I AM FREE! The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. —Isaiah 61:1-2 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” —Luke 4:18-19             Jesus came to— Proclaim good…

OH, TO BE PERFECT! I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands. —Psalm 119:176             Have you strayed?  Are you straying?  Oh, our Lord seeks us to restore us.  We are still His servants, we just need to get back on track.  We have not forgotten His commands; we just need to be obedient to them.  Indeed, “Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults.  Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; Let them not rule over me; Then I will be blameless, And I shall be acquitted of great transgression” (Psalm 19:12).             Watch out, if, as a follower of Jesus,…

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. —Isaiah 55:10-11             Whose word can you depend on 100% of the time?  Whose word do you know will fulfill what was spoken 100% of the time.  Surely, every person will fail us and we will fail others with…

SERVE THE KING AND INVITE OTHERS INTO HIS KINGDOM! How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” —Isaiah 52:7 See, my servant will act wisely;  he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.  Just as there were many who were appalled at him— his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness— Isaiah 52:13-15 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. …

HE FORMED US, LOVES US AND WILL NOT FORGET US! Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?  Though she may forget, I will not forget you!  See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me. —Isaiah 49:15-16 Your hands made me and formed me. —Psalm 119:73             Listen, “Your hands made me and formed me.”  You are God’s creation and He does not make any mistakes.  We live in a fallen, sinful and corrupt world and that is why “bad things” happen.  Our bodies are affected by sin as well…

OUR LORD WORKS THROUGH WHOEVER HE DESIRES TO! This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron.  I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.  For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my…

ONLY ONE KING, REDEEMER AND SAVIOR… ONLY ONE I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior. —Isaiah 43:11 This is what the Lord says— Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God… Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it… You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me?  No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.” —Isaiah 44:6-8             There is only one Savior and that is Jesus who said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”…

MY LORD GIVES ME STRENGTH! He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. —Isaiah 40:29-31 The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. —Psalm 118:12             Be honest.  From where does your strength come from?  From yourself?  “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord, who made…

HE HAS THE POWER OF LIFE AND DEATH! Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord when he says, ‘The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’ —Isaiah 36:15 “Do not let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ Have the gods of any nations ever delivered their lands from the hand of the king of Assyria? —Isaiah 36:18 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria…

THE FRUIT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever. —Isaiah 32:17 Those who walk righteously and speak what is right, who reject gain from extortion and keep their hands from accepting bribes, who stop their ears against plots of murder and shut their eyes against contemplating evil— Isaiah 33:15 Truly I am your servant, Lord; I serve you just as my mother did; you have freed me from my chains. —Psalm 116:16             Jesus has freed us from our chains, bondage and imprisonment as we came to our senses, hearing His Word— “And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome…