Month: February 2026

Isaiah  30:12-14  (MSG) Therefore, The Holy of Israel says this: “Because you scorn this Message, preferring to live by injustice and shape your lives on lies, this perverse way of life will be like a towering, badly built wall that slowly, slowly tilts and shifts, and then one day, without warning, collapses — smashed to bits like a  piece of pottery, smashed beyond recognition or repair, useless, a pile of debris to be swept up and thrown in the trash.”

Observation

People like you and me make up every society in every nation of every time in history.  We can forget that they are people with families, hopes, dreams and challenges whether in 1000 BC or 2000 AD.  There are and have always been people who live in a way that pleases God and others who seek only to please and profit themselves at the cost of others (“live by injustice and shape your lives on lies”).  Because we have a perspective limited by mere decades of life, we can wonder why God does not move more quickly to execute justice.  Sometimes it seems in our lifetime that the wall is not tilting and shifting because the movement is imperceptible to us in our short lifespan.  We want Him to do so according to our time schedule – NOW.  We want to see results!

“…then one day, without warning, [the wall] collapses —   smashed to bits like a piece of pottery, smashed beyond recognition or repair, useless, a pile of debris to be swept up and thrown in the trash.”   I take note of the “without warning”.  Even when we look back, we lack the experience of being there, living in that society and under those conditions.  We are removed from and unaware of the deplorable condition of society that led up to the wall collapses that have come over the millennia, such as the revivals that completely turned a society right side up, the revolutions that have overthrown unjust rulers, and the social reforms that have succeeded against entrenched power/traditions.  There is no way to explain with words the history leading to those powerful events; you must live them.   Perhaps, now we are beginning to see the wall tilt.

Impact on Me

As I look around at the culture that surrounds me, I often feel like a foreigner in a strange land.  And, then I realize that I am!  In Christ, I am a citizen of Heaven, an ambassador and missionary on mission to this Earth.  If I begin to feel intimidated by the seeming height, size and strength of the walls of ungodliness set to block the truth I am sent to share, I pray that I will be reminded that these are “towering, badly built wall[s]” that can fall as quickly and completely as the walls of Jericho did when the Hebrews just obeyed the directions of their God – even when it did not seem to make sense.

In those times of doubt, I want to remember that I have experienced miracles that cannot be explained with words – miracles of provision, healing and restoration.  There is nothing that compares to being in the midst of the power of God working, impacting your situation, making possible what is impossible, demonstrating that His eyes and attention are on you, filling you with a joy and peace that is immeasurable. 

These kinds of experiences fill me with hope for the next impossible challenge.   They also cause me to recognize that it is not what talents, abilities, resources, experience, training or status I bring to the table that matter; it is only my faith, my willingness to be used and my obedience to His instructions that matter.  His success does not depend on me, but mine entirely depends on Him.

Devotion

Lord, God Almighty, Everlasting, Ever Faithful, may I never forget Who You are and will be in and through me when I just obey.  I may look at the walls that stand between the deceived and Your truth as walls that must tilt and collapse, “smashed to  bits  like  a  piece  of  pottery,  smashed beyond recognition  or  repair,  useless,  a  pile  of debris to  be  swept  up  and  thrown  in the  trash.”  Remind me always that Your time frame is based on Your eternal strategic perspective, not mine.  May I never lose hope in Your faithfulness and the fulfillment of Your Word when the time is right and most profitable to Your Kingdom purposes.  Romans 15:13 (JBP) “May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace in your faith, that by the power of the Holy Spirit, your whole life and outlook may be radiant with hope.”.  Let me know that the wall will fall when You are ready.  In Jesus’ name, I   pray.

Psalm 29 (A psalm of David)

¹ Honor the Lord, you heavenly beings; honor the Lord for His glory and strength.  ² Honor the Lord for the glory of His name.  Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.

³ The voice of the Lord echoes above the sea.  The God of glory thunders.  The Lord thunders over the mighty sea.  ⁴ The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic.   ⁵ The voice of the Lord splits the mighty cedars; the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon.  ⁶ He makes Lebanon’s mountains skip like a calf; He makes Mount Hermon leap like a young wild ox.  ⁷ The voice of the Lord strikes with bolts of lightning.  ⁸ The voice of the Lord makes the barren wilderness quake;  the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.  ⁹ The voice of the Lord twists mighty oaks and strips the forests bare.  In his Temple everyone shouts, “Glory!”

¹⁰ The Lord rules over the floodwaters.  The Lord reigns as king forever.  ¹¹ The Lord gives His people strength.  The Lord blesses them with peace.

Observation

Can we stop just a little while and stand in awe and wonder of the Lord?  “Selah” should be right here to remind us to do so.  We don’t have an exact translation of selah but we see it often in the psalms.  It seems to be a suggestion to stop, reflect, contemplate and meditate on the wonder of what you just read or, in the case of the psalms, sang.  “The voice of the Lord twists mighty oaks and strips the forests bare.”  Any one of these statements speak of power and majesty beyond our conception.  Do we really perceive how unique, powerful and majestic God is?

These words are truth – reality – our eternal refuge and strength – immutable, from, about and for the One with “no shadow of turning” (James 1:17).  However, we live in a world where seeing is not believing and hearing is also not reliable.  Artificial Intelligence (AI) has blurred what is real, what is fact, making it possible to alter what is actually seen and heard.  AI has a myriad of beneficial uses, but we live in a fallen world where it will not always be used for good.  Scripture is one of the only places left that does not and will not be changed.  This is why we need to soak in the Word, be firmly rooted in the salvation provided by Christ, and remember every moment of every day Whose we are and Whom we serve.

Impact On Me

This is not a tirade against AI.  I am aware that, like anything else, AI can be used for good or evil.  For example, money or work are not inherently evil, nor are they always a means of deception.  The twisting happens when they become idols, replacing dependence on God for dependence on what we ourselves can provide – when we decide to determine what is good or evil rather than leaving it with God. 

The devil takes every thing created or available to use for deception.  He started with tempting Adam and Eve with the fruit on the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and proceeded throughout history to use every other invention of humankind, attempting to twist the goodness out of it by making it another idol, another instrument of deception, another trading our way for submitting to the Lord’s way.  However, the Word says I don’t have to be ignorant of the devil’s devices, so I choose to pray for the Lord’s wisdom in my choices as I stand again daily before that Tree. 

But I digress….  “The Lord rules over the floodwaters.  The Lord reigns as king forever.  ¹¹ The Lord gives His people strength.  The Lord blesses them with peace.”  Regardless of the machinations of the enemy of my soul, I have confidence in the power, majesty and promise of the Lord I serve because I choose to be rooted in Christ.  He is able to lead me in righteousness and truth.  He is able to give me the strength and wisdom to choose wisely.  He is able to give me peace in the midst of this stormy world.  He is able to lead me in battle right on through to victory.  He has the eternal plan to redeem this fallen world and restore Eden – first working within me and then calming the storms around me by flowing in and through me.  This is why He deserves all honor and praise.  This is why I stop to stand in awe of Him.

Devotion

“Honor the Lord, you heavenly beings; honor the Lord for His glory and strength.  Honor the Lord for the glory of His name.  Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.”  I do honor You, Lord, awesome in power, wonder, goodness, mercy and grace.  Stop me from rushing to get things done when I need to stop and recognize Your awesome wonder – in a sunset, in a flower, in how you are working in the lives of my family, every little thing that is another miracle of Your love and care for me.  Convict me when I think I am too busy to read Your Word or listen to the wonder of You set to music.  I want to walk with You, at Your pace, so I can listen to all You have to share with me.  Make it so, in Jesus’ name.