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…

REBELLIOUS POTS You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!  Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, “You did not make me”?  Can the pot say to the potter, “You know nothing”? —Isaiah 29:16              How ridiculous that would be if the potter were thought to be the clay and it was truly believed.  That would be insanity.  But what about those who think what is formed should “say to the one who formed it, “You did not make me”?  What if they said this and truly meant it.  That too would be insanity.              Yet the vast…

KNOWING PEACE WITH GOD AND THE PEACE OF GOD You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. —Isaiah 26:3              Peace… how people desire peace in this world.  May talk about “world peace.”  The fact of the matter is that there will be no lasting peace until the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6) returns.  The nations of the earth will be at odds with each other just as individuals experience conflict with each other as well.              But there are a couple ways we can experience peace now.  People, who are enemies of God in their sinful state (Romans 5:10), can be…

HIS WILL WILL BE DONE! The Lord Almighty has sworn, “Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen….  For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him?  His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back? —Isaiah 14:24, 27             What our Lord God Almighty has planned will come to pass.  What He has purposed will be accomplished.  Oh, yes, all His desires will be done and there is no one who can hinder what He seeks to accomplish.  No hand can stop Him, no person can halt Him.             What a joy to know that I am on the…

THE EARTH WILL BE FILLED WITH THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GLORY OF THE LORD! For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.  He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.  The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. —Isaiah 9:6-7 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch…

ATONED FOR AND FORGIVEN! “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”  Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”  Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”  And I said, “Here am I. Send…

ARE YOU READY! People will flee to caves in the rocks and to holes in the ground from the fearful presence of the Lord and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth… They will flee to caverns in the rocks and to the overhanging crags from the fearful presence of the Lord and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth. —Isaiah 2:19, 21 I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs…

JESUS— OUR PASSOVER LAMB The king gave this order to all the people: “Celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” —II Kings 23:21             I have always loved this illustration.  It is told in different ways, buy gets the point across— “A young girl was watching her mother bake a ham for a family gathering and noticed her mom cutting off the ends before placing it in the oven.  “Mom, why do you cut the ends off before baking the ham?” she asked.  “Hmmm… I think it helps soak up the juices while it’s baking. I’m not sure, though. That’s…