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Isaiah 9:6

Great shall be His government, and of His peace there is no end. His peace shall be upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order and establish it with righteousness and judgment, from that time forward and unto ages of ages. The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform this.

Encouraging Words

I have spent most of my Christian journey being taught, and believing, that God’s Kingdom was coming, someday after Jesus returns. However, if you read the scriptures through the eyes of Eastern Orthodoxy, eyes similar to those of our Apostles and Jesus himself, you will see that Jesus ushered in His Kingdom and His government with His incarnation. We believe that we are living as members of His Kingdom and under the rule of His government today. The key here is that we are living this out in this temporal world as His ambassadors, representing Him to the world around us. We do not put our hope in some future Kingdom but in the one that belongs to Him today. Glory be to God!

Isaiah 6:8-10

Isaiah 1:16-20

Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean. Put away the evils from your souls before My eyes. Cease from your evils. Learn to do good. Seek judgment and redeem the wronged. Defend the orphan and justify the widow. Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “although your sins are like crimson, I shall make them white like snow, and although they are as scarlet, I shall make them white like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good things of the land. But if you are unwilling and disobedient, you shall be devoured by the sword,” for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Command with a promise

We are told that we must make the effort to cleanse ourselves, put away evil from all aspects of our lives, stop doing evil, do good, seek out justice for those who have been wronged, and defend those who cannot defend themselves. As Christians, we know that we are no longer bound by the Law because Jesus fulfilled the Law. We also know that there is nothing that we can do to earn, or even deserve, the mercy, grace, and love of God. He gives it to us freely. So why do all these things that really manifest the Lord? We do them out of our gratefulness to our Lord, out of our love for Him. We also know that by living for Him, His way, we will more deeply experience the promises that came with these commands. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Malachi 3:1-5

“Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come into His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, whom you desire. Behold, He is coming,” says the Lord Almighty. “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can withstand His appearance? For He enters like a refiner’s fire and as soap in one’s wash. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver and gold. He will purify the sons of Levi and pour them out as purified gold and silver, and they will bring an offering to the Lord in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord, as in the days of old, as in former years.

“And I will draw near to you in judgment, a swift witness against sorcerers, adulterers, those who swear falsely by My name, those who exploit wage-earners, those who oppress widows and afflict orphans, those who pervert the justice due foreigners, and those who do not fear Me,” says the Lord Almighty.

Personal Challenge

Malachi prophesied that there would be two very important messengers coming in the future. These messengers would totally upend the state of their religious beliefs that they practiced. The first messenger was John the Baptist who was sent to announce the coming of the Messenger of God, the Messiah. John challenged the leaders of his religious practices for being deadened to the voice of God and creating a religion of men. Jesus picked up that challenge to the leaders and then extended it to every person. He called us to Himself and challenged us to abandon this world and to take up His cross as ours and follow Him. Through Him, we are now His messengers taking His word out to the world around us. Are we living up to that responsibility as His messengers? Am I? Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Malachi 1:6a

“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then, I am the Father, where is My honor? And if I am a Master, where is the reverence due to me?” says the Lord Almighty.

Personal Challenge

As Christians, we must always be looking at our lives and making sure that we are honoring God above ourselves and the things of this world. It is so easy nowadays to be distracted and take our eyes off of God and that which He wants us to focus on. Sometimes it is a thing that distracts us. Sometimes it is a person that we set up on a pedestal. Sometimes it is our material positions or our desires for them. No matter what is going on in our lives, there is always an opportunity to honor God more than yesterday. Glory be to God!

Zechariah 9:9

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Proclaim it aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King comes to you; He is righteous and saving; He is gentle and mounted upon a donkey, even a young foal.

Zechariah 8:7-8

Thus says the Lord Almighty: ‘Behold, I shall deliver My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west. I shall bring them in and settle them in the midst of Jerusalem. They shall be to Me a people and I will be to them a God in truth and in righteousness.

Encouraging Hands

God knows that his people are spread all over the world, both literally and figuratively. It is from this spreading that His Gospel, the Good News, is being taken to every corner of the earth. He promises us though that there will be a day of great gathering where all of His people, His followers, will be brought together to live in His heavenly Kingdom. This is a hope that we can all hold on to. Glory be to God!

Zechariah 4:6

And he answered and spoke to me, saying, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Not by mighty power nor by strength, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.

Encouraging Words

Every person has battles to fight in their lives. This is a consequence of this fallen world that we live in. This is our lot until our Lord returns and His new Kingdom is established. Zechariah reminds us that these battles are not won by power or strength. They are won by the Spirit of God who was sent by God to dwell within us. Our part is to not quench His work in us. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Zechariah 7:9-10

Thus says the Lord Almighty: ‘Render a just judgment; show mercy and compassion each to his brother. Do not oppress the widow, or the orphan, or the foreigner, or the poor. And let not one remember in his heart any wrong of his brother.’

Personal Challenge

Our predecessors, the Jewish people, were given the keys to God’s Kingdom. The law that was given to them pointed them, and us, to God. They were also given the responsibility to take God’s good news to the world. They kept it for them­selves. Fast forward to the birth and life of Jesus and that which was made available to the Jews only was made available to all. What are we, those who profess Jesus as our Lord, doing with those keys? Are we rendering just judgments? Are we showing mercy and compassion to others? Are we not oppressing the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, and the poor? Are we forgetting the wrongs that others perpetrate against us? I know that I have a long way to go in these areas. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!