October 11, 2024

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“On that day I [AM] will make the clans of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume all the surrounding peoples right and left, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place. The Lord will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem’s inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah. On that day the Lord will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord going before them.  On that day I [AM] will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.” (Zechariah 12.6-9)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

One thing I suspect about those who demonstrate they have no regard, respect or fear of God is that they are more afraid of having to be accountable for their actions instead of “at liberty” to do as they please. This is a fundamental misunderstanding of “freedom” as God created it and blessed creation with it. As I am watching the events of human history unfold rapidly, viciously and violently around the world but especially in the Middle East, it is clear that the “freedom of choice” is being exercised with a desire to prove that the revealed Word of God is null and void. Sadly, it is their right to choose to believe it and worse to act out upon that belief. It is as if they are saying “I don’t dare believe there is a God because then I would have to change, sacrifice the flesh and its desire and live at peace with others.” And, I think, it is not so much that they deny there is a Judeo-Christian God but that they believe He is just “another” god. Herein lies the critical error of sinful thinking. The error exists in that there is not a belief of many gods, a pantheon of gods but that there is a conflict between only two “gods”: self and another god. There is, from the Christian and Jewish perspective, only one true God: Yahweh Elohim, The God above all gods. Apart from Him there are no gods, only those who assume a “god” identity. They are stuck in the “original sin” mode of living and understanding life. It is the scenario of possibility which the fallen Lucifer proposed in the Garden of Eden. It was there he suggested, “If you choose to disobey God, then you will discover that you are like God.” (Genesis 3.5) I know that is a scary way of presenting the proposal of the fallen Lucifer who chose to appear as a beautiful but crafty serpent. There is that wording of “knowing right from wrong” which exists in the text as that which would make Eve “just like God.” But, it is the consequence which is ignored by most readers of the text. Only after eating and discovering what right and wrong is and knowing “on that day” you were wrong does not make you equal with God, nor does it make you a “god.” What it demonstrates is quite the opposite. The submission to temptation (the temptation is to be on equal terms with God as if you are a “god among gods” or worse that you are then God as if you are the “God of gods”) results in the consequence that you are less free to be the human you were created to be. In the Garden, infinity and eternity are the norm. In the Garden, unity and harmony are the norm. In the Garden, balance and integrity are the norm. Outside of the Garden, death becomes a harsh reality and ultimately the taskmaster of humanity. Outside of the Garden, conflict and comparison become the tools of offense against others leading to death. Outside of the Garden, corruption and misrepresentation become the tools of defense against others who propose they are the truth by which life has its meaning and purpose. In sum total, the denial of God or the fear of believing in one True God speaks volumes that human beings are human and not God. It has never been any other way. The question has always been “What does it mean to be truly human?”

In order to understand “humanness” we need to understand godliness. The battle rages through time and place about “right and wrong” and the conflict of choosing sides between human beings and human communities. The truth is that the differences we experience are in a spiritual realm where the posits are “righteousness and unrighteousness.” The righteous have chosen to put their trust in God and not in self. They define themselves by the guidelines which God has revealed as the threads of the fabric of true life and living. On the other hand, the unrighteous are those who have chosen to create their own threads and weave their own tapestry of life and living. They enter into the marketplace to “hawk,” and see that term in its military sense if you will, their wares seeking to make a profit off what others are willing to part with. What are they parting with? It is nothing less than their own identity as they then take on the identity of others. They put on the facade and ignore the integrity they surrender in doing so. This is the premise of “the Lie.” The “Lie” says you will not die, you will not suffer consequence, you will not only survive but thrive, you will be above comparison as others will be left comparing themselves with you.” Ultimately, the “Lie” leads you to the point of denying the proposal of God as valid, real and true. Since there is no God, you are free to do whatever you desire. That is not freedom. That is “at liberty.”

What God reveals to Zechariah is being revealed now in the course of human events unfolding before our very eyes. The War in the Middle East is a prelude to a Third (and perhaps final) World War. The battle for Washington, D.C. is a prelude to the dissolution of the United States as we have known it. There is little doubt that God will intervene and reveal Himself to the whole world and restore the balance of nature: human nature and spiritual nature. Consider this: balance was never meant to be known as 50/50 and there is no such thing, apart from Jesus Christ, as 100/100. The truly balance comes in knowing and affirming “there is only One God” and we are not Him. We are His people, the sheep of His pasture. How will it be revealed? It will come as all eyes of the world caught in their own human and inhumane conflicts will see the hand of God cover Israel (and Jerusalem in particular) with protection and provision and from there allow the purifying fire to reduce all else to what is essential and true. The truth is aligned with righteousness and unrighteousness. The essentials are aligned with the fruit of the Spirit. One people will survive to eternal life and all others will survive to eternal death (a death that never dies.) In this world, we still get to choose which of those realities we desire for ourselves. We do not get to decide it for anyone else. We can certainly commit ourselves to the position of “influencer” but even that has an accountability to which only we can answer when the time comes. Let the fire that burns in us, mighty ones of God, be the fire of essentials and truth. That fire will purify. Any other fire will reduce and eliminate all that is not essential and that which is untrue. Only in the Word of God can we know the difference. No better “word” has been given than that of Jesus the Christ: God’s pure Word of life.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, before we were conceived in the womb, You had already formed us in Your love and by Your Spirit brought us into being. Each one of us is blessed with the opportunity of doing right, being good and producing the fruit of the Spirit in order that others be fed the truth of that same love so that the two will become one. It is our soul’s sincere desire to embrace the oneness You have in mind so we would know we are Your people and You are our God. Lead us in that discovery of the truth and the manifestation of that love for us all. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.