OPEN SHAMELESSNESS  For the look on their faces bears witness against them; they proclaim their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves.  —Isaiah 3:9              Whether it was 2700 years ago or today, things do not change in this fallen world.  Isn’t it interesting that the “look on their faces bears witness against them.”  The wicked’s ways are reflected on their faces!  We live in such a day where people “proclaim their sin like Sodom.”  There was a day in our nation when shameful things were done behind closed doors and in the shadows of the night, but now…

NO LOVE AND FAITHFULNESS LIKE GOD’S  For your steadfast love is great above the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. —Psalm 108:4               Praise God for His steadfast love.  His love is not a wish-washy love.  It is not a fair-weathered friend type of love.  No, His love is with us in the good times and in the bad times.  His love does not leave us when we are doing well or when we are not doing so well.  His love is with us throughout our successes and our failures.  Yes, I am glad that is who He is!  If He did not love like that then if we…

BLEST BY OUR LORD   For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things… Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction… He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven….  He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground, a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants. He turns a desert into pools…

HOLD ON! For he held fast to the LORD. He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments that the LORD commanded Moses.  And the LORD was with him; wherever he went out, he prospered.. —II Kings 18:6-7 But you are to hold fast to the LORD your God, as you have until now. —Joshua 23:8 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. —Joshua 1:7             What or who are you holding onto as first priority?   Don’t…

TRUST HIM AT ALL TIMES!  Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice! Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually! Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered. —Psalm 105:1-5  When he summoned a famine on the land and broke all supply of bread, he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. His feet were hurt with fetters; his neck was…

DEATH IS DEFEATED!  Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness of which he was to die… So Elisha died, and they buried him—II Kings 13:14, 20  When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. —Psalm 104:29              Elisha was a godly man, a prophet of God. Our Lord worked mighty deeds through Him, marvelous miracles to show forth His glory.   And yet Elisha went “the way of all the earth” (Joshua 23:14).  Just like “Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten” so Elisha also…

HIS MERCY, GRACE AND LOVE TOWARD US!  The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.  He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. —Psalm 103:8-12              Let us rejoice in our Lord God Almighty. He does not give us what we deserve—judgment and hell— instead He is…

OUR UNCHANGING, FAITHFUL AND GIFTING GOD      Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.” And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?” And she said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” Then he said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few. Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your…

SEEK GOD AND TRUST HIM TO PROVIDE!  So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. And when they had made a circuitous march of seven days, there was no water for the army or for the animals that followed them. —II Kings 3:9  And he said, “Thus says the LORD, ‘I will make this dry streambed full of pools.’ For thus says the LORD, ‘You shall not see wind or rain, but that streambed shall be filled with water, so that you shall drink, you, your livestock, and your animals.’ This is a light thing in the sight of the LORD. —II Kings 3:16-18…

ABUSE OF GOD-GIVEN GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY   ”And Jezebel his wife said to him, “Do you now govern Israel? Arise and eat bread and let your heart be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal, and she sent the letters to the elders and the leaders who lived with Naboth in his city. And she wrote in the letters, “Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people. And set two worthless men opposite him, and let them bring a charge against him, saying, ‘You have cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out…