We praise God because He is the Kingly Creator. We bless God because He blesses us. We praise God because He has empowered us to live an abundant life in His Presence. In Job 40:10 we read, “Adorn Yourself with glory and splendor, and clothe Yourself in honor and majesty.” God’s power and sovereignty is incomprehensible to the feeble human brain…but the one thing we can do correctly is praise Him for Who He is and what He’s done in our life.
The passage in Zechariah 8:1-23 is called the Coming Peace and Prosperity of Zion, with the ultimate state of the Kingdom of God and His conventual blessings resting on Jerusalem. It conveys God’s passionate and unwavering love for Zion, promising restoration, peace, prosperity, and the inclusion of all nations. At this time Judah will be exalted among the nations and made holy. (Isaiah 2:2-3) God then reveals that He will be regathering His people world-wide and reidentifying with them. In turn, His people are be become obedient and deal honestly with one another. And at the end of this passage, all nations will take notice and be drawn to seek the Lord in Jerusalem…and therefore, being a Jew at that time will bring honor and not reproach.
Israel is waiting for the God of salvation. The word darkness here is likened to sitting in a dungeon without any light, and is filled with misery, and suffering. But the one thing the prophet Micah had was hope. He wasn’t looking at the present dire circumstances around him but rather focusing on God’s blessings…as seen in II Samuel 22:29, “You are my lamp, O Lord; the Lord turns my darkness into light.” So today, if you’re waiting in the darkness…know that there is hope in the future, and the light of the Lord will bring clarity, order, and understanding.
Our assurance of the future can be assessed in the light of the present…thus, we can have confidence that God benevolently orchestrates all events in our life. Consequently, our faith can move forward even when there’s so many unanswered questions. It also means trusting God when everything is uncertain, and believing that what we can’t yet see is still being worked out by God for our benefit. Therefore, we can cling to that assurance that because of God’s great love for us, “all things will work out for our good.”
Paul and Barnabas had traveled to Antioch, and on the Sabbath the synagogue leaders had invited Paul to speak a word of encouragement. “We tell you the Good News.” He proclaims to them. (Acts 13:32) And then goes on to declare the Gospel Message to the people…that salvation and justification come by faith in Jesus Christ and not through the Mosaic Law. And that they can be forgiven if they will but turn from their sin and trust in the life, death, and resurrection of God’s only Son, Jesus Christ.
All other great religious leaders across the ages cannot boast of this.. or as Luke pointed out in Acts 2:29, “the patriarch King David died and was buried, and his tomb is still with us today.” In other words, the bodies of all great religious leaders such as Confucius, Buddha, Muhammad, and the Dali Lama are exactly where they were laid to rest. And to quell any conspiracy theories that the disciples made the story up…Paul tells us in I Corinthians 15:3-8 that over 500 people witnessed the risen Lord during the 40 days before His ascension to the right hand of the Father. So today on Resurrection Sunday, I praise God for His perfect plan of redemption…for He is risen, He is risen indeed!
The world is still…holding its collective breath. Heaven seems silent…where is God they ask. Will things happen as Old Testament prophecy has foretold…or have we been duped into thinking that Jesus was the Messiah? The disciples are in hiding, afraid with every sound that the Roman guards will be at the door ready to drag them away. Even though Jesus had told them repeatedly that He had to die…they didn’t understand or didn’t want to believe it. In their minds, the Messiah would come as a mighty warrior/political leader that would crush the Roman Empire…but instead, they saw the man they had followed for the last three years crucified like a common criminal. And so they waited…wanting to believe in a miracle, but fear and doubt snuffing out all their hope. Today may be a Silent Saturday in your life as you face unsurmountable battles filled with fear and grief. So even though there’s uncertainty and unanswered questions, know that God is still there and miracles still happen everyday.
Have you ever wondered why we call it “Good” Friday? It’s not because of the events that transpired, but because of the hope and salvation that we as Christians believe resulted from those horrific events…promises of forgiveness, redemption, and eternal life. The word “good” in this context is believed to have derived from an older meaning of “Great & Holy”…a day set apart for religious observance and reflection. Thus, Good Friday signifies the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which may seem paradoxical to call the day “good” when we are commemorating Jesus’ suffering and Crucifixion. But without Good Friday, the Lamb of God would not have completely fulfilled in obedience and submission all prophecy concerning the Messiah.
The Book of Lamentations starts with the prophet Jeremiah walking the streets of his beloved Jerusalem. And the farther he walks, the more he pours out to God his passionate and overwhelming grief of what he sees. He cannot start to wrap his head around the destruction, confusion, and the utter hopelessness of God’s people…(even though Jeremiah readily acknowledges that it’s because of their sin that it’s happening.) For Jeremiah, his words start with a downcast soul…but he doesn’t stay there. For in the midst of all the chaos, he reminds the people, and himself, that God is still sovereign, full of mercy and love, and will ultimately bless His people. Likewise, God wants us to bring Him our grief and suffering…but He doesn’t want us to stay there. Instead, we must shift our focus from a perceived rejection of God, to confidence in His goodness and providence.
For Judas, it was greed, treachery, and disillusionment that drove him to betray Jesus. In Luke 22:3-6 it tells us that Satan took control of Judas, (John 13:2) and it was he that sought out the religious leaders not the other way around. And when Judas had offered his services, it says they were glad and promised to give him money.(Mark 14:11) For the religious leaders this was a perfect plan…they had covert access to Jesus by way of an “insider” that would enable them to take Jesus into custody without provoking the crowds that gathered around Him daily. But as we know, the betrayal of Judas cost him everything…showing us that there are always moral consequences when we trade our beliefs for material gain, and evil over loyalty.
Safetypinlove 