Marriage Anchors

Zechariah (written 520 – 518 B. C.) predicted more concerning the coming Messiah than anyone except for Isaiah.¹

Are we looking for Jesus today? Are we searching the Scriptures for Him? Do we see Him in the face of the poor child, the homeless mother, the person languishing in prison, or the sick in the hospital?

You know, most people miss seeing Him. Most miss Him all together.

Let’s read what Zechariah wrote

“9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”   (Zechariah 9:9  ESV)

I believe the main reason most Jewish people in Jerusalem failed to see Jesus, the promised Messiah riding on that donkey during His Triumphal Entry the week He was crucified, was they simply weren’t looking for Him. They had the Old Testament Scriptures. Many of them were taught in school about the coming Messiah. Their hearts were not humble. They were not looking up. They were caught up with the things of this world. Their hearts were hard and cold…self-focused on temporal things.

Let us pray for each other today that we would have eyes that can see, ears that will hear, and hearts that will find Him. Let us be Christ-focused and Heaven-Minded.

¹Ryrie NIV Study Bible, Book of Zechariah Introduction, p. 1273.

 In God's eyes, there is a great distinction between two kinds of people:

First, there are those saved, forgiven individuals who have been declared righteous, holy, and blameless by grace through personal faith. They have chosen to trust in who Jesus is and what He has done for them on that Cross.

Second, there are those lost, unsaved, unforgiven people who reject the Lord Jesus as the only provision and hope for one’s forgiveness, salvation, and new, eternal life. Many of these “Rejecters” are visibly wicked people: unrepentant thieves, murders, rapists, pornographers, drug and human traffickers, carousers, drunkards, etc.

Many, however, are not visibly wicked. Yet, in God's eyes, they suffer from a wickedness, the stench of which is utterly unbearable to our Holy God. This is the wickedness of the unsaved, lost person’s own self-righteous attempt at being good and impressing God.

This person may go to church, serve the poor, give money to charity, and help a neighbor in need. They may think they are saved, and going to Heaven someday, but they are not.

“23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23 ESV)

“1 … there is none who does good. 2 The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. 3 They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;  there is none who does good, not even one.”   (Psalm 14:1-3 ESV)

They, in fact, are already condemned in their own wretched pride and self-worthiness. They are blind to redemption because, quite honestly, they do not think they need forgiveness, repentance, faith, and redemption. They actually think they can gain entrance into Heaven based on their own merits. They don’t need the merits of Christ.

Let us pray for not only each other that we might walk in repentance, faith, and complete humility, but let us also pray for those who desperately need Jesus but don’t yet know it.

Your Anchor: Don’t leave port without Him!

These prophets in the Old Testament had a tough calling from God and a rough road for much of their lives. Once again, our friend, Joel (835 B. C.) had a difficult assignment. Has God given you a difficult assignment? I bet glazed donuts He has!

In chapter 2 of Joel, the prophet is required by God to exhort the Jewish people to repent from godless living. They were, indeed, a stubborn and stiff-necked people.

“13- and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.   (Joel 2:13   ESV bold added)

Through Joel, God is commanding these wayward people to “tear”  in peaces their hearts like a wild beast would do or “split asunder” their hearts. (Strong’s 7167 www.BlueLetterBible.org (Lexicon)

God is then commanding them to “repent” or “restore”. The way of the flesh is so alluring. Choosing to turn to or return to the Lord and live by His Spirit in order to walk in His ways according to His Word is seldom easy. But it is best. Let us pray for each other that we would do the same.

I love the Book of Joel, (835 B. C.) in the Old Testament. It is only 3 chapters, yet, there are some amazing gems in it.  A very famous verse is:

“32 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.”    (Joel 2:32  ESV)

Notice the Apostle Paul loved it and referred to it in his powerful letter to the Roman Christians in the New Testament.

“For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”  (Romans 10:13)

Do you know of someone who has not yet, to your knowledge, call on or cried out to the Lord Jesus Christ to save them from their sin, and eternal damnation in Hell? I most certainly do. Consider praying about copying and sending this and similar devotionals to them. Seeing them receive eternal life is well worth it. Even if they reject you and devotionals like this, at least you were faithful to be an effective witness to them.

Let’s pray for each other.

The prophet Jeremiah (627-585 B. C.) was known as “the weeping prophet”, “the prophet of loneliness” and also “the reluctant prophet”. From before the time he was born, God had chosen him to be a prophet who, “for more than 40 years, faithfully proclaimed God's judgment on apostate Judah, all the while enduring opposition, beatings, and imprisonment.” ¹ His was literally a thankless job: almost no perks, at-a-boys, thanks, or encouragement. The leaders hated what he kept telling them.

“5 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” 6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” 7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord.”  (Jeremiah 1:5-8 ESV)

Do you feel like very few people listen to you? Do you minister, witness, share your faith, do your job, but you don’t see much fruit and no one seems to care one way or the other? Are you fearful, at times, of taking a stand for God and the Bible in this “dark ages” culture? I have felt these.

Our brother in the faith, Jeremiah, knows these fears quite well. He can relate to us. May we remember this, however! Verse 8 above is God encouraging Jeremiah and, I believe, us. “There is no need to be afraid. I, God, am with you and will deliver you. That is all you have to focus on. I will take care of the results my way, and in my time.”

(Verse 8 paraphrased) 

Let’s pray for each other.

¹Ryrie NIV Study Bible, Book of Jeremiah Introduction, p. 1008.

Can you relate to King David?

Here is a man chosen by God. He has courage against Goliath.

Later, he falls into sin with Bathsheba.

At one point, his honor for God prevented him from slaying his pursuer, King Saul. Later, his honor is out the window when he sets up Bathsheba’s husband, General Uriah, to meet his end on the front lines of combat. I can relate: Inconsistent, honorable at times, carnal at other times. Yet, David loved his God and, in general, was honest and authentic with Him. Take in his humble sincerity.

“1 In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me! 2 Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily! Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me!

3 For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name's sake you lead me and guide me; 4 you take me out of the net they have hidden for me,  for you are my refuge. 5 Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.”

(Psalm 31: 1-4 ESV)

The Lord does not want us to wallow in the past with its troubles and sins. Once we come clean, He washes all our sin from us.

“9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  (1John 1:9 ESV)

Rather, He desires we look to Him, be completely honest before Him, and then unashamedly surrender our will, our plans, and our very lives to Him. Over all, this was Kind David’s heart. Lord Jesus, may it be ours as well. Let’s pray for each other.

“Amy Carmichael (1867 – 1951) was a small-village girl from a devout Presbyterian family in Northern Ireland (her father founded an evangelical church in Belfast). She was called first to work among the mill girls of Manchester and then overseas, finding her life-long vocation in India.

Key achievement: In those days, Hindu priests kept “temple children” — mostly young girls who were forced into prostitution to earn money for them. Carmichael tried to rescue them by setting up a sanitarium in Tamil Nadu, thirty miles from the southern tip of India…

She would dress in Indian clothes, dye her skin with dark coffee, and travel long distances on hot, dusty roads to save just one child from suffering…

She died in India at the age of 83. She asked that no stone be put over her grave. Instead, the children she had cared for put a bird bath over it with the single inscription Amma, meaning “mother” in Tamil.

While serving in India, Carmichael received a letter from a young lady who was considering life as a missionary. She asked, “What is missionary life like?” Carmichael wrote back saying simply,

‘Missionary life is simply a chance to die.’” ¹ Note: Elizabeth Elliott wrote a fine book entitled A Chance To Die ²

When we get to a certain maturity in life,  we realize that the Lord Jesus, if we follow Him, has given us this gift and that we have a chance to live for Him. In reality, following Jesus is a serious call to death…death to self and death to me. As we pray today, let us ponder this.

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”  (Philippians 1:21   ESV)

¹ https://thedisplacednation.com/2011/11/07/called-to-travel-overseas-for-the-benefit-of-others-7-female-missionaries-of-the-victorian-era/

² https://www.amazon.com/Chance-Die-Life-Legacy Carmichael/dp/0800730895/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1504032417&sr=8-1&keywords=%22a+chance+to+die%22

The Gospel for You

Is Jesus God or Just a Good Man?