Listen, O coastlands, to Me, And take heed you peoples from afar! The Lord has called Me from the womb; From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name. Isaiah 49:1 NKJV
 
Isaiah is making a bold statement. He is saying listen to me everyone. God called me by my name to serve Him before I was even born!
 
Isaiah believed God created him for a purpose. Isaiah knew he was not born by accident or random chance.
 
God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. 
 
God knew you before your birth. The Lord called you by name before He created you. You were not born by accident. Your DNA was not determined by random chance. God has a purpose and a plan for your life. Jesus is calling you to serve Him today!
 
How will you serve Jesus?
 
Will you serve the Lord in the quietness of your own heart? Will you serve Him by praying for your friends, family members and neighbors? Will you serve Jesus by living a quiet life of obedience to God?
 
Will you stand up amid a perverse and faithless generation and declare the truth of God to the lost, the lonely and the brokenhearted? 
 
Years ago, my wife and I made a living as the SonShine Clowns. I was also a balloon artist. It was an amazing way to share the love of Jesus with children and families.
 
I still volunteer for balloon decorating at church. I also made balloons for children at special events. I am blessed when I can use my gifts to honor Jesus by serving people!
 
How does Jesus want you to serve Him? You can use any gift or talent the Lord gives you to serve Jesus!
 
God’s plan for your life includes expressing your love for Jesus. The Lord’s plan for your life includes leading other people to Jesus. Be a light to the next generation. Lead people to Jesus by living in obedience to Him today!
 
Isaiah heard the voice of the Lord saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Isaiah responded by boldly saying, “Here am I Lord! Send me!”
 
Today Jesus is calling your name. How will you respond? Will you answer as Isaiah did?
 
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Thus says the Lord, your redeemer, And He who formed you from the womb: I am the Lord, who makes all things, Who stretches out the heavens alone, Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself; Isaiah 44:24 NKJV
 
God allowed His people to suffer the consequences for their actions. God judged His people. He disciplined them. He punished them. God sent His people into exile. The Lord never stopped loving them.
 
God did not turn His back on Israel forever. He never gave up on them. God promised to heal them from the hardness of their hearts. The Lord promised to restore them as the apple of His eye.
 
Before meeting Jesus, I suffered consequences for my actions. I chose to live separated from God. My heart was hardened from years of sinful living.
 
I went to sleep in the trailer where I lived alone. I laid down in hopelessness and despair. I woke up feeling like something dramatic happened. I could not remember what it was. I felt like my life had changed. I could not explain how.
 
Jesus ministered to me during the night. The Lord gave me hope in a supernatural way. Jesus encouraged me in a way no one else can.
 
No matter how hopeless your circumstances may seem Jesus can bring healing and restoration into your life!
 
You may have lost your home. You may have lost your job. You may be ill or handicapped. You may have suffered the loss of a loved one. You may have even lost the zest for life. Perhaps the darkness of hopelessness and despair has overtaken you.
 
Whatever your current circumstances may be God has not stopped loving you. Jesus has not turned His back on you. The Lord has not given up on you. 
 
You are the apple of God’s eye. He will not abandon you in your time of need. Jesus can deliver you from trials and circumstances even if you brought them upon yourself.
 
You may not be able to figure out how God will deliver you. You may not be able to comprehend the blessings God has in store for you. That is not a problem for the Lord. Jesus wants to encourage you today!
 
Jesus has been calling you out of the darkness of despair into the light of His love. You have ignored Him for so long your heart has hardened. You rejected His love. You withheld yours from Him. That can all end today. Jesus is waiting to give you a new life!
 
The Lord appeared to Abraham Isaac and Jacob. He will show up at the crossroads of your life. Do not harden your heart against Jesus. Embrace His love. Jesus will change your life. The God who formed you wants to redeem restore and transform your life today!
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We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks! For Your wondrous works declare Your name is near! Psalm 75 NKJV
 
I heard a man say, “Leadership is establishing reality and giving hope.” I am thankful Jesus does just that. What is reality? What do we have to be hopeful for?
 
But I will declare forever, I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. Vs 9
 
I am thankful we can join with Jesus to establish reality and give other people hope!
 
Thirteen years ago, Jesus began ministering to me in a new way.
 
The Word of God filled my heart and mind. It was as if someone was preaching to me through my own thoughts. Jesus was feeding me with the truth of His Word. Jesus gave me hope during a season of heartache and pain. My life has never been the same!
 
I started sharing the things Jesus put in my heart with other people. Feeding my mind with the Word of God keeps my mind focused on reality. Sharing the Word of God with other people gives me hope!
 
Sharing our faith with other people strengthens and builds up our faith. Sharing the hope, we have in Jesus with others helps us stay rooted and grounded in the reality that Jesus Christ is our hope!
 
“All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, But the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.” Vs 10
 
The world is full of evil and injustice. When we take vengeance into our own hands we make matters worse. Jesus Christ is the hope and promise of a world where justice and righteousness will prevail. I am thankful for that reality!
 
I was broken when I started writing these messages. I did not wait for a sign from God. I did not wait for my finances to improve. I did not wait for my life to become a model of order and perfection. I stepped out in faith. I trusted Jesus because He is faithful!
 
Have you been transformed by the reality of God’s love? Do you find hope in Jesus to keep moving forward through dark times? Give thanks to the God of reality. Share the wondrous works Jesus does in your life with people who need hope!
 
Evil people will stand before Jesus in judgment. People who love Him today will bask in the light of His love throughout eternity. Will you stand before the Lord in judgment or worship at His feet in eternity?
 
Be thankful, Jesus gives you the freedom to choose where you will spend eternity. Jesus gives you the freedom to choose who you will spend eternity with. Jesus gives you the freedom to choose what you will spend eternity doing. Be thankful, Jesus gives you the freedom strength and wisdom to choose wisely!
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You are My witnesses, says the Lord, And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me. Isaiah 43:10 NKJV
 
There is only one God. He existed before time began. He is from everlasting to everlasting. Jesus is the beginning and the end. Jesus is not constrained by time.
 
The Lord God Almighty is in total control of all things. There can only be one God. God does not share His power or authority with anyone or anything!
 
You did not evolve from apes. You did not crawl out of the primordial ooze. The Lord created you in His image and likeness. You are an eternal being created to live in a loving relationship with Jesus.
 
Your Heavenly Father wants you to spend eternity basking in the Son Light of His love.
 
God places such great value on relationship He desires your love above all things. Jesus wants you to know Him intimately. Jesus wants you to experience His majesty and glory. Jesus wants you to experience His love. God is love!
 
The Lord’s capacity to love us and receive our love is beyond human understanding. We cannot grasp the depths of God’s love for us on this side of eternity.
 
Many people saw Jesus when He walked among them. The did not recognize Him. They despised and ridiculed Jesus. They rejected and reviled Jesus. The beat and tortured Jesus. They would have taken His life and erased His memory if that were possible.
 
Can you believe the words of a God you cannot see when you are surrounded by people who live as if Jesus does not exist? Can you obey the commands of a God the world scoffs and scorns at? Can you receive the spirit of a God the world rejects?
 
Jesus is calling you to be His witness. Jesus wants you to testify of His great love for us!
 
How will you respond to God’s call? If God calls you as a witness will you step up to the witness chair? If God calls you to give an account of His great love will you tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth? 
 
Every person who served the Lord since the beginning of time had one thing in common. They honored God. Will you honor the Lord today?
 
Will you honor Jesus through the way you live? Will you honor Jesus by living in obedience to Him? Will you honor the Lord by standing up and declaring the truth to a world that denies all that is good and holy?
 
Obedience to Jesus is the evidence of your love for Jesus. Honor Jesus with your love!
 
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Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand? Measured heaven with a span and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Isaiah 40:12 NKJV
 
Who spoke the universe into existence? Who said, “Let there be light and there was light?” It was Almighty God!
 
The word “god” is a generic term used for many different “deities”. Throughout time different cultures have worshiped different things in different ways. Some worshiped elements of nature such as the sun moon or stars. Others worshiped kings and princes.
 
In the culture of excess into which we were born there are many different voices seeking to capture our attention.
 
Authors write books they claim contain hidden truth. They want us to believe it is only now being revealed. From time to time relics and manuscripts are used to present a world view contrary to the bible.
 
There is only One True and Living God!
 
The creator of Heaven and Earth sent His Son to live among us. The God Man revealed the Father to us. We can have eternal life because Jesus sacrificed His life for us. The Father raised Jesus from the grave as evidence of His divinity!
 
Jesus is found in the pages of His written revelation to mankind, the Bible!
 
The Codex are ancient biblical manuscripts. They still exist. In 1947 The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in the Middle East. They are also ancient biblical manuscripts.
 
These documents verify the bibles we read today. They prove beyond all doubt that God has preserved His written revelation to mankind.
 
The truth of God cannot be proven scientifically. Science is proven by experimentation and reproduction in a laboratory setting. Truth is proven in a courtroom. The evidence for a loving God who created you in His image and likeness is overwhelming!
 
God created you to live with Him in a relationship of love and faithfulness. God created you to spend eternity with Jesus. 
 
God’s greatest desire is for you to love Him with all your heart with all your soul and with all your strength. Jesus wants us to love each other as much as He does!
 
Our God has no equal. Look up and see the God who created all things through eyes of faith. Our Heavenly Father scattered the stars throughout the heavens like glitter. He sets the course of their path through the universe. He calls them all by name.
 
God is calling your name today. Open-up your heart to Jesus. Let Jesus love you today!
 
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So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?
Hebrews 13:6 NKJV
 
God tells us to love each other. Jesus wants us to be hospitable to strangers. The Lord says marriage is good. Sexual intimacy within a marriage is also good. Sex outside of marriage or with a person other than your spouse is not good.
 
The Lord tells us not to be jealous or envious of the things other people have. We should not want more than God gives us. We should be content with what we have. Then God says He will never leave us nor forsake us. 
 
Obedience to God’s commands is a safety net. There is a blessing in store for people who obey His commands. When we love and fear God enough to obey Him no one can harm us because He is with us!
 
Jesus is the Lord of heaven and earth. We should fear only Him!
 
The Lord sees everything we do before we do it. He can protect us from anyone or anything at any time! 
 
God is not offering us a bribe to do things His way. Jesus is teaching us the blessedness of obeying His commands. Jesus does not need to prove He is large and in charge. He created the universe. He created us. 
 
God’s commands are given to us for a reason. Everything God requires of us is for a specific purpose. God loves you. When He tells you to do something it is because He wants to bless you. Jesus wants to bless other people through your acts of obedience.
 
When God tells you not to do something it is because He wants to protect you from harm and heartache!
 
God is perfect. He does not make mistakes. God’s love for you is perfect. Jesus wants you to experience His perfect love! 
 
God is holy. He wants you to be holy. Holiness is a blessing. Almighty God offers you holiness through faith in Jesus.
 
God is in the process of teaching you to trust Him. He is in the process of teaching you to love Him.
 
Jesus wants you to live without fear because He is helping you. Jesus wants you to live as if no one can harm you because He is with you! 
 
Do not worry about anything any other person can do to you. Give your heart and soul to Jesus. Trust Him with your life. Jesus can take better care of it than you can!
 
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I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:1-3 NKJV
 
Walking worthy of our calling requires humility. God wants us to serve him by serving each other in love.
 
Paul uses the words; lowliness, gentleness, longsuffering, and the phrase bearing with one another in love to explain how to keep unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.
 
I looked up the word bearing in my dictionary. It means manner.
 
God expects us to relate to each other in a manner of love. He expects us to do all we can to keep unity and peace in the body of Christ.
 
People disagree and argue because we have different points of view and opinions. My wife and I disagree at times. If I argue every point of disagreement until I am satisfied with the outcome I would have a very contentious marriage. 
 
Our calling as Christians is to know Jesus Christ and make him known to the world. God tells us how to make him known.
 
We are to operate as one body. We are the hands and feet. Jesus is our head. A Body cannot move forward with one foot going in one direction and the other foot going in a different direction!
 
God’s love for us is unconditional and eternal. He wants us to demonstrate our love for him by loving each other. If we all express our love for God through obedience to Him we will have an unbreakable bond that will lead to unity and peace among His people.
 
Walk worthy of your calling by working to keep unity and peace in the Body of Christ!
 
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For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height-to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:14-19 NKJV
 
God’s power is incomprehensible. He spoke the heavens and the earth into existence. God’s greatest desire is for you know how much He loves you! 
 
God sits on the Throne of His Creation. Doesn’t it make sense that God would have more important things to consider than you and me?
 
Maybe there is a situation at the far end of the universe that requires God’s attention. Maybe He is concentrating His efforts on a project in an unknown area of creation. Wouldn’t you think that some creature of some sort is more important to God than us?
 
The answer is no. In the vastness of God’s creation no one or anything is more important to Jesus than you! God’s greatest desire is for you to know the love that surpasses all understanding. What is the love that surpasses understanding? 
 
The love that surpasses understanding gives us peace in times of hardship and despair. It is a love that gives us calm during the storms of life. It gives our lives meaning. It gives us a firm foundation to stand upon when our world is turned upside down!
 
Ny son wrote these words when his world was turned upside down; Lord even when times are hard, even when there is a storm in my life I will still serve You. You are my Abba Father! You are holding my hand through the flood, through the storm, when lightning strikes me. You guide me on the paths of righteousness. You give me strength through the storms. I am your lamb. You are my Shepherd. You take good care of Me. The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want. Thy Rod and Thy staff they comfort me. You guide me in the paths of righteousness!
 
In 2008 my son was thirteen years old. He experienced love that surpasses understanding. He experienced the grace of God even as the as the life he knew came crashing down around him. 
 
The love that surpasses human understanding is available to you today!
 
You cannot earn God’s love. You can receive it today. Call out to the lover of your soul. Call out to Him if all is well and good with your soul. Call out to Jesus if you are suffering trial and hardship. Call out to God regardless of your circumstances!
 
Love that surpasses the understanding of man has a name. His name is Jesus!
Love does not always make sense. Love does not need to make sense. God’s love makes perfect sense all the time. God is love. Let Jesus touch you with His perfect love today!
 
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For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 NKJV
 
God created you in His image and likeness. He created you to be like Him in some ways. The Lord created you to live in an eternal loving relationship with Him! 
 
There is great mystery in God’s revelation to mankind. The bible teaches truths that may seem contradictory to each other. They are not. 
 
Our words carry the power to bless and to curse but we do not have creative power. God created us to be like Him and yet we are born with a sinful nature.
 
One day each of us will die a physical death but Jesus defeated the power of sin and death. We all sin and fall short of the glory of God but we can still be declared righteous through faith in Jesus Christ!
 
God was incredibly pleased when He created you!
 
The Lord created you to be an extension of His authority. He created you to represent Him on the earth. Jesus created you to love His people. God did not create you because He was bored and lonely. The Lord has a plan and a purpose for your life!
 
Our mission as Christians is to know Jesus Christ and make Him Known to the world!
 
The work God prepared for us before the foundations of the world starts with knowing Him. 
 
Is Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior? Do you know Him?
 
God is Omnipresent (everywhere at once), He is Omnipotent (all powerful), He is Omniscient (knows all things). The perfect, ever present, all powerful and all-knowing God loves you with an everlasting love! 
 
Do you love Him?
 
Today God is saying, “You are mine; I am your God. You are My child. Let the light of My love shine before all the world! “I am with you! Go in My name! Do all that I created you to accomplish for My glory and to reveal My love to My people!”
 
We live in a world reeking of sin and death. You will receive no encouragement or confirmation of your faith from the current world system. Jesus will uphold you and empower you to complete the work He created you to accomplish in Him and for Him!
 
Lean on Jesus as you go out into the world to do the good works your Heavenly Father created you to accomplish for the glory of God! Jesus will uphold you with His righteous right hand! The forces of darkness will not prevail against the servants of Almighty God!
 
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Thus says the Lord, your redeemer, And He who formed you from the womb: I am the Lord, who makes all things, Who stretches out the heavens alone, Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself; Isaiah 44:24 NKJV
 
God allowed His people to suffer the consequences for their actions. God judged His people. He disciplined them. He punished them. God sent His people into exile. The Lord never stopped loving them.
 
God did not turn His back on Israel forever. He never gave up on them. God promised to heal them from the hardness of their hearts. The Lord promised to restore them as the apple of His eye.
 
Before meeting Jesus, I suffered consequences for my actions. I chose to live separated from God. My heart was hardened from years of sinful living.
 
I went to sleep in the trailer where I lived alone. I laid down in hopelessness and despair. I woke up feeling like something dramatic happened. I could not remember what it was. I felt like my life had changed. I could not explain how.
 
Jesus ministered to me during the night. The Lord gave me hope in a supernatural way. Jesus encouraged me in a way no one else can.
 
No matter how hopeless your circumstances may seem Jesus can bring healing and restoration into your life!
 
You may have lost your home. You may have lost your job. You may be ill or handicapped. You may have suffered the loss of a loved one. You may have even lost the zest for life. Perhaps the darkness of hopelessness and despair has overtaken you.
 
Whatever your current circumstances may be God has not stopped loving you. Jesus has not turned His back on you. The Lord has not given up on you. 
 
You are the apple of God’s eye. He will not abandon you in your time of need. Jesus can deliver you from trials and circumstances even if you brought them upon yourself.
 
You may not be able to figure out how God will deliver you. You may not be able to comprehend the blessings God has in store for you. That is not a problem for the Lord. Jesus wants to encourage you today!
 
Jesus has been calling you out of the darkness of despair into the light of His love. You have ignored Him for so long your heart has hardened. You rejected His love. You withheld yours from Him. That can all end today. Jesus is waiting to give you a new life!
 
The Lord appeared to Abraham Isaac and Jacob. He will show up at the crossroads of your life. Do not harden your heart against Jesus. Embrace His love. Jesus will change your life. The God who formed you wants to redeem restore and transform your life today!
 
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