Zechariah 8
The LORD Promises to Bless Jerusalem
1 Again the word of the LORD Almighty came to me. 2 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her." 3 This is what the LORD says: "I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain."
4 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with cane in hand because of his age. 5 The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there."
6 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time, but will it seem marvelous to me?" declares the LORD Almighty.
7 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west. 8 I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God."
9 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "You who now hear these words spoken by the prophets who were there when the foundation was laid for the house of the LORD Almighty, let your hands be strong so that the temple may be built. 10 Before that time there were no wages for man or beast. No one could go about his business safely because of his enemy, for I had turned every man against his neighbor. 11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as I did in the past," declares the LORD Almighty.
12 "The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will produce its crops, and the heavens will drop their dew. I will give all these things as an inheritance to the remnant of this people. 13 As you have been an object of cursing among the nations, O Judah and Israel, so will I save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong."
14 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Just as I had determined to bring disaster upon you and showed no pity when your fathers angered me," says the LORD Almighty, 15 "so now I have determined to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah. Do not be afraid. 16 These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; 17 do not plot evil against your neighbor, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this," declares the LORD.
18 Again the word of the LORD Almighty came to me. 19 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. Therefore love truth and peace."
20 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come, 21 and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, 'Let us go at once to entreat the LORD and seek the LORD Almighty. I myself am going.' 22 And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the LORD Almighty and to entreat him."
23 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "In those days ten men from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, 'Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.' "
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Exodus 18:13-24
13 The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. 14 When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, "What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?"
15 Moses answered him, "Because the people come to me to seek God's will. 16 Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God's decrees and laws."
17 Moses' father-in-law replied, "What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. 19 Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people's representative before God and bring their disputes to him. 20 Teach them the decrees and laws, and show them the way to live and the duties they are to perform. 21 But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. 23 If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied."
24 Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.
January 31, 2008
Minister Mentor
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READ: Exodus 18:13-24
Moses heeded the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. —Exodus 18:24 About this cover In 1959, when Lee Kuan Yew assumed the position of Prime Minister of Singapore, his leadership began a long process of national transformation. Initially, disagreements between ethnic groups and a weak economic base made the future of this tiny nation uncertain. By 1990, when Lee stepped down from his position, Singapore had become a model country for ethnic harmony and a thriving economy. After serving as Senior Minister, Lee became Minister Mentor in 2004. Since then he has been an invaluable resource to Singapore’s cabinet and to other leaders around the world.
Insights from the older generation can greatly benefit the younger generation. Although Moses had been used by God to perform miracles and deliver Israel out of bondage in Egypt, he still listened to the advice of his father-in-law Jethro (Ex. 18:24). Jethro had watched his son-in-law care for the concerns of the people and observed: “Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you” (v.18). Moses followed Jethro’s advice to select, train, and delegate others to share the workload (vv.22-24).
Whom has God placed in your life to advise you as a “minister mentor”? —Dennis Fisher
Following ThroughWhat are your weakest character traits?Do you know a fellow believer who is strong in these areas?Could that person become your spiritual mentor?
Those who are mature in the faith can help others to mature in their faith.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 31, 2008
Do You See Your Calling?LISTEN: READ:
. . . separated to the gospel of God. . . —Romans 1:1 About this cover Our calling is not primarily to be holy men and women, but to be proclaimers of the gospel of God. The one all-important thing is that the gospel of God should be recognized as the abiding reality. Reality is not human goodness, or holiness, or heaven, or hell— it is redemption. The need to perceive this is the most vital need of the Christian worker today. As workers, we have to get used to the revelation that redemption is the only reality. Personal holiness is an effect of redemption, not the cause of it. If we place our faith in human goodness we will go under when testing comes.
Paul did not say that he separated himself, but "when it pleased God, who separated me . . ." (Galatians 1:15). Paul was not overly interested in his own character. And as long as our eyes are focused on our own personal holiness, we will never even get close to the full reality of redemption. Christian workers fail because they place their desire for their own holiness above their desire to know God. "Don’t ask me to be confronted with the strong reality of redemption on behalf of the filth of human life surrounding me today; what I want is anything God can do for me to make me more desirable in my own eyes." To talk that way is a sign that the reality of the gospel of God has not begun to touch me. There is no reckless abandon to God in that. God cannot deliver me while my interest is merely in my own character. Paul was not conscious of himself. He was recklessly abandoned, totally surrendered, and separated by God for one purpose— to proclaim the gospel of God (see Romans 9:3).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
The Happy Kind Of Mad - #5494 Thursday, January 31, 2008
Our daughter was gone for the morning and a friend had come to baby sit our two grandsons. She's a brave lady! Actually, she had a relatively problem-free, crisis-free morning, except for one time when she just had to reprimand our three-year-old angel. Being a firstborn, he's very sensitive to being corrected. His later comment indicated that he had clearly recorded what was a very gentle reprimand - the kind you do with a smile on your face, not a snarl. When Mom returned and asked our little guy how his morning was with "Miss Wilma", he invented a new phrase to describe her correction. He said, "Miss Wilma got mad at me; she got happy mad."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Happy Kind of Mad."
I found the idea of being "happy mad" intriguing. And, in fact, the Bible actually describes a kind of "mad" that God considers, more or less, the "happy" kind. It's the kind that doesn't tear down the person on the other end.
God's description of "righteous" anger is really realistic and helpful, especially in Ephesians 4:25-27. That's our word for today from the Word of God. Here's what it says, "Laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity."
Apparently, it's possible to be angry with someone and deal with it in a way that isn't sinful - "happy mad," as my grandson might say. Sadly, we do a whole lot of sinning when we're angry. So we all need to know how to "be angry and yet not sin" as it says here. Righteous anger first has to be truthful, not exaggerated. "Speak truth," the Bible says. No exaggeration, no inflation, no stretching, no embellishing the truth to make your point. Stick to the facts.
Secondly, righteous anger needs to be kind and not cruel. Two verses later we're told, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building others up..." (Ephesians 4:29) - nothing that will tear the other person down. God is calling us to express our frustration and anger in a way that you attack the issue; you don't attack the person. So I'm not going to resort to calling you a name...to belittling you. It means saying something like this: "What you said makes me feel like my feelings don't matter," instead of saying, "You don't give a rip about how I feel, do you?" One sticks to the facts about how I'm feeling; the other one attacks you and accuses you.
One other characteristic of righteous anger according to Ephesians 4 is it's short-lived, not stored up. "Do not let the sun go down on your anger." No day should ever end with you still being angry. When you store it, it grows and deepens and turns into hard feelings and bitterness. All that can be avoided if you never "let the sun go down on your anger." Otherwise you develop what the Bible calls in Hebrews 12:15, "A root of bitterness, that one day grows up and defiles many" and can cost you the grace of God.
God knows we'll get angry, but He's spelled out for us a way to deal with it that doesn't leave scars, doesn't leave walls and doesn't leave regrets. Be honest, be kind, and get right to it. If there's such a thing as "happy mad," that's what it's like.
