Monday... So let's keep at it.

Zechariah 6:15b (NIV), "This will happen if you diligently obey the Lord your God."

Monday... So let's keep at it.

We have been following all that has happened in the past few weeks in Los Angeles and the fires that have destroyed whole towns. It has been such a difficult thing to watch. I have lived close to where the fires have destroyed whole towns, Now it is getting close to being taken care of us. But it has been a major diligent effort by firefighters. It has taken real diligence. And it is going to take diligence in building back these cities, these homes, these businesses. It isn't going to just happen.

Now over in the book of Zechariah in the OT of the Bible Zechariah sees a task that needs to be done. Zechariah 6:15b (NIV) says, "This will happen if you diligently obey the Lord your God." The task was the building of the Temple of God. It had been destroyed and the people had agonized over this and they had fasted at certain times of the year. Yes prayer is so important and there has been and will be much prayer over the rebuilding of LA.

Now Zechariah has a message here in his book and he urges people to practice justice and the true form of fasting and to focus on rebuilding. Yes, prayer is so important but as Zechariah says in 6:15, "Those who are far away will come and help to build the temple of the Lord, and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. This will happen if you diligently obey the Lord your God."

So, what does it mean to be diligent? Well, the word diligent comes from the Latin diligere, which means "to value highly, take delight in" but in English it has always meant "careful and hard-working". If you're a diligent worker, you don't just bang away at your job; you earnestly try to do everything right.

The Amplified Bible says, "And those who are far away will come and [help] build the temple of the Lord. Then you shall know [without any doubt] that the Lord of hosts sent me (Zechariah) to you. And it will come about if you will obey the [voice of the ] Lord your God."

Yes, we must pray but yes, we must diligently do and obey what God will tell us to do. The Message paraphrase says verse 15 this way, "People will come from faraway places to pitch in and rebuild the Temple of God. This will confirm that God-of-the-Angel-Armies did, in fact, send me to you. All this follows as you put your minds to a life of responsive obedience to the voice of your God."

Psalm 80:19 (NLT) says, "Turn us again to yourself, O Lord God of Heaven's Armies. Make your face shine down upon us. Only them will we be saved." There is a diligent part for us to do but there is a definite part that he only he can do but we must turn to him. That is where we start.

Now in verse 12 of Zechariah 6 (AMP) it says, "Thus says the Lord of hosts, 'Behold (look, keep in sight, watch), a Man (Messiah) whose name is Branch, for He shall branch out from His place (Israel, the Davidic line); and He shall build the [ultimate] temple of the Lord." Yes, Zechariah is prophesying Jesus is coming and that we will be the ultimate Temple with Him living in us.

But in the task at hand God will answer their prayers by sending people to help in building but there is also something that they must do.

Yes, "This will happen if you diligently obey the Lord your God." "And it will come about if you will obey the [voice of the] Lord your God." So let's diligently do our part by obeying the voice of the Lord. Let's keep at it, and do our part and diligently do what he says. Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning

Tuesday... It is so worth it. It really is!

Tuesday... It is so worth it. It really is! Look at this, Proverbs 5:21-23 (CEV) says, "The Lord sees everything, and he watches us closely. Sinners are trapped and caught by their own evil deeds. They get lost and die because of their foolishness and lack of self-control." That is true of so many. Now look at this, Luke 15:1-7 says, "Tax collectors and sinners were all crowding around to listen to Jesus. So the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law of Moses started grumbling, 'This man is friendly with sinners. He even eats with them.' Then Jesus told them this story: If any of you has 100 sheep, and one of them gets lost, what will you do? Won't you leave the 99 in the field and go look for the lost sheep until you find it? And when you find it, you will put it on your shoulder and carry it home. Then you will call in your friends and neighbors and say, 'Let's celebrate! I've found my lost sheep.' Jesus said, 'In the same way there is mo...

Friday... Yes, we need them. We really do

Psalm 8:3-4 (NLT), "When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers - the moon and the stars you set in place - what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?" Friday... Yes, we need them. We really do. No, not the fact that I can go out my front door and look out at night at the marvels of the sky. I can do that and it is amazing and it takes my breath away each time I see it. Yes, that is a fact but the reality of who did that and the wisdom and the faith that I have to believe that and to marvel that the one who did that cares about me makes such a difference in how I live my life. Yes, God really does. That is so wonderful for us to believe. And that is why faith and wisdom are so important. Now whatever belief you have at how that marvel happened must also be believed through faith. And the sad thing to me is that more and more people have been taught that there is no God and therefore he did not have a h...

Monday... Three ifs and two thens. They go together!

Monday... Three ifs and two thens. They go together! They really do. And this is what caught my attention this morning as I was reading Proverbs 2. Verse 1 (NRSVUE) says, "My child, if you accept my words and treasure my commands within you." Verse 3 (NIV), "Indeed i f you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, Verse 4, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, Verse 5, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God." And verses 9-11, " Then you will understand what is right and just and fair - every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you." There will always be some effort we must do, some ifs for the thens to be realized in our lives. So many of us want to understand without the ifs. But the thens are so worth, so very worth the effort. Verses 5-6 in the Ampli...

Todays Beginning

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