Isaiah 37:3 – “And they said to him, Thus says Hezekiah: This is a day of distress and of rebuke and of anger; for the children have come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.”

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God today, “three” kept surfacing. I contemplated that, wondering how it related to me, you, and this hour.

In Isaiah 37:3, we find King Hezekiah filled with inner turmoil over the potential destruction of his nation. Babylon was threatening. The top General of Babylon had sent a threat that could not be ignored. Babylon was sweeping through the land, devouring every nation it confronted.   Hezekiah sent an entourage to Isaiah and said, “This is a day of DISTRESS and of REBUKE and of ANGER; for the children have come to birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.”

He was in Distress because Israel’s annihilation seemed imminent. The Rebuke could be viewed as twofold.   Babylon was rebuking him for not surrendering, and this could be viewed as a rebuke from God for disobedience.

Anger flowed from Babylon toward them, but possibly ANGER at themselves for not following God or anger at God for allowing this to happen.   This is a threefold or three-layered issue. Their utter helplessness is embraced: “The children have come forth, and there is no strength to bring forth.”

Isaiah gave the king assurance, but Babylon would use the devil’s age-old tactic of intimidation.   They sent Hezekiah threatening letters. In verse 14, Hezekiah received the letters, read them, took them to the altar, and spread them before God.

He prayed a threefold prayer in verse 17.    Incline Your ear, open Your eyes, and hear their words.   Then, in verse 18, Hezekiah reminds God that there is truth in their threats.   Babylon has done what the letters claim.

Isaiah responded with God’s promise of deliverance with a threefold sign in verse 30.   You will eat the harvest of this year and the next, and then, in the third year, you will return to normal life.

In Isaiah 44:2, we see the threefold again. “Thus says the LORD that MADE you and FORMED you from the womb and HELPED you: Fear Not…”   Hezekiah met the threefold problem with a threefold prayer, and God responded with a threefold promise and provision.

We are facing difficult times today.   We plant, we water, but God gives the increase.   We must plant for the other two elements of that equation to transpire or be possible.

Examine your heart, search your memory banks, and address what His instruction was for 2024. If you have not completed the assignment for last year, in the words of Larry the Cable Guy, ‘Get ‘er Done!’ It is essential to take steps to prepare the place for God’s blessings.

May your day be filled with the God of all creation and stand in the victory He has provided!

Isaiah 29:9 – “And it shall even be as when a hungry man dreams that he is eating, and when he awakes he is weary and famished; or as when a thirsty man dreams he is drinking, but when he awakes, he is faint, with his thirst not quenched; so shall the multitude of all the nations be that fight against mount Zion.”

As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word of God today, two words kept echoing in my mind: Futility and Fruitfulness.  God always gives contrast, either directly or implied.  He always reveals two paths, one is futile (futility), and the other is fruitful (fruitfulness).

That is what Isaiah 29:9 is talking about!  I realize this is a Last Day’s prophecy about those opposing Israel.  However, I see a contrast that can be applied to life.  Those who reject and oppose God find no satisfaction.  If that is true, then those who accept and obey God are fully satisfied.

Isaiah 30:23-25 speaks to those who accept God, repent, and obey. He gives rain needed for a bountiful harvest (materially and spiritually). He gives flowing rivers on the mountains. If mountains represent obstacles, trials, and difficulties, that is a powerful promise. Refreshing in the time of trial. Remember Jesus’ words – “Out of your innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.”   Remember Psalm 23, Green pastures, quiet streams, and a table spread in the middle of the battle.

Isaiah 32:17 is powerful, “And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness, and assurance FOREVER.”

The contrast is clear. Rejecting and resisting God is to live a life of futility, whereas accepting Him and pursuing His purposes produces a life of fruitfulness. There is always a contrast and a choice in EVERYTHING!   Isaiah 33:2 – “O LORD, be gracious to us; for in Thee is our trust; be Thou our helper every morning, our salvation also in the time of distress.”

I suggest reading Isaiah 35:3-6, 8-10 to see our responsibility and God’s promise of provision in giving a life of fruitfulness.  There is always a contrast and a choice, and choices have consequences or benefits.

Isaiah 25:8 – “He will swallow up death in victory FOREVER; and the LORD God of hosts WILL wipe away the tears off ALL faces; AND the reproach of His people He shall take away from off all the earth; for the LORD has spoken it.”

The ultimate end of surrender is fruitfulness, whereas the fruit of rebellion is futility. There is always a contrast and a choice. Choose wisely and enjoy fruitfulness rather than chasing fantasies that are only unreachable dreams. He is our supply, our hope, our provider, and our life!

May your day be fruitful, and may you choose the right path!

Revelation 22:17 – “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.”

I hear the sound of moving in the heavenlies. I hear the sound of love calling creation to repent and return. I hear sadness in the voice of the Spirit, saying, “Come!” I feel the love of God for us.

If we could only comprehend the depth of that love and the provisions made for us to live in, through, and by Him, we would BECOME who He declares we are.

God is a covenant maker and covenant keeper!   We talk about the eight covenants of God and wonder at them.   We sometimes toss all but the New Covenant aside and lose the revelation of the foundation, purpose, and process of that Covenant.

The Everlasting Covenant is that Covenant made in eternity before time began.  It was before the creation of man and is an all-encompassing covenant.  It details God’s complete plan in creation and redemption. Man was not a party to it but the object of it. If we understand Covenant, we will understand God’s love and purpose for man.

God is calling us to repent, return, and be restored.   I keep hearing, ‘The Beehive of 2025.’    I keep hearing – ‘Strive or thrive in 25.’   I keep hearing – ‘Who will survive in 25?’  I sense that a deep darkness, comparable to Revelation 6, is about to occur.   

It will be a precursor to the Tribulation of Revelation.   It will be for a wake-up call.  War escalating and expanding, violence prolifically increasing, pestilence, pandemic, shortages, and plenty.  Hate will escalate, and Christians, even in America, will endure severe persecution. Some will die for the faith. Disloyalty will become the norm.

The church will become its own worst enemy, as it divides into two camps.   One will make flesh its focus, and the other will lose itself in God and His purposes. One group will be unforgiving and revengeful, the other ‘just as Christ’s people.

America has only one Savior, Jesus.  Those who trust anything but Jesus will be overcome by deception and lose heart and hope.  Their hopes dashed, and their expectations will not become realities.

God is calling a remnant who will BE His Overcomers!   Darkness and the River of Revival, bringing Renewal and Restoration, is here.  Will we get in the water?

May your day be filled with the Hope of His Kingdom and the Power of His Love!

Jude 10-11 – “In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings. ⁹ But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” ¹⁰ Yet these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct—as irrational animals do—will destroy them.  ¹¹ Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.”

Recently, my spirit has been stirred by a sense of something regarding the conclusion of 2024 and the start of 2025.   In 2024, I heard, “2024, the door to more.” As we are moving through 2025, I am hearing, “If you went through My door in 2024, you will thrive in the beehive of 2025.   If you have not gone through my door in 2024, you will strive in 2025.”   

I must admit that it has troubled me somewhat and caused me to reevaluate deeply and carefully 2024 and what I have and have not walked through and into.   If we have left things undone in 2024, we will face the struggles related to those unfinished assignments in 2025.

In 2025, the beehive embodies the reality that God is shutting some things down completely.   Something in the Book of Jude gripped my heart. Jude addressed the condition of hearts as he characterized the days to come.

He compared the modern mindset to Sodom and Gomorrah, the fallen angels pursuing lust and the lack of respect that was and would be prevalent.

Jude 10 identifies people who blaspheme against things that they have no comprehension of.   Then, in verse 11, my heart wept as I read and saw the reality in the world and some in the church, including leadership.

“Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain and have run greedily after the error of Balaam for reward and have perished in the rebellion of Korah.”

Here is what I sensed in my heart.

• Cain = works, trying to earn favor by what we do.
• Balaam = money and fleshly lust.  Trying to use God and His Word for personal gain and to justify sin.
• Korah = power and position.  

We are to be living stones put into specific places by God’s assigned master builders.   If we try to usurp the God-ordained authority, we become rebellious, and the quest for position, power, purse, and prominence destroys us.

God is about to escalate the shutting down of many false things, and the directive of Revelation to the church in John’s prophecy is about to be fulfilled.

However, we must be cautious not to become self-righteous, but weep over their failures.   Let the words of Jude 23 resonate deeply within you.  Some will repent.    Jude 23 gives us the proper response, “AND when they repent, have mercy on them with compassion…”   God is always about restoration, and we should always view the failures of another, knowing that but for the grace of God, there goes me. We forgive completely out of our own complete forgiveness.

The beehive of 2025 is finding us thriving or striving.   The door of 2024 is the key!   What has God impressed upon you to do? Did you do it?   I have a sense in my spirit that it is not too late!   If you know something you didn’t finish in 2024, set your heart and hand to it and do it!   Do not allow 2025 to conclude without completing the assignment given to you!    Victory is in your grasp!

May your day be filled with the wonder of God’s love, mercy, and grace!   

Job 27:18 – “The wicked has built his house upon a spider’s web.”

As I read, prayed, and contemplated the Word of God today, a passage in the book of Job arrested me.   Job 27:18 is translated in various ways.  Most render it as the wicked building their house as a moth’s cocoon.   One renders it, “The wicked has built his house upon a spider’s web.”

A moth’s cocoon presents a unique imagery.   The fragile house of the moth is made of the material it consumes.    It feeds on what it has provided in its dwelling.   It is not dependent on anything outside that cocoon.

Those who trust themselves make their gold, goods, talents, networks, and abilities their source of strength.   Those who trust God are totally dependent upon Him and know those things are from Him, but also fleeting and temporary, making them unreliable.

We are to trust God who “hangs the world upon nothing.” (Job 26:7).  We are to trust the one who “Sees my ways and counts my steps.” (Job 31:4).  We are to trust the one who “Does not commit iniquity, neither perverts justice.” (Job 34:12).

As Paul declared in 2 Corinthians 3:5b – “Our strength comes from God.”   If we trust ourselves, our wealth, our possessions, knowledge, or ability, we grow weary.   But, if we totally surrender to God and He becomes our true source, then as 2 Corinthians 4:1 declares, “For this reason we are not weary of the ministry in which we are engaged…”

Life can be hard, but it is even harder if we place our trust in the wrong things.   Trust is demonstrated, not verbalized.  Trust is faith in action, rooted in anchored confidence.  We should examine our actions and attitudes to test our trust.  We walk by faith, not by sight.

So, do not build your house on a moth’s cocoon or a spider’s web.   Build it on the ROCK!   If we feed on ourselves, we will be consumed, but if we feed on Him, we will flourish!

Upon the Rock we stand!   Have a fantastic day!