Have You Not Heard?

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:28-31


The book of Isaiah is full of promises to the people of Israel concerning the Messiah and for us today as Christians concerning our spiritual lives. It is one of my favorite books in the Bible and I have found encouragement many times in the promises of God. Isaiah was a prophet whom God used greatly to admonish and exhort the people of Israel. He spoke against the sin of the nation of Israel and it neighbors but also spoke about God’s redemption for His chosen people and the rest of the world. Isaiah prophesied the Messiah’s birth, His suffering, and the price He would pay to redeem the world. To restore what was broken in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and broke the relationship between man and our Father.

In these verses, there is a question asked. Have you not known? Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard?? God Almighty does not sleep, He doesn’t get tired, He doesn’t get stressed, and He doesn’t get bored! He created all things on earth and in earth. He created the earth! His understanding is unsearchable. Who can pretend to know the mind of God? His mind is infinite. His thoughts are not our thoughts as Jeremiah said. The human mind cannot begin to grasp God’s understanding. He is the One who knows all things, sees all things, and knows every man’s heart.

Here is the awesome part of these verses – He gives power to the weak and to those who have no might He increases strength. When we are walking in God’s perfect will, and confront different situations and go through various trials, we become weak. We become tired and grow weary. Sometimes we feel that we can’t go on, that if God does not intervene and give us strength we will faint. But guess what?? God increases the strength of them that have no might! He will give you the strength to carry on, to keep going, to keep pressing and climbing that mountain. He will strengthen your faith as you receive strength from Him to continue to see the things that aren’t as though they were.

Now here’s the promise – even the youths shall faint and grow weary, and the young man shall utterly fall, BUT THOSE WHO WAIT ON THE LORD SHALL RENEW THEIR STRENGTH; THEY SHALL MOUNT UP WITH WINGS LIKE EAGLES, THEY SHALL RUN AND NOT BE WEARY, THEY SHALL WALK AND NOT FAINT. Praise God for His faithfulness!!!! Those who wait on the Lord – this is another one of those conditional promises I spoke about before – the promise is that our strength shall be renewed, we will mount up with wings like eagles, we will run and not be weary, we will walk and not faint. Now the condition is – if we wait – ugh!!!! That is such and ugly word for some us!! Who wants to wait in a day where everything is technologically savvy and we live in a country where people live life fast paced??? Waiting can be very difficult. But as you walk with Jesus, you will see that there are times when you will be required to wait, and if you try to rush things, it will just mess it all up and you will have to now wait longer. Waiting grows patience, character, determination, and integrity. God requires these in all of us that truly wish to serve Him. Well you might say - I can’t wait! I don’t like to wait! Or my personal favorite, I don’t have time to wait! When we attempt to rush in to things that are not in God’s timing, we will surely fail. We cannot attempt to help God with His plans for us. We must allow Him to lead us and if we have to wait, then wait we must. It may be painful at first, but the rewards are very much worth it. If we don’t wait and do things our way, then we will be like the youths who faint and grow weary and the young man who utterly falls. Let’s wait on the Lord and allow His perfect will be done in our lives. He will strengthen us and make us soar like eagles!!

He has Overcome the World!!

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Whoever said that life would be a bed of roses once you got saved lied. It’s that simple. They lied. Jesus is very clear on what the life of a Christian entails. Prior to this verse, in chapter 15, Jesus tells His disciples that the world will hate them, and that they would be persecuted and these things they would suffer for His namesake. In the beginning of chapter 16, He tells them that they would be put out of synagogues and that those who would kill them would think they were doing the work of God.

So now in verse 33 of chapter 16, Jesus consoles them by telling them (I’m paraphrasing in plain English) I told you all of this so that you would find peace in Me. In the world you will suffer, you will go through trials and tribulations, you will endure pain, and you will be laughed at, mocked, spit on, beaten, and tormented – but cheer up! Don’t let it get you down and take your focus off of me because I overcame the world! I suffered all those things so that you would have peace. I went through it all and overcame therefore you also can overcome!

You may think how can I have peace when you’re telling me that I will have to suffer? You can find peace in Jesus because He will give you the strength to endure it and persevere! You will not and are not suffering alone! He is right there with you and He already endured it so He can give you the strength to be of good cheer and find peace in Him. Praise God!!!

Lord Jesus,
We thank You because You overcame the world and have endured the things that we must endure and probably worse and are still and always will be the Victorious One. You have already won the war and have the victory and through You we too are victorious conquerors because You have strengthened us to endure. If there is anyone of us today who may not feel Your peace or feel victorious, as we will feel because we are human and cannot see the victory because of our sorrow, Lord I ask You to give them a double portion of strength and perseverance to continue pressing forward in You until that day when we will see You face to face and hear You say, well done my good and faithful servant. We long for the day we will see you face to face and to behold Your glory. I pray that You strengthen each and every one of us on this day, that we be found worthy of the call on our lives by You. In Your name we pray,
Amen!

Wait on the Lord

Teach me Your way, O LORD, and lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies. Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and such as breathe out violence. I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD! Psalm 27:11-14

This is the last part of Psalm 27 where David is encouraging himself in the Lord. He begins by asking the Lord to teach him His ways and lead him in a smooth path because of his enemies. False witnesses or liars have risen up against him to defame his name and ruin his testimony and those that would try to harm him. He would’ve lost heart had he not believed that he would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. He tells us (and I believe himself) to wait on the Lord and be of good courage, because the Lord will strengthen our hearts (and his). Again he says to wait on the Lord.

It is wonderful when you can go through difficult situations and be confident that God will strengthen you through it all. When we ask God to teach us His ways and make our paths smooth because of our enemies, it does not necessarily mean that we are asking God to make things easy for us. Let me back up a moment here. First, teach me Your way O Lord, that part of the sentence alone is saying God show me how to walk in Your will and in obedience. Lead me in a smooth path because of my enemies – God glorify Yourself in the midst of my situation and shut the mouths of those who speak against me and those cancel the plans of those who would try to harm me. Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries – Lord do not let their words or actions affect me but let Your will be done. For false witnesses have arisen against me and such as breathe out violence – Lord You know that they are lying about me and trying to ruin my testimony and there are even those who would harm me violently. Here’s the best part – I WOULD HAVE LOST HEART, UNLESS I HAD BELIEVED THAT I WOULD SEE THE GOODNESS OF THE LORD IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING – Lord, I would’ve gave up already if I didn’t believe that I would see Your glory, that I would see Your goodness, that You would sustain me, in this world that I live in. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage and He will strengthen Your heart – Yes!! Yes!! Yes!! Waiting is not easy for both of us, but when we wait on Him, He gives us strength to carry on. He gives strength to take the next step. He gives us strength to keep climbing that mountain. Again I say wait on the Lord. Notice that David is stressing the waiting on the Lord. We must wait on Him because He already won the victory, He just wants us to believe and wait on Him. There is a beautiful song that I heard in a movie soundtrack for the first time and it really ministered to me. It’s by John Waller and it talks about waiting in difficult situations. The chorus goes like this:

While I’m waiting,
I will serve You,
While I’m waiting,
I will worship,
While I’m waiting
I will not faint
I’ll be running the race
Even while I wait.

I feel the Lord’s presence as I think of the words to that song because I can relate and it encourages me to keep pressing forward and wait on the Lord because He will see me through. He has never failed me and He will never fail you. Just be of good courage and wait on the Lord. Joshua 1:9 says: Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Never forget that my brethren. The Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Take that verse and make it yours and remember to wait on the Lord.

He will not Leave You nor Forsake You

Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.” Do not hide Your face from me; Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation. When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take care of me. Psalm 27: 7-10

What an awesome word!! You may have noticed that the last two devotionals were about this same chapter of the book of Psalms. Tomorrow I will send out the last one on this chapter.

David knew how to pour out his heart to God! The Bible says that David was a man after God’s own heart and when you read the Psalms he wrote, you can see why. In these verses David pleads with God to hear him when he cries out to him and have mercy on him and answer him. He reminds God that when He told him to seek His face, his heart answered and said yes! Your face Lord I will seek! His pleading continues asking God not to hide His face from him and not to turn him away in anger. This makes me think that David perhaps did something that did not please God and he is repentant of what he did and is pleading with God for forgiveness even though He already did. He says God has been his help. He’s asking the God of his salvation not to leave him nor forsake him and acknowledges that when his father and mother are not longer with him or when they leave him, the Lord will take care of him. Praise God!!

There are times when we feel that God doesn’t hear our prayers and we examine ourselves and ask ourselves what are we doing wrong? What did we do that displeased God? Perhaps we haven’t done anything but still feel that God does not hear us. We must do as David did and cry out to God to hear us! Of course God is not deaf to our cries but when we cry out to Him it is an expression of our deepest desire and desperation. That desire and desperation is for Him. Many times I have cried out and asked God not to leave me even though I know He won’t but as a human being we feel alone sometimes and need that assurance. How wonderful that God provides that assurance in His word. Sometimes we ask God for forgiveness and He forgives us but we keep reminding ourselves of what we’ve done and think that God is far from us because of it. Dear brethren, when God forgives us, He forgets our transgressions; we are the ones who don’t forget and the enemy takes advantage of that to accuse us. In those times we must remember that God is our help and our salvation! He is always there to help us when we call on Him. He is our salvation! When we were lost without a clue about the life and sin we were living in and without a savior, He provided THE SAVIOR, the only One who claim that title. When our friends and families turn their backs on us, because of what we believe, or because they don’t understand us, or for whatever reasons that people turn away from each other and abandon one another, remember: THE LORD WILL TAKE CARE OF US!!!! Praise God!!! I hold tight to that word, that no matter who turns their back on me, God will never turn His back on me. He will take care of me. Glory to God!!

He will Hide You

One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple. For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD. Psalm 27:4-6

The psalmist David continues in this Psalm to express his desire and his joy for the Lord. In these verses he tells the Lord, he only wants to seek his face. His desire is only to be in His presence so that he can behold His beauty and to inquire of Him in His sanctuary. He goes on to acknowledge that in times of trouble or distress, God is his hiding place. The Lord will hide him in His pavilion; in the secret place of His tabernacle and set high upon a rock or far away from the trouble. God will lift up his head above his enemies and he will offer sacrifices of praise! He will rejoice, sing, worship and praise Almighty God in his time of trouble!

As it relates to us, when we are battling against the wiles of the enemy, when we are struggling to keep our heads above water, we must remember that our desire is for the Lord. Our desire is to be in His house, to be in His presence, to inquire of Him and to behold His beauty. We must remember that He will hide us under His wings when we seek Him in our secret place where we meet with him. He will lift our heads high above our enemies. Our joy should be in the Lord. We ought to praise Him and sing to Him even when we are going through adversity and waiting on Him to bring us through! We know that He will, but as humans we tend to want what we want when we want it, and our time is not God’s time. So we forget that God is the one that sets high upon the rock. We forget that He has us in the palm of His hand, and yes, we forget what He has promised us when our eyes are on the circumstance rather than on Him. Let us remember who is with us, who fights our battles, and who protects us when we go through various adversities. Let us bring sacrifices of joy when we want to cry, let us rejoice when we are sad, let us praise and worship our Almighty God who gives us the strength to persevere!! Let’s not forget His faithfulness and His mercy on us and praise Him with all that we are.

I Shall Not Fear

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell. Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war may rise against me, in this I will be confident. Psalm 27:1-4

David is the writer of most of the Psalms. A Psalm is like a song. They were written to either express joy or praise to Almighty God or to express distress and dependence on God. In this song, David is going through a time of persecution by King Saul and he is crying out to God who is his light and his salvation. He recognizes that God is the One who gives him strength and that he should not fear anything man can do to him. Though David is going through his time of trial and persecution, he acknowledges that when his enemies came against him to harm him or kill him, God gave him the victory and fought on his behalf. He proceeds to tell the Lord that though an army may encamp against him, his heart will not fear – no matter what the enemy throws at him, he will stand firm and not fear – though war may rise against him, in this he is confident. David is confident that God is with him to protect him and fight for him even when he is outnumbered and everyone is against him.

As Christians, we find ourselves in situations where we have to call on God as David did. We have to encourage ourselves and remind ourselves that we serve a mighty God. That He is the one that fights our enemies; He fights our battles and puts our enemies under our feet. He is the One who gives us strength to keep going when our hearts are fainting and weak. He gives us strength when we feel we can’t go any more and our hearts are battered. He gives us strength when we don’t have the strength to lift our hands to Him and worship. He sends His angels to minister to us and He gives us new strength. Praise God!! We must say that we are confident that no matter what the enemy throws at us or what army of demonic influence is surrounding us, our God will deliver us and fight for us! Though war may rise against us, we must be confident that God is ever faithful and He will fight for us and protect us. Hallelujah!!!

Heavenly Father,
I thank You because You are my light and my salvation. Of whom shall I fear? You are always with us, fighting for us like a Mighty Giant. You protect us and cover us and You let us know when danger is near. Father, I thank You for this word because we need to remind ourselves sometimes, who is the God that we serve. We need to remind ourselves that we need not be afraid because You are with us. We need to be reminded that You fight all of our battles and it is You who gives us the strength to continue forward in this walk. It is You who loves and cares for us, that no matter what enemy rises up, You will give us the victory. We worship and praise You Almighty God because You are awesome and wonderful are Your works.
In Jesus name
Amen

Our Mansions are Ready! Are you?

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

I can’t begin to describe what I feel when I read this verse! It is hard to put into words the emotions that are stirred up when I think of the day when the Lord will return for His bride. The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. That part alone is enough to cause excitement and anticipation for those who are waiting for His return, and repentance for those who are not. I remember a conversation I once had with someone when I was still a baby in Christ and I could not recall exactly where this verse was but I remember quoting it to this person and saying “I don’t know about you, but I am going to heaven”. After I got home I looked for the verse and when I found where it was I let the person know where to find and I never forgot it. This has to be one of the most powerful verses in the Bible! This verse not only proves that there is a place where we will be with the Lord forever, but it is also a promise for those who are anticipating His return. We must have our ears fine tuned and sensitive to the Holy Spirit to ear these trumpets. I don’t even want to think about what happens if we don’t hear them when they sound but there are those who need to know. It’s quite simple actually, if you don’t hear the trumpet when it sounds, you will be left behind. That is a distressing thought, I know, which is why we have to be prepared and live each day as if the Lord were coming today because the Bible says that we do not know the day nor the hour in which the Son of man will come! We must live each day expecting our Lord’s return and that He would find us ready with our lamps burning and full of oil! Praise God!! The dead in Christ shall rise first. Those who’s physical bodies have long decayed, who have died anticipating the return of Christ shall rise first. But they shall not rise as skeletons. No! They shall rise in their glorified bodies! In the incorruptible body that we all will be transformed into. How awesome is that?!! Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to the meet the Lord in air. If anyone tries to tell you that there is no such thing as heaven or that only a small portion of believers are going to heaven, know that it is a lie straight from hell. The word clearly tells us that we will be caught up! To be caught up is to be snatched up, lifted up, kind of like in a whirlwind motion I imagine, to be taken up into the clouds! Helloooo!!!! The clouds are part of the sky and the sky is part of the heavens and if we are to be caught up into the clouds and meet the Lord in the air, where do you think you will be?? Sweet heaven!!!! Yes!!!! God is good!!! I love talking about these verses and I get excited thinking about that day when the Lord will return with the trumpet of God. Finally it says, and thus we shall be with the Lord always!! Hallelujah!!!!!!! Oh my God I cannot describe what I am feeling right now! Thus we shall be with the Lord always!!! Not for a year or a thousand years, but always!! God promises us eternity with Him! In His presence where we will have no need for the sun because His glory will shine upon us. Oh come on people if you can’t get excited about that what can you get excited about?! God is an awesome God!! When Jesus was preparing His disciples for His death and resurrection, He said to them “In my Father’s house there are many mansions, if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that were I am, you may be also.” (John 14:2-3) The above verses clearly confirm these verses. Jesus told His disciples and is telling us, that He has gone to prepare us a place that where He is, we may be also!! Oh my God!! Is anybody hearing me this morning?!! We are going to be where He is!!!! Everday, 24/7, 365 days a year, where time does not exist! Where an hour is like a second and a year is like a day! I can’t wait!!!!! Praise God, I can’t wait!! Let us pray that the church of God, the bride of Christ, would be ready to hear that trumpet and that beautiful voice calling us home to Him. If we are not ready, let’s get ready for the coming of our Lord for He will be here sooner than most think! Oh hallelujah! People we need to be ready and let others know that He is coming soon!!! And He is coming for a church without spot or wrinkle.

Heavenly Father,
We give you glory, honor, praise, and thanksgiving, for Your awesome Word that regenerates our minds, uplifts our spirits, and reminds us of Your promises of eternal life and the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Father, we pray that You would strengthen Your church in these last days, that our ears would be fine tuned to hear the trumpet call homeward where there will be no more pain, sickness, death or suffering. Oh Lord, we pray for those who do not know You yet, that they would come to You and submit to Your saving grace so that they too can be caught up to meet You in the air on glorious day when You return for Your church. We honor You this morning and everyday that we live and breathe on this earth, knowing that we are aliens on this earth and citizens of heaven, longing for the day when we will go home forever. In Jesus mighty name, I ask for strength, joy, peace, and a double portion of Your Holy Spirit for each of my brothers and sisters who will receive this word this morning. I ask for revival for Your church that those who may have been steered in the wrong direction may find their way back to Your truth, that those who may have had the fire quenched in their hearts may still have an ember left that can be stoked into a roaring flame again for everything that pertains to You. Father I pray for mercy for those who may be leading Your sheep away from Your pasture. For those oh Lord who are compromising Your word and sugar coating it to accommodate the flesh, I pray that these people will receive correction, recognize the truth of Your word and preach it unadulterated as You would have them to. For those who are preaching Your word unadulterated, as You give it to them, such as our Pastors, I pray that You give them strength to continue to speak what You put in their mouths to admonish Your people, to bring encouragement to the discouraged, hope to the hopeless, and conviction to those who are not aware of their sinful condition without You. Bless them, strengthen them, and continue to use them for Your glory. Prepare Your church Father, for that glorious day when we will go home to You.

In Jesus name,
Amen!!