THE LORD SPOKE (December 29)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Zechariah 8-10

The Lord promises to bless Jerusalem. There was an immediate promise for Zechariah’s day (fulfilled) but this passage builds to fantastic heights by the end of the book (still unfulfilled).

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I am very jealous for Zion;
I am burning with jealousy for her.”
This is what the Lord says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem.
Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth,
and the mountain of the Lord Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain.”
(Zechariah 8:2-3)

It seemed marvelous at that time (Zech. 8:4-6). It seems marvelous today when you walk the streets of Jerusalem and see what God has done in our day with regard to the return of the Jewish people to the city of Jerusalem. Once again “men and women of ripe old age sit in the streets of Jerusalem with cane in hand” and “the city streets are filled with boys and girls playing there”. Why should it seem marvelous in our eyes if God is in it?

But you ain’t seen nutin’ yet. The King is coming! We had a glimpse of it in His triumphal entry (Zech. 9:9; Mat. 21:5; Jn. 12:15) but there is a dispensational gap in Zechariah 9:10. Only part of the prophecies about Messiah were fulfilled in His first advent. He will yet return to “proclaim peace to the nations”. In His second advent, “His rule will extend from sea to sea”. “Then the Lord will appear over them” (Zech. 9:14).

Here are the basic elements of Old Testament biblical theology once again:

PEOPLE - Zech. 10:6 - “the house of Judah...the house of Joseph”
PROMISE - Zech. 10:6 - “I will strengthen...I will restore...I will answer them”
PRESERVATION - Zech. 10:8 - “I will redeem them”
POSSESSION - Zech. 10:9 - “they will return”
PRINCE - Zech. 9:9 - “your king comes to you” (quoted as messianic in Mat. 21:5 and Jn. 12:15)


Proverbs 29

“Vent your rage!” So say some psychology books. But not the Bible. One who does so is termed a “fool” and unworthy of trust.

A fool gives full vent to his anger,
But a wise man keeps himself under control. (Prov. 29:11)

A fool shows his annoyance at once,
But a prudent man overlooks an insult. (Prov. 12:16)

A fool is “hot-headed and reckless” (Prov. 14:16) and “a quick-tempered man does foolish things” (Prov. 14:17). For this reason he “stirs up dissension” (Prov. 15:18) and “commits many sins” (Prov. 29:22). We are instructed:

Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man,
Do not associate with one easily angered,
Or you may learn his ways
And get yourself ensnared. (Prov. 22:24-25)

Is the only alternative to venting your rage, holding it in? Not at all! It needs to be dealt with properly and that is by obtaining a calm spirit from the Lord. By submitting to Him in our thoughts and emotions, we can overcome our tendency to be hot-headed, quick-tempered, and short-fused. Listen to the collected wisdom of Scripture on this:

• Ephesians 4:31-32 - Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
• Psalm 37:8 - Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret - it leads only to evil.
• Proverbs 19:11 - A man’s wisdom give him patience. It is to his glory to overlook an offense.
• Colossians 3:5,8 - Put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature.... Rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

Now do it!

THE LORD SPOKE (September 7)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: Proverbs 14-16

“Temper, temper, temper!” Remember when Mom used to say that to you in an attempt to help you with an attitude check?

“Temper, temper, temper!” Remember the last time the Holy Spirit whispered those words to you as he prodded you to slow down, back off, and think before speaking? Don’t need to think back too far, do you? That’s because our temper is usually not far below the surface and often needs to be checked.

Proverbs has a lot to say about our temper:

• 14:17a - A quick-tempered man does foolish things.
• 14:29b - A quick-tempered man displays folly.
• 15:18a - A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension.
• 26:21 - As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.
• 29:11 - A fool gives full vent to his anger but a wise man keeps himself under control.
• 29:22 - An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered one commits many sins.

When we come to the New Testament, one of the qualifications of the man whom God uses is that he “must be blameless - not over-bearing, not quick-tempered” (Titus 1:7).

Do you remember the character Nabal in the story of David? He was “surly and mean in his dealings” (I Samuel 25:3). He was a quick-tempered man that most people tried to stay away from. Though David helped him with his harvest during a busy time, though David’s men provided very valuable protection from local bandits, and though Nabal’s wife Abigail gave him very wise counsel, still he only hardened in his hot temper and got worse instead of better. Finally, “his heart failed him and he became like a stone” (25:37) and a few days later he was in a pine box. When he died, people said, “Praise the Lord!”

Now is that the kind of legacy you want? Is your surliness and quick temper really that valuable to you that you just can’t give it up? Life is complicated but all spiritual problems have a very simple, straight-forward solution:

1. Give it to the Lord. Ask for His help.
2. Read the Scriptures. Just like you can’t get well physically if you don’t eat good food, so you can’t get well spiritually if you don’t feed yourself regularly from God’s Word.
3. Confess your sin (I John 1:9). Do it every time you sin.
4. Ask forgiveness of those you’ve offended. Do it every time you offend. After awhile you’ll tire of going back again and again to ask forgiveness for the same thing. Eventually it will be easier to just not do it again.
5. When you fail, and you will, repeat the process.

Simple? Yes! Easy? Not one bit! Right? Without a doubt! Worth it? Why not find out?


New Testament: Revelation 13

It’s a trinity of evil. In a vile duplication and thinly camouflaged replica of the holy Trinity, this diabolic three-some sets out to multiply its power and authority over the earth. The two words, “power and “authority”, occur a combined total of ten times in this little chapter.

The dragon, exalting himself to the position of God the Father, is Satan. This is something he’s been trying to do since the beginning of his existence. In this, his final attempt to overthrow the Kingdom of Righteousness, he gives his power and authority to the first beast (Rev. 13:1-10) who rises out of the sea. The imagery of Revelation 13 matches that of Daniel 7:2-7 and represents the Antichrist, that evil secular authority that blasphemes God and makes war against the saints.

He is supported by “another beast, coming out of the earth” who has a religious authority and performs “great and miraculous signs” by which he deceives the inhabitants of the earth. This false prophet causes them to worship the Antichrist, even to the point of energizing an idol that can kill any who refuse to do so. The people seem more than willing to go a step further. They will submit to being physically branded with the mark of the beast. They will pledge their allegiance to the very epitome of evil and everything that stands contrary to God.

These three - Satan, the Beast or Antichrist, and the False Prophet - unleash their full fury upon the earth for the remainder of the Tribulation. At the end they are captured. The Beast and the False Prophet are “thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur” (Rev. 19:20) and Satan is bound in prison for 1000 years (Rev. 20:2-3,7).

If only that were the end of it. But remember, they had many willing followers. Those multitudes are still in rebellion and the judgments that follow will fall upon them with the fullness of God’s fury (read ahead to Rev. 14:9-11).

In stark contrast are those who resist the trinity of evil. The 144,000 are God’s faithful band who’s job it will be to proclaim “the eternal Gospel...to those who live on the earth - to every nation, tribe, language and people” (Rev. 14:6). And they will be effective witnesses to His glory. That multitude will sing the Song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb (Rev. 15:3-4).

Ready to tune up?