today's meditation (Zech.13) Going Through the Fire

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Zechariah 13:1-9) “On that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for defilement.

2 “And it will come about on that day,” declares the Lord of armies, “that I will eliminate the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered; and I will also remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land. 3 And if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who gave birth to him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, because you have spoken falsely in the name of the Lord’; and his father and mother who gave birth to him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. 4 Also it will come about on that day that the prophets will each be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, and they will not put on a hairy robe in order to deceive; 5 but he will say, ‘I am not a prophet; I am a cultivator of the ground, because a man sold me as a slave in my youth.’ 6 And someone will say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your arms?’ Then he will say, ‘Those with which I was wounded at the house of my friends.’

7   “Awake, sword, against My Shepherd,
     And against the Man, My Associate,”
     Declares the Lord of armies.
     “Strike the Shepherd and the sheep will be scattered;
     And I will turn My hand against the little ones.
8   And it will come about in all the land,”
     Declares the Lord,
     “That two parts in it will be cut off and perish;
     But the third will be left in it.
9   And I will bring the third part through the fire,
     Refine them as silver is refined,
     And test them as gold is tested.
     They will call on My name,
     And I will answer them;
     I will say, ‘They are My people,’
     And they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

By the end of the Tribulation, two thirds of the earth itself will have been destroyed.  At the battle of Armageddon, Jesus will come again and have the victory.  He will then take all those (about one third of the people) who have become believers during the Tribulation into the Millennial kingdom where He will establish and maintain peace on earth.  Therefore, these believers will have come through the "fire" of the Tribulation.

Salvation in Jesus and trusting in Him brings us through the fire, when we pass from earth to heaven.  All people will be judged!  Unbelievers will be judged by their sins, all of them, and none of them will be justified.  For believers, because all our sins have been forgiven, our account has been wiped clean, and Jesus covers us with His righteousness as our eternal protection.  So, we will be judged for the deeds done with right motives.  All other "good" deeds will be burned up, and we will be rewarded for those that come through the fire - those done with pure motives, in Jesus' strength and righteousness.

For right now, when we go through tribulations in our lives, we need to realize that these are tests meant to refine us.  Like in verse 7, which is a reference to when Jesus was arrested and the disciples scattered, instead of becoming scared, discouraged or bitter, we can look to the Lord for our help in order to see what a mighty work He will do.  Trusting in Him will bring us through "the fire" of our struggles.  This is not only how one's faith will grow stronger in the Lord, but this is also how our testimony to others will shine through.

today's mediation (Zech.12) Being More Like God

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Zechariah 12:1-14) The pronouncement of the word of the Lord concerning Israel:

The Lord who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of a person within him, declares: 2 “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes staggering to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. 3 It will come about on that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will injure themselves severely. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. 4 On that day,” declares the Lord, “I will strike every horse with confusion and its rider with insanity. But I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem are a strong support for us through the Lord of armies, their God.’

6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again live on their own sites in Jerusalem. 7 The Lord also will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be greater than Judah. 8 On that day the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them on that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and of pleading, so that they will look at Me whom they pierced; and they will mourn for Him, like one mourning for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be great, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land will mourn, every family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves; 14 all the families that are left, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

We see not only a prophecy of Jesus' crucifixion, but also a prophecy of the end times.  When Israel goes through the Tribulation, they will see the judgements, which are their signs of Jesus' second coming and realize that Jesus was and is their Messiah.  Although His work on the cross was necessary to make salvation possible, it will weigh heavy on Israel to also realize that they crucified (pierced) the only One who is able to fulfill their covenants, which will happen when Jesus returns at the end of those seven years of the Jewish Age.

Meanwhile, oh how we love to have heroes in our lives - heroes which inspire us.  This is why the superhero franchises are so very popular.  But here we have the most loving and most powerful Superhero of all time!   Jesus died in our place to pay for all sin, then rose again to have victory over death, so that anyone who believers in Him will have eternal life.  If we make Jesus our Hero, admired and loved, we will desire to be more like Him.

We cannot be God, but we can be more like Him by allowing Him to work in and through us.  People should never be expected to first be "good enough" before approaching the Lord for salvation.  People are to go to Jesus as they are, ask for forgiveness and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  In God's salvation, power and wisdom, He will help us and change us from the inside out.  And as children of God, if we love our heavenly Father as much as we say we do, would we not want to be more like Him?

today's meditation (Zech.11) Choosing Favor and Union

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Zechariah 11:1-17)
1   Open your doors, Lebanon,
     So that a fire may feed on your cedars.
2   Wail, juniper, because the cedar has fallen,
     For the magnificent trees have been destroyed;
     Wail, oaks of Bashan,
     Because the impenetrable forest has come down.
3   There is a sound of the shepherds’ wail,
     For their splendor is ruined;
     There is a sound of the young lions’ roar,
     For the pride of the Jordan is ruined.

4 This is what the Lord my God says: “Pasture the flock doomed to slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and each of those who sell them says, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for I have become rich!’ And their own shepherds have no compassion for them. 6 For I will no longer have compassion for the inhabitants of the land,” declares the Lord; “but behold, I will let the people fall, each into another’s power and into the power of his king; and they will crush the land, and I will not rescue them from their power.”

7 So I pastured the flock doomed to slaughter, therefore also the afflicted of the flock. And I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Favor, and the other I called Union; so I pastured the flock. 8 Then I did away with the three shepherds in one month, for my soul was impatient with them, and their soul also was tired of me. 9 Then I said, “I will not pasture you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to perish, let it perish; and let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.” 10 And I took my staff Favor and cut it in pieces, to break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was broken on that day, and so the afflicted of the flock who were watching me realized that it was the word of the Lord. 12 And I said to them, “If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!” So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages. 13 Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them.” So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the Lord. 14 Then I cut in pieces my second staff Union, to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

15 And the Lord said to me, “Take again for yourself the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or provide for the one who is exhausted, but will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs.

17 Woe to the worthless shepherd 
     Who abandons the flock!
     A sword will be on his arm 
     And on his right eye!
     His arm will be totally withered,
     And his right eye will be blind.”

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

The two staffs were called "Favor" and "Union".  These nicely represent what God desires for us.  The Lord really does want the very best for us!  He wants us to have a favorable and fulfilling life with reconciled, loving relationships - with Himself - as well as with others.

The spiritual leaders of Israel failed the people.  And when Zechariah tried to shepherd the people in the way they should be, the people didn't appreciate him.  As an insult, they paid him the salary of a slave.  This parallels how the Israelites treated Jesus when He came to earth in flesh.  And the Pharisees paid Judas Iscariot the exact same amount for the betrayal of Jesus, because they didn't appreciate Him.  

Jesus is the perfect Shepherd as well as the spotless Lamb of God who, in His death, paid the price for all sin, and in His resurrection, He had victory over death.  In this way, He can offer the free gift of salvation to anyone who chooses to believe in Him.  So easy, yet people's pride causes them to not want to follow Him.  They would prefer to make it up as they go - whatever and however - which leads to eternal death, rather than trusting in the Lord's way which leads to favor, union and eternal life.

today's meditation (Hab.2) Being Prepared and Ready

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Habakkuk 2:1-20) 

1   I will stand at my guard post 
     And station myself on the watchtower;
     And I will keep watch to see what He will say to me,
     And how I may reply when I am reprimanded.
2   Then the Lord answered me and said,
     “Write down the vision 
     And inscribe it clearly on tablets,
     So that one who reads it may run.
3   For the vision is yet for the appointed time;
     It hurries toward the goal and it will not fail.
     Though it delays, wait for it;
     For it will certainly come, it will not delay long.

4   “Behold, as for the impudent one,
     His soul is not right within him;
     But the righteous one will live by his faith.
5   Furthermore, wine betrays an arrogant man,
     So that he does not achieve his objective.
     He enlarges his appetite like Sheol,
     And he is like death, never satisfied.
     He also gathers to himself all the nations 
     And collects to himself all the peoples.

6   “Will all of these not take up a song of ridicule against him,
     Even a saying and insinuations against him 
     And say, ‘Woe to him who increases what is not his—
     For how long—
     And makes himself rich with debts!’
7   Will your creditors not rise up suddenly,
     And those who collect from you awaken?
     Indeed, you will become plunder for them.
8   Since you have looted many nations,
     All the rest of the peoples will loot you—
     Because of human bloodshed and violence done to the land,
     To the town and all its inhabitants.

9   “Woe to him who makes evil profit for his household,
     To put his nest on high,
     To be saved from the hand of catastrophe!
10 You have planned a shameful thing for your house 
     By bringing many peoples to an end;
     So you are sinning against yourself.
11 For the stone will cry out from the wall,
     And the rafter will answer it from the framework.

12 “Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed,
     And founds a town with violence!
13 Is it not indeed from the Lord of armies 
     That peoples labor merely for fire,
     And nations become weary for nothing?
14 For the earth will be filled 
     With the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,
     As the waters cover the sea.

15 “Woe to him who makes his neighbor drink;
     To you who mix in your venom even to make your neighbors drunk,
     So as to look at their genitalia!
16 You will be filled with disgrace rather than honor.
     Drink, you yourself, and expose your own foreskin!
     The cup in the Lord’s right hand will come around to you,
     And utter disgrace will come upon your glory.
17 For the violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you,
     And the devastation of its animals by which you terrified them,
     Because of human bloodshed and violence done to the land,
     To the town and all its inhabitants.

18 “What benefit is a carved image when its maker has carved it,
     Or a cast metal image, a teacher of falsehood?
     For its maker trusts in his own handiwork 
     When he fashions speechless idols.
19 Woe to him who says to a piece of wood, ‘Awake!’
     To a mute stone, ‘Arise!’
     That is your teacher?
     Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver,
     Yet there is no breath at all inside it.
20 But the Lord is in His holy temple.
     Let all the earth be silent before Him.”

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

What is it that we need to wait and watch for?  Well, no matter who we are, and no matter which era we live in, we all have an inevitable end.  To be prepared, in order to be saved from death, we need to find and embrace Jesus and His salvation.  We cannot save or guide ourselves.  If we think we can, or whenever we think we know better, that is self-righteousness.  Jesus is righteous, and by following Him and His word imparts to us His righteousness - Jesus living through us.

Therefore, we should consider how vigilant are we in knowing God's words which will help us get through each day in His will, as well as praying and asking the Lord to continue working in and through us.  Sometimes it is seeing what needs to be addressed in our lives.  If and when God reprimands us - what is our reply?  This was Habakkuk's question.  And when the Lord spoke to him, Habakkuk was given a directive.  

As believers, we are not expected "to pay" for any sin.  Jesus has done that for all of us, in full.  His desire for us is that we keep relying on Him in joy and thankfulness, and continue serving Him with the gifts that He has given us, in His strength and guidance.  In the way we live our lives, we will be a living testimony to those around us, so that they too might see their need for Jesus and His salvation, and the benefits that He brings to our lives right now.  This is what it means to wait on the Lord and keep watch.  This is the only way to be prepared and ready!

today's meditation (Jonah 3) Having Remorse

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Jonah 3:1-10) Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, the great city, and proclaim to it the proclamation which I am going to tell you.” 3 So Jonah got up and went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk. 4 Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he cried out and said, “Forty more days, and Nineveh will be overthrown.”

5 Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. 6 When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, removed his robe from himself, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat on the dust. 7 And he issued a proclamation, and it said, “In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: No person, animal, herd, or flock is to taste anything. They are not to eat, or drink water. 8 But every person and animal must be covered with sackcloth; and people are to call on God vehemently, and they are to turn, each one from his evil way, and from the violence which is in their hands. 9 Who knows, God may turn and relent, and turn from His burning anger so that we will not perish.”

10 When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their evil way, then God relented of the disaster which He had declared He would bring on them. So He did not do it.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

Just as Jonah, who knew God and knew better, had finally turned to the Lord in prayer to be saved from the fish at the brink of death, the people of Nineveh repented and turned to the Lord to be saved.  Just as Jonah could have died in the fish but would have gone to heaven because he was a believer, the people of Nineveh who had become believers would have also gone to heaven, even if God had still destroyed the city.  But God decided to spare the people, just as He had spared Jonah.

Now it is very interesting that in these times, or maybe it is more about in these cultures, who worship gods and go to extremes of showing remorse and trying to win favor, that they automatically approach the Lord like this.  God doesn't expect sackcloth and ashes or sitting in the dirt - it is all about the condition of our hearts.  When someone goes to Him for salvation, or when believers go to Him to confess, God knows if we are sincere when our hearts and minds are humble and there is remorse, ready to accept and embrace His peace and joy.

In our relationship and walk with Jesus, His grace is always there, and it is amazing.  We cannot lose our salvation but let us not take it for granted.  God still hates sin, so our sin causes us to move away from Him.  Again, no need for sackcloth and ashes, but let us make our confessions to Him with a sincere and contrite heart that wants to stop sinful behavior and continue to cling to Him for His help, guidance and strength.

today's meditation (Amos 9) Being Restored

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Amos 9:1-15)

1   I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said,

     “Strike the pillar capitals so that the thresholds will shake,
     And break them on the heads of them all!
     Then I will put to death the rest of them with the sword;
     They will not have a fugitive who will flee,
     Nor a survivor who will escape.
2   Though they dig into Sheol,
     From there My hand will take them;
     And though they ascend to heaven,
     From there I will bring them down.
3   And though they hide on the summit of Carmel,
     I will track them down and take them from there;
     And though they hide themselves from My sight on the bottom of the sea,
     I will command the serpent from there, and it will bite them.
4   And though they go into captivity before their enemies,
     From there I will command the sword and it will kill them,
     And I will set My eyes against them for harm and not for good.”

5   The Lord God of armies,
     The One who touches the land so that it quakes,
     And all those who live in it mourn,
     And all of it rises up like the Nile 
     And subsides like the Nile of Egypt;
6   The One who builds His upper chambers in the heavens 
     And has founded His vaulted dome over the earth,
     He who calls for the waters of the sea 
     And pours them out on the face of the earth,
     The Lord is His name.

7   “Are you not as the sons of Ethiopia to Me,
     You sons of Israel?” declares the Lord.
     “Have I not brought up Israel from the land of Egypt,
     And the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir?
8   Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are on the sinful kingdom,
     And I will eliminate it from the face of the earth;
     Nevertheless, I will not totally eliminate the house of Jacob,”
     Declares the Lord.
9   “For behold, I am commanding,
     And I will shake the house of Israel among all nations 
     As grain is shaken in a sieve,
     But not a pebble will fall to the ground.
10 All the sinners of My people will die by the sword,
     Those who say, ‘The catastrophe will not overtake or confront us.’

11 “On that day I will raise up the fallen shelter of David,
     And wall up its gaps;
     I will also raise up its ruins 
     And rebuild it as in the days of old;
12 So that they may possess the remnant of Edom 
     And all the nations who are called by My name,”
     Declares the Lord who does this.

13 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord,
     “When the plowman will overtake the reaper,
     And the one who treads grapes will overtake him who sows the seed;
     When the mountains will drip grape juice,
     And all the hills will come apart.
14 I will also restore the fortunes of My people Israel,
     And they will rebuild the desolated cities and live in them;
     They will also plant vineyards and drink their wine,
     And make gardens and eat their fruit.
15 I will also plant them on their land,
     And they will not be uprooted again from their land
     Which I have given them,”
     Says the Lord your God.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

Sin separates every person from the Lord, and it is only through the Lord that a person can be restored.  Verse 10 is very clear, even though someone is an Israelite, if they do not choose to believe in the Lord, they will die.  They will not see the Millennial kingdom, nor will they see heaven.  And those who choose to believe in the Lord will inherit their land as God promised, according to their covenants and will spend eternity in heaven.  

Out of all the sinful people on earth, God had chosen and called Abraham, who chose to believe in the Lord, making Him his God, to trust and obey.  Remember, part of the covenant made to Abraham included not just the Israelites, but that all nations would be blessed.  This was because through Abraham's seed, the Lord would come to earth in flesh.  God knew that the Israelites would reject Him as their King and crucify Him, but God willingly allowed this to happen in order to make salvation possible to everyone.  

It is all about a personal choice, to have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.  If and when we have children, they are not saved because we are.  Everyone has to make this decision for themselves.  And it is not a cultural or racial thing.  God is not white, black or brown... the Lord is God, and He loved the world so much, He paid the price for all sin and conquered death so that anyone can go to Him for forgiveness of sins, receiving eternal life, as well as love, guidance and strength from our perfect heavenly Father!  

today's meditation (Amos 5) Seeking the Lord

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Amos 5:1-27) Hear this word which I am taking up for you as a song of mourning, house of Israel:

2   She has fallen, she will not rise again—
     The virgin Israel.
     She lies unnoticed on her land;
     There is no one to raise her up.

3   For this is what the Lord God says:

     “The city which goes forth a thousand strong 
     Will have a hundred left,
     And the one which goes forth a hundred strong 
     Will have ten left to the house of Israel.”

4   For this is what the Lord says to the house of Israel:

     “Seek Me so that you may live.
5   But do not resort to Bethel 
     And do not come to Gilgal,
     Nor cross over to Beersheba;
     For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity 
     And Bethel will come to nothing.
6   Seek the Lord so that you may live,
     Or He will break through like a fire, house of Joseph,
     And it will consume with no one to extinguish it for Bethel,
7   For those who turn justice into wormwood,
     And throw righteousness to the earth.”

8   He who made the Pleiades and Orion,
     And changes deep darkness into morning,
     Who also darkens day into night,
     Who calls for the waters of the sea 
     And pours them out on the surface of the earth,
     The Lord is His name.
9   It is He who makes destruction flash upon the strong,
     So that destruction comes upon the fortress.

10 They hate him who rebukes in the gate,
     And they despise him who speaks with integrity.
11 Therefore because you impose heavy rent on the poor 
     And take a tribute of grain from them,
     Though you have built houses of cut stone,
     Yet you will not live in them;
     You have planted beautiful vineyards, yet you will not drink their wine.
12 For I know your offenses are many and your sins are great,
     You who are hostile to the righteous and accept bribes,
     And turn away the poor from justice at the gate.
13 Therefore at such a time the prudent person keeps quiet, because it is an evil time.

14 Seek good and not evil, so that you may live;
     And so may the Lord God of armies be with you,
     Just as you have said!
15 Hate evil, love good,
     And establish justice in the gate!
     Perhaps the Lord God of armies 
     Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

16 Therefore this is what the Lord God of armies, the Lord says:

     “There is mourning in all the public squares,
     And in all the streets they say, ‘Oh no! Oh no!’
     They also call the farmer to mourning 
     And professional mourners to mourning rites.
17 And in all the vineyards there is mourning,
     Because I will pass through the midst of you,” says the Lord.

18 Woe to you who are longing for the day of the Lord,
     For what purpose will the day of the Lord be to you?
     It will be darkness and not light;
19 As when a man flees from a lion
     And a bear confronts him,
     Or he goes home, leans with his hand against the wall,
     And a snake bites him.
20 Will the day of the Lord not be darkness instead of light,
     Even gloom with no brightness in it?

21 “I hate, I reject your festivals,
     Nor do I delight in your festive assemblies.
22 Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings,
     I will not accept them;
     And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fattened oxen.
23 Take away from Me the noise of your songs;
     I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.
24 But let justice roll out like waters,
     And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

25 “Did you present Me with sacrifices and grain offerings in the wilderness for forty years, house of Israel? 26 You also carried along Sikkuth your king and Kiyyun, your images, the star of your gods which you made for yourselves. 27 Therefore I will make you go into exile beyond Damascus,” says the Lord, whose name is the God of armies.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

When reading these warnings that God delivered through the prophets, one might wonder - how could a loving God hate, or allow destruction?  Well, God in His love created us with a free choice.  When a person chooses sin and destruction, this is what they have chosen for their life and their eternal state.  But why focus on that?  Why not look to the hope and grace that God offers to all of us.  To be saved from His wrath, so we can embrace His peace and joy.

God is holy and cannot have a relationship with sin.  Yet He still loves us and desires that all come to know Him and have a personal relationship with Him.  This is why He came to die for all sin and rose again to have victory over death.  He did all of this so He could offer freedom from sin and eternal life to anyone who believers in Him.  So, why turn to creation, when we can turn to the Creator!  He is more powerful than all other powers put together.  Simply put, in our free will, do not look to mankind for your hope and strength, but seek the Lord and be saved.