Zechariah 12 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 Max Lucado Daily: GOD’S QUESTIONS

Listen to the question God asked Job: “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much” (Job 38:4). One question would have been enough for Job, but it isn’t enough for God. Questions rush forth. They splatter in the chambers of Job’s heart with a wildness and a beauty and a terror that leaves every Job who has ever lived drenched and speechless, watching the Master redefine who’s who in the universe.

God’s questions to Job aren’t intended to teach; they are intended to stun. They aren’t intended to stir the mind; they are intended to bend his knees. “I owe no one anything,” God declares in the crescendo of the wind. “Everything under the heaven is mine” (Job 41:11). Job couldn’t argue. God owed no one anything. No explanations, no excuses. Which makes the fact that he gave us everything even more astounding.

Zechariah 12

Home Again in Jerusalem

War Bulletin:

God’s Message concerning Israel, God’s Decree—the very God who threw the skies into space, set earth on a firm foundation, and breathed his own life into men and women: “Watch for this: I’m about to turn Jerusalem into a cup of strong drink that will have the people who have set siege to Judah and Jerusalem staggering in a drunken stupor.

3 “On the Big Day, I’ll turn Jerusalem into a huge stone blocking the way for everyone. All who try to lift it will rupture themselves. All the pagan nations will come together and try to get rid of it.

4-5 “On the Big Day”—this is God speaking—“I’ll throw all the war horses into a crazed panic, and their riders along with them. But I’ll keep my eye on Judah, watching out for her at the same time that I make the enemy horses go blind. The families of Judah will then realize, ‘Why, our leaders are strong and able through God-of-the-Angel-Armies, their personal God.’

6 “On the Big Day, I’ll turn the families of Judah into something like a burning match in a tinder-dry forest, like a fiercely flaming torch in a barn full of hay. They’ll burn up everything and everyone in sight—people to the right, people to the left—while Jerusalem fills up with people moving in and making themselves at home—home again in Jerusalem.

7-8 “I, God, will begin by restoring the common households of Judah so that the glory of David’s family and the leaders in Jerusalem won’t overshadow the ordinary people in Judah. On the Big Day, I’ll look after everyone who lives in Jerusalem so that the lowliest, weakest person will be as glorious as David and the family of David itself will be godlike, like the Angel of God leading the people.

9 “On the Big Day, I’ll make a clean sweep of all the godless nations that fought against Jerusalem.

10-14 “Next I’ll deal with the family of David and those who live in Jerusalem. I’ll pour a spirit of grace and prayer over them. They’ll then be able to recognize me as the One they so grievously wounded—that piercing spear-thrust! And they’ll weep—oh, how they’ll weep! Deep mourning as of a parent grieving the loss of the firstborn child. The lamentation in Jerusalem that day will be massive, as famous as the lamentation over Hadad-Rimmon on the fields of Megiddo:

    Everyone will weep and grieve,
        the land and everyone in it:
    The family of David off by itself
        and their women off by themselves;
    The family of Nathan off by itself
        and their women off by themselves;
    The family of Levi off by itself
        and their women off by themselves;
    The family of Shimei off by itself
        and their women off by themselves;
    And all the rest of the families off by themselves
        and their women off by themselves.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Thursday, February 11, 2021
Read: Psalm 37:1–7

Of David.

Do not fret because of those who are evil
    or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
    like green plants they will soon die away.

3 Trust in the Lord and do good;
    dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
    your vindication like the noonday sun.

7 Be still before the Lord
    and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
    when they carry out their wicked schemes.

INSIGHT
After Psalm 37’s opening exhortation not to be upset by the short-lived vitality and success of those who ignore God (vv. 1–2), a series of commands follow that call for faithful dependence on Him (vv. 3–8). The remainder of the psalm describes the conduct of two kinds of people (the righteous and the wicked), who follow two different paths and end up at two different places (vv. 9–11, 20). In various ways, the wicked harass and prey upon the righteous (vv. 12–15, 32). But the righteous aren’t alone. God—in whom they trust and delight and upon whom they wait—protects them, making them safe and secure (vv. 16–17, 23–26, 32–33). The conclusion speaks powerfully to those who place their faith in God. “The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord; he is their stronghold in time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them . . . because they take refuge in him” (vv. 39–40).

By Leslie Koh

The Ticking Watch

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. Psalm 37:7


A group of workers were cutting ice out of a frozen lake and storing it in an icehouse when one of them realized he’d lost his watch in the windowless building. He and his friends searched for it in vain.

After they gave up, a young boy who’d seen them exit went into the building. Soon, he emerged with the watch. Asked how he’d found it, he replied: “I just sat down and kept quiet, and soon I could hear it ticking.”

The Bible talks much about the value of being still. And no wonder, for God sometimes speaks in a whisper (1 Kings 19:12). In the busyness of life, it can be hard to hear Him. But if we stop rushing about and spend some quiet time with Him and the Scriptures, we may hear His gentle voice in our thoughts.

Psalm 37:1–7 assures us that we can trust God to rescue us from the “wicked schemes” of evil people, give us refuge, and help us stay faithful. But how can we do this when turmoil is all around us?

Verse 7 suggests: “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.” We could start by learning to keep silent for a few minutes after prayer. Or by quietly reading the Bible and letting the words soak into our hearts. And then, perhaps, we’ll hear His wisdom speaking to us, quiet and steady as a ticking watch.

How can you be still before God each day? What will help you stay silent and listen?

Loving God, grant me the patience and discipline to stay still for a while each day, that I might hear Your gentle whisper in my life.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Thursday, February 11, 2021
Is Your Mind Stayed on God?
You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. —Isaiah 26:3

Is your mind stayed on God or is it starved? Starvation of the mind, caused by neglect, is one of the chief sources of exhaustion and weakness in a servant’s life. If you have never used your mind to place yourself before God, begin to do it now. There is no reason to wait for God to come to you. You must turn your thoughts and your eyes away from the face of idols and look to Him and be saved (see Isaiah 45:22).

Your mind is the greatest gift God has given you and it ought to be devoted entirely to Him. You should seek to be “bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ…” (2 Corinthians 10:5). This will be one of the greatest assets of your faith when a time of trial comes, because then your faith and the Spirit of God will work together. When you have thoughts and ideas that are worthy of credit to God, learn to compare and associate them with all that happens in nature— the rising and the setting of the sun, the shining of the moon and the stars, and the changing of the seasons. You will begin to see that your thoughts are from God as well, and your mind will no longer be at the mercy of your impulsive thinking, but will always be used in service to God.

“We have sinned with our fathers…[and]…did not remember…” (Psalm 106:6-7). Then prod your memory and wake up immediately. Don’t say to yourself, “But God is not talking to me right now.” He ought to be. Remember whose you are and whom you serve. Encourage yourself to remember, and your affection for God will increase tenfold. Your mind will no longer be starved, but will be quick and enthusiastic, and your hope will be inexpressibly bright.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

Always keep in contact with those books and those people that enlarge your horizon and make it possible for you to stretch yourself mentally. The Moral Foundations of Life, 721 R

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 11-12; Matthew 26:1-25

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Thursday, February 11, 2021
Uninterrupted Service - #8894

Sure, I guess you could become way too dependent on cell phones. But when you travel a lot like I do, there are times when your cell phone is your only link and you really need to communicate. Unfortunately, many of those moments find me in the middle of one of those black holes where you're nowhere near a cell tower. Like trying to find a cell site in great stretches of the Western United States, or try it in the middle of a remote Indian reservation, for example. That's why I get such a chuckle out of a cell phone commercial they had for a while. Remember that guy in the woods talking on his cell phone and saying, "Can you hear me now?" Then he's in a swamp or something and he says, "Can you hear me now?" Finally, he's on top of some mountain, "Can you hear me now?" I wish I had a dollar for every time I've asked that question.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Uninterrupted Service."

That question takes on a far deeper significance when you're in one of those times when you're feeling away from God, and it's God who you're asking, "Can you hear me now?" The valley might be pretty deep, "Lord, can You hear me now?" The wilderness could be lonely and very long, "Lord, can You hear me now?" The guilt and the shame maybe is haunting you constantly, "Lord, can you hear me now?"

And He answers unequivocally in Psalm 139, beginning with verse 7, our word for today from the Word of God: "Where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, 'Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night,' even the darkness is not dark to You, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You."

Well, there it is. No matter where you are, no matter how deep in, no matter how cold inside, no matter how far down, or how far away you feel, the answer to "Can You hear me now, Lord?" is always a resounding "Yes!" He's always there for you, in the depths of your depression, in the hardness of your rebellion, in the coldness of your feelings, in the roller coaster of your emotions He's there! If you feel far from God, remember, He hasn't moved! And if you're running from God, hoping somehow to escape Him, realize that's the ultimate Mission Impossible. He will always run faster than you can.

And if it seems you're having a hard time getting through to God, consider one thing that creates a serious communication breakdown. Psalm 66:18 says, "If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear." That means there's a sin you're loving more than Him, a sin you are stubbornly hanging onto. That's serious trouble in the line. But He's still listening for you to say, "God, I'm so sorry for hurting You. I'm sorry for defying You. Forgive me. Change me." Maybe He's been waiting a long time to hear those words from you.

If your feelings are telling you that your Lord can't be reached from where you are now, your feelings are lying to you. It is one of the greatest treasures of belonging to Jesus that you can never again be somewhere that God cannot hear you. And you know what? He loves to hear your voice. Call on Him today...like now.