Category Archives: Commands

Abiding, Bible, Blessing, Commands, Hearing, Listening, Scripture, Uncategorized

GOD’S STILL TALKING

ZECHARIAH 8:18

“Then the word of the LORD of armies came to me, saying,”

Every day when I am in my Quiet Time, I pray to hear the voice of the Lord. Now, don’t think I am strange. I don’t mean audibly, but that would be very cool. I am talking about Him speaking through His Holy Spirit into my heart and mind. Some days, He is practically yelling at me. Other days – not so much. He’s quiet. That’s when I listen the hardest.

Today’s verse is the eighth time in chapter eight that Zedekiah received a word from the Lord. God is about to speak on the joyous festivals that are coming to Israel (more on that tomorrow). This whole chapter has been about God sharing His blessings on this remnant of Israel. After all the suffering, after all the judgment, they are now back in the good graces of their God and are worthy of His blessings.

APPLICATION

Did you hear the Lord speaking to you this morning? Oh, you didn’t listen, did you? The first rule to hearing is listening. How do you listen? Okay, that’s enough with the questions. I am not trying to make you feel guilty for not hearing the Lord or not listening. I simply want to urge you to take the time to listen and hear.

Perhaps you don’t want to hear His voice. Maybe there is some secret sin you are withholding. In John 8:9 we see the people’s response to Jesus when He was dealing with the woman who had been caught in adultery. “And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.”

I have often wondered what Jesus wrote in the sand that day. Maybe He listed some of their secret sins, so they all slipped away. Don’t do that! Confess those sins. Be cleansed through His forgiveness. We all need a daily washing, don’t we? Hear His voice calling you to repentance.

I confess to You, Lord, each day the sins I have committed. Wash me clean once again.

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Bible, Commands, Evil, Godliness, Goodness, Hate, Rebuke, Scripture, Truth

THINGS I HATE

ZECHARIAH 8:17

“‘“Also let none of you devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love perjury; for all these things are what I hate,” declares the LORD.’”

Hate is a strong word. I know, I know. But there a few things in this world that I hate. I hate searing, hot days when you can’t get any relief. I hate it when my truck breaks down, and I can’t fix it. I hate brussel sprouts and spinach. Yep, I said it. Sorry, moms out there. Most of all, I hate sin.

The Lord listed a couple of things He hates in today’s verse. He says He hates hearts that have devised evil against another, and He hates perjury (telling lies). Of course, the God of truth is going to hate those things. We should hate the same things God hates. If He hates them, they are worthy of hate. The Hebrew word here for “hate” can also mean something that is odious, that stinks.

APPLICATION

In the first part of Amos 5:15 the prophet says, “Hate evil, love good, and establish justice in the gate!” That’s good. Then Paul says this in Romans 12:9. “Love must be free of hypocrisy. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good.” I think you get the picture. There are some things that it okay to hate. In fact, we are commanded to hate evil.

The problem today is that the world has totally changed the definition of what is evil. That can be confusing if you are not in the Word and spending time with the Lord every day. If you listen to the Social Media influencers, you will definitely be led astray. Most of them applaud the things the Word says is evil.

Let me encourage you today to be a hater. Yep, a hater. Hate those things that pull people away from God. Notice I said things, not people. We need to love everyone because God does. But He hates the sin. So should we. We need to be bold and point out those sins without demeaning the person. You’ve heard it said, “Hate the sin but love the sinner.” Practice that today.

Father, I do hate those things You hate. Help me be bold to point out those things to others.

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Accountability, Bible, Commands, Direction, Exhortation, God's Will, Judgment, Peace, Scripture, Truth

CLEAR COMMANDS

ZECHARIAH 8:16

“‘“These are the things which you shall do: speak the truth to one another; judge with truth and judgment for peace at your gates.”’”

I remember many years ago, when I worked at the Georgia Baptist Children’s Homes, that I gave one of the boys in my cottage permission to wash my car to earn a little extra money. The kid was about fourteen, so I just assumed he knew how to wash a car. (A word to the wise – never assume anything, lol). Let’s just say the car wash had a lot to be desired. But he was so proud that he had done it. I didn’t have the heart to tell him how bad it was. So, what did I do? I decided the next week when he asked again that I would help him and direct him. It turned out a lot better, and he learned a new skill.

Clear directions are important. They help us walk with the Lord better, don’t they. Well, in today’s verse we see the Lord telling the people of Israel some pretty clear commands. He says, “These are the things which you shall do.” That’s pretty clear. Then He tells them to speak the truth to one another and to judge with truth and peace. If we could all do that, life would be so much less quarrelsome. God knew that. They were returning to their land. They were completing the temple rebuild. They were starting again. Here were some simple, clear commands to follow.

APPLICATION

Years ago, I was a trainer in Crisis Intervention. One of the skills I taught in that was for the staff to always give clear and concise instructions to the kids they were dealing with. Doing that would often prevent a kid from getting upset and confused. Most crises can be prevented if we practice those things. Our Father in heaven knows that. He gave us just ten commandments to follow, not a thousand. Man took those ten commandments and stretched them into hundreds. Jesus narrowed it down further when asked which was the most important commandment. I have referenced this passage before, but it bears repeating.

Matthew 22:36-40 says, “36 ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?’ 37 And He said to him, ‘“YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.” 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” 40 Upon these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.’”

Can you follow that? Obviously, you can if Jesus told us to do it. He would never tell us to do something that He would not enable us to do. So, today, strive to follow the clear, simple commands of our Savior. It is total agreement with our verse from Zechariah today. Speak truth, practice justice and peace with all men. That’s my goal today. I hope it’s yours.

Father, I am not able on my own to do anything You ask of me. But through Your power and Your Holy Spirit I can.

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Abiding, Attitude, Bible, Choices, Commands, Evil, Goodness, Kindness, Love, Promises, Scripture

DETERMINED FOR GOOD

ZECHARIAH 8:15

“‘“so I have again determined in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not fear!”’”

I have to admit that my heart has not always been determined for good. In my B.C. (Before Christ) days, I was rebellious and only wanted my own way. I would use people to get what I wanted. My heart was prone towards evil. I put on a good outward expression, but my heart was evil. I only did good if it would help me in my own pursuits. That’s a horrible way to live.

I love this little phrase in today’s verse. God says, “I have…determined…to do good.” He purposed. He decided. He planned. His goodness was not an accident. This same verb is used to describe the woman in Proverbs 31:16. “She considers a field and buys it; from her earnings she plants a vineyard.” The word “considers” is the same word used here in Zechariah 8:15. God desires good for us. He is even planning and considering it for us now. That’s awesome.

APPLICATION

Guess what? You can “determine to do good” as well. Through Christ, you can do good for others, even those whom you don’t particularly like to be around. Just follow Christ’s example. He did good to all. He showed now preference. He reached out to the Samaritans, the publicans, the rich, the poor. He showed no prejudice. Paul tells us in Galatians 6:9, “Let’s not become discouraged in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not become weary.”

Over in 2 Thessalonians 3:13 we see Paul use the same exhortation to the Thessaloniki church. “But as for you, brothers and sisters, do not grow weary of doing good.” All through Scripture we are told to do good. We even quote the Golden Rule, don’t we? You know that. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Those words aren’t exactly in Scripture but do refer to the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:12 and Luke 6:31.

The bottom line is do good to others. Be like God. Let others see Jesus in you. Share the love of Jesus. Let it permeate you so much that it just “leaks out” on others. If you have someone in your life who does not like you or even hates you, pray for them. Lift them to Jesus. He can handle them a lot better that you can. And when He gives you the opportunity to bless them, do it. Do good, not evil. Be Jesus to someone today.

Give me the chance to do good today, O Lord. I want to be like You.

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Abuse, Affection, Bible, Blessing, Comfort, Commands, Deceit, Family, Friends, Goodness, Mercy, Scripture

DOING GOOD TO OTHERS

ZECHARIAH 7:10

“‘and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.’”

When I read this verse today, I thought Who would hurt a widow or orphan? Who would mistreat a stranger or a poor person? However, I am very aware of the evil in this world. The intentions of man are not normally in tune with God’s principles. It’s a dog eat dog world, and some people will take anything from anyone at any time just to get ahead.

The Lord, through Zechariah, continues his instructions to the people. In verse 10 He expands His commands to include how to treat the widow, orphan, stranger and poor. The Hebrew word for “oppress” can be translated as deceive, defraud or violate. In other words, He is saying do not treat these people badly. All through Scripture we read how God cares for these individuals.

APPLICATION

I spent over thirty years caring for the “orphans.” My years in the child welfare field had me involved in residential care, foster care and adoptions. Nothing stirs the heart strings of people like sharing stories about these children. Is there a children’s home near you where you can volunteer? They always need volunteers. You will be blessed.

James 1:27 is one of my favorite verses. “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” Our good treatment of these individuals is pleasing to our heavenly Father because they are near to His heart.

Look around you. There are tons of opportunities for you to minister to this population. Widows and widowers need friends they can talk to. Orphans need loving families. The strangers and the poor need a hand up. Just ask the Lord how He could use you. You might just be surprised at His answer.

Open my eyes to people around me who need some love and compassion.

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Bible, Commands, Direction, God's Will, Inspirational, Messages, Obedience, Scripture

GOD’S WORD TO ME

ZECHARIAH 7:8

“Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying,”

I just realized something this morning. I began supervising people back in 1987 when I went to work at a children’s home in South Carolina. When I moved to my current ministry with Every Man A Warrior in January 2022, it was the first time in thirty-five years I was not supervising employees. Call me slow, but I just figured that out. I am not telling others what to do. I have to admit – it’s kind of nice.

God keeps speaking to Zechariah and telling him what to do. Why was that? What made Zechariah so special? God was delivering to his chosen prophet a message. This message wasn’t meant just for him. These words were meant to share with the people of Israel. They needed to hear God’s words, not just Zechariah. Zechariah could have kept all God’s words to himself, but he didn’t. He wrote them down and also shared them with the people. We can learn a lesson here.

APPLICATION

Who are God’s words intended for? Certainly not just for us, right? The last part of the Great Commission tells us what to do. Matthew 28:20a reads, “‘teaching them to follow all that I commanded you;…’” The Greek word used here for “follow” is tereo which means keep, guard, observe or watch over. It’s much more than just follow.

We are to teach others His Word. We are to share with others the importance of observing, keeping and guarding His Word. God’s Word is important. Well Carl, God isn’t speaking directly to me like He did to Zechariah. Oh really? What do you call it when you read His Word and you receive instructions for daily living? That’s God talking to you – just as clearly as He did to Zechariah.

I have mentioned before how I love to hear God’s voice. I hear that in my prayer time as He directs me who to pray for and what to pray. I hear His words when I pick up my copy of His Word and read. I hear Him speak to me through other believers as they share what God has done in their lives. God is still speaking. Are you listening?

The B-I-B-L-E, yes, that’s the book for me. I stand alone on the Word of God. The B-I-B-L-E.

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YOU SHOULD HAVE LISTENED

ZECHARIAH 7:7

“‘Are these not the words which the LORD proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and carefree along with its cities around it, and the Negev and the foothills were inhabited?’”

I can’t recall the number of times I have been given good advice which I ignored in favor of doing something my way. I knew the person giving the advice knew what they were talking about. They had been there and done that. They spoke from experience. But I thought their idea was outdated or too simplistic. I usually had to come back around to their way of thinking to deal with the issue at hand.

The Lord, in this verse, is telling Zechariah basically that. He was saying, “Didn’t Isaiah and Jeremiah tell you all this? They gave you My words, which you ignored. You were all fat and sassy and thought nothing could touch you. You didn’t heed my advice.” The Hebrew literally says, “Should you not have obeyed the words I declared?”

APPLICATION

In Luke 6 Jesus tells us the parable of the two houses. One was built on a firm foundation. The other on sand. You know the story, right? The storm comes and dashes against the houses. The one built on the firm foundation stood while the other one collapsed. But do you know the verse that set up this story?

Luke 6:46 says, “‘Now why do you call Me, “Lord, Lord,” and do not do what I say?’” Obedience to His words, to His advice, to His commands is so important. Why? He is trying to help us prepare for the storms of life. He can see what we cannot see. He knows exactly when the storm will arrive. We would do well to heed His words.

My wife hates thunder and lightning. Anytime it is forecast for our area she watches it closely on the weather app. On that app you can look at the weather radar and can predict when those storms will arrive and how long they will last. What you can’t predict is the damage they will do. So, you must prepare, right? Try applying that to your spiritual life. God has that radar and knows the storms are coming. Get ready. He wants you prepared. That is only done when we listen to His Word.

I know Your Word can show me how to prepare for the storms of life. I will look to it for my guidance.

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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.

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Accountability, Bible, Commands, Following, Love, Obedience, Salvation, Scripture

STEALING AND SWEARING

ZECHARIAH 5:3

“Then he said to me, ‘This is the curse that is going forth over the face of the entire land; everyone who steals certainly will be purged away according to the writing on one side, and everyone who swears falsely will be purged away according to the writing on the other side.’”

My dad would not tolerate stealing. Nor would he put up with foul language. My dad wasn’t perfect and didn’t come to Christ until later in life, but he was intent on raising us right. I never had the desire to steal (except for that one piece of candy at the grocery store), but I was prone to cuss and swear. Of course, I knew better but still did it.

Do you wonder why this flying scroll singled out these two sins? The commandment against stealing was on one side of the tablet of the ten commandments and swearing (against God) was on the other. They were the eighth and third commandments, respectively. One had to do with sins against others and the other against God. These were representative of the sins of the people.

APPLICATION

It is not hard to see how to apply this to our lives today. What are your sins against others? What are your sins against God? You know them, but have you confessed them to the Lord and asked His forgiveness? I understand that as a child of the Lord and a believer in Jesus as our Savior, we are under grace, not the Law. But we still need to obey His commandments. We are to still strive to be holy.

Leviticus 22:31 tells us, “‘So you shall keep My commandments, and do them; I am the LORD.’” Jesus said in John 14:15, “‘If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.’” Commandment keeping is still important. Let me repeat – we are under grace, not the Law. However, we are expected to follow God’s commands.

You may not steal or swear, but I am willing to bet that you have committed sins against others and God. Take a moment right now and search your heart. Ask the Lord to reveal those transgressions to you and then confess them as sin. Confession is saying the same thing about your sin that God says. Agree with Him. He will forgive. Follow Him.

Oh Father, keep me from transgressing against You and my neighbor. I want to please You.

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Bible, Commands, Commitment, Completeness, Confidence, Scripture

FINISH WHAT YOU START

ZECHARIAH 4:9

“‘The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will finish it. Then you will know that the LORD of armies has sent me to you.’”

I was taught to always finish what I started. If I started playing a sport, I was expected to finish that season. If I started a project at home or school, the same was true. And it was important that I finish well. I never wanted to half-do something. If it was to carry my name, I wanted it to be excellent.

Zerubbabel and the early remnant of Israel had begun rebuilding the temple when they returned. Twenty years later it was finally finished. Zechariah was an important part of stirring up the excitement to finish this house of God. It just goes to show that God can use anyone or any age to accomplish His purposes.

APPLICATION

Have you been called to do something for the Lord that you have not started or finished? Many of us have. We have all had that initial urge to do something and then the new wears off. When I think of finishing well, I think of Paul’s last words to Timothy. 2 Timothy 4:7 tells us, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;…”

Look back over Paul’s missionary journeys. He was targeted for assassination numerous times, beaten, shipwrecked, and the list goes on. But he did not stop. Neither should we. We have been given a mission by Jesus to go and make disciples. Are we doing that? Are you doing that?

That mission starts right in your family with your children and grandchildren. They are your first mission field. Then how about your neighbors and work colleagues. Wherever God calls you, go and don’t give up. Paul tells us again in Galatians 6:9, “Let’s not become discouraged in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not become weary.”

Give me the strength, dear Lord, to work until Your return or You carry me home.

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