Today is Resurrection Sunday and we Christians celebrate the fact that our Lord Jesus Christ is alive!

Since He is alive, those who are poor, brokenhearted, in bondage, and in mourning, have hope for the future:

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

because the Lord has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor;

he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim liberty to the captives,

and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,

and the day of vengeance of our God;

to comfort all who mourn;

to grant to those who mourn in Zion—

to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness instead of mourning,

the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;

that they may be called oaks of righteousness,

the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.

Isaiah 61:1-3 (ESV)

Hallelujah, Jesus is Alive!

Today’s Scripture reading comes from the book of Isaiah:

But they are shepherds who have no understanding;

they have all turned to their own way,

each to his own gain, one and all.

Isaiah 56:11b (ESV)

If you have been visiting a number of churches, and are deciding on one to commit yourself to for the long term, I recommend that your decision be based on its pastor.

Yes, don’t let the size of the church building or congregation impress you. Focus on the pastor.

I recommend that after listening to a number of the pastor’s sermons, consider whether they ‘feed’ (or ‘speak’ to) you.

Sad to say, some pastor’s chief ambition is to increase their following. It feeds into their own ego and pride.

However, as I see it, a pastor is like a shepherd. The job of the shepherd is to feed the sheep.

If you don’t feel ‘fed’ through the preaching of the pastor, then either the pastor is not doing his job (because he concentrates his activities on things that enhance his own ambitions), or that you are in the wrong flock.  

Today’s Scripture reading is taken from Isaiah 54:

“Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame.

Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.

You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.

For your Maker is your husband—

the Lord Almighty is his name—

the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;

he is called the God of all the earth.

Isaiah 54:4-5 (NIV)

Have you done something shameful in the past that causes you much pain whenever the memory arises?

Do you have difficulty getting rid of that shameful memory?

Shameful memories are strongholds in our mind that can lead to great bondage.

By our own strength, it’s hard to get rid of these memories, and only God, our maker, has the power to deal with them.

So, let us turn to God now.

Heavenly Father, we come before You today to ask that You help us deal with shameful memories that we struggle with. These memories cause us much grief, and like heavy bondages, hinders us from moving forward with our lives. As according to Your word, help us to forget the shame of our past. We know that through You, all things are possible, and that Your can make all things new, if we allow You to intervene in our lives. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen

Today’s bible reading is taken from the book of Isaiah:

Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:

“I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go.

Isaiah 48:17 (ESV)

We serve a good God, who desires what is good for us, and according to the Prophet Isaiah, ‘teaches us to profit’ (Isaiah 48:17).

However, I don’t think that this means that it is God’s intention for every Christian to become a millionaire or billionaire.

Instead – and as how the NIV version of the bible has translated this verse (‘I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go’) – it is God’s intention that we receive what is best for us individually, according to the path of life that he leads us to take.

Indeed, when reading Isaiah 48:17, we need to keep an eye on verses 18 and 19, and to consider them together in context:

“Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments!

Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea; your offspring would have been like the sand, and your descendants like its grains; their name would never be cut off or destroyed from before me.”

Isaiah 48:18-19 (ESV)

In life, we all have different gifts and abilities, and some people handle money well, while others don’t.

Some people are in a business or line of work that pays well, while others aren’t.

You see, when God says that He teaches us to profit (verse 17), it must go together with being able to keep God’s commandments, having peace, and being able to conduct oneself righteously before others (verse 18).

Some people make a lot of money through their business; yet, they have no peace of mind because they constantly need to make moral compromises in order to keep making the money that they do.

I don’t see making money this way as how God had intended for our lives, and I recommend that people in this situation seek God and reconsider the direction that their life is going.

Heavenly Father, I pray for my brothers and sisters who are reading this. We acknowledge that You are a good God who teaches us to profit but who also leads us in the way we should go. Some of us may be feeling a lack of peace in spite of being in a business or career that pays well, and I ask that You redirect us, so that we may be able to take a path where we do not need to compromise morally and still be able to meet our needs. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Do you tend to dwell on your regrets?

If so, you may like to meditate on Isaiah 43:

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.

See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.

Isaiah 43:18-21, NIV

In summary, this passage of Scripture teaches us that it is futile to dwell on the past since God is able to do something new and wonderful in our lives, if we would only allow Him to.

Heavenly Father, I pray for my brothers and sisters who are reading this and who are living in the past and dwelling on their regrets. May they forget the past and look to You instead. Help them to move forward and to place their hope and confidence in You, O God, because You are able to do a new thing for them, what ‘no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him’ (1 Corinthians 2:9). In Jesus name I pray. Amen

Do you feel that God doesn’t care about you?

If so, meditate on Isaiah 40:

Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel,

“My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”?

Have you not known? Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.

He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.

Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:27-31, ESV

What this passage of Scripture is alluding to is that God does care. Indeed, God does ‘gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength’ (verse 29).

But you may ask, “If God’s desire is to help those who have no strength, why then does He not help me?”

Well, in the first place, have you approached God for help? Have you spoken to Him about your problem? (see Isaiah 41:1)

Have you been impatient?

Or are you patiently waiting on God for an answer to your problem? For the Bible promises that:

“They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint”

Isaiah 40:31, ESV

Heavenly Father, I pray for my brothers and sisters in distress and who are reading us. May You renew a right sprit within them and lead them to seek after You for a solution to their problems. I pray that You grant them patience as they wait upon You, so that they may testify that Your promise is true: that ‘they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint’. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Romans 12:2 (NIV)

Many Christians say that would like to discover what God’s will is for their lives.

However, the problem is that they do now allow the Word of God to reach them and to renew their minds; instead, they continue to saturate their minds with all kinds of ungodly junk.

Indeed, the bible tells us that ‘the carnal mind is enmity against God’ (Romans 8:7; KJV), and commands Christians not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewal of their minds mind (Romans 12:2a).

God’s command comes with a blessed promise – “Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2b).

If you have been praying for God to show you His will, but do not seem to be getting closer in receiving an answer, consider how you spend your time each day.

Do you spend more time each day reading the newspapers or watching Netflix than you do in reading the Bible?

If so, you may like to consider making adjustments to your lifestyle.

Heavenly Father, I pray for my brothers and sisters who are reading this. They may be feeing discouraged about not being able to discern Your will for their lives. I ask that you help them adjust their lifestyles so that their mind may be renewed, and in so doing, to be in an ideal position to discover Your will for them individually. Help them, I pray, in Jesus name. Amen.

“Ah, stubborn children,” declares the Lord, “who carry out a plan, but not mine, and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin

Isaiah 30:1 (ESV)

It’s important that whenever we carry out a plan – whether it be our own idea or someone else’s – that we first question whether it aligns with God’s will for our lives.

Plans that do not align with God’s typically end in futility or put us in jeopardy.

If one has embarked on a plan that is falling apart because it didn’t have God’s initial unction and blessing, the best course of action is to cease from further activity:

For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.

Isaiah 30:15 (ESV)

To ‘return and rest’ is so contrary to the spirit of the world which promotes being busy to fulfil one’s dreams and ambitions.

However, rather than digging a deeper hole for oneself, it’s really wiser to cut one’s losses, and to turn to God for help.

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you (ESV).

“You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast [that is, committed and focused on You—in both inclination and character], Because he trusts and takes refuge in You [with hope and confident expectation]. (Amplified Bible)

Isaiah 26:3

We live in a time of great uncertainty.

The battles in Ukraine rage on, and nobody knows when it might stop.

The Covid situation – although improving in the West – is causing serious lockdowns in places like Shanghai, China.

Over in the US and Europe, rising inflation is causing many to wonder how they might be able to pay their bills and put food on their tables.

In the midst of all these difficulties and uncertainties, God in our only help.

Indeed, even in the midst of the storm, God promises ‘perfect peace’ to those whose minds are focused on Him (Isaiah 26:3).

Wouldn’t you like this peace? Ask God to give it to you:

Almighty God, only You and You alone are our help in these troubled times. We ask that as we look to You for help, may you grant us the peace that you have promised according to Your word. In Jesus name we pray; amen.