2 Chronicles 19, 20; Revelation 8; Zechariah 4; John 7

⁵ “Don’t you know?” the angel asked.

“No, my lord,” I replied. (Zechariah 4:5, NLT)

A battle awaits. So does an Army.

¹³ As all the men of Judah stood before the Lord with their little ones, wives, and children, ¹⁴ the Spirit of the Lord came upon one of the men standing there. His name was Jahaziel son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite who was a descendant of Asaph.

¹⁵ He said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. ¹⁶ Tomorrow, march out against them. You will find them coming up through the ascent of Ziz at the end of the valley that opens into the wilderness of Jeruel. ¹⁷ But you will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the Lord’s victory. He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out against them tomorrow, for the Lord is with you!” (2 Chronicles 20:13-17, NLT, emphasis added)

There is a question. There is an Answer.

⁶ Then he said to me, “This is what the Lord says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. ⁷ Nothing, not even a mighty mountain, will stand in Zerubbabel’s way; it will become a level plain before him! And when Zerubbabel sets the final stone of the Temple in place, the people will shout: ‘May God bless it! May God bless it!’” (Zechariah 4:6-7, NLT, emphasis added)

In destruction, there is a Purpose.

¹² Then the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and one-third of the sun was struck, and one-third of the moon, and one-third of the stars, and they became dark. And one-third of the day was dark, and also one-third of the night.

¹³ Then I looked, and I heard a single eagle crying loudly as it flew through the air, “Terror, terror, terror to all who belong to this world because of what will happen when the last three angels blow their trumpets.” (Revelation 8:12-13, NLT)

From the familiar, there is the Divine.

²⁸ While Jesus was teaching in the Temple, he called out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I come from. But I’m not here on my own. The one who sent me is true, and you don’t know him. ²⁹ But I know him because I come from him, and he sent me to you.” ³⁰ Then the leaders tried to arrest him; but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come. (John 7:28-30, NLT)

All throughout the reading, two realms: an earthly one; a spiritual one.

Lord, I fix my eyes on you. My thoughts on you. My strength in you. My hope in you.

Courtney (66books365)

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2 Chronicles 10; Revelation 1; Zephaniah 2; Luke 24

“If you don’t know, then you don’t know.” It’s a phrase a friend captions online on shared images of movies or other images from the past. Some of the images I don’t recognize at all, and think to myself, I guess I’ll never know (unless I wanted to ask, and I don’t feel I need to). Some things I don’t need to know, and some things I do.

The Bible reminds me book after book of all the things God said would happen. Reminds me so I will know what He said would happen actually happened, so I will know His Word is truth.

Like here:

⁵ The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? ⁶ He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, ⁷ that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.”

⁸ Then they remembered that he had said this. (Luke 245-8, NLT, emphasis added)

And here:

²⁵ Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. ²⁶ Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” ²⁷ Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. (Luke 24:25-27, NLT, emphasis added)

And here:

¹⁵ So the king paid no attention to the people. This turn of events was the will of God, for it fulfilled the Lord’s message to Jeroboam son of Nebat through the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh. (2 Chronicles 10:15, NLT, emphasis added)

I open His Word like it’s a gift of life itself–with hope, comfort and gratitude. Some people are fortunate to have parents or mentors to speak wisdom and guidance into their lives. But for me, it is a great treasure to have the Bible, Word living and active. His Word is truth. Trustworthy. Sound.

This is a revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants the events that must soon take place. He sent an angel to present this revelation to his servant John, ² who faithfully reported everything he saw. This is his report of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

³ God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to its message and obey what it says, for the time is near. (Revelation 1:1-3, NLT)

If you don’t know, then you don’t know. But you can know.

Lord, you’ve made known (and available) all that you want to make known. You give your word to us–a promise. All through time, you’ve made movement toward man to be in relationship and restore what was broken. You’ve demonstrated your power, sovereignty, faithfulness, trustworthiness, integrity. I can take you at your word. I will run to you, turn to you, seek you. Thank you.

Courtney (66books365)