relationship (Malachi 2:1-17) Seeking Peace

(Malachi 2:1-17) 

“And now, this commandment is for you, the priests. 2 If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to give honor to My name,” says the Lord of armies, “then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings; and indeed, I have cursed them already, because you are not taking it to heart. 3 Behold, I am going to rebuke your descendants, and I will spread dung on your faces, the dung of your feasts; and you will be taken away with it. 4 Then you will know that I have sent this commandment to you, so that My covenant may continue with Levi,” says the Lord of armies. 5 “My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him as an object of reverence; so he revered Me and was in awe of My name. 6 True instruction was in his mouth and injustice was not found on his lips; he walked with Me in peace and justice, and he turned many back from wrongdoing. 7 For the lips of a priest should maintain knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of armies. 8 But as for you, you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble by the instruction; you have ruined the covenant of Levi,” says the Lord of armies. 9 “So I also have made you despised and of low reputation in the view of all the people, since you are not keeping My ways but are showing partiality in the instruction.”

10 Do we not all have one Father? Is it not one God who has created us? Why do we deal treacherously, each against his brother so as to profane the covenant of our fathers? 11 Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord which He loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god. 12 As for the man who does this, may the Lord eliminate from the tents of Jacob everyone who is awake and answers, or who presents an offering to the Lord of armies.

13 And this is another thing you do: you cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and sighing, because He no longer gives attention to the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. 14 Yet you say, “For what reason?” Because the Lord has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your marriage companion and your wife by covenant. 15 But not one has done so who has a remnant of the Spirit. And why the one? He was seeking a godly offspring. Be careful then about your spirit, and see that none of you deals treacherously against the wife of your youth. 16 “For I hate divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “and him who covers his garment with violence,” says the Lord of armies. “So be careful about your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.”

17 You have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet you say, “How have we wearied Him?” In that you say, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He delights in them,” or, “Where is the God of justice?”

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

Often, when God's word gives us a bad example of what not to follow, He gives us a good example to follow.  In this chapter, our good example is Levi.  And, most often, when God's word tells us what not to do, He then tells us what we should be doing.  These are all the points found in this chapter:

• being saved is to be in a personal relationship with the Lord,
• as the Lord is committed and faithful to those who love Him, strive to be committed and faithful,
• live in God's life and peace which is an eternal blessing,
• walk with the Lord in spiritual peace,
• in the Lord's peace, seek to be peaceful with others,
• therefore DO NOT deal treacherously with others or be violent

• be careful about your spirit,
• nurture your personal relationship with the Lord by drawing closer and closer to Him,
• cherish your personal relationship with the Lord by putting Him first,
• show reverence to the Lord and His name,
• be in awe and give honor to His name
• be awake and answer to the Lord while giving your offering with a humble and thankful heart,
• therefore DO NOT profane the sanctuary

• obey the commandments which are given as an object of reverence to revere the Lord
• faithfully pursue and keep the Lord's way,
• therefore DO NOT cry to God when you are willfully living in sin and expect Him to find favor with you

• seek instruction from spiritual leaders who are messengers of God
• listen to what God's says and take it to heart, 
• pursue truth, understand it, and maintain knowledge,
• give true instruction,
• teach your children to be godly,
• therefore DO NOT twist God's word to consider evil things good, or twist them to try justifying sinful behavior

• walk with the Lord in justice, 
• stand up for the true victims and be on the side of true justice,
• therefore DO NOT show partiality

• turn others from wrongdoing,
• therefore DO NOT cause others to stumble

• a believer should marry another believer,
• be committed to your marriage in God's will
• nurture your marriage in God's will, so that as you grow closer to the Lord, you grow closer to each other,
• cherish your marriage by putting God first in your lives and consider your spouse next in importance, which is to consider others (especially your spouse) more important than yourself,
• therefore avoid divorce and DO NOT treat your spouse treacherously

relationship (Malachi 1:1-14) More Than Worthy

(Malachi 1:1-14) 

The pronouncement of the word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi:

2 “I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How have You loved us?” “Was Esau not Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob; 3 but I have hated Esau, and I have made his mountains a desolation and given his inheritance to the jackals of the wilderness.” 4 Though Edom says, “We have been beaten down, but we will return and build up the ruins”; this is what the Lord of armies says: “They may build, but I will tear down; and people will call them the territory of wickedness, and the people with whom the Lord is indignant forever.” 5 And your eyes will see this, and you will say, “The Lord be exalted beyond the border of Israel!”

6 “‘A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?’ says the Lord of armies to you, the priests who despise My name! But you say, ‘How have we despised Your name?’ 7 You are presenting defiled food upon My altar. But you say, ‘How have we defiled You?’ In that you say, ‘The table of the Lord is to be despised.’ 8 And when you present a blind animal for sacrifice, is it not evil? Or when you present a lame or sick animal, is it not evil? So offer it to your governor! Would he be pleased with you, or would he receive you kindly?” says the Lord of armies. 9 “But now, do indeed plead for God’s favor, so that He will be gracious to us. With such an offering on your part, will He receive any of you kindly?” says the Lord of armies. 10 “If only there were one among you who would shut the gates, so that you would not kindle fire on My altar for nothing! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of armies, “nor will I accept an offering from your hand. 11 For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, My name shall be great among the nations, and in every place frankincense is going to be offered to My name, and a grain offering that is pure; for My name shall be great among the nations,” says the Lord of armies. 12 “But you are profaning it by your saying, ‘The table of the Lord is defiled, and as for its fruit, its food is to be despised.’ 13 You also say, ‘See, how tiresome it is!’ And you view it as trivial,” says the Lord of armies, “and you bring what was taken by robbery and what is lame or sick; so you bring the offering! Should I accept it from your hand?” says the Lord. 14 “But cursed be the swindler who has a male in his flock and vows it, but sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord, for I am a great King,” says the Lord of armies, “and My name is feared among the nations.”

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

What if someone claimed that they loved us like family, but invited us over and served us rotten food while they ate a freshly prepared gourmet meal?  Or what if we had saved a person from a burning building, but they publicly thanked and gifted those who set the fire?  Or if our children just stopped visiting or talking to us, even after we've done our best to equip and help them towards a successful life?

It does put things into perspective considering that the Lord is God, King, and Creator of everything!  And considering everything the Lord Jesus has done, is doing, and will do for us, and wants the very best for us, does He not deserve our love, and our respect, energy, time, attention, devotion, honor, and our very best?  He is so much MORE than worthy!

relationships (Zechariah 14:1-21) 100% Trust

(Zechariah 14:1-21) 

Behold, a day is coming for the Lord when the spoils taken from you will be divided among you. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be taken, the houses plundered, the women raped, and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be eliminated from the city. 3 Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west forming a very large valley. Half of the mountain will move toward the north, and the other half toward the south. 5 And you will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him!

6 On that day there will be no light; the luminaries will die out. 7 For it will be a unique day which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at the time of evening there will be light.

8 And on that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter.

9 And the Lord will be King over all the earth; on that day the Lord will be the only one, and His name the only one.

10 All the land will change into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; but Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site from Benjamin’s Gate as far as the place of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses. 11 People will live in it, and there will no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will live in security.

12 Now this will be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem; their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth. 13 And it will come about on that day that a great panic from the Lord will fall on them; and they will seize one another’s hand, and the hand of one will be raised against the hand of another. 14 Judah also will fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance. 15 And just like this plague, there will be a plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey, and all the cattle that will be in those camps.

16 Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of armies, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. 17 And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of armies, there will be no rain on them. 18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which the Lord strikes the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. 19 This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.

20 On that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the Lord.” And the cooking pots in the Lord’s house will be like the bowls before the altar. 21 Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the Lord of armies; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them. And there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of armies on that day.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

Only unbelievers will go into the Tribulation, but there will be those becoming believers during the seven years, along with Israel as a nation.  They will see the judgements, which are the signs of Jesus' second coming, and believe.  Some of the judgements include:  the sun and stars losing their light, wars, plagues, and earthquakes.

Near the end of the Tribulation, like the parting of the Red Sea, the Lord will cause an earthquake which will create a valley for all believers to use in order to escape the enemies.  Then the Lord will return with His holy ones to have victory at the battle of Armageddon and remove all evil and sinners (unbelievers) from the earth.

In the Millennium, Jesus will fulfill all of Israel's covenants:  

The Abrahamic covenant promises them land (with a very literal area), seed (a thriving population), and blessings (productiveness and fruitfulness).  

The Mosaic covenant promises them that they are able to enjoy these things because they are in perfect obedience (because all of them have become believers).  

The Davidic covenant promises them that they will have their rightful, righteous, perfect everlasting King sitting on the throne, to guide them and the entire world into physical as well as spiritual peace.  

As well, part of the Abrahamic covenant promises the world that they will be blessed through Israel's seed - that being Jesus - who has already provided the way of salvation, and will one day reign here on earth.  Only believers will enter the Millennium, but there will be many people born into that time period and they will have to make their choice - to make Jesus their Lord and Savior - or not.  Jesus will be right here on earth, governing it with immediate and righteous justice.  Jesus will also be right there in person to answer and guide people. 

As for right now, everyone has a choice to make: to accept or reject Jesus and His salvation.  For those who accept, all believers receive the omniscient, indwelling Holy Spirit to help guide us.  The Lord is omnipresent, so anywhere and all of the time, we can talk to Him and make our requests known.  And because the Lord is omnipotent, nothing is impossible for Him.  We also have access to God's written word, the Bible, which is infallible, relevant and applicable to every situation we could ever encounter.  

Because God desires that all come to know Him, He is faithful so we can see and know - and BEHOLD!  In a personal relationship with the Lord, He wants to do life WITH us.  Therefore, He helps us in our obedience, and in our obedience, we will be blessed to experience Him, His mighty power, and how He works for us, in us, and through us!   With God, we do not have to worry or fear anyone or anything!  We can be confident and trust in Him - 100%.

relationships (Zechariah 13:1-9) Getting Through the Fires of Life

(Zechariah 13:1-9) 

“On that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for defilement.

2 “And it will come about on that day,” declares the Lord of armies, “that I will eliminate the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered; and I will also remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land. 3 And if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who gave birth to him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, because you have spoken falsely in the name of the Lord’; and his father and mother who gave birth to him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. 4 Also it will come about on that day that the prophets will each be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, and they will not put on a hairy robe in order to deceive; 5 but he will say, ‘I am not a prophet; I am a cultivator of the ground, because a man sold me as a slave in my youth.’ 6 And someone will say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your arms?’ Then he will say, ‘Those with which I was wounded at the house of my friends.’

7   “Awake, sword, against My Shepherd,
     And against the Man, My Associate,”
     Declares the Lord of armies.
     “Strike the Shepherd and the sheep will be scattered;
     And I will turn My hand against the little ones.
8   And it will come about in all the land,”
     Declares the Lord,
     “That two parts in it will be cut off and perish;
     But the third will be left in it.
9   And I will bring the third part through the fire,
     Refine them as silver is refined,
     And test them as gold is tested.
     They will call on My name,
     And I will answer them;
     I will say, ‘They are My people,’
     And they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

By the end of the Tribulation, two thirds of the earth itself will have been destroyed.  At the battle of Armageddon, Jesus will come again and have the victory.  He will then take all those (about one third of the people) who have become believers during the Tribulation into the Millennial kingdom where He will establish and maintain peace on earth.  Therefore, these believers will have come through the "fire" of the Tribulation.  All unbelievers in the Tribulation will go through the fire but will not come out.

Understand that at death, all people will have to go through the fire, and all people will be judged.  Unbelievers will be judged and punished according to their sins, and none of them will be justified.  But it is the one sin - the unpardonable sin - that has them on this course!  That is the sin of rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ and His salvation.  Just so, every person who does not want the Lord Jesus in their lives, will live their eternity in a place that is 100% without Jesus!  Also understand that God is good, and all good gifts are from the Lord.  So hell is a place that is 100% without goodness, as well.  But this is each and every person's choice in life.

For believers, salvation in Jesus and trusting in Him brings us through the fire, when we pass from earth to heaven.  Because all our sins have been forgiven, our account has been wiped clean, and Jesus has covered us with His righteousness and given us His indwelling Holy Spirit of promise as our eternal protection.  Therefore, we will be judged according to the good deeds done with right motives.  All other "good" deeds will be burned up, and we will be rewarded for those that come through the fire - those done with pure motives - in Jesus' love, strength and righteousness.

For right now, when we go through tribulations in our lives, we need to realize that these are tests meant to refine us.  Like in verse 7, which is a reference to when Jesus was arrested and the disciples scattered, instead of becoming scared, discouraged or bitter, we can look to the Lord for our help in order to see what a mighty work He will do in us and around us.  Trusting in Him will bring us through "the fire" of our struggles.  This is not only how one's faith and relationship with the Lord will grow stronger, but this is also how our testimony to others will shine out.  Making an impact in the relationships around us, requires us to have a strong, personal relationship with the Lord!.

relationships (Zechariah 12:1-14) Love and Reconciliation

(Zechariah 12:1-14) 

The pronouncement of the word of the Lord concerning Israel:

The Lord who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of a person within him, declares: 2 “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes staggering to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. 3 It will come about on that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will injure themselves severely. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. 4 On that day,” declares the Lord, “I will strike every horse with confusion and its rider with insanity. But I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem are a strong support for us through the Lord of armies, their God.’

6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again live on their own sites in Jerusalem. 7 The Lord also will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be greater than Judah. 8 On that day the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them on that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and of pleading, so that they will look at Me whom they pierced; and they will mourn for Him, like one mourning for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be great, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land will mourn, every family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves; 14 all the families that are left, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

Here is a prophecy of Jesus' crucifixion, and a prophecy of the end times.  When Israel goes through the Tribulation, they will see the judgements, which are their signs of Jesus' second coming and realize that Jesus was and is their Messiah.  

Although the Lord's work on the cross was necessary to make salvation possible, it will weigh heavy on Israel's heart to also realize that they crucified their King, the only One able to fulfill their covenants!  But when they as a nation become believers during the Tribulation, being forgiven of their sins, and covered by the Lord Jesus' righteousness, which is to be in perfect obedience, Jesus will return at the end of the Jewish Age to set up the Millennial kingdom and give Israel their promised land, seed and blessings (see Genesis 12:1-3).

Meanwhile, verse one demonstrates just how much God is about having a close, personal relationship with us!  He created us with this in mind!  It is He who forms the spirit within each individual!  Because He is love, He created us with a free will.  And because He is love, He will not force anyone to love Him back.  But because of His great love, Jesus died in our place to pay for all sin, then rose again to have victory over death, so that anyone who believers in Him will have eternal life, as well as be reconciled with the Lord in a personal relationship.  

People cannot first be "good enough" in order to go to the Lord.  God is holy and cannot have a relationship with sin.  So, the Lord asks that we go to Him as we are, and repent.  In His salvation, we receive His indwelling Holy Spirit, and He changes us from the inside out.  We cannot be God, but we can be more and more like Him by continually allowing Him to work in and through us.  And as children of God, to truly love the Lord is to desire to follow Him, be close to Him, and be just like Him! 

relationships (Zechariah 11:1-17) Union and Favor

(Zechariah 11:1-17)

1   Open your doors, Lebanon,
     So that a fire may feed on your cedars.
2   Wail, juniper, because the cedar has fallen,
     For the magnificent trees have been destroyed;
     Wail, oaks of Bashan,
     Because the impenetrable forest has come down.
3   There is a sound of the shepherds’ wail,
     For their splendor is ruined;
     There is a sound of the young lions’ roar,
     For the pride of the Jordan is ruined.

4 This is what the Lord my God says: “Pasture the flock doomed to slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and each of those who sell them says, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for I have become rich!’ And their own shepherds have no compassion for them. 6 For I will no longer have compassion for the inhabitants of the land,” declares the Lord; “but behold, I will let the people fall, each into another’s power and into the power of his king; and they will crush the land, and I will not rescue them from their power.”

7 So I pastured the flock doomed to slaughter, therefore also the afflicted of the flock. And I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Favor, and the other I called Union; so I pastured the flock. 8 Then I did away with the three shepherds in one month, for my soul was impatient with them, and their soul also was tired of me. 9 Then I said, “I will not pasture you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to perish, let it perish; and let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.” 10 And I took my staff Favor and cut it in pieces, to break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was broken on that day, and so the afflicted of the flock who were watching me realized that it was the word of the Lord. 12 And I said to them, “If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!” So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages. 13 Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them.” So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the Lord. 14 Then I cut in pieces my second staff Union, to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

15 And the Lord said to me, “Take again for yourself the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or provide for the one who is exhausted, but will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs.

17 Woe to the worthless shepherd 
     Who abandons the flock!
     A sword will be on his arm 
     And on his right eye!
     His arm will be totally withered,
     And his right eye will be blind.”

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

The two staffs were called "Favor" and "Union".  These nicely represent what God desires for us.  The Lord really does want the very best for us!  He wants us to have a favorable and fulfilling life with reconciled, loving relationships - with Himself - as well as with others.  

Just like the Lord, we are to love all people, even our enemies, but this doesn't mean that we are to approve of sinful lifestyle choices, or have compassion on people who commit crimes.  In fact, God's word tells us that there will be times when we should "not throw pearls before the swine".  When someone rejects the good news, respectfully and lovingly step away.  Then, continue to love them, pray for them, and be ready to share IF AND WHEN there is a future opportunity.

Sadly, even spiritual leaders will reject God's truths and fail the people.  And people generally will follow along blindly.  Just like in this passage.  When Zechariah tried to shepherd the people in the way they should be, the people didn't appreciate him.  As an insult, they paid him the salary of a slave.  This parallels how the Israelites treated Jesus when He came in flesh.  And the Pharisees paid Judas Iscariot the exact same amount for the betrayal of Jesus, because they didn't appreciate Him.  

Jesus is the perfect Shepherd as well as the spotless Lamb of God who, in His death, paid the price for all sin, and in His resurrection, He had victory over death.  In this way, He can offer the free gift of salvation to anyone who chooses to believe in Him.  So easy, yet people's pride causes them to not want to accept Him, love Him back and follow Him.  They prefer anything else which leads to eternal death, rather than trusting in the Lord's way which leads to favor, union, and eternal life.