Praying Pint

 

 

Zec 1:3  Therefore say to them, Thus declares the LORD of hosts: Return to me, says the LORD of hosts, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts.

“Says the Lord of hosts,” is the announcement given multiple times in this little verse. What is being said must be of great importance to Him, and therefore should be extremely important to us. What was so urgent? It was a call for God’s people to repent and return.

Notice that the call to return is voiced by Him who remained steadfast and not the one who has wandered away. How different the Lord is from us. When someone does not desire our company, we will be the first to distance ourselves quickly. After all, why should we stay when our absence is desired?

But thanks be to God! He never gives up on those who would rather not have His companionship. God’s willingness to heal a fractured relationship with one of His children is beyond human reason and resource, for He is always there when a wayward child returns.

The Lord of hosts’ sovereignty encompasses the stars, the heavens, and all the powers of the universe. His name implies the boundless resources at His command for His people’s good. It is unfathomable that anyone would willingly leave such a God, and yet they do.

Are you sensing a distance between you and God? It is you who have moved, not Him. If you have been careless in your walk, disobedient, or even rebellious toward the Lord, take His call seriously. Repent! and return now and enjoy the bountiful blessings of His presence once again. The Lord of hosts is waiting. (Hibbs)

 

 

 1 John 5:19: “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.”

1Co 15:24  Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.

If God is sovereign, the whole world can lie under the influence of Satan.

The same person who wrote about Satan’s influence in the world also recorded a vision of the End Times in the book of Revelation—the apostle John. In that vision, John saw a time when “the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to his servants the prophets.” While John doesn’t specifically describe the nature of the mystery, it surely has to do with the culmination of evil and catastrophe on the earth in the End Times and the coming of God’s Kingdom on earth—a day foreseen by the apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 15:24).

Do not be anxious about the pervasiveness of evil in the world. The day is coming when it will be removed and righteousness will reign. (Jeremiah)

 

 

You shall have no other gods before Me.

–Exodus 20:3

As a pastor, it’s been my privilege to conduct wedding ceremonies for almost fifty years. When I stand at the altar with the bride and groom, one of the vows I ask them to make before God and the congregation is to love and cherish each other and, “forsaking all others,” to be faithful to each other for the rest of their lives. In other words, I ask the couple to esteem each other.

In the Ten Commandments, God asked us to make a similar commitment to Him. The first commandment says, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3). God said we are to esteem Him alone.

According to Merriam-Webster, esteem means “to set a high value on; regard highly and prize accordingly.” In Hebrew, there are several words that carry the idea of esteem. One is chashab, which means to regard or value; another is arak, which means to arrange things in order. When applied to a person, arak means to place first in order of priority.

If you’ve played in an orchestra or attended a symphony performance, you probably understand the concept of arak. Before the conductor enters and the concert begins, one of the violinists stands up and leads the rest of the orchestra in tuning their instruments. That person is the principal violinist, and they occupy the position we call the first chair. No matter how many violinists are lined up onstage, only one is the first chair. The same is true for the other instruments–there may be five trumpet players in the orchestra, but the first chair belongs to the best trumpet player, the one who is esteemed above all others. Or think about a football team. There may be multiple quarterbacks on the roster, but only one is the first-string or starting quarterback. The writer of Proverbs 31 described “an excellent wife” (v. 10) in a similar way: “Her children rise up and bless her; her husband also, and he praises her, saying: ‘Many daughters have done nobly, but you excel them all’” (vv. 28–29). In other words, his wife is the first chair; she takes first place.

In Exodus 20:3, God commanded us to place Him first in order of priority, to make Him the first chair above anyone and anything else in our lives. We are to esteem Him alone. (Jeffress)

 

Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Matthew 19:21-22)

A man came to Jesus and asked, “what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” He thought the entrance to heaven was mainly about doing something, so he asked Jesus about what good thing he needed to do.

This man is often called, “The Rich Young Ruler.” Matthew, Mark, and Luke say he was rich. Matthew says he was young (19:22), and Luke 18:18 says he was a ruler.

Jesus eventually told this man what to do: Sell all you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me. The call to forsake everything and follow Jesus was a call to put God first in all things. Jesus called the man to full obedience to the first table of the law, which dealt with a man’s relation to God.

We can make two mistakes regarding the answer Jesus gave this man. The first mistake is to believe this applies to everyone, when Jesus never made this a general command to all His followers, but especially to this one rich man whose riches were clearly an obstacle to his discipleship. Instead, many rich people can do more good by continuing to make money and using those resources for the glory of God and the good of others.

The second mistake is to believe this applies to no one, when there are clearly those today for whom the best thing they could do for themselves spiritually is to radically forsake the materialism that is ruining them.

Yet we notice that Jesus simply called this man to be His disciple, in saying, follow Me. He used similar language in calling many of His disciples (Matthew 4:19; 8:22; 9:9; Mark 2:14). Jesus simply called this man to be His follower; but for this man it meant leaving behind the riches he had set his heart upon.

Yet, the man went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. In this, the wealthy questioner failed utterly. Money was his god; he was guilty of idolatry. This is why Jesus, knowing the man’s heart, asked him to renounce his possessions.

The principle remains: God may challenge and require an individual to give something up for the sake of His kingdom that He still allows to someone else. There are many who perish because they will not forsake what God tells them to.

The rich young ruler had a lot going for him: his youth, his wealth, his influence. Yet he knew these things didn’t satisfy. That’s why he asked Jesus the question. Sadly, he refused to put Jesus first in all things and went away sorry and empty.

Don’t be like this poor rich man. (Guzik)

 

 

2 Timothy 2:22.   Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

John 14:26-27     But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.  

Numbers 6:24-26     “The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ’ 

 

 

Mat 11:28-30  Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

1Co 14:33  For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.

Rom 15:13  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Ephesians 2:14-18.    For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.read more. And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.

 

1 Thessalonians 5:13.  and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another.

 

 

Eph 4:2-3  with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,  eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Isa 9:6  For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isa 26:12  O LORD, you will ordain peace for us, for you have indeed done for us all our works.

sa 54:10  For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

Isa 55:12  “For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

 

 

1Pe 3:8-11  Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.  Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.  For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit;  let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.

Rom 16:20  The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Psa 37:37  Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace.

Psa 85:8  Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly.

Psa 119:165  Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble.

 

 

1Th 5:23  Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jas 3:17-18  But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.  And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

Pro 12:20  Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but those who plan peace have joy.

Pro 16:7  When a man’s ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Rom 14:19  So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.

 

 

Eph 6:14-15  Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,  and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

1Th 5:15  See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.

Psa 29:11  May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace!

Heb 12:14  Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

1Pe 5:6-7   Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,  casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.