Zechariah 11- Sweet Salvation

 ”I am about to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for those who are perishing, and he will not seek the lost or heal the broken. He will not sustain the healthy, but he will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hooves.“

‭‭Zechariah‬ ‭11‬:‭16‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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This horrifying description is the exact opposite of how God cares for his people.  He uses this statement to magnify His own character… in fact these are all of the worst possible ways to care for sheep.  This shepherd is described as lazy, uncaring and selfish.  He won’t spend any time or effort to help or restore his sheep.

God on the other hand showed Himself, over and over to be loving, caring and has stoped at nothing to prove this.  In fact He has held nothing back from redeeming us, He sent us Jesus… and sacrificed Him so that we could have life.

God help me to be in awe of this every moment of every day!

Zechariah 10- Patience

”I will strengthen the house of Judah and deliver the house of Joseph. I will restore them because I have compassion on them, and they will be as though I had never rejected them. For I am the Lord their God, and I will answer them.“ ‭‭

Zechariah‬ ‭10‬:‭6‬ ‭CSB‬‬ 

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This theme comes up so often because I think we need lots of reminders that God redeems us because of who He is, not because of what we do.  The second part of this is even more valuable to be reminded- God will answer when we call to Him.

Lord help me to wait patiently when I pray. Of course, I want things to change instantly or to be resolved in an instant, but You know the best timing so help me to wait on you.  You are a good Father, who gives good things to us…and I want to leant what You have for me and be in the center of your will.

Zechariah 9- Always Good

”Tyre has built herself a fortress; she has heaped up silver like dust and gold like the dirt of the streets. Listen! The Lord will impoverish her and cast her wealth into the sea; she herself will be consumed by fire. The Lord their God will save them on that day as the flock of his people; for they are like jewels in a crown, sparkling over his land.“ ‭‭

Zechariah‬ ‭9‬:‭3‬-‭4‬, ‭16‬ ‭CSB‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/1713/zec.9.CSB

Once again there is an example of people who are trusting in their own ability, their own wealth, their ability to prevent catastrophe.  They feel safe and like they don’t need God.

I am pretty good at figuring things out, making a plan and executing it.  Many time I am successful at doing the thing, but there are often casualties… sadly, I don’t always notice them.

Lord, help me to trust you rather than my own abilities.  I want to accomplish what is in your plan, without sacrificing those I care most about or inflicting a poor reputation on You.  Help me to trust that You are always good and don’t hold good things away from me!

Zechariah 8- God With Us

 ”Many peoples and strong nations will come to seek the Lord of Armies in Jerusalem and to plead for the Lord’s favor.” The Lord of Armies says this: “In those days, ten men from nations of every language will grab the robe of a Jewish man tightly, urging: Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”“

‭‭Zechariah‬ ‭8‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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In this chapter God is telling His people what the end will be like.  He is giving them a view of the far future where all the people of the world are blessed by His rule and reign.  Everyone sees clearly that God is blessing His people and wants to participate in receiving that blessing.

There should be some of this going on today.  We have been blessed by God through Salvation and it is available to the whole world.  Salvation from the penalty of sin is wonderful, but along with that God the Holy Spirit lives with us.  The people around us should see something different about how we live, the joy we experience and even the way we endure trials…it should look significantly different than the way of the lost.

Lord, help me to live in a way that helps the lost long for peace with God!  I pray that my life openly, both good and bad, highlights your goodness and grace.  Give me opportunities to demonstrate Your love and boldness to walk confidently into them.  Help the blinded to see their own need and the solution in You!

Zechariah 7- Eternal Life Today!

 ”But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they closed their ears so they could not hear. They made their hearts like a rock so as not to obey the law or the words that the Lord of Armies had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. Therefore intense anger came from the Lord of Armies.“

‭‭Zechariah‬ ‭7‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Gods people were feeling far off from Him and went to the temple to ask why He was not near.  Zechariah hears an answer to their question: “for years you have technically accomplished what I told you, but it was for the wrong reason, with wrong motivations.  You were fasting so your neighbors noticed, and you were feasting because you like to eat…none of it was for Me”

Then the consequences are in the verses we are looking at…”you stiff armed me, refused to listen and never obeyed Me, now I will give you what you want: I will leave you alone and ignore you!” Then God released His anger…

What a scary place to be!  I never want to experience Gods anger! Thankfully, the antidote is straightforward: obey Gods Word and seek to know Him…Although it is simple it is not easy because it requires a minute by minute sacrifice: my selfish desires.

Lord help me live in a way that demonstrates the joy I experience following you!  I want others to see my delight and pleasure in You and see that the sacrifice is worth it!  That you bless beyond measure when we live for You and get to experience eternal life today!!!

Zechariah 6- Love is Obedience

 ”People who are far off will come and build the Lord’s temple, and you will know that the Lord of Armies has sent me to you. This will happen when you fully obey the Lord your God.”“

‭‭Zechariah‬ ‭6‬:‭15‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Gods people are just coming back from being exiled and are seeing the destruction of their homeland.  As God is laying out the future He points to the future coming of Jesus, the long awaited priest-king.  They all know that prior to the promised messiah coming they must have a Temple up and working…Gods answer is supernatural!  They will watch God bring people from far away to rebuild the temple, once again so that it is not done by their own strength, but by God. 

Just like today, God wants to use us to carry out His plan, but He doesn’t want for us to think it is our ability that does the work.  That is what I Corinthians 2:27-29 says,

27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chosen the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him.

God really doesn’t want us to get confused about which one of us (me or Him) is doing the work…spoiler alert…it is NOT me!  He wants us to be fully dependent on Him and resting in His ability to fix the situation.  AND at the same time, He wants us to obey Him in every detail.

Lord remove my blindness so that I see what You are calling me to obey.  Expose my sin, help me see where I take my own advice and ignore Your guidance.  I need You in my life at every turn, for every moment…love is obedience, so strengthen me to follow You alone!

Zechariah 5- Worshiping Sin?

 ”So I asked, “What is it?” He responded, “It’s a measuring basket that is approaching.” And he continued, “This is their iniquity in all the land.” So I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the basket?” “To build a shrine for it in the land of Shinar,” he told me. “When that is ready, the basket will be placed there on its pedestal.”“

‭‭Zechariah‬ ‭5‬:‭6‬, ‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Zechariah continues to see visions and this one is shocking!  A basket, which is normally used to measure out their produce and see how profitable their harvest is, is flying toward them.  A strange sight indeed…but even more interesting is that the Angel (who is explaining the vision) tells him it represents all of their sin.  The work of their hands (what they work at producing, what they toil to make) is literally sin!

Then it gets worse!  They are working diligently to sin, intentionally doing more against God, and then worshiping the sin itself!!!  This is horrifying and tragic…

But the question I must ask is, how are we like this?  How do I behave in a similar way?  

I know that I have worshiped my work.  What I mean is that the work that I did seemed more important than family commitments.  I spent years traveling away from family.  I spent seasons dragging my kids and wife to event after event weather it was good for them or not…that sounds a lot like worshiping sin.  

What made this tricky, is that those things seemed like they were good.  I was able to convince myself and others that these were the right choices.

I look around and see the same thing in society, we desire something. so we convince ourselves and everyone around us that what we want is actually good!  Then we are willing to do the sinful things that we want and get angry if anyone does not join us in admiring the “goodness” of our sin.  How tragic!!!

Lord open my eyes to see where I still do this today.  I am so weak that I can fall into this trap again…but I desperately want to avoid it!  I want to worship You only and recognize my sin for what it is, repent and run away from it!  I want my life, my words, my actions and motives to bring You glory.  I want to hate sin and love Your ways.  That is the opposite of natural for me, I need You to empower me! Give me the strength to hate evil and surrender my desires to You!!!

Zechariah 4- Impossible Accomplished

 ”So he answered me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by strength or by might, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord of Armies.“

‘“What are you, great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain. And he will bring out the capstone accompanied by shouts of: Grace, grace to it! ’”

‭‭Zechariah‬ ‭4‬:‭6-7 CSB‬‬

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What an amazing scene, Zechariah is having a simple vision looking at a golden lamp.  It is decorated with various images and he is trying to understand what they represent.  The Lord answers him with something that seems unrelated: this impossible thing will be accomplished, but don’t get confused, I will do it, not you!  And even more incredible, the result will cause everyone to recognize the salvation comes from God only and it is not even deserved.

I love what God is doing here because it is unmistakably Him doing it!  The people are not getting what they want because they were so good at planning, or they had a great army, or such wonderful strategy…it was God doing it even though they didn’t deserve it!  I want my life to be like this…far too much of my life is accomplished because of me pushing, grinding, manipulating or just outright effort.  God is gracious and it often turns out Ok, but not amazing…I want God to be stringing my life together, confident in His leading and in the center of His will.  Doing challenging things as if they were easy because of You!

Lord, I am probably more than half way through with life, help me to walk into the works that can only be accomplished by You…the things I can produce are not fulfilling and I want to spend the rest of my life content in You.  Help me to see Your way and walk confidently into it!

Zechariah 3- Helpless Transformed

 ”So the angel of the Lord spoke to those standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes!” Then he said to him, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with festive robes.”“

‭‭Zechariah‬ ‭3‬:‭4‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Zechariah continues to bring good news to Gods people telling them of how completely He transforms them.  In this scene he looks into heaven and sees the High Priest (most religious person in their people) wearing clothes covered in feces…with Satan at his side accusing him of all of the sin he has ever committed!  From the outside the High Priest is hopeless, and helpless…there is nothing he can do to fix this situation.

Then God steps in, removes his disgusting clothes and gives him perfect clothes fit for a celebration and a new head covering, so now he looks OK.  Then the miraculous, God tells him not only is he clean on the outside, but all the sin he has ever committed is now gone forever!  

This is a picture of what God does for us at salvation!  I love how God chose to use the most perfect person as the example and he was still disgusting!  Sometimes we look at a pastor, or someone we think has really got it all together…but they still have the same problem as us in Gods presence.  Thankfully the solution is the same as well, go to Jesus for transformation!

Lord, I am so thankful that you saved me…you have done all the work to clean me inside and out.  You did it all…my only part is recognizing You are the solution and that I am helpless on my own.  Help me to love You and follow You every moment today, because I don’t deserve all that You have done for me!

Zechariah 2- Immeasurable Blessing

 ”“Daughter Zion, shout for joy and be glad, for I am coming to dwell among you” — this is the Lord’s declaration. “Many nations will join themselves to the Lord on that day and become my people. I will dwell among you, and you will know that the Lord of Armies has sent me to you.“

‭‭Zechariah‬ ‭2‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Chapter two continues with a hopeful message from God to His people.  God is going to gather His people together into one city (Zion) and He is personally going to protect them.  These verses would have been mind blowing for them because He is doing something new!  He is going to live with them, not hidden inside the temple, but among them.  Then he drops a bomb: many other nations will join us and also become His people!

This would be shocking to the Israelites because they have spent thousands of years separating themselves from other nations.  This is a new concept, that God would draw in other peoples and live with them all!  To us, this is all we know…anyone can have personal relationship with God, and He lives with us!

Lord, help me not to get over this incredible reality.  Allow my mind to be captivated by You and the work that you are doing around me.  It can be so easy to slip into thinking about myself and how I wish things would turn out, but that is such a small minded way to approach this life. Help me love you more every moment because You have blessed me beyond measure!

Zechariah 1- Peace and Contentment

 ”“Proclaim further: This is what the Lord of Armies says: My cities will again overflow with prosperity; the Lord will once more comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.”“

‭‭Zechariah‬ ‭1‬:‭17‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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The prophet Zechariah is having multiple short visions and being compelled to share them with Gods people.  He tells them of Gods frustration that His people will not turn and how their choices directly correlate to the destruction they are experiencing.

But then God reminds them of His true hope and their destination: comfort and blessing!  God has not changed and does want us to experience blessing, but we can only do that while fully surrendered to Him!

Lord help me to stay soft to your leading, help me to follow you at every step.  Being near you brings great joy and contentment regardless of the circumstances I am in, so help me to draw near!

Haggai 2- Consider Carefully

 ”I struck you — all the work of your hands — with blight, mildew, and hail, but you didn’t turn to me — this is the Lord’s declaration. From this day on, think carefully; from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid; think carefully. Is there still seed left in the granary? The vine, the fig, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have not yet produced. But from this day on I will bless you.”“

‭‭Haggai‬ ‭2‬:‭17‬-‭19‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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This is a slow learning process for Gods people, first they were ignoring God, now they have decided to work on His temple.  But again, they have not thought through all the details…If you are building Gods holy temple, you should be holy while working on it… it’s clear that they were not thinking about these important details.

But God is gracious and gently reminds them of how things were in their past, and tells them they will be blessed going forward if they just consider this new information, and act on it….all the way to the point of telling then that His plan is to bless them going forward, because they finally learned.

Lord, help me to consider your ways in every thing I do, in every plan I develop, in every word that I speak, may they honor You!  Don’t let me do what I have always done, just because it is familiar or easy.  Direct my way and strengthen me to do with passion all that you call me to!

Haggai‬ ‭1‬- Blessing Withheld

 ”“You expected much, but then it amounted to little. When you brought the harvest to your house, I ruined it.

Why?” 

This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies. “Because my house still lies in ruins, while each of you is busy with his own house. So on your account, the skies have withheld the dew and the land its crops. I have summoned a drought on the fields and the hills, on the grain, new wine, fresh oil, and whatever the ground yields, on people and animals, and on all that your hands produce.”“

‭‭Haggai‬ ‭1‬:‭9‬-‭11‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Haggai has a fresh take on the problems of Gods people: they are focused on themselves and ignoring God.  This is interesting because previously they were sinful and rejecting God, but this accusation takes it a step further…pretending like He doesn’t exist or like He is unimportant will also mess up the relationship God wants with us!

In this case the punishment is not as severe, but he is not blessing them and even making things harder on them.  I know that I have felt like no matter how hard I tried, things just didn’t seem to work out well…I got by, but it was like I was barely scraping by. There was no rest and everything just seemed harder than it should have.  I wonder if that was the same problem they were facing? God was asking me to hold Him in high esteem and intentionally prioritize my relationship with Him…

Lord, I know Your blessing and have experienced Your delight!  Help me to hold my relationship with You as the most important thing; higher than my own feelings or desires.  At the same time Lord, I want to experience Your presence, more than just the blessings I get as a result of Your nearness.  Don’t let me confuse those…You are what I truly desire, help me know You more each day.

Zephaniah 3- Stark Contrast

 ”The righteous Lord is in her; he does no wrong. He applies his justice morning by morning; he does not fail at dawn, yet the one who does wrong knows no shame….

 For I will then restore pure speech to the peoples so that all of them may call on the name of the Lord and serve him with a single purpose.“

‭‭Zephaniah‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬, ‭9‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Israel is described here as doing wrong things, and feeling no shame about it.  They have decided that they know better than God, that their sin is actually not a big deal.  That idea is put into contrast with God being just, right and near…while never failing!

That is quite the stark contrast:

- saying that truth is a lie …compared to justice

- actively participating in sin …rather than doing righteousness 

- fleeing from God …as opposed to drawing near

- being characterized as a failure …vs never failing 

It really doesn’t get more opposite than that!  Which of course makes the next verse even more amazing: God says, even though you are the opposite of Me, I will restore you, and transform you to be like Me!

Wow, I don’t deserve that, in fact all the evidence points to the reality that I deserve eternal separation from God.  What a blessing that He allows us to be transformed, to put our trust in Him and gain the ability to obey.

Lord help me to live like this is true!  Help me to see my failures and lay them at Your feet.  I pray that your grace would give me confidence to bring it to you rather than try to hide it.  I ask that you would help me experience your presence, so that I am less tempted to chase after the brief and fleeting moments of pleasure found in sin.

Zephaniah 2- Devine Protection

 ”Seek the Lord, all you humble of the earth, who carry out what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be concealed on the day of the Lord’s anger.“

‭‭Zephaniah‬ ‭2‬:‭3‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Zephaniah continues to lay out for Gods people what will happen if they don’t repent, don’t turn from choosing their own way.  Destruction is headed their way and even all their neighbors will be destroyed.  Then in the middle of this rant of devastation Zephaniah gives the antidote in this verse: obey, seek humility and righteousness and then maybe the Lord will protect them…

This was a hopeful message to the people facing Gods wrath (well deserved wrath), but to be honest , it is weak in comparison to the hope that we have in Jesus.  They had to fully change their actions, they had to trust that God was going to give them an exception.  I know that I can try to be humble, try to do right things and work really hard to obey God, but when it is all on me, it doesn’t last very long…I eventually get tired of all that hard work and effort!

What Jesus’s has done for us is live the perfect life, for us.  He has acted in perfect humility and righteousness. He obeyed every command and was even driven by pure motivation every moment of His life.  He did it all because He knows that we cannot do those things.

Then He walked up to me and said, “I have a trade for you!  I will take your broken life, bumps, bruises, infection and devastation and all…and you can have my perfect life.  When God sees you, he will only see my record, everything perfect!  I will take your punishment, your deserved exile so that you never have to endure that suffering…”

That is WAY BETTER than, “if you do it all right, maybe I won’t destroy you”…We are so blessed!  

God help me to live my life in light of this unimaginably truth.  I pray that the joy of knowing what you have done for me would penetrate my heart and purify my motives so that I can worship you with every thought and action!

Zephaniah 1- False Hope

 ”And at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who settle down comfortably, who say to themselves: The Lord will do nothing — good or bad. Their wealth will become plunder and their houses a ruin. They will build houses but never live in them, plant vineyards but never drink their wine. Their silver and their gold will be unable to rescue them on the day of the Lord’s wrath. The whole earth will be consumed by the fire of his jealousy, for he will make a complete, yes, a horrifying end of all the inhabitants of the earth.“

‭‭Zephaniah‬ ‭1‬:‭12‬-‭13‬, ‭18‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Zephaniah was a prophet in the time of King Josiah who became king as a boy.  The priests found the scriptures while cleaning out the Temple and Josiah turned the whole country back to following God.  This must have been written prior to them returning to God because Zephaniah is going on and on about how God will punish them for rejecting Gods path.

Gods people have slowly turned away from following Him, to the point they don’t think that He will ever do anything, good or bad.  They are acting like He doesn’t exist.  They feel safe because they have a home and food and even some good times.  But God is not stopped by these things, in fact it just makes their destruction more devastating.

Lord, help me not trust in my paycheck, or good health.  Let me not find comfort in my possessions or even my service to you.  Help me to rest only in you, in who you are and how you have transformed me.  All of those physical things are fleeting…but my identity in you is forever.  You are amazing to love me, help me to love you and serve you with every thought, action and conversation!

Habakkuk 3- Eternal Confidence

 ”Though the fig tree does not bud and there is no fruit on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the flocks disappear from the pen and there are no herds in the stalls, yet I will celebrate in the Lord; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation! The Lord my Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like those of a deer and enables me to walk on mountain heights!“

‭‭Habakkuk‬ ‭3‬:‭17‬-‭19‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Habakkuk finishes his book in a surprising place, confident in the Lord in the midst of trial. He spent 3 chapters warning Gods people that punishment was coming but ends on this note of dependence.  Even if there is no comfort of food or even prospect of sustenance, he will rejoice in God.  He knows that God has the ability to care for him even in the worst circumstances.

I love this idea, because it is so easy for me to find confidence in the things around me.  Or gain strength knowing that I have a good job, or some money in the bank or an amazing wife or…whatever things bring comfort.  All of these however are NOTHING in comparison to having Jesus as Savior!  In fact, without Jesus all of these things can be ripped from me in a flash and I would be left in despair.

Thank you Lord for saving me!  Thank you God for sending Jesus to pay the debt I could never even begin to pay.  Thank you Father God for sending the Holy Spirit to literally live inside me.  None of these things can change regardless of my circumstances.  You are always there, even if I loose everything…let me rest in that confidence!

Habakkuk 2- Motives Matter

 ”Is it not from the Lord of Armies that the peoples labor only to fuel the fire and countries exhaust themselves for nothing? For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord’s glory, as the water covers the sea.“

‭‭Habakkuk‬ ‭2‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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This prophecy is reminding people that no matter what we are doing if we have the wrong motives, it will lead to nothing.  All of our time and energy will be wasted and the work we were intending to be good actually caused harm.

In the New Testament God tells us that His Word is able to discern the thoughts and intentions of our hearts, and I believe this is the same message: our motives matter!

God purify my motives, help me to lay down before you all of my thinking and motivations!  May I stand before You in integrity and honesty as I make decisions and live my life for You!  When I don’t see my underlying motives, remove my blinders so that I can see clearly to honor You! 

Habakkuk 1- Fingerprints in the Silence

 ”How long, Lord, must I call for help and you do not listen or cry out to you about violence and you do not save? Why do you force me to look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Oppression and violence are right in front of me. Strife is ongoing, and conflict escalates. This is why the law is ineffective and justice never emerges. For the wicked restrict the righteous; therefore, justice comes out perverted.“

‭‭Habakkuk‬ ‭1‬:‭2‬-‭4‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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This book opens with the prophet in desperation…he is crying out to God frustrated that He has not already acted.  He feels like God is ignoring his prayers.  Honestly, the scene he is describing is accurate to describe the world we live in today!  And frankly, sometimes God does feel far away and like He will never fix the problems we are facing…

The chapter goes on to tell us that God is already at work to resolve the problem, but He is working behind the scenes.  God cares for His people deeply but also knows the perfect timing to heal and restore.  If He acts too early they will not learn the lesson… If He waits too long, His people will be destroyed.  But He never does either of the extremes, He always intervenes at just the right time!

His work behind the scenes is even more spectacular than we can imagine…weaving all the right people and circumstances together to heal and restore.  That is the part that blows me away!  The intricacies of how God works out His plan to perfectly accomplish His rescue of each of us is nothing short of miraculous.

God, next time I feel as if you are far away, help remind me of all the times you felt distant, but you were at work meticulously orchestrating my rescue.  Lord, help me to trust that you are doing that in the lives of those around me as well.  Don’t allow me to despair, but help me to see your fingerprints in all that you are doing!

Nahum 3- Redeeming Love

 ”Then all who see you will recoil from you, saying, “Nineveh is devastated; who will show sympathy to her?” Where can I find anyone to comfort you? There is no remedy for your injury; your wound is severe. All who hear the news about you will clap their hands because of you, for who has not experienced your constant cruelty?“

‭‭Nahum‬ ‭3‬:‭7‬, ‭19‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Gods punishment of the enemy of Israel is complete and total…yet even in the midst of God delivering this punishment, He is thinking about restoration.  He is looking for someone who can comfort them.

God is the same today, even when we find ourselves in devastating circumstances, God always has a path to restoration…the only time that is gone is because of death.  His intention behind every punishment is to help us see our own sin clearly and our need of Him to help us!

That is the gospel after all: we try real hard to do what is right, and fail…yet He is there to remove the failure and energize us to follow Him.  It just takes real surrender…which is super hard by the way!

God, help me to remain humble and see my sin clearly.  Help me to wake up each day remembering how much I need you to strengthen me.  Help me to draw near to you every morning, every day and every night…without You I will end up needing to be devastated like you did to Nineveh.

Nahum 2- Gods Protection

 ”For the Lord will restore the majesty of Jacob, yes, the majesty of Israel, though ravagers have ravaged them and ruined their vine branches.“

‭‭Nahum‬ ‭2‬:‭2‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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After reading this chapter, you definitely don’t want to be on the wrong side of God!  He is defending His people from their enemies and is going for their jugular…no mercy, they will be destroyed.

The devastation however is Gods response to this evil nation abusing and damaging His chosen people.  Gods protection of and care for those He has selected is amazing!  He loves them and promises to lift them back up to their rightful place.  (Reminder: they were overtaken by their enemy because they had rejected God, now He is coming to their rescue before they are completely destroyed.)

How gracious is God who gives us another chance, over and over again!  I don’t deserve another chance because I definitely screwed up the last 100 chances I’ve been given!  Yet God loves me because of who He is, not because of my “amazing” performance…actually He loves me in spite of my performance…what an incredible God we serve!!!

Lord, when I am faced with a decision to choose to please myself or please You, help me to remember all that You have done for me! Drill it into my head so that I cannot forget…I want to honor you with every little decision, from the time I give to you in prayer and reading, to how I respond when things don’t go my way, or when I don’t feel like going to church or want to sleep a bit more. Help me to choose You, because You deserve better than I can give!

Nahum 1- God Fights for Us

 ”The Lord is good, a stronghold in a day of distress; he cares for those who take refuge in him. But he will completely destroy your enemy with an overwhelming flood, and he will chase his enemies into darkness. 

Look to the mountains — the feet of the herald, who proclaims peace. Celebrate your festivals, Judah; fulfill your vows. For the wicked one will never again march through you; he will be entirely wiped out.“

‭‭Nahum‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬-‭8‬, ‭15‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Nahum has a slightly easier message to Gods people:  God will destroy your enemy and you will never have to worry about them again.  Turn to God when things are tough and He will permanently crush our enemy!

Thankfully, we don’t have physical enemies anymore, our neighbors are pretty safe.  Ephesians reminds us that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces and even our own sinful desires.  Thankfully God is the same God who promised to completely destroy our enemy…that is what I long for!  Complete destruction of the temptation I face!

Not every temptation or battle has been eliminated, but many have!  It is so much easier to walk with Jesus today than it was even a year ago.  He is faithful to remove my sin, and help me hate the things that used to be such a draw.  He is a faithful God, worthy of my praise and worship!

Lord, help me to cast my weakness in front of You so that you can fight for me.  Remind me of Your ability to completely heal my desires and destroy my sin.  Let me trust in Your ability, not my own!

Micah 7- None Like Him

 ”Who is a God like you, forgiving iniquity and passing over rebellion for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not hold on to his anger forever because he delights in faithful love. He will again have compassion on us; he will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.“

‭‭Micah‬ ‭7‬:‭18‬-‭19‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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There are many things that we make into idols, things we want more than God.  Things that we are willing to do that go against what we know is right…Micah is saying that the One true God, the only One we should worship is different from all those other things we sacrifice to.  He is exactly the opposite!

He completely removes our sin, He delights in our healing, and gets pleasure from being faithful to us, the continually UNfaithful ones.  He is compassionate and desires what is best for us…none of my idols behave this way.  Success and accomplishment (my past idols) always demanded more from me, and never once held up their end of the bargain.  For others, drugs and alcohol briefly help them feel better, but are constantly calling out to take more…more money, more time, stronger highs…

All idols are the same, they demand more of us than we want to give and constantly fail us.  Leave us wanting, leave us depressed, leave us unfulfilled and worse off.

God is not like that, He demands nothing.  He allows us to choose, strengthens us to have peace and loves us unconditionally.  He changes our desires and gives us the ability to follow Him.

God, I don’t deserve to be loved by you…yet you love me.  I don’t deserve to have my sin removed yet you have destroyed it.  What other God/idol is like you?!? None, you are in a category all alone…and you love me!  Help me to be eternally thankful!!!

Micah 6- Love Faithfulness

 ”My people, what have I done to you, or how have I wearied you? Testify against me! Indeed, I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from that place of slavery. I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam ahead of you. 

Mankind, he has told each of you what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.“

‭‭Micah‬ ‭6‬:‭3‬-‭4‬, ‭8‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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This chapter opens with God making His case, trying to understand why His people are ignoring Him.  He asked them if there is something He has done to offend them?  What is He missing?  Then He starts listing out the evidence of His love for them…You were slaves and He miraculously saved them in a dozen impossible ways.  He goes on and on and finally tells them, I have given you one guideline…but apparently all this has actually driven you away…

His argument is sound, in fact impossible to argue against!  And His argument today, spoken to me is probably even more potent: 

- I reached into the darkness of sin and pulled you out and set you free.

- I gave you a spiritual family, even more caring than blood relatives.

- I patiently walk with you as you are transformed so slowly it seems like there is no change.

- I have paid all of your incomprehensible debts…and ask for no repayment.

- I  have placed my Spirit inside of you, so you are never alone.

- All I ask in return is for you to love me with all of your self.

What an argument!  And yet, I still find it hard to Love Him.  I still have to fight to say “no” to my own desires so that I can say “yes” to His way.  My selfishness is strong and so many times, what He asks doesn’t make sense to me…

Lord help me to love you with my whole life.  Help me to have faith to see Your perspective when it doesn’t make sense…and give me the strength to choose your way even when I don’t understand.  Remind me of all of the previous times following Your plan (even when it didn’t make sense) turned out more perfectly than I could have imagined.  Give me faith to trust You, because Faithful is who you are!

Micah 5- Future Known

 ”Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are small among the clans of Judah; one will come from you to be ruler over Israel for me. His origin is from antiquity, from ancient times. He will stand and shepherd them in the strength of the Lord, in the majestic name of the Lord his God. They will live securely, for then his greatness will extend to the ends of the earth.“

‭‭Micah‬ ‭5‬:‭2‬, ‭4‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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This is the famous passage that the wise men of Jesus birth were talking about when looking for a coming King.  700+ years before Jesus was born, Micah told the Israelites where He would come into the world!

I Love that God speaks to His people, tells us the future and what He wants us to do.  I love clear instructions and simple guidance.  It really is what I need if there is any hope of getting anything right.  Thankfully, I have the Holy Spirit who strengthens me and gives me the ability to choose right, because knowing the right thing to do and doing the right thing are two different things!

Lord, help me to remember that you know the future and you have what is best for me in mind.  Help me to remember that following You leads me to the best things today, it is not sacrificing fun for something good… someday.

Micah 4- Peace, Joy and Delight

 ”and many nations will come and say, “Come, let’s go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us about his ways so we may walk in his paths.” For instruction will go out of Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will settle disputes among many peoples and provide arbitration for strong nations that are far away. They will beat their swords into plows and their spears into pruning knives. Nation will not take up the sword against nation, and they will never again train for war. But each person will sit under his grapevine and under his fig tree with no one to frighten him. For the mouth of the Lord of Armies has spoken.“

‭‭Micah‬ ‭4‬:‭2‬-‭4‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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What a beautiful picture Micah is painting: a world of peace, comfort and beauty.  Everyone is looking to Jesus for instruction and following His ways.  God is peacefully helping each person to settle any disputes and through His leadership all fighting stops!

I long for this to be true and thankfully get to have glimpses of how this plays out even today.  It is far from perfect, but there are moments when I am truly surrendered and I am interacting with others who are also surrendered to Jesus…and this is exactly what life feels like.  Peace, comfort, satisfaction and joyous delight!

Lord, thank you for giving us a vision of what life will be like when everyone follows you.  Thank you for allowing me to experience your peace, contentedness and joy even for moments as an appetizer of things to come!  Help me to remember your goodness especially when my own flesh is pulling me toward sin, so that I will choose You and happily lay down my wants.

Micah 3- Listen Carefully

 ”Therefore, it will be night for you — without visions; it will grow dark for you — without divination. The sun will set on these prophets, and the daylight will turn black over them. Then the seers will be ashamed and the diviners disappointed. They will all cover their mouths because there will be no answer from God. 

As for me, however, I am filled with power by the Spirit of the Lord, with justice and courage, to proclaim to Jacob his rebellion and to Israel his sin.“

‭‭Micah‬ ‭3‬:‭6‬-‭8‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Gods people are accustomed to hearing from Him, it helps them remember truth, stay headed in the right direction and just know that He is there to protect them.  But they have ignored Him so long that He is telling them that they will stop hearing from Him…that is from everyone other than Micah the prophet.  He is the one speaking and has the terrible message…

God wants His people to have relationship with Him.  A relationship similar in many ways to all our other relationships.  One where I talk to him, ask His advise, seek to learn about Him, and even do what He wants me to do…after all He knows the perfect thing to do in every situation!  I would be a fool to ignore His guidance!!!

But, Lord, that is the very thing I do so often.  I think that I have a great idea, or just forget to ask.  I run ahead with what makes sense to me…but I miss out on hearing Your voice, knowing You more.  

Lord, help me to listen carefully when I pray.  Help me to focus on Your voice rather than the millions of others around me. Allow me to recognize when I forget to seek your will and stop immediately to pray and read scripture.  Your presence is the greatest blessing I can have, so help me to value it as if it were precious!

Micah 2- Spiritual Procrastination

 ”House of Jacob, should it be asked, “Is the Spirit of the Lord impatient? Are these the things he does?” Don’t my words bring good to the one who walks uprightly? 

Get up and leave, for this is not your place of rest because defilement brings destruction — a grievous destruction!“

‭‭Micah‬ ‭2‬:‭7‬, ‭10‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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In this chapter Micah is pouring judgment onto people who oppress His people.  As they are hearing of the punishment God brings, they are accusing God of not giving them enough time to change.  It’s like they say, “I was going to do that tomorrow, just chill”…but Gods response is “my judgments are to bring blessing on the good…but that is not who you are…you are just doing whatever you want and you bring destruction on yourself”.

God help me to see when I am blind to my own actions.  Give me wisdom to understand when I am rejecting you.  Allow me to recognize when I pursue my own desires and pretend that “I will change that tomorrow”.

Help me to be changed by Your Spirit, because I can’t do it on my own!

Micah 1- Known Yet Loved

 ”Listen, all you peoples; pay attention, earth and everyone in it! The Lord God will be a witness against you, the Lord, from his holy temple. Look, the Lord is leaving his place and coming down to trample the heights of the earth.“

‭‭Micah‬ ‭1‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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God sees us, understands our thoughts and motives, hears everything we say…He is the only one who is able to perfectly know us.  And here, Micah gets a message from God telling His people that He Himself will be the witness against us.  We can sometimes hide things from those around us, so it may not be too intimidating for our friend to be on the witness stand.  But God knows and comprehends everything, nothing is hidden from Him!

What I can’t help but find reassuring about this passage is that God doesn’t judge us from far away in heaven…but rather, because He knows us perfectly and that we have no hope of being innocent, He comes down to live with us.  First He sent Jesus to die in our place for all of those things He knows about us, physically experiencing all that we have to endure.  Then, when we trust Jesus He sends the Spirit to live inside us!  What kind of a God knows all of our worst, yet stills says, “can I move in with you?”

God, help me to live trusting You!  All of this is true, so remind me every day of Your love for me.  Keep these truths in the front of my eyes so that I don’t forget…the love you give is incomprehensible !!!