228 Sunday, August 16, 2009

228 Zechariah 001 – 004; Ephesians 006

And in this corner we have the champions of God, Haggai and Zechariah. These are the two prophets who teamed up in order to rebuild the Temple. Trust would be an issue for these exiles. Their parents had sinned and would not listen to the prophets that the Lord had sent in their midst. That is the truth, but did they understand that their parents had really sinned and that is why the Lord sent them into exile. Here is one example of Zechariah tackling this issue, "I've come back to Jerusalem, but with compassion this time." This is God speaking."
There is comfort, hope, and protection in the voice God through the prophet. A message to Zerubbabel is, "You can't force these things. They only come about through my Spirit." The God given mission is to rebuild the Temple, but you cannot force these things.

In the reading of Ephesians today Paul is letting us know everyday is a battle and therefore dress accordingly. We cannot handle life, especially the Christian life, on our own--get all the help you can. Take the whole armor of God and put it on! Today pray each piece onto your soul.