big ole bullseye target on your back and the the enemy will relentlessly shoot his fiery arrows at it, at you, in hopes of stumbling you or better yet getting you to quit that crazy Christian thinking. I would encourage you to not be afraid because, 1 John 4:4, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

When Hezekiah became king he cleaned up the nation, ridding it of idols and their worship, the devil was not pleased with this and so he took aim at the bullseye Hezekiah  hung and an attack was launched against Judah by means of Sennacherib, king of Assyria. Rabshakeh went to Judah with propaganda against Hezekiah and God. When intimidating the people did not work, he sent a threatening letter directly to Hezekiah. Did Hezekiah tremble in fear or go into a panic? No, indeed he did not. What the good king did was lay the letter out before God, he unrolled the scroll and asked his Abba to handle it.  I love that, he didn’t take it personally, he took it as an insult to God. He told Yahweh, “Look at what they have written about you.” he prayed “O Lord of hosts, God of Israel” recognizing that He is the Lord of all and remembering the covenant that had been made with Israel. “The One who dwells between the cherubim.” That, of course is referencing the mercy seat on the Ark of the Covenant. Right? Then Hezekiah continues with, “You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.” Cognizant (this word was my “new word” of the day that flashes up on my phone, made me chuckle) that there is nothing too hard for God.

Friends, when we are under attack for our faith, when people give you a bad time for living according to the standard your God, creator of heaven and earth, has set, the God you stand for,  may I suggest that you not take it personally. It is not you they are attacking, but Jesus, and it is in those times that we must remember to simply fall to our knees, recognize God for who he is with praise and honor and then lay out the pages of the letter or the words of your worry, your grief, before Him, then simply let it go with faith and trust. Nahum 1:7 says, “The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.” So hide and watch, God will handle it, and believe me or better yet, read your Bible, know God, know His strength and promises and trust. Amen?

Have a good day and to God be the glory

God bless you all …..

July 20 - Micah 6:1-7:20 | 2 Chronicles 32:1-8 | 2 Kings 18:13-18 | Isaiah 36:1-3 | 2 Kings 18:19-37 | Isaiah 36:4-22

Good morning everyone,

Yesterday we took a look at the first half of the short book of Micah finishing it up today. Micah, whose name means “who is like Yahweh”, to state the obvious, was a prophet. He came out of Judah and prophesied the same time as Isaiah, Amos and Hosea. God sent Micah north to Samaria and also south to Jerusalem to announce God’s judgement and mercy. We read in chapter 1, “Look! The Lord is coming from his dwelling place; he comes down and treads on the heights of the earth. The mountains melt beneath him and the valleys split apart, like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope.” With a foot in both worlds they were guilty of idolatry. In the morning they would offer sacrifices to Jehovah and in the evenings they would slither off to the groves to worship false gods, idols of their choice.  

In chapter 6:6-7 we hear the cry of a guilty, frustrated people, asking (probably in their best whine ever) “What do you want from us? Will the Lord be pleased with……. ?”Ahhh, the cries of a rebellious children with selective memories trying to act all innocent and saying, “What did we do?” Well in verse 8, a very well known verse, they’re reminded of what they should be doing. It says, “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Friends, that is what it all boils down to. We are to act justly, love mercy and to walk humbly with God, our Yahweh.

Act justly you say? Why yes! That is to do what is right. Sometimes the right way won’t be popular, and sometimes you may even get bit in the butt (yes I did just say that), but right is what we are called to do. If you have to qualify it, if you have to wonder if God would think it is right, if you would not do it with Jesus standing right there watching every move you make (because He really is you know) then it would not qualify as right and you should not be doing it. Plain and simple. Make sense?

Love mercy? Oh yes, we as Christians can sometimes think we are better than “the rest”. News flash! We are so not! We are ALL sinners! Everyone, everywhere, we are all sinners, the only difference is what our mailing address will be for eternity. Those who have accepted Jesus into their hearts, postmark that “heaven” all the rest “hell”, but that doesn’t make us better, it just means our eyes have been opened and we need to show mercy for those whose eyes have not. You were once there too, we all were, so lets look at others with eyes of love. Right on?

Walk humbly with God? This only means to be solely (did you get that? SOLELY!) dependent upon God. To really understand what this means, think about how a very small child is solely dependent upon their parents. This toddler has their home, clothes, food, entertainment, recreation, education, transportation, all fundamentals provided for them. They do not have to worry about one single thing except behaving the way their parents have required them to behave. Galatians 3:26 tells us, “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.” That is how God wants us to come to Him, as a small child walking humbly, walking in faith. Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …

July 19 - Isaiah 34:1-35:10 | Micah 2:1-5:15

Good morning everyone,

Today we start off with some pretty harsh words, Isaiah tells all the earth, all that is in the world to listen up, pay attention that the Lord is angry (NIV), enraged (NLT), that the indignation of the Lord (NKJV) is against all nations. Now I don’t know about you, but when I hear “enraged” and “Lord” in the same sentence, I have got my rabbit ears tuned in (now does that date me or what…) and I am most certainly paying attention. In the immediate context, Isaiah speaks to the judgment against the Assyrians, however, in the bigger picture, this passage is seen as an announcement of the judgment to come upon the nations during the Great Tribulation which I gave an overview of a couple days ago.

Chapter 25 speaks to a beautiful restoration God will bring about after the judgment on the nations. This prophecy was fulfilled when Judah was restored after the invasion of the Assyrians, failed, they was turned back. It has also proved to be true in the longer term. Chapter 35:1 says, “The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom,” We are witness to that today as modern day Israel, a leader in agricultural technologies, has turned the wilderness and wasteland into productive farms. Their highly developed industry allows them to export fresh produce all over the world, they truly have made “the desert rejoice, and blossom as the rose.” 

We have every reason to believe in the ultimate fulfillment of this prophecy, when God restores the ecology of the world after the end of the great tribulation. When reading through this, the verses, one of the promises, I like most was 8-10, it says, “And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, and those the Lord has rescued will return.” Why do I like it?, you ask. Well let me tell you, and please do not get me wrong here because my life has WAY more good in it than bad, a whole lot more good than bad, to be sure! But some days are so stinkin’ hard, and some people are so stinkin’ judgmental, angry and mean, while at the same time the lion, the devil and his demons, are relentless in prowling about waiting to pounce in any moment of weakness but on this road there will be none of that. 

One of the most desolate roads I have ever traveled is a stretch of highway called 395 in California between a place known as Four Corners and Ridgecrest and I use to travel that road a lot, many more times than I could ever begin to remember. It is a l-o-n-g stretch of desert road and when I read verses 8-10 I could see this road changing from a seemingly endless, uneventful and sometimes dangerous strip of asphalt, to a raised up road, (because the Hebrew word for “highway” is literally “a high-way,”) lifted above the ground and on this road, using my mind’s eye I see lush and green replacing the dry of the desert (must be the Washington in me…ha ha) I could see joy replacing heavy hearts, I see glad perspective replacing angry attitudes, I see “high fives” and “fist bumps”, light steps and many, many like minded people singing, rejoicing, and praising Yahweh while traveling the “Highway of Holiness.” A road that Psalm 40 says. “is a high way and only those who know the King can walk on it!” Indeed it will be high, glorious road to travel on. Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …

July 18 - Isaiah 30:1-33:24

Good morning everyone,

The prophecy in chapter 30 was given at the time when Assyria was attacking Israel and Judah. To refresh our memories, when Rehoboam, son of Solomon, became king, he ruled with a very heavy hand creating an uprise which caused the nation of Israel to split in two. The ten tribes of the north would be ruled by Jeroboam while Rehoboam (no relation) would continue to rule over Judah and Benjamin in the south. The northern kingdom of Israel would, in fact, be conquered by Assyria, the people, as I mentioned before, would be taken into exile using fish hooks and rope to lead them out. The Assyrians would then try to come against the southern kingdom of Judah, and because of this threat the leaders of Judah looked to Egypt for protection against the Assyrian invasion instead of looking to God.

In verses 8-30 God wants the rejection of his message documented. Hooking up with Egypt, which remember is a metaphor for the world, looked good on paper. They had a strong army which could easily conquer Assyria, but in doing this they would also be subjecting themselves to the Egyptian’s way of life, their lack of morals, their loose women, false gods and so many other corrupt temptations. But instead of putting their faith in God to see them through, they relied on their own resources to come up with a solution to their imminent danger. It was a bad choice and so God had it journaled which would allow them to look back and see that they could of and can, trust in God, that what He says is true and reliable.

This sounds all too familiar to me. You too? How many times does the Lord say, “I’ve got this honey, not to worry” and yet, and yet ….. we continue to be impatient believing God’s not working quickly enough or feel as though God is not handling it the way we see fit so we push forward and in our own power take care of it ourselves which ultimately leads us into bondage of some sort, just like Judah, deprived of what could have been an incredible blessing from Yahweh.

It is my prayer, to our Abba, our dear Father God, that I would and that we all would live as we are encouraged to in Proverbs 3. That we would trust in the Lord with all our hearts and lean not on our own understanding; that in all our ways we would submit to Yahweh, believing He will make our paths straight. I pray we would not be wise in our own eyes but that we would fear the Lord and shun evil, knowing that we absolutely do belong to God, that we are His dear children and that His Spirit, the Spirit who lives in us is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. So go before us Lord, give us the wisdom, the desire and the discipline to have the faith of a child, to rely on You in all things, in every given situation. Your love is amazing! Amen?

I love the words of a song by Joseph M. Scriven, I know you all know it. He wrote, “What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! Oh, what peace we often forfeit, Oh, what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!” ~ Amen??

Have a good day and to God be the glory!

God bless you all …..

July 17 - Isaiah 24:1-27:13 | Isaiah 29:1-24

Good morning everyone,

Fun stuff today! Isaiah, prophesied for 58 years. In that time he spoke to events that would take place in the relatively near future, such as wars and the not as near future such as the virgin birth and the coming of Christ. In today’s scripture, though, he’s got his Hubble going on as he is seeing way into the future with a prophecy that is still to take place.

Isaiah chapters 24-27 are known as “Isaiah’s little Apocalypse” as the prophet records not only what will happen to God’s people but the whole world, as he looks at the final consequence of choice of human sin. Isaiah 24:21 says, “On that day the Lord will punish the host of heaven, in heaven, and the kings of the earth, on the earth.” To get a better understanding of what’s going on let’s take an overall view of what the lies ahead for this planet earth, what life according to the Bible, will look like, in days to come. 

First there is the “Church Age,” we’re living that now. It is the time between the first time Jesus was here, walking the face of the earth until He returns again. It is a time of grace, a time where He is desperately trying to reach everyone in hopes of all mankind being able to see. To make known the bright future in eternity He has to offer all who will proclaim Him as Lord of their life. It is believed, by many, time is short, that we are in the very last days of this period. All prophecies have been fulfilled in order for times to move forward, if you listen closely and look attentively you can hear and see the changes taking place. It is exciting … at least for me. 

The next period we enter into is the “Rapture of the Church.” In 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 we’re told that the dead in Christ will rise first then we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Oh my word! That sounds so delicious to me, but having said that let me further say that, be warned. This place, earth I mean, is not somewhere you want to be at that time. In 2 Thessalonians 2 we’re told that the evil is being held back right now, which has to be frightening to anyone, even the toughest of hombres, because with all the Christians gone so goes the Holy Spirit and there will be nothing left to restrain the evil from running rapid. It will be violent, murderous and wicked on a level even the most vile movies haven't created. It scares me just thinking about it.

It is believed that simultaneously with all the havoc that is being raised on earth, we who have been raptured will be facing the “Judgement Seat” or the “Bema Seat” where you will get, where I will get the rewards we have coming to us according to how faithfully we served God, how we were obedient to do all that He asked us to do. This has absolutely nothing to do with your salvation. If you have accepted Jesus Christ into your heart to be your Lord and Savior then you were saved by grace, no works can buy that. I repeat, only by the grace of God can you be saved. You absolutely can not buy or earn your way into heaven, and if you are saved you will for sure go to heaven, but here’s the thing, we will all have different positions in heaven so what you do on earth determines your position for eternity. I have never been a big fan of the “Cheap Seats” so it is my goal to be as obedient as I possibly can be to get as many rewards as I can. Front row center would be nice, right?

Okay, so we have the rapture of the church which sent born again Christians to the bema seat and it also plummeted earth into the “Tribulation.” This era is divided in two sections. The first three and a half years as I mentioned above will be lawless, thought it will be a whole lot better than the second half which will be a blood bath. The first three and a half years of the tribulation the anti-christ will make himself known and will promise peace to Israel. Together they will make a pact which will allow Israel to rebuild the temple and they will believe he is the messiah. However, after the first three and a half years the anti-christ will break the pact, revealing his true colors and cause everyone on the face of the earth to take a mark. If you take that mark you will never get into heaven, no one should take that lightly so I will repeat. If you take the mark of the anti-christ you will never, never, never get into heaven.  If you don’t take the mark you will die, you will be martyred for your faith, it will not be pleasant but the good news to that is, you will go to heaven. 

I realize this  has gotten really long but I just have to say, I know some people who are holding out for the tribulation. They do not want to live for Jesus now, they want to have their fun while they are young and then come to Jesus when the fun times are over. Well, what if the church is raptured today or tomorrow and they are left here with all the other non-believers? It begs the question: If they can not, if they do not have the discipline to live for Jesus now, how are they ever going to die for him then? 

God says every knee will bow, every knee will bend. Not some, not most, but EVERY! You have a choice you can bend your knee now or wait until later when it is too late, when your window of opportunity has closed and you are facing eternity in hell, which should not be underestimated. You don’t have to be all cleaned up to go to Jesus, He wants you the way you are. He’ll pick you up, He’ll dust you off and give you more love than you ever knew possible. Why not let Him love you? Why not just say “I choose Christ” today? 

  

Well, next the “Kingdom Age” and it is the final period. Eternity, where we are going to live in God's house with Him for all the rest of time. Where there is already a room waiting for each and every one who has asked Jesus into their heart. What a day that will be, right? Because we live in such minute by minute lifestyles, because we measure all time off with “events”such as birthdays, anniversaries, retirement, we can not grasp or wrap or heads around how forever, how huge, how infinite eternity is, but I would encourage you to pause just for a moment and consider even if eternity was two thousand years (and please understand it is so much more than that) but even if, where would you want yourself or your loved ones to be spending it? I say heaven. Amen?

Have a good day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …

July 16 - Isaiah 18:1-23:18

Good morning everyone,

Today as we come back to the prophet Isaiah the first thing we read is, “Woe to.” Yikes!! “Woe,” by definition, is great sorrow or distress. I am pretty certain I would never want to see “woe” followed by my name anywhere, much less a direct message from God. Right!? In the NKJV of the Bible, Old Testament, ”woe" occurs 71 times in 69 verses. In the New Testament, 40 times in just 33 verses, and 32 of those 40 were spoken by Jesus! While Israel of old used the word to mourn the death of friends or loved ones, God used it to threaten judgment, today we will read about some of those judgements.

In chapter 18, the message was sent to Ethiopia, who was a major world power at the time, ruling Egypt and a chief arch rival to Assyria. Ethiopia had sent “their people” to talk to “Judah’s people” asking them to join in an alliance against Assyria. God was so not good with that and basically said, “Don’t do it,” he would to deal with them himself as He wanted Judah to be aligned with Him. 

Recently I had some work done on my car. One of the first things they did, when I pulled it into the port, was run an alignment on the tires. They have a really neat (as in cool, groovy, I liked it) machine that was able to put up on a computer screen what my tires looked like, the “alignment” of them in perspective to my vehicle. I was more than a little amused at how all four of them were facing, and tilted, in different directions, none of which were the correct one. I remember the confusion in my head and asking the service person, “what’s up with my tires?” he assured me it was “normal” all tires go out of alignment some more quickly than others, those being the ones that have to travel bumpy dirt roads riddled with pot holes ..… like mine. He went on to say that regular checking and rotation was recommended to prevent any unnecessary wear and tear or unwanted grooves that would cause them to have to be exterminated (okay, maybe just replaced, but you get the idea).

Our lives are like that, when we are aligned with God, when we are like minded and traveling the the same straight path He is, we will most certainly encounter wear and tear but we can save ourselves a lot of grief, unnecessary rutting, if we would follow the straight and narrow road, you know ….. the one with the small gate. It’s recommended you don’t, that we don’t, go off 4x4’ing through the wide gate that leads to certain rocky terrain and destruction, that is to say intentionally going against God’s will for our lives with blatant, unashamed sin. Every single time we tell God “no” or even “wait” we are taking ourselves a little bit more out of alignment, and it doesn’t take much for those grooves of sin to start wearing a hole on our soul. Make sense?  

In God’s economy there are only two ways, right and wrong, good and evil. You need to know that when you die you will go to to heaven or, and this is a big “or”, you will go to hell. There is no middle place for the soul, no “Switzerland” to spend eternity. Matthew 12:30 and Luke 11:23 both say, "Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” Don’t let yourself be caught up with the scattered. Now is the time to choose, now is the time to get in alignment. Choose, for your eternity, heaven. Choose Christ. Amen?

Have a good day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all….

July 15 - Psalm 136 | Psalm 146 | Psalm 147 | Psalm 148 | Psalm 149 | Psalm 150

Good morning everyone,

Today we have the last of the Psalms and personally, I have really enjoyed the candid truth their pages have held for us, allowing a look at the personal thoughts, the real life situations, the children of Israel felt and encountered while making their way on this crazy place called earth. A couple different of times, while reading through them, I wondered who might possibly stumble across my journals, perhaps excavating them from some ruin and what would they think about my words which reveal my joys and my fears. Hmmm …. 

Psalm 136 is a responsive psalm which would have had the priests singing (or maybe chanting) the first line if each verse with the people responding, “His love endures forever.” My mother’s family are of the Lutheran denomination and when I was a child on Christmas Eve, Easter, maybe once or twice more during the year we would go with all the family to attend services at the Lutheran church where they would sometimes do responsive reading. I can see where it has it’s benefits. When people know they are going to have to read they pay attention. Right? But so much more than that, is, it serves to be a terrific witness. When you have a room full of people saying that they believe, they worship, and they strive to honor God, it sends a powerful message to a nonbeliever. Would you agree? Imagine yourself, never before being interested in Yahweh, walking by a church and hearing several hundred people in unison saying “His love endures forever.” Who wouldn’t, even if just for moment, pause and wonder about who they’re talking about. 

The remaining psalms are psalms of praise for who He is, His creation and all He has done. For a moment, though, I want to take a look at Psalm 147:4, this psalm really grabbed hold of me. It says, “He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.” Are you kidding me?!? He calls each and every star by name! One of the things I like to do most is sit outside on a clear, moonless, night and just look at the galaxy, seeing (in my mind’s eye of course) Psalm 8:3, God hanging the stars in the sky like ornaments on a tree. I am always amazed at all the activity and how vast the night sky is and friends this is just one galaxy. Now, I am not an an astrologer, by any stretch of anyone’s imagination, but it is not rocket science to know that that there are billions of stars in the sky, three billion (with a B) in the Milky Way Galaxy alone and there are an estimated hundreds of billions of galaxies in the universe, with many older than the Milky Way. Do the math on that; 3 billion stars, times, even just one hundred billion galaxies equals 300,000,000,000,000,000 or three quadrillion. What!?! And each star is named? To put this in perspective, the Oxford English dictionary has definitions for 171,476 words. What I am wondering is, if you combined all the words of all the languages in all the world if you would have enough different words to name each and every star, though I do not have the answer to that question, I do know that God knows each star personally and calls them by name. My goodness, wrap your head around that.

If ever you thought, if ever I thought, that Yahweh, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, were not big enough to handle any situation in our tiny, little lives, we should open up our Bibles, come back Psalm 147:4 and be reminded, remember how God not only made all of the universe, seen and unseen to us, but cared enough to name them. Our God is a very Big God, though we could never comprehend just how big, we must never underestimate Him and all He can accomplish. Psalm 147:5, “Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.” Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory!

God bless you all …