E-Message Bible/Commentary
"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." --- Psalm 119:105
ZECHARIAH
Have you ever struggled with your own significance? Have you ever thought your efforts weren't appreciated? Have you ever felt like quitting, giving up, or throwing in the towel? If so, you are not alone. This has happened to a lot of people. Zechariah found a city full of people who felt like this. So he spoke words of encouragement, and it motivated them to pick up the pieces and keep on going. Zechariah's words can do the same for you today. His entire book offers spiritual strength and encouragement.
God's people had returned from being in captivity in Babylon for 70 years. Their first order of business was to rebuild the temple. However, they encountered so many obstacles that they became discouraged and stopped. Zechariah not only motivated them to continue, but he also gave them a vision of God's purpose beyond the restored temple.
Do you need to be encouraged or motivated to complete some project you have started? Then, read the Book of Zechariah and be encouraged!
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Prophecies are usually made long before they are fulfilled. The minor prophet Zechariah spoke the above prophecy about 400 years before Jesus literally rode into Jerusalem on a colt. We remembered the prophecy and celebrated the experience yesterday on what we call Palm Sunday. We call it Palm Sunday because people spread palm leaves on the road and waved them in the air as Zechariah's prophecy was fulfilled.
If we believe, embrace and celebrate that prophecy, then it should not be hard to believe the other prophecies of which some have been fulfilled and some are yet to be fulfilled.
If we can believe what happened on Palm Sunday, then we should believe what happened on Resurrection Sunday. And if we believe that, then our salvation is secure. (Romans 10:9)
Some prophecies have been fulfilled. Some are yet to become fulfilled. In the meantime, we live in the between times of prophecies. As we look forward to celebrating the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, let's also look forward to the Second Coming of Jesus mentioned 300 times in the New Testament. Jesus Himself prophesied His return in John 14:3.
Prophecies fulfilled . . . the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. A prophecy to be fulfilled . . . the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
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The Dead Sea is an unusual body of water about 50 miles long and 10 miles wide in southern Palestine. The Jordan River and other smaller streams flow into it, but because it lies at the lowest point on the earth, no water flows out of it. Because of its rapid water loss through evaporation, salts and other minerals have become highly concentrated in it. This has made the lake unfit for marine life; thus its name "the Dead Sea." Because the Dead Sea has several entrances for water to flow in but no exits, it is indeed a "dead sea."
How can we apply the Dead Sea to our own lifes? People are said to have the Dead Sea Syndrome when they expect everything to come to them without giving anything in return. These people don't tithe, but they expect God to supply their every need. These people don't give unto others, but they expect others to give unto them. They get all they can get but never reciprocate by giving something back. They go to church, sit there while the preacher preaches, but they never share their faith with others.
God did not make us to be a Dead Sea. He made us to have a river of life flowing out of us. The waters should spring up within us as we witness to others and as we share our faith about Jesus the Christ.
Do you share your faith, or are you a "Dead Sea" with everything going in but nothing coming out? Tell someone about Jesus today.
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Struggling For Significance
This is what the Lord says, "I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the Lord Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain. (Zechariah 8:3)
This is what the Lord says, "I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the Lord Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain. (Zechariah 8:3)
Have you ever struggled with your own significance? Have you ever thought your efforts weren't appreciated? Have you ever felt like quitting, giving up, or throwing in the towel? If so, you are not alone. This has happened to a lot of people. Zechariah found a city full of people who felt like this. So he spoke words of encouragement, and it motivated them to pick up the pieces and keep on going. Zechariah's words can do the same for you today. His entire book offers spiritual strength and encouragement.
God's people had returned from being in captivity in Babylon for 70 years. Their first order of business was to rebuild the temple. However, they encountered so many obstacles that they became discouraged and stopped. Zechariah not only motivated them to continue, but he also gave them a vision of God's purpose beyond the restored temple.
Do you need to be encouraged or motivated to complete some project you have started? Then, read the Book of Zechariah and be encouraged!
____________________________________________________________________________________________
A Prophecy Fulfilled
Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zechariah 9:9)
Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zechariah 9:9)
Prophecies are usually made long before they are fulfilled. The minor prophet Zechariah spoke the above prophecy about 400 years before Jesus literally rode into Jerusalem on a colt. We remembered the prophecy and celebrated the experience yesterday on what we call Palm Sunday. We call it Palm Sunday because people spread palm leaves on the road and waved them in the air as Zechariah's prophecy was fulfilled.
If we believe, embrace and celebrate that prophecy, then it should not be hard to believe the other prophecies of which some have been fulfilled and some are yet to be fulfilled.
If we can believe what happened on Palm Sunday, then we should believe what happened on Resurrection Sunday. And if we believe that, then our salvation is secure. (Romans 10:9)
Some prophecies have been fulfilled. Some are yet to become fulfilled. In the meantime, we live in the between times of prophecies. As we look forward to celebrating the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, let's also look forward to the Second Coming of Jesus mentioned 300 times in the New Testament. Jesus Himself prophesied His return in John 14:3.
Prophecies fulfilled . . . the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. A prophecy to be fulfilled . . . the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
The Dead Sea Syndrome
And in that day it shall be that living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea (the Dead Sea) and half of them toward the western sea (the Mediterranean Sea). (Zechariah 14:8)
And in that day it shall be that living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea (the Dead Sea) and half of them toward the western sea (the Mediterranean Sea). (Zechariah 14:8)
The Dead Sea is an unusual body of water about 50 miles long and 10 miles wide in southern Palestine. The Jordan River and other smaller streams flow into it, but because it lies at the lowest point on the earth, no water flows out of it. Because of its rapid water loss through evaporation, salts and other minerals have become highly concentrated in it. This has made the lake unfit for marine life; thus its name "the Dead Sea." Because the Dead Sea has several entrances for water to flow in but no exits, it is indeed a "dead sea."
How can we apply the Dead Sea to our own lifes? People are said to have the Dead Sea Syndrome when they expect everything to come to them without giving anything in return. These people don't tithe, but they expect God to supply their every need. These people don't give unto others, but they expect others to give unto them. They get all they can get but never reciprocate by giving something back. They go to church, sit there while the preacher preaches, but they never share their faith with others.
God did not make us to be a Dead Sea. He made us to have a river of life flowing out of us. The waters should spring up within us as we witness to others and as we share our faith about Jesus the Christ.
Do you share your faith, or are you a "Dead Sea" with everything going in but nothing coming out? Tell someone about Jesus today.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
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