Then I asked the angel, “What are these two olive trees on each side of the lampstand, and what are the two olive branches that pour out golden oil through two gold tubes?”
“Don’t you know?” he asked.
“No, my lord,” I replied.
Then he said to me, “They represent the two heavenly beings who stand in the court of the Lord of all the earth.”
-Zechariah 4:11-14 NLT
Posted in Daily Scriptures | Tags: Bible, earth, faith, God, life, nature, photography, salvation
Then I looked up again and saw four chariots coming from between two bronze mountains. The first chariot was pulled by red horses, the second by black horses, the third by white horses, and the fourth by powerful dappled-gray horses. “And what are these, my lord?” I asked the angel who was talking with me.
The angel replied, “These are the four spirits of heaven who stand before the Lord of all the earth. They are going out to do his work. 6 The chariot with black horses is going north, the chariot with white horses is going west, and the chariot with dappled-gray horses is going south.”
The powerful horses were eager to set out to patrol the earth. And the Lord said, “Go and patrol the earth!” So they left at once on their patrol.
-Zechariah 6:1-7 NLT
Posted in Daily Scriptures
Then this message came to Zechariah from the Lord: 9 “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another. 10 Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other.
-Zechariah 7:8-9 NLT
Our life of faith is uncertain, but we can be expectant of good. Because we belong to God, we can rest in knowing his promises to us are true and he is faithful. It’s not a question of if God is going to show up but how and when. It is not a question of if he is going to move on our behalf but how he will. It isn’t even a question of if he is going to continue pursuing and wooing us deeper into his heart filled with affection for us but if we will recognize him. We can live with joyful uncertainty and expectancy. There are no ifs with God. The only ifs relate to us.
If we trust him.
If we believe him.
If we ask him.
If we continue to ask him.
– Stasi Eldredge, Becoming Myself
Posted in Ransomed Heart | Tags: books, Christ, faith, God, Jesus Christ, John Eldredge, life, literature, mountains, nature, photography, Ransomed Heart, salvation
Then another message came to me from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies: “This is what theLord of Heaven’s Armies says: My love for Mount Zion is passionate and strong; I am consumed with passion for Jerusalem!
“And now the Lord says: I am returning to Mount Zion, and I will live in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City; the mountain of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will be called the Holy Mountain.
-Zechariah 8:1-3 NLT
The Bible tells the story of Simon Peter, who was out walking on the water with Jesus. When the impossibility of the situation began to dawn on him, however, his faith faltered. He cried out, “Lord, save me!”
How easily Jesus could have said, “Where is your faith, Peter? You made your bed; now lie on it. Try swimming.” But the Bible says, “And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him” (Matthew14:31). Immediately. I like that.
When you begin to sink and cry out, “Lord, save me!” He will immediately reach out. But you must cry out for His help. That is hard for some of us to do.
As a kid, I spent a lot of time at the beach. When I was out bodysurfing one day, a big set of waves started coming in. So, I did what I was supposed to do: I swam toward the waves and went under them. When I looked up, there was another set. I swam under those too. One set after another came. The people on the beach were looking like little ants. Suddenly, I felt exhausted — with no strength left and nothing to hold onto. In that moment, I knew I was in trouble.
I realized I had two choices. I could cry, “Help!” and the lifeguard would come running with his life preserver. When we got to shore, my friends would laugh, and I would never live it down. Or, I could drown with dignity.
I cried out! A lot of us don’t want to admit our need. We don’t want to cry out to God. We want to maintain our dignity. But every day of my life, I need the best God has to offer. And you do too.
– Greg Laurie
For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them. (Matt. 13:15)
“And I would heal them.” That’s a different offer from: “And I would forgive them.” It’s a different offer from: “And I will give them a place in heaven.” No, Jesus is offering healing to us. Look at what he does to people who are broken. How does he handle them? The blind are able to see like a hawk. The deaf are able to hear a pin drop. The lame do hurdles. The corroding skin of the leper is cleansed and made new. The woman with the issue of blood stops hemorrhaging. The paralyzed servant hops out of bed. They are, every last one of them, healed. Now follow this closely: everything Jesus did was to illustrate what he was trying to say. Here—look at this—this is what I’m offering to do for you. Not just for your body, but more important, for your soul. I can heal your heart. I can restore your soul.
– John Eldredge, Waking the Dead
Posted in Ransomed Heart | Tags: beauty, books, faith, God, Jesus Christ, John Eldredge, life, literature, love, mountains, nature, personal, photography, Ransomed Heart, salvation, spirituality
Rejoice, O people of Zion!
Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem!
Look, your king is coming to you.
He is righteous and victorious,
yet he is humble, riding on a donkey—
riding on a donkey’s colt.
Because of the covenant I made with you,
sealed with blood,
I will free your prisoners
from death in a waterless dungeon.
On that day the Lord their God will rescue his people,
just as a shepherd rescues his sheep.
They will sparkle in his land
like jewels in a crown.
-Zechariah 9:9, 11, & 16
Posted in Daily Scriptures | Tags: beauty, Bible, Christ, God, Jesus Christ, mountains, nature, photography, salvation
This stream of Counseling doesn’t just flow to us directly from Christ, only from him; it flows through his people as well. We need others—and need them deeply. Yes, the Spirit was sent to be our Counselor. Yes, Jesus speaks to us personally. But often he works through another human being. The fact is, we are usually too close to our lives to see what’s going on. Because it’s our story we’re trying to understand, we sometimes don’t know what’s true or false, what’s real or imagined. We can’t see the forest for the trees. It often takes the eyes of someone to whom we can tell our story, bare our soul. The more dire our straits, the more difficult it can be to hear directly from God.
In every great story the hero or heroine must turn to someone older or wiser for the answer to some riddle. Dorothy seeks the Wizard; Frodo turns to Gandalf; Neo has Morpheus; and Curdie is helped by the Lady of the Silver Moon.
Having a doctrine pass before the mind is not what the Bible means by knowing the truth. It’s only when it reaches down deep into the heart that the truth begins to set us free, just as a key must penetrate a lock to turn it, or as rainfall must saturate the earth down to the roots in order for your garden to grow.
“Behold, you desire truth in the innermost being” (Ps. 51:6 NASB). Getting it there is the work of the stream we’ll call Counseling.
– John Eldredge, Waking the Dead
Posted in Ransomed Heart | Tags: beauty, Christ, faith, God, Jesus Christ, John Eldredge, life, literature, love, mountains, nature, photography, Ransomed Heart, salvation
Ask the Lord for rain in the spring,
for he makes the storm clouds.
And he will send showers of rain
so every field becomes a lush pasture.
-Zechariah 10:1
Photo: http://www.phishtailfoto.com/
Posted in Daily Scriptures | Tags: Bible, earth, faith, God, life, love, nature, photography, salvation
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