Read the word.
Teach the word.
Preach the word.
- 1 Timothy 4:13
Thirty years of purposeful purity prepared John for one moment. The years of preparation poured over into preaching as he prepared the people for their Messiah. And the people responded—thousands came from all over to hear his preaching and recognized their sin and need for repentance.
The same happened to John when Jesus arrived. In the presence of the sinless Jesus, John could not compute how he would baptize Jesus. So John prevented it from happening (Matthew 3:14). The original word translated as ‘prevent’ means to utterly prohibit or forbid. From John’s perspective, Jesus’ request to be baptized is backward—if anyone needs baptizing between them, it's John. But Jesus put John’s mind at ease. He knew what John needed to hear—“Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” (Matthew 3:15) This was all that John ever wanted—righteousness. He wanted to prepare the way for the public, earthly ministry of The King of The Kingdom that was at hand. What better way to start than by being baptized? In doing so, Jesus acknowledged the ministry of John and publicly identified with sinful humanity, whom He came to save. John had a very unique call on his life. In order to fulfill that call, he needed to live a unique life. His entire life was preparation to be the preparation for the Messiah. To effectively prepare the way, he needed to be pure.
More than any man had ever before, John pursued purity. He pursued God in the solitude of the wilderness, surviving on wild honey and locusts. Thirty years of purity and prayer, spending time with God thinking of nothing else—until one day, the Lord told him to speak: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” The sound of that message resounded in the hearts of thousands from the area who came to him in the desert to confess their sins and be baptized, desperately wondering what would happen next. John told them what to expect: the Messiah is approaching. He would baptize also, but not by submerging in water. He would submerge you, saturate you, and transform you in and by the Holy Spirit. His ministry would be the most important. Are you ready? Is your heart ready? He will be here any second. Repent—change your mind about your sin and let it go. Get your heart ready to receive what He is going to give. He is coming! Repentance isn’t something you must do before you can come to God. Repentance is what coming to God looks like. Repenting of sin is turning from sin and turning to God. Turning to God means you are turning from sin.
Think of it this way—if I say I’m driving today to Duluth, I may not also say that I’m leaving St. Cloud and driving to Duluth. But the only way I can drive to Duluth is to leave St. Cloud. Similarly, the only way I can turn to the Lord is to turn away from sin. This is repentance. This is what leaving sin and coming to God looks like. Does that mean that we will never sin again or that we won’t struggle with it? No. But it does mean that we never again desire to give our loyalty, time, attention, or devotion to sin. We now want to give God all of our loyalty, time, attention, and devotion. He will not leave us helpless in our battle with sin—quite the contrary. He has sent His Holy Spirit to help us by baptizing and burning away sin. The pain of holding on to sin is so much more than the pain of God’s help to release us from that sin. God’s holy fire burns away the sin in our hearts so that the awful impurities rise to the surface to be removed. Then God can see His reflection in a heart purely and wholly His. What does it mean to repent? Is it to feel sorry for your sin? Or to change your mind about sin? You could do both—and still not truly repent of your sin.
If you only feel sorry for your sin (or just sorry that you got caught in sin), and even acknowledge that it is sin, you cannot just declare repentance and then continue in that sin. True repentance is not merely a simple statement, a feeling sorry, or an acknowlement of wrong. It includes those things, but it is also turning away from your sin—the complete ceasing of that sin, renouncing of that sin, and having a humble hatred that sin. Repentance is not something that only happens at the moment of conversion. As Jesus gently and persistently reveals more and more of what He wants to remove from our lives, we respond humbly in genuine repentance. When we do, He replaces that sin with new and wonderful life-giving holy habits. This hopefully happens again and again as we follow Jesus and become more aware of sin in our lives. The town of Nazareth is where Jesus grew up. It was an unimportant country town with a reputation for nothing good. ‘Netzer’ is the Hebrew word that Nazareth comes from. It is a term of contempt, meaning ‘a sprout in the middle of death’. Netzer-eth. Jesus was called a Netzer-ene, dismissed as just another insignificant life surrounded by nothingness—an insignificant life surrounded by death. And yet, Jesus would be, was, and always will be, the giver of life. Jesus rules, reigns, and saves to the uttermost by the power of an indestructible life.
We see this concept in Isaiah 6, when God asks, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” Isaiah says, “Here am I! Send me!” Then God describes what Isaiah’s ministry will look like: “You are going to go to people who have eyes but refuse to see ears but refuse to hear hearts that refuse to repent that they might turn to Me and be healed.” At this point, Isaiah asks an honest question: “How long?” God tells him the length of his ministry—until there is so much death and destruction due to sin it will be like an oak tree that has been cut down and is now a decaying stump. But, God tells Isaiah, in the middle of that stump, surrounded by death, will be My holy seed, My sprout—My Netzer, My Son. This describes the time surrounding the life of Jesus—death and destruction. Israel was no longer sovereign. Cut down, they were ruled and reigned by Rome as a consequence for their sin. They were just a stump, reeling from the rot caused by Herod. And yet this little life persisted. This little life surrounded by death was The Author of Life, who would one day lay down his life for the worst of sinners. Whether you are a vile and violent sinner like Herod or a religious sinner like Saul, who would be Paul, Jesus came to save you. All you need do is look to Him and be healed! Herod saw Jesus as a threat—not just to his throne and authority, but also to his sovereignty. More concerned with his own life than the value of human life, Herod attempted to eliminate the threat by murdering all the baby boys under two years old in Bethlehem and the surrounding area.
Herod did not believe in the sanctity of human life. But as followers of Jesus, we do. We believe that all men, all women, all children—all humans—were made in the image of God and therefore have value. The value does not come from our positions, or possessions, or any reason other than the fact that we are made in the image of God. More than that, every human life is sanctified, set apart for a good purpose to bring glory to God. Unfortunately, sin entered in to humanity and hindered us from fulfilling our God-given purpose. And so, Jesus was sent on a rescue mission to redeem all sinful humanity so that all who turn to Him and receive forgiveness from Him could return to their God-given purpose of glorifying Him with their human life. In order to do this, Jesus—the only innocent life—would need to lay down His life for us. There is no stain too deep that Jesus cannot completely cleanse. There is no sin so severe that Jesus cannot fully forgive. This is the good news of the gospel—that no matter what you have done, you can be fully forgiven! The substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus on the cross was fully sufficient to accomplish this. This great salvation is available to you right now! Simply confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead. The Bible says that if you do this, you will be saved (Romans 10:9). Repent (turn away from) you sin and ask God for forgiveness. Believe that Jesus died for your sin and that God raised Him to life. Trust Him as your Savior and follow Him as the Lord of your life. “And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”
–Matthew 2:11 It was entirely appropriate and culturally expected that when you entered the presence of royalty, you brought gifts equal to their authority and majesty. And although no gift could ever equal the authority and majesty of God Almighty, the gifts the Magi presented accurately represented the ministry of Jesus. Gold speaks of His royalty. Frankincense speaks of His divinity. And myrrh speaks to His death. This was the ministry of Jesus: As the royal heavenly authority, He came as humanity to die for humanity in order to save humanity from their sin. Jesus was born not only King of the Jews, but King of everybody and everything. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. He is Immanuel—God with us. He is Jesus—God our salvation. The people Malachi delivered God’s message to were weary from worshipping the Lord. They wondered what they would get out of bringing God their best. In their hearts, they pondered what the point of worship is when evil people prosper and the more they worship Him, the more difficult life would become.
Have you ever felt that way—like worship is a weariness because you don’t get anything out of it? If so, remember this important truth: Worship isn’t for you. Worship is for God. If you view worship as a means to an end, you will become disillusioned and disappointed. We do not give to receive. And we do not receive to give. We don’t worship God to get things from God. We worship God because He is worthy of our worship always—every day and in every way, no matter the circumstances of our life. Just like the people who heard Malachi’s message, God continually calls us back to the heart of worship and reminds us that it’s all about Him, not a half-hearted religious routine. It’s all about a real relationship with Him. God is the One who knows the end from the beginning. So He knows just how bad things will get as more labor pains take place. But God is also the One who gave His one and only Son to save us from sin, death, and the grave. Jesus helps us look beyond all of the labor pains, knowing that no matter how bad things get, our King is still coming.
Sometimes, God allows temporary difficulty to help us to think about eternity. God will do the same during the tribulation in a much more amplified way. During that time, God is going to allow the most amount of human physical suffering that He has ever allowed. He will do this in a final attempt to gain the attention of people so that they might loosen their stiff necks, turn towards Him, and receive eternal salvation. Think of it this way: You see your friend walking on a railroad track with a train approaching. They don’t hear the train coming, but you can see it’s just a matter of moments before they are struck. You want to run to them, but there’s a fence in the way. You attempt to get their attention, but they can’t hear you. Would you pick up a rock and throw it at your friend to risk a little bit of physical suffering to save their life? Of course, you would! The temporary physical suffering during the tribulation—as terrible as it may be—will be nothing compared to an eternity of suffering beyond human imagination. Do not wait for a temporary difficulty to make the most important decision of your life—turn to God today so that He can save you now! “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd,
Against the Man who is My Companion,” Says the Lord of hosts. –Zechariah 13:7 When Adam and Eve were exiled from Eden, a flaming sword guarded the garden (see Genesis 3:24). Ablaze with the jealous wrath and judgment of God, it would consume anyone who would sinfully approach the tree of life to receive eternal life in their sinful state. God would not have that, so He set a plan in motion a plan that included extinguishing that flaming sword of judgment in the soul of His one and only Son, The Shepherd. It was the Lord’s will to make The Shepherd’s life, body, and soul an offering for our sin. This opened the fountain to us (see Zechariah 13:1). The Good Shepherd took the sword of the Lord for us and for our sin. A fountain was opened to cleanse the sin and uncleanness of those who return to Him in repentance. We’ll sing of the Shepherd that died, That died for the sake of the flock; His love to the utmost was tried, But firmly endured as a rock. When blood from a victim must flow, This shepherd by pity was led To stand between us and the foe, And willingly died in our stead. Our song, then, forever shall be Of the Shepherd who gave Himself thus; No subject’s so glorious as He, No theme so affecting to us. –Thomas Kelly (“We'll sing of the Shepherd that died”) “Thus says the Lord, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him…”
–Zechariah 12:1 When you think it through and break it down, the Lord has quite an astounding résumé. “…who stretches out the heavens…” Current estimates say that the universe is expanding at a rate of 2.6 million miles per hour for every 3.26 million light-years of distance. It’s estimated that there are over 2 trillion galaxies in our expanding universe. It’s also estimated that each galaxy has over 200 billion stars. God knows each of those stars by name—and yet, if you were to obtain an accurate total amount of the stars in our universe, God’s word says that He has thought about you more than number. “…lays the foundation of the earth…” Planet Earth is spinning at 1,000 miles per hour while orbiting the sun at 66,000 miles per hour while traveling in our galaxy at 2.6 million miles per hour in our ever-expanding universe. And yet, all of the conditions necessary to sustain life exist on earth. Change our distance from the sun, and we would freeze or burn. Change the tilt or rotation of the earth even a smidgen, and we would not be able to exist. Alter the composition of the atmosphere, the oceans, the crust—and life could not exist as we know it. The Lord has carefully & thoroughly laid the foundation of the earth. “…formed the spirit of man within him…” You are fearfully and wonderfully made by God. His word is clear—He loves you and wants to be with you! All of this—the heavens, the earth, the spirit in a man that can bear witness with God’s Spirit is to tell you that He is real and that He loves you. Even when He tells you in advance of an evil and awful gathering in the shadow of Mount Megiddo, it’s all to tell you that He is real and that He is in charge, and that He loves you and wants to be with you forever. As you read the word of the Lord, remember Who is speaking and Who is in control of everything. How much destruction could be avoided if all of us would simply recognize that Jesus is with us and that He loves us and wants to spare us from sin and the destruction that comes from sin?
It’s a sobering thought experiment, but consider that all of us are two decisions away from destruction—one decision to entertain temptation and the other decision to act upon that temptation, leading to the eventually and inevitable destruction that happens as a result of sin. And yet, that destruction doesn’t have to happen. We don’t have to sin! We could simply recognize Jesus as Lord and Messiah, receive Jesus as Lord and Messiah, and follow Jesus as Lord and Messiah. And then, by following Him, loving Him, and obeying Him, sin (and the inevitable destruction that comes from sin) doesn’t have to happen. Avoid the unnecessary destruction that comes from sin! Choose to recognize & receive Jesus as your Lord and as your Savior. Simply confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead. The Bible says that if you do this, you will be saved (Romans 10:9). Ask God for forgiveness. Believe that Jesus died for your sin and that God raised Him to life. Trust Him as your Savior and follow Him as the Lord and Savior of your life. If you ever wanted proof of the existence of God, consider the peculiar prophecies in Zechariah 10—and many more throughout scripture!
The Jewish people were scattered to the four corners of the earth for almost 1,900 years. They lived in almost every single country, and yet they retained their national identity, religion, language, culture, and cuisine. Then on May 14th, 1948, the nation of Israel became a nation again in a single day. Since then, they have regathered in the Promised Land a second time in anticipation of the second coming of Messiah Jesus. How exciting it is to see this come to pass before our very eyes! We are living in a time the Bible speaks of more than just about any other. And yet, just like many, many other times in Israel’s history, the days in which we live are dark—which is an excellent opportunity for us to be “prisoners of hope” (Zechariah 9:12). We know that no matter how dark it gets on this earth, our King is still coming! Based on these peculiar prophecies of the miraculous regathering of Israel into the Promised Land a second time, we know that His second coming is right around the corner—closer than it has ever been! “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.” –Zechariah 9:9 Some 550 years in advance, the prophet Zechariah was given a vision of the triumphal entry of the Messiah—The King of kings— into Jerusalem. He is the most powerful ruler ever, with more military might at His disposal than we could ever imagine or attempt to describe. And yet, we read that His coming to Jerusalem will be lowly and on a baby donkey. This was His choice—to humble Himself and to be meek and lowly. And in one week’s time, He would offer Himself in the same way to save humanity from sin. So many leaders have come and gone, then have been forgotten because they led with ruthless brilliance or vile violence. And yet, Jesus of Nazareth chose to be meek and lowly. He chose to be the suffering servant. He has captivated the hearts of His followers, not by overwhelming them, but by sacrificially serving them and sacrificing Himself to save them. This is why we follow King Jesus, who has captivated our hearts and lives by choosing to lay down His own. “Do not fear,
Let your hands be strong.” –Zechariah 8:13 God is a person. He is not a formula, or a plan, or a robot. He is not a religion. In fact, rote religion is not only repulsive to Him—it breaks His heart. Rote religion is the shallow, half-hearted plan to pacify God. We will do more out of a genuine heartfelt response to God’s grace, goodness, and love for us than what we are required to do by people’s plan to pacify God. Has your heart been completely captivated by God’s grace? Receive the encouragement in Zechariah 8—do not fear, let your hands be strong. God will return and restore, just as He promised. God will give you strength to endure, just as He promised. He will turn your fasting into His feasting. Are you relying on religion to earn your salvation? Respond to God’s grace with a thankful heart and turn to Him—He wants to have a relationship with you! Ask Him to remove all self-appointed, self-indulgent, and self-pity and replace it with the pure joy that comes from being in a real loving relationship with Him. “I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”
–Hosea 6:6 The Lord’s desire is for us to show love, not offer sacrifices. God would rather have right hearts, full of truth and mercy than sacrifice. It repulses God when religious experts—those who know a lot about God—go through the motions of serving God with impenitent hearts towards God. No amount of religious razzle-dazzle on the outside could ever make up for the lack of reality on the inside. God desires mercy, not the sacrifices to cover sin without ever feeling sorry for or repenting of sin. You can know a lot about the Lord and entirely miss knowing Him. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day demonstrated that. They knew a lot about God—but they missed the heart of God and focused on the wrong and superficial things. Loving your neighbor and genuinely knowing the Lord is more important to Him than knowing a lot about Him and treating others poorly. In light of this, can learn from the experience of those who are written about in Zechariah and heed the word of the Lord given to them: “Execute true justice, Show mercy and compassion Everyone to his brother. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, The alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart Against his brother.” –Zechariah 7:9-10 No matter how bad this world gets, our King is coming. His kingdom will come and His will WILL be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Jesus is coming again! King Jesus—fully man and fully God—who saved us from our sin by becoming an offering for sin. This is the message that God has woven all throughout the Bible. And it’s the message that the world needs to hear. Jesus can save you from your sin right now if you will turn away from sin, look to Him, and trust Him today! “What do you see?”
Zechariah was asked this question in his sixth vision. And what he saw was…a 15’ x 30’ flying scroll. It’s important to remember that these visions were physical pictures that communicated spiritual truth. The angel explained the spiritual truth in this vision: the scroll represents the curse that goes out over all the earth. This curse has consequences—corruption and destruction because of sin. But this curse has been broken! Galatians 3:13 says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.’” In John 3, Jesus points to a physical picture to understand this spiritual truth. There was a time when deadly snakes invaded the camp of the Israelites in the wilderness. Moses pleaded with the Lord to do something and the Lord commanded him to make a bronze serpent, to put it on a pole, and to lift it up. Anyone who was bit by a snake and looked to the bronze serpent would live. Jesus explained that this physical picture has a spiritual truth. Bronze is a symbol of judgment and the serpent is a symbol of sin. Lifting it on a pole is a picture of sin being judged for all to look to and live. On the cross, Jesus became a curse for us—He became sin so we could become the righteousness of God. All who look to Jesus will be saved—He has rescued us from the curse by becoming cursed for us! “‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.”
–Zechariah 4:6 God’s work can only be done God’s way. It’s not enough to rely on God’s resources. We must also reject what resources we think we bring to the table. No amount of human might, power, intellect, or ingenuity can accomplish God’s agenda. The Apostle Paul learned this the hard way. There was perhaps no one with more might or power than Saul (meaning “desired one”) before he became Paul (meaning “little one”). Saul didn’t change his name immediately after getting saved. He had to go through years of heavy humbling before he eventually became Paul. Just like Paul, we need to learn how to be completely reliant on God’s resources while simultaneously rejecting man’s resources (see 1 Corinthians 2:1-5). When all of your effort and ingenuity only seem to make the problems you face problem worse, remember that it’s not by might or by power, but by God’s Spirit that God’s work is accomplished. God may just be trying to lead you to the end of your resources and the beginning of His as you rely only on His Holy Spirit. In Zechariah’s first vision (Zechariah 1:8-17), Zechariah saw soldiers on horseback sent by God throughout the earth. In their midst, in the hollow among the myrtle trees, was a man.
Myrtle trees aren’t impressive like the soaring cedars of Lebanon. Their beauty is born out of difficulty. The more that their roots struggle to find soil and water, the more beautiful the tree becomes. Its blossoms are fragrant when crushed and are used for medicines. In scripture, myrtle trees are consistently seen as a symbol of the people of the nation of Israel—hearty and beautiful who fight for existence and bless others, even while being crushed. But there was also a man among the myrtle trees—a leader of an army who stood among the people of Israel. He seemed to be The Lord of Hosts—The Lord of Heavenly Armies. Who is this man? What is His name? His name is Jesus—The Lord our Salvation. No matter how many times the enemy rises up to scatter and tear down, Jesus finds men and women in every generation to rise up, build up, and bless. May the Man among the myrtle trees encourage you to be steadfastly committed to loving God, loving your family, and loving your neighbors. For when we do this in loving obedience to God—even and especially when times get tough—it terrifies our enemy. Following God and doing His work isn’t easy. If it was easy, the Apostle Paul wouldn’t have encouraged us to be “steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” (see 1 Corinthians 15:58).
Serving the Lord takes courage, determination, and an others-centered attitude. Even though it is difficult, it is still the right thing to do—and it is never in vain! It might seem easier to be self-serving, but that’s like going the wrong way on a moving sidewalk—you put a lot of effort in but never really go anywhere or accomplish anything. If you’re stuck on serving yourself, listen to the lessons we find in Haggai—stop making excuses and start considering your ways. Begin again to serve the Lord. He is with you. He is for you. He is in your corner. He’s on your side. He’s never going to leave you. He is never going to forsake you—no matter what! Turn to Him, today! In Nehemiah 8, we read of the special partnership between God’s pastors and God’s people as it pertains to the ministry of the Word.
We read of Ezra, a pastor who prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, to do what it says, and to teach his fellow Israelites. He read the word of the Lord clearly and distinctly. He helped those who listened to understand and apply God’s word for God’s glory. He raised up other faithful men who would be able to teach and care for others, leading them gently in the joy of understanding and application. We read of the people, who have a vital role in the ministry of the Word. They gathered together in unity and asked Ezra to bring the Word. As they listened, they were attentive and respectful, eager and responsive, emotional and worshipful. They were obedient to do what God said and they were joyful in the application. This is why we do what we do whenever we gather. We believe that the Spirit of God works through the Word of God in the hearts of the people of God. There is nothing flashy—simply reading the scripture clearly and then explaining the scripture simply so that those who hear will understand. Through this simple act of faith and obedience, the Spirit of God can radically transform the heart of an individual, a family, a fellowship, or even an entire nation. The final chapters of Daniel provide a prophetic outline of the end of this age—complete with details and timelines, warnings and promises. And yet, you might be wondering what Daniel might have been wondering—does this have anything to do with me?
At the very end of the book of Daniel—after all of the amazing prophetic details, an angel tells Daniel, “But you go your way till the end for you shall rest and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.” (Daniel 12:13) Did you catch that? “But you…” As true as everything is that came before it, there’s something specific for you. There are many instances of “But you” in scripture. One instance is found in the little letter called Jude. It fits so well with what Daniel may have been experiencing and speaks to us here and now as we await for Jesus’ second coming. In his letter, Jude identifies apostates—people who look, talk, and walk like a Christian, but who are not Christians and are actually emissaries of Satan. After all of that, he writes, “But you…” and we might think that he is going to tell us how to root up and root out these dangerous imposters, but he doesn’t. He simply encourages us to build ourselves up in the faith, to continue to pray, to stay in God’s love, and to be merciful to others (read it for yourself in Jude 20-25). God had a course He wanted Daniel to complete, and Daniel needed to remain focused on that. God has a course He wants you to complete—remain and be focused on that. There is a real but unseen spiritual realm where a battle is being fought. There are angels and there are fallen angels who are constantly battling over us. But we are not caught in the middle of the fight—we can participate in it (see Ephesians 6:11-13). Your prayers change how things go in that battle—and sometimes persistent prayer is what is necessary to win the battle.
So remember who and what you’re fighting for. Be persistent in prayer, continuing firmly and obstinately in spite of difficulty and opposition. Fight by faith and remember Nehemiah’s encouragement: “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.” (Nehemiah 4:14) Be persistent in prayer—in spite of difficulty the devil throws your way. Resist the devil and eventually he must flee from you (James 4:7). There are many lessons that we can take away from a close study of the first section of Daniel 9. Here are some lessons that we learned this past Sunday:
God longs to use you, speak to you, and bless you with insight and understanding at every age of your life. Remember that Daniel was a teenager when he was taken to Babylon. Daniel determined in his heart ahead of time to obey and serve God, who used him greatly and miraculously throughout his entire life. The same Holy Spirit who helped Daniel to understand the Scriptures is the same Holy Spirit who helps us to understand the Scriptures. Daniel read Jeremiah just like we read Daniel. And just as Daniel realized from the Scriptures that something very significant was about to happen, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can do the same. When we pray for our nation, we need to include ourselves in need of God’s mercy. When Daniel realized the significance of what was going to happen, his reaction was one of mourning, praying, fasting, and confession for his nation’s transgressions. He even included himself as a transgressor as he sought mercies from God. When we pray, we need to present our supplication with wisdom and passion. Daniel didn’t hold back when he approached God for mercy. The word ‘supplication’ means to beg for something humbly and earnestly. It’s more than okay to be passionate in prayer as long as you remember who you’re speaking to and why He should listen to you: “we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies.” (Daniel 9:18) God is merciful. God is merciful and gracious, longsuffering and abounding in goodness and truth. Daniel acknowledged that God had every right to refuse listening to his prayer—and yet, we do not approach God because we are righteous but because He is merciful. Student of Scripture—read and heed the lessons God longs to teach you as you open your heart, and your mind, and your eyes, and your ears to His word! |
From Pastor Dom...When I first gave my life to Jesus, there were friends in my life who helped me to grow in my understanding of God, through His word, and for those friends Archives
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