A JUST JUDGMENT

Zechariah 7:9-10

Thus says the Lord Almighty: ‘Render a just judgment; show mercy and compassion each to his brother. 10 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

Contrary to the behaviors that we are seeing in today’s American leadership, Zechariah is pointing out to us the type of behavior that God wants from those who proclaim to be His people. We are to render a just judgment toward others in everything that we do. It is imperative to remember that this would be justice in alignment with God’s ways, not the way of man. We must show mercy and compassion to our brothers and sisters, which by God’s definition is every other man, woman, and child. We are not to oppress the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, the poor. Oh, how miserably is our current government leadership and supporting constituency failing at this. And we are not to remember the wrong of another, therefore no retaliation. If we keep going down the path that we are on, we will be someday seeing God’s just judgment. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

BY FAITH

Hebrews 11:8

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

Personal Challenge

Faith is such a critical part of our Christian life. It is not just about having faith as much as it is about the object in which we put our faith. For followers of Christ, that object is our God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We do not put our faith in politicians or political parties. We do not put it in religious teachers or religious institutions. We put it in our living God. Abraham lived before Jesus was born and yet God accounted his faith in the promises that God gave him. Abraham is an example in faithful trust in the unseen and unknown. We do not need a Christian nation in order for us to trust in God. To the contrary, that will always come between us and God’s kingdom here on earth. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

BY GOD’S SPIRIT

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.

Personal Challenge

So often, those who proclaim to be following God, attempt to do things in their own power. When we are trying to do God’s work, He will not bless our efforts when we do it on our own. This has played out the same way for over 6,000 years. It will not be any different this time. The Christian Nationalists approach is to force their version of Christianity on the rest of our nation, and possibly even the world. God is not included in this process, so it will fail, and fail miserably. What God wants from His followers is for us to live our lives the way Jesus did. He loved everyone, especially those outcast by society. He wants us to do the same. That means loving the widow, the orphan, the homeless, the sick, the foreigner amongst us, those who are different than us, and even those who hate us. This is not how the current anti-woke, anti-everything but a small demographic mindset works. As followers of Christ we must make the choice to love like Jesus loves, accept the consequences, and let the Spirit of God build God’s kingdom through us. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord have mercy!

Saint of the Week
St. Isaac the Syrian

FAITH, BELIEVING, AND SEEKING

Hebrews 11:6

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Personal Challenge

One of the heretical behaviors that I see in the modern person who proclaims to be a Christian and yet produces fruit that does not reveal Christ is that which they put their faith in. It is their political party, their political leader, a business or a product, or sometimes even a religious institution. None of these are the true God. Jesus neglected and disagreed with all of these things. Our faith must be in God, and God alone, if we want to please Him and be truly considered as one of His disciples. We must believe who He is and put Him above all else on this earth. We must be continually seeking Him and doing His work, which is based on loving Him and loving our neighbor. Anything else is idolatry and heresy. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

DELIGHT OVER YOU

Zephaniah 3:17

The Lord your God is with you. The Mighty One shall save you. He shall bring gladness upon you and will renew you with His love. He will delight over you with joy as in a day of feasting.

Encouraging Words

As followers of Christ, we are encouraged by verses like this one from Zephaniah. We trust that the Lord our God is with us. We believe that He will save us, not only in this world, but the world to come. He does bring gladness upon us and renews us with His love. We can approach every day with encouragement as we believe that he will delight over us. Praise be to Him!

FAITH

Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Personal Challenge

As followers of Christ, we live our lives on faith. We choose to hope for our God and His son to be all that they reveal to us in the Scriptures. We choose to believe that Jesus ushered His kingdom on earth with His incarnation, life, death, and resurection. We accept that we do not need evidence before we have faith and that evidence is provided as needed through our faith. Glory be to God.

GLORY IN THE LORD

Habakkuk 3:18-19

Yet I will glory in the Lord;
I will rejoice in God my Savior.
The Lord God is my strength;
He will direct my feet to the end;
He will set me upon high places,
So to conquer by His song.

Encouraging Words

As more people and groups misappropriate the label of Christian, it becomes more of a challenge to stand up for Christ. Even those who proclaim to be Christians attack those who sincerely do the things that Jesus asks them to do, especially His way, in love. Even so, we can glory in the Lord. We can rejoice in God our Savior. We do this for God is our strength. We know that He will direct our feet to the end. We put our hope in Him for He will set us upon high places and conquer by His song. Glory be to God!

ENDURANCE THROUGH CONFIDENCE

Hebrews 10:35-36

Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:

Personal Challenge

There is a great reward awaiting us at the end of our life here on earth. A spiritual reward and not a physical one. We can strive to live our lives as if we have that reward today, but it takes endurance to push through the spiritual battles that we encounter every day. That is why we must hold onto, and not cast aside, the confidence that we have in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Glory be to God!

Saint of the Week
St. John of the Cross