Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the LORD. And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. And the LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.”

 Zechariah 2:1-13

Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the LORD. And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. And the LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.” Zechariah 2:10-12

I continue my study of the last four books of the OT (complete: Zephaniah, Haggai; to complete: Zechariah, Malachi) - using the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary volume for this book.  For today, my focus is an unassisted review of Zechariah 2:1-13, which the commentary outlines as the fourth of four divisions for the text vv1:7-2:13 (1:7-13, 1:14-17, 1:18-21, 2:1-13).  Here, we see another vision - this time of two angels, delivering of message to God's people promising stability, prosperity, and protection from the Lord - see vv1-5. This message of restoration, following a period of captivity and exile in Babylonia.  V6 shares how God will bring about punishment for those who oppress Judah, including Babylonia.  Vv10-12 offer great encouragement to Judah and by extension all of God's people who feel oppressed and separated from God's love.  God's people are to sing and rejoice as God will be in our midst - alas He is as Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah, Emmanuel.  We will enjoy fellowship with God as He will always be with us via the Holy Spirit.  God's glory will be such that many nations will "join themselves to the Lord."  How incredible!  What a vision and prophecy of how God will make His name great for all the world to see.  Certainly a message appropriate for Christmas!

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for being in my midst, giving me fellowship with You.  What an incredible blessing!  I am not deserving of how You live in my heart, and how You send the Holy Spirit to be amongst Your people.  I am not deserving of how I can never be separated from Your love.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me. Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day. 

 

“I saw in the night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen, and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses.

 Zechariah 1:7-13

“I saw in the night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen, and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses. Zechariah 1:8

I continue my study of the last four books of the OT (complete: Zephaniah, Haggai; to complete: Zechariah, Malachi) - using the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary volume for this book.  For this morning, my focus is a commentary-assisted review of Zechariah 1:7-13, which the commentary outlines as the first of four divisions for the text vv1:7-2:13 (1:7-13, 1:14-17, 1:18-21, 2:1-13) - as this first division is entitled We Can Depend on the Lord’s Overcoming Comfort by the commentary.  The commentary describes vv7-13 as a vision from the Lord: "Because God loves His people with a jealous, unfailing love, we can depend on His comfort, even when our enemies appear to be prospering and the consequences for our past failures linger. Through the Angel of the Lord, God extended overcoming comfort to Israel in four significant ways in this part of Zechariah’s vision:"

• God shows concern for His people
• God intercedes on behalf of His people
• God encourages His people
• God is intimately present in the lives of His people  

V8 is portrayed as a messianic prophecy of how "the Angel of the Lord 'stood among the myrtle trees in the valley'."  The commentary winds down its description of the text by sharing: "[d]uring Israel’s time of physical weakness, emotional anguish, and spiritual discouragement, the Son of God was in the midst of God’s people, as He is now[.]"  We are referred to Psalm 34:18.  Take comfort in how God is in our midst!

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for being with me and how I can never be separated from Your love - I am not deserving of my salvation, nor Your love.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouse to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.

Daniel 3

 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up. Daniel 3:18

I continue my pause of my study of Hebrews to study Daniel in conjunction with a disciple/small group study with my church's men's wake up call. This morning my focus is Daniel 3 as I lean on a commentary for its observations of this chapter.  Of course, the key theme of this chapter is how Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednago hold firm to their faith, and demonstrate supernatural courage to deny the proclamation that upon hearing the associated music, all shall fall down and worship the image of gold set up by King Nebuchadnezzar.  The commentary notes how, although at the end of chapter two Nebuchadnezzar praises God, such praise was "a shallow and surface praise."  It also notes how Daniel's interpretation of the dream included a vision of how Nebuchadnezzar represented the head of statue and was gold, and how in chapter 3 the commentary notes that Nebuchadnezzar "suggests that Nebuchadnezzar did not accept God’s will that he was only the head of gold and a temporary king. He wanted it all; therefore, he set up a great gold statue ninety feet high by nine feet wide, gold plated from head to toe (v. 1)." The commentary then pivots to the courage of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednago to withstand the temptation to worship idols, even when such temptation puts our lives at risk. It shares: "It takes courage not to compromise, and your mind needs to be made up before the pressure comes. If you wait until “the moment of truth,” you may find out it is too late." The commentary then discusses how the fourth man in the furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednago was a "preincarnate appearance of the Second Person of the Trinity, the Son of God. The Lord was in there with them. The God who did not deliver them from the fire was the God who met them in the fire and delivered them out of the fire!" We are encouraged to see how in the Bible, it is clear how God never leaves or forsakes us: Exodus 3:6,12; Isaiah 43:2; Matthew 28:18-20; Romans 8:37-39; Hebrews 13:5; and 1 Peter 4:12-14. 

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a great God who never leaves or forsakes us - even when things are very difficult, You never leave us.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Romans 5

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Romans 5:10-11

This morning, my focus is DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, where John Piper seeks for believers to prepare our hearts for Christmas.  Today's Solid Joys daily devotion marks day 23 of Advent, and today John Piper looks at how God reconciles us to Himself through Jesus Christ.  Believers know that reconciliation is at the heart of the gospel.  We all sin, sin separates us from Christ, but Christ died to forgive our sins - forever - so that believers could have life now in abundance, and forever with Him in Heaven (John 3:16-18, 10:10)...with Christ now in our hearts, God is with us...always (Matthew 28:20) - Emmanuel.  Piper describes how Christ purchased this reconciliation for us, how Christ enabled us to receive this reconciliation, and finally, how Christ came into the world as flesh (see also post from 2 days ago on incarnation) so that we can exalt and worship Him.  Piper wraps the devotion today by exhorting us to respond: "Exult in [Christ]. Experience him as your pleasure. Know him as your treasure."

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me, who purchased my reconciliation, who enabled me to receive it, and You give me Yourself so that I can exalt and worship You - and I know this is why I exist.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings and gifts.  My sin is great and it continue...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises....Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever.

Hebrews 8, 13

But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises....Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Hebrews 8:6, 13:2-21

This morning, my focus is DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, where John Piper seeks for believers to prepare our hearts for Christmas.  Today's Solid Joys daily devotion marks day 14 of Advent, and today John Piper describes how Jesus is not just the Great High Priest whose death and sacrifice on the cross supersedes and replaces the role of the Old Testament priests and sacrifices made by these priests (see post couple of days here and here), but He is also the Great High Priests who "makes [this final reality] real for His people."  Piper states that by Christ serving as a better mediator of a better covenant (secured by His blood), "[i]t means that God, according to the new covenant promises, brings about our inner transformation by the Spirit of Christ. And it means that God works this transformation in us through faith — faith in all that God is for us in Christ. The new covenant is purchased by the blood of Christ, effected by the Spirit of Christ, and appropriated by faith in Christ.  It means that God, according to the new covenant promises, brings about our inner transformation by the Spirit of Christ.  And it means that God works this transformation in us through faith — faith in all that God is for us in Christ."  God makes it real for us by working in us.  Piper wraps up the devotion sharing how we connect this to Christmas: "...the meaning of Christmas is not only that God replaces shadows with Reality, but also that he takes the Reality and makes it real to his people. He writes it on our hearts. He does not lay his Christmas gift of salvation and transformation under the tree, so to speak, for you to pick up in your own strength. He picks it up and puts it in your heart and in your mind and gives you the seal of assurance that you are a child of God."  Jesus is the greatest gift of all time!

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a great God indeed - thank You for coming to save me and for providing the greatest gift of all time.  I am not deserving of such a gift as my sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus.  Help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message today and every day.

“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven."

Matthew 10

“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven." v32-33

Jesus wants us to take His words that He proclaims "in the dark" and shout them from the rooftops (v27).  We must bear witness (as a living sacrifice - see Romans 12:1) both in our lives and our words...and not be afraid of the consequences...and Jesus points out many such possible consequences: arrest and/or physical harm (v17-18), family and community scorn (v21-22), and intense temptation and fear planted by Satan (v28).  

While Jesus does warn us (see also John 16:33), He also encourages us.  First and foremost, He will never leave or forsake us, He is with us until the end of the age, and He will give us the words to say (v19-20).

Jesus, please help me be bold.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who has transformed my heart and life - thank You Jesus!  I am not worth such love and blessing.  I am often afraid and weak - please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo. Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.