God’s Salvation of Israel

God’s Salvation of IsraelZechariah 12:10-14July 30, 2023 John Piper writes about the unlikely conversion of a sinner — A great testimony to the power of the Word to beget and sustain faith is found in the story of the conversion and execution of Tokichi Ishii—a man who was hanged for murder in Tokyo in […]

Zechariah and The Day of the Lord

While Zechariah does not use the term, “the day of the Lord,” he speaks frequently (21 times) of “that day,” which is his abbreviated way of referring to the day of the Lord. So what is “that day” and “the day of the Lord?” In the Old Testament, the term generally is used to refer […]

God’s “I Will”

God’s “I Will”Zechariah 12:2-9July 23, 2023 In “If I Were in Charge of the World,” Judith Viorst’s popular child character Alexander opines, If I were in charge of the worldThere’d be brighter night lights,Healthier hamsters, andBasketball baskets forty-eight inches lower. If I were in charge of the worldYou wouldn’t have lonely.You wouldn’t have clean.You wouldn’t have […]

The end of this age

At dinner on Monday, I looked at my wife and said, “One down, three to go.” “What are you talking about?” she asked. “One 108-degree day is behind us, only three more (this week).” (I was trying to be optimistic, so I’m not going to think about August.) I often look forward to the ends […]

God’s Right to Speak

God’s Right to SpeakZechariah 12:1July 16, 2023 I loved my mom and learned so very much from her. She was a gift of great grace from the Lord to me. But she had one habit that I could never adopt, even though I understood it. One day I saw her reading a book that I […]

Don’t be that kind of mentor

Everyone is a counselor. Everyone is a mentor. Everyone attempts to influence others with their beliefs and belief systems. It might be as simple as trying to convince others of the beauty of a medium-rare steak, or the joys of being a fan of the Texas Rangers (at least this year), or the importance of […]

God’s Worthless Shepherd

God’s Worthless Shepherd Zechariah 11:5-17July 9, 2023 I don’t know about you, but it’s hard to know from year to year what I should and shouldn’t eat — what’s good for me and what’s bad for me? High fat? Low fat? Eggs or no eggs? Carbs or no carbs? Meat? Vegetarian? Or vegan? A […]

Set Free

All day Tuesday American flags were flown, songs were sung (how many times did you hear “God Bless the USA” or “America the Beautiful?”), hot dogs and hamburgers were consumed, parades were held, and as an exclamation on the day of rejoicing in liberty, fireworks were set off. Tuesday was a day of freedom. Yet […]

The Holy Spirit and the Old Testament

Every year, we receive information about new products — new cell phones, computers, and tablets. New cars, new houses, new software, new books, new detergent, new laws, new lawmakers, new exercises, new diets, new clothes. And often the sales pitch for these items goes something like this: “It’s the same brand you’ve always loved, but […]

When the Shepherd is Rejected

When the Shepherd is RejectedZechariah 11:7-14June 25, 2023 Everything seemed to go poorly for Israel. Way back in her history after Solomon died there was political maneuvering for the kingship of Israel and it led to strife, conflict, and a divided nation. It stayed that way for centuries. There were even battles between the northern […]

Life is mundane

There is an ordinariness to life. Most days are not filled with remarkable and extraordinary events, but a succession of events that are very, dare I say it?, mundane. To say “life is mundane” sounds pessimistic. Or fatalistic. It sounds like one has resigned himself to inescapable ordinariness — he has given up his dreams […]

God’s Compassion and the Danger of Rejecting the Shepherd

God’s Compassion and the Danger of Rejecting the ShepherdZechariah 11:1-6June 18, 2023 A few years ago, a photographer accumulated several photos of some of the most famous places in the world that he had visited. Some of you might have been to some of these places as well — do you remember them the way […]

God, Our Strength

God, Our StrengthZechariah 10:6-12June 11, 2023 Many years ago, a despondent looking Charlie Brown lamented to his friend Lucy, “I feel inferior.” Lucy hopefully responds, “Oh, you shouldn’t worry about that. Lots of people feel that way.” “What, that they’re inferior?” Charlie asks, feeling somewhat encouraged. “No — that you’re inferior.” In one of […]

Identifying and resisting idols

When traveling overseas, you may have seen a variety of pagan gods and deities represented by various kinds of idols. You may have even visited a pagan temple and seen large, ornate, and impressive looking idols. I suspect that no matter how impressive, you weren’t tempted to bow in worship to those man made structures. […]

The Bad Shepherds

The Bad ShepherdsZechariah 10:1-5June 4, 2023 One of the beauties of Scripture is that it takes a transcendent, infinite, unknowable God and reveals Him to us not only so that we can know Him, but that we can understand Him. One way the Bible does that is by taking things that we know and […]