Thursday, Aug. 30

Thursday

I looked again—and there before me was a flying scroll! He asked me, “What do you see?”  I answered, “I see a flying scroll, thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide.”  And he said to me, “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 him who swears falsely by my name. It will remain in his house and destroy it, both its timbers and its stones.’”  Then the angel who was speaking to me came forward and said to me, “Look up and see what this is that is appearing.”  I asked, “What is it?”  He replied, “It is a measuring basket.” And he added, “This is the iniquity of the people throughout the land.”   - Zechariah 5:1-6

President Calvin Coolidge was not known for his talkativeness.  A story, perhaps apocryphal, says that one Sunday he attended a worship service without his wife who was a devout Christian.  When he returned home, she asked him what the minister had talked about. “Sin,” replied silent Cal.  “Well what did the preacher say about sin?” his wife persisted.  Coolidge replied, “He was against it.”  Coolidge’s answer is a succinct summary of Zechariah 5, which tells us what God thinks about sin. In a nutshell, He is against it.

The scroll symbolizes God’s Word, especially His law as contained in the Ten Commandments. Just as God wrote the Ten Commandments on both sides of the stones (Exod. 32:15), so both sides of the flying scroll contain writing.  The one side of the scroll mentions stealing, the middle commandment of the second table of the law, which deals with our relationships with one another.  According to some commentators, the dimensions of the scroll are identical with the size of the holy place in the tabernacle and the porch of Solomon’s Temple (1 Kings 6:3), where the law was read to the people.

The other side of the scroll mentions swearing falsely by God’s name, the middle commandment of the first table of the law, which deals with our relationship with God.  As Jesus pointed out, the whole law can be summed up with, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart...” and, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:37, 39).

The book of Zechariah is full of strange imagery and visions, and they are not always easy to interpret.  But don’t get lost in the imagery and miss the application.  The flying scroll tells each of us who name the name of the Lord that we must judge our lives by His holy Word.  Our culture drifts morally with the times, but God’s Word is an absolute, unchanging moral standard.  The basket symbolizes the fact that we are all covered in iniquity.  This is a hard truth to hear for many people, and it is very unpopular concept in our culture today.  

Too many people minimize the problems of sin and guilt by portraying God as very tolerant of sinners, and by viewing ourselves as not such bad folks after all.  We see God primarily as our heavenly grandfather, or our good buddy in the sky, who may sigh about our sin, but who would never really get angry or deal severely with His children.  But it is essential for us that we form our view of God and ourselves from Scripture, not from the prevailing opinions of our culture.  When we examine Scripture, we find that God is far more holy than we ever imagined, and we are far more sinful than we ever fathomed.  This is the reason that God hates sin, because He is holy and because He loves us.  His holiness will not allow sin to be in His presence, His love will not allow us to wallow in sin without hope.  

The early 20th century evangelist, Billy Sunday, said, “I’m against sin. I’ll kick it as long as I’ve got a foot, and I’ll fight it as long as I’ve got a fist. I’ll bite it as long as I’ve got a tooth. And when I’m toothless, I’ll gum it ’til I go home to Glory, and it goes home to perdition.”  That’s God’s view of sin. He’s relentlessly against it, and so we should be against it, beginning with our own sin.

Jeff Frazier

Wednesday, Aug. 29

Wednesday

 In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo: “The LORD was very angry with your forefathers.  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.  Do not be like your forefathers, to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed: This is what the LORD Almighty says:  ‘Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices.’ But they would not listen or pay attention to me, declares the LORD.  Where are your forefathers now? And the prophets, do they live forever?  But did not my words and my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, overtake your forefathers?  “Then they repented and said,  ‘The LORD Almighty has done to us what our ways and practices deserve, just as he determined to do.’”   - Zechariah 1:1-6

In the introduction (1:1-6), Zechariah answers a basic, crucial question: How can we experience God’s blessing? Remember, this was written to people who knew God and were in the process of rebuilding His temple.  Zechariah did not offer a new or different message.  But since we do not always apply what we already know, he starts with a fundamental principle of the life of faith:  

We must continually return to the Lord!

Dr. Charles Feinberg notes, “This call to return dare not be passed over lightly, for it is the basic and fundamental plea of God throughout the Bible to all sinful men”.  The Hebrew word for “return” is the word teshuvah, and it comes from the Hebrew root shuv, which means to turn around.  This is what the Bible means when it speaks about repentance.  We first come to God in repentance and faith, but it is not a one-time thing.  A walk with God is marked by continual repentance or returning to Him because we are, as the hymn says “prone to wander”.  Zechariah’s audience had returned to the physical land.  God wants them to return to Him not just physically, but with their hearts.  They were rebuilding the temple, doing the Lord’s work, they may have thought, “Why do we need to return to God?”  Zechariah answers that question.

It may seem odd that Zechariah would begin a message of hope and encouragement by talking about God’s fierce anger to- ward sinners!  The Hebrew expression is very strong. There are three interesting grammatical devices used here to emphasize the intensity of God’s anger.  First, the verb, “to be angry,” is placed first in the sentence for emphasis. Second, the Hebrew uses what is called the cognate accusative, “he was angry with anger,” which means, “God was really ticked off!”  Third, the Hebrew word itself means to be full of wrath (see 2 Kings 5:11; Esther 1:12).

Does the picture of God being very angry against sinners fit with your view of Him?  We live in a time that emphasizes God’s love to the neglect of His holy wrath against sin and against sinners.  We glibly say, “God hates the sin, but, loves the sinner” as if somehow the sinner will never experience God’s wrath against him, but just against his sin (as separate from him)!

Certainly, God is full of love and mercy to every sinner who repents.  But in His holiness, God cannot and does not wink at our sin, turn a blind eye, or treat it lightly.  His terrible wrath against all unrepentant sinners, should cause us to fear sinning because we fear God!

But how is this message about God’s anger a word of encouragement or hope for these remnant Jews, or for us for that matter?  The warning of divine wrath is a prerequisite to the acceptance of divine grace.  In other words, you must sense the serious danger that you are in before you gratefully accept the offer of being rescued from that danger.  Frederich Buechner puts it this way, “before the gospel can possibly be good news, it must first be bad news.” 

Notice the order of the Apostle Paul’s famous words...

Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,  3:24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 

Concerning his own salvation experience, the great Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon wrote; “It is only when sinners realize that they are under the fierce, eternal wrath of God that they will cry out, “What must I do to be saved?...Only he who has stood before his God, convicted and condemned, with the rope about his neck, is the man to weep for joy when he is pardoned, to hate the evil which has been forgiven him, and to live to the honour of the Redeemer by whose blood he has been cleansed” (C. H. Spurgeon, Autobiography).

Jeff Frazier

Tuesday, Aug. 28

Tuesday

In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo: “The LORD was very angry with your forefathers. 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.   - Zechariah 1:1-3

The people to whom Zechariah brought this “word of the Lord” (1:1) were probably a lot like you and me. They were, for the most part, believers who would have voiced their allegiance to God.  They were a remnant of 50,000 Jews who had made the difficult commitment to return to Jerusalem from the Babylonian captivity in 538 B.C. In 536 B.C. they had begun reconstruction of the devastated temple. But opposition had mounted, and for several years the work had been set aside.

Meanwhile, the people got caught up in the busyness of life. It was probably not an intentional decision. They meant no harm to God.  But God raised up the prophet Haggai to ask the question, “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate?” (Hag. 1:4). The people responded to Haggai’s message and began to work again on the temple.

Two months into the project, “in the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah the prophet” (Zech. 1:1). That date is significant!  Two months into any volunteer project of this magnitude, people need a word from the Lord! They need hope and encouragement.  They need the motivation that comes from knowing that this project is worthwhile.  That is especially true when the people are a bunch of refugees returning to a devastated country, still surrounded by hostile neighbors.  

Zechariah’s prophecy was directed to such people. He has been called the prophet of hope. His message is filled with the encouragement that God will keep His promises to His people, especially His promises regarding the Messiah. Zechariah has more Messianic prophecy than all of the other Minor Prophets combined and he is second only to Isaiah in the number of references to Christ.

You can remember the overarching theme of the book of Zechariah if you will remember the Hebrew meanings of the three names in the first verse.

Zechariah = “whom the Lord remembers.” 

Berekiah = “the Lord blesses.” 

Iddo = “at the appointed time” 

God raised up Zechariah to proclaim that God remembers His chosen people and He will bless them in His appointed time.

That message applies to us, especially if you are discouraged. When you look around at the evil in the world and the apathy or hostility toward the gospel, you may feel as if God has forgotten you.  But He remembers!  He has not forgotten!  He will bless in His appointed time!  Our job is to be obedient and faithful to Him.

I recall once hearing Bill Hybels (senior pastor and founder of Willow Creek Community Church) say that people in the church need constant reminders that their work for God is worth it, and that they are not crazy for giving so much time and money to the work of God.  Why?  Because it is easy to forget, to get distracted or discouraged, and because the rest of the world around them cannot understand why they would give and serve and make such sacrifices.

Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.                  - 1 Corinthians 15:58

Jeff Frazier

Monday, Aug. 27

Monday

Not long after we began our summer series on the minor prophets, a young man approached me and asked me a very good question.  He said, “If all of these prophecies we are reading in the Old Testament are given to the Jews, how do I know they are for me today?”  Since then I have been asked similar versions of this question several more times.  It is a good question because one of the problems for Christians like us is how a book full of promises to ancient Israel can be a help to us today.  I thought it would be helpful to sketch very briefly five guiding principles for the interpretation of prophecies like this. (much of these 5 principles are borrowed and adapted from pastor John Piper)

FIRST - These prophecies are aimed primarily at the ethnic people of Israel. They were the audience; and when they heard Zechariah refer to "the house of Judah and the house of Israel," they would naturally understand the Jewish people, not the Christian Church. These prophecies are aimed at the ethnic people Israel.

SECOND - God is not done with Israel.  It is too simple to say that since the time of Christ the Church has replaced Israel as God's chosen people, even though that is true, in a sense. The reason it is too simple is that in Romans 11 Paul teaches that God is not finished with ethnic Israel. In verse 1 he says, "Has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin." Paul insists that God has not finished with the Jews, first of all, because he is a Jew (of the tribe of Benjamin!).

Now Paul does admit that the Jews are temporarily rejected through their unbelief, but this is for the benefit of us Gentiles; and when the full number of Gentiles is complete, the remaining Jews, too, will repent and be saved.  Romans 11:12, 15 "Now if their (Jews) trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean! . . . If their (Jews) rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?"  Here Israel is distinct from converted Gentiles and is promised a glorious future. So a few verses later, in verses 25, 26, Paul says, "A hardening has come upon part of Israel until the full number of the Gentiles comes in, and so all Israel will be saved."

THIRD - Gentile believers (that’s us) become full partners in the promises made to Israel in the Old Testament by faith in Jesus Christ.  The two key texts to support this principle are Galatians 3:29, “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”, and Ephesians 2:19, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household”, and Ephesians 3:6, “This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.”

FOURTH - The prophecies of the Old Testament made to Israel are not less than literal (as though ethnic Israel were not intended), but more than literal, because they embrace not only the ethnic Israel but also the Gentile children of Abraham by faith who will not be second-class citizens in the final kingdom.

FIFTH - and finally, many of the benefits promised to the people of Israel are fulfilled in stages.  This is especially true since the expected coming of the Messiah has occurred in stages. Christ came the first time as Hebrews 9:26 says, "to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself."  And he will "appear a second time not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him."  For the most part, Old Testament prophecy does not distinguish these two comings. Therefore, very often some aspects of Old Testament promises are fulfilled already in Christ, but the final fulfillment still waits for the last day.

So these guiding principles are helpful when we try to understand and apply the promises for God’s people in the Old Testament.  1) it is aimed primarily at ethnic Israel  2) God is not done with Israel  3) by faith in Christ we Gentile believers become full fellow-heirs of the promises made to Israel  4) therefore, the Old Testament prophecies concerning Israel are not less than literal but more than literal: they embrace not only ethnic Israel but also us Gentile believers  5) many of the benefits promised to the people of Israel are fulfilled in stages, especially since the promised Messiah himself comes in two stages.

The practical implication of all this is that whenever you read "Fear not!" or “I have not forgotten you” or “I will deliver you” in the Old Testament, you can take it for yourself as a fellow heir if you are a Christian!

Jeff Frazier

Friday, Aug. 24

To download an audio version of this, click here.

Friday

“This is what the LORD Almighty says:  ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.  I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the LORD Almighty. 

‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the LORD Almighty.  ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the LORD Almighty.  ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the LORD Almighty.”   - Haggai 2:6-9

There are many prophecies in Scripture that contain promises from God, this is a particularly  wonderful promise from God to His people.  In this passage, God is giving these remnant Jews (and us today) something we all desperately need, an eternal perspective.  God is reminding us that He sees more than we see.  We are finite creatures with limited understanding, and He is the infinite and eternal God who knows and sees all.

Not too long ago I was asked to perform an outdoor wedding ceremony at the Morton Arboretum.  As I was leaving the Arboretum after the rehearsal, I passed by a large maze garden.  On the outside of the garden wall was a 15 ft. raised observation platform.  There was a man standing on that platform calling down to his young son somewhere inside of the maze.  I could not see the little boy, but I could hear him, and I could hear the emotion in his voice.  It was obvious that he was lost and his father was trying to guide him out of the maze and back to himself.  The father could see exactly where the boy needed to go in order to find his way out, but all the little boy could see were large green hedges everywhere.  The young boy needed to trust his father’s voice and obey what his father told him to do.  He needed to trust that his father saw more than he did.  

This story is a powerful image of what we need from God!  We must trust that He sees far more than we do.  It is easy for us to feel lost in the maze of life, it is easy for us to lose our way or make a wrong turn. We must listen to what God tells us and obey the commands He gives us, if we want to end up in the right place.  

The people in Haggai’s day had drifted off course, they had forgotten why they came back to Jerusalem in the first place, and they had stopped doing what God wanted them to do.  They had experienced opposition, setbacks and discouragement and had finally settled into a life that was clearly not what God wanted for them.  So God sent His messenger Haggai to speak His words to the people.  Haggai not only calls them to action, but he reminds them of who God is.  He reminds them of the promises of their great God.  He reminds them of how God has been faithful in the past, and he tells them of God’s promise to be faithful in the future.

Commentators differ on when the shaking of heaven and earth and the nations would take place and what it means.  Some say that it referred to God’s stirring up Darius to supply help and materials for this rebuilding of the temple (Ezra 6:6-15).  Others say that it refers to God’s bringing future judgment on the Persians, Greeks, and Romans.  While these may have been an initial fulfillment, like many biblical prophecies, there are multiple fulfillments.  In this case, it refers ultimately to the Second Coming of Christ, when God will shake the heavens and the earth and conquer all the rebellious nations (Rev. 16:18- 20).

God also says that He will “fill this house with glory” and that “the glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house” (2:7, 9).  Again there is some debate.  How could Zerubbabel’s temple be greater in glory than Solomon’s?  While king Herod replaced this temple with more glorious buildings (the temple in Jesus’ time), this verse probably refers to the coming of Jesus into that temple.  His presence made it even more glorious than Solomon’s Temple. When Christ returns, His presence as King of Kings and Lord of Lords will surpass the veiled glory of His first coming.  In the new heavens and earth, there will be no temple, “for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple” (Rev. 21:22).

When we see how God has worked down through the ages in accordance with what He told His people in advance, it encourages us to remain faithful in our obedience to Him, knowing that the remaining unfulfilled prophecies will surely yet be fulfilled. The many prophecies in Scripture are not given for us to speculate about the future, but to help us be faithful in the present!

Jeff Frazier

Thursday, Aug. 23

To download an audio version of this, click here.

Thursday

Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: “give careful thought to your ways.”   
- Haggai 1:5

This is what the LORD Almighty says: “give careful thought to your ways”.  - Haggai 1:7

Now give careful thought to this from this day on - consider how things were before one stone was laid on another in the Lord’s temple.   - Haggai 1:15

From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, give careful thought to the day when the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid. Give careful thought              - Haggai 1:18

Four times in these two short chapters, God says to His people - “give careful thought to your ways.”  Some translations say, “consider your ways”.  

Con-sid-er; (v) to think carefully about, contemplate, reflect on, or examine.  

The Hebrew figure of speech for this phrase is literally "put your heart on your paths." Haggai asks God's people to consider what direction their life is headed, and if they really want it to continue that way.  When God’s Word confronts the way we live, we can either resist it by making up more excuses, or we can obey it.  The problem for most of us is that we do not stop often enough to read it and to reflect on the direction of our lives in light of it.  How do we do this?  To put it simply, this means to stop long enough in your busy schedule each day to evaluate your life in the light of God’s Word.  To do what David wrote about in Psalm 119:15, “I meditate on your precepts, and consider your ways.” 

Here are some questions that will help you in this kind of reflection...

1.  How are you spending your time? These people had plenty of time for themselves, but they didn’t have time for God. Rearrange your schedule!

2.  How are you spending your money, which is really God’s money?  These remnant Jews claimed that they had to get their own houses built first, and then they could build God’s house. That was backwards. God says that we are to give Him the first fruits, off the top. We are to give Him the best. We are managers of all that He has given us, to invest it profitably for His kingdom.

3.  What are your goals? What is it that you’re aiming at in life? If you live to an old age, what do you want to look back on as far as accomplishments?

4.  What do you think about the most? What secretly occupies your thought life? Do you dream of getting rich, of achieving fame, of some hobby or leisure pursuit, or do you think about the Lord and how He wants you to spend your life?

5.  Who are your heroes or models? Whom do you most admire? Whom would you like to be like? Why?

6.  Who are your friends? Whom do you like to spend time with? Why do you like to be with them?

7.  How do you spend your leisure time? When you have time off, how do you spend it? Do you watch TV? Do you live for sports? Do you hang out with friends? How does your leisure time reflect and affect your devotion to Jesus Christ?

Speaking only for myself (obviously), the last few months have been a weird whirlwind of craziness. Lots of good work, and overall, a very fruitful season. However, I’ve also found that because there’s been an incredible amount of stress, it’s been completely messing with my priorities (to the degree that I feel a lot of the specifics of Haggai’s rebuke hit a little too close to home).  And it is really not something that is acceptable, especially when I see Jesus’ words in Matt. 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”  

Regardless of your season of life, this is the call. We’re not to spend our time busying ourselves with our own houses at the expense of what God requires of us.  We do not seek our own kingdoms, but seek His kingdom first. “All these things”—the stuff of life that you truly need—”will be added to you.”  So let us all stop and think carefully about our ways!

Jeff Frazier

Wednesday, Aug. 22

To download an audio version of this, click here.

Wednesday

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 Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people. Ask them, ‘Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing?  But 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, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the Lord Almighty.  ‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.‘               - Haggai 2:1-5

It’s easy to start a new diet. It’s tough to stick to it when you crave that cinnamon roll. It’s easy to start a new exercise program. It’s tough to persevere when your aching muscles scream, “No more!” It’s easy to get married. It’s tough to hang in there and work through problems over a lifetime. It’s easy to begin a new ministry in the local church. It’s tough to keep on when problems arise or when the results don’t match your initial expectations.

That describes the people in Haggai’s day, just shy of a month after they had obeyed his first message and resumed work on re- building the temple. The foundation had been laid about 15 years before, but the project had been set on the shelf. But now, in response to Haggai’s word from the Lord, the leaders and people had begun to rebuild on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month of the second year of Darius (Sept. 21, 520 B.C.; 1:15). The seventh month in Israel began with the Feast of Trumpets on the first day, followed by the Day of Atonement on the tenth day. Then the Feast of Tabernacles went from the 15th to the 21st. On the last day of that feast (Oct. 17th), Haggai delivered his second message to the people (2:1-9). It is a message of God’s encouragement to discouraged workers.   Discouragement for God’s people can take many different forms.

Delays can discourage us.

There is always a certain sense of excitement when you begin a new ministry or project. But the glow easily rubs off in the grind. There were probably piles of rubble that needed to be removed. Perhaps some of the workers had envisioned putting the finishing touches on some gold work or other craftsmanship, but they hadn’t thought about hauling rubble. Their initial enthusiasm was already wearing thin.  

External opposition and criticism can discourage us.

In verse 5, the Lord says, “Do not fear!” He would not say that unless they had a reason to be afraid. Probably the same men who had threatened them and lobbied against them at the Persian court 15 years before were at it again. Any time you attempt to do God’s work, Satan will stir up opposition. We’re in a battle with the forces of darkness that are opposed to the church of Jesus Christ. Expect opposition!

Internal opposition in the form of comparisons & faulty expectations can discourage us.

When I began in ministry, I naively thought that most of the opposition would come from outside the church. Boy, was I wrong!  Most opposition comes from within, and it takes different forms.

When they had laid the foundation years before, there was great joy mixed with weeping (Ezra 3:11-13). The young people who had not known the glory of the former temple were rejoicing. But the old-timers, who had seen Solomon’s Temple, wept at this new temple, because it just didn’t measure up. Although they would be in their seventies or older by now, a few were still around when the work got started again.  The old-timers were saying, “You should have seen Solomon’s Temple. Now that was a temple! This new one is hardly worth calling a temple compared to the old one!  Where is all the gold?  Solomon’s Temple was lined with gold. Why isn’t this one?”  There were probably all kinds of comparisons going on.

I’ve had people tell me about their former pastors who must never have slept and changed into their pastor uniforms in a phone booth!  These pastors would visit everyone in the church, preach superb sermons, attend all the church activities, and always have time for drop ins. Besides that, they never neglected their families!  Implication: “Why aren’t you like they are?”

Shortsightedness, or limited perspective can also discourage us.

If the people in Haggai’s day were viewing success from the short range, they would have been very discouraged. With God, a thousand years is as a day. True success will be measured in the light of eternity, not in our lifetimes. We need to keep this in mind as we labor for the Lord. The harvest is at the end of the age, not at the end of the meeting. God’s timing is not our timing.  

Whatever our source of discouragement, God understands and He cares. But He doesn’t coddle us or let us stay there.  Three times the Lord repeats, “Be strong!” (“Take courage!”) And He tells them to work. Keep going! Persevere!  Twice the Lord reminds the people that He is with them and that His Spirit remains among them.  This is where our strength to persevere comes from, not from ourselves, but from the knowledge that God is with us!

Jeff Frazier