“He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces, and He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; for the LORD has spoken.”Isaiah 25:8

Paul wrote that, because of sin, death has reigned in all our lives (Romans 5:17). We feel this cruel reign as we experience the impact of sin in the world. Yet, even in the Old Testament, the Bible promises that one day God would swallow up death in victory. There would be no more loss, no more pain. Through the Resurrection of Jesus, everything changes for us. We still experience the consequences of sin and sometimes face strained relationships and financial, emotional, or physical needs. We still endure pain and may shed tears because of problems or troubles in the world. But we can be victorious because of the finished work of Jesus on the Cross for us. We need to remember the words of Paul that “if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:11). God has promised His Resurrection life and power to all who believe in Jesus! He has promised to quicken our mortal bodies! Brothers & Sisters,Today, no matter what struggles you face, remember that Jesus died for your sins. You can be forgiven of every sin you’ve committed. You can be healed, because by His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). You can know the power of His Resurrection to change your life—right now! Declare victory, and dedicate your life to Him! He has swallowed up death for all time! And He will wipe away every tear from your eyes!

"Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God."Psalms 20:7

We live in a world full of corruption and deceit. But you know what really DOES surprise me? We would sooner trust in doctors we don't know and medicines we've never heard of than trust in the healing touch of the Lord! We've somehow, been conditioned to look for every possible physical solution to our health problems and finally, when those don't work, we throw up our hands and say "Oh well, there's nothing left to do but pray!" Brothers & Sisters, let's get real here! We need to go to God FIRST! Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you! Haven't we heard this somewhere before? Let's start putting our trust first in the Lord today! WHO DO YOU TRUST?

"And the angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valour!"Judges 6:12

Judges 6 begins with an angel talking to Gideon saying, "thou mighty man of valour!" However, in this passage Gideon isn't feeling very valiant -- he's consumed with his circumstances -- how poor his family is and how he's the least of his fathers' house. He doesn't feel he's done anything worthy of being called valiant, yet the angel still addresses him "mighty man of valour!" Gideon is not the only one who struggles with feeling unvaliant, though, is he? Even the best of us struggle with feelings of failure and defeat. But we must remember that we are part of the Lord's army -- and in the Lord's army we do not depend upon our own strength. We depend upon the power of the Lord! We depend upon the victory that He has already won! Imagine the countless thousands of saints like Gideon who have passed away before us and now sit in heaven's glory where every tear is dried, and every wound is healed -- who have already fought the battle of life and are calling down to us from heaven saying "Fellow Saint, you can get through this thing! Fight this battle -- for we have fought these same battles in our lives and been rewarded with heaven's glory! So fight through and we'll see you soon beside us! March forward you mighty man and woman of valor!" Brothers & Sisters, the Lord stands anxiously awaiting our call. He wants us to walk in His power, not our own! Let's give him our circumstances today and strive to rely on His strength to conquer them! BE VALIANT!

"Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south. They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses."Psalms 107:2-6

In his book, Pilgrim's Progress, John Bunyan has written one of the most beautiful allegories about the journey we all travel as a believers. The book describes the hero, Christian, and his journey from the City of Destruction to his heavenly destination, the Celestial City. Now there's one part of Pilgrim's Progress that I want to focus on today -- walking through the Swamp of Despondency! At one point during their travels, Christian and his companion suddenly find themselves there....in the Swamp of Despondency. Still bearing his burden, Christian, begins to sink in the mire. His traveling companion manages to get out, but he returns to the City of Destruction without giving aid to Christian. Christian is left all alone and sinking even deeper in the mire, until Help, the allegorical figure for the Holy Spirit, pulls him free from the swamp. Christian then asks Help why this dangerous plot of land has not been mended so that poor travelers might go safely to the Celestial City. Help replies, "This miry slough is such a place that cannot be mended." How true it is in real life! As hard as we try to avoid them, whether young in the Lord, or spiritually mature...swamps of despondency seem inevitable, and we must struggle through them! Charles Spurgeon once wrote to his students in the book, "Lectures to my Students", "Fits of depression come over most of us. Usually cheerful as we may be, we must at intervals be cast down. The strong are not always vigorous, the wise not always ready, the brave not always courageous, and the joyous not always happy. There may be here and there men of iron...but surely the rust frets even these." Brothers & Sisters, there are times in our lives when we will struggle through the swamps of despondency -- but praise God that He has provided us a helper for those times of need! We need to press through, seeking and trusting the power of the Holy Spirit to pull us out of those nasty swamps, and set our feet back upon the Rock of our salvation. Let's also look around us to see our brethren who may be struggling in the swamps of despondency, so that, rather than abandoning them, we might give them a hand on their journey to the celestial city! PRESS THROUGH THE SWAMPS!

"Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth."Psalms 46:10

So often life can become so hectic that it becomes hard to find time to sit still and just listen to what the Lord is saying. But Jesus often secluded himself, so that He could commune intimately with His Father. In these days and in this hour it's so imperative that we spend time in our own prayer closets, so we can clearly hear what our Father is saying to us, through His still small voice. If we do, we may find some wonderful and valuable things that others have missed. Brothers & Sisters, the question isn't whether God will speak, but whether we will take the time to be quiet and still enough to hear His voice. Let's be sure to take that time to hear what He's saying to us! LISTEN CAREFULLY!

"Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost."Romans 15:13

I heard a story about a man who was imprisoned during Napoleons reign. While sulking in his dungeon one day, he etched on the wall the words "Nobody Cares". A few weeks later, through a crack in the dungeon floor, a little green shoot sprang forth, reaching toward the tiny ray of sunlight that came from his small prison cell window. The prisoner began giving a portion of his daily water to the little shoot and it began to grow. One morning the man awoke to a beautiful flower. A tear rolling down his face, he crossed out the words, "Nobody Cares" and replaced them with "God Cares." The story goes on to tell that His devotion to the flower was reported to the Empress Josephine. She was so very moved that she convinced Napoleon to set the man free. How many times do we feel like "Nobody Cares"? God has planted little shoots of hope in each and every one of our difficult circumstances -- do you know that? Perhaps we're stepping on them, not even noticing they exist. Perhaps we're pulling the shoots before they spring forth into beautiful flowers. Brothers & Sisters, God wants us to be released from our prisons of despair. Look around! See what God has planted since the beginning of time especially for us today. A FLOWER FOR YOU!

"Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, Owill he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?"Matthew 7:9-11

Another great preacher whose writings I love to read wrote, "I once imagined I was in Heaven, walking along with the Angel Gabriel. I said, "Gabe, what is that big building over there?" "You'll be disappointed," he answered. "I don't think you want to see it." But I insisted, and he proceeded to show me floor after floor of beautiful gifts, all wrapped and ready to be sent. "Gabriel, what are all of these?" He said, I thought rather sadly, "We wrapped all these things, but people never called for them." There are gifts and an abundance of blessings to be received from heaven -- but we need to claim them as our own! We receive not because we've asked not. Brothers & Sisters, when we ask the Lord in humility and expectation for His goodness, He will answer! Then we'll be better equipped to do the great things He has in store for us. CLAIM YOUR GIFTS!