Isaiah 37:14 – “And Hezekiah received the letters from the hand of the messengers and read them; and Hezekiah went to the house of the LORD and spread them before the LORD.”

I am amazed at myself and others at how often we fail to follow the simple directives of the Holy Spirit.   We have the propensity to try to fix things ourselves.   We will rack our brains for a solution and devise our plans for success.   Tragically, often, they are miserable failures.

Admittedly, that is not always bad, but if we learned from Scripture and the examples of those who did it God’s way, we would be light years ahead, far more victorious, and filled with peace.   It would add years to our lives.

Isaiah 37 gives a simple pattern that we miss.   Hezekiah had received a threatening letter from Sennacherib, King of Assyria.   Hezekiah heard the threats, and his first action was humility and prayer.  He went to the house of the LORD.

God turned the enemy back, but rather than just leaving, they sent threatening letters.   Hezekiah was no fool.  He knew what the Assyrians had done throughout the land.  The threat had weight.

Hezekiah read the letter, and as he did, he had two choices – Fear or Faith.    He could rely on his inadequacy or rely on God’s sufficiency.  Thankfully, he chose to trust God, so he took the problem that the threatening letters represented and spread them out before God.

His expectation was for God to read the threats.  He said, “LORD, this is what we are facing, and we cannot fix it.  Therefore, we are totally in Your hands.  You promised to take care of us and fight for us.”

He stood on the revealed promise of Isaiah 40:8 – “The grass withers, the flower fades; BUT the Word of our God shall stand FOREVER!”

Isaiah 40:31 promised that they could expect renewed strength, with no weariness or fainting. 

Isaiah 43:2 – “When you pass through the sea, I will be with you: and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon you.”

This was Total Protection and is only found in doing things God’s way.   Do not fret; God has never failed yet!  Be like Hezekiah and spread the problem out before the LORD.  Give the Problem to Him!

If there is another action to be done by you, He will let you know!  Otherwise, do what you know, listen for his voice, trust His nudging, and Relax.   God does not fail.

Have a blessed day basking in the sunlight of God’s Love and the provisions of His promises and power!

Mark 10:23-27 – “And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” ²⁴ And the disciples were amazed at his words.  But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁶ And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁷ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God.  For all things are possible with God.”

My focus this morning is on Mark 10 and 11.   In Mark 10, Jesus caused the disciples to be flabbergasted.    Flabbergasted?   About what?  It was His treatise on rich people and salvation. 

He did not say that being rich was not God’s will.  His message was the captivating corruption of trusting wealth rather than God.  It was about seeing Everything as a tool of ministry, not as a source but as a tool. 

The disciples were shocked, possibly thinking Jesus was condemning wealth.  They became even more astonished when Jesus made the oft-quoted declaration in Mark 10:25.  Salvation, under those conditions, did not seem possible.  Jesus said, “Boys, you are right, but you are wrong.  It is impossible for man through man, BUT GOD can do all things.“

In Mark 11, faith and God’s ability to do the impossible surfaced again.  We claim to believe these passages, and maybe we do.  However, true belief is demonstrated, not just expressed verbally.   It acts (experiential faith) rather than declares (theoretical faith).  Faith without works is theory, not faith.

The keys are faith in God, not faith in faith.   We see the demonstration of declaring what we desire to be a realized reality now.   There is to be no doubt in the heart.  None, Nada, Zilch, Zero!  Not even a little.  None! 

Believes “in” his heart could be rendered ‘Expects it to be a Present Reality.’  Most hope it will rather than “expect” it to be.  Few see it as done.   Most hope it will be if they pray enough, confess it enough, and become worthy enough.   Therefore, rather than experiential faith, they have theoretical faith and live in a state of superficial theoretical hope, not faith.

DOUBT DOES NOT EXPECT

Jesus offered an addendum, which is the biggest hindrance to reaching that level of expectation (Mark 11:25-26).  There must be “Forgiveness From the Heart!”

Then, in Mark 12, something valuable arises.  Jesus describes how we are to love God, and this is the key to knowing God, which is the key to experiential, no Doubt, faith.

We are to Love God with the entire heart.  Most of us get that.  We are to Love God with our whole soul and all our strength.  But we miss a connector between the soul and heart – The Mind.  Jesus separated the mind from the Soul and Spirit. 

Let me offer this consideration – The Mind, the cognitive mental ability, is the channel that connects the Soul and Spirit.  We live in a body influenced by the soul.  The mind can take the things of God and order them in a way that makes sense.  It can also open the door for the heart to embrace that truth, and it becomes who we are.  Then, out of the convinced heart, we have Zero Doubt and Expect!

There we become “All,” Jesus says we are, and no mountain can withstand us (literal or spiritual).  We become visible expressions of the Kingdom, manifesting Him and His power.   That is God’s design and desire for you.  I pray for it to be a recognized reality Now!

May this day be powerfully victorious as you walk in God’s Peace and Grace!

Ezekiel 18:31 – “Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel?”

The Bible says that God knows those who are His.  In Ezekiel 9 and 11, I saw something that resonated with me.   God marks those who find sin unacceptable, and sinfulness troubles them.   That mark is a sign of ownership.

In Chapter 11, we find that those marked are given a new heart and Spirit, enabling them to walk pure before the Lord.  We keep justifying our flesh when God promises victory over it.  By justifying the flesh, we give it power.  By condemning the flesh, we render it powerless.

Idols in the Heart are hindrances that block our progress.

Ezekiel 18:31 gives an interesting declaration: “Cast away from you…”  Who is doing this?  We are!  “…all the iniquities which you have committed; AND…”  Who is the AND directed to?  Us!  “…make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit…”  We cannot make our Hearts or Spirit new, but our actions open that door.  “…SO THAT you may not die…”   We should take that literally and spiritually.

In Mark 7, Jesus explained the natural and spiritual.   He explained the Heart.  The Heart is the key.  When something gets in the Heart, it shapes life and defines who we have become.

The Heart is like a fruit tree or a spring of water.  If the tree or spring is good, the fruit is good.  If it is bad, it has no redeeming value.  It provides no sustenance.

We speak, think, and act based on the overflow of our Hearts.   It is not Freudian slips; it is revelatory of what is in the Heart.   Therefore, we own it and repent of what needs to be repented so we can open the door to being marked and transformed. 

We do not have to manifest sin and allow the flesh to dominate.   If we do, we are testifying that that is the condition of our Heart.  If Christ is IN Us, is he dominated by the flesh?   Do not excuse the flesh, but seek God and be filled with His Righteousness.    We are not super saints but totally committed followers of Jesus, making us super!

Victory is your heritage from God.  Embrace it!

Have a great day in Jesus, and walk in the fullness of the victory He won at Calvary.

Isaiah 54:15-17 – “If anyone stirs up strife, it is not from me;
Whoever stirs up strife with you shall fall because of you.  ¹⁶ Behold, I have created the smith who blows the fire of coals and produces a weapon for its purpose.  I have also created the ravager to destroy; ¹⁷     no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.  This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.”

While contemplating what I was reading in Isaiah, the Holy Spirit gave me an extraordinarily powerful sense of comfort.   Isaiah 49:8 speaks of God’s timing.   It is a reminder that God answers our sincere cries and brings to us His salvation.

God’s freedom given to us enables us to set captives free.   We are empowered to bring Hope to those hiding in the shadows in fear.  We bring Hope to the Hopeless because of the Hope in us.

We read in Isaiah 49:16 – “Behold, I have inscribed you upon the palms of My hands…”  That is Amazing!   In Isaiah 49:25, we have the promise that God will contend with those who contend with us.  Consider that!  That is incredibly comforting!

Isaiah 54:2-4 should be read often.   We sometimes hesitate to step out and pursue our dreams.  If our dreams are inspired by selfishness, they bring sorrow and confusion.   But if they are God inspired, we have the promise of God’s help.  With His help, we are to expand the place of our tents without fear. 

Isaiah 54:17 contains a promise, so incredibly few actually believe it literally.

“NO WEAPON…”   How many weapons?  NONE!  No Weapon formed against us has any hope of success.  “EVERY TONGUE…”  How many tongues and naysayers?  NONE!  No Tongue that speaks against us has any chance to prevail.  We will Condemn and Defeat them!   That is our Heritage in the Lord!

The question is, “Who and Whose are you?”   If we are born-again blood, washed, redeemed children of God, we are Family!  God is our father.   Jesus, our elder brother.  We are an heir and jointly share the inheritance of Jesus. 

From that position, how can we doubt?  With that heritage, the promise is life with no sense of lack or defeat.

So, “Who are we?”   Do we say about ourselves what God has already said?  We agree with one side or the other, but there is no middle ground.

We need to “Agree with God” even if we do not feel like it, look like it, or have a history of it being experiential in our lives.  God said it!  Therefore, let us choose to believe God.  Then, begin reaching for it.   It will come if we press forward and press in.

May the abundant overflow of God’s Grace, Peace, Power, and Love be yours today and every day!

Genesis 1:1 – “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”  NASU

As we begin 2025, I firmly believe we should start at the beginning and move forward from a solid and sure foundation.  Too often, we try to plug in somewhere rather than begin at the beginning. 

• Some attempt to begin in the middle, have no history or foundation for the past, fail to understand the present, and miss the future. 
• Some want to go to the end and see how it turns out, but they have no foundation, experience, or history to lead them to that point of ultimate culmination. 
• I believe that it is imperative that we ‘begin at the beginning’ and lay a proper foundation that is anchored in God’s Truth.

The pertinent question is – “How did it all begin?”   Genesis Chapter One, Verse One tells us that it began with GOD!   God, the creator, created the ‘heavens and the earth.’  The first twelve chapters of the Book of Genesis are foundationally critical to understanding the rest of the Old Testament and any of the New. 

Genesis could rightly be called the ‘seed book’ of the Bible.  Knowing that God is systematic and orderly in His presentation and progression enables us to believe His report and record easily.  God has given us an explicit guide or basis of information at the beginning of the most important book we will ever read.

If you begin with a ‘Big Bang,’ you will not see God as the creator.  Why?  Because you are a believer in ‘random chance.’ That is your explanation for the entirety of creation and man’s existence. 

• For me, that would be like taking a few railroad carloads of printer type, a shovel, scooping them up, throwing them into the air, and expecting a novel of epic proportions to come forth. 
• It would be like taking the pieces of a watch and placing them in a bag, shaking them up, and expecting a finely tuned precision timepiece to be the result. 

Scientists cannot explain the complexities of man’s nervous system with the miles of blood vessels, nerves, etc.  Design implies a designer, and it would take far more ‘faith’ for me to believe the theory of evolution, the Big Bang, or some other theory other than “In the beginning God created….”

We will arrive at the wrong destination if we begin at the wrong premise.  If we start anywhere other than “In the beginning God…”  We begin wrong and will come to an incorrect conclusion.  Therefore, if you want me to explain everything about God, you ask the wrong person.  I do not believe you will ever find a human who can fill that role. 

However, allow me to turn the tables. You explain the complexities of the human body, the universe, its operation, and life in general. I am sorry I asked a challenging question, and I contend that you can only explain what you believe based on what you have been taught and your willingness or unwillingness to consider the biblical account. 

Your scientific evidence is not evidence; it is theoretical postulations from people such as Charles Darwin and others. You ignore the holes in the theories and still cling to them because it makes you feel secure not having to acknowledge the existence and power of God because that would make you accountable to Him.  

When I say ‘you,’ I am not implying that everyone who reads or hears this disbelieves the biblical record.  I believe and hope that most of you are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, as we begin this New Year, let us commit to going back to the beginning and begin there with God as the starting point of our life.   It does not matter where you are on your journey from the cradle to the grave; going back to review the foundation is never a bad thing.

May God be with you as you go through your day!