Zechariah 5, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: SURELY GOODNESS AND MERCY

If the Lord is the shepherd who leads the flock, goodness and mercy are the two sheepdogs that guard the rear of the flock. Psalm 23:6 says, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life…”  Goodness and mercy. Not goodness alone, for we are sinners in need of mercy. Not mercy alone, for we are fragile, in need of goodness. We need them both.

Goodness and mercy. If that duo doesn’t reinforce your faith, try this phrase: “all the days of my life.” What a huge statement. Goodness and mercy follow the child of God each and every day. Think of the days that lie ahead. What do you see? God will be at your side. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me—not some, not most, not nearly all—but all the days of my life.

Zechariah 5

Sixth Vision: The Flying Book

 I looked up again and saw—surprise!—a book on the wing! A book flying!

2 The Messenger-Angel said to me, “What do you see now?”

I said, “I see a book flying, a huge book—thirty feet long and fifteen wide!”

3-4 He told me, “This book is the verdict going out worldwide against thieves and liars. The first half of the book disposes of everyone who steals; the second half takes care of everyone who lies. I launched it”—Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies—“and so it will fly into the house of every thief and every liar. It will land in each house and tear it down, timbers and stones.”

Seventh Vision: A Woman in a Basket
5 The Messenger-Angel appeared and said, “Look up. Tell me what you see.”

6 I said, “What in the world is that?”

He said, “This is a bushel basket on a journey. It holds the sin of everyone, everywhere.”

7 Then the lid made of lead was removed from the basket—and there was a woman sitting in it!

8 He said, “This is Miss Wickedness.” He pushed her back down into the basket and clamped the lead lid over her.

9 Then I looked up and to my surprise saw two women flying. On outstretched wings they airlifted the bushel basket into the sky.

10 I said to the Messenger-Angel, “Where are they taking the bushel basket?”

11 He said, “East to the land of Shinar. They will build a garage to house it. When it’s finished, the basket will be stored there.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Tuesday, February 02, 2021
Read: John 15:1–12

The Vine and the Branches

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
Footnotes
John 15:2 The Greek for he prunes also means he cleans.

INSIGHT
Jesus delivered the teaching found in John 15 not long before His trial and crucifixion—His last opportunity to warn the disciples not to be like Judas but to be steadfast in their faith and to bear fruit. The fertility of the vine (a common plant in Israel at that time) naturally suggested spiritual fruit-bearing. This illustration was not new to those familiar with the Old Testament (Psalm 80:8; 128:3; Isaiah 5:1–7). The main emphasis of John 15:1–17—as evidenced by the word’s repetition eleven times—is the message to “remain” in Him: “If you remain in me . . . you will bear much fruit” (v. 5).

Pruned to Thrive -By Adam Holz
Every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. John 15:2

As I watched a bumblebee land lightly on the Russian sage, I marveled at the bush’s lush branches exploding with color. Its brilliant blue blossoms attracted eyes and bees alike. Yet only last fall, I’d wondered if it would ever blossom again. When my wife’s parents trimmed the periwinkle plant down to a stub, I’d assumed they’d decided to get rid of it. But now I was witnessing the radiant result of pruning that had seemed brutal to me.

The surprising beauty that results from harsh cuts may be one of the reasons Jesus chose pruning imagery to describe God’s work among believers. In John 15, He says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. . . . Every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful” (vv. 1–2).

Jesus’ words remind us that in the good times and bad, God is always working in us toward spiritual renewal and fruitfulness (v. 5). During “pruning” seasons of suffering or emotional barrenness, we may wonder if we’ll ever thrive again. But Christ encourages us to continue to stick close to Him: “No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me” (v. 4).

As we continually draw spiritual nourishment from Jesus, the resulting beauty and fruitfulness in our lives (v. 8) will show the world God’s goodness.

How have you seen God use struggle in your life to produce growth and fruitfulness? How do you think time gives us the perspective to see God’s hand at work in our lives?

Father, help me to trust You during difficult seasons in my life, knowing that You’re at work to bring beauty and change.

For help in strengthening your faith, read DiscoverySeries.org/Q0747.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, February 02, 2021
The Compelling Force of the Call

Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! —1 Corinthians 9:16

Beware of refusing to hear the call of God. Everyone who is saved is called to testify to the fact of his salvation. That, however, is not the same as the call to preach, but is merely an illustration which can be used in preaching. In this verse, Paul was referring to the stinging pains produced in him by the compelling force of the call to preach the gospel. Never try to apply what Paul said regarding the call to preach to those souls who are being called to God for salvation. There is nothing easier than getting saved, because it is solely God’s sovereign work— “Look to Me, and be saved…” (Isaiah 45:22). Our Lord never requires the same conditions for discipleship that he requires for salvation. We are condemned to salvation through the Cross of Christ. But discipleship has an option with it— “If anyone…” (Luke 14:26).

Paul’s words have to do with our being made servants of Jesus Christ, and our permission is never asked as to what we will do or where we will go. God makes us as broken bread and poured-out wine to please Himself. To be “separated to the gospel” means being able to hear the call of God (Romans 1:1). Once someone begins to hear that call, a suffering worthy of the name of Christ is produced. Suddenly, every ambition, every desire of life, and every outlook is completely blotted out and extinguished. Only one thing remains— “…separated to the gospel…” Woe be to the soul who tries to head in any other direction once that call has come to him. The Bible Training College exists so that each of you may know whether or not God has a man or woman here who truly cares about proclaiming His gospel and to see if God grips you for this purpose. Beware of competing calls once the call of God grips you.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The Bible is a relation of facts, the truth of which must be tested. Life may go on all right for a while, when suddenly a bereavement comes, or some crisis; unrequited love or a new love, a disaster, a business collapse, or a shocking sin, and we turn up our Bibles again and God’s word comes straight home, and we say, “Why, I never saw that there before.” Shade of His Hand, 1223 L

Bible in a Year: Exodus 29-30; Matthew 21:23-46

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, February 02, 2021
Light for Life's Darkest Valley - #8887

I'm glad I was raised in a part of the country that's a real "four seasons" place, because I love all four seasons! Where I grew up, one of them seemed a little longer than the others. It was called winter. But I think fall is my favorite season of all. I love the blooming beauty of the spring, but my favorite is the blazing colors of those fall leaves. It's not that the leaves have no color the rest of the year, but I've never known people to drive far away to see the beautiful green leaves. They will travel to see the leaves of fall. The ironic thing is that they are about to die at that point. But they are something to see!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Light for Life's Darkest Valley."

Leaves are at their most beautiful just before they die. It can be that way for people, if they're ready to die. Recently, a dear friend's mother learned that she had an incurable cancer and probably just weeks to live. As her family tried, each in their own way, to absorb the shock of that news, Jeanne was doing fine. She told them, "This is what I've been practicing for all my life." She had lived most of her life with a deep love relationship with Jesus Christ, who she was now getting ready to see.

It's that kind of life in the face of death that has echoed across the centuries in King David's immortal 23rd Psalm in the Bible. First, he describes a life in which "The Lord is my shepherd." He's been following the Lord for years and he found that, under His care, "I shall not be in want." He remembers how the Shepherd of his life has led him and loved him and restored him.

Then, in Psalm 23:4, our word for today from the Word of God, he says, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me." The Lord who has walked with him through every season of his life will walk with him through the valley of the shadow of death and then to the place where he will, in the Bible's words, "dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

Because of that unshakeable security, because of that unloseable love, our friend Jeanne - like so many I have known - was confident, radiant, and spreading hope until the day she died. In fact, some of her family saw more of that in her than they had even seen before she was facing death. It's like walking on the threshold of eternity brought out a beauty that blessed every life she touched. Jeanne was the first to tell you that it wasn't about her at all. What we were seeing was her Jesus reflected in her.

For many of us, death is the enemy we don't want to think about, we don't want to talk about, we don't want to face. But we will. When it's our final season on earth, you'll either be walking through it with Jesus, who you belong to, or you'll be walking through it pretty much alone. He's really the only One who can walk with you through life's darkest valley. He's walked there Himself, when He died on the cross for the sin that disqualifies us from entering God's heaven. He loves you so much that He took all that sin and all that hell on Himself on the cross. Then, three days later, He blew the doors off death by walking out of His own grave; proving that He, and He alone, can give eternal life.

Jesus has, in essence, turned death from the enemy that destroys everything we have into a friend who opens the gate to everything God has. But if you don't know Him when you die, it will be too late to change it. Now is what we have. Some of us won't have a warning like my friend did. The end of our life will be sudden. The most dangerous thing you can do in your life, the most deadly, is to ignore or postpone or reject Jesus Christ. The Bible describes the eternal life He died to give you as a gift, which means you've got to reach out and take it.

If you've never done that, you want to get your eternity settled once and for all? The Bible says, "Now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2). Whenever you can get to a place where you can talk to God, tell Him, "Jesus, you died for my sins. I'm putting all my trust in you. I'm yours."

I'd love to help you do that. That's why we've set up our website. Just go there. It's ANewStory.com.

We're talking here about having life's greatest security. It's life's greatest hope to know that when it's your time to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you are going there with Jesus.