KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Saturday, September 22, 2018
Chapters: Zechariah 10-14
Message: Strengthened In Christ
Hello My Friend,
Sometimes the life of a Christian is not so easy, temptation comes at you in all forms as you try to live your life the way God wants you to. Besides dealing with our own sin, we face all sorts of opposition because we choose Christ over the world, the devil puts things like doubt, fear, and heartbreak. People get angry, personal, and proud as though it is an insult that you turned them down over Christ. And not only that, we have to deal with our own burdens too, just like they do, but do they even stop to think of the burden they put on us? With all that we deal with as Christians, why do we stay faithful? Because He is our God. We may get slack for our faith, we may get tried, but God knows who are His, and He will see us and strengthen us through every trial, every temptation, and every burden. “And I will strengthen them in the LORD; and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the LORD.” – Zechariah 10:12.
God often sees His people as sheep. Why? Sheep are absent minded creatures who need a shepherd to guide them or they tend to wander off into the world and get into trouble, which is why He refers us as sheep so much. When the Jews were in Babylon, many died before seeing an end to their captivity, but they had a promise awaiting them, God would restore Israel. Through Zechariah, God foretells of the time He will restore them and place judgment upon the shepherds that sent His sheep right out into the slaughter.
“There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled. Thus saith the LORD my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter; Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed be the LORD; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not. For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD: but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour’s hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them. And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock. And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people. Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.” – Zechariah 11:3-7,10,14,17.
“Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock!” God enlists preachers, evangelists, missionaries, and teachers to lead His people in the way that He wants them to go. Sadly, many, shepherds have led the people astray, allowing them to bring sin into the church, thinking that it is actually something that God approves of. Idolatry? Adultery? Fornication? Homosexuality? Abortion? Women leading the church? These are all things that God does not approve of, and He will judge all the shepherds who condone this type of behavior in His church. Beauty, represents the privileges of the Jewish nation, in their national covenant, Bands, the harmony which united them as the flock of God. They chose to cleave to false teachers, which followed the breaking of the covenant between God and them. This is why God decided to have one Shepherd who will lead not only Jews, but Gentiles in the way that they shall go. God gives some amazing insight to the first and second coming of Christ, including His crucifixion, a day that will bring mourning to all nations.
“And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.” – Zechariah 12:9-14.
“and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced,” Do you see how God proves that He is both the Father and the Son here? All who look to the One they pierced will be saved. Let me tell you, the burdens of life make us weak, they literally drain every bit of strength that is in us, but when we are weak, that is when Christ is strong in us. I can complain to God all I want about my situation, but until I stop fighting my battle myself I will never be strong enough to win it. All the people and things that made us weak will be the ammunition God uses to not only fight them for us, but strengthen us. Through Zechariah, God speaks of the glorious day when Israel will finally recognize Christ as the Messiah, but also gives details of why we suffer as Christians.
“In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones. And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.” – Zechariah 13:1,6-9.
“Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.” Praise God! He was wounded for our transgressions, He suffered and died on the cross because He loves us too much to let us end up in hell. Praise God! But He is not dead, three days later He arose, giving victory and eternal life to all who believe in Him. Praise God! There is one reminder, one sign to show what Jesus did for us, and that is the scars in His hands and feet where the nails were driven into them. While salvation will never separate us from Christ, sin will always separate us from fellowship with God, He may not forsake us, but He will not watch us living in sin. God deals with us His way, He will love us, correct us, chasten us, but He will also protect us. “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” – I Peter 5:10.
We may not understand the purpose of God’s plan, but we can understand that all things work together for good when we love Him, even though we may be in the fire. One day all the suffering will be over and we will all unite and one nation with our King. Through Zechariah, God reveals the time that Israel will finally recognize Christ as their King and we will all join Him in Jerusalem.
“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light. And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be. And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one. And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.” – Zechariah 14:6-9,16-17.
“that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem;” Living waters, water is what sustains us and keeps us alive, while food can provide some substance, without water we die. Just like the body needs water to survive so does the soul, or it will die as well. We must understand that the soul is not some inanimate object, it is our entire being. Yes, we are alive physically through the breath of life, which God gave us to begin with, but our soul is what sustains us, it feeds off our breath. And without the living waters the soul will die as well as the flesh and will be cast into the fire forever. Jesus is the living waters, by which our soul can live. “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” – John 4:14.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them.” – Zechariah 12:8.
Today’s Prayer: God, Saved or not, we all have burdens in life, but thankfully, we who know Your Son as our Saviour can overcome them through Him. He is not only the living water that sustains our soul, He is what gives us the strength to deal with every heartbreak, every temptation, every fear, and every doubt. Lord, Help us not to resent the trials and afflictions of life or be fearful of their effects, but to be reminded that all things work for good to them who love Your Son. Only He can help us withstand the tribulations and trials of life that are certain to come our way. Fill us with Your power and grace, let it overflow us as a fountain, and cover us with Your protective wings so that we can endure all things through His strength. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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