Isaiah 26:10

But if the wicked is shown favor, he does not learn righteousness. In a righteous land he acts unjustly and does not see the majesty of the LORD.

God’s judgments display righteousness. They clearly show what is right and what is wrong. While God is loving and forgiving, He is also just. Everything He does in our lives is designed to draw us closer to Him and away from the sin that so easily ensnares us.

The wicked do not see a need for mercy because they have justified their wicked acts in their own eyes. They cannot see the majesty or holiness of God, and, therefore, do not see the darkness of their own sin. If God were to show them favor, their evil acts would be viewed as righteous. God will turn them over to the control of the Devil and will allow them to become ensnared in their own sin. Only when one sees the darkness of his own sin in comparison to the holiness of God can he be convicted of evil and desire to turn from his ways. Such a persuasion is the job of the Holy Spirit.

We see evil practices and beliefs flourishing every day. Standing for what we believe to be right as a Christian based upon biblical standards brings persecution. We must remember, however, that we are not the judge. We can only preach or teach what the word says, pray, and leave the rest to the Holy Spirit. While we may desperately want God to move in righteous judgment, we must surrender the evil we see to Him. He is still in control, even if it looks like the world seems to be in total evil chaos at the moment. Never underestimate the power of prayer and the influence of the Holy Spirit to change what we cannot.

If you see evil flourishing today, pray. If you have a loved one who is ensnared by sin, speak the word and pray. God is not showing favor to the wicked; they are headed on a path of destruction. Pray for God to display His righteousness and for the eyes of the wicked to be opened to His holiness. Sometimes all you can do is pray, but God does nothing except in answer to prayer. Prayer is, therefore, the most powerful weapon we have against evil. Use it regularly, steadily, and mightily!

Have a blessed day!

Matthew 16:18

And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the forces of Hades will not overpower it.

Peter’s Greek name was Cephas, which means stone. Jesus planned to use Peter to begin the church. In fact, in his first sermon, he would lead 3,000 people to know Christ. The church, however, is not built upon Peter but upon the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is the chief cornerstone and the foundation upon which we teach, preach, and lead others to know Him. 

When my husband died, my whole world was turned upside down, and I was shaken to the core. Since then, I’ve been knocked down, betrayed, misunderstood, deceived, criticized, trampled, and rejected, but I have never stayed in the pit! I can credit this to only one thing – the word of God and the rock (Jesus) upon which I stand. God has graciously poured His word into my soul on a daily basis – a process which began long before I became a widow. When Eddie died, that foundation – rock – began to rise from within, placing my feet upon a firm foundation and rescuing me from the pit of despair. This is why it is so vitally important for Christians to fill themselves with God’s word during the good times because that very word becomes their strong foundation during the bad times, which will most certainly happen.

In this verse, Jesus warned His disciples that the forces of Hades would attack, but they would not be able to overpower His church. The Devil may knock us down, but because we are built upon the rock – Jesus Christ – we won’t stay there! He is a strong foundation for us during troubled times.

What we need to overcome times of loss or tragedy is a greater revelation of Jesus – our cornerstone and our rock. We gain that revelation through the Bible and the leading of the Holy Spirit to teach us and guide us through it. God will speak directly to us through His word, and we can be assured of His promises. That is why He put them in writing! The less you know of God’s word, the deeper you will fall when the earth shakes, but the more you know His word, the more firm your foundation will be. Stand upon the rock today, and fill yourself with His word. The forces of Hades (Hell) will not overpower you!

Have a blessed day!

Luke 18:8

I tell you that He will swiftly grant them justice. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find that faith on earth?

In this parable, Jesus described a widow who persisted in approaching an unjust judge to give her justice against her adversary. As a widow, she was dependent upon society for her well-being, and she was vulnerable to abuse and neglect. This widow had obviously suffered a wrong and kept taking her case to the judge, even though he initially showed no interest in granting her request. Because her persistence was annoying to him, he decided to administer justice on her behalf.

We serve a God who is just and caring toward His people. While it may seem at times that He is delaying justice or an answer we desperately need, He has promised to work all things together for our good, according to Romans 8:28. Like this persistent widow, we must have faith that He will answer and keep taking our request before Him. Unlike her, however, we can have more faith in God than she did in the unjust judge because He is just and compassionate.

Jesus questioned whether or not He would find this kind of faith when He returned. Will His own people still be looking for Him? Will those who call themselves by His name still be waiting for Him to answer? Will we give up hope because we don’t think He will answer or come? Jesus is looking for faith, and He responds to faith. If the persistent widow received her request from an unjust judge, how much more can we who belong to Christ count on Him to come through for us? Don’t give up hope in Jesus. He hasn’t given up on you, and He will come for you one day – soon. He will answer – soon.

Have a blessed day!

1 Samuel 17:46-47

Today, the LORD will hand you over to me. Today, I’ll strike you down, cut your head off, and give the corpses of the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and the creatures of the earth. Then all the world will know that Israel has a God, and this whole assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that the LORD saves, for the battle is the LORD’s. He will hand you over to us.

David was speaking to Goliath in these verses, telling him exactly what was about to happen. Goliath had threatened David with his size and his strength, but David saw God doing something else. David knew he could never take such a mighty giant by his own strength, but God would hand Goliath over to him. When our enemies are too great and too many for us to handle, God can hand them over to us so we might be victorious over them.

Many of the battles we face are designed to scare or intimidate us. They have no real power over us but serve only to try to make us retreat. Only by going forward do we find God is able to hand over to us the things we thought we were too small or too weak to face. When God hands them over, everyone sees His glory because His power – not ours – is obvious.

God does not need to fight by sword or by spear. All He has to do is speak over a situation for the enemy to fall. He spoke the world into existence in Genesis, and Revelation reveals that Christ will speak to the enemy to gain victory in the end. His word is powerful enough to win any battle.

If you are surrounded by thick clouds of worry, defeat, anger, or anything that threatens to harm you, begin to speak to your situation as David spoke to Goliath. Declare that God will hand your enemies over to you. The battle is His, and all He has to do is speak. Dig deep into God’s word and claim His promises. Anything He has already spoken is a weapon against the enemy to claim your victory. Face the things you have to face today with full assurance that God is fighting for you, and He will hand your enemies over to you. Giving up is accepting defeat, and God created you to triumph. Stand up, speak to your giant, and move forward!

Have a blessed day!

Isaiah 62:11

Look, the LORD has proclaimed to the end of the earth, “Say to Daughter Zion: Look, your salvation is coming. His reward is with Him, and His recompense is before Him.”

God proclaimed to the whole world the coming of the Messiah, who would bring salvation. This verse was a word of encouragement for Israel to look forward to her coming Savior. For us, that Savior has already come in the Person of Jesus Christ. Salvation is not something to which we must look forward; salvation is something we can experience now.

Many of us are guilty of coming to Christ because of what He can do for us. We seek Him or serve Him with expectation of what He will do. In reality, however, His reward is Himself. When we are in His presence, enjoying His company and relying on His provision, we have everything we could ever need or want. He is the reward, Himself.

Recompense is a payment to satisfy a debt. He has already paid the price for our sins; we now may live in the fullness of His presence. We can turn to Him at any time, knowing that He has satisfied our debt, and He will forgive whatever has stood in the way of full relationship with Him. His recompense is before Him, and He does not remove it.

Rejoice today in knowing that salvation has already come for you in the Person of Jesus Christ. His reward is with Him, and having Him is greater than anything He can do for you. His sacrifice is still before Him as payment for any failure, mistake, or act of rebellion you may have experienced. Rest in His presence, and find your reward!

Have a blessed day!

2 Peter 1:5-7

For this very reason (escaping the corruption of the world), make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The person who lacks these things is blind and shortsighted, and has forgotten the cleansing from his past sins.

Peter teaches us here to add to our faith the very things that Paul taught us in Galatians 5:22 as the fruit of the Spirit. We cannot walk our Christian life by faith alone; we must apply the fruit of the Spirit in order to escape the corruption of the world. Indeed, when we walk in goodness, knowledge, self-control, endurance, godliness, brotherly affection, and love, we will avoid the snares the enemy sets for us and will be able to live free of condemnation and guilt.

Failure to apply the fruit of the Spirit to our walk of faith can prevent us from walking in the full blessings of God. If we lack endurance, for example, we will give up before the blessing comes and forfeit the reward that should have been ours. Allowing the fruit of the Spirit to grow and mature in us makes us productive as Christians. The most miserable people in the world are those who feel useless, without purpose, or incapable of contributing to society. A healthy Christian should see these virtues increasing in measure as he/she grows in Christ.

Make a conscious effort to apply the fruit of the Spirit to your daily walk of faith. The enemy will certainly try to challenge you, but applying these virtues will protect you from his snare. If you fail, he will condemn you and try to damage your witness. Resist him, and he will flee from you (James 4:7).  Don’t forget the fact that Christ has saved you from much, and you should never revert back to any old habits that enslaved you to sin. She whom the Spirit sets free is free indeed, and the walk of faith and application of the fruit of the Spirit in your life will keep you free. Christ died for us because the life we have in Him is worth living. Supplement your faith with the fruit of the Spirit and remain useful and fruitful.

Have a blessed day!

2 Timothy 1:4-5

Remembering your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy, clearly recalling your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois, then in your mother Eunice, and that I am convinced is in you also.

Genetic make-up is not the only thing that passes from one generation to another. Paul saw a genuine faith in Timothy that previously displayed itself in his mother and in his grandmother. Never underestimate the power your faith has on generations to follow. 

Our influence as mothers and grandmothers is immense. To this day, Samuel still asks my advice in making choices. I realize the day will come when he will no longer ask my advice, but I trust that by then he will have learned to make wise ones. Quite often, my response to him is, “Choose whichever one you want.” I don’t want him making choices that he thinks will make me happy. I want him to make choices that suit him but are wise. He’s recently chosen to read daily from the book of Proverbs – a choice he made on his own and makes this mother very proud!

Your children and grandchildren see your faith. They know when you worry, when you are angry, and when you hurt. They see how you handle each situation. Most importantly, they see when you trust and submit a matter to God. Having a model of faith that is lived before them is one of the greatest gifts from God they can have as a child. It is a better trainer than words or lectures could ever be. Their knowing that God loves them and answers prayer is a powerful lesson for children to learn at a young age. It will deliver them and sustain them when they are older and cannot find an answer for themselves.

Thank God for your children and grandchildren today. Thank Him for your own mother and grandmother and for the things you learned from them. A heritage of faith is a very powerful thing to pass through generations. It is a testimony of God’s grace and a reflection of His love.

Have a blessed day!

Isaiah 62:9

For those who gather grain will eat it and praise the LORD, and those who harvest the grapes will drink the wine in My holy courts.

God promises to give us what is rightfully ours. If we gather the grain, we will eat it. Nothing is promised to those who will not gather grain. God will protect our crop and bless the works of our hands, but we must be willing to go forth into our field and gather.

In God’s court, those who harvest the grapes will drink the wine. When we go before Him to ask for something, we must be sure we are asking for something that should be ours. To wish for another’s success or to desire what another has is envy. God has a plan for you, and when you seek Him, His plan for you will unfold. Seeing ourselves as a failure in comparison to another is simply failure to attend to our own harvest. God has promised us a harvest, but we have to be working in our own field or vineyard to receive it. We must be careful not to pay too much attention to another’s vineyard that we fail to care for our own.

Ask God to help you clearly see your own field and vineyard today. Begin to harvest the grain and grapes He has provided for you. This is your inheritance, and the Devil would love to steal your harvest from you. He can do this only if you fail to gather. Go forth and fill your storehouse! Eat, drink, and praise the LORD for His abundance!

Have a blessed day!

Psalm 10:14

But You Yourself have seen trouble and grief, observing it in order to take the matter into Your hands. The helpless entrusts himself to You; You are a helper of the fatherless.

When we experience times of trouble and grief, it may feel as if we are alone in our situation and no one else can understand. Even God, however, has experienced trouble and grief. His grief came from man and the sin of this world, and ultimately so does ours. Trouble and grief come when that which helps us function as a whole is threatened or taken away. We feel the anxiety or pain from the loss or potential loss. To think that God felt this way over us and because of us is both humbling and convicting.

According to this verse, God observes trouble and grief in order to take the matter into His hands. He carefully analyzes every angle of the situation and knows every unhealthy motive and addiction attached to it. He uses both trouble and grief to bring change to our lives and will eventually bring good from it all. Trouble and grief will expose the good, the bad, and the ugly in us all, and we are left to deal with the things that are not what they should be for us to ever function as a whole being again. In this way, God uses the bad and the ugly to create a change for the good in us.

There are times when we simply cannot help ourselves. These are the times when we are called to trust in God, who knows the situation far better than we do. When we don’t have the answers, we must trust the One who does and submit ourselves to His care. He has a plan to get us exactly where we need to be, and we will get there by following Him. If we insist upon doing things our own way, we are destined to end up in a ditch somewhere, unable to move without His assistance. One way or another, we will learn to submit to Him.

To be fatherless is to have no one to give you wise direction. You have no one to help shape your identity or to help you along the path you should go. God steps in to help the fatherless by giving them identity, direction, and provision. His grace supersedes the handicap of having no father to guide you. For this, I am extremely thankful as I trust my son to His care daily.

Perhaps, you’ve known the void of having no father present or a bad example for a father. These situations are abundant in our society today, and much trouble and grief stem from no father present in a household. God is a helper to the fatherless. Trust your void, your pain, and your need for direction and identity with Him. He’s already observed your trouble and your grief in order to take the matter into His own hands. Entrust yourself to Him, and become whole.

Have a blessed day!

Proverbs 10:24

What the wicked dreads will come to him, but what the righteous desires will be given to him.

The wicked dread the consequences of their actions. They dread judgment for the sins they’ve committed and facing those they have wronged. The wicked dread the just outcome of their crimes, but we can count on God to be just. We may not, however, always understand His timing. He desires even for the wicked to repent and turn from their ways, but when they won’t, He brings judgment. The longer the wicked wait, the more tormented they are by the dread of the judgment they have coming. Therefore, dread is a punishment itself.

Dread can also become a pattern of a negative mind. In order to avoid disappointment, one can expect the worst and wish for the best. Wishing, however, is not a substitute for hope, which is an expectancy of good. Hope leads to faith, which pleases God. To live in constant dread of bad things to happen is neither wise nor productive. Choosing to live in the negative is its own form of punishment and does not attract the heart of God because it suppresses faith.

The righteous live by faith. What they desire will be given to them by faith. The righteous have no dread to encounter because they have wronged no one. If they have sinned, they have repented and turned from their sin in order to follow Jesus. They can expect God to be good to them and to give them their desires because He is the creator of their desires.

We all have a choice to make. We can either live in dread like wicked men, or we can turn to Jesus and live by faith. God is a just judge who will judge this earth, but He has already judged our sin in Christ. If we repent and follow Him, God will work everything out for our good and His glory. That doesn’t mean we won’t ever have consequences to pay, but God can use those things to draw us into a closer relationship with Him and bring good out of our mistakes and shortcomings. We have hope even when we fail in Christ! Determine to live by faith and not by dread. You will find God giving you the very desires of your heart in the end.

Have a blessed day!