Daily Manna (Coffee with Jesus)

Momma always said, “You would save a lot of time and energy if you would just do what I tell you to do the first time.”  Sigh—my response.

“Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.  You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did”. James 2:18-22, NIV

It is our behaviors that will always expose our hearts with the truth in what we believe.

Zechariah 6, The Message

Eighth Vision: Four Chariots

Once again I looked up—another strange sight! Four chariots charging out from between two mountains. The mountains were bronze.

^2-3 The first chariot was drawn by red horses, the second chariot by black horses, the third chariot by white horses, and the fourth chariot by dappled horses. All the horses were powerful.

⁴ I asked the Messenger-Angel, “Sir, what’s the meaning here?”

^5-7 The angel answered, “These are the four winds of heaven, which originate with the Master of the whole earth. The black horses are headed north with the white ones right after them. The dappled horses are headed south.” The powerful horses galloped out, bursting with energy, eager to patrol through the earth. The Messenger-Angel commanded: “On your way! Survey the earth!” and they were off in every direction.

⁸ Then he called to me and said, “Look at them go! The ones going north are conveying a sense of my Spirit, serene and secure. No more trouble from that direction.”

A Man Named Branch

^9-12 Then this Message from God came to me: “Take up a collection from the exiles. Target Heldai, Tobiah, and Jedaiah. They’ve just arrived from Babylon. You’ll find them at the home of Josiah son of Zephaniah. Collect silver and gold from them and fashion crowns. Place one on the head of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and give him this message:

^12-13 “‘A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies. Be alert. We have a man here whose name is Branch. He will branch out from where he is and build the Temple of God. Yes, he’s the one. He’ll build the Temple of God. Then he’ll assume the role of royalty, take his place on the throne and rule—a priest sitting on the throne!—showing that king and priest can coexist in harmony.’

¹⁴ “The other crown will be in the Temple of God as a symbol of royalty, under the custodial care of Helem, Tobiah, Jedaiah, and Hen son of Zephaniah.

¹⁵ “People will come from faraway places to pitch in and rebuild the Temple of God. This will confirm that God-of-the-Angel-Armies did, in fact, send me to you. All this follows as you put your minds to a life of responsive obedience to the voice of your God.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Listen and follow the voice of God to obey responsively. 

But how do we follow who we do not know?  We cannot.  Therefore:

• Know God by accepting His Son who died for us.  This is the beginning.
• Know that when we accept His Son, Jesus as Savior, and repent of our sins, His Holy Spirit comes to live in us. 
• Read about God in His Word given to us as a love letter to us!
• Know that God begins His intimate growing relationship with us at the time of our coming to Him with all that in us.  The more we know Him, the easier His voice is to hear.  Just like any relationship, the closer we come, the better we hear with understanding.
• Picture our God who delights in us as His creation, who throws open His arms of unconditional love and acceptance into His Kingdom thinking that begins to transform our thinking.  At this point His voice is becoming more recognizable and easier to hear.
• Know who He is and what He promises to do.  Zechariah explained God’s message to the high priest and the witnesses. He must have told them that both Zerubbabel and Jeshua were “wondrous signs” of things to come. Zechariah is telling that Jesus is coming to earth to save the world whom God loves.  Jesus did come to earth centuries later as the Son of Man/Son of God who lived His life on earth always listening for the Voice of God.  Jesus responding obediently to the Voice, even to the point of laying down His life for ours on a cruel cross for our sins. Jesus’ body was put in a borrowed grave, but then, three days later, the Voice shouted, “Arise!”  Jesus rose from the grave, defeating death forever!  As promised by God, Jesus become King of kings and Lord of lords forever.  As promised by God, EVERY knee will bow at the feet of the One and Only who saved us from our sins!  Jesus is our Hope!  Jesus is the Way, Truth and Life.  Jesus is the start of our relationship with God.
• Know that God is with us always.  God always keeps His promises.

Pause to pray, commune with God right now, asking Him,

• Lord, am I living a life of responsive obedience to your Voice?
• Am I taking time to really listen after prayer for your direction?
• Am I doing what you say or going my own way?

The crown kept sacred for “the day of the Lord.”  It belonged to the coming Messiah. Zechariah placed the crown somewhere in the temple as a reminder of the Lord’s promise of a King-Priest who would bring peace and holiness to His people.  And He did.

All this follows as you put your minds to a life of responsive obedience to the voice of your God.”

Lord,

Help me to hear you, to really hear you specifically, with understanding.  Open my eyes to your glory at work all around us.  Open my ears to hear with understanding as I listen to instruction and direction for my life.  Continue your work of salvation that bears your growing character traits in me.  I’m yours and I’m listening, ready to obey.  I trust in you, dear Jesus, King of kings and Lord of Lords forever.

In Jesus Name, I pray, Amen

I grew up in Oklahoma.  I know tornadoes.  I know about the damage and upheaval of people’s lives when a tornado dips down from the sky to wreak havoc as it vacuums up everything in its path and deposits it recklessly somewhere else.  What once was is no longer.  But not all is lost.  Within hours after the dark clouds blow over and the rain stops, a clean up operation begins as people attempt to put their lives back together.  Family and friends gather to clean up the mess left behind.  God helps them through the storm.  God is given credit for saving their lives.

The people of Israel have suffered a storm of a different kind.  They have been sucked up into the vortex of evil, taken into captivity with resulting slavery by a nation who does not know or believe God.  They have spent seventy years in a land of idol worship, pagan rituals that include sacrificing infants, lying and cheating in the marketplace, along with sexual abuses through orgies of all kinds.  The land is full of deceit.  The land is full of evil.  God is working with the remnant, those who survived it all, to rebuild what they knew before the “storm” hit.  Rebuilding God’s Temple, left in ruins by the Babylonians and others, is an exercise to get their attention and focus back on God.

God gives his prophets visions of how His restoration will occur.  God wants His best for His people.  His people are so corrupted that only God will be able to pull their lives out of the rubble sin has caused.  Only God.  Only God can provide “Operation: Clean Up” to those He still and always will love, His beloved chosen, the remnant, who have been faithful, preparing them for this cleansing of all their sins.  “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” …

Are you sitting in a pile of rubble caused by your sins and/or the sins of others?  Guess what?!  There is no sin too horrible, deplorable, or despicable that God cannot forgive.  There is no life lived so full of evil that He will not save and restore.  I just wanted you to know that today.  I needed to write it “out loud”—God’s leading.

Zechariah 5, The Message

Sixth Vision: The Flying Book

I looked up again and saw—surprise!—a book on the wing! A book flying!

² The Messenger-Angel said to me, “What do you see now?”

I said, “I see a book flying, a huge book—thirty feet long and fifteen wide!”

^3-4 He told me, “This book is the verdict going out worldwide against thieves and liars. The first half of the book disposes of everyone who steals; the second half takes care of everyone who lies. I launched it”—Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies—“and so it will fly into the house of every thief and every liar. It will land in each house and tear it down, timbers and stones.”

Seventh Vision: A Woman in a Basket

⁵ The Messenger-Angel appeared and said, “Look up. Tell me what you see.”

⁶ I said, “What in the world is that?”

He said, “This is a bushel basket on a journey. It holds the sin of everyone, everywhere.”

⁷ Then the lid made of lead was removed from the basket—and there was a woman sitting in it!

⁸ He said, “This is Miss Wickedness.” He pushed her back down into the basket and clamped the lead lid over her.

⁹ Then I looked up and to my surprise saw two women flying. On outstretched wings they airlifted the bushel basket into the sky.

¹⁰ I said to the Messenger-Angel, “Where are they taking the bushel basket?”

¹¹ He said, “East to the land of Shinar. They will build a garage to house it. When it’s finished, the basket will be stored there.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

The vision of the flying scroll and the vision of the basket focus primarily on the land of Israel. In both visions, God performs a cleansing operation and deals with the sins of the nation. 

Later, Jesus, sent to clean up all the sins of the world, yours and mine, now stands ready to present us to God, holy and whole, when we repent of our sins, believe in Him, and follow the One and Only who restores what was torn apart—mainly our relationship with God!  God welcomes us home with open arms!

Consider this for understanding:  God knew sin would be a problem in our lives since Adam and Eve chose evil in their lives.  So God provided a Way to cleanse us from our sins.  The “flying book” represented the law of God that brings sin’s curse on all who disobey it.  (See also Deuteronomy 27:26 and Galatians 3:10–12) But no one is perfect. For that matter, the law was never given to save people (See Galatians 2) but to reveal that people need to be saved; “the law simply shows us how sinful we are” (Romans 3:20).

What about the sins of lying and cheating of each other?  Warren Wiersbe gives us a greater understanding of these visions that relate to the marketplace where cheating and lying became common practice.  (Sound familiar?  Who hasn’t been cheated by business people with a focus solely on making more money and gaining more power?)

“To understand this vision, we must ask, “What did the Jews bring to their land from Babylon when they returned after their captivity?” It wasn’t idolatry, for their years of exile cured them of that sin. The answer is—commercialism. The Jews were people of the land when they went to Babylon, but many of the Jews born in Babylon became people of the city and successful merchants. So the spirit of competitive commercialism is represented by the woman in the basket, for both the basket and the talent were measures of commodities.

Both believers and unbelievers, Jews or Gentiles, can be manufacturers and merchants and faithfully do their work. But if the worldly commercial spirit infects the child of God, the result will be twisted values, confused priorities, and a craving for wealth and position that grieves the Lord (1 Timothy 6). The best antidote is Matthew 6:33. –Warren Wiersbe, Study Bible

And what is Matthew 6:33?  Glad you asked!  “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”

God provided Operation Clean Up of all our sins through Jesus, His Son.  Believe in Him and be saved.  Repent and be restored.  Rejoice and be glad as a redeemed people.  Grow in relationship with God who loves us most, above all others.

Lord,

Cleanse my heart of all that offends you, renew my mind, refresh and fill my soul with Your Holy Spirit, and restore the joy of your salvation at work in me.

In Jesus Name, Amen

“Zechariah saw many visions from the Lord, including the arrival of the Messiah.

God’s plan for us includes grace and salvation. Our sins make us unworthy, but his grace protects us from his punishment.

All ships that land at the shore of grace weigh anchor from the port of sin. We must start where God starts. We won’t appreciate what grace does until we understand who we are. We are rebels. We are Barabbas. Like him, we deserve to die. Four prison walls, thickened with fear, hurt, and hate, surround us. We are incarcerated by our past, our low-road choices, and our high-minded pride. We have been found guilty.

We sit on the floor of the dusty cell, awaiting the final moment. Our executioner’s footsteps echo against stone walls. Head between knees, we don’t look up as he opens the door; we don’t lift our eyes as he begins to speak. We know what he is going to say. “Time to pay for your sins.” But we hear something else. “You’re free to go. They took Jesus instead of you.” The door swings open, the guard barks, “Get out,” and we find ourselves in the light of the morning sun, shackles gone, crimes pardoned, wondering, What just happened?

Grace happened.”

(Max Lucado, Encouraging Word Bible)

Zechariah 4, The Message

Fifth Vision: A Lampstand and Two Olive Trees

The Messenger-Angel again called me to attention. It was like being wakened out of deep sleep.

^2-3 He said, “What do you see?”

I answered, “I see a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top. Seven lamps, each with seven spouts, are set on the bowl. And there are two olive trees, one on either side of the bowl.”

⁴ Then I asked the Messenger-Angel, “What does this mean, sir?”

^5-7 The Messenger-Angel said, “Can’t you tell?”

“No, sir,” I said.

Then he said, “This is God’s Message to Zerubbabel: ‘You can’t force these things. They only come about through my Spirit,’ says God-of-the-Angel-Armies. ‘So, big mountain, who do you think you are? Next to Zerubbabel you’re nothing but a molehill. He’ll proceed to set the Cornerstone in place, accompanied by cheers: Yes! Yes! Do it!’”

^8-10 After that, the Word of God came to me: “Zerubbabel started rebuilding this Temple and he will complete it. That will be your confirmation that God-of-the-Angel-Armies sent me to you. Does anyone dare despise this day of small beginnings? They’ll change their tune when they see Zerubbabel setting the last stone in place!”

Going back to the vision, the Messenger-Angel said, “The seven lamps are the eyes of God probing the dark corners of the world like searchlights.”

^11-12 “And the two olive trees on either side of the lampstand?” I asked. “What’s the meaning of them? And while you’re at it, the two branches of the olive trees that feed oil to the lamps—what do they mean?”

¹³ He said, “You haven’t figured that out?”

I said, “No, sir.”

¹⁴ He said, “These are the two who stand beside the Master of the whole earth and supply golden lamp oil worldwide.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

The lampstand in the tabernacle was symbolic of the Messiah, the Light of the World (John 8:12), who one day would come and give the “light that leads to life” to all who would trust Him.  Believe in Him, repent of sins, receive His Light.

Church!  We need to wake up and fill our lamps so we burn brightly to lead people in this dark world to see and find their way to Jesus Christ, the Light of the World.  We must be jarred from merely surviving this life to living the abundant life Jesus wants us to live.  

In fact, before reading this passage this morning, I prayed to God as he was preparing my heart for the teaching of His Word!  I prayed, “The world needs You, Your salvation and teaching in their lives so badly.  We cannot just sit in pew or chair, sing a few songs of half-hearted praise, listen to a sermon that has been worked on for days then walk away and go on with the business of merely surviving without you to guide us.  When will we really listen to you?  Believe in You?  Base our lives upon what you say and invite you into every detail of our lives?  The prophets’ message that you had written down for us to read today is still true.  Oh Lord, help us.”

God provides the power. We cannot do this alone.  We cannot just decide to be good.  We cannot light the lamps without the oil of his Holy Spirit pouring into us.  “Don’t be discouraged!” was the essence of the prophet’s message. The Spirit of God will enable us to do what an army could never do.

“We can attempt to do God’s work in three ways: we can trust our own strength and wisdom; we can borrow the resources of the world; or we can depend on the power of God. The first two approaches may appear to succeed, but they’ll fail in the end. Only work done through the power of the Spirit will glorify God and endure the fires of His judgment.”  Warren Wiersbe, Study Bible

God finishes His work. God assured Zerubbabel that He would complete the rebuilding of the temple, and the people would rejoice at what God had done through them. Zerubbabel would set “the capstone” or the final stone to be placed in the building with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” 

Paul encourages us; “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.  It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me.” Philippians 1:6-7, NIV

“For the eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth, so that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” 2 Chronicles 16:9, NASB

We have a great God who can empower and bless servants who are dedicated to Him. He can cleanse us and He can empower us, so let’s trust Him and do His work in and through us!

Lord,

Awaken your church and begin with me.  Cleanse my heart, renew my mind, refresh and feed my soul while restoring the joy of your salvation in me.  I’m listening, ready to obey.

In Jesus Name, Amen

Imagine someone who accuses and abuses you at your workplace incessantly, never letting up because of jealousy of your work done as directed and going the extra mile to give of your best, along with pride that overwhelms their thinking of others, and great envy when the boss tells you, “Well done”!  Imagine that bully standing toe to toe with the “boss” who knows what is going on and has the power and authority to take this bully down, once and for all.  We who are accused and abused by the taunting see the “take down” and we can’t help but rejoice!  Right?!

In Zechariah’s vision, Joshua is Jesus, our High Priest, Savior, and Lord versus Satan who is the Accuser.  And God wins.

Zechariah 3, The Message

Fourth Vision: Joshua’s New Clothes

^1-2 Next the Messenger-Angel showed me the high priest Joshua. He was standing before God’s Angel where the Accuser showed up to accuse him. Then God said to the Accuser, “I, God, rebuke you, Accuser! I rebuke you and choose Jerusalem. Surprise! Everything is going up in flames, but I reach in and pull out Jerusalem!”

^3-4 Joshua, standing before the angel, was dressed in dirty clothes. The angel spoke to his attendants, “Get him out of those filthy clothes,” and then said to Joshua, “Look, I’ve stripped you of your sin and dressed you up in clean clothes.”

⁵ I spoke up and said, “How about a clean new turban for his head also?” And they did it—put a clean new turban on his head. Then they finished dressing him, with God’s Angel looking on.

^6-7 God’s Angel then charged Joshua, “Orders from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: ‘If you live the way I tell you and remain obedient in my service, then you’ll make the decisions around here and oversee my affairs. And all my attendants standing here will be at your service.

^8-9 “‘Careful, High Priest Joshua—both you and your friends sitting here with you, for your friends are in on this, too! Here’s what I’m doing next: I’m introducing my servant Branch. And note this: This stone that I’m placing before Joshua, a single stone with seven eyes’—Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies—‘I’ll engrave with these words: “I’ll strip this land of its filthy sin, all at once, in a single day.”

¹⁰ “‘At that time, everyone will get along with one another, with friendly visits across the fence, friendly visits on one another’s porches.’”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

We must choose this day whom we will serve!  Jesus or our Accuser.  God’s Word shows us clearly, from Genesis to Revelation, who defeats the Accuser, but we choose whose side we will listen to in our daily skirmishes with the Accuser who still seeks to win a losing war for our souls.  All believers battle the Accuser daily, putting on the “full armor of God” that is provided for our protection until that day when Jesus comes back again to take us home for good—forever. 

“Choose this day whom you will serve … but as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord” Joshua 24:15.

“I’ll strip this land of its filthy sin, all at once, in a single day.” God did that through His Son, Jesus Christ, about four centuries later.

God is amazing.  He tells before it happens and while it is happening in full detail.  Proof that what God says is the Truth and the Way, the only way, to Eternal Life with Him.

At that time, everyone will get along with one another, with friendly visits across the fence, friendly visits on one another’s porches.  Yes, Lord, that would be heavenly!  No more Accuser, no more judgments, no more tears, pain, bullies or sadness—only rejoicing.

Yes, I choose you, Lord, Savior of my soul and Lord of my life right now.  I believe.

In Jesus Name, I believe. Yes, and Amen!

I love it when our children and now grandchildren tell us when they are coming to our house in more ways than one.  Even when a family gathering as been acknowledged and verified that they are coming, we will still get a text the day of, letting us know when they are on the road to our house.  “We’re on our way!” the text assures us.  There is just something loving and generous about that text expressing the excitement of our impending time together to celebrate.

God excitedly sends a “text” through Zechariah to His people telling us that He is “on the move” and “on His way” to come to us, to move into the neighborhood where we live and be with us.  Zechariah hears from God then proclaims the coming of Jesus, God’s Son, who will come to earth for a visit to teach, serve and then save all who believe in Him.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) “I’m on my way…” says God.

And Jesus did come andfulfilled all the prophecies, in every detail, “texted” many centuries before to God’s people and to all who would listen.  Zechariah was one of many of God’s prophets who shouted from the rooftops of the coming of the Lord!

“Shout and celebrate, Daughter of Zion!  I’m on my way. I’m moving into your neighborhood!” –God’s Decree.

Zechariah 2, The Message

Third Vision: The Man with the Tape Measure

^1-5 I looked up and was surprised to see
    a man holding a tape measure in his hand.
I said, “What are you up to?”
    “I’m on my way,” he said, “to survey Jerusalem,
    to measure its width and length.”
Just then the Messenger-Angel on his way out
    met another angel coming in and said,
“Run! Tell the Surveyor, ‘Jerusalem will burst its walls—
    bursting with people, bursting with animals.
And I’ll be right there with her’—God’s Decree—‘a wall of fire
    around unwalled Jerusalem and a radiant presence within.’”

* * *

^6-7 “Up on your feet! Get out of there—and now!” God says so.
    “Return from your far exile.
I scattered you to the four winds.” God’s Decree.
    “Escape from Babylon, Zion, and come home—now!”

* * *

^8-9 God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the One of Glory who sent me on my mission, commenting on the godless nations who stripped you and left you homeless, said, “Anyone who hits you, hits me—bloodies my nose, blackens my eye. Yes, and at the right time I’ll give the signal and they’ll be stripped and thrown out by their own servants.” Then you’ll know for sure that God-of-the-Angel-Armies sent me on this mission.

* * *

¹⁰ “Shout and celebrate, Daughter of Zion!
    I’m on my way. I’m moving into your neighborhood!”
        God’s Decree.

* * *

^11-12 Many godless nations will be linked up with God at that time. (“They will become my family! I’ll live in their homes!”) And then you’ll know for sure that God-of-the-Angel-Armies sent me on this mission. God will reclaim his Judah inheritance in the Holy Land. He’ll again make clear that Jerusalem is his choice.

* * *

¹³ Quiet, everyone! Shh! Silence before God. Something’s afoot in his holy house. He’s on the move!

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

The remnant that had returned to Judah was concerned about rebuilding the temple and restoring the city and the nation, but their work was extremely difficult. In this vision, God assured His people that He planned future glory and honor for them and their city when He Himself would come to dwell with them. 

Be assured, Jesus is coming back again to claim His own!

The angel spoke of Israel’s Messiah! Leaders and diplomats may debate over who will control Jerusalem, but the Lord Jesus Christ has the final word. Always and forever!

What a promise of God “made flesh to live among us”!  Promises like this ought to make all God’s people “sing and rejoice.” Their Messiah (Our Savior and Lord) would come and live with them, just as the glory of God had dwelt in the tabernacle and the temple!  Imagine what the hearer of this proclamation must be thinking!

Pause to think about the second coming of Jesus.  How excited are we?  Do our hearts long for Him? Can we wrap our minds around this promise?  Do we feel assured that what God says about Him is true and will happen? 

Do we really believe that what God says is really real?  Our answer and subsequent behaviors that flow from our hearts will decide our future.  Our hope and assurance cannot be formed from this world, only by believing in Jesus who IS our Hope.

Lord,

I believe you.  I believe that you came to save us.  I believe in your teaching.  I believe that I am redeemed by you.  I believe that I will always be learning and growing while living here as I prepare to be with you in the place you are preparing for me and other who believe.  I know I have “not arrived” in perfection but you in me allows me to be perfectly forgiven and holy.  I believe that what you say in Your Word is absolutely true.  I know “you are on your way” back to us for the last trip to gather us and take us to our forever home with you for eternity.  Thank you for saving my soul and making me whole.  May your glory be seen in me in the meantime so others will know you, too.

In Jesus Name, Amen

In times like these you need a Savior,
In times like these you need an anchor;
Be very sure, be very sure,
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

This Rock is Jesus, Yes He’s the One,
This Rock is Jesus, the only One;
Be very sure, be very sure,
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

“Zechariah shared with contemporary Haggai the prophetic task of getting the people of Judah to rebuild their ruined Temple.  Their preaching pulled the people out of self-preoccupation and go them working together as a people of God.  There was job to do, and the two prophets teamed up to make sure it got done.

But Zechariah did more than that.  For the people were faced with more than a ruined Temple and city.  Their self-identity as the people of God was in ruins.  For a century they had been knocked around by the world powers, kicked and mocked, used and abused.  This once proud people, their glorious sacred history starred with the names of Abraham, Moses, Samuel, David and Isaiah, had been treated with contempt for so long that they were in danger of losing all connection with that past, losing their magnificent identity as God’s people.

Zechariah was a major factor in recovering the magnificence from the ruins of a degrading exile.  Zechariah reinvigorated their imaginations with his visions and messages.  The visions provided images of a sovereign God that worked their way into the lives of the people, countering the long ordeal of debasement and ridicule.  The messages forged a fresh vocabulary that gave energy and credibility to the long-term purposes of God being worked out in their lives.

But that isn’t the end of it.  Zechariah’s enigmatic visions, working at multiple levels, and his poetically charged messages are a work still, like time capsules in the lives of God’s people, continuing to release insight and hope and clarity for the people whom God is using to work out his purposes in a world that has no language for God and the purposes of God.”  –Eugene Peterson, Intro to Zechariah, The Message Bible

It seems our present culture knows less and less about God, who He is and what He wants for us, than ever before.  Are you noticing that there are less and less people (beyond our tight circle of committed, believing friends) that don’t know the “language of God” so that when you speak of God and what He has done in our lives; eyes glaze over for they know not what or who you are talking about?  Is that what Zechariah felt as he preached?

Zechariah 1, The Message

 ^1-4 In the eighth month of the second year in the reign of Darius, God’s Message came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, son of Iddo: “God was very angry with your ancestors. So give to the people this Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: ‘Come back to me and I’ll come back to you. Don’t be like your parents. The old-time prophets called out to them, “A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: Leave your evil life. Quit your evil practices.” But they ignored everything I said to them, stubbornly refused to listen.’

^5-6 “And where are your ancestors now? Dead and buried. And the prophets who preached to them? Also dead and buried. But the Message that my servants the prophets spoke, that isn’t dead and buried. That Message did its work on your ancestors, did it not? It woke them up and they came back, saying, ‘He did what he said he would do, sure enough. We didn’t get by with a thing.’”

First Vision: Four Riders

⁷ On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month in the second year of the reign of Darius, the Message of God was given to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, son of Iddo:

⁸ One night I looked out and saw a man astride a red horse. He was in the shadows in a grove of birches. Behind him were more horses—a red, a chestnut, and a white.

⁹ I said, “Sir, what are these horses doing here? What’s the meaning of this?”

The Angel-Messenger said, “Let me show you.”

¹⁰ Then the rider in the birch grove spoke up, “These are the riders that God sent to check things out on earth.”

¹¹ They reported their findings to the Angel of God in the birch grove: “We have looked over the whole earth and all is well. Everything’s under control.”

¹² The Angel of God reported back, “O God-of-the-Angel-Armies, how long are you going to stay angry with Jerusalem and the cities of Judah? When are you going to let up? Isn’t seventy years long enough?”

^13-15 God reassured the Angel-Messenger—good words, comforting words—who then addressed me: “Tell them this. Tell them that God-of-the-Angel-Armies has spoken. This is God’s Message: ‘I care deeply for Jerusalem and Zion. I feel very possessive of them. But I’m thoroughly angry with the godless nations that act as if they own the whole world. I was only moderately angry earlier, but now they’ve gone too far. I’m going into action.

^16-17 “‘I’ve come back to Jerusalem, but with compassion this time.’
    This is God speaking.
‘I’ll see to it that my Temple is rebuilt.’
    A Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies!
‘The rebuilding operation is already staked out.’
    Say it again—a Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
‘My cities will prosper again,
    God will comfort Zion again,
    Jerusalem will be back in my favor again.’”

Second Vision: Four Horns and Four Blacksmiths

¹⁸ I looked up, and was surprised by another vision: four horns!

¹⁹ I asked the Messenger-Angel, “And what’s the meaning of this?”

He said, “These are the powers that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem abroad.”

²⁰ Then God expanded the vision to include four blacksmiths.

²¹ I asked, “And what are these all about?”

He said, “Since the ‘horns’ scattered Judah so badly that no one had any hope left, these blacksmiths have arrived to combat the horns. They’ll dehorn the godless nations who used their horns to scatter Judah to the four winds.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

In this present culture that teaches we can and must do life by ourselves for ourselves, it is increasingly important to obey Jesus’ command to go and tell the Good News of salvation from God through Jesus Christ, His Son, teaching others that Jesus is counterculture in His thinking.  What our culture teaches us incessantly actually abuses and degrades us and is the opposite of what Jesus teaches! 

How do we transform our thinking?  Seek God first.  Lay our lives before God and let God do the heavy lifting on changing our minds.  We cannot do this by ourselves.  (Romans 12)

How do we teach others who Jesus is in a culture who doesn’t know Him or the language He speaks?  (Acts 17)

Be aware to whom you are speaking.  It is important to know the “audience” like Paul did in Athens as he strolled the streets and observed all their gods.  (See Acts 17)    Paul didn’t get angry or disgusted over what they did not know.  In fact, Paul noticed an altar dedicated to “An Unknown God.” Paul saw the opportunity to point out the truth behind the “Unknown God,” the one in whom everything is contained. He was not going to lose the opportunity to point out how their unknown god was in fact the same God that Paul travels the world to make known. Begin at the point of what they know and then tell the Truth of who Jesus is. 

Live what you preach.  Our behaviors and reactions in all kinds of circumstances of daily life speak louder than our words ever will to a world seeking to discredit Jesus.

Be still and know God.  Seek God first daily, asking Him to teach us and help us.  But the power of His Holy Spirit living in us, He will tell us what we need to know and what to say when He sends us.

Tell what you know and nothing more.  Speak the Truth (Jesus who is the way, truth, and life) in love, wanting the best outcome for the one to whom we are speaking.  We don’t need to add to what Jesus has done for us.  And we can only go as far as we have been in God’s Word and teaching to us.  Remember always:  Jesus saves.  We do not.

The culture teaches “follow your heart”.  Jesus teaches our hearts are deceitful because of our sin nature.  Since Adam and Eve, we are born sinners.  So we cannot trust our hearts.  We can only trust the heart of God.  So, let us pray daily for our hearts to be cleansed, our minds transformed from culture thinking to God’s thinking, our souls refreshed and fed by the Holy Spirit.  When we ask God, He will do it!  Believe, really believe in Jesus, what He did for us and what He is still teaching us today. 

We cannot “be good” all by ourselves! Only God is Good.  Jesus said that out loud to the culture around him at time He walked this earth.  So go the One who is Good for help!  Jesus went “off by Himself to pray to His Father” to get direction before doing anything of significance for God’s Kingdom.  Who are we not to follow His way of thinking and praying for direction for God’s purpose and ways to accomplish His ways?

Jesus promises perfect Help—His Holy Spirit!  The Holy Spirit comes to live in all who believe and turn to Him.  The Holy Spirit comes with the power equal to the power that rose Jesus from death to life!  The Holy Spirit will guide, send up warning flags when temptations are a clear and present danger, leads us away from culture thinking to God’s wisdom thinking, comforts when we feel less than, broken by the world around us, reminders of who we are in Jesus.  We are redeemed as God’s own, chosen, loved beyond our wildest dreams!  The Holy Spirit convicts us to turn from our sin nature to Jesus’ best.  When troubles come, and they will, His Holy Spirit helps us navigate the rough waters while teaching us lessons that will strengthen our faith-resolve in God.

Jesus is coming back, you know.  Zechariah, God’s prophet in Jerusalem more than five hundred years before Christ, had a series of dreams the expanded into visions that kept him awake for a week. These visions by God to Zechariah were God’s future plans for his people, including a description of the Messiah! Through these visions God gave his message to Zechariah, who then faithfully relayed them to his family, friends, neighbors, countrymen . . . and us. 

As we continue to read Zechariah, take hope in knowing that God controls the future, your future, and that the King is, indeed, coming. 

But… “Until then, my heart will go on singing, until then my joy will carry on…”

Joy comes from knowing Jesus.  Peace comes from obedience. 

May God rebuild and restore His Temple in our hearts, minds and souls where He abides and resides with us.

Lord,

Thank you for your prophets that each us of the coming of the Jesus who saves us and makes us whole before you.  Thank you for being with us.  Thank you for the peace and joy that fills our souls as no one else can, just by knowing you and believing what you say.  Cleanse my heart, renew my mind, refresh and fill my soul, while restoring the joy of your salvation in me daily.

In Jesus Name, Amen

The Callaway rule of camping:  Leave a place better than the way you found it.  My husband would say this often as we took down our tent camper and began to pack our supplies while cleaning the space we rented for a time.  We did leave it better than the way we found it.  No trash in the brush or on ground, no fires going but put out, anything out of place by us put back in place and nothing left behind that would be in the way of the next campers.

When it is time to take down our tents and leave earth, what will we leave behind?  Faith or foolishness?  God’s glory seen in us or a mess for others to clean up? 

Haggai 2, The Message

This Temple Will End Up Better Than It Started Out

^1-3 On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the Word of God came through the prophet Haggai: “Tell Governor Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and High Priest Joshua son of Jehozadak and all the people: ‘Is there anyone here who saw the Temple the way it used to be, all glorious? And what do you see now? Not much, right?

^4-5 “‘So get to work, Zerubbabel!’—God is speaking.

“‘Get to work, Joshua son of Jehozadak—high priest!’

“‘Get to work, all you people!’—God is speaking.

“‘Yes, get to work! For I am with you.’ The God-of-the-Angel-Armies is speaking! ‘Put into action the word I covenanted with you when you left Egypt. I’m living and breathing among you right now. Don’t be timid. Don’t hold back.’

^6-7 “This is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies said: ‘Before you know it, I will shake up sky and earth, ocean and fields. And I’ll shake down all the godless nations. They’ll bring bushels of wealth and I will fill this Temple with splendor.’ God-of-the-Angel-Armies says so.

⁸     ‘I own the silver,
    I own the gold.’
        Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

⁹ “‘This Temple is going to end up far better than it started out, a glorious beginning but an even more glorious finish: a place in which I will hand out wholeness and holiness.’ Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.”

* * *

^10-12 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month (again, this was in the second year of Darius), God’s Message came to Haggai: “God-of-the-Angel-Armies speaks: Consult the priests for a ruling. If someone carries a piece of sacred meat in his pocket, meat that is set apart for sacrifice on the altar, and the pocket touches a loaf of bread, a dish of stew, a bottle of wine or oil, or any other food, will these foods be made holy by such contact?”

The priests said, “No.”

¹³ Then Haggai said, “How about someone who is contaminated by touching a corpse—if that person touches one of these foods, will it be contaminated?”

The priests said, “Yes, it will be contaminated.”

¹⁴ Then Haggai said, “‘So, this people is contaminated. Their nation is contaminated. Everything they do is contaminated. Whatever they do for me is contaminated.’ God says so.

^15-17 “‘Think back. Before you set out to lay the first foundation stones for the rebuilding of my Temple, how did it go with you? Isn’t it true that your foot-dragging, halfhearted efforts at rebuilding the Temple of God were reflected in a sluggish, halfway return on your crops—half the grain you were used to getting, half the wine? I hit you with drought and blight and hail. Everything you were doing got hit. But it didn’t seem to faze you. You continued to ignore me.’ God’s Decree.

^18-19 “‘Now think ahead from this same date—this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Think ahead from when the Temple rebuilding was launched. Has anything in your fields—vine, fig tree, pomegranate, olive tree—failed to flourish? From now on you can count on a blessing.’”

* * *

^20-21 God’s Message came a second time to Haggai on that most memorable day, the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month: “Speak to Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah:

^21-23 “‘I am about to shake up everything, to turn everything upside down and start over from top to bottom—overthrow governments, destroy foreign powers, dismantle the world of weapons and armaments, throw armies into confusion, so that they end up killing one another. And on that day’”—this is God’s Message—“‘I will take you, O Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, as my personal servant and I will set you as a signet ring, the sign of my sovereign presence and authority. I’ve looked over the field and chosen you for this work.’” The Message of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

“Camp” on the comments of Max Lucado this morning:

“Twenty years passed since Israel’s return from Babylon. But the people quickly forgot the lessons exile had taught them. They worked hard, but their crops failed. They earned money, but it was never enough.

Sometimes having much can make people lose track of what is most important. Are you “rich in this present age”? If you have the resources and education to read this Bible, you are.

The abundance of possessions has a way of eclipsing God, no matter how meager those possessions may be. There is a predictable progression from poverty to pride. The poor man prays and works; God hears and blesses. The humble man becomes rich and forgets God. The faithful, poor man becomes the proud, rich man. As God said through Hosea, “When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me” (Hos 13:6). The proud, rich man falls under God’s judgment. How can we avoid this? How can a person survive prosperity?

Do not be haughty. Do not think for a moment that you had anything to do with your accumulation. Scripture makes one thing clear. Your stocks, cash, and 401(k)? They are not yours.

“To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it” (Deuteronomy 10:14).

“Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all” (1Chronicles 29:11).

“ ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the LORD Almighty” (Haggai 2:8).  –Max Lucado, Encouraging Word Bible

God gives.  God trust us to manage what He gives us.  Will we leave earth better than the way we entered it when God brought us into the world from our mother’s womb? Did we accept Jesus, to live a better life with Him?  Did we obey the direction and help from His Holy Spirit?  May we pause to reflect, to hear with a listening, repentant heart what God has to say. Only then will be leave earth a better person than when we came.

Are we, like God’s Chosen, a bit sluggish in our obedience to God?  Then it is time to get to work, in Jesus Name, by His direction, for His glory!  That’s how we leave earth, our temporary camping ground, better than the way we found it! 

“For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.” 2 Corinthians 5:1 NLT

Lord,

Help us be the best stewards of all you have given us to manage.  Help us to restore and rebuild all that is broken within us and around us by turning ALL of who we are over to your direction.  You know what is best for each one of us to grow in our love for you and for others.  Make us whole and holy before you. 

In Jesus Name, Amen

“Places of worship are a problem.  And this problem does not seem to be architectural.  Grand Gothic cathedrals that dominate a city don’t ensure that the worship of God dominates that city.  Unpainted, ramshackle, clapboard sheds perched precariously on the edge of a prairie don’t guarantee a congregation of humble saints in denim.”

“As we look over the centuries of the many and various building projects in God’s name—wilderness tabernacle, revival tent, Gothic cathedral, wayside chapel, synagogue, temple, meetinghouse, storefront mission, the catacombs—there doesn’t seem to be any connection between the buildings themselves and the belief and behavior of the people who assemble in them.”

“In noticing this, it is not uncommon for us to be dismissive of the buildings themselves, by saying, ‘A place of worship is not a building, it’s people,’ or ‘I prefer worshiping God in the great cathedral of the outdoors.’  These pronouncements are often tagged with the scriptural punch line, ‘The God who made the universe doesn’t live in custom-made shrines, ‘which is supposed to end the discussion.  God doesn’t live in buildings—period.  That’s what we often say.”

“But then there is Haggai to account for.  Haggai was dignified with the title ‘prophet’ (therefore take him seriously).  His single task, carried out in a three-and-a-half month mission, was to get God’s people to work at rebuilding God’s Temple (the same Temple that had been destroyed by God’s decree only seventy or so years earlier).”

“Compared with the great prophets who preached repentance and salvation, Haggai’s message doesn’t sound very ‘spiritual.’  But in God’s economy it is perhaps unwise to rank our assigned work as either more or less spiritual.  We are not angels; we inhabit space.  Material—bricks and mortar, boards and nails—keeps us grounded and connected with the ordinary world in which we necessarily live out our extraordinary beliefs.  Haggai keeps us in touch with those times in our lives when repairing the building where we worship is an act of obedience every bit as important as praying in that place of worship.” –Eugene Peterson, Introduction to Haggai, The Message

It’s all about God.  Life with God is doing whatever HE says when He says it.  God speaks, we listen, trust and obey, for there’s no other way to live in peace with God who knows all, is in all and loves all (the world) so much, He sent His Son to save all who believe. 

Haggai 1, The Message

Caught Up with Taking Care of Your Own Houses

On the first day of the sixth month of the second year in the reign of King Darius of Persia, God’s Message was delivered by the prophet Haggai to the governor of Judah, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and to the high priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak:

² A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: “The people procrastinate. They say this isn’t the right time to rebuild my Temple, the Temple of God.”

^3-4 Shortly after that, God said more and Haggai spoke it: “How is it that it’s the ‘right time’ for you to live in your fine new homes while the Home, God’s Temple, is in ruins?”

^5-6 And then a little later, God-of-the-Angel-Armies spoke out again:

“Take a good, hard look at your life.
    Think it over.
You have spent a lot of money,
    but you haven’t much to show for it.
You keep filling your plates,
    but you never get filled up.
You keep drinking and drinking and drinking,
    but you’re always thirsty.
You put on layer after layer of clothes,
    but you can’t get warm.
And the people who work for you,
    what are they getting out of it?
Not much—
    a leaky, rusted-out bucket, that’s what.”

⁷ That’s why God-of-the-Angel-Armies said:

“Take a good, hard look at your life.
    Think it over.”

* * *

^8-9 Then God said:

“Here’s what I want you to do:
    Climb into the hills and cut some timber.
Bring it down and rebuild the Temple.
    Do it just for me. Honor me.
You’ve had great ambitions for yourselves,
    but nothing has come of it.
The little you have brought to my Temple
    I’ve blown away—there was nothing to it.

^9-11 “And why?” (This is a Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, remember.) “Because while you’ve run around, caught up with taking care of your own houses, my Home is in ruins. That’s why. Because of your stinginess. And so I’ve given you a dry summer and a meager crop. I’ve matched your tight-fisted stinginess by decreeing a season of drought, drying up fields and hills, withering gardens and orchards, stunting vegetables and fruit. Nothing—not man or woman, not animal or crop—is going to thrive.”

* * *

¹² Then the governor, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and the high priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak, and all the people with them listened, really listened, to the voice of their God. When God sent the prophet Haggai to them, they paid attention to him. In listening to Haggai, they honored God.

¹³ Then Haggai, God’s messenger, preached God’s Message to the people: “I am with you!” God’s Word.

^14-15 This is how God got Zerubbabel, Joshua, and all the people moving—got them working on the Temple of God-of-the-Angel-Armies. This happened on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of King Darius.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

People repaired their homes but left God’s Temple in ruins.  Our lives reflect what or who we think about most.

All we have belongs to God who gives generously—more than we deserve.  When we hold tightfisted to what we think we have earned without giving back, it is time to take a good hard look at what we are holding on to.  We deserve nothing.  But God gives unending love, new mercies each morning, with huge gifts of His grace.  He is with us always.  He gives beyond our wildest dreams and does for us what we cannot do ourselves—saves us from all our sin.  How do we honor him?  Do we listen to God speak and do what He says?  According to our passage of truth, what honors God is that we listen and do what He says without thinking of the “cost.”

I’m reminded of the hymn right now that speaks of God’s faithfulness and provision. 

Great is Thy faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me

I also remember singing “Give of Your Best to the Master” that taught me as a child that giving back to God not only a portion of what He has provided to us but to give of our best in all ways is a spiritual act of worship!

Give of your best to the Master;
Give Him first place in your heart;
Give Him first place in your service;
Consecrate every part.
Give, and to you will be given;
God His beloved Son gave;
Gratefully seeking to serve Him,
Give Him the best that you have…

Today, after taking a good hard look at what Haggai is saying, we learn that whatever God says to be, say, do or give—Do it!  God will take care of the rest of our lives! 

And, “I am with you”, says the God of angel armies!  What a blessed assurance! Right?!

Lord,

We must take a good hard look at what we say we believe about you, making sure that what we believe is true to your Word.  It is so easy to pick up the chatter of the world.  As you provide new mercies each morning, we must assess our motives and behaviors from the day before. Do they match what you tell me us to do. 

Continue to teach me for I am yours.  Cleanse my heart, renew my mind, refresh and feed my soul while you restore the joy of your salvation in me.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen

God delights in us.  God loves us.  It delights God when we talk to Him, love Him back and listen to His best for us.  Evil only wants one thing from us—death.  Evil is our enemy who works among people of all kinds.  Some people are easily manipulated to be on his side of destructive living that leads to death.  Some were once believers who trusted God but are enticed by the evil’s claim that we somehow deserved more than what God was giving to us. 

The evil one lies to get what he wants—souls that turn from God to death.  Two forces at work.  Evil is aggressively on the move to turn souls against God and to him so they can be used and abused with lies, deception, smoke and mirrors, until these poor souls without a clue or cause follow him right into the fire of agony forever.

“Sewer City” is a good name for evil.  Sewers are underground, something nasty that we would rather not see.  That’s why sewer systems are hidden from view.  Hidden—until it begins to overfill in its hidden place, the smell becoming so atrocious that is too much to control.  Something needs to be done about it before the nasty gets into our good water that gives life.  Mm.

God turns life around.  God is the author and finisher of the “turnaround.”

Zephaniah 3, The Message

Sewer City

^1-5 Doom to the rebellious city,
    the home of oppressors—Sewer City!
The city that wouldn’t take advice,
    wouldn’t accept correction,
Wouldn’t trust God,
    wouldn’t even get close to her own god!
Her very own leaders
    are rapacious lions,
Her judges are rapacious timber wolves
    out every morning prowling for a fresh kill.
Her prophets are out for what they can get.
    They’re opportunists—you can’t trust them.
Her priests desecrate the Sanctuary.
    They use God’s law as a weapon to maim and kill souls.

Yet God remains righteous in her midst,
    untouched by the evil.
He stays at it, day after day, meting out justice.
    At evening he’s still at it, strong as ever.
But evil men and women, without conscience
    and without shame, persist in evil.

* * *

⁶ “So I cut off the godless nations.
    I knocked down their defense posts,
Filled her roads with rubble
    so no one could get through.
Her cities were bombed-out ruins,
    unlivable and unlived in.

⁷ “I thought, ‘Surely she’ll honor me now,
    accept my discipline and correction,
Find a way of escape from the trouble she’s in,
    find relief from the punishment I’m bringing.’
But it didn’t faze her. Bright and early
    she was up at it again, doing the same old things.

⁸ “Well, if that’s what you want, stick around.”
    God’s Decree.
“Your day in court is coming,
    but remember I’ll be there to bring evidence.
I’ll bring all the nations to the courtroom,
    round up all the kingdoms,
And let them feel the brunt of my anger,
    my raging wrath.
My zeal is a fire
    that will purge and purify the earth.

God Is in Charge at the Center

^9-13 “In the end I will turn things around for the people.
    I’ll give them a language undistorted, unpolluted,
Words to address God in worship
    and, united, to serve me with their shoulders to the wheel.

They’ll come from beyond the Ethiopian rivers,
    they’ll come praying—
All my scattered, exiled people
    will come home with offerings for worship.
You’ll no longer have to be ashamed
    of all those acts of rebellion.
I’ll have gotten rid of your arrogant leaders.
    No more pious strutting on my holy hill!
I’ll leave a core of people among you
    who are poor in spirit—
What’s left of Israel that’s really Israel.
    They’ll make their home in God.
This core holy people
    will not do wrong.
They won’t lie,
    won’t use words to flatter or seduce.
Content with who they are and where they are,
    unanxious, they’ll live at peace.”

* * *

^14-15 So sing, Daughter Zion!
    Raise your voices, Israel!
Daughter Jerusalem,
    be happy! celebrate!
God has reversed his judgments against you
    and sent your enemies off chasing their tails.
From now on, God is Israel’s king,
    in charge at the center.
There’s nothing to fear from evil
    ever again!

God Is Present Among You

^16-17 Jerusalem will be told:
    “Don’t be afraid.
Dear Zion,
    don’t despair.
Your God is present among you,
    a strong Warrior there to save you.
Happy to have you back, he’ll calm you with his love
    and delight you with his songs.

* * *

^18-20 “The accumulated sorrows of your exile
    will dissipate.
I, your God, will get rid of them for you.
    You’ve carried those burdens long enough.
At the same time, I’ll get rid of all those
    who’ve made your life miserable.
I’ll heal the maimed;
    I’ll bring home the homeless.
In the very countries where they were hated
    they will be venerated.
On Judgment Day
    I’ll bring you back home—a great family gathering!
You’ll be famous and honored
    all over the world.
You’ll see it with your own eyes—
    all those painful partings turned into reunions!”
        God’s Promise.

WHAT DO WE LEARAN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

When all is said and done…

• Who will we believe?
• Who do we trust now?
• We do we listen to and follow in obedience? –No matter what is happening around us?
• Who are we waking up to, getting to know as we talk daily as the One and Only who saves us?
• Who do we depend on to help us in all the details of our lives?

If it is God then we have learned that God delights in the details of our lives, loves us unconditionally, helps us by leading and guiding us by His Spirit in us, and even sings over us with comfort and peace!  Zephaniah, God’s man, teaches us:

“Your God is present among you, a strong Warrior there to save you.  Happy to have you back, he’ll calm you with his love and delight you with his songs.”

This is the Turnaround that we all have been waiting for all our lives.  Run to Him!

The evil one is the opposite of all that is God.  Satan is a liar.  Jesus tagged him as the “father of lies.”  If we trust and believe, really believe in the salvation Jesus provided by his death and resurrection for us, we have power to run from evil’s lies, manipulations and subsequent hold on us and live free in Christ.  We will be free from the judgment that will come to those who do not believe and live do evil to others. 

This is the Turnaround God provides for us.  But it is up to us to chose this day who we will believe, trust, and obey.

“God surrounds us in the same way the Pacific surrounds an ocean floor pebble. He is everywhere—above, below, on all sides. We choose our response—rock or sponge? Resist or receive? Everything within you says harden the heart. Run from God; resist God; blame God. But be careful. Hard hearts never heal. Spongy ones do. Open every pore of your soul to God’s presence.” –Max Lucado, Encouraging Word Bible

“I will be with you always, even to the end of the age”—Jesus’ promise to us.  (Matthew 28:20)

Lord,

There are not enough words in our language to express my gratitude for how you have turnaround my life and how grateful I am that you did.  I love you with all that is in me.  I delight myself in You.  I trust my life and all the details of life to you.  It comforts me to know that you delight in my life’s details.  I am forever grateful.  I will live gratefully today and always.  Thank you for being with us.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen

How many times have we pleaded, “Come on, guys, get it together” to our own beloved who live in our house?  Our children easily rest complacently in their own messes they create until we, as parents, guide them to pick it up, move it, put it on, wipe it clean, and/or gather what is needed to get it together so we can be on the move as a family.  Right?!

God tells His people through Zephaniah pretty much the same message!  “Shape up or ship out!”  God is on the move.  Are we with God or against God?  Will we move with God or feel we are in control?  Will we continue to “just go with our heart”, “go with the flow of humanity” or seek God and follow Him?  The results of our decisions are a matter of life or death—for eternity.  Know God.  Know that God wants His best for those whose hearts are completely and unreservedly His.  He delights in us.  He loves us far more than we can imagine.

But somedays we live as if we don’t have a clue…

Zephaniah 2, The Message

Seek God

^1-2 So get yourselves together. Shape up!
    You’re a nation without a clue about what it wants.
Do it before you’re blown away
    like leaves in a windstorm,
Before God’s Judgment-anger
    sweeps down on you,
Before God’s Judgment Day wrath
    descends with full force.

* * *

³ Seek God, all you quietly disciplined people
    who live by God’s justice.
Seek God’s right ways. Seek a quiet and disciplined life.
    Perhaps you’ll be hidden on the Day of God’s anger.

All Earth-Made Gods Will Blow Away

^4-5 Gaza is scheduled for demolition,
    Ashdod will be cleaned out by high noon,
    Ekron pulled out by the roots.
Doom to the seaside people,
    the seafaring people from Crete!
The Word of God is bad news for you
    who settled Canaan, the Philistine country:
“You’re slated for destruction—
    no survivors!”

* * *

^6-7 The lands of the seafarers
    will become pastureland,
A country for shepherds and sheep.
    What’s left of the family of Judah will get it.
Day after day they’ll pasture by the sea,
    and go home in the evening to Ashkelon to sleep.
Their very own God will look out for them.
    He’ll make things as good as before.

* * *

^8-12 “I’ve heard the crude taunts of Moab,
    the mockeries flung by Ammon,
The cruel talk they’ve used to put down my people,
    their self-important strutting along Israel’s borders.
Therefore, as sure as I am the living God,” says
        God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
    Israel’s personal God,
“Moab will become a ruin like Sodom,
    Ammon a ghost town like Gomorrah,
One a field of rocks, the other a sterile salt flat,
    a moonscape forever.
What’s left of my people will finish them off,
    will pick them clean and take over.
This is what they get for their bloated pride,
    their taunts and mockeries of the people
    of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
God will be seen as truly terrible—a Holy Terror.
    All earth-made gods will shrivel up and blow away;
And everyone, wherever they are, far or near,
    will fall to the ground and worship him.
Also you Ethiopians,
    you, too, will die—I’ll see to it.”

* * *

^13-15 Then God will reach into the north
    and destroy Assyria.
He will waste Nineveh,
    leave her dry and treeless as a desert.
The ghost town of a city,
    the haunt of wild animals,
Nineveh will be home to raccoons and coyotes—
    they’ll bed down in its ruins.
Owls will hoot in the windows, ravens will croak in the doorways—
    all that fancy woodwork now a perch for birds.
Can this be the famous Fun City
    that had it made,
That boasted, “I’m the Number-One City!
    I’m King of the Mountain!”
So why is the place deserted,
    a lair for wild animals?
Passersby hardly give it a look;
    they dismiss it with a gesture.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

God has an agenda.  We have an agenda.  Which one will we choose for this day?

Do we trust God’s best or our best efforts?

Do we have mess to clean up?  Seek God, ask for His help and wisdom.  He promises to give all we need to clean up.  He also shapes our lives for His glory and our best.  Even when our sins separate us from God, we can repent and return to him, knowing that his restoration and blessings will follow.

David, the King who fell to temptation which resulted in a royal mess, prayed seeking God’s forgiveness:

Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Oh, give me back my joy again;
    you have broken me—
    now let me rejoice.
Don’t keep looking at my sins.
    Remove the stain of my guilt.
Create in me a clean heart, O God.
    Renew a loyal spirit within me.
Do not banish me from your presence,
    and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and make me willing to obey you.
Then I will teach your ways to rebels,
    and they will return to you.
Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves;
    then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness.
Unseal my lips, O Lord,
    that my mouth may praise you.  Psalm 51:7-15, NLT

And God did.  And He forgives us as we seek Him!  Jesus paid our sin debt in full.  God gives what we do not deserve because of his love, mercy, and grace.  Why trust in anyone else?

Lord,

Forgive me as I forgive others who offend me.  Forgive me of going my own way thinking I knew what was best.  Cleanse my heart, renew my mind, refresh and feed my soul while restoring the joy of your salvation at work in me.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen