I Corinthians 15:42-44 ” So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown in a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. “

We all will face death some day.  Our fleeting life will succumb with our last breath…our earthly body will become an empty shell of what we once were.  But what is buried to decay, will be raised immortal…what goes down in shame, will come up in honor, authority, and holiness.

Isaiah 6:10 ” Make the heart of this people calloused…”

Are you walking around with a hardened heart?  When we’ve been hurt over and over again, our only recourse is to protect our heart…our inner person.  We put up a wall of callousness  and apathy so no one can hurt us again.  It’s  effective, but makes us appear uncaring and insensitive to others.  It’s also really lonely within those walls…but we’re too afraid and distrustful to allow anyone in…so instead, we put on the mask of indifference.

But you may also be walking around with a hardened heart from sin.  Everything is going great… you  can make it on your own…you don’t need the Lord.  But obstinately refusing God will only lead to destruction.

II Corinthians 1:24 ” Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm. “

You are being an example to those around you whether you realize it or not.  You are an ambassador for Christ everywhere you go…whether you want to be or not, for when you take on the name “Christian”,  people will judge you by higher standards.  They will watch you closer and judge you harsher.  When you take on the name Believer,  you become an example… whether that be a good one or bad.

Psalm 10:14 ” But You, O God, do see trouble and grief; You consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.”

The Lord understands the misery and sorrow you may feel today.  He wants to take that pain from you…placing it in His all-powerful  hands and off your shoulders.  If burdens are weighing you down today…entrust yourself to God’s mercy and fall upon His  grace.

Isaiah 1: 19-20 ” If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Yielding our will to God is not easy…for compliance never comes without internal struggle.  But if we listen to Him…understanding that it’s for our own good that He’s directing us that way…and then obey the message we’ve heard…God will work all things out for our good.  Along this same line, Job 36:11 says, “If they obey and serve Him, they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity  and their years in contentment.”  Simple obedience…sometimes hard to do, but oh so beneficial.

Deuteronomy 4:32 ” Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created man on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? “

The Lord is God.  Over the ages we have heard and seen His awesome signs and wonders.  We have been privy to these in order that we might “know” beyond a shadow of doubt  that the Lord is God of all.  There is no other above Him…the Lord is God.

Ephesians 1:11 ” In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will…”

You are not a mistake.  No matter what people tell you, God’s divine Will included you as an important part in this world.  He has a unique purpose for your life here on earth…your birth was foreordained by Him…He knew you before you were even conceived.  You are not a mistake, but a valuable part of God’s plan.

Psalm 80:3 ” Restore us O God; make Your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.”

Turn us around Lord.  Return us to our first love and enable us to know again the joy of our salvation.  As it says in Psalm 71:20, “Though You have made me see troubles many and bitter, You will restore my life again.”  Refresh us  O Lord that we may restore others around us.

Isaiah 57: 14-15 ” And it will be said: ‘Build up, build up, prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way of My people.’ For this is what the high and lofty One says – He who lives forever, whose name is holy: ‘I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.’ “

A refreshing is coming.  A time of spiritual edification and uplifting for all Believers.  God will send a new wind of change…to restore and strengthen the broken and discouraged.  He will breathe new life into old places…and fresh vision into tired and apathetic souls.  As Oswald Chambers once said, ” Beware of paying attention or going back to what you once were, when God wants you to be something that you have never been .”  A new wind is coming…a time of refreshing is upon us.

I John 4:4 ” You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

Just imagine what Godly power and boldness you could possess if the significance of this verse could sink deeply into your soul.  There would be no limit to your trust and faith in the Lord.  You would speak to  mountains and they would throw themselves into the sea.  You would pray for people and they would be instantaneously be healed. Grasp this scripture and the importance of its meaning…ponder it…receive it…walk in it.