Key Verse: Isaiah 40:31
But those who wait on 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 his book, Isaiah gives us God’s Word! Isaiah said to King Hezekiah, “Hear the Word of the Lord!” (39:5). Hezekiah would pray and God would answer through His Prophet. This was the way it was in Old Testament times. False prophets were plentiful and they would distort God’s message, or simply make up something and claim they had heard from God. This was a dangerous time for God’s people. They did not have the book of Isaiah, let alone Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. As John wrote in his first chapter, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God!!!” The Apostle Peter’s words in 2 Peter 1:15-21 bring together “our Lord Jesus Christ” and “the prophetic Word.” Essentially, God summed up all He had to say to the world in His Son and our Saviour and Lord, Jesus. Read Matthew 17:1-8 and note the words, “This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased. HEAR HIM!!!”

PRAYER FOR TODAY:
O Lord God, I pray for grace to follow You so closely that I will know all that You are saying to me. You promised that “My sheep know My voice.” By this I know that I am hearing directly from You and not just from someone else speaking for You, as the true prophets like Isaiah did. You, Lord Jesus, are the One of Whom Isaiah wrote, “He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom” (Isaiah 40:11a). What assurance I have in the knowledge that You are holding me and that I am hearing from You! In Your Name, Jesus, I pray. Amen!!!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:
This past Sunday at church here in Burlington, Pastor Kevin Shepherd preached a great message. I’m so glad I’m able to get to church regularly. I know that I heard New Testament prophecy, as described in Revelation 19:10b, “Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy.” On the birthday of the Church, Peter took as the text for his message the words of the Prophet Joel (Joel 2:28-29, Acts 2:14-21). Peter said that as the 120 spoke of Jesus on the streets of Jerusalem, they (sons, daughters, all of them), were prophesying. These were New Testament prophets. I want to daily share Jesus. In this understanding, when I do this blog each morning, I’m functioning as a New Testament prophet. And so are you when you share Jesus with someone!

Pastor Shepherd also launched a new initiative for 2014. It’s a campaign called, “Because I said so!” All in attendance were given a sticker to put in a prominent place, like on the back of our cell phones, which reminds us that God’s promises can be relied upon! We will also receive a text message each week with one of God’s promises selected by the Pastor. I have no doubt that one of them will be our key verse, and again we’ll be encouraged to “Wait on the Lord…mount up with wings as eagles.” Because God said so, we will “run and not be weary,” and “walk and not faint.”

Yours for hearing and understanding God’s Word to each one of us,

David