Month: July 2025

Through all the ups and downs of the nation of Israel and their sins have been recorded but wait, there is light ahead if we are willing to watch for it. “As for me, this is my promise to them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit, who is upon you, and my words, which I have placed in your mouth, will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and descendants from this time forward,” says the Lord.”  This is the promise we must cling to when life is up and down. We have been anointed with the gift of the Holy Spirit with all its power and understanding. God has given us this Spirit that we may speak of His promises and His power to those who are still under the veil. The veil has hidden the truth of the gospel but we have been given the Fruit of the Spirit to reveal this marvelous truth. The question is: are we so filled with the Spirit that we are His witnesses to the lost? Are we living proof of the Spirit’s anointing? 

Today, pray for those who are still living under the veil. Pray that the Spirit remove that veil so they can see and also hear and be saved. Father, You are a Promise Keeper and we are the anointed ones. Use us this day to speak Your Word. Give us boldness and strength and may we see Your blessing upon those who are still lost and in need of repentance. 

God has been angry with His children for they have abandoned Him for idols. Yet, He has this promise to them. “For a short time I abandoned you,but with great compassion I will gather you. In a burst of anger I rejected you momentarily, but with lasting devotion I will have compassion on you,” says your Protector, the Lord.”   God is such a loving Father that He knows we are like grass, here today and gone tomorrow, but He is faithful and eternal and His grace is ready always. He is angry but for a moment, but His forgiveness is forever. 

Perhaps you have faced this same scenario. You have sinned and feel there is no way back to the Father but this is a reminder that His forgiveness is ready. Turn to Him and be forgiven. He is ready, but are you? If so, turn to Him. 

Isaiah 53: The Lord is our Avenger

This chapter evokes wisdom, anguish, love, and the mercy of God. As we read, we are touched by this: “because he willingly submitted to death and was numbered with the rebels, when he lifted up the sin of many and intervened on behalf of the rebels.” Christ is truly our avenger of all that is wrong and He did it because He loved us. What more can we say than we are humbled and touched by His love that is everlasting. What other man would do so willingly? Jesus is our example of what true love is. He bore my and your sin upon that cruel cross and paid our debt. 

Thank you Jesus for your sacrifice that I may stand forgiven of my many sins. Not just forgiven but made whole, cleansed and set aside for Your purpose. Do you know Him? 

This hymn speaks to our hearts:

Speak, Lord, in the stillness

speak your word to me;

hushed my heart to listen

in expectancy.

 Speak, O gracious Master,

in this quiet hour;

let me see your face, Lord,

feel your touch of power.

That can only happen when we surrender to Him and His will. Will you do that today?

One author said it is as if God is like Rip Van Winkle who was asleep for centuries and when he awakened, the entire world had changed. But, the truth is noted by Isaiah: “I, the Lord, am present at the very beginning, and at the very end—I am the one.” The world may change but our God is immutable, He does not change nor ever will. Do you know Him? He then gives His children this promise: “You are my servant.’I have chosen you and not rejected you.” 

Today ponder that promise and give Him praise for you have been chosen from the foundation of the world to honor and glorify Him! 

Eph 1:4 For he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him in love.

When news came to King Hezekiah of his impending death, he mourned, wept and prayed. He reminded God of his faithfulness in all situations and the blessings that He poured over him. All those steps are steps of the humble and God is pleased. But, then as he recovered from his illness, a group of Babylonians came to encourage him. So far, so good as they say but next listen to him as he extols the favor of God upon him and his kingdom. Isaiah, the prophet,rebuked him and told him that this was not good,in fact it would bring disastrous results . Isaiah told him that because he shared the bounty that was in his kingdom, without giving God the glory, God pronounced the destiny of his kingdom and his sons. Is it wrong to share our blessings with others when God has showered His love upon us? Let’s look at Hezekiah’s motive to help us understand. 

Hezekiah proudly shared his wealth rather than giving God the glory for his healing and wealth. God sees the heart and in this case it wasn’t wrong to share the wealth but he did it out of pride not humility and praise to God. When you are touched by the words of others after you have victoriously been given His blessing, check your heart. Why are you doing it? To draw attention to yourself or to God? Both Jeremiah and Paul tell us what we are to do: “2Co 10:17 But the one who boasts must boast in the Lord.”

Isaiah as the prophet of God writes what God has told him. In chapter 35 we read of rejoicing and the way of Holiness as planned by God. But,in chapter 36 we read of fear, turmoil and the enemy Assyria  that beleaguer the nation with words of war to undermine the spirit. 

How often do we read chapters like 35 and rejoice but then just as we are at peace the enemy brings temptation because just as the psalmist said, we are weak and the enemy of our souls wants us to deny God and His power. It is at times like that we either know and trust God or we will listen to the lies of the enemy. Beloved, God will be the victor… But, just as there are two sides to every coin, there are two sides to historical records. There are the stories of victory and God’s blessing and then a story to test our faith as we read about the Assyrian army’s taunt to deny God. Life is like that more often than not. But, that is not the whole story as seen from God’s perspective. He will protect His children even when the enemy seeks to kill and destroy. The enemy of our souls seeks to undermine our faith but God will have the last word. 

Who will you listen to…God or the enemy? Who alone has the power to keep safe and the power to destroy? 

As God’s prophet to Israel, Isaiah had much to say about the people’s lack of trusting in God. The land and the people were floundering and sometimes we find we do as well. So, Isaiah’s words come at a pivotal point to ask us about where we place our trust. Listen to Isaiah’s charge to his people: “Those who go down to Egypt for help are as good as dead; those who rely on war horses and trust in Egypt’s many chariots and in their many, many horsemen. But they do not rely on the Holy One of Israel and do not seek help from the Lord.” [Is 31:1-2] 

How about us? Are we trusting in the ways of the world in which we live? Do we “go down” to Egypt, which is a metaphor to the world which worships idols and not the living God. Again, Isaiah asks, are you trusting in the many horses, horsemen and chariots, meaning are you trusting in the material things that save only momentarily? Where is your trust? 

To counter that, Proverbs reminds us to trust in the Lord: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding, Acknowledge him in all your ways, and he will make your paths straight.…” Proverbs 3:5-6. This is the promise God has given to us. Where is our trust today? 

Just like the Israelites of old, our life reveals which side of the revolving door we are on. One side of the door leads to life everlasting and the other to everlasting death. The question is: Which side of the revolving door are you on?  The problem we face is spiritual blindness because  “the god of this age has blinded the minds of those who do not believe so they would not see the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God” [2 Cor 4:4]. Maybe you have met some of these same people. They run to prosperity preachers, books of unknown origins, and teachers of various denominations that tickle our ears but do not convict us of our sin. Paul warned Timothy of this when he wrote: For there will be a time when people will not tolerate sound teaching.     

No matter what century we live in, life is just like a revolving door.  One generation rises only to die, and another takes its place; yet amid all this, God always has His spokesperson to speak the truth. He has called you, loved you, and kept you to open the eyes of the blind. God wants you and me to know this truth: God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a human being, that He should change His mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not make it happen? [Num 23:19] And Hosea echoed that in chapter 11: “For I am God and not man.”  

There is hope because we can know that God is unchanging; He is immutable. He has spoken, and He will do. He is longsuffering, merciful, compassionate and patient because He is not willing any should perish.  

Mat 11:28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 

What hard things has God asked you to do? Or if He has not, think how you would respond if He did. Enter Hosea, a prophet who ministered to the northern kingdom it seems. There is no definitive note to that but that he wrote, lived, and spoke during the times of several kings. Life as a prophet “Life as a prophet, regardless of religious or historical context, is characterized by a divine calling to speak God’s word, often leading to a life of sacrifice, challenge, and sometimes persecution. Prophets serve as intermediaries between God and humanity, delivering messages of truth, warning of consequences, and offering hope. Their lives are often marked by trials that refine their character, build resilience, and deepen their reliance on God.”  This was the life of Hosea.  What stands out is the hardest thing God asked him to do which was to go and marry Gomer, a street prostitute. Does that sound odd to you and if God asked you to do that, what would be your response? Hosea does not tell us his thoughts or his emotions but only that he obeyed. And so the story unfolds as Gomer is not only a street girl, but she is also unfaithful, even after birthing three children by Hosea. 

We often ask why God would ask this of Hosea, but the answer is found in the names of his children who epitomize the adulterous nation of Israel and their lack of faithfulness. Hosea needed divine wisdom, divine power, and divine faithfulness. Sometimes God asks us to hard things without any explanation and so it was with Hosea until he named his children. 

Today as you go about your work think how you would respond if God called you to be a Hosea to a Gomer. Would your answer be that of Isaiah: here I am Lord, send me? Think about it. 

The spiritual as well as the physical battle is real 24/7 and 365 days of the year. Are you facing a spiritual battle? Do you have your armor on? Paul gave us the parts of the spiritual armor to put on each and every day when we rise and when we retire each night. We need it because the evil one is roaming about seeking whom he can devour but as the author of this psalm noted God, our God, is our defender forever. He guides us.  He comes alongside us in times of distress. He comes alongside us in times of prosperity. He comes alongside us when we are in the battle with the evil one. No matter what is happening, we can trust that God will be by our side. 

Once again it is time to review this list Paul gave us in Ephesians 6: Finally, be strengthened in the Lord and in the strengthof his power. 11 Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. “take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your ground on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm therefore, by fastening the belt of truth around your waist, by putting on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 by fitting your feet with the preparation that comes from the good news of peace, 16 and in all of this, by taking up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flamingarrows of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit (which is the word of God). 18With every prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit.”  

Be encouraged today as you stand victoriously with your armor on. God is your defender now and forever!