“Everlasting Father” Have you ever heard of such a dramatic name for a baby? Isaiah 9:6 (NIV) says, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called…Everlasting Father…”

As our “Father,” Jesus speaks, acts, thinks, and loves as the Father Himself would.  In fact, Jesus said in John 14:9 (ESV),  “…Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” Beloved, no matter what you may be going through in life, whether suffering or disappointment, pain or sorrow, no matter how others may be treating you, no matter what life may bring you, you can have peace, contentment, and confidence because Jesus, our Everlasting Father, will be there to provide guidance, comfort, and direction, as only a father would do for His children. 

The Hebrew words for “Mighty” and “God” are “gibbor” which means, “mighty.”  And “el,” which, speaking of God, always describes Him as “The Mighty One.”  Jesus is our great and mighty Warrior who triumphs over all his enemies.  He’s the Mighty God! Beloved, Jesus not only has the power of God, He is the God of power!  He is our Mighty God!  And best of all, He’s here for you!  Do you know Him as your Savior? 

Isaiah 9:6 (NIV) says, "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor…” 

Isaiah is telling us that Jesus is beyond anything we have ever seen; he transcends human experience and imagination; he is extraordinary and beyond the bounds of all human expectation!  As our “Counselor,,” He doesn’t just give good advice. It means He has understanding that is beyond the ways of man; He understands the purposes and plans of God!  

Did you know that once the fire of God is lit in your heart, you can’t keep its glow a secret and you can’t keep it inside. Beloved, once the fire of God is lit in your heart, you are literally glowing with love for Jesus! 

Today, fall on your face before God, confess and forsake every sin that has come between you, and God will forgive your sin, He will re-ignite His fire in your heart, and He will restore His glow in your life. To God be the glory! 

Charles Finney said that revival is a time of “renewed conviction of sin and repentance, leading to an intense desire to live in obedience to Jesus Christ.”  It’s a time when God’s people return to the simplicity of their first love. It’s a time when we gain fresh awareness that Jesus is to be the Lord of our lives, and that we need to intentionally put Him back at the center of our lives. Beloved, are you ready to break fallow ground in your heart and return to seeking the Lord?

Why do people get so excited when they see something on fire?  Could it be because they understand that fire changes what it burns? The Holy Spirit changes the hearts and minds of people with a consuming fire. The flames spread and others are caught up. John Wesely said, “I get alone with God in prayer. He sets me on fire. The people come out and watch me burn.” Beloved, get on fire for Jesus and watch Him change you, and lives around you! Be consumed! Be people on fire!

In light of the recent national elections, what would God’s message to America be if He were to speak audibly to us today?

Beloved, God’s message to America today is to PRAY for our president, our federal, state, and local leaders, and our nation!  No matter how good or bad they are, no matter what political party they may be, no matter how conservative or liberal they are, no matter how moral or immoral they may be!  Our country is in desperate times; we are on the brink of no return! 

As you ponder who you will vote for in the upcoming Presidential election, remember Jesus. Think about how He sacrificed His life for the atonement of your sins and so you can have eternal life. Think about how He humbled Himself by becoming a man with the same limitations of a human body! Think of how He became a servant and made it His mission to seek and save those who were lost—even to suffer the most dreadful of executions: crucifixion!  Consider His death and burial, and then try to wrap your mind around the fact that He rose physically from the dead and is alive right now, in heaven, and in the lives of His people!  

Beloved, as you consider the candidates for President, don’t be like the people of Israel—pushing God and His counsel to the side of the road because you want who you want, no matter what. Be careful what you ask for because you just might get it!  Instead, pour your heart out to God, humbly seeking His guidance. And then get out there and vote in November with courage and conviction, knowing that you just might get what God wants for you! Beloved, remember Israel!

Beloved, as you evaluate the candidates for President, take a serious look into their political track records, their political convictions, their platforms, the promises they have made, and if they have kept them or not. Can they be trusted to represent America, to represent you, honorably and faithfully? Do they keep their promises only in times of prosperity or do they have a history of abandonment when the going gets rough? Then take this information to the LORD in prayer. Commit it to Him, and He will guide you in your decision. When you leave the voting booth in November, remember Demas, his decision was his alone, yet it affected so many others. Your decision, also, is yours alone and it, too, will affect so many others!  Remember Demas!

Barabbas, whose name is synonymous with trouble, was arrested by Roman authorities, put in prison, and scheduled for execution. Mark 15:6-15 tells the story of what happens next. Influenced by the chief priests and elders, the crowd, the raucous crowd, chose Barabbas. They chose to free a guilty man and crucify an innocent man! Beloved, you and I are in the crowd that will cast our vote for the next President of the United States. We stand side by side amid the loud, annoying, and sometimes obnoxious voices that are intentionally trying to influence our thinking on the issues and who should be the next President. Our choices matter! Refuse to go along with the crowd!  Instead, ponder the candidates soberly, vigilantly, prayerfully seeking for God’s wisdom, then get out and vote in November!   

Beloved, as you consider the candidates for this election and what each brings to the table and you make your decision on who you will vote for in November, know that God is sovereign over the affairs of man, and He will use everyone’s vote to reveal His choice for America. Get out and vote! And, if, at the end of the day, it wasn’t who you would have picked, remember Jephthah, despite all of his flaws, God looked at him and said he’s the guy I pick.  And the rest will be history! 

Many have learned that a life without Jesus Christ tends to keep our footing on dry ground with no relief in sight.

·  Are the currents of life grabbing and tugging at you, ready to drown you?  SALVATION IS OF THE LORD!

·  Are financial hardships, like rising flood waters, trying to pull you under?  SALVATION IS OF THE LORD!

·   Are relentless health struggles growing larger and larger like waves ready to pound you into submission?  SALVATION IS OF THE LORD! 

Whatever the hardships that may be flooding into your life, God is able to set your feet on dry ground and help you to cross over to His Promised Land of blessing. 

If somebody needed the gates of the city opened or doors within the castle opened, they called for the Gatekeeper. The Gatekeeper was very powerful because he could authorize or refuse entry. Beloved, Jesus wants you to know that He is “The Gatekeeper!”

Did you realize, as The Gatekeeper, Jesus has your key hanging at His side?  One day He will fit your key into the lock, turn the key, and open the door of departure, and at that precise moment, you will be ushered across the threshold of eternity into either His glorious presence or into eternal torment all depending upon what you did with Jesus in this life. 

Did you know there are few people in the world who do not know about Sodom & Gomorrah? These cities are often the brunt of off-color jokes and disgusting innuendo. In Jude 1:7, the half-brother of Jesus writes “as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them…having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” 

These sins are listed in the Scriptures for our instruction and tell us clearly, that unbridled sexual immorality will not go unpunished. In fact, the phrase “suffering the vengeance of eternal fire” reminds us that the people of Sodom & Gomorrah chose unwisely and were destroyed by fire and brimstone from heaven. Indeed, God views sexual immorality very seriously! 

If sexual immorality is your reality, then today, choose wisely and humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God by repenting of your sinful ways and immerse yourself in the words, and the ways, and the worship of Jesus Christ!

Have you ever made a decision you regretted? Choices you made, things you did, friends you betrayed, people you let down.  Some decisions have no long-term consequences. Others last an eternity. 

Beloved, it’s not too late for you. 2 Corinthians 6:2 says, “… now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” So today, repent of your sinful ways and believe in Jesus! Commit to follow his words, His ways, and His worship! Repent now and have no regrets later! Hallelujah!

Did you know there is a popular heresy going around that teaches everyone on planet Earth is part of the family of God?  They say, “We are all God’s children.” 

Did you know the Bible never teaches that? When we place our faith in Jesus Christ, God becomes our Father, we become his children, other believers become our brothers and sisters, and the church becomes our spiritual “forever family.”

Ephesians 1:4 tells us, “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.” 

That means, if you are a Christian, if you have repented of your sins and have trusted in Jesus as your Savior, then God chose you before the foundations of the world were laid!  That’s an awesome verse!  You have been chosen! I have been chosen! We are part of God’s family, we are special to Him! Just think, this all-knowing, all-powerful, ever-present, eternal God chose you for Himself! 

In other words, as one specially chosen by God, you are a royal priest who is part of a holy nation, serving the King of Kings, with all of the rights and privileges of His Name, on mission to tell all what God has done for you!  

To be politically incorrect means you say things and do things that wouldn’t go over well politically; it means you don’t agree with the popular opinions of the day. Did you know Jesus is the most politically incorrect person to ever walk the face of the earth? That’s right! His words were shocking, so different from what people were used to hearing, that they accused Him of being demon-possessed.

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you also are politically incorrect. The beliefs Jesus has given you in His Word, beliefs about what is moral, and what is immoral, beliefs about eternal life, and how to get there are very different from what the world around you believes. Like it or not, YOU are politically incorrect!

Would you believe me if I told you the most desperate need of our day is for men who understand the times we are in? Men who understand there is a judgment day coming for everyone!

Beloved, understanding the times we are in means understanding the return of Jesus Christ for His church is imminent! It could happen at any moment! Are you ready for that? Have you embraced God’s cure for the needs of your heart? His name is Jesus. “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Believe in Him and escape the wrath to come!