Death is Bliss

Isaiah 57:1-2 - "The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; the devout are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil.² Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death." 

I find this verse very interesting. It is talking about the righteous being taken away, in the sense of death. It seems to indicate that they were taken away early while still young, and no one understands. You must realize at this time it was taught that the righteous lived long. If we skip to verse 4, we will see that the unrighteous were mocking the righteous. Therefore, God had to explain why they were dieing in the prime of life. It was that they might be spared from evil. Also, he tells the mockers that the death of the righteous is not a bad thing. They enter into peace and find rest.

You may know of a righteous person (a godly believer) who was taken in the prime of his life. We often wonder why God let this happen. It may be because God wanted to spare them from something worse than death. Maybe God took them quickly to spare them from a long agonizing illness. It could be because great suffering was coming to their country, and God wanted to deliver them from this, which I believe is the case in this passage. Maybe God new that if he allowed the person to continue to live on earth that the person would fall away from him. Finally my favorite, God promoted them and honored them for their faithfulness. God had accomplished everything he wanted in them and through them. He gave them an early retirement.

Whatever the reason God take someone home early. We know it is for our best. It is not a failure on God's part.

Prosperity & Destruction in God's Hand

We must not forget that God is all powerful and all wise. The world is in His hands.

Isaiah 45:7 - "I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things."

In the context of this passage God is talking to king Cyrus about how he is God's chosen and how He is using him to accomplish His purposes. The power he has over the nations was given him by God. All the kingdoms of the world are in his hands. Nothing escapes his sight and surpasses His understanding.

God chose Cyrus as His servant and prospered Him and his kingdom, He was use by God to bring destruction on the nations that had rebelled against God and were not serving Him. When we look at world politics today and see the upheaval in the world. We don't need to be afraid because God in charge and His purpose will be accomplished here on earth as well as in heaven.


What should be our position in all of this?
We are to seek to know the will of the Lord and understand His works.  We need to hear his voice  and do what he asks us to do in these last days. We need to read the signs of the times in light the light of God's Word.

Who is like our God?

This is theme of Isaiah 40. It talks of the greatness of our God. It shows how frail we are in comparison to God almighty.

He talks how we are like grass. We are here one moment and gone the next. Yet, the Word of God stands forever. We can always count on God's Word. It will never let us down. It is as true today as it was the day it was spoken. God's Word never gets old. It always applicable for every time period.

In verse 11, it shows that the almighty and awesome God is a loving and tender God. We don't need to be afraid because we are in his arms, and there are no stronger arms than His.

When we lack knowledge and understanding, we need to come to Him who has all knowledge, understanding and wisdom.  We need to come to the one who is the creator of all things. v.12-14

There is no one in heaven or on earth who can compare to our God. There is no image physical or in our minds that can illustrate or compare to the God of the universe. He is above all. There is no power that can with stand him. v.15-26

Although we know God is great and awesome, we sometimes think he has forgotten us. You can be rest assured that he never forgets us. We may grow weary and tired, but he never does. When we are tired and weary, He will strengthen us if we put our hope in Him. With His help we can rise above the circumstances of this life, and soar with Him. v.27-31

The Highway of Holiness

Isaiah 35:8-10 - "And a highway will be there;  it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it.
⁹ No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there,
¹⁰     and those the Lord has rescued will return.They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Are we on the highway of holiness? As believers this is where we are to be. It is for those who have a clean heart. It is for those who do not act wickedly. It is not for the foolish. It is only for the redeemed. Those who have been washed in Christ's blood and received forgiveness for sin. 


Those who walk on the highway of holiness, they will not have to fear harm. There is singing and everlasting joy on this highway. When we come to the end of this highway, gladness and joy will overtake us, and sorrow and sighing will flee away as we look on our redeemers face.


Praise the Lord!

You Have Done

Isaiah 26:12 - "Lord, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us." 

The prophet Isaiah reminds the people of Israel that is through the Lord that they accomplished everything. Their success and prosperity, it was accomplished by the Lord. Their mighty victories were accomplished by the Lord.

We as believers and ministers of the Lord. We need to keep this in mind. When I look at how our ministry has grown in Haiti and the fruit that it is producing, I need to keep in mind that it is not my ministry but God's. It is not my doing but Gods doing. It is easy to say with our mind and in word that God has done it, but do we believe it in our hearts. Yes, even as the verse shows us, God can not do it without our participation and obedience, but it is God who gives us success. It is God who gives us the strength, knowledge and wisdom. 

So many a great and mighty leader in the church has strayed from the straight and narrow because this truth is not real to them. When we fail to recognize this as ministers of the Gospel, we will begin to do things our way. We will put the focus of those who follow on us and not God. We will begin to steal the glory. We will begin accumulate wealth for ourselves.

Slow to Learn

I don't know how many of you are parents. If you are, I am sure you have the frustration many a parent has with their children. You instruct them in the right way, but as soon as they have opportunity, they do it the wrong way. You tell them not to do something, and they go ahead and do it anyway. It is like they never heard what you said. The author of Hebrews had this problem with some of those in the churches.

Hebrews 5:11-6:3 - "We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. ¹² In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! ¹³ Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. ¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

6 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, ² instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. ³ And God permitting, we will do so."

These believer that this author is writing to were not new believers. They new the Word of God. They had been in Christ for some time. Yet, they were slow to learn. Despite their knowledge of the Word and time spent in the church, they were still infants in Christ. They were old believers, but not mature believers. They weren't considered mature because they were not able to distinguish good from evil. They were not applying what they knew. They were not living righteous lives. They were not mature in their attitudes and thoughts. They were still acting like new born Christians.

We need to always be moving forward in our Christian life. We need to be growing in righteousness. We must be careful not to be stuck in a rut. We must be content in Christ, but ever pressing on to greater heights in Christ.

The Disciplined Life

2 Timothy 2:4-7 - " No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. ⁵ Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. ⁶ The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. ⁷ Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.

Paul here is encouraging Timothy to live a disciplined life. He uses three different examples to show him three areas of discipline. 

The first is that we must not be entangled by the things of this world. There are good and bad things in this world. We are not to entangled by either. Entangled give us the image of being bound up by something that is hindering our movement. Something that is hindering from going forward. Something that is hindering us from accomplishing a given task. Most us of think he is speaking solely of things that are sinful. Yet, it could be something good as well. Your friend could be a hindrance. A loved one could be a hindrance. Your work could be a hindrance. A certain good pleasure like a sport or other activity could be a hindrance. 

The second aspect of a disciplined life is following the rules. As believers, we need to know the Word of God and play by the rules in the Word of God. If not, we will not receive eternal life.

The third aspect is hard work. It is not always easy obeying God. It is not always serving the Lord. It will require God's grace and our effort to make it happen. The Bible says do not be weary in doing good  for at the proper time you will receive your reward. (Galatians 6:9)

I guess the biggest challenge of the Christian life is being consistent, and that it is constant. We can't take a break from our Christian walk.  .

Entrusted to Him

2 Timothy 1:12 - " That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day."

What a powerful scripture. Paul was in prison suffering for the Gospel. He didn't know if he would ever be released and able to minister as he did in the past. I am sure he was thinking that it was the end of the road for him. Therefore, he writes Timothy to encourage him and give him some final instructions. Yet, Paul's faith was not shaken. He was convinced that God was able to watch over the people and works he established. He was confident that the work he began would continue and produce fruit until Christ came back.

As a minister of the gospel, who has given 26 years of serving the Lord, this is an encouragement to me. My work is not in vain. My work doesn't depend on me alone. As we entrust our work to the Father, he will accomplish His purpose now and forever after. I sometimes look at the ministry that has been established with imperfect people, and wonder if it will hold together when I am gone. Will it continue to produce fruit long after I am not around. The answer is, yes because I have entrusted it to Him. .

Gaurd Against Pride

Isaiah 2:11-12 - "The eyes of the arrogant will be humbled and human pride brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.¹² The Lord Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted  (and they will be humbled)," V.22 -"Stop trusting in mere human who have but a breath in their nostrils.Why hold them in esteem?"

We must guard ourselves against arrogance and pride for the Lord is opposed to those who exalt themselves or think to highly of themselves. God alone is to be exalted. We encourage people to be self-confident and self-reliant, but we must be careful that we don't exclude God. Our confidence is supposed to be in the Lord and we are to rely on Him. This is what the Bible teaches. I think we often get the cart before the horse. Where is our focus to be, on us or on the Lord? It is to be on the Lord, and as it is on the Lord, we will be confident and strong, but it will not come from us but the Lord. Arrogance and pride arises when we are fixed upon ourselves and God given abilities to the exclusion of God.

It is not who we are or what we have, but it is who God is and what He has. It is not what we do, but what God does through us.

Worship without Life

In Isaiah 1:10-14, God rebukes the Israelites for their meaningless worship. They brought their offerings before the Lord and respected the holy days that God had established for them, but their hearts were far from God. They had a form of worship and religion. Yet, it wasn't form the heart. They were serving false gods and living in sin, but would try to appease God through their rituals.

How often do we find people in the church doing the same thing. They faithfully attend church, give their offerings, and sing songs of praise but live as they want during the week. They are very religious, but have given themselves truly to the Lord.

Be Perfect

I Thessalonians 4:1 - "As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more."

Are you living to please God. This is good, but do this more and more.

As believers we can become comfortable with the level of maturity we have in Christ and seek no longer to go higher in Christ. We may feel that we have attained maturity in Christ, which may be true. Yet, God doesn't require maturity only. He requires perfection. He requires complete holiness and righteousness. He requires excellence.

 Matthew 5:48
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

 2 Corinthians 7:1
Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.

This is a tall order, which all of us fail in. Yet, this is to be our goal.

How can we attain this loft goal. It is as we seek, and keep our eyes on Him that He will change us. It is only Christ who can perfect us. He only needs a willing partner.

 Hebrews 10:14
For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

Knowledge of His Will

Paul prayed that the Colossian church would be filled with the knowledge of His will which is gained through spiritual wisdom and understanding. (1:9)

How do we know when we are full of God's knowledge? (1:10-11)
We will know when:
1) we live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way.
2) we bear fruit in every good work.
3) we will have great endurance, patience and joy.

This will be accomplished as we submit it Christ's great power that is in us. We see that the knowledge of God is not a head knowledge. Many a people know the Word of God and know about God, but it doesn't translate to a changed life. Knowledge that doesn't bring change or enhance our lives is useless knowledge.

Thank you Lord for your great knowledge that we gain through your Word, and the Holy Spirit.

All Over The World

Colossians 1:6 - "... In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace."

It is good for us to remember that the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world. Sometimes, we get focused on the spiritual decline in the world today and miss what God is actually doing. We get negative and begin to think that we are on the losing team. 

We need to look beyond our own little circle and look at the bigger picture. When we look at the bigger picture through God's eyes, we will see that we are actually on the winning side. When we seem to see a lack of work in our life, our church, and our country, we need to look out over the whole world. We will then be encouraged because we will see the great and mighty things God is doing in different lands.


As a church, it is our responsibility to keep people abreast of what God is doing in other peoples lives and lives of believers all over the world. We hear a lot of negative and depressing news in the media. As a church we need to give them the good and positive news. We need to let people know that God is still on His throne.

Heard of You

Colossians 1:3-4 - "We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, ⁴ because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people."

The Colossisn church had quite the testimony. Paul heard of their faith in Christ Jesus and of the love they had for all of God's people. What do people say about your church? What do people say about you? Do you have a good reputation? Are people talking about your faith in Christ and love you have for others? Is news spreading about you and your churches faith and love?


Lord, I pray that people may see my faith in you and love for others and that they might thank God for me being a part of their lives.

Get God Involved

Proverbs 16:1-4 - "To humans belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue.² All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord. ³ Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans."

We all have plans for our lives and make plans daily. Yet, God will judge the plans and motives of our heart. We will have to give account to Him. Therefore, we must get God involved in our planning. 

When he says commit to the Lord whatever you do, it doesn't mean do what you like and then ask God to bless it or give you success. It means making God part of the planning and then asking Him to establish your plans

Verse 9 -"In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps."

If we want our steps established, secure, and successful, we must make God a part of all the we do. We need to make Him a part even the small things. You can trip and fall on a small step as well a large step. Often we get God involved in our big decisions, but not our small decisions. Many small bad steps can be as bad as one bad big step. It is often those many small decisions that lead us to failure or success .

Oil On My Head

Psalms 141:5 - "Let a righteous man strike me—that is a kindness; let him rebuke me —that is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it, for my prayer will still be against the deeds of evildoers. 

When a righteous man corrects us it is a good thing. When he rebukes or disciplines us it is as oil on our head. Oil in O.T. time was a symbol of blessing and joy. It was used in offerings and anointing as well. Yet, here is referring to the aspect of blessing. 

How do we react to someone who seeks to counsel, correct and bring discipline to our lives in love and wisdom. Often we are quick to reject it, ignore it and even be offended by it. We are even more quick to reject it when it comes from someone we think that is less than us. Yet, wisdom and counsel can sometimes come from the most unlikely people, even from the mouth of babes. 

Proverbs 10:17 - " Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray."

Proverbs 12:1 - " Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid."

Let us take heed to the discipline of the righteous. The man or woman of God. 

Yet the psalmist says, he will stand against evildoers. He will not accept their discipline or correction. They do not have the mind of Christ. We must not be quick to receive the counsel of the unrighteous and even guard ourselves against it. 
 

Power Over the Enemy

Luke 10:17-20 - "The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”¹⁸ He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.¹⁹ I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. ²⁰ However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."

Jesus says, we have the authority to overcome all the power of the enemy. The first thing I want you to see here is that the enemy does have power. Secondly, we have been given authority and our authority is greater than Satan's authority. Therefore, we have been given power to overcome the enemy. Yet, believers do not always overcome the enemy because they don't utilize the power Christ has given to them. To overcome the enemy it will require us to stand in faith on the Word of God and declare it. It will require us to walk in the Holy Spirit and live godly lives.

Christ goes on to say that nothing will harm you. Many Christians take this to mean that no physical thing will harm you. Yet, when look around us, we see Christian being harmed physically and even experience sickness that leads to death. It makes one wonder if the statement is true. We need to keep this statement in context with the whole passage. First of all, Christ wants us to know that no power of darkness can harm us. Satan can not harm us. Secondly, he wants us to know that we are secure in Him as we serve Him in ministry. Ultimately, he wants us to know that no harm spiritual or otherwise can harm us with out Him allowing it. Yes, he does let harm befall Christians for various reasons. The Bible attests to this and their are many examples of this which I will not go into.

Because of the these truths we can live in joy, peace, and victory as believers.