Monthly Archives: June 2023

Abiding, Appearance, Bible, End Times, Following, God's Will, Messages, Scripture

SENT BY THE LORD

ZECHARIAH 6:5

“The angel replied to me, “These are the four spirits of heaven, going out after taking their stand before the Lord of all the earth,”

Years ago, I used to go to Washington, D.C. to lobby for issues that involved children. I was sent by the agency I worked with or another childcare agency. My role was to represent the group that sent me. I was to argue for their needs, not my own.

These four spirits (which we saw in the horses and chariots) had been “taking a stand before the Lord.” So, we must believe that they were receiving their orders. Why was this important? Because the people needed to know that God was aware of what had been happening and what would happen. These four spirits could only do what He allowed.

APPLICATION

Just like those four spirits, we may be sent by the Lord to accomplish His mission. Now, we don’t physically stand before the Lord in heaven, but we do stand before Him, don’t we?  Ephesian 6:14 says, “Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS,” Who do you think is dressing you for battle?

We come to the Lord and stand before His holy throne every day as we pray and study His Word. You may be seated at your table or physically laying prostrate on the floor, but you are spiritually standing before His throne. Listen closely. You don’t want to miss His order. He wants to send you out.

I have received lots of orders in my lifetime from various bosses or supervisors. Some I did not like. Others I was okay with. But what I thought really didn’t matter. When I stand before my Lord, I will receive whatever He gives me. I will do my best to follow His command. I don’t always do it well, but I am trying. What is the order you have from the Lord? Can you hear Him?

I will serve only You, O Lord. It is You I want to follow.

Standard
Answers, Asking, Bible, Faithfulness, Questions, Scripture

SAME QUESTION, DIFFERENT ANSWER

ZECHARIAH 6:4

 “So I responded and said to the angel who was speaking with me, ‘What are these, my lord?’”

Asking the same question over and over again may seem ridiculous. After all, if you have asked the question once, why should you keep asking it? If you have asked someone something and received an answer, is there a need to ask it again? But as the saying goes, inquisitive minds want to know.

Zechariah asks the same question to the angel. Of course, there is a different vision this time, so Zechariah has more questions. Why would he ask again? Because the angel has proven trustworthy to answer him. Zechariah knew the only reason he was seeing these visions was to tell the nation of Israel. They weren’t his secrets to keep. Just the opposite, he was to warn the people. How could he warn them properly if he didn’t understand what he was seeing?

APPLICATION

I cry out to God, just about every day, a couple of requests. I have been asking these requests over and over and over. So far, God has not answered those questions. At least, He has not answered them for me to understand them. So, I keep asking. I am like that man who stood at the door and knocked. Luke 11:5-8 says, “5 Then Jesus said to them, ‘Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, “Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.” 7 And suppose the one inside answers, “Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.” 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.’”

The word for “shameless audacity” is also translated as persistence. It is only used right here in the whole New Testament. This parable is told by Jesus right before He gives us that famous statement of seeking and finding. Persistence is the key. Zechariah was persistent in asking the same question each time he was shown a vision. We should be persistent in our questions to God.

I know the Lord hears my prayers. I don’t doubt that. I know His timing is always perfect. I don’t offend God by asking questions, even the same question over and over. The Psalmist says God remembers how we are formed. He knows that we are but dust (Psalm 103). God wants to educate us. We just have to wait on Him. Keep asking!

Lord, I cry out to You daily. I know You are listening. Hear my cry, O Lord.

Standard
Affection, Bible, Crying, Joy, Scripture, Sorrow, Tears

THE REST OF THESE HORSES

ZECHARIAH 6:3

“with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot strong spotted horses.”

Emotions – they get the best of us, don’t they? I’m a crier. I’ve shared that before. I can cry at the slightest thing. Hallmark commercials make me cry. That old Maxwell House coffee commercial with the young man coming home at Christmas and slipping through the kitchen door, surprising everyone – oh man – waterworks for me, lol.

Why am I talking about crying? Because these last two horses – white and spotted – could cause tears to fall. The white horse can represent joy and victory, two things that bring about tears. It also represented the empire of Alexander the Great, who for the most part was gentle to the Jews. The spotted horse means a mixture of emotions, both good and bad. It also stood for Rome, who in itself was a mixture of all the nations it had conquered.

APPLICATION

What drives your emotions, your tears? When was the last time you cried over a lost soul? The western society manhood card says men cannot cry. Excuse me, but that is just plain baloney. Real men are not afraid to cry. They aren’t afraid to get vulnerable. But we can also cry for those joyous moments. We don’t have it recorded in Scripture, but can’t you just imagine those disciples around the campfire with Jesus after His resurrection? There had to be some tears of joy going on.

Our emotions range from sadness to joy, and both can be expressed through tears. Jesus wept in sorrow over Jerusalem. We know He wept at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:35). Do you want to be like Jesus? Then be willing to show your emotions. Cry a little. Laugh a lot. (I just believe Jesus had a great sense of humor.)

Joy and mixed emotions were portrayed by those two horses. That must be important for us. Will you join me in crying tears of joy in knowing all that Christ has done for us? Will you join me in crying tears of sorrow at the estate of our world right now? But let’s not just cry. When we are done and have wiped our eyes and nose, let’s put those tears into action. Let’s tell the greatest story every told to everyone. Let’s get a response out of them. Hopefully, that will bring even more tears of joy!

Tears of joy flow down my cheeks as I think of all You have done for me, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Standard
Battles, Bible, Defeat, Famine, God's Will, Judgment, Persecution, Prophesy, Scripture

JUST WHAT DO THESE COLORS MEAN?

ZECHARIAH 6:2

“With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses,”

If you know anything about me, you know that these two colors, red and black, mean one thing to me. Go DAWGS! The University of Georgia’s colors are red and black. I went to school there and have cheered for our teams ever since. In my office and in my wardrobe, there are a lot of red and black things. Some people say I bleed red and black. I am sure that’s quite true, lol.

We’ll look at the colors of the horses today and tomorrow and see what they represented in the vision of Zechariah. The first one is the red horse. Scholars pretty much agree that this represents the bloody empire of Babylon. They were known for their ferociousness in battle. And the black horse symbolized the Persian (Medes and Persians) empire which also brought in famine and death. We’ll see the other two horses tomorrow.

APPLICATION

Okay Carl, what can you get out of this verse to apply to our lives? Well, let’s see. Both of these horses represented empire that had defeated Israel and had been used by God to judge the nation. So, what has defeated you? What has caused you a spiritual famine? We have all faced those times.

In my life, I can point to one thing that has caused defeat and famine. When I stop having my daily Quiet Times with the Lord, my world begins to fall apart. I stop seeing things like God sees them. I become selfish and self-centered. I long for the things of the world. That always brings spiritual defeat and famine.

It is so important for us to spend time every day with Jesus. Read John 15 today. Make a note at the number of times the word “remain” or “abide” appears in that chapter. Do you not think it is important? You have got to spend time with Him to stay attached to Him. Then and only then will you ward off that defeat and famine. Will you still have tough times? Sure, but He will be with you. Do not fear!

Father, I know through You I can walk victorious every day.

Standard
Uncategorized

FOUR CHARIOTS

ZECHARIAH 6:1

“Now I raised my eyes again and looked, and behold, four chariots were going out from between the two mountains; and the mountains were bronze mountains.”

One of my favorite, all-time movies is Ben Hur. Probably one the iconic scenes from that movie is the chariot race towards the end of the movie. If you haven’t seen it, I won’t spoil the ending for you. But it is a great race with lots of action. Those chariots were intimidating in a race. I can’t imagine how they appeared in battle. They must have been terrifying for any soldier on the ground.

This eighth vision of Zechariah is so full of imagery. Most scholars agree, both Jewish and Christian, that the four chariots represent the four great powers that ruled – Babylonian, Medes and Persians, Greek and Roman. But notice the bronze mountains. This seems to indicate that their course was defined by God. He controls and restrains all powers. They can only do what He allows.

APPLICATION

If that is the case, then we have nothing to fear. If every power is under the ultimate authority of God, we know that He will allow only what we can handle. Romans 8:28 comes to mind. “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

So, explain the bad things that we face, Carl. I can’t. But I do know that we have to trust the Lord in all things. James talks about that in the first chapter of his epistle. James 1:2-4 says, “2 Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

I do not understand why we face world powers like these mentioned here in Zechariah. I do not understand the mind of God. I don’t have to. I trust Him. That may sound foolish or naïve. You can think that if you wish. “I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I’ve committed unto Him against that day.”

Thank You, Lord, for restraining the powers that come against me. I know You are in control.

Standard
Allegiance, Belief, Betrayal, Bible, Deceit, Deception, Evil, Scripture, Worship

FALSE RELIGIONS

ZECHARIAH 5:11

“Then he said to me, ‘To build a temple for her in the land of Shinar; and when it is prepared, she will be set there on her own pedestal.’”

We live in a world of false religions. They are all around us, and I’m not talking about the ones we can see. Some people make their careers their gods. Others put all their faith and trust in sports teams and live and die whether they win or not. It’s all deception. It’s all an attempt to fill that “God hole” in their hearts. But nothing will – except Him.

When Zechariah asked the question of the angel in the previous verse, he received this answer. They (the two winged women) were carrying her (wickedness) to Shinar to set her on a pedestal to be worshipped. Shinar was a well-known place. Does it sound familiar? Genesis 11:2 tells us, “And it came about, as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.” This was the place of the tower of Babel, man’s first attempt at a world empire against God. Here in this vision, the Lord is showing Zechariah that it would happen again.

APPLICATION

Before you start throwing stones, let me ask you something. What are you building for God? Are you so focused on yourself that you have no need for Him? We certainly don’t call it empire building, do we? Oh no! We are just trying to be successful. Do you know how God measures success? Joshua 1:8 speaks it clearly. “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will achieve success.”

Success is about building God’s empire. It’s about knowing and living His Word. If you want to be successful and build something, then build on that. That pedestal holding wickedness will one day come tumbling down, along with all those who worship her. Just like the tower of Babel, it is a false tower, a tower built on evil.

You are probably thinking Carl has gone off the deep end. What is he talking about? Listen friends, one day we will all be judged according to who we have followed down here. I am in the camp with Jesus. How about you? The only place I have to look is up. He’s right there. He is there for you, too. Let’s build this together.

No matter where evil builds their tower, Lord, I will be focused only on building Your kingdom.

Standard
Access, Asking, Bible, Cleansing, Cross, Direction, Escape, Forgiveness, God's Will, Heaven, Salvation, Scripture

WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU’RE GOING?

ZECHARIAH 5:10

“So I said to the angel who was speaking with me, ‘Where are they taking the ephah?’”

If you have children, you have probably put up with “explorations.” We put up baby gates and all sorts of contraptions to try to keep the little buggers contained. But lo and behold, they would find ways to escape. I can remember sitting and watching my children trying to figure out how to get loose. I would jokingly ask them, “Where do you think you’re going?”

Zechariah just watched the two winged women swoop down and pick up the ephah with the woman (wickedness) inside and fly away. His first thought was “Where are they going?” I don’t think he was concerned about the woman’s welfare. He was just curious about their destination. By this time, Zechariah wasn’t afraid to ask anything of that angel. (Come back tomorrow to see where they take her.)

APPLICATION

As I was thinking of an application for this verse, the thought came to me – what happens to our sins? Where does God carry them? We have the answer right in Scripture. Psalm 103:11-12 says, “11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him. 12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our wrongdoings from us.”

That’s a long way! You can’t get to the east by traveling west or vice versa. You just keep traveling in the direction you are going, whether that be heading east or heading west. In other words, you can’t get back that sin once it has been forgiven. It’s gone. Now, you may choose to sin again, but it won’t be that same sin. It will be a brand new one.

God could pile all our sins up in one big heap in heaven (mine would be mountainous) and show them all to us when we get there. But no, He removes them. So, we don’t have to ask that question I asked earlier. We know where He carries our sins – to the cross, where they are forgiven forever. Amen? Amen!

Burdens are lifted at Calvary, Calvary, Calvary
Burdens are lifted at Calvary, Jesus is very near

Standard
Angels, Bible, Forgiveness, Scripture, Wickedness

STORK WINGS AND A BASKET

ZECHARIAH 5:9

“Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there two women were coming out with the wind in their wings; and they had wings like the wings of the stork, and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heavens.”

Once, while walking a beach in Florida, I witnessed an osprey (a large raptor) swoop down and grab a little dog that was walking by its owner. Fortunately, the dog was on a leash. However, this meant that now there was a tug of war between the lady and this bird. I watched as she snatched her dog out of the bird’s talons and back to the beach. (In case you are wondering, as far as I know, the dog lived happily ever after.)

We are near the conclusion of this vision, but not without another strange sight. Zechariah sees two winged women fly down and pick up the ephah with the woman inside and carry it away. Scholars have all sorts of opinions about this verse. No one seems to come to a concrete decision about who these women were and where they were going. It is obvious the wickedness in the basket is being carried away. We have to speculate these women were agents of God who alone has the power to vanquish sin. Let’s leave it at that.

APPLICATION

With that view in mind, we need to see how this verse applies to us. Remember, every verse of Scripture is inspired by God and applicable to us. So, how does this verse apply to us. If you use the explanation that I ended the previous paragraph with, God is the one who has the power to take away our sin. He has done that through His Son, Jesus Christ. I don’t know what the two women in Zechariah’s vision represented. All I know for certain is they carried away the wickedness. Don’t you want God to do that for you?

I am involved in a men’s group that meets each Thursday evening. We are in the book of Romans right now and are in chapter 6. Oh man, is that chapter good. Verse 6 and 7 apply here. “6 …knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for the one who has died is freed from sin.”

Did you catch that? “our body of sin might be done away with.” The Greek word for “done away with” actually means to completely make inoperable. It might as well be carried away and dumped. Once we are in Christ, our old man is dead, gone, done away with. Aren’t you glad? I sure am.

Living, He loved me; dying, He saved me; Buried, He carried my sins far away; Rising, He justified freely forever: One day He’s coming—O glorious day!

Standard
Bible, Boundaries, Choices, Cleansing, Commands, Deceit, Devil, Evil, Flesh, God's Will, Holy Spirit, Redemption, Scripture, Sin, Wickedness

PUT A LID ON IT

ZECHARIAH 5:8

“Then he said, ‘This is Wickedness!’ And he thrust her into the middle of the ephah and threw the lead weight on its opening.”

Put a lid on it! You may have heard that expression in regard to asking someone to be quiet, to stop talking. It is usually used when someone keeps rambling on about something until someone gets tired of hearing it. Has that ever happened to you? Have you been told that or told someone else that? It happens to the best of us.

Zechariah watches as the angel “puts a lid on it.” He calls the woman “Wickedness” and shoves her back into the ephah and slams down the lead cover. Obviously, when the angel raised the lid in the previous verse to show Zechariah what was in the ephah, the woman tried to stand or escape. But that was not happening here. Slamming of the lead cover showed that God could and would restrain the sin of the nation. He was in control, not the wickedness symbolized by the woman.

APPLICATION

We need to “put a lid” on sin. Our sinful nature is more prone to let it run free. I remember all too well how sin controlled me. It truly is wickedness. But we can gain control of that if we allow the Holy Spirit to slam the lid on it. We are actually told to do just that.

In Romans 6:12-14 we are told, “12 Therefore sin is not to reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13 and do not go on presenting the parts of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead, and your body’s parts as instruments of righteousness for God. 14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under the Law but under grace.”

Well, you can’t argue with that, can you? We are not under the Law. We are under grace. Praise be to God! Sin has no more control over my life through Jesus. He paid the price. He paid off our debts to sin and its master. We are free to live a life away from sin. We still have that sinful nature in us, but the Holy Spirit can restrain that, if we let Him. Will you?

Lord, use Your Holy Spirit in my life to restrain me from sin, to put the lid on it.

Standard
Accused, Bible, Captivity, Death, Devil, Evil, Forgiveness, Judgment, Redemption, Salvation, Satan, Scripture, Sin

A WHAT IN A WHAT?

ZECHARIAH 5:7

“And behold, a lead cover was lifted up. He continued, ‘And this is a woman sitting inside the ephah.’”

I have seen some strange things in my life. I remember once in Liberia; I saw a woman carrying a car engine on her head. That’s right, a car engine. I was told by a Liberian man that a Liberian woman could carry whatever two men could lift and put on her head. Now, that was strange. I wonder how she got it down.

I bet Zechariah was a little shocked when he saw what was inside that ephah. Under the lead cover was a woman. A what? A woman. What in the world? Albert Barnes explains it this way. The woman represented Israel’s sin. Her sitting symbolized their comfort in their sinful condition. And the lead cover showed the weight of their sin. Not a pretty picture. The largest measure (ephah) with the heaviest weight (lead) was what Zechariah was seeing.

APPLICATION

Do you realize the weight of your sin? Hebrews 12:1 says, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us,…” You can’t run weighted down. Sin is heavy, much heavier than you think.

I love this quote. “Sin will cost you more than you ever thought you would pay. It will take you further than you ever thought you would stray. And it will keep you longer than you ever thought you would stay.” Zechariah saw the weight of Israel’s sins portrayed in his vision. We can see it all around us today.

Sin destroys families. It cost people their livelihoods. It wrecks relationships. And it keeps some people tangled in unhealthy lifestyles. You don’t believe in sin? Satan loves that. He loves you not believing in it because he knows he has you right where he wants you. But there is a way out. You can be set free from the chains that bind you. Just come to Jesus.

My chains are gone, I’ve been set free. My God, my Savior has ransomed me. And like a flood His mercy reigns, unending love, amazing grace

Standard