That You May Believe

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30–31)

I feel so strongly that among those of us who have grown up in church and who can recite the great doctrines of our faith in our sleep, and yet who can yawn through the Apostles’ Creed — that among us something must be done to help us once more feel the awe, the fear, the astonishment, the wonder of the Son of God, begotten by the Father from all eternity, reflecting all the glory of God, being the very image of his person, through whom all things were created, upholding the universe by the word of his power.

You can read every fairy tale that was ever written, every mystery thriller, every ghost story, and you will never find anything so shocking, so strange, so weird and spellbinding as the story of the incarnation of the Son of God.

How dead we are! How callous and unfeeling to your glory and your story, O God! How often have I had to repent and say, “God, I am sorry that the stories men have made up stir my emotions, my awe and wonder and admiration and joy, more than your own true story.”

Perhaps the galactic movie thrillers of our day can do at least this good for us: they can humble us and bring us to repentance, by showing us that we really are capable of some of the wonder and awe and amazement that we so seldom feel when we contemplate the eternal God and the cosmic glory of Christ and a real living contact between them and us in Jesus of Nazareth.

When Jesus said, “For this purpose I have come into the world” (John 18:37), he said something as crazy and weird and strange and eerie as any statement in science fiction that you have ever read.

Oh, how I pray for a breaking forth of the Spirit of God upon me and upon you; for the Holy Spirit to break into my experience in a frightening way, to wake me up to the unimaginable reality of God.

One of these days lightning is going to fill the sky from the rising of the sun to its setting, and there is going to appear in the clouds the Son of Man with his mighty angels in flaming fire. And we will see him clearly. And whether from terror or sheer excitement, we will tremble and we will wonder how we ever lived so long with such a domesticated, harmless Christ.

These things are written — the whole Bible is written — that we might believe — that we might be stunned and awakened to the wonder — that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came into the world.

John Piper 

December 22

19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you."

20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you."

22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.

23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld." - John 20:19-23

1 After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, 

2 for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants." 

3 Once more they cried out, "Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever." 

4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, "Amen. Hallelujah!"

5 And from the throne came a voice saying, "Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great." 

6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. 

7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; 

8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure"- for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. 

9 And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." And he said to me, "These are the true words of God."

10 Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, "You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God." For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.

12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.

13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.

14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.

15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.

16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, "Come, gather for the great supper of God,

18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great."

19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army.

20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.

21 And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh. - Revelation 19

1 And the LORD said to Job:

2 "Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it." 

3 Then Job answered the LORD and said:

4 "Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth. 

5 I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but I will proceed no further." 

6 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

7 "Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. 

8 Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be in the right? 

9 Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his? 

10 "Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity; clothe yourself with glory and splendor. 

11 Pour out the overflowings of your anger, and look on everyone who is proud and abase him. 

12 Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low and tread down the wicked where they stand. 

13 Hide them all in the dust together; bind their faces in the world below. 

14 Then will I also acknowledge to you that your own right hand can save you. 

15 "Behold, Behemoth, which I made as I made you; he eats grass like an ox. 

16 Behold, his strength in his loins, and his power in the muscles of his belly. 

17 He makes his tail stiff like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are knit together. 

18 His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like bars of iron. 

19 "He is the first of the works of God; let him who made him bring near his sword! 

20 For the mountains yield food for him where all the wild beasts play. 

21 Under the lotus plants he lies, in the shelter of the reeds and in the marsh. 

22 For his shade the lotus trees cover him; the willows of the brook surround him. 

23 Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened; he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth. 

24 Can one take him by his eyes, or pierce his nose with a snare?  - Job 40

1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying,

2 "The LORD was very angry with your fathers.

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.

4 Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.' But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the LORD.

5 Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?

6 But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers? So they repented and said, 'As the LORD of hosts purposed to deal with us for our ways and deeds, so has he dealt with us.'"

7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying,

8 "I saw in the night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen, and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses.

9 Then I said, 'What are these, my lord?' The angel who talked with me said to me, 'I will show you what they are.'

10 So the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, 'These are they whom the LORD has sent to patrol the earth.'

11 And they answered the angel of the LORD who was standing among the myrtle trees, and said, 'We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth remains at rest.'

12 Then the angel of the LORD said, 'O LORD of hosts, how long will you have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which you have been angry these seventy years?'

13 And the LORD answered gracious and comforting words to the angel who talked with me.

14 So the angel who talked with me said to me, 'Cry out, Thus says the LORD of hosts: I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion.

15 And I am exceedingly angry with the nations that are at ease; for while I was angry but a little, they furthered the disaster.

16 Therefore, thus says the LORD, I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; my house shall be built in it, declares the LORD of hosts, and the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.

17 Cry out again, Thus says the LORD of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.'"

18 And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four horns!

19 And I said to the angel who talked with me, "What are these?" And he said to me, "These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem."

20 Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen.

21 And I said, "What are these coming to do?" He said, "These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no one raised his head. And these have come to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter it."

1 And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand!

2 Then I said, "Where are you going?" And he said to me, "To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length."

3 And behold, the angel who talked with me came forward, and another angel came forward to meet him

4 and said to him, "Run, say to that young man, 'Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of people and livestock in it.

5 And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the LORD, and I will be the glory in her midst.'"

6 Up! Up! Flee from the land of the north, declares the LORD. For I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heavens, declares the LORD.

7 Up! Escape to Zion, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon.

8 For thus said the LORD of hosts, after his glory sent me to the nations who plundered you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye:

9 "Behold, I will shake my hand over them, and they shall become plunder for those who served them. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me.

10 Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the LORD.

11 And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.

12 And the LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem."

13 Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.

1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.

2 And the LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, O Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?"

3 Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments.

4 And the angel said to those who were standing before him, "Remove the filthy garments from him." And to him he said, "Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments."

5 And I said, "Let them put a clean turban on his head." So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD was standing by.

6 And the angel of the LORD solemnly assured Joshua,

7 "Thus says the LORD of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here.

8 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch.

9 For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day.

10 In that day, declares the LORD of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree."

1 And the angel who talked with me came again and woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep.

2 And he said to me, "What do you see?" I said, "I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it.

3 And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left."

4 And I said to the angel who talked with me, "What are these, my lord?"

5 Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, "Do you not know what these are?" I said, "No, my lord."

6 Then he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.

7 Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of 'Grace, grace to it!'"

8 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

9 "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.

10 For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. "These seven are the eyes of the LORD, which range through the whole earth." 

11 Then I said to him, "What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?"

12 And a second time I answered and said to him, "What are these two branches of the olive trees, which are beside the two golden pipes from which the golden oil is poured out?"

13 He said to me, "Do you not know what these are?" I said, "No, my lord."

14 Then he said, "These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth."

1 Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a flying scroll!

2 And he said to me, "What do you see?" I answered, "I see a flying scroll. Its length is twenty cubits, and its width ten cubits."

3 Then he said to me, "This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole land. For everyone who steals shall be cleaned out according to what is on one side, and everyone who swears falsely shall be cleaned out according to what is on the other side.

4 I will send it out, declares the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter the house of the thief, and the house of him who swears falsely by my name. And it shall remain in his house and consume it, both timber and stones."

5 Then the angel who talked with me came forward and said to me, "Lift your eyes and see what this is that is going out."

6 And I said, "What is it?" He said, "This is the basket that is going out." And he said, "This is their iniquity in all the land."

7 And behold, the leaden cover was lifted, and there was a woman sitting in the basket!

8 And he said, "This is Wickedness." And he thrust her back into the basket, and thrust down the leaden weight on its opening.

9 Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, two women coming forward! The wind was in their wings. They had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven.

10 Then I said to the angel who talked with me, "Where are they taking the basket?"

11 He said to me, "To the land of Shinar, to build a house for it. And when this is prepared, they will set the basket down there on its base." - Zechariah 1-5

These Three Gifts Were Not Random

BIBLE MEDITATION

“And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh...”

Matthew 2:11b

 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

Many people think these three gifts were just random. No, and they weren’t random trinkets; these were treasures that didn’t occur by happenstance. They carry deep significance. They were planned.

Why these specific gifts? They are highly symbolic.

Gold speaks of His sovereign dominion—He was born a King.

Frankincense symbolizes His sinless deity—He is God in human flesh.

Myrrh represents His sacrificial death—He was born to die that we might live.

He is a king; they brought gold. He is God; they brought frankincense. He is a Savior; they brought myrrh. They signify His sovereign dominion, sinless deity, and sacrificial death.

ACTION POINT

Now that we know this, how should it instruct us today? Because He is a King, He has my wealth. Because He is God, He has my worship. And because He died, He has my witness. All that I am, all that I have, and all that I do belong to this One. That is wisdom. That’s what a wise person will do. Do some soul-searching today. Are you really wise?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Birth of the Ancient of Days

Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world — to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” (John 18:37)

This is a great Christmas text even though it comes from the very end of Jesus’s life on earth, not the beginning.

Notice: Jesus says not only that he was born, but that he “came into the world.” The uniqueness of his birth is that he did not originate at his birth. He existed before he was born in a manger. The personhood, the character, the personality of Jesus of Nazareth existed before the man Jesus of Nazareth was born.

The theological word to describe this mystery is not creation, but incarnation. The person, not the body, but the essential personhood of Jesus existed before he was born as man. His birth was not a coming into being of a new person, but a coming into the world of an infinitely old person.

Micah 5:2 puts it like this, 700 years before Jesus was born:

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.

The mystery of the birth of Jesus is not merely that he was born of a virgin. That miracle was intended by God to witness to an even greater one; namely, that the child born at Christmas was a person who existed “from of old, from ancient days.”

And, therefore, his birth was purposeful. Before he was born he thought about being born. Together with his Father there was a plan. And part of that great plan he spoke in the last hours of his life on earth: “For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world — to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice” (John 18:37).

He was the eternal Truth. He spoke only the truth. He acted out the greatest truth of love. And he is gathering into his eternal family all those who are born of the truth. This was the plan from ancient days.

John Piper 

December 21

10 Then the disciples went back to their homes.

11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb.

12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet.

13 They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him."

14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus.

15 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away."

16 Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).

17 Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"

18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"-and that he had said these things to her. - John 20:10-18

1 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory.

2 And he called out with a mighty voice, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast. 

3 For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living." 

4 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; 

5 for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. 

6 Pay her back as she herself has paid back others, and repay her double for her deeds; mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed. 

7 As she glorified herself and lived in luxury, so give her a like measure of torment and mourning, since in her heart she says, 'I sit as a queen, I am no widow, and mourning I shall never see.' 

8 For this reason her plagues will come in a single day, death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her." 

9 And the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning.

10 They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say, "Alas! Alas! You great city, you mighty city, Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come." 

11 And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore,

12 cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble,

13 cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls.

14 "The fruit for which your soul longed has gone from you, and all your delicacies and your splendors are lost to you, never to be found again!" 

15 The merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud,

16 "Alas, alas, for the great city that was clothed in fine linen, in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, with jewels, and with pearls! 

17 For in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste." And all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off 

18 and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning, "What city was like the great city?" 

19 And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out, "Alas, alas, for the great city where all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth! For in a single hour she has been laid waste. 

20 Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!" 

21 Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, "So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence, and will be found no more; 

22 and the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters, will be heard in you no more, and a craftsman of any craft will be found in you no more, and the sound of the mill will be heard in you no more, 

23 and the light of a lamp will shine in you no more, and the voice of bridegroom and bride will be heard in you no more, for your merchants were the great ones of the earth, and all nations were deceived by your sorcery. 

24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slain on earth."  - Revelation 18

1 "Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you observe the calving of the does? 

2 Can you number the months that they fulfill, and do you know the time when they give birth, 

3 when they crouch, bring forth their offspring, and are delivered of their young? 

4 Their young ones become strong; they grow up in the open; they go out and do not return to them. 

5 "Who has let the wild donkey go free? Who has loosed the bonds of the swift donkey, 

6 to whom I have given the arid plain for his home and the salt land for his dwelling place? 

7 He scorns the tumult of the city; he hears not the shouts of the driver. 

8 He ranges the mountains as his pasture, and he searches after every green thing. 

9 "Is the wild ox willing to serve you? Will he spend the night at your manger? 

10 Can you bind him in the furrow with ropes, or will he harrow the valleys after you? 

11 Will you depend on him because his strength is great, and will you leave to him your labor? 

12 Do you have faith in him that he will return your grain and gather it to your threshing floor? 

13 "The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, but are they the pinions and plumage of love? 

14 For she leaves her eggs to the earth and lets them be warmed on the ground, 

15 forgetting that a foot may crush them and that the wild beast may trample them. 

16 She deals cruelly with her young, as if they were not hers; though her labor be in vain, yet she has no fear, 

17 because God has made her forget wisdom and given her no share in understanding. 

18 When she rouses herself to flee, she laughs at the horse and his rider. 

19 "Do you give the horse his might? Do you clothe his neck with a mane? 

20 Do you make him leap like the locust? His majestic snorting is terrifying. 

21 He paws in the valley and exults in his strength; he goes out to meet the weapons. 

22 He laughs at fear and is not dismayed; he does not turn back from the sword. 

23 Upon him rattle the quiver, the flashing spear, and the javelin. 

24 With fierceness and rage he swallows the ground; he cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet. 

25 When the trumpet sounds, he says 'Aha!' He smells the battle from afar, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting. 

26 "Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars and spreads his wings toward the south? 

27 Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes his nest on high? 

28 On the rock he dwells and makes his home, on the rocky crag and stronghold. 

29 From there he spies out the prey; his eyes behold it from far away. 

30 His young ones suck up blood, and where the slain are, there is he."  - Job 39

1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest:

2 "Thus says the LORD of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD."

3 Then the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet,

4 "Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?

5 Now, therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways.

6 You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.

7 "Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways.

8 Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the LORD.

9 You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the LORD of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house.

10 Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce.

11 And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors."

12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him. And the people feared the LORD.

13 Then Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, spoke to the people with the LORD's message, "I am with you, declares the LORD."

14 And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the house of the LORD of hosts, their God,

15 on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.

1 In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet:

2 "Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say,

3 'Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes?

4 Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the LORD. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work, for I am with you, declares the LORD of hosts,

5 according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not.

6 For thus says the LORD of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land.

7 And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts.

8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the LORD of hosts.

9 The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD of hosts.'"

10 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet,

11 "Thus says the LORD of hosts: Ask the priests about the law:

12 'If someone carries holy meat in the fold of his garment and touches with his fold bread or stew or wine or oil or any kind of food, does it become holy?'" The priests answered and said, "No."

13 Then Haggai said, "If someone who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, does it become unclean?" The priests answered and said, "It does become unclean."

14 Then Haggai answered and said, "So is it with this people, and with this nation before me, declares the LORD, and so with every work of their hands. And what they offer there is unclean.

15 Now then, consider from this day onward. Before stone was placed upon stone in the temple of the LORD,

16 how did you fare? When one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten. When one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were but twenty.

17 I struck you and all the products of your toil with blight and with mildew and with hail, yet you did not turn to me, declares the LORD.

18 Consider from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Since the day that the foundation of the LORD's temple was laid, consider:

19 Is the seed yet in the barn? Indeed, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have yielded nothing. But from this day on I will bless you."

20 The word of the LORD came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month,

21 "Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I am about to shake the heavens and the earth,

22 and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and overthrow the chariots and their riders. And the horses and their riders shall go down, every one by the sword of his brother.

23 On that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, the son of Shealtiel, declares the LORD, and make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the LORD of hosts." - Haggai 1-2

Do You Want God?

BIBLE MEDITATION

“They fought from heaven; the stars from their courses fought against Sisera.”

Judges 5:20

 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

You know, even the stars have to obey our Lord. In the Old Testament, the Bible says the stars in their courses fought against Sisera. He was a general whose army had 900 chariots going to war against God’s people. Imagine—900 chariots! But God sent such a tremendous rainstorm that his chariots bogged down and he was defeated.

Later when they wrote a song to celebrate the victory, one of the stanzas says “the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.” His kingdom came tumbling down. And ultimately Herod’s kingdom came tumbling down too, for Herod stumbled over a star—the Star of Bethlehem.

Listen to me, the whole universe is against the man who is against God. But the whole universe lines up behind the man who seeks God. Whatever is necessary, God will do it to get the hungry heart to Jesus. If you want Him, God is a God of might and miracle.

ACTION POINT

Some of you may be reading this by divine appointment because you’ve been wanting to find the Lord. God has guided you here. Thank God for the miracle of the stars. Bethlehem’s star was there to guide those wise men. It tells me that whatever is necessary, God will guide your hungry heart if you want to know the Lord Jesus Christ. Are you ready to receive Him today? Are you willing?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Christmas Solidarity

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8)

The assembly line of Satan turns out millions of sins every day. He packs them into huge cargo planes and flies them to heaven and spreads them out before God and laughs and laughs and laughs.

Some people work full-time on the assembly line. Others have quit their jobs there and only now and then return.

Every minute of work on the assembly line makes God the laughingstock of Satan. Sin is Satan’s business because he hates the light and beauty and purity and glory of God. Nothing pleases him more than when creatures distrust and disobey their Maker.

Therefore, Christmas is good news for man and good news for God.

“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). That’s good news for us.

“The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). That is also good news for God.

Christmas is good news for God because Jesus has come to lead a strike at Satan’s assembly plant. He has walked right into the plant, called for the Solidarity of the faithful, and begun a massive walkout.

Christmas is a call to go on strike at the assembly plant of sin. No negotiations with the management. No bargaining. Just single-minded, unswerving opposition to the product. We won’t be a part of making it anymore.

Christmas Solidarity aims to ground the cargo planes. It will not use force or violence, but with relentless devotion to Truth it will expose the life-destroying conditions of the devil’s industry.

Christmas Solidarity will not give up until a complete shutdown has been achieved.

When sin has been destroyed, God’s name will be wholly exonerated. No one will be laughing anymore.

If you want to give a gift to God this Christmas, walk off the assembly line of sin and don’t go back. Take up your place in the picket line of love. Join Christmas Solidarity until the majestic name of God is cleared, and he stands glorious amid the accolades of the righteous.

John Piper