March 25 – Call, He Answers

“They will call on My name, And I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are My people,’ And they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”  Zechariah 13:9b (NASB)

Our passage today is another which is about Jesus Christ and his work as our sacrifice. It speaks first of how a remnant of the people of Israel will see and receive Jesus when He comes again. We have many promises in the Bible about the way God answers prayer. Today's verse has the words, “They will call on my name and I will answer them.” This is God's promise through His prophet Zechariah that He will answer our prayers and He will say, “They are my people.”  Not all will receive the Lord  at his return to Earth and while this promise was given specifically to God's people Israel, who were His people in those days, He has never changed this promise toward those who have believed – we are His people now because we are part of His family. The promise we can claim today is that when anyone of us calls on God in Jesus' name, He recognizes us as His own and He will respond. We can count on it – He will respond to our prayer today friends, because we are His people and He is our Lord and God.

 

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November 1 – Accomplished by the Spirit

 “Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’”” – Zechariah 4:6-7 (ESV)

After seventy years as exiles, taken from Israel to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus the Persian King freed the captives and about 50,000 returned to Jerusalem. They immediately began to rebuild the temple, but opposition from neighbors from without, and the people’s indifference from within, the work stalled and was abandoned. Zechariah, a priest and a prophet⸺contemporary with Haggai was commissioned by God to stir up the people to finish building the new temple. God give Zechariah the prophet a vision for Zerubbabel to take up the task and finish the job. But a caution and a promise are also given that we can learn from and trust as a promise for ourselves. Whatever our duty, neither our might, wealth, or physical stamina will be sufficient for us to complete the work God gives to us. Only an abundant supply of the power of the Holy Spirit, will enable us to carry out the task. Because the outcome is guaranteed, any mountain-like opposition will be ultimately squelched and leveled by God to become like a flat surface. As was promised to those rebuilding the Temple of God it was completed 4 years later in 516 B.C.

 

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April 9 – The Might and Power

“Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.”    Zechariah 4:6 (ESV)

The story of  Zerubbabel and how he was used by God to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem is very interesting*.  In the middle of the book of Zachariah, a prophet of God at that time, is this verse and promise which we can take to heart today.  Our Lord God is wonderful and powerful beyond anything we can understand. When Zerubbabel's progress of rebuilding the Temple was delayed by local opposition, God sent Zechariah with this message, “It will be done by my Spirit.” Our might and our power is nothing compared to the power and might of the Holy Spirit.  We might try to overcome the challenges we face in our own strength and through our own understanding but the promise and lesson we have here is that our efforts are not the way God has planned for us.  It is through God's Spirit that we are able to face the circumstances of our lives, no matter what they are. Are we facing a imposing situation and do we need help to press on?  Let's acknowledge what God said, it's not by our own effort but by trusting in God's Holy Spirit.  That is how it will be possible.     

* Read more about Zerubbabel.

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February 2 – Call, He Answers

“They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’” Zechariah 13:9b (NIV)

We have many promises in the Bible about the way God answers prayer. Today's selection for a verse has the words, “They will call on my name and I will answer them.” This is God's promise through the prophet Zechariah that He will answer our prayers and He will say, “They are my people.”  While this promise was given specifically to God's people Israel, who were His people in those days, He has never changed toward those who have believed – we are His people now because we are part of His family. The promise we can claim today is that when anyone of us calls on God in Jesus' name, He recognizes us as His own and He will respond. We can count on it – He will respond to your prayer today friends, because you are His people and He is your Lord and God.