GOD CALLS US BY NAME I’m on my annual study retreat, so I’ve been taking more time to star gaze in the evenings and consider God’s greatness. Since the launching of the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have observed that there are an almost infinite number of stars in the universe. In our own Milky Way
THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER Zechariah’s prophecy concerning the thirty pieces of silver was written around 500 years before Christ. In the prophecy, the Lord called Zechariah to shepherd the suffering flock of Judah and Israel, and he obeyed. He cared for the flock and removed the evil and worthless shepherds who had formerly been over
MEDITATING ON THE MAJESTY David was determined to “meditate” on the Lord’s “majestic glorious splendor” and on His “wonderful miracles.” The miracles seem obvious enough to consider. Whatever is beyond natural explanation, whatever seems to be an interruption or suspension of natural law, so that God is the only explanation, these are miracles, are they
WHAT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE TO YOU THIS CHRISTMAS? In Zechariah’s time, the Jews had returned to Jerusalem from Babylonian exile and were attempting to rebuild the Temple. But the small remnant was overwhelmed with the large size of the project. They felt inadequate in every way, not enough in number nor in resources. But the Lord
ADVENT MEANS COMING O how the psalmist David cried out to the Lord! He held nothing back in his prayers. Like a child insistently crying for his mother’s attention, David made his complaint known to the Lord. He would not be content until the Lord answered. Have you seen a child in such a state?
THE SECOND ADVENT While exiled on the Isle of Patmos, the apostle John saw a vision of Christ’s second coming. His description of the Son of Man coming on the clouds was like what the prophet Daniel saw in his vision 600 years before Christ’s first advent. “Behold, with the clouds of heaven
KINGS ARE BORN IN PALACES BUT LAMBS IN A MANGER In John’s revelation, the curtain between heaven and earth was pulled back and he saw events from God’s perspective. From God’s eternal, beyond time, point of view, the Lamb was slain before the foundation of the world. For Jesus is the Lamb of God whose
DID YOUR NATIVITY COME WITH A DRAGON? When the apostle John was exiled on the Isle of Patmos, the Lord pulled back the curtain between heaven and earth and invited old John to see things from a heavenly perspective. Among the events he saw, John saw the cosmic warfare surrounding Christ’s birth. In order to
BE STRONG. GET TO WORK. DON’T BE AFRAID. The Lord gave the prophet Haggai three instructions for the Israelites who had returned from Babylonian captivity. These instructions were to be strong in the Lord, get to work on rebuilding the Temple and don’t be afraid. The Lord had Haggai address this instruction to two Hebrew
GOD’S FAITHFULNESS THROUGHOUT THE GENERATIONS Do you know your great, great grandfather’s name? Zephaniah did. Some believe he gave such an extensive lineage in his introduction to establish that he was a descendent of King Hezekiah. However, it does seem odd that he didn’t refer to him as “King Hezekiah” if that were truly the