Thursday, December 25

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

Zechariah 8:1–23

Revelation 16:1–21

Psalm 144:1–15

Proverbs 30:29–31

 

 

Merry Christmas!  May we all celebrate the wonder of the Incarnation with great joy and renewed hope today.

 

In today’s passage of Zechariah 8, God provides some snapshots of His blessings to Jerusalem, where He would sit enthroned in His temple.  He marks this restoration by His firm decree:  “… So now I have determined to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah.  Do not be afraid.” (8:15)

 

In the following verses, God lays out some characteristics of His redeemed people, how they may best represent His character and turn their hearts in a similar restoration.  While primarily intended for this specific audience, these prescriptions hold value for us today in our relationships with God.

 

1.       “Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely.  I hate all this.” (8:16,17)

2.       “The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah.  Therefore love truth and peace.”

 

God desires that the people “love truth and peace,” both in their relationships with one another (horizontal) and with God Himself (vertical).

 

When falsehood and deception dominate human interactions, we may soon find oppression and dominance.  Pursuing the truth and peace in human relationships means that we will seek justice, rooted in the reality that all people are created equal in value by a loving and sovereign God.  Bringing peace to human relationships sometimes means forfeiting our rights or desires for the greater good:  being willing to humbly take on another’s burden so that he or she may more fully experience God’s love.  In our human spirits, we always wish to be “right,” but true peacemaking bears fruit in love, joy, changed lives, and an extension of God’s glory.

 

The second reference to truth and peace here refers to our interactions with God and His commands.  Many times, we shuffle through the motions in our walk with Christ.  We read the Bible to “get through it” and pray out of a nagging obligation.  Our vocabulary – or at least internal conversation – rings with a “I have to” instead of “I get to” or “I have the privilege to.”  This thinking breeds a resentment to God’s commands and a distance from His heart.  Instead, God calls His people to worship – in this case, through a fast – with a spirit of joy and gladness.  This spirit requires a fresh approach of appreciation and wow!, as Pastors Scott and Kenny phrased it for this Christmastime.

 

 

3.       “Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come, and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the Lord and seek the Lord Almighty.  I myself am going.’  And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord Almighty and to entreat him.”

4.       “In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’”

 

These verses speak about the growing renown of God Almighty.  This exciting proposition involves the whole world rushing to “seek the Lord Almighty and entreat him.”  This turning of hearts towards God will become a community event, and neighbors will call neighbors to the throne of grace.  Even those who had previously seemed far off will beg for the opportunity to approach Jerusalem “because we have heard that God is with you.”  This God-seeking path started with Judah and spread outward.

 

These verses seem antithetical to our culture, where few people wish to exalt and seek God and obey His commands.  How may we react to these verses today and see their fulfillment in our day?  It seems that we may begin with encouraging one another as brothers and sisters in Christ to follow Jesus more closely and to exalt Him in our lives.  We may embrace Him fully and live out “Trust and Obey.”  Practically, we may commit to making 2015 our best year (offering) to God and encouraging our friends to do the same.  May God then use this spirit of restoration and God-seeking as a sweet aroma for those desiring joy, intimacy, purpose, and fulfillment in their lives, which the world can never offer.

 

 

Lord Jesus, we thank You for Your nearness on this Christmas Day.  Thank You for leaving Your throne in heaven, Your rightful place of awesome splendor, to spend 30 years in a humble life with the purpose of sacrificing for us.  Help us to embrace truth, peace, and joy in our relationships with one another and with You.  Draw us closer, Lord Jesus, in 2015 so that Your Name might receive all the renown and glory.  Give us hearts of anticipation and joy at the privilege of approaching Your throne.  In Jesus’s Name, amen.

 

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