Tag: Zechariah 4:6
Are you of God? Or Satan?
Scripture reading for November 24th: Zechariah 2-5; Psalm 93; 1 John 3
Key Scriptures: 1st John 3:7-10 “Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s Seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this is it evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.”
John was concerned about deception in the church. False teachers came and spread the lie that it did not matter how you lived, receiving Christ in your spirit was all that was needed. John set the record straight by repeating the same thing several times and ways. If you practice sin, you are of the devil. If you practice righteousness and love your brothers and sisters, you are born of God and His “Seed” abides in you. We are not saved by works, but by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. God’s “Seed”, His Word and Spirit, come to live in us and transform us into Christ’s image. Our fruit shows which one we belong to: either the devil or God.
Psalm 93:5: “Your decrees are very trustworthy; holiness befits Your house, O Lord, forevermore.”
Faith confession and prayer: Lord Jesus, I don’t ever want to be deceived. Thank You for the Holy Spirit and Your “Seed”, the Word given as grace gifts to form Christ’s holy character in me.
Zechariah 4:6 “Then he said to me, “This is the Word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts.””
Alive to God under grace!
Scripture reading for June 21st: Romans 6
Key Scriptures for over-comers: Romans 6:11-14 “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.”
As believers in Jesus Christ, we must count ourselves dead to sin through Christ’s death on the cross. We then recon ourselves alive to God through Christ’s resurrection from death after He paid the penalty for our sins. Faith in Christ’s sacrifice alone is the grace gift from God that brings us God’s eternal life. But after receiving the gift of eternal life by faith, we must then purposely present our body and its members to God to be used as instruments of righteousness. Sin is no longer our master, but Jesus Christ is our Lord! We are not under the Law, which can only reveal sin, but we are under grace which has dealt permanently with our sin!
Observations for over-comers: We over-come evil desires of the flesh through faith in the death of our Lord Jesus on the cross. We recon our mortal body as dead to sin through identification with Christ. We thank God for Christ’s resurrection to eternal life, for He is our new life through the Spirit! “So He said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.” (Zechariah 4:6)