A Fountain Like No Other! - Ruminating in the word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Zechariah 13:1,

"On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity."

After observing the mourning and bereavement of the Jews over their prior rejection of their Messiah, (a yet future event for those of us today), Zechariah's prophecy suddenly, and dramatically, turns in a direction that should bring all creation to a standstill. A fountain of forgiveness! A fountain that will cleanse from all sin and impurity!

The book of Zechariah has as its ultimate focus, the Lord Jesus Christ. This fountain is none other than the Son of God who, some 550 or so years later, will pay the penalty for the sins of all mankind. While the "house of David" and "the inhabitants of Jerusalem" are articulated here, (due to the focus of judgment on these very ones in this book), the remainder of the Scriptures make abundantly clear that this "fountain" of cleansing, of forgiveness, is for all mankind!

When Jesus Christ died on that miserable cross, he paid the penalty for every sin ever committed. That is, every sin committed by every man. woman and child from the dawn of creation to the return of Jesus Christ to Planet Earth. All sins for all time! This is the fountain Zechariah speaks of! A true fountain! Not a little wimpy squirt of a fountain, but a massive flow of forgiveness that is complete and thorough for all who will embrace Jesus Christ in faith!

While simple-minded mankind goes about looking for second-rate solutions to its plight of infirmity, sickness and death (all due to God's judgment for our sins), the Lord has a magnificent plan! A remarkable and grand plan! He will provide us with renewed bodies, resurrected bodies that do not suffer the weaknesses and shelf-life our current bodies have.

While Ponce de Leon looked for a mythical fountain of youth, this fountain is real! This fountain flows! This fountain is not hidden! This fountain is not for a few but for all! This fountain does not merely bring youth, but brings eternal life! It brings new capabilities! It brings things we can only imagine!

Paul tells us what this fountain brings: "The body [our current bodies] that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body." 1 Corinthians 15:42-44.

This fountain of forgiveness provides so much for us. Not just religion, not just do-gooderism, not just the spiritual component of a healthy lifestyle! This fountain brings eternity to us! This fountain brings power to us! This fountain brings us directly into the presence of our Creator!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

An Oracle from the Lord for Today - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Zechariah 12:2-3,

"I [the Lord] am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves."

This oracle is a message, not about Israel in Zechariah's day, but a future day, a day future to us. Nations will surround her to devour her, but will find her impenetrable. This will be a day when finally the Jews say of themselves, "The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the Lord Almighty is their God." Verse 5.

It will be a day when Israel will embrace Jesus Christ as Messiah. In verses 10-11 we read, "And  I [the Lord] will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit [or, the Spirit] of grace and supplication. They will look on [or, to] me [Jesus Christ], the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be as great as the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo."

Paul looked forward to this pouring out of the Spirit upon Israel in Romans 11:25-27, "I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written: 'The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.'"

The oracle goes on to quote the Lord as saying, "On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem." Verse 9. Woe to the nations that attack Israel!

Based on the Scriptures, and what we see developing internationally today, I (as well as many, many others) feel this oracle is not far from us in having its roll-out from the hand of God.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Worthless Shepherds Versus the Good Shepherd - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Zechariah 11:17,

"Woe to the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May the sword strike his arm and his right eye! May his arm be completely withered, his right eye totally blinded!"

This curse against the "worthless shepherd" expresses the Lord's contempt for leaders in Israel who should have led her people into the pastures of the Lord, but instead squandered their role to pursue their pitiful worthless selfish interests.

Israel's call should have been, "Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.", Psalm 100:1-3. Instead, with worthless shepherds,  the outlook for her is the misery for all who turn their backs on the Lord.

Psalm 100 will have its fulfillment in the resurrection where our acknowledgment of our Redeemer results in unstoppable expressions of joy, gladness, thanksgiving and praise: a true celebration!

Jesus Christ stands as the antithesis of these worthless shepherds. "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep." John 10:14-15.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Who Maintains the Cosmos? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Zechariah 10:1-2,

"Ask the Lord for rain in the springtime;
    it is the Lord who sends the thunderstorms.
He gives showers of rain to all people,
    and plants of the field to everyone.
The idols speak deceitfully,
    diviners see visions that lie;
they tell dreams that are false,
    they give comfort in vain.
Therefore the people wander like sheep
    oppressed for lack of a shepherd."

What happens when a people reject their Creator in favor of that which does not and cannot manage and maintain the creation? They become oppressed.

A big push in our politics today comes from those who falsely claim they can lower the oceans, keep the weather from fluctuating, save the polar bears from extinction - you know the drill. Future generations will laugh at the outright foolishness and simple-mindedness of folks today who reject their God in an effort to supplant him for the vagaries of "science".

Not real science, but the kind that threatens all those who would question the methodology utilized, who would question the validation of data, who might not "believe" in man-made climate-change. (I recall in the 80's it was global cooling the folks were all atwitter about, then in the 90's and 2000's it was global warming, and now, finally, any movement in the climate - as if the climate never shifted in the past.)

These man-made-climate-change advocates today are no different from the idols who spoke "deceitfully", diviners who saw lying visions and told of a false future. And, just as their predecessors, these advocates for a religion of man-made-global-climate-change attempt to oppress freedom loving peoples everywhere.

It is the Lord who provides the rain, he is the one who sends the thunderstorms. The writer of Hebrews tells us it is the Son of God himself who maintains the cosmos, "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word."

Where western civilization carried mankind to its apex of existence, fueled by the tenants of its Judeo-Christian heritage, with the decline of that heritage in Europe, and now, frighteningly, the United States, it appears mankind is now over the top and sliding down to resume the state of the underdeveloped nations of the world. An existence marked by the darkness the great nations and empires suffered in prior to the proclamation and advancement of the gospel.

Economically, scholastically, culturally, politically, in every way, the world renews its oppression of its own peoples as the Lord is jettisoned for its anthropological idol: the Progressive in search of a global community to seize control of that which only the Creator can maintain - his creation.

Just as folks in Zechariah's day needed to recognize how things really happen in the cosmos, so we have an urgent need today!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Our Remarkable Life in the Resurrection - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Zechariah 9:16-17,

"The Lord their God will save his people on that day as a shepherd saves his flock. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown. How attractive and beautiful they will be! Grain will make the young men thrive, and new wine the young women."

This passage causes me to think of life in the resurrection. Following this age, the Lord will come and set up his reign on earth from Jerusalem. All those of faith will not face the ultimate judgment that awaits all other mankind. These, the Lord's people, will "sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown."

Attractive and beautiful are the descriptors used of these. I am reminded of a comment in Revelation 19:7-8, "Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear." Of this bride it is said, "'Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.' And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal." Revelation 21:9-11.

How different things will be that day! The curse of God on mankind will be removed, that sinful nature will be eradicated from us all, "'There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:4. This will be a day when us lost and fallen sinful creatures will be precious and beautiful in God's sight. It will be his own handiwork that makes this so!

Paul tells us of our resurrected bodies, "The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body." 1 Corinthians 15:42-44.

In 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 Paul goes on to say, "Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory.'"

What awaits those of us who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith is truly remarkable, truly breath-taking!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

The Lord's Encouragement to us! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Zechariah 8:7-8,

"This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west. I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God.'"

The Lord expressed these word through Zechariah as he told them of his coming blessings - his restoration of Jerusalem. These are words of encouragement, designed to strengthen the returnees who have survived the judgment of sinful Israel. The Lord of mercy and grace told them of coming wonderful days when he will bring his people from all countries and that they would be his people. As his own people, they will experience his faithfulness and righteousness.

Implied in this is the great joy they have to look forward to, a hope they can cling to, be energized by and encouraged with. This wonderful outlook of future blessing for this remnant of Jews, without a doubt, foreshadows the great blessings of all mankind, for those who embrace Jesus Christ in faith. Following the end of this age, the Lord will gather to himself those who are his, those who have placed their faith and trust in him.

We are encouraged with similar words, "Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:3-4.

We also read, "To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children." Revelation 21:6-7. Just what is it that brings this "victory"? John tell us, "Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." 1 John 5:4-5.

Also in Revelation 22:1-5, "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever."

As the Lord provided the remnant of Jews in Zechariah's day with wonderful words of encouragement, so, likewise he has provided us all with words of a similar nature, yet even more grand! Even more exciting! Even more lavish! Even more wonderful! Even more magnificent! 

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Observing the Things of the Lord... really? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Zechariah 7:2-3,

"The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat the Lord by asking the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, 'Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?'"

Following the Jewish remnant's return to Jerusalem after their seventy year captivity in Babylon, the folks at Bethel wanted to know if they should continue in certain "religious" activities. They wanted to know if they should continue to observe two fasts, one in memory of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, and the other in memory of the murder of Gedaliah at Mizpah that we read of in Jeremiah 41.

These two fasts had become annual "religious" observances that were not on the Lord's calendar, but nevertheless adopted by the Israelites. Where the original intent by the Jews with these two fasts might have been sincere - with a view toward remembering the things of the Lord, they eventually became occasions where the focus drifted from the Lord and the holidays became opportunities for the Israelites to indulge themselves.

The Lord responded by saying "When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?"

Does this kind of thing sound familiar to us today? Does the church do the same kinds of things? How about Fat Tuesday? How about Lent? How about Christmas and Easter? Are these holidays observed in sincere devotion to the Lord, or are they simply opportunities for us to celebrate and enjoy ourselves apart from consideration of the things of the Lord?

The ways of the past never seem to change and the hearts of people certainly don't.

The Lord responded with what the folks in Bethel should have been giving themselves to, "Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other." Verses 9-10.

How might our calendars look, and how might the way we celebrate, if we were to place the things of the Lord as the priority in our lives?

Something to consider here: observing the things of the Lord or just having fun for ourselves? Not that the two cannot go hand-in-hand, just that for many, one of the hands appears to be missing.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

The Crowned Branch Builds his Temple! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Zechariah 6:11-13,

"Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua son of Jozadak. Tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord. It is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he will be a priest on his throne."

Zechariah was told by the Lord to take gold and silver from Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah. He was to take it and make a crown and place it on the head of the high priest, Jozadak

Here is a sweeping view - a prophecy of the coming Son of God, typified using Jozadak, the high priest at the time. Breath-taking in its breadth, it foretells Jesus Christ as king, ruling the world from Jerusalem in his millennial kingdom. 

Where Jesus had a crown of thorns thrust onto his head as he was being taken to be crucified, paying the penalty for all the sins of all mankind for all time, he will wear "many crowns" following his return to earth at the end of the age, Revelation 19:11-12. "I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns."

"The Branch" is a reference to the coming Savior:
"A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
    from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
    the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
    the Spirit of counsel and of might,
    the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
    or decide by what he hears with his ears;
but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
    with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
    with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
Righteousness will be his belt
    and faithfulness the sash around his waist." Isaiah 11:1-5.

We see the Branch in Jeremiah 23:5 "'The days are coming,' declares the Lord, 'when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.'" Jeremiah 23:5.

This man called the Branch, Jesus Christ, will build his church, his temple, "It is he who will build the temple of the Lord." This is observed by Peter in 1 Peter 2:4-5, "As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

The visions in Zechariah are particularly spectacular. Had the Jews known their Scriptures well and coupled that with faith, they never should have missed their Messiah when he came to them just over two millenia ago.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

A Flying Scroll of Imprecation! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Zechariah 5:3-4,

"This is the curse that is going out over the whole land; for according to what it says on one side, every thief will be banished, and according to what it says on the other, everyone who swears falsely will be banished. The Lord Almighty declares, 'I will send it out, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of anyone who swears falsely by my name. It will remain in that house and destroy it completely, both its timbers and its stones.'"

This is the explanation Zechariah is given when he has a vision of a "flying scroll". The scroll is an imprecation, or curse, against people who do evil. Thieves and liars are pointed to as those who will be banished. The imprecation is universal in that "the curse that is going out over the whole land". The destruction coming is complete as the curse is seen as entering the houses of sinful people and will destroy those houses completely, "both its timbers and its stones."

This curse finds its ultimate fulfillment pictured in Revelation 20:11-15, "Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire."

In the following chapter we read, "The cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death." Revelation 21:8.

All mankind has sinned, all mankind is sinful. We all face that judgment, Romans 3:22-23, "There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". The flying scroll of Zechariah looks ahead to the judgment of all who have sinned.

I am reminded of Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, "Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." However, Paul points out that the believers were these very people at one time! But, they were washed! They were sanctified! They were justified! All this because they responded to the message of faith in God that leads us to a righteous standing with God. "And that is what some of you were. But you were washed,you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." 1 Corinthians 6:11.

How wonderful is that?! And, how wonderful is the gospel message?! All of us should be able to say along with Paul, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous will live by faith.'"

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

"You didn't build that!" - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Zechariah 4:6,

"'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the Lord Almighty."

This is the Lord's message to Zerubbabel. In his admonishment and exhortation to the Israelite remnant to complete the building of the temple, the Lord reminds Zerubbabel that it will not be through Zerubbabel's own or power that he will complete the work he had once started sixteen years earlier.

The foundation of the replacement temple had been completed, but the construction of the rest of it had been left dormant for a number of years. The Lord tells Zechariah that Zerubbabel had started the work and that he would also complete the work, "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you." Verse 9.

However, it will not be by the might or power of Zerubbabel, but that of the Holy Spirit that will enable Zerubbabel to complete the job.

I am reminded that today, God's people participate in God's agenda of building his kingdom, the "temple" of his people, not by their own might or power, but by the Spirit of the Lord. The Lord told his followers on the day he ascended into heaven, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8.

Paul speaks of this as an accomplished thing within the church, "What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us." 1 Corinthians 2:2. It is through the enablement of the Holy Spirit that we participate with the Lord in the building of his temple today, that is, his family, "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms." 1 Peter 4:10. Those "gifts" are what the Holy Spirit provides us as we participate with the Lord in his work.

For those amazing things that get done for the advancement of the gospel and the building of God's family, the great men and women involved should be recognized for their availability to the Lord, but it is the Lord himself, the Holy Spirit that deserves the recognition for what gets accomplished.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

The Clean Clothing of Righeousness - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Zechariah 3:3-4,

"Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, 'Take off his filthy clothes.' Then he said to Joshua, 'See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.'"

The Lord had his very own covenant people, Israel, destroyed by the Babylonians because they had turned their back on him. The Babylonians had turned Jerusalem and the temple into a pile of rubble. Joshua, in the above verse, was the high priest over the remnant that had returned to Jerusalem following their seventy years of captivity by the Babylonians.

The clothing referred to in Zechariah 3:3-4 was a reference to Joshua's standing in the court of the Lord. Just as one is unacceptable when showing up dressed in filthy clothing, so people are unacceptable when showing up in the court of the Lord. The reason they are unacceptable is that all people have sinned and fall well short of being suitable and worthy of any standing with the Lord.

Because we are all sinful ourselves, just as Joshua was (even as the high priest in Israel!), there is nothing we can do about it. However, in the incomprehensible love of our Lord for us, he takes away our sin ("Take off his filthy clothes") and gives us a righteous standing with him, represented as being dressed in fine clean linen, see verse 5. Often this motif is expressed as being dressed in white robes:

As a reference to all who placed their faith in Jesus Christ and enter heaven, we read, "After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands." Revelation 7:9.

Also, "Then one of the elders asked me, 'These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?' I answered, 'Sir, you know.' And he said, 'These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.'" Revelation 7:13-14.

Zechariah's prophecy is laden with messianic messages with the scope and view the Lord gave him, looking ahead through the ages till believers find their way into the family of God, with a place at his table. The book of Zechariah is an astonishing book of prophecy that carries the amazing message of God's great redemptive pursuit of mankind.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

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The "Many Nations" of Genesis, Zechariah and Romans - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Zechariah 2:10-11,

"'Shout and be glad, Daughter Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,' declares the Lord. 'Many nations will be joined with the Lord in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.'"

From 520 BC, Zechariah is given a prophecy of the coming Messiah. The message is sweeping in scope as not only the first coming of Jesus Christ is in view here, but the age of the church is foreseen with "many nations" being joined to the Lord. This prophecy looks forward to a time when the Messiah comes and will dwell among people who are comprised of these "many nations", speaking to the time of the Lord's rule from Jerusalem following the end of this age, an age ending with the second coming of Jesus Christ to planet earth.

This prophecy speaks of the fulfillment of the Lord's promise to Abraham, "Abram fell face down, and God said to him, 'As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations." Genesis 17:3-5.

The "many nations" that Zechariah's prophecy speaks of are the many nations promised to Abraham. They comprise all the peoples of the Lord, as Abraham becomes their father if and when they emulate the faith he was acknowledged for. "Abram believed the Lord, and he [the Lord] credited it to him as righteousness." Genesis 15:6.

Paul puts it this way, "Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. As it is written: 'I have made you a father of many nations.' He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not." Romans 4:16-17.

Genesis, Zechariah, Romans, the entire library of the Scriptures all fit tightly together with one Author who inspired the writers of Scripture through the Holy Spirit. All the Scriptures, in one way or another, point us to salvation by faith and the the fulfillment of that faith represented by the bright new morning of the coming age in the resurrection made possible by the sacrifice of the Son of God.

This, truly, is just breath-taking!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

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The Lord Leaves It in Our Hands - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Zechariah 1:3,

"Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Return to me,' declares the Lord Almighty, 'and I will return to you,' says the Lord Almighty."

Here we read the same thing as that in Malachi 3:7, "'Return to me, and I will return to you,' says the Lord Almighty." Malachi 3:7. It is clearly the Lord's desire his people not drift from him, however, the Lord leaves it in the hands of his people. If the Lord's people will return to him, he will reciprocate.

It brings to my mind what James had to say, "Come near to God and he will come near to you." James 4:8a. Where the statement is made in Zechariah and Malachi, both are addressed to the Lord's covenant people, Israel. In James the statement is addressed to the church. If God's people would but draw near to him, he will reciprocate by drawing near to his people.

This brings rise to the understanding that the Lord's people may drift from him. Much of the Old Testament has this as its focus, as the nation of Israel had her history of straying from God.

In verse 4, James says of believers within the church, "You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God." In this context James tells believers to draw near God.

The wonderful news for us believers is that if we find ourselves as having made poor decisions and drifting from the Lord, he will welcome us back with open arms, "Come near to God and he will come near to you." This reflects his patience with us, his forgiveness of us, his love for us, his commitment to us and his faithfulness toward us.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Be Strong and Work! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Haggai 2:4b,

"'Be strong, all you people of the land,' declares the Lord, 'and work. For I am with you,' declares the Lord Almighty."

I can't think of a better rallying cry! Be strong and work!

We often think in terms of our Christianity as being the spiritual component of a healthy lifestyle. Perhaps it is understood that responsible people tend to their moral training, to their spiritual needs. Maybe we are involved in a fellowship because our family always has.

I am sure there are great arguments and reasonings why many participate in church fellowships. Let me offer one that is singular in nature and should command an overriding priority in our lives: for those of us who have found our way into the family of God, the agenda, the passion, the focus is to be on the Lord's agenda. He is building his kingdom, he is making a family for himself, he sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to die a miserable death that abundant life for an eternity is possible for all. We are to be strong and work! We are to be engaged in the Lord's agenda of building his family.

All too often for many of us, Christianity is all about me. Me. I, me, me, mine. 

Is that the Lord telling us today, "Be strong all you people of the land and work! For I am with you!"? Here is where we need to expend our lives: participating with the Lord in the building of his family!

Perhaps our Christianity might take on a deeper meaning if we follow the Lord in his work.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Getting Our Attention - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Haggai 1:5-6,

"Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Give careful thought to your ways.You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough.You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.'"

The Israelites were not experiencing God's abundance in their lives. Why? Didn't God love his people? Didn't God want to bless his people?

These questions are often asked today. How many times have I heard, "God loves you and wants to bless you!" If this is so, then it seems like God doesn't love a lot of his people as we look around. Obviously, something doesn't square up here, if we want to be honest about it. Is it God? Doesn't he really love us?

The answers lie in what we fail to understand about God. Yes, God loves his people and he loved this remnant of Israel as well. What we find is that the Lord had taken the goodies away from them to get their attention. Sometimes the Lord has to bring things in our lives to get our attention. The folks had abandoned God's agenda to pursue their own, leaving what God wanted done, undone.

I'm certain there may be many reasons why any one of us may not be experiencing the blessings of the abundance God can provide, including reasons having nothing in their origin to do with us, say, in the example of Job. However, that is not the case with this remnant of Israelites. They had abandoned what the Lord wanted them to do in order to pursue their own self-interests. They left the interests of the Lord behind. Consequently, they experienced the Lord's attention-getting and had to make things right by him.

We may need to do likewise from time to time. Are there things the Lord wants me to do that I have put off? Might it be I am not experiencing the abundant blessings the Lord provides that I might otherwise have because he is getting my attention? Is there something he wants me doing I have left undone?

Something to consider here.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Future Glory! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Haggai 2:9,

"'The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the Lord Almighty."

As the Lord admonishes the Israelites into completing the building of the replacement temple following the return of the remnant from Babylon, he makes this observation. He encourages them that even though sin has brought his judgment and ravaged the nation, all is not lost. As a matter of fact, they can look forward to a future greater glory than what they had in the old temple.

This brings to my mind the future we have in Jesus Christ. Although sin has ravaged God's creation and brought his judgment on all mankind, a glorious future awaits for those who embrace Jesus Christ in faith. Sin has tarnished man, reduced his stature, minimized what the Lord originally created and intended when he brought Adam and Eve into this life.

Yet... all is not lost! As a matter of fact, a greater glory is headed our way, just as the replacement temple was a harbinger of a greater glory for the nation of Israel. Listen to these wonderful words of Paul in Romans 8:18-21,

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God."

Just how wonderful is that?!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

The Lord's Agenda Versus Ours - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Haggai 1:2-4,

"This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'These people say, "The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord's house."' Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: 'Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?'"

The Lord sent Haggai to tell the Israelites that they needed to get the new temple completed for them to worship him in. They had started the building of it, completing the foundation, and by this time they had left the remainder of the work unfinished for sixteen years.

A couple of thoughts strike me here. One of them being that there often is an element of time in the things of God. Some things need to be done in a timely fashion - not just whenever we might get around to it (whatever "it" may be.)

I also note that God's timing may not be our timing. If the Lord wants things done in a timely way, I just might not see it that way. In other words, if there is something I need to do for the Lord, putting it off till I might feel moved to do it just may not be what God wants at all.

Another very obvious thing that I thing we all struggle with (well, I shouldn't speak for others, so I'll speak for myself), my priorities just might not be God's priorities. Why didn't the building of the temple get done? Because, as the Lord pointed out, after a good start, they all went about building their own "paneled houses" leaving the temple undone. They pursued what suited their own personal and possibly selfish interests, leaving the interest of the Lord behind. How often I have been guilty of that!

There is a clear lesson here. The Lord has his priorities and it won't due for us to neglect those to pursue our own self-oriented interests. For those of us who read the Scriptures (and, sadly, many Christians don't these days because we are all guilty of the very same thing as the Israelites in Haggai's day), we know the Lord has his agenda. He is building his family, his kingdom, and we all have a part to play in the building of it. This is the very purpose of this age. To neglect this agenda in the pursuit of a comfortable  lifestyle will place us squarely in the same position as the Israelites when the Lord finally decided he needed to send the prophet to get them moving again on his agenda.

The Lord has done so much for us. In addition to giving us life and providing for our daily needs, he sent his Son to die a miserable death to pay the penalty for our sins, that we might live an eternity in his family, that we might have a place at his table.

In light of all the Lord has done for us, does his agenda not deserve our focus, our attention, our pursuit, our passion?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

The Lord speaks through prophets! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Haggai 2:1-2,

"In the second year of King Darius, on the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: 'Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people. Ask them...'"

Haggai's vocation as a prophet of the Lord took place following the return of the remnant of Judah from their Babylonian captivity. The focus of his prophetic activity surrounded the rebuilding of the Lord's temple in Jerusalem.

The remnant returned in about 538 BC (allowed by the Persian King Cyrus). After about two years, the returnees had completed the foundation for the rebuilding of the temple destroyed by the Babylonians seventy years earlier. Following the completion of the foundation, the work lay idle for about sixteen years. The Lord sent Haggai to Zerubbabel and Joshua (son of the high priest)  in 520 BC to tell the folks to quit delaying and get it done.

The thought that strikes me this morning is that the Lord could have just as easily spoken to Zerubbabel and Joshua directly, but he didn't. He used the prophet Haggai. Why did the Lord use a prophet? Why did the Lord use prophets for much of his communication with people? Why Nathan with David? Why Samuel with Saul? Why Ananias with Paul? Why did the Lord employ others to speak to people so much of the time?

One reason I am quite confident in, is that the Lord wanted to acclimate us to the process of him communicating to us all through prophets. In so many of the accounts where the Lord communicated to individuals and groups of people, he prepared us for the concept of communicating to us though the Scriptures as a vehicle. The Lord employed prophets to write the Scriptures because he had no intent of speaking to us all individually and directly. It has always been his plan to communicate to us through the Scriptures, hence, a third party is required - the prophet.

I am reminded of Peter's well-known comment on this, "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." 

The Scriptures are the Lord's communication to us and he has used the vehicle of prophets to communicate to us as they reduced their prophecies to writing. Providing us familiarity with the process through the many accounts we find in the Scriptures themselves, he has prepared us to understand how he communicates to us.

Of course, the most amazing thing is that the Creator of the cosmos communicates to us! He wants us to know about him, his agenda, what he has for us in the future, how we can become members of his family. Just astonishing!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

God sings! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Zephaniah 2:1-2,

"Gather together, gather yourselves together,
    you shameful nation,
before the decree takes effect
    and that day passes like windblown chaff,
before the Lord's fierce anger
    comes upon you,
before the day of the Lord's wrath
    comes upon you."

Here is the Lord's warning to Judea. In his wrath the Lord will judge Judah for her rebellion against him. The anger of the Lord is on full display here.

However, the result of the Lord's judgment of his people will bring about his own joy. "The Lord your God is with you [Zion], the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17.

First, the Lord's "fierce anger", later the Lord himself will rejoice! In this prophecy we even read of God singing over his people with joy!

Did you know God sings in joy after he accomplishes his heart's desire for his people?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

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All nations under the sun belong to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Zephaniah 2:4-6,

"Gaza will be abandoned
    and Ashkelon left in ruins.
At midday Ashdod will be emptied
    and Ekron uprooted.
Woe to you who live by the sea,
    you Kerethite people;
the word of the Lord is against you,
    Canaan, land of the Philistines.
He says, 'I will destroy you,
    and none will be left.'
The land by the sea will become pastures
    having wells for shepherds
    and pens for flocks."

This prophetic utterance, proclaiming the Lord's coming destruction of Philistia is but a part of the destruction the Lord prophesied through Zephaniah. Judah was showcased as the prime target of the Lord's judgment coming to the area, but other nations are identified as well. Along with Philistia Moab, Ammon, Cush, Assyria are all identified as falling under the destruction of nations the Lord is bringing to the area.

We tend to recognized a nation for its prominent religious identification, or for its political establishment, as in Iran is "an Islamic nation" or North Korea is a "Communist country", Thailand is "a Buddhist nation", America is "a Republic", etc.

However, from Zephaniah, I am reminded that all nations are the Lord's. They are all his. All his to do with what he sees best, how they may play a part in advancing his agenda in the world. Each and every nation, no matter how they have aligned themselves politically, or religiously, or whatever category label may be applied, all exist for the Lord's purposes and all are at his disposal.

"From one man he [the Lord of heaven] made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us." Paul, speaking at the Areopagus, Acts 17:26-27.

The Lord spoke these words to Moses concerning Israel, "Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." Exodus 19:5-6. The Lord chose Israel from among all nations to be his selected covenant people because of Abraham's faith. However, as he says here, all the nations belong to him, "the whole earth".

Paul cautions us, "Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves." Romans 13:1-2. This is written for people in Rome. Paul points out that whatever authorities there may be, anywhere, they have  been established by the Lord, not just Israel.

Jehoshaphat acknowledged the Lord's rulership over all nations: "Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations." 2 Chronicles 20:6.

Peoples can identify any way they want, they can subscribe to anything they want, however, every nation under the sun belongs to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and despite any kind of identity any group wants to claim, all peoples, all nations of the earth belong to God and are at his disposal.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

God makes a way for sinners! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Zephaniah 2:1-3,

"Gather together, gather yourselves together,
    you shameful nation,
before the decree takes effect
    and that day passes like windblown chaff,
before the Lord's fierce anger
    comes upon you,
before the day of the Lord's wrath
    comes upon you.
Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land,
    you who do what he commands.
Seek righteousness, seek humility;
    perhaps you will be sheltered
    on the day of the Lord's anger."

As a contemporary of Jeremiah, Zephaniah's prophetic ministry was focused on the people of Judah, the Lord's coming judgment of them - as well as other surrounding nations.

In this passage, the Lord tells the people of Judah that, even at this late date of his coming judgment of them for their rebellion, if they would but just seek him, they might be spared the judgment, "perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord's anger."

The patience of the Lord is an amazing thing. Both Judah and the surrounding nations deserve the Lord's judgment, yet he holds out a way for them to escape it, to escape his wrath. Unfortunately Judah did not respond to this late offer of the Lord and is destroyed by the Babylonians.

I am reminded of what Paul says in regard to the Lord's patience relative to sin, "when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them (others who sin) and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?" Romans 2:3-4.

Our God is a loving and forgiving god who extends his mercy to us by making a way for any who wish to escape his judgment. This is all we need to know in order to understand why God the Father sent his Son to die a miserable death on that cross. He paid the penalty for our sins to satisfy the just nature of the Father, that we might have a way into his family. 

An incredible expression of his unfathomable love for us!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com