BEAUTIFUL FEET How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” —Isaiah 52:7 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us…

BE MULTIPLIED! Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but one when I called him, that I might bless him and multiply him. —Isaiah 51:2             Brother and sister, God called Abraham.  God blessed Abraham.  God multiplied Abraham.  God called you.  God blessed you. God wants to multiply you.  Abraham was going to be a blessing to the world.  His “offspring” would be multitudes through the ages.  How about you and me?  Will we be multitudes to the end of this age?             God did all this through Abraham and yet Abraham had a part that he was responsible for.  He wasn’t just…

GOD WORKS THROUGH WHOEVER HE DESIRES TO Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed:  “I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron,  I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who call you by your name.  For the sake of my servant Jacob, and…

GOD LOVES YOU FOREVER! Let those who fear the LORD say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” —Psalm 118:4             Praise God for His forever enduring love to those who fear Him!  Brother and sister our God loves us more than we can fully comprehend.  In the familiar verse John 3:16 we are told that God “so loved” that He gave His only Son.  God “so loves” you.  How much does He love you?  The eternal Son of God died for you!  How much does He love you?  “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming…

BE STRENGTHENED BY OUR LORD GOD ALMIGHTY  He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.  Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;  but they who wait for 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 40:29-31 The LORD is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. —Exodus 15:2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not…

DEATH COMES TO ALL! Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. —Psalm 116:15 Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’ —Ezekiel 33:11             This is a fact of life that we all have to face— we will all die one day.  150,000 die everyday world-wide.  One day you and I will be included in that number!  It is eternally wise to be ready for that day. …

OUR AWESOME GOD! You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, “He did not make me”; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?—29:16 Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. Those who…

PEACE You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.  Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock. —Isaiah 26:3-4             People want peace from war, from conflicts of any sorts.  Only the wicked in heart truly want conflict and seek the destruction of others.  From the beginning of time there was only one time frame where absolute world peace reigned on earth.  That was before Adam and Eve disobeyed God and sin and death entered the world.  Since then world peace has not been known.  There has always been conflict since then.  It started immediately with conflict…

NOT HOPELESS, BUT HOPEFUL “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” —Isaiah 22:13 If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” —I Corinthians 15:32             Here’s a fatalistic, hopeless, purposeless view of life.  Why not live for the senses if that is all life is about?  If we hope not in anything but this life then let us live it up to the fullest selfish pleasures as possible as we define them.  If we have no more purpose in life than a rock then why not look at for our own needs and enjoy life to our own heart’s content?  Short lived…

FEAR NOT!  For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever.  He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD. —Psalm 112:6-7             We have the righteousness of God through Christ (Romans 3:22; II Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 3:9) and we will never be moved.  We are eternally secure in His righteousness and will be remembered forever.  Brother and sister in our Lord Jesus Christ, we are so fortunate!             Why should we fear even bad news on this planet or in this life?  This is quickly passing away and we will be in our heavenly home.  Bad news cannot break the security…