LIFE LINK DEVOTIONAL

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

In my humble opinion it has been a gorgeous autumn season so far.  The weather has provided opportunities for outdoor activities and work to be done. Landscaping projects, fishing, golfing, deer hunting, lawn mowing, garage cleaning, Cranberry Fest, all have been more enjoyable when the weather is this nice.

Sometimes I wonder why, with so much to do and so many opportunities to do it, I am satisfied to sit and do nothing. There are days when life seems so mundane. Why do the things that used to bring joy seem simply average and at times even meaningless?

At first, I attributed it up to old age and tiredness. But then this verse was in my devotions this morning. In context, Isaiah is writing about the nation of Moab, but in application he writes about me…and you.

Isaiah 16:9  The shouts of joy over your ripened fruit and over your harvests have been stilled.  Joy and gladness are taken away from the orchards; no one sings or shouts in the vineyards; no one treads out wine at the presses, for I have put an end to the shouting.

The more the Moabites became comfortable and proud of their position, the less they depended upon God. They had not yet learned that joy comes only from the Lord. It is a fruit of the Spirit of God abiding within us. It can only be experienced if the Holy Spirit is filling us. He cannot fill us if we are filled with ourselves. So the loss of joy is the direct result of the choice we make to focus on self.

OUCH!

But I needed that ouch. You may have also needed it. Take some time right now and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the parts of your life where He is not in control, or where His involvement is being restricted by your self-involvement. Then repent of those things and invite Him to fill you. The Joy of the Lord will return and you will be strong again.

Pastor John

LIFELINK DEVOTIONAL

Monday, October 7, 2019

The truth is, God is awesome and His timing is always perfect. A conflicting truth is that I forget truth #1 far too easily. But God, who is faithful and loving, gently reminds me to trust Him.

Nine years ago I wrote the following devotional, and entitled it “HOPE IN THE MIDDLE OF DESPAIR.” I was overwhelmed moments later with the awesomeness of God and His timing. I had no sooner completed writing the title when the phone rang. It was friend who drives truck and calls me occasionally from the road. Usually we jab each other about our favorite football teams (he hates the Vikings), and talk about everyday stuff.

Today’s call was different. There was despair in his voice. I asked him what was wrong. He told me that his mother-in-law, who has been homebound on oxygen for the last three years, was being transported to the hospital in Fargo with serious breathing difficulties and was probably not going to make it. Meanwhile, he was in Grand Island, Nebraska, 500 miles away.

As I listened to him my eyes were glued to the title and the Bible verse for today.

Isaiah 16:5  In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a man will sit on it—one from the house of David—one who in judging seeks justice and speeds the cause of righteousness.

After he was done sharing what was going on, I told him about God’s timing, and that I had just finished writing the title. I read it to him. He listened tenderly. I read the verse to him. He listened quietly except for the occasional sniffle. I told him about the King who is coming, and that He is our only true hope. Sniffle. I asked him to put his hope in the Lord.

Every day we are surrounded with despair. It overwhelms us at times and it feels like there’s nothing we can do. We begin to believe that all hope is gone. It is at that moment that the Holy Spirit comes with the love of God and says, Put your hope in God. If you listen carefully, He is speaking to you right now. Maybe these words from the Psalms will help you hear Him.

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.   My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?   My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”   These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving    among the festive throng.   Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and   my God. You are God my stronghold.  Why have you rejected me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy? Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God. Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.  (Psalm 42)

Jesus Christ is our hope in the middle of despair.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Friday, October 4, 2019

So, what are your plans for the day? It’s amazing how proficient we have become with planning out our days. We have days planned weeks in advance. We have calendars on the fridge, in our purses and on our cell phones. We lock in dates for activities and trips and kid’s events and even church events. We get downright discouraged and sometimes frustrated when our plans don’t work out.  Plans can be self-centered and self-fulfilling. We make them because of the benefit we will receive. It is possible that planning has become our idol.

It is very easy for us to run our lives for our own benefit. What appears on the surface to be a kind gesture or an act of service may actually be an attempt to satisfy some fleshly desire. I suspect that much of what we have on our calendars are plans that are so significant to the building of our own little kingdoms that we would be upset if God interrupted them with His plan.

Here’s a test for you. For tomorrow, clear your calendar of ALL items that aren’t absolutely necessary for work. Take every personal item off. As soon as you’ve done that, close your eyes and pray this prayer – “God, thank you for tomorrow because I know the plans you have for me will be good.” Can you do it? Can you really be thankful for tomorrow when you have no idea what is going to happen?

Isaiah 14:24  The LORD Almighty has sworn, “Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand.”

Here’s a story that may help us evaluate our attitudes towards our planning.

He was just a little fellow. His mother died when he was just a child. His father, in trying to be both mommy and daddy, had planned a picnic. The little boy had never been on a picnic, so they made their plans, fixed the lunch, and packed the car. Then it was time to go to bed, for the picnic was the next day. He just couldn’t sleep. He tossed and he turned, but the excitement got to him. Finally, he got out of bed, ran into the room where his father had already fallen asleep, and shook him. His father woke up and saw his son. He said to him, “What are you doing up? What’s the matter?”

The boy said, “I can’t sleep.”

The father asked, “Why can’t you sleep?”

In answering, the boy said, “Daddy, I’m excited about tomorrow.”

His father replied, “Well, Son, I’m sure you are, and it’s going to be a great day, but it won’t be great if we don’t get some sleep. So why don’t you just run down the hall, get back in bed, and get a good night’s rest.”

So the boy trudged off down the hall to his room and got in bed. Before long, sleep came—to the father, that is. It wasn’t long thereafter that the little boy was back. He was pushing and shoving his father, and his father opened his eyes. Harsh words almost blurted out until he saw the expression on the boy’s face. The father asked, “What’s the matter now?”

The boy said, “Daddy, I just want to thank you for tomorrow.”

When I think of my past, I remember that a loving Father would not let me go, and He reached down in his divine providence and lifted me out of a life of sin. And when I think of my future, I realize that my heavenly Father is planning new adventures for me that will surpass the past. So let the record show that on this day and in this place I will say, “Father, I want to thank you for tomorrow!”

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Thursday, October 3, 2019

One-hundred-thirty years after the resurrection of Jesus, a stoic philosopher named Marcus Aurelius came to power in Rome as emperor. He brought a degree of civility to the people, and allowed the citizens to speak freely without fear of retribution. It was a time of peace for the nation, and people began to thrive.

In less than three hundred years the nation would collapse. Much has been written about the fall of the Roman Empire, and many reasons are given, including one that blames Christianity. But in all humility, recognizing that I am not an historian, there is one thing that guarantees the collapse of all man’s efforts – pride.

When we attempt to create empires of any kind – from family to financial, from political to personal – and then maintain them according to our own standards, we have set ourselves up against the very nature and heart of Almighty God. Then, to seek to remove the potential consequences of our actions, we deny the existence of God. But it doesn’t change the outcome. Our pride will end in destruction.

Just look at the prophecy that is spoken by God through Isaiah to the nation of Babylon. Its ruler will join all the previous rulers of pompous political powers in the hopelessness of the grave. They will have to face the fact and admit the truth that their pride ended in destruction.

Isaiah 13:11 and 14:10-11  I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless. They will all respond, they will say to you, “You also have become weak, as we are; you have become like us. All your pomp has been brought down to the grave, along with the noise of your harps; maggots are spread out beneath you and worms cover you.”

The same is true in our personal lives. The things that we do for self will cause us to ultimately suffer. The things we do for the Savior bring us security. The treasures we build on earth will all be lost. The treasures we build in heaven are safe – eternally safe.

The key is to be humble, and submit to the will of God not the will of man. It all starts in our minds. The Apostle Paul said,

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is. (Romans 12:1-2 New Living Translation)

If only the people of the Roman Empire had held on to this truth. They had the truth. They had Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome. They were also challenged by the words of their emperor, Marcus Aurelius, to be humble and guard their minds and thought life from pride. He wrote,

‎”You are what you think – not what you think you are…….Think as a man who acts, and act as a man who thinks. The most important things in life are the thoughts you choose to frame.”

So how’s your thought life? Maybe you think it’s irrelevant to your life. Maybe you have just accepted all the thoughts that speed across the back of your eyes as a part of the human experience. We must understand that according to God we are responsible for every thought. The Apostle Paul made it clear that we are responsible when he was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write,

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5)

It is our pride that makes us pretentious and sets us up in opposition to God. We must take responsibility for our thoughts and bring them under the control of the Holy Spirit. When we do, we will be able to experience the perfect peace of God because we are living in the perfect will of God.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Wednesday, October 2, 2019

Years ago I heard a song on the radio that captivated my heart. It was sung by David Robertson. Here are the lyrics:

I hear the sound of a mighty rushing wind
and it’s closer now than it’s ever been

I can almost hear the trumpet as Gabriel sounds the chord
at the midnight cry we’ll be going home.

I look around me, I see prophecies fulfilled
the signs of the times they’re appearing everywhere

I can almost see the father as he says “Son go get my children”
at the midnight cry, the bride of Christ will rise.

When Jesus steps out on a cloud to call his children
the dead in Christ shall rise to meet him in the air

Then those that remain shall be quickly changed
at the midnight cry we’ll be going home.

The thought that at any time of any day now we who know Jesus will hear the sound of the trumpet of Jesus as He returns to the earth to take His children home to glory. Hallelujah! Let it be today!

Soon – very soon – we will hear the sound of a mighty army of saints and angels led by Jesus Christ himself as He calls us up to meet Him in the air. Then we will become a part of a mighty army that will one day return to earth – people from every land, nation, tribe, and tongue – and we will watch as Jesus conquers the world with His spoken Word. The Day of the LORD is coming, and those who know Jesus as Savior will be on the winning side of the war.

But wait. If you listen carefully you can already hear the sounds of God’s activity.

Isaiah 13:4-6, 9   Listen, a noise on the mountains, like that of a great multitude! Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms, like nations massing together! The LORD Almighty is mustering an army for war.   They come from faraway lands, from the ends of the heavens—the LORD and the weapons of his wrath—to destroy the whole country.   Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty…See, the day of the LORD is coming—a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger—to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it.

In your heart you can already hear the trumpet of Jesus. You are already under the influence of a new song. You already march to a new drummer with a new beat. As followers of Jesus we are already listening to the trumpet of Jesus, just like my favorite old contemporary group the Imperials sang years ago…

I listen to the Trumpet of Jesus, while the world hears a different sound
I march to the drumbeat of God Almighty while the others just wander around
I’m a member of the Holy Ghost traveling band, we’re moving on up to a better land
I hear the voice of a Supernatural Singer like only those who know Him can

So march today to the drumbeat of God Almighty. You are a member of the Holy Ghost traveling band. And as you march…keep listening for the final trumpet call.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Tuesday, October 1, 2019

 The first time it happened was 19 years ago. It took 32 years of trying to accomplish it for the first time. During that time I had tried over 4,000 times to do it and had never accomplished it. What a moment it was when I was successful for the first time.

Since that first time I tried over 1200 times to do it again. I remember the day I was successful. My son Josh was with me when it happened. What a thrill to watch from the tee box as that little white ball plopped into the hole. I shouted – loudly. People from adjoining holes shouted with me and raised their arms in a gesture of success and admiration. My son shouted. We high-fived. Two men from the next tee box came running over and peaked into the hole to verify what had happened. They wanted to be witnesses of a very special moment for any golfer.

I can’t remember how long Josh and I stood on that tee box yelling and jumping and raising our arms, but it was a long time. I will never forget that moment. I can’t wait until it happens again. I’ve come close several times, but I will keep trying because I love the pursuit of perfection and the feeling of accomplishment.

As I look at the plaque on the wall commemorating that event, I am feeling rather guilty. No, I didn’t lie or cheat. I’m feeling guilty because of the public display of emotion that I showed over a single golf shot and what that says about my life. I’m feeling guilty about the passionate pursuit of a “one” that seems to be more significant than the passionate pursuit of the “One.” I wonder if I stood cheering the golf shot with my arms raised longer than I had cheered my Lord and Savior with arms raised in church just hours earlier. I wondered if my enthusiasm for the things of God is still more evident than my excitement over a game of golf.

Then I came to this point of puzzlement – have I pursued the one lost soul with the Gospel of Christ as persistently as I have pursued the “one” on a scorecard? Think about this a moment. How many attempts have you made in the last 19 years to lead someone to faith in Jesus Christ? When did you stop trying? When did the church lose the enthusiasm of salvation and the persistence to witness no matter how long it takes to win even one? Why is worship in church so casual and non-expressive? Where are the shouts that attract people from adjoining properties? Where are the people running to be witnesses of what is happening? What has happened to us?

Isaiah 13:2  Raise a banner on a bare hilltop, shout to them; beckon to them to enter the gates of the nobles.

My friends, this is a serious matter for us. Every day God does incredible things in us and all around us. Where is the cheering? When I stood on the tee box, I didn’t stop to think for one minute how much attention I was drawing to myself. I didn’t care for an instant what other people were going to think of me. I exploded with enthusiasm over accomplishing something I was pursuing.

So why is it that in church we are so reserved in our worship of the King who saved us from eternal death and gave us the free, fully-paid-for gift of eternal life? Why is it that we so rarely celebrate the victory of seeing one person come to Christ for salvation? Why have we stopped carrying our spiritual golf clubs out into the world’s courses of life to pursue the elusive “one”?

I think it must have something to do with what we really love.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Monday, September 30, 2019

It might be helpful if you take a moment and read the context of Isaiah 11:10 – 12:6 to getting the big picture of today’s lesson..

God is promising to the Israelites that the day is coming when He will establish His King and Kingdom on the earth. His people, who have been scattered all over the earth for generations, will be reclaimed and reunited in Israel and become a great nation again under the reign of Jesus Christ, the Root of Jesse.  All enemies will be cut off (11:13). All competition for recognition and prestige will end (11:13). They will become the most powerful and dominant nation of the world (11:14). God will make the way easy for them to return to the Promised Land (11:15-16). It will be the time of God fulfilling His covenant to Abraham as a testimony to His faithfulness.

Then in chapter 12 we have the songs of praise that the people will sing when the promise has been fulfilled. The people will proudly and boldly proclaim the marvelous works of Almighty God to save them and bring them into the Promised Land permanently. The whole earth will be overwhelmed with the greatness of God.

Isaiah 12:2  “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.”

That’s the historical and prophetic picture of what happens in God’s chosen people Israel. But there is a bigger picture for us today. Notice the spiritual applications to our lives today:

• People are living in the bondage of sin, held captive by its deceptive influence on the fleshly desires we all possess to seek acceptance and recognition. They are scattered all over the earth seeking fulfillment in a myriad of ways, all of which drive them deeper into sin and further from their true homeland in Christ.
• Jesus has raised up a banner for all the world to see, so that people can be reclaimed and reunited in God’s true family. That banner is the cross, where Jesus died to pay for the sin of the world and reconcile people to God. 
• God has made the way easy for people to come home. He has prepared every path of your life with crossroads that lead to Him. You may have ignored them, or been so focused on the path of self-fulfillment that you didn’t see them, but they have been there. If you will open your eyes and look you will see the path of God leading you to the cross where your life can begin.
• Once you come to the cross, the joy of salvation will so fill your heart that you will burst forth in words of praise so that others will be able to hear about God’s greatness. No longer will your heart be filled with complaining or criticism. No longer will resentment and bitterness rule your thought life. There will be no more grudges harbored in a heart of unforgiveness, because you will have experienced ultimate forgiveness from the Lord and will be ready to do the same for others no matter what they have done.

God never gives up designing crossroads in your life to draw you to Jesus. You will come across one even today.

“Surely God is my salvation: I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.  With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted.  Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world.  Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.”

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Friday, September 27, 2019

I wish there was a greater patriotic spirit in our land today. I remember as a child the pride we had in our country. We were not all that far removed from the end of World War 2, the Korean war was in progress, and there was a sense of national pride and unity that permeated our country. I can’t remember ever seeing a single person sitting while a flag would be carried by in a parade. I also can’t remember anyone ever standing without having their hand over their heart in a personal salute to what the flag represents.

Not so today, is it? There is a disrespectful disregard for patriotism. Some would say it is because we have drifted so far from what our founding fathers designed, so they are excused from honoring what currently stands. I believe that the reason we are where we are today is because we, the generations since those days of honor and respect, have failed to live it and teach it as we should. We became complacent. We stopped rallying around a common banner and hope, and the resulting disrespect for our Republic and changing philosophies of our leaders is what we should have seen coming.

William Arthur Ward wrote these moving words:

“I believe in America.

“I believe it became great because of its faith in God, its hope for independence, and its love for freedom.

“I am grateful for America’s glorious past; I am awed by its unbelievable present; I am confident of its limitless future.

“I am not ashamed to take my hat off and to stand at attention when Old Glory passes by. I do not apologize for the lump in my throat when I repeat the Pledge of Allegiance. I am not embarrassed by the tears in my eyes when I hear ‘The Star Spangled Banner.’

“Like millions of Americans, I want a free choice, not a free handout. I prefer an opportunity to prove my abilities on the job rather than a license to demonstrate my frustrations in the street.

“I am an old-fashioned American with a new-found determination to do my part to make democracy work.”

Like Ward, I too still get tears in my eyes when I sing the Star Spangled Banner. Just think of what that song meant to the people of that day, and what it should still mean to us. In the midst of a predictably unwinnable war against a vastly superior army from a long-established country, our troops were fighting to preserve our young Republic. During the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships in Chesapeake in the War of 1812, the rockets red glare and the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. The flag was the rallying point for the army. It was the signal to all around that there was still fight left in the troops. The flag is our symbol of liberty, and it should be held high and in high regard.

As Christians we belong to a spiritual Kingdom. The Ruler of this Kingdom has also established a flag – a banner – that flies over us as our rallying point.

Isaiah 11:10  In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious.

Our banner is Jesus Christ. We display the banner with the cross on which He died for our sins. One day, maybe very soon the way things are going, the One who hung on the cross will return. The day is coming when a new Ruler will rise, or rather descend, to power. He will become the new banner for the people of the world. He will be the One to bring true world peace. He will be the One to unite the world again. All nations will bow before Him. All nations will be united in Him. He will bring peace that is glorious.

His name is Jesus, and His banner is to be lifted high and held in high regard.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Let’s go on a walk today on a path leading us into the incredible hope found in Isaiah 11:9.

For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

We know a lot of stuff, don’t we? We are flooded with information from countless sources. Some of the information is irrelevant to us. Some is indispensable. Some is stored away in our brains as potentially significant. Some knowledge is applied and it changes us. That’s the stuff we really believe. The knowledge that results in activity is the stuff we choose to believe.

The knowledge of people leads us to believe something about them, which results in a decision about relationship with that person. But also at play is the other person’s knowledge of us. In any deepening relationship these two elements of knowledge exist – our knowledge of them and their knowledge of us. The fundamental goal of any great relationship is to have two people who understand that they want to know and to be known.

This is to be the same goal of any individual who seeks a relationship with God. We seek to know Him and to be known by Him. Not only do we seek it, but it is the deepest desire of man’s heart, even though we may not realize it. We do not fully understand love until we understand the desire to know and to be known. The Apostle Paul connected the two in 1 Corinthians 13:12 when he wrote about the fulfillment of knowledge in the context of love’s expression. He said, “Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”

I would assume (I know, that’s dangerous) that you already know that God knows all. But I’m not so sure we live like we believe it. Hannah, the mother of Samuel, spoke of this when she thanked the Lord for her son. She said, “Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the LORD is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed.” If we truly believed that God knows all, especially that He knows all about us, it would change the way we speak and behave. The Bible says, “One perfect in knowledge is with you.” (Job 36:4)

There is a day coming when the knowledge of the LORD will fill the earth. That means that not only will all the earth understand that God knows all, but that all the earth’s inhabitants – human and animal alike – will be under the complete power of the knowledge of God. What I mean is this – the earth will know God as it is known by God. People will know God as they are known by God. Animals will know God as they are known by God. And this will be the result:

The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:6-9)

Perfect peace.  Not as a result of man’s efforts, but as a result of God’s intervention into man’s mess. Jesus will come as King. When He does, there will be perfect peace on earth. All creation will be redeemed from the effects of sin. But there’s more good news – you don’t have to wait for that to happen on the earth to experience the peace of God in your life.  It starts in your heart, in the spiritual realm, when you come to Jesus for salvation. Let the knowledge of Jesus Christ and His death on the cross be more than just head knowledge. Believe it. It will transform your life and give you perfect peace.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

If it’s right it’s always right. Unfortunately the vast majority of the people in the world today don’t believe that. From the average citizen to the heads of state, there is a general consensus that truth is relative, and should be allowed to be influenced by circumstances, experiences, and emotions. Even in the Body of Christ, the true church, there is a movement to negotiate truth based on personal needs and desires and social context. But truth is truth no matter what the context, and right is right always.

Imagine the consequences of relative truth and negotiable right. We don’t really even have to imagine. Just look around. Men and women turning to sexual pleasure outside of marriage just to please their fleshly passions, and justifying it with a myriad of rationalizations designed to protect their false image of righteousness. People pursuing possessions at an uncontrollable rate using debt to buy what they think is happiness, all because they believe they deserve it and it will validate their self-worth. Employees and employers alike climbing over people up the ladder of status and position, justifying the pain they cause by proclaiming that everyone should live by the law of survival of the fittest.

Wait, there’s more. According to culture, any and every action that produces a self-defined good can be justified as right in people’s minds. The college student’s desire to get into medical school so they can fulfill their passion to be a missionary doctor may only be fulfilled if they pad their academic record, so they cheat. That’s justified according to today’s philosophy of relativity, right?

[God] will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. (Isaiah 11:3-4)

Oh how far we have come from the Biblical truth of righteousness. My heart needs revival of God’s righteousness. My heart longs for the return of the Righteous One. He will not be swayed by public opinion. He will not be influenced by fleshly passions. He will not negotiate truth based on emotions. His truth is not the product of His experiences, but rather His truth is the expression of His nature. His character is consistent – perfectly consistent – for He has no need of approval or affirmation. He is Who He is – the great I AM. He is the One and Only Eternal God, incarnate in Jesus Christ. He died to pay for each one’s sin, and then rose from the dead to conquer sin and death forever. And He is coming again to establish His kingdom based on truth – non-negotiable truth. Righteousness and justice will be found on the earth once again.

But while we wait, may the Righteous One come in us, and restore to us the integrity of living, thinking, and acting according to His truth alone. Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly.

Come to us.

Come for us.

Pastor John