Category Archives: Danger

Angels, Attention, Belief, Danger, Dreams, Judgment, Looking, Scripture

A FLYING WHAT?

ZECHARIAH 5:1

“Then I raised my eyes again and looked, and behold, there was a flying scroll.”

I have seen a few things in my life that I could hardly believe. Have you? You had to do a double take because what you were seeing did not make sense. You were seeing it, but you were not believing it. Sometimes our eyes can deceive us. And sometimes we just can’t comprehend what we are seeing.

That seems to be the issue in today’s verse. Zechariah is seeing a flying scroll! This flying scroll represented God’s swift judgment that was about to fall upon the people. A scroll was a normal thing. That was what was used to write upon. But to see one unrolled and flying through the air – that was something new. God’s message was written upon it and was coming down from heaven.

APPLICATION

Listen carefully – God’s judgment is coming! There is no doubt. His final word will be confirmed. All throughout His Word we have the warnings. Jesus warns us of the coming judgment of God over and over again. In Luke 6:46-49 Jesus gives us a parable about the wise and foolish builders. This is a clear warning about God’s coming judgment.

46 “‘Now why do you call Me, “Lord, Lord,” and do not do what I say? 47 Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when there was a flood, the river burst against that house and yet it could not shake it, because it had been well built. 49 But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation; and the river burst against it and it immediately collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.’”

Who are you in that story? The wise or the foolish builder? One day we will all face God. We cannot fathom that sight right now. It is kind of like seeing a flying scroll. We can’t wrap our brain around the idea of seeing God. But one day we will. The time to get ready to see Him is now. Are you ready?

I cannot wait to see Your face, O Lord. Right now I cannot imagine that, but I am looking forward to the sight.

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Accountability, Battles, Bible, Commands, Danger, Destruction, God's Will, Scripture

I HUFF AND I PUFF

HAGGAI 1:9

“‘You start an ambitious project, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I blow it away. Why?’ declares the LORD of armies. ‘It is because of My house which remains desolate, while each of you runs to his own house.’”

Call me weird (many people have), but when I read this verse, I immediately thought of the children’s story about the big, bad wolf who huffed and puffed and blew down the houses of the little piggies. Their houses fell, of course, because they were built of inferior products (straw and sticks). But even the little piggie house built out of brick could not have withstood the breath of God.

We may think we are building something, but if it is not according to God’s will, it will not last. Here in verse 9, we see that. Because they had neglected God’s house, their houses would not stand. Because they had been disobedient, He would “blow it away.” They were so concerned about their own stuff and had no regard for the things of God.

APPLICATION

Look at these words from James 4:13-15. “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.’” 

Get the picture? Our plans don’t matter. I heard a quote this weekend which is worth repeating. “God doesn’t care if you make Him part of your plan. He wants to make you part of His.” Are you part of His plan? Are you focusing on Him and not you? He has such great plans for your life. Believe that! He wants to use you.

So, how do we neglect God’s house today? By not giving. By not serving. By not obeying. All those are signs of neglect. And just like a physical house will fall down from lack of care, our spiritual house will collapse also if it is not properly cared for. Watch out for those signs of spiritual rot and decay. Be proactive, not reactive.

O Lord, I want to care for Your house. I want to be that servant who is diligent and faithful.

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Belief, Danger, Judgment, Repentance, Scripture, Sin

DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!

ZEPHANIAH 2:2

“Before the decree takes effect—the day passes like chaff—before the burning anger of the LORD comes upon you, before the day of the LORD’S anger comes upon you.”

When I was a kid, there was a TV series called, “Lost in Space.” In this series there was a robot and a young boy named Will Robinson. Every time there was danger around, the robot would cry out this warning to Will – “Danger, Will Robinson!” Don’t you wish you had a robot to do that for you every time you got near danger spiritually?

Zephaniah continues his urging of the people to repent and gather themselves before “the decree takes effect” or “the burning anger of the Lord comes upon you” or “the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you.” Wow! That was much better than the warning to Will Robinson by the robot. Zephaniah is giving clear warning that God’s judgment is coming.

APPLICATION

All through Scripture we are given warnings about the impending judgment of God. The prophets all warned us. The New Testament writers did as well. And of course, Jesus gave us warning after warning that those who did not come to Him would surely perish (John 3:16). Warning after warning after warning.

So, why don’t people heed the warning. Unbelief! People have stopped believing in sin. They have stopped believing there are consequences for their actions. Live like you want. There are no repercussions. The devil has them all blinded to the truth. He is so good at that.

Aren’t you glad your blinders are off? Aren’t you glad you know the truth? We must now shout out like that robot did to Will Robinson. We must announce, “Danger! Sin has consequences. Turn to Jesus Who can forgive you of your sins.” That isn’t a hard message to give. Tell someone today.

I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore…but the Master of the sea heard my despairing cry, from the waters lifted me now safe am I.

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