Powerful Words from the ProphetsWhat sorrow awaits those who try to hide their plans from the LORD, who do their evil deeds in the dark! “The LORD can’t see us,” they say. “He doesn’t know what’s going on!” – Isaiah 29:15 (NLT)“God Is Always Watching” Who are you when nobody is looking? That’s a great character question to sit with once in a while. Because, if we’re honest, we’re not always the sa...

Powerful Words from the ProphetsAnd so the Lord says, “These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.” – Isaiah 29:13 (NLT)“Don’t Get the Cart Before the Horse” When I was growing up, if you had asked me, “What does it mean to be a ‘Christian,’ I would have given you all the “do...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never be shaken.” – Isaiah 28:16 (NLT)“Jesus, Our Cornerstone” On June 4, 1979, the American Institute of Architects met in Kansas City for its annual convention. ...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“So now God will have to speak to his people through foreign oppressors who speak a strange language!” – Isaiah 28:11 (NLT)“Learning the Hard Way” Do you ever notice how some people have to learn the hard way? I don’t know about you, but I’ve actually been that person from time to time! Some people take the “hard way” learning to an extreme. I read about a man in Ne...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“Who does the LORD think we are?” they ask. “Why does he speak to us like this? Are we little children, just recently weaned? He tells us everything over and over--one line at a time, one line at a time, a little here, and a little there!” – Isaiah 28:9-10 (NLT)“Road Rules” Our grandson is preparing to take the test to obtain his driving permit (God help us all!). H...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“Then at last the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will himself be Israel’s glorious crown. He will be the pride and joy of the remnant of his people.” – Isaiah 28:5 (NLT)“Getting Back to God” I spent a good bit of my day today working on my message for Sunday. The message is titled “Stay Connected.” It’s based on the passage from John 15 where Jesus declares that He is the ...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“The time is coming when Jacob’s descendants will take root. Israel will bud and blossom and fill the whole earth with fruit!” – Isaiah 27:6 (NLT)“When Trials and Troubles Become Treasures” God’s eyes are eyes of Promise and Hope. He never just sees what is or what was. He sees what can be. He sees what WILL be. He also looks upon our situations and the messes we’ve...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“Let them make peace with me; yes, let them make peace with me.” – Isaiah 27:5 (NLT)“Make Your Peace with God” One of the aspects of the character of God that we sometimes miss is how much God desires that we be at peace with Him. He doesn’t want to be our Enemy. He doesn’t want us to be at odds with Him. He doesn’t want us to feel as if we need to run and hide in H...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“But those who die in the LORD will live; their bodies will rise again! Those who sleep in the earth will rise up and sing for joy! For your life-giving light will fall like dew on your people in the place of the dead!” – Isaiah 26:19 (NLT)“A Love Story for All Eternity” I shared a very touching but tragic story today in my sermon. In 1986, in Patterson, CA, there w...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“LORD, you will grant us peace; all we have accomplished is really from you. O LORD our God, others have ruled us, but you alone are the one we worship.” – Isaiah 26:12-13 (NLT)“Who Is Ruling YOUR Life?” Isaiah has a moment of profound reflection in our passage today. For all that his people have been through, he recognizes that it is God alone who brings peace to t...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“In the night I search for you; in the morning I earnestly seek you.” – Isaiah 26:9 (NLT)“Stop Running Out of Gas!” I heard a great story some time ago about a woman and her husband who were driving along a highway. They happened to notice a late-model Cadillac with its hood up, parked at the side of the road. Its driver appeared somewhat perplexed and agitated. The...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“…our heart’s desire is to glorify your name.” – Isaiah 26:8 (NLT)“Only Jesus” What are you living for? Maybe a better way to say it is WHO are you living for? I have to confess that I spent a good part of my life saying that I was trying to do something great for God when the truth was that I was trying to do something great for ME. Please hear my heart. I’m not sa...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“LORD, we show our trust in you by obeying your laws…” – Isaiah 26:8 (NLT)“Listen To Your Doctor and Trust the Lord” When I was in college in Houston, I worked at the Downtown YMCA. One of the jobs I had while I was there was working in the stress testing lab. Part of the membership included a battery of tests to show what kind of shape you were in. That, in turn, w...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“But for those who are righteous, the way is not steep and rough. You are a God who does what is right, and you smooth out the path ahead of them.” – Isaiah 26:7 (NLT)“He Will Smooth Your Path” I was talking with one of my staff members today about how God shows up and provides in the most unusual of ways. When I was a pastor in PA, I took a church plant that was me...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“Trust in the LORD always, for the LORD GOD is the eternal Rock.” – Isaiah 26:4 (NLT)“Our Eternal Rock” One of the Christmas gifts I asked for and got this year is an Oklahoma City Thunder jersey that I can wear to games to show my support. Whose jersey did I get, you ask? My own. It’s got the number I wore in college (44) and my name across the back. The reason I d...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” – Isaiah 26:3 (NLT)“Perfect Peace” This is one of those verses that would be worth committing to memory. I laughed when I read the phrase “perfect peace” because every conversation I had at church today was about the CHAOS going on in people’s lives. Chaos with their health. ...

Powerful Words from the ProphetsIn that day the people will proclaim, “This is our God! We trusted in him, and he saved us! This is the LORD, in whom we trusted. Let us rejoice in the salvation he brings!” – Isaiah 25:9 (NLT)“Living in That Day” Faith is often difficult for us to have. It’s difficult because faith is believing in advance that which will only make sense looking back. Faith looks be...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“There he will remove the cloud of gloom, the shadow of death that hangs over the earth. He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign LORD will wipe away all tears.” – Isaiah 25:7-8 (NLT)“A Future That’ll Make You Dance!” I was watching a video today of a 101-year-old woman celebrating her birthday. She had a crowd of friends and family who had gathered to celebr...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“There he will remove the cloud of gloom, the shadow of death that hangs over the earth. He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign LORD will wipe away all tears.” – Isaiah 25:7-8 (NLT)“Do It Again TODAY, O Lord!” As I was reading some commentary background on our verses for today, there were two interpretations that popped up. Both are beautiful expressions an...

Powerful Words from the Prophets“For the oppressive acts of ruthless people are like a storm beating against a wall, or like the relentless heat of the desert. But you silence the roar of foreign nations. As the shade of a cloud cools relentless heat, so the boastful songs of ruthless people are stilled.” – Isaiah 25:4-5 (NLT)“The Secret to Being Unstoppable” I was working on my sermon for this Su...