Marching Forth!

During the reign of King Darius in Persia, God-fearing people who resettled in Bethel sent word to the prophet Zechariah with a question:  should they continue to fast on the 5th month as they had while in captivity in Babylon?  We are not told precisely what their motive was that prompted this question.  Perhaps fasting seemed unnecessary since they were back in the land of their inheritance.  Would God be displeased if they left off this tradition they had kept dutifully for decades?  Was there any benefit of fasting any longer? Zechariah 7:4-7 states, " Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying,  5 "Say to all the people of the land, and to the priests: 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months during those seventy years, did you really fast for Me--for Me?  6 When you eat and when you drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves?  7 Should you not have obeyed the words which the LORD proclaimed through...

Humility and meekness are characteristics of God's people who are led by the Holy Spirit in wisdom.  Jesus humbled Himself by coming to earth in the likeness of mankind, made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Himself the form of a servant.  Serving was a way God demonstrated His active love that gives with the good of others in mind.  On the night Jesus was betrayed, He girded Himself with a towel and washed the disciples' feet and provided an example we all should follow.  Then Jesus gave His own blood on Calvary's cross and demonstrated His love for sinners--for you and me--by dying to provide atonement.  God is exalted and glorious above all, and all authority and power is His, yet He always remains humble and meek at the same time.   James 3:13 says, " Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom ."  In Jesus we observe One who has all wisdom and understanding,...

Our God shall supply all our need according to His riches in glory, for He is faithful ( Phil. 4:19 ).  Sometimes we need conviction, rebuke, encouragement and help, and God is able to provide wisdom and strength for the day.  I must have needed encouragement from the LORD while reading His word today, and that is what I received from Him today in abundance. I was reading Zechariah 4 and the passage where God said it was not by might, nor by power, but by His Spirit a mountain would become a plain.  The task of rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem--which might have seemed as impossible as shifting Mount Everest a mile to the east--would be accomplished by God's grace through Zerubbabel.   Zechariah 4:8-9 says, " Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying:  9 "The hands of Zerubbabel h ave laid the foundation of this temple;  h is hands shall also finish it. Then you will know  t hat the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you ."  The found...

Our Bible study last night ended with an exhortation in  Psalm 98:5-9 :  " Sing to the LORD with the harp, w ith the harp and the sound of a Psalm,  6 with trumpets and the sound of a horn; s hout joyfully before the LORD , the King.  7 Let the sea roar, and all its fullness, t he world and those who dwell in it;  8 let the rivers clap their hands; l et the hills be joyful together before the LORD ,  9 for He is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness He shall judge the world,  a nd the peoples with equity ."  God's redeemed people and the earth are to praise God with great joy, for God is coming to judge the earth with righteousness and the people with equity.  The songs of praise flowing from God's people will rise to heaven accompanied with the roaring seas and rushing rivers. Why is there such praise and gladness?  Because the LORD is coming to judge the earth in righteousness and the people with equity.  Without ...

Paul wrote in  2 Corinthians 1:3-5 , " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,  4  who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ ."  Paul was no stranger to suffering for Christ's sake, and his experiences joyfully endured demonstrated the comfort He received by faith in Jesus in the most trying times.  What Paul dubbed "light affliction" people who have suffered less would have called soul crushing without Christ who gave him strength.  Our God is the God of all comfort who comforts us in all our tribulation so we might also comfort others.  Compared to a meal set before us, the consolation of our Saviour is the main course while troubles that confront us are a light du...

On the topic of eating meat in markets, Paul said Christians could eat anything with assurance there is nothing unclean in itself--even if the meat was offered to idols.  Yet at the same time, Christians were called to walk in love and be sensitive to what stumbled or offended others.  He concluded believers were blessed not to condemn themselves when their conscience was clear, and those who doubted it was upright to eat meat offered to idols sinned when they ate it:  "... for whatever is not from faith is sin ." ( Romans 14:23 ) The point Paul mades is excellent and relevant for Christians today, for there can be many things we do (or choose not to do!) for reasons other than faith in God.  We can be influenced by who is watching us or who is around us, by our desire to control the image we want to present to others, peer pressure, fear of offending people, wanting to avoid looking foolish, to keep from losing face or to seek to earn favour.  We might be motiv...