KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Thursday, September 29, 2016
Chapters: Zechariah 5-9
Message: Walking With Christ To Control The Flesh
Hello My Friend,
Flesh, The body, as distinguished from the soul. It is amazing what the flesh desires, and what one desires is far different from another, one gets satisfaction from substance, another from gratification, another from power, yet another from pain. Can I tell you that all the desires of our flesh lead to pain eventually. Why? Because the flesh has the tendency to go overboard, that one piece of chocolate that is not sinful can turn into an entire box. Do not get me wrong, God knows that our body needs things to sustain us and life itself, and He has given us many things to enjoy and even bring pleasure to our flesh, but our flesh is weak and will always go overboard, which is why we need to always be walking with Christ, He is the only one who can calm down those lusts. “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” – Galatians 5:16-17.
There is a fine line between self control and being out of control, while we are all capable of controlling the lusts of our flesh we all slip up sometimes. I know I cannot eat anything with gluten in it yet at least once a month I eat it anyway, mostly because my family does not understand my situation. However, there are times that my flesh is weak ff it is within my reach I eat it, then I suffer for a week. You see, as long as we carry around this flesh or until Jesus returns we are going to slip up on our own, our only defense is Jesus. God continues to give Zechariah visions, this time he sees a flying roll or scroll, meaning some kind of a book.
“Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll. And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits. Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it. I will bring it forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.” – Zechariah 5:1-4.
“and it shall remain in the midst of his house,” There is nothing more powerful than the Word of God, all it has to do is prick the heart of a person for it to convict them. The guilt alone from sin will destroy our flesh because it is weak, it does not matter what we have done, we have all done something we consider shameful, and if it is not addressed it will consume us. That is where Jesus comes in, He alone not only gives us the power to break the curse of sin, but also free ourselves so it does not consume us until God brings us home. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” – I John 1:9.
We must understand that God in no way wants to deprive us of the things we have need of, as long as we are faithful to Him, and that does not mean following strict rules, He will always take care of our flesh. God gives Zechariah a command to make crowns for Joshua, the high priest, this would be a sign that another high priest, who is also royalty will arrive that will reign in the temple.
“Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest; And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD: Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. And the crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of the LORD. And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the LORD, and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God.” – Zechariah 6:11-15.
“if ye will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God.” Jesus is the BRANCH, He not only is the High Priest that would stand before God and offer Himself as a sacrifice to redeem man, He is KING, and will reign when He returns. While following the Law, or rather being obedient to God (many had no idea what the Law was, but still loved God) played a role in salvation before Christ became the permanent redemption for man, God has always gave all the opportunity to get saved. Today, the only way we are saved is through Jesus Christ, if we obey the voice of God telling us that He alone is the only thing necessary for our salvation we will be saved. “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” – Hebrews 9:11-12.
You know, it does our flesh good to take a break from feeding its its constant desires, that is why we are to take one day a week and give it solely to God. The reason for going to church or if you are unable to go to a church due to health reasons, having a day solely for God is to keep us reminded that our flesh is weak and we need Him. Even though God had sent the Jews to Babylon and the majority of them did not hear from God that did not mean he was not there not that they were to forsake the Law because they were there. God addresses this through Zechariah, not just the Jews, but all the people.
“Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me? And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves? Should ye not hear the words which the LORD hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited the south and the plain? Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother: And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart. But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.” – Zechariah 7:5-7,9-11.
“when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity,” The reason so many nations fall comes from not living by the Word of God in the first place. Total destruction does not happen over night, it takes decades of feeding the lusts of the flesh, without having God in the picture. Through Zechariah, God speaks of the glorious day when both Jew and Gentile will worship God in unity.
“Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities: And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also. Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.” – Zechariah 8:19-23.
“for we have heard that God is with you.” We must admit that if we leave everything up to our flesh we would not do anything that we ought to be doing. Walking with Christ keeps us accountable, and leads others to Him. Now, God assures all of His people that if they follow Him He will give them their desires. However, when those desires become more important than Him you can be sure that tribulation will come to wake us up. One day every person will know Christ one way or another, those who are saved will find their way to Jerusalem, those who are not, the lake of fire. “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” – Revelation 21:7-8.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.” – Zechariah 9:9.
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for your mercy and grace, no matter how much I mess up it always abounds. When life gets overwhelming my flesh gets weak and it seems like temptation is all around me, without You I know I fall more than I care to admit, but with You I have the strength to escape any temptation. Lord, lead me and guide me, cover me with love and joy and Your grace, keep me accountable so my heart, soul, body, and mind do not become lustful over the things I desire. I ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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