Category Archives: Blessing

Answers, Asking, Bible, Blessing, Faith, God's Will, Knowledge, Listening, Messages, Scripture, Seeking

ASK IT AGAIN

ZECHARIAH 4:12

“And I responded the second time and said to him, ‘What are the two olive branches which are beside the two golden pipes, which empty the golden oil from themselves?’”

Children can wear you out asking questions. Go to a preschool classroom full of 3 and 4-year-olds. Wow! Pastor Carl, why do ducks have webbed feet? Pastor Carl, where does the sun go at night? Pastor Carl,…? You see what I mean. They are inquisitive and want answers. If they don’t get an answer the first time, they will ask it again and again.

Zechariah has now asked the angel three times about these olive trees or branches. He still hasn’t gotten an answer (we’ll see that in a couple of days). He wants to know what all this means. He wants to make sure he understands exactly what it means. Why? Because he knows he must tell the people what God has shown him.

APPLICATION

God’s Word has all the answers to every question we have. You just have to look for it. That may mean digging it out yourself. It may mean going to someone you trust and asking them. Listen to Paul in his letter to the Romans. Romans 11:33 says, “Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!”

I really like Psalm 19:9-10. “9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether.10 They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much pure gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.” Isn’t that awesome? And so is the study of His Word.

Let me challenge you this week to do a deep dive into the Word. You may have a pressing question you want answered. Maybe there’s a word you have been meaning to study more about. Take the time. Turn off the TV and let God speak to you. He will not withhold His wisdom from those who seek it.

Oh Lord, I want to know You more. I want to know more of Your Word.

Advertisement
Standard
Abiding, Bible, Blessing, Prayer, Protection, Provision, Scripture, Temple, Trust

THE TOP STONE

ZECHARIAH 4:7

“‘What are you, you great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring out the top stone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’”

I once helped my dad and other volunteers build additions to the school we were attending. I watched them pour the foundation and begin laying the block. At first, it was kind of exciting. But for a young boy like me, that did not last until…they were laying the last block on the top of the wall. Whew! What a project!

In today’s verse you see the mention of the “top stone.” Zechariah is being told their enemies (great mountain) will be defeated (become a plain). And then the temple, which had long had its foundation cornerstone laid, would have the crowning achievement completed – the laying of the top stone. Scholars agree that this is a reference to Jesus being not only the cornerstone but also the top stone. He is the beginning and the end.

APPLICATION

Do you see that in your life? I mean, is Jesus your first and last, the beginning and the end? He should be. He should have your highest priority. You have heard that your priorities should be God, family and then church. That is the order of things. That is how it should be. Jesus should be the crowning achievement in your life, your top stone.

When we don’t place Him first, we lose focus. Putting other things before the Lord never works. Jesus told us in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you.” Do you believe that? It’s true. He will meet your needs. Just put Him first in your life.

Maybe you have done that, and you still don’t feel He is listening. Hold on, dear one. He is. Keep trusting. He knows exactly where you are. He knows your name. Keep calling out to Him. His timing is always perfect even though we think He is not responding. He is. I promise. Better yet – He promises.

I know You hear my cries, dear Lord. I shall wait for You.

Standard
Abundance, Bible, Blessing, Clothing, Devil, God's Will, Holy Spirit, Lies, Restoration, Salvation, Satan, Scripture

LET’S GET DRESSED UP

ZECHARIAH 3:4

And he responded and said to those who were standing before him, saying, ‘Remove the filthy garments from him.’ Again he said to him, ‘See, I have taken your guilt away from you and will clothe you with festive robes.’”

Today, in most churches, you don’t see many people dressed up. Men rarely, if ever, wear a suit and tie. Women don’t wear dresses or hats. When I was young, those were common sights. I don’t mind wearing a suit and tie. In fact, I kind of like it. Now, God doesn’t require that, I know. But I kind of feel nice when I dress nicer for church than when I go to a ballgame. That’s just me.

We find Joshua, the high priest, clothed in filthy garments (see yesterday’s blog) in Zechariah’s vision. But the Lord does not leave him like that. He gives instructions to the angels to remove those filthy things and to clothe him in festive robes. These were probably the high priest’s garments. This action represented God’s forgiveness of the people of Israel. They were now cleansed of those sins represented by the other garments.

APPLICATION

The good news for us is God does the same for us. Take me, for instance. I was a filthy dog. Really, I was. My life before Christ was filled with debauchery. I wasn’t fit for my King. But because I placed my trust in Christ, He removed my filthy garments and clothed me in His righteousness. Now, I am wearing His garment of praise. Isaiah 61:3 says, “…to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” Don’t you want that? Barnes says this about today’s verse. “But when God had pity on them, He bade them be freed from their defilements, and in a manner re-clad with justifying grace.”

Oh, friends, He does the same for you. He will free you from your defilements. He will clothe you with His grace. All you have to do is come to Him. Are you still trying to pick up those old, filthy garments? Has the devil got you believing you are not worthy of His garments? You are! God says you are. Don’t believe those lies of Satan.

I have known a lot of Christians who wallow in their own filth. They have asked Christ to be their Savior, but they just can’t believe it is that simple. Well, it is, and it isn’t. Salvation is free but is not cheap. A surrendered life will cost you everything. In return, He gives you His kingdom as a joint heir with Christ. Just look at Romans 8:16-17. “16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.” Now, live like it.

I don’t deserve Your garments, Lord, but You have clothed me.

Standard
Abundance, Bible, Blessing, Death, Favor, Inheritance, Portion, Scripture

HIS PORTION

ZECHARIAH 2:12

“And the LORD will possess Judah as His portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.”

When my dad died, my three siblings and I received a portion of his inheritance. It was divided four ways – each getting an equal share. My dad was not a rich man, but he left each of us quite a blessing. The inheritance was nice, but I had much rather kept my dad around for many more years.

The angel who is talking to Zechariah continues on in verse 12 where he tells him that the LORD has chosen Judah as His portion. What does that mean? The Hebrew word used there means just that. It means “part,” or “portion,” or inheritance. Does God need an inheritance? I don’t think so. Let’s just stick with “portion.” The angel is saying Judah/Jerusalem belong to Him. God protects what is His.

APPLICATION

I love what Psalm 73:26 says. “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” The Hebrew word for “portion” here is the same word used in Zechariah 2:12. We are claiming God as our inheritance, our portion. But that requires a little event to happen. Let me explain.

Just like I could not inherit my part of my dad’s estate until he died, I could not inherit my inheritance in Christ until He died on that cross. And conversely, I have to die to inherit it. Weird, huh? Not really. I have to give up who I was before to become what I will be in Him. My old self is dead. My new self lives on in Jesus.

Wow! If you think too hard about this, your mind will explode. I have learned to just accept this on faith. He is my portion. He is what I am living and dying for. Nothing else is as important. One day I will see His face. One day I will become the possessor of what He has promised me. Remember, in John 14:2 He said He was going to prepare a place for us. Boy, I can’t wait to see my room!

Father, I know I am Your portion, but You are my portion as well. All I have belongs to you, and all You have belongs to me.

Standard
Abundance, Bible, Blessing, Encouragement, Filled, Oveflowing, Promises, Scripture

OVERFLOWING

ZECHARIAH 2:4

“And he said to him, ‘Run, speak to that young man there, saying, “Jerusalem will be inhabited as open country because of the multitude of people and cattle within it.”’”

I remember years ago attending a church that was busting at the seams. It had to change to multiple services on Sunday and still had to bring extra chairs into the sanctuary to give everyone a seat. We needed to knock down the walls to open up the area for more seats but couldn’t. What a fun time that was. How exciting to be part of such growth.

The angel gives Zechariah a message about Jerusalem. He tells him that it is going to be so populated that there won’t be a need for walls. The people and cattle are going to spill over the whole area. After years of exile and returning to a diminished number in the land, this was exciting news. The Lord is promising to repopulate the nation to overflowing.

APPLICATION

I have this song going through my mind right now that says, “And now I’m filled to overflowing. I don’t mind the whole world knowing. Yes, I’m filled to overflowing with His soul-supplying, satisfying love.” Gary McSpadden sang that song back in 1979. I loved his music.

Doesn’t God fill us to overflowing with His love? You have been filled to overflowing with His Holy Spirit. As you study His Word, it fills your heart and mind to overflowing. Colossians 2:7 tells us that we are also overflowing with gratitude. “…having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.”

I personally like 2 Corinthians 1:5. In the CSV it reads, “For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.” Sufferings? Really? Yes, but they are in order for us to receive His comfort so that we in turn can overflow that comfort to others. What a beautiful concept. We are allowed to suffer to receive God’s comfort so that we can comfort others who are suffering. Will you overflow today in some way?

Lord, I’m filled to overflowing. I don’t mind the whole world knowing. I’m filled to overflowing with Your soul-supplying, satisfying love

Standard
Bible, Blessing, Filled, Promises, Scripture

FILLED TO OVERFLOWING

ZECHARIAH 1:17

“Again, proclaim, saying, ‘This is what the LORD of armies says: “My cities will again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.”’”

I remember a fishing trip I took with my dad one time to a local fishing hole. This little pond was full of brim (which is a small panfish). Man, that day we tore them up. My dad had a wire mesh fishing backet that he hung over the side of the boat. It had a flip down lid so all you had to do was push down on the lid and drop the fish in the basket. We caught so many we couldn’t push the lid down anymore. That basket was filled to overflowing.

After all the suffering, after all the judgment and punishment, after all the days in exile, God was restoring Israel. He promised to fill the cities again. “My cities will again overflow with prosperity.” He also said He would comfort and choose them. I just love that. Promises made and promises kept. God always keeps His promises. You know that, right?

APPLICATION

I bet you have examples of times the Lord has filled your coffers to overflowing. That’s why I don’t have a problem asking for the Lord to meet a need. I know His storehouse is filled to overflowing. He wants to meet our needs (and maybe even some of our wants). Philippians 4:19 tells us so. “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

One of the things I have to do as a missionary is ask people to partner with us financially. I have realized that by asking them, I am giving them an opportunity to be a blessing to us and also be blessed by the Lord. I have some friends in ministry who have a real problem asking for financial support. They know they need to, but it can be awkward. That’s true. But blessings are waiting.

Let me let you in on a little secret. Are you listening? I am asking God for two million dollars in 2023 for the ministry I serve with – Every Man A Warrior (www.everymanawarrior.com). God is changing men’s lives around the world through the skills we teach. If you want to be a part of that, go to our site and give right there. I want you to be blessed through the overflowing God has given you. Be blessed.

You are the provider of our abundance, Lord. You truly fill us to overflowing.

Standard
Abiding, Bible, Blessing, Confession, Consequences, Decisions, God's Will, Scripture

TAKING IT TOO FAR

ZECHARIAH 1:15

“‘But I am very angry with the nations who are carefree; for while I was only a little angry, they furthered the disaster.’”

As a parent, I had the responsibility to discipline my children. I had one rule for spanking – only for willful disobedience. You may disagree, but I believe the appropriate use of spanking can be helpful in rearing our children. My children always knew why they were receiving that discipline and were prayed over afterwards. There is the danger of going too far with this, though.

That’s exactly what the Lord was referring to in today’s verse. He had used the other nations to discipline his children. They were the tool God used to administer His judgment. But some of these nations went too far and tried to annihilate His chosen children. He says he was “very angry with the nations” that did this. They “furthered the disaster,” which was never God’s intention.

APPLICATION

We can take things too far, whether it be a good thing or a bad thing. Too much exercise can be bad for your health (at least that’s my excuse, lol). Too much sugar is definitely not good for you. But can you get too much of God? I don’t think so, but the downside of that is His light exposes our sins. Psalm 90:8 says that. “You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.”

Before you say anything, let me explain something. Getting too close to God may not feel good at the moment, but it is certainly what is best for us. Those sins that are exposed need to be exposed. Psalm 10:9 says, “One who walks in integrity walks securely, but one who perverts his ways will be found out.” So, is God taking it too far? I don’t think so.

I have to admit that I have been guilty of taking things too far at times. One example would be watching College football (American football for all my non-U.S. followers). I could watch it all day on Saturday. I had to make a decision to limit that to my favorite team’s game. We can take things too far, can’t we? Ask the Lord if you are taking Him too far. I bet He says no.

Father God, I want to be in Your presence, even though I know it will drive me to my knees in repentance.

Standard
Angels, Bible, Blessing, Caregiver, God's Will, Guard, Protection, Scripture

ON PATROL

“And the man who was standing among the myrtle trees responded and said, ‘These are the ones whom the LORD has sent to patrol the earth.’”

ZECHARIAH 1:10

I was just talking to a fellow brother in Christ who serves as a deputy in Wyoming. He shared that the county where he serves is very large. He could drive an hour west, east or north and still be in the county. His department has to cover that area, so they are on patrol a lot. Much of the area is sparsely populated, but they still require their services.

I wondered about that when I read verse 10 today. “The man” standing under the myrtle trees tells Zedekiah that the ones he asked about were on duty for the Lord. They were sent to patrol the earth. Their roles were not to deliver any messages to the people, only to patrol and report back to their superiors in the angelic realm.

APPLICATION

You may not believe in guardian angels, but Scripture teaches that in several places, Zedekiah 1:10 being one of them. These angels in today’s verse were watching over the people and then reporting back to heaven. Hebrews 1:14 tells us, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to provide service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?”

How about Matthew 18:10? “‘See that you do not look down on one of these little ones; for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.’” That is probably my favorite since it is from the very mouth of Jesus. God is watching over us and uses His angelic forces to do so.

I have never seen an angel, that I know of (except for my sweet wife). But I am certain I have entertained some without knowing (Hebrews 13:2). Probably with all my travels around the globe, my guardian angel has had to work overtime, covering different time zones on different continents. Notice to my angel – I will traveling again soon so get your wings tuned up.

Lord, thank You for covering me with Your angels. I know I am safely guarded and protected according to Your will.

Standard
Asking, Bible, Blessing, Change, Courage, Direction, Following, Future, God's Will, Scripture

FROM NOW ON

HAGGAI 2:19

“‘Is the seed still in the barn? Even including the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree, it has not produced fruit. Yet from this day on I will bless you.’”

“From now on” hints at a change. Something is about to happen that will change your circumstance or maybe even your life. When my children left home, they faced some “from now ons.” They no longer were protected under my roof. They were either married with a new family or in a new city with a career. Some “from now ons” are scary while others are exciting. Let’s look at the one described in verse 19 today.

What starts out as a continuation of the description of their suffering due to their disobedience ends with a “from now on.” Look at it. The last sentence says, “Yet from this day on I will bless you.” The literal translation is “From this day I will bless.” Things were changing. God was returning His blessing on His children. Don’t you know a shout went up when they heard that news? After years of suffering, God was going to rain down His blessings on them again.

APPLICATION

Have you been in a period of suffering? Take heart, friends. God has not forgotten you. His “from now ons” still happen today. He can change the trajectory of your life with one flick of His little finger. He has certainly done that in my life on a number of occasions. Moving to a new ministry or meeting that certain person can make a new “from now on” happen.

Are you praying for a “from now on” moment? Stop and pray for God’s perfect will in your life. I am reminded of the passage in James. James 4:13-15 says, “13 Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’ 14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. For you are just a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away. 15 Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.’” 

“From now on” in the life of the believer can mean many different things. But one thing is for sure – from now on the Lord will be with us. From now on His mercies are new. From now on Jesus is interceding for us. From now on…

From now on, Lord, I will pray that Your will be done in my life so that I can learn to trust You more.

Standard
Abiding, Bible, Blessing, Caregiver, Contentment, Gifts, Hunger, Provision, Scripture

ONLY HALF

HAGGAI 2:16

“from that time when one came to a grain heap of twenty measures, there would be only ten; and when one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there would be only twenty.”

I have been blessed through my years in that I can say I have never gone hungry. Oh, I thought I was starving a few times, but I was really just whiny about not eating when I wanted. There’s a difference in being hungry and truly starving. Not having enough to provide yourself or your family is a real issue in many parts of our world today. Be grateful if you are like me and are blessed with more than you need.

God was reminding the people of Israel to continue to think back to the days when they didn’t have enough. Grain was short on supply, as well as the fruit of the vine to make wine. Those were days of judgment when they suffered because of their disobedience. Now, they were living in relative ease, but they needed to remember where they had been and what God had done for them.

APPLICATION

Maybe that’s you. Do you need to remember where you were and where God has brought you? We seem to forget so quickly, don’t we. In the middle of thanking the Philippians for sending him a gift, Paul says this in Philippians 4:11-12. “11 Not that I speak from need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12 I know how to get along with little, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.”

Paul reflected back to the lean years. He shared how God had taught him to be thankful in whatever situation he found himself. Boy, we could learn a lot from Paul, couldn’t we? But I love the next verse. Paul reveals the secret to this. It’s in verse 13. “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” That is the key. It is Christ in me. It is Christ in you.

When I think back to my “lean” years, I can pinpoint specific events that caused my faith to leap forward. Times when all I could do is trust in His sovereign will helped me grow. Was it fun? Nope. Did I struggle through it? Yep. But looking back I can see the fingerprints of God all over. Will you join me in trying to look closer for God’s fingerprints today? They are there. We just have to look.

Father, I am eternally grateful for Your bountiful provisions. The world may see them as meager, but I know You are giving me exactly what I need.

Standard