Coming to the Still Waters

Today's verses are Zechariah 8:9-13, which reads, v.9 - "Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'Let your hands be strong, you who are listening in these days to these words from the mouth of the prophets, those who spoke in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, to the end that the temple might be built." Look at what the faithful are doing.  They are listening and what are they listening to?  They are listening to the words of the prophets, mainly Haggai and Zechariah at the time.  These are also people who are keeping on listening.  They were listening to the prophets before the temple was started and they are still listening to the prophets as the last block is put into place.  They are actually listening in the process and holding that the last block will be put in place. Are you listening to the word of God through the Scriptures that we have been given?  We have listened but are we still listening and holding to wh...

Happy Thursday to you all.  The weather has broken here and I am enjoying a beautiful cool morning.  We have been experiencing a great 5 days of prayer at the church and we are on day 4.  Yesterday was so special.  There was such a seriousness about why we were gathering.  I believe this will be a part of what I get behind wherever God takes me.  --Adam--

Today's verses are Zechariah 8:1-8, which read, v.1, 2 - Then the word of the LORD of hosts came, saying, "Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'I am exceedingly jealous for Zion, yes, with great wrath I am jealous for her.' v.3 - Thus says the LORD, 'I will return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.  Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.' v.4, 5 - Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'Old men and old women will again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each man with his staff in his hand because of age.  And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in its streets.' v.6 - Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'If it is too difficult in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, will it also be too difficult in My sight?'  declares the LORD of hosts. v.7,8 - Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'Behold, I am going to save My...

Good Tuesday morning all.  I joined up with another church recently to have my own prayer retreat.  It was a time to have some concentrated conversations with God.  So I brought this venue of prayer to the church I am serving.  A mighty few are gathering at 6 a.m. in the sanctuary to pour over prayer cards supplied by the congregation and also to be in prayer with one another.  The worship music is prompting us on what to pray and a devotional passage instructs on why we are here.  I encourage you if you have a chance to attend something like this, do it!  Even if you know no one there, like I did, it is something great to be around others who are also seeking after God.  --Adam--

Today's devotion is the last of our series on the meaning of the text.  What is the  "meaning"  of a written text with relationship to what we read in Scripture.  The answer we have been working with is,  "The meaning of a text is what the author intended to communicate by his words."   We have been underlining  "what the author intended"  and  "by his words."   We are striving to keep our eyes on the author and discover the intention rather than create something from our reader's eyes and wander into the area of relativity. Let's summarizes where we have been so far. Principle #1 - The Bible Assumption - The Bible corrects when the readers interpret the author's intention wrongly. Principle #2 - The Golden Rule - Do onto the authors as you the reader would have readers do to you as an author.  No one likes their words twisted or misinterpreted. Principle #3 - The Humble Path - We are to discover what the autho...

I have been covering these 7 big questions so here is another installment this morning.  We are also heading to the local park this morning to conduct our annual outside worship and picnic.  It looks to be a hot one so I am praying for a little breeze.  Sometimes what we say is not always what is heard.  I am leaning this lesson again and hopefully better understanding how to respond to the actions that are taken with what isn't said.  It effects so many people's lives when God's instruction of confession and repentance are not sought after as the first step.  --Adam--

Today's verses are Zechariah 7:8-14, which read, v.8-10 - Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah saying, "Thus has the LORD of hosts said, 'Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother; and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.'" The Lord gives us some commands to follow here.  The first is to dispense of true justice and to dispense the practice of kindness and compassion to our families.  We are to speak the truth and we are do this with love in word and deed.  The first place we are instructed to put in place the commands of God is with our families.  God then reaches out to the widows and the orphans and they are not to be oppressed by us.  We are to make life happen for them in a way that they do not suffer more than what they are suffering already.  He then brings in the stranger and the poor, two more suffering groups...

A Thursday morning here heading into a weekend that will include some outside worship at the park, a picnic, and a baptismal service.  I love these times when the church family gets together and has some more time for fellowship and teaming up for some volleyball and yard games.  It also puts me in a different environment to preach and teach.  This passage is all about pride, individual pride and group pride.  I am thankful Jesus gives an object lesson to help the disciples and us and me to see the error of our/my ways.  --Adam--

Today's verses are Zechariah 7:1-7, which read, v.1 - In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev. To give some historical context to the upcoming verses, it is the fourth day of the ninth month of the fourth year of King Darius.  This would be Nov/Dec of the year 518 B.C.  This would be two years after Zechariah's messages and night visions concluded in chapter 6.  It is another two years before Zerubbabel's temple will be completed. v.2, 3 - Now the town of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and their men to seek the favor of the Lord, speaking to the priests who belong to the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, "Shall I weep in the fifth month and abstain, as I have done these many years?" Geographically, the town of Bethel is 12 miles north of Jerusalem.  So other towns around Jerusalem have been inhabited with those returning from B...

Happy Tuesday to you all.  First here is a picture that is 30 years in the making.  On the right is our oldest child, Anna, 30 some years ago wearing a pretty pink dress.  On the left is her second born, Evelyn, wearing the same dress.  Not often these days that we hold onto things and can use them again.  Our "throw away" society starts to eliminate these types of moments for reflection.  --Adam--

Today is an in between chapter devotional of the book of Zechariah.  We will pick up with chapter 7 on Wednesday.  We are continuing our series on what do we mean by the word "meaning?"  Specifically, what is the "meaning" of a written text?  The answer that we have been describing in 7 ways is, "The meaning of a text is what the author intended to communicate by his words."  The emphasis is on "the author intended" and "by his words."  We are not relying on our words or our feelings but the author defines what we are to know. We are working through 7 principles and are now to principle number 6.  I have given them little titles but the credit goes to Pastor John Piper who is teaching this series through his podcast called "Look At The Book." Principle #1 - The Bible Assumption The Bible corrects when the reader is going the wrong way with his or her interpretation. Principle #2 - The Golden Rule As a reader, do unto a...

Good Sunday morning to you.  Messenger brought me way that a cousin of mine, Mike, has terminal cancer.  Please pray with me for him and his family.  Here is another broadcast dealing with another big question of life.  "Is Christianity too narrow for our culture today?"   These questions are part of a series called Explore God that we will be addressing at the start of the year so this is my practice run at handling these topics.  --Adam--

Today's verses are Zechariah 6:9-15, which read, v.9, 10 - The word of the LORD also came to me, saying, "Take an offering from the exiles, from Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah; and you go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, where they have arrived from Babylon." Here is an order from God to take up an offering and it is from the exiles who are in Babylon.  I am assuming this offering is going to help fund the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem.  This is an offering that is going out from the people of God to another place for the ministry that is going to be happening there.  It is an offering of preparation and an offering of anticipation of what is going to come back to the Promise Land, not just the physical temple but also the spiritual rebuilding of following after the true God in the midst of land of many gods. v.11, 12 -  "Take silver and gold, make an ornate crown and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak,...

This week off to study more and get prepared for the fall has acquired another funeral but this of a great saint of the church.  I feel I am working on this same sermon over and over but God gave me last week the verses to add to this gospel presentation.  On Friday evening will gather a mixed group of loved ones who have the opportunity to hear again of the loved one's loved One, Jesus.  Prayer with me that eyes and ears will be opened and new births will occur at the laying to physical rest one who is in the arms of Jesus.  --Adam--

Today's devotional will be a podcast of a couple questions I got Sunday regarding the sermon covering Luke 9:37-45.  Thank you for filling out those little slips of paper and putting them into the fish bowls. The first one was kind of an incomplete question that maybe is a clue to how I should try to answer it.  Sometimes I say things that need more explanation because the words don't match up.  The card says,  "V.45:  Authority w/out prayer/power?" I really didn't spend much time on verse 45 which reads, "But they did not understand this statement; it was concealed from them so that they could not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask Him about it." The statement is found in verse 44 which reads, "Let these words sink in:  The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men." Actually both questions were related to these two verses.  The other question is,  "Why were the disciples afraid to ask Jesus abou...