2 Chronicles 25; Revelation 12; Zechariah 8; John 11

He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, but not wholeheartedly. Decisions and actions that followed revealed the leaning of his heart. He wouldn’t heed warnings.

So the prophet stopped with this warning: “I know that God has determined to destroy you because you have done this and have refused to accept my counsel.” (2 Chronicles 25:16b, NLT)

I think about the messages and messengers. A prophet warning a king. In Revelation, a revealing of a mystery. In John 11, Jesus receives the message that Lazarus is sick. Zechariah 8 opens with a message, and I listen.

Then another message came to me from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies: ² “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says …” (Zechariah 8:1-2a, NLT)

And He says a lot. I keep reading. He speaks of restoration and perseverance and the impossible and rescue.

⁶ “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: All this may seem impossible to you now, a small remnant of God’s people. But is it impossible for me? says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. … ⁹ “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Be strong and finish the task! (Zechariah 8:6, 9a, NLT)

He plants seeds of peace and prosperity, grapevines heavy with ripe fruit.

¹³ Among the other nations, Judah and Israel became symbols of a cursed nation. But no longer! Now I will rescue you and make you both a symbol and a source of blessing. So don’t be afraid. Be strong, and get on with rebuilding the Temple!

¹⁴ “For this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: I was determined to punish you when your ancestors angered me, and I did not change my mind, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. ¹⁵ But now I am determined to bless Jerusalem and the people of Judah. So don’t be afraid. ¹⁶ But this is what you must do: Tell the truth to each other. Render verdicts in your courts that are just and that lead to peace. ¹⁷ Don’t scheme against each other. Stop your love of telling lies that you swear are the truth. I hate all these things, says the Lord.”

¹⁸ Here is another message that came to me from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. ¹⁹ “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: The traditional fasts and times of mourning you have kept in early summer, midsummer, autumn, and winter are now ended. They will become festivals of joy and celebration for the people of Judah. So love truth and peace. (Zechariah 8:14-19, NLT)

Lord Jesus, you are my foundation I build upon and anything else IS sinking sand. I have watched you tear down and demolish strongholds, and I know that nothing is impossible for you. The praise is yours. The glory is yours.

²³ “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: In those days ten men from different nations and languages of the world will clutch at the sleeve of one Jew. And they will say, ‘Please let us walk with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’” (Zechariah 8:23, NLT)

And

²⁵ Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. ²⁶ Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?” (John 11:25-26, NLT)

Grateful.

Courtney (66books365)

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1 Kings 3-5; Luke 23:1-26

“And they began to accuse him saying, ‘We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ the king.’

So Pilate asked Jesus, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’

‘Yes, it is as you say,’ Jesus replied.” Luke 23:2-4

Jesus isn’t just accused of being Christ the king; he was and is the anointed one, the Messiah, the answer to all Israel’s hopes and dreams.

Peter later confirms this and Luke records this in Acts 2:36, “Let all of Israel be assured of this:  God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

The Jews anticipate a king who displays political and worldly power and force. A deliverer who elevates their status in a downtrodden and dog eat dog world. Jesus, the Messiah God sends is not who they want. When Pilate offers to give Jesus back to his people, they choose another hero, a murderer and troublemaker, Barabbas.

This leads me to ask myself the questions, “When has Jesus asked to come into my life and I have turned him away because he isn’t who I want him to be? When do I accuse Jesus of upending my world and subverting my ways?”

I pray that God frees my heart from its own stoniness so that I can be more like the transformed Peter.  Daily, I surrender my life to Christ the King, the anointed One who is so much more than I could ever dream or hope Him to be. I pray that God keeps me from being bound by my agenda and not His. I want more of Jesus and less of me.

May it be so.

Klueh

Exodus 25-25; Matthew 21:1-22

It amazes me that the infinite, holy, wild, untamable God longs, craves to live within and among us.

Then have them make a sanctuary for me,

and I will dwell among them.

Exodus 25: 8

He doesn’t burst on the scene with fireworks, sounding horns and choreographed dancers. He comes gently, quietly on the back of a donkey.  The crowds know who they want him to be. They gather in numbers to give him a reception worthy of king. When Jesus enters Jerusalem, the city wonders and asks who this man is. The crowd answers with partial understanding,  “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”  Matthew 21:11

But Jesus is so much more. He is the Messiah sent by God, yet he is not the world’s idea of a messiah.   Instead of working from the outside in, he works from the inside out. He is on his own terms.  He is not impressed with our wealth, power, importance or our schemes to control the future. Jesus rejects all of that and literally turns the tables over.

He has come to claim what has been stolen from the God…broken hearts crying out for meaning, needing healing and looking for a love that will stay and never let go.  For that,  Jesus is hung on a cross.  His love for us, his desire to claim the sanctuary of hearts is so strong that he breaks the power of sin and death. All we have to do is call out to Him and invite Him in.

Lord,  forgive me when I try to make you into the messiah I want, not who you are. I surrender this heart to you. I give you the things I have tried to replace you with. Come live within and take hold of this heart. Make it beautiful for you. Amen.

Klueh

Let me live that I may praise you. Psalm 119:175

Esther 1, 2; Matthew 1; Luke 3

• Esther–a new opening for the Queen’s job. Girls from the area taken and prepared to apply. Esther is chosen.
• Matthew–a lineage listed, all leading up to the fulfillment of prophecy. A Messiah. When Joseph woke up, he did as he was told.

²⁰ As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. ²¹ And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

²² All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

²³ “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,
which means ‘God is with us.’”

²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. ²⁵ But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus. Matthew 1:20-25 NLT.

• Luke–a man prepares the way, preaching and baptizing. Everyone was expecting the Messiah to come soon. And then one day, Jesus was baptized.

Esther would save her people through obedience and humility.

Jesus did the same.

Esther, Joseph, John and Jesus–these chapters are the first-step-starts of bigger stories and journeys. Each one, responding in obedience: one being taken from the familiar and placed into royalty; another faced with a cultural blemish; one marches fervently and focused; and Jesus–the son of God and Savior.

These stories all united by the tasks before them, the big jobs prepared for them before their births. They are united by the obedience to do what was required. And they tell me that first-step starts lead to bigger stories and journeys.

When my task is to love God with all my heart, and to love my neighbor as myself–first-step-starts in obedience will lead to greater endings than I could ever imagine. It leads to lives changed and God’s glory. Even if, at first, it is only a package of cookies delivered with a smile.

Father, may I always be listening for your call.

Courtney (66books365)

Jeremiah 49, 13, 22; Hebrews 3

Scripture:

Hebrews 3:1-6, 1. Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, 2. who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house. 3. For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. 4. (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) 5. Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, 6. but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope. (ESV)

Observation:

Who is Jesus? Why does the writer to the Hebrews spend time comparing Jesus to Moses? Why does the writer state the obvious that Jesus is superior to Moses? Well the way the Pentateuch ends is with a prophecy that someone greater than Moses is coming and he is the Messiah. And the other part of that prophecy that is daunting states that no one till the Messiah will be as great as Moses. So, if one can prove that Jesus is greater than Moses, then the point can be made that he is the Messiah. Many times in the Gospels the Pharisees and others pledged their loyalty to Moses. They knew that to say that Jesus was the Messiah they would have to say he was greater than Moses. They could not bring themselves to say that.

Application:

Who is Jesus to You? Is he the greatest person that ever lived or just another moral teacher? I love the argument that C.S. Lewis makes on this point. He states:

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

Do you believe Jesus to be the God of the universe or not? There is no middle ground on this question.

Prayer:

Father God we thank you for Jesus. I pray we would give him the praise, glory and recognition due the God of this universe. Thank you for including in your Word logical arguments to that effect! We love you so very much. Thank that although you are the God of the universe, you are mindful of us.

dmbaldwin