September 21–Matthew 6-7

“Close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you”(6:6).

As a believer, I have a public life. Jesus said His followers are, “a city set on a hill.” See Matthew 5. My choices and character are seen by others. Evaluated. This is as it should be. Christ calls me live openly, publicly.

I also have a private life. Private. Protected. Secret. Not something that can be seen or evaluated by others. See 2 Corinthians 12:4.

In the sermon on the mount, Jesus warned His listeners (us) away from a religion that is fueled by the approval of people. This kind of faith consists mainly of a horizontal relationship to a church, but has almost no vibrant vertical relationship with the Father. “All hat, but no cattle.” The appearance of holiness without the essential center.

Private prayer is the Lord’s best gift to His friends! Not the easiest, but the best. Not magic, true prayer is authentic conversation with God. Speaking and listening. Honest and open. Friendship with God is invaluable, but can only be discovered and cultivated in secret hours.

Ironically, when this private life is present, people notice! As we get free from the need for others to notice us, they often do.

At the end of His sermons, people often described Jesus as, “having authority.” Interesting word. Exousia translates two words, “out of ” and “existence”. Jesus, power rose up from who He was (is). No slick marketing campaign was necessary. What people experienced and reported was the compelling Spiritual life of our Lord. Life incubated in private prayer.

Friend, do you have a secret life? Vibrant? Honest? Can you be alone with the Father? Are you? Are you making an investment that only Heaven sees/rewards? What steps will you take today to find and deepen a secret life with Him?

“In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there” (Mark 1:35).

September 20–Matthew 4-5

“From that time, Jesus began to preach and say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’. . .(He) was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom”(4:17, 21).

It was Jesus’ favorite subject. God’s KINGDOM was His “go to” sermon. The kingdom of heaven! Real. At hand. The most exciting announcement in history. Good news. GOSPEL!

The GOSPEL of the KINGDOM declares the potential of a real and right relationship with God. The kingdom of heaven is that group of people in whom Christ resides and reigns. People restored to God. His people, in the Spirit, recognizing His glory, doing His will, experiencing His blessings. Kingdom!

Imagine a nation ruled by a good and brilliant king. Consider the order of that society. The safety of it. The prosperity. Now, apply this image to a UNIVERSE ruled by an infinitely good King (God, Himself). The reality and potential of this kingdom is our great hope! In Christ, people can walk with God, can know Him and serve Him and walk in His blessings.

This good news is our INCENTIVE to repent. Kingdom as carrot. Why should I change (repent)? Because God has given me a fantastic offer to join His kingdom! He offers to include me in His victory and glory.

Friend, are our eyes open to this reality? Do you imagine and desire a mighty army/nation of Spirit-born, Spirit-guided people, living in right relationship to God by faith in Jesus? Infinitely beautiful! Kingdom is God’s great work and His good news for the world.

Jesus never grew tired of speaking of it. Do His words draw your heart to this great vision?

“Pray then in this way. . .Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”(Matthew 6:10).

September 19–Matthew 1-3

“Now in those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. . .and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan river, as they confessed their sins” (3:1-2, 6)

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I. . .He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire”(3:11).

Congratulations! We made it. After a nine month journey through the Old Testament, today we begin reading the New!

We will slow down a bit. I know, I know. . .THREE pages per day, but the weight of these words warrants a slower step for the next few months. Take time in these chapters! Listen! Reflect! Learn!

The New Testament begins with an announcement. Out in the wilderness, away from the politics and the noise of Jerusalem, comes the “voice” of John the Baptist. An unexpected message for Israel. The Messiah was coming!

Urgent news, and hopeful. The people were to prepare by confessing their sins (exomologeo, ex (out) homo (same) logeo (speak), “to speak out the same word, to agree with God”). The outward sign of this new inner agreement (and of the promised consequent cleansing) was baptism.

Baptizo is a Greek word that meant to immerse. To dip. As a cloth is pressed down into a vat of dye until it takes on the quality (identity) of its new environment, so the human soul is pressed down into water (for outward cleansing), into the Spirit (for inward cleansing).

Baptism is, therefore, a picture of an invisible work. Christ baptizes those who come to Him. By giving them the Holy Spirit, He changes their identity and nature. New software installed. A new inner equation of the soul with dramatically new outcomes.

We are not passive recepients in this much-needed miracle. Just as John called the people of Israel to repent (metanoia, meta, (again), noia, (to think), “to think again, to reconsider and arrive at a new opinion”. So Christ calls His people. Deep and honest moral inventory, is required. With humility and hope, we confess how mixed-up we have been, how false and selfish our thoughts. We accept the task of rethinking life from a God center.

Christian baptism pictures our union with Christ! Once we were independent. Alone. Now, by the Spirit, Christ Himself is the new environment into which we are immersed! We are IN Christ. “Do you not know that those who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death. . .If we are united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection.” See Romans 6:3,5.

Friend, as we begin reading the New Testament, may I ask you a question? Have you been baptized? Outwardly and inwardly? Is YOUR life joined to Christ in permanent powerful union? His righteousness yours? Your will and heart His? The very heart of the gospel is a clear call. Repent! Be baptized!

“Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead. . .so we too might walk in newness of life!” (Romans 6:4).

September 18–Malachi

“Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who esteem His name”(3:16).

Malachi is the last of the Old Testament prophets. After his words, the world entered a deep and long silence. Part judgement, part wisdom, the silence of God humbled us. Made us desperate for Christ. Should have, anyway. Four hundred years after Malachi, “the word of the Lord came to John in the wilderness.” When he began to preach, thousands in Israel rushed out to hear a true prophetic word.

In some ways, Malachi is a sad book. The first three chapters present the people of God in a most argumentative condition. Whatever God says, they have a complaint, an opposing opinion, or a denial. Hard hearts! Nothing God says is believed. Nothing He requires obeyed. We see these same attitudes active in this present hour of history.

In another way, Malachi is a book of great hope. “As the wicked are blatantly mouthing their unspeakable blasphemies against God. . .the godly remnant are drawn together by their mutual spiritual needs (for) spiritual conversation. . .strengthening themselves in their trust in the Lord”(Feinberg). In his prophesy, Malachi describes the faithful church in a disobedient age.

As this godly remnant meets together, the Lord writes each name in a book of remembrance. A poetic figure, probably. God never forgets and needs no book to help Him remember what He knows. It does, however, speak loud assurance. When the final days come, God will remember those who met in His name and joined hearts with others of like mind. To them (us, please God!) He makes great promises of protection and reward. Even now, God is writing names in His book.

Friend, do you argue with God? Pout? Justify yourself? Make excuses? Blame your behavior on circumstances? Or do you receive the correction and upward call of His word with humility and obedience? Do you gather with other believers to gain strength for service in this world? Do you realize that God is taking names?

“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened. . .and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books”(Revelation 20:12).

September 17–Zechariah 9-14

“The burden of the word of the Lord concerning Israel. . .”(12:1).

Twice in the last 5 chapters of his book, Zechariah calls his message a burden. An unusual word, it is often translated “utterance” with a specific emphasis on the weight that the prophet felt in saying it, the danger that the people ought to feel in hearing it.

It is a hard word. Heavy. In some sense, God’s word is a burden to natural men. Inconvenient. Hard to swallow. Heart-searching. Those who hear Scripture often feel the discomfort. “The word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating. . .able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). “We don’t read the Bible, it reads us” (David Paul Kirkpratrick).

But, Zechariah was also aware of the blessing of God’s word, the bright future promised. In 9:9, the prophet sees a king coming to Jerusalem. Righteous and endowed with salvation. Right with God and able to make others right with God.

For all His glory, this coming king is humble. Mounted on a donkey. He has real power, but no need for superficial symbols of this world’s strength. Jesus! Compare these words to the Gospel accounts of our Lord’s triumphal entry!

In 12:10, Zechariah also sees a coming day of national repentance and revival. The people of Israel will, “look on Me whom they have pierced and will mourn.” Mankind will not always rebel against God. In 14:9, Zechariah sees the coming of the Lord and the day of peace that He will bring to the earth.

Friend, do you believe the prophets? Do you feel the burden they experienced? The danger they predicted for those who oppose, ignore God? Do you also allow their words to shape a bright expectation of the days ahead?

Do you believe? Will you bear the burden and tell others?

“The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy”(Revelation 19:10).

September 16–Zechariah 1-8

“Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. The Lord said to Satan, ‘The Lord rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you!’ “(3:1-2).

A few months after Haggai began to preach in post-exilic Israel, a second voice joined the spiritual conversation. The voice belonged to a young priest/prophet named Zechariah.

His book is often called apocalyptic. (apo,”from”, calupto, “to cover”, to remove the covering, to reveal a hidden truth.) Dealing mainly with the future, Zechariah has 8 visions that reveal the coming of Christ and the glory of Israel.

In the first vision, Zechariah sees a man riding a red horse with other horses and riders behind Him. The man is identified as, “the Angel of the Lord.” Many believe Him to be the Pre-incarnate Christ. See Gen. 16:7-13, 22:11-2, Exodus 3:2-6, Judges 6: 12-22, 13:9-18, 21.

In chapter 1, the Angel of the Lord intercedes for Israel. In chapter 3, He stands with Joshua, the High Priest, as he suffers the accusations of Satan.

Notice v. 3:2 Some interpret this sentence to mean that the Angel of the Lord calls on the Father to rebuke (challenge and silence) Satan. Others believe that the Father calls on the Angel of the Lord to rebuke the enemy. (He would do so by presenting the evidence of His life-giving death on the cross.) Either reading is possible. Both sound like Jesus, don’t they?

It has been 50 years since I first knew the gracious touch of this Angel in my own life. Like Joshua, I have known the sting of the enemy’s accusations. The shame of my own failure. I have also known the assertive strength of the Angel of the Lord as He SILENCED my critic. Praise God!

Do you know Him, dear one? Is Heaven interceding for you? Standing beside you? The Angel of the Lord! Hallelujah!

“Before the throne of God above, I have a strong and perfect plea, a great high priest whose name is Love who ever lives and pleads for me. . .When Satan tempts me to despair, and tells me of the guilt within, upward I look and see Him there, who made an end to all my sin. Because a sinless Savior died, my sinful soul is counted free, for God the Just is satisfied to look on Him and pardon me” (Charities Lees Bancroft).

“Therefore He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them”(Hebrews 7:25).

September 15–Haggai

“Consider your ways! You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied. . . Go up to the mountains, bring wood and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be glorified”(1:5-7).

The FIRST purpose of every human life is God. We are created to know and worship Him. To walk with Him in humility and obedience, to know and praise Him. When a secondary pursuit (happiness or family or self or success) becomes first, life disintegrates. When God is not first (in order AND in importance) life loses its stable center.

In 520 BC, Haggai prophesied to post-exilic Israel. Having returned from Babylon, the people enthusiastically laid foundations for a new temple. Gradually, however, the work stopped and their energies were diverted to personal concerns. Inner focus was lost. “The worries of the world, the deceitful mess of riches, and the desire for other things,” drew their attention from God. See Mark 4:19. Over time, their own houses, their own needs, became first. It is not a choice that God leaves unchallenged.

Addressing his words to Zerubbabel and Joshua (civil and religious leaders), Haggai called the nation to self judgement. “Consider your ways.” “Think about what you are doing and the results.” “Look honestly at your indifference toward spiritual things and the outcomes you are experiencing.” When man puts himself first, when he abandons the integrating power of worship, life begins to crumble. He plants much, but gathers little. Fear and disunity come. The blessings of God are absent. Sounds like our day, doesn’t it?

The way forward for us is a return to righteousness such as Christ exampled. Daily pursuit of the Father. Courageous and unselfish obedience. God first, because it is right, because it is the only thing that works.

Friend, is God your FIRST purpose? Do you love God? Do you wait on His word? Is God the FIRST ambition of your church?

“Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it”(Psalm 127:1).

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).

September 14–Zephaniah

“Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is near. . .I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are stagnant in spirit, who say in their hearts, ‘The Lord will not do good or evil’ “ (1:7, 12).

Zephaniah spoke often of the “Day of the Lord”. More than any of his prophet brothers, he predicted this dreadful, imminent day.

A day of darkness and wrath. God’s final judgement on the human race for its long history of sin. Several smaller days preceding it, all partial installments of God’s gathering wrath. For Zephaniah, the destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonian conquerors was a shadow and prefigure of the final coming day.

On that day, every form of resistance to the Holy One will be exposed. “I will search Jerusalem with lamps,” says the Lord. Comprehensive investigation! Fair and full. Nothing hidden from Him on that day. Nothing. God is more holy than we imagine, and more aware.

One sin identified in the coming search will be INDIFFERENCE. Those who are, “stagnant in spirit,” says 1:12. Neither hot nor cold toward God, not opposing Him, but not seeking/serving Him either. People who say in their hearts, “God will not do good or evil.” They view Him as inconsequential.

They are stagnant in Spiritual matters. Neither interested, nor angry. Like a stagnant pond. No movement or energy. More polluted with each passing day.

To the last, the prophet urges the people to gather and to seek the Lord before the decree takes effect. See 2:1-3. A cold heart is a danger, but it is not a death sentence. “Kindle afresh the gift of God,” says the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 1:6.

Friend, when the day of the Lord comes, when the Holy One searches the hearts of ALL people with a lamp of shining light, will He declare that you have been Spiritually stagnant? Do you hear God’s warning? Will you turn to God with your whole heart and focus?

“The opposite of love is not hate, it is indifference” (Elie Wiesel).

“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. . .because you are lukewarm. . .I will spit you out of my mouth. . .behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with Him and He with me” (Revelation 3:15-16, 20).

September 13–Habakkuk

“Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines. . .and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation”(3:17-18).

Like us, Habakkuk had questions. Frustrated and confused, at times he barely kept his balance on the sharp edge of his faith and his disappointments.

A contemporary of Jeremiah, Habakkuk lived in a time of growing anxiety. Babylon grew stronger with every passing day. The invasion of Jerusalem was ominously near. What were believers to pray and believe in such a situation?

“Why aren’t you answering us?” Habakkuk said to God in 1:2. “I am answering,” replied the Eternal One in 1:5. ” I am at work in ways that are different/larger than your ideas/expectations.” Note to self: Just because God isn’t doing what I think or like, doesn’t mean He is not at work.

Having heard this answer, Habakkuk determined to give himself to quietness, to dedicate the time to REALLY listen for God. See 2:1. Doing so, he received fresh assurance from God that the promises to Israel would not be annulled by the near-horizon destruction. God would keep His promises! All of them. “The vision is for the appointed time; it hastens toward the goal and it will not fail” (v. 2:3).

There will be ups. There will be downs. The purposes of God, however, remain fixed and firm.

As the book comes to a close, the prophet has a new prayer. “Revive your work, O Lord.” See 3:2. Habakkuk finally understood. It is God’s responsibility to protect and complete His work in the world. This insight unlocked the prophet’s heart. “I will rejoice,” he says in 3:18. (Hebrew, alaz, to rejoice or triumph or celebrate.)

Habakkuk’s lesson is ours, too. In all circumstances, in sorrow and success, our privilege is to lift glad voices to a faithful God. Friend, is there any part of your present challenge that is discouraging you? As you shift your heart-focus back to God, will you repent to the place of joy?

“But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God. . . and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken” (Acts 16: 25-26).

September 12–Nahum

“A jealous and avenging God is the Lord. . .slow to anger and great in power, (He) will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. In whirlwind and storm is His way”(1:2-3).

The prophets knew God to be jealous. Not a jealousy such as humans have. Not petty or insecure. The word used in Scripture carries the idea of burning. Suggests INTENSE EXCLUSIVITY.

We are wise to remember this truth. Like weather, God is calm, until He is not calm. Long years of His patience must never lull us to believe that He has lost concern for sins or commitment to redeem a saved race of humans. We may get weary or distracted, grow lax and unfocused in our plans, He never does! Patience is part of His passion, not a denial of it.

The book of Nahum prophesies the destruction of Nineveh. Coming a century and a half after Jonah, it served as a severe sequel to God’s earlier mercy. Apparently, the repentance in Jonah’s time was only true for a time. Over years, the city returned to self and sin and encountered the fierce jealousy of God.

Friend, do you feel the intensity of God’s desire for you? The unchanging strength of His loving plan? Nahum did.

Is the God you know jealous? If He does not remind you of a storm, then perhaps you should reconsider.

“The opposite of love is not anger, it is indifference” (Tim Keller).

“You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for the Lord your God is a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments”(Exodus 5:9-10).