Pay It Forward – Malachi 3:10

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“Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.” The prophet Malachi accuses the people of Israel of robbing God (vs. 8) because they did not pay their tithes. The tithes were used to support the priests and Levites, whose ministry was essential if Israel was to be faithful to God in its calling. Their land was cursed by drought and pestilence (vs. 9,11) and so they were not giving the tithe. Thus, their negligence to give their tithes may have seemed justified, but the Lord reveals, quite dramatically, that these natural disasters were not the cause of their disobedience but the result of their disobedience. So God dared them to pay it forward. You see, the tithe is the first 10% of your income, not the last 10% or whatever portion is left (if any) after you pay everything else. So God dared them to pay the tithe no matter what the economic circumstances or conditions and then He would bless them and cause all their needs to be met. In other words, God promised that if they pay it forward, then He would meet 100% of their needs with 90% of their resources. Some argue that tithing is an Old Testament command and doesn’t apply to New Testament believers. However, the promise of the blessing of tithing applies to both Old and New Testament believers! Pay it forward–pay your tithes before you pay the bills and God will meet your financial needs. God dares you to try it!

Face to Face with God – Revelation 22:3-4

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“No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.” The newly created order–the new heaven and earth–will not be under a curse as was the old creation. Thus, there will be no guilt, strife, struggle for survival, sickness, sorrow, and death. In New Jerusalem where God will abide, His throne will make the entire city a temple in which His people will worship Him as His priests. Remember how Moses could not see the Lord’s face and live (Exodus 33:20–23; 34:29–35). But in the new heaven and earth you will see God face to face because He has made you a member of His immediate family and you will bear His name. Therefore, let the Holy Spirit begin to sanctify and prepare you in this present life for the life to come in which you will see God face to face.

We Fight Because the Lord is With Us! – Zechariah 10:5

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“They shall be like mighty men in battle, trampling the foe in the mud of the streets; they shall fight because the Lord is with them, and they shall put to shame the riders on horses.” Zechariah prophesied about the restoration of God’s chosen people saying that they would be would be transformed from wandering sheep into a majestic warhorse (vs. 3). Zechariah declared that God’s chosen people would be triumphant against all foes not because they are bigger or stronger but because of the Lord’s presence with them. Not only would God’s people be victorious, they would triumph even against the strongest of enemies. As we struggle with the problems of life that confront us, we don’t give up or give in–we fight on because the Lord is with us!

God’s Unrequited Love – Zechariah 1:3

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“Thus declares the LORD of hosts: Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.” After their exile to Babylon, God invited his people to renew their commitment to Him. The Lord was angry with their forefathers whose sins caused the exile. Now their time of exile was coming to an end and God did not want to extend His anger toward this new generation. If they would but return to Him, then he would return to them in favor and blessing. This promise to God’s people, Israel in the Old Testament, is the same promise He makes to His people, the Church, in the New Testament in the book of Revelation: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20). God describes His love for His people when they have sinned and turned away from Him as unrequited love. Even though you may “break up” with God, He is still in love with you and does not want the relationship to end. If you want Him back, you must make the first move. You are assured, however, that if you return to Him, if you open the door, then He is always ready to “make up” with you.

The Latter Glory Promise – Haggai 2:9

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“The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.” Haggai the prophet encouraged the repatriated Jews, the remnant from the Babylonian captivity who had returned to Judah, to start rebuilding the temple. The Lord told the people to “Be strong” and “Work” because He was with them beause they were His covenant people (vs. 4). And as His covenant people His Spirit remained with them (vs. 5). God promised that He will once again fill the temple with His glory and adorn it with treasures of silver and gold so that its future glory will be even greater than when Solomon first built the temple, and it will be a place of peace–Hebrew shalom, meaning well-being or peace with God. While the ultimate fulfillment of this prophetic verse may be found in Christ’s first and second comings, it has inferences for the individual lives of God’s covenant people in the present, who are the temple of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 3:16; 6:19). Contained in this verse is the promise that you have the potential to be more productive for God’s Kingdom as you grow older if you work and be strong in the Lord because His Spirit remains with you! Be encouraged that the physical aging process is also a spiritual strengthening process for those who have God’s Spirit.

Reorganizing Your To-Do List – Haggai 1:9

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“You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house.” The work of rebuilding the temple by the returning Jews ceased for about ten years by order of King Artaxerxes of Persia (Ezra 4:24). Near the end of this ten-year cessation period the word of the Lord came to Haggai the prophet to stir up the repatriated Jews to complete the rebuilding of the temple. Haggai told the people in no uncertain terms that their priorities were out of order and as a result, nothing was working right in their lives. They sow much but harvest little; they never have enough to eat or drink to satisfy themselves; they can’t hold on to the money they earn (vs. 6). Why does nothing go right? Because their lifetime To-Do List was out of order. They were building their own houses when the Lord’s house lay in ruins (vs. 4). God tells them to look at their priorities and put Him first: “Consider your ways. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord.” Nothing will go right in your life until your priorities are in the correct order. First build God’s house and then your own. Reorganize your lifetime To-Do List: First God, then everything else! When building God’s house is the main priority of your life, then you can be assured that He will help you accomplish everything else on your lifetime To-Do List.

Cosmic Conflict – Daniel 10:12

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“Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words.” At the end of Daniel’s time of fasting he encountered or received a vision of a heavenly being. The revelation of God’s glory shining through this mighty being was overwhelming, crushing Daniel to the ground and sending his companions scurrying for cover (vs. 7). The angelic messenger was delayed on his way to Daniel twenty-one days–the period of time Daniel had been fasting–by the prince of the kingdom of Persia, an evil angelic being associated with the Persian Empire (vs. 13). The awe-inspiring messenger encouraged Daniel by telling him that he was “greatly loved” by God (vs. 11) and that he had been sent to Daniel in answer to his prayers to give him insight and encouragement in response to his mourning and constant concern about the situation in Jerusalem. There are several spiritual principles we need to recognize in this passage. 1) Conflicts on earth are of cosmic proportions and reflect conflicts in the heavens and this will continue to the end of time when God will ultimately triumph. 2) Satan and his cohorts continually attempt to thwart God’s plans and purposes in both the spiritual and physical realms. 3) God hears and answers prayers, but in His own time. You are greatly loved by God and God wants to reveal Himself to you in more powerful ways as you endeavor to know and understand Him and His plans and purposes for you.

A Spiritual Wake-Up Call – Revelation 3:1-2

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“You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.” According to the Apostle John the church in Sardis was in a spiritual state that was near death–the church had no spiritual vitality. But there was still hope the church would awake from its spiritual coma and revitalize itself because it had not accomplished God’s plans and purposes. The differing salutations to each of the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 forewarns the failure and/or poses a subtle hint at the solution for the failure identified for each church. In the case of the church in Sardis, the salutation says: “The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars” (vs. 1). The “seven spirits of God” is figurative language for the Holy Spirit and the seven stars are the angels for each church–a personification of the identity of each church as if concentrated in its angel or messenger. Thus, the Lord informs the messenger of the church in Sardis that it needs a spiritual wake-up call–it needs a refilling of the Holy Spirit so that its works can be complete in God’s sight. So how does this Holy Spirit revitalization take place? “Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent” (vs. 3). The Lord tells the church in Sardis that what it needs is a Holy Ghost revival! It needs to repent of its spiritual apathy and indifference for the gospel, get back to the fundamental truths of the gospel, re-ignite the passion with which it first received the gospel, and go out and actually live out the gospel. If you need a spiritual wake-up call, then try this recipe for revival and let the Holy Spirit revitalize you with a new zeal for the gospel that will enable you to accomplish what God has planned and purposed for your life.

The Kingdom Where All Are Priests – Revelation 1:5-6

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“To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever.” The roles of kingdom and priests now belong to those of all nations who are freed from their sins by Jesus’ blood. Now all believers are citizens of God’s Kingdom and are like priests, meaning each believer is consecrated by the blood of Christ to approach God directly on his or her own behalf. John’s declaration is reminiscent of Exodus 19:6: “and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation,” which Moses spoke to the people of Israel when God freed them from slavery and brought them out of Egypt. What God told the people of Israel–that if they obey His voice and keep His covenant they shall be His treasured possession among all the peoples of the Earth (Exodus 19:5)–is now fulfilled through Christ and those who believe and follow Him. Therefore, exercise your priestly role before God each day by making the sacrifice of prayer and thanksgiving, by obeying the voice of the Holy Spirit, and by sanctifying your life to His service by studying His word and keeping His commands and covenant.

We Shall Overcome – 1 John 5:4-5

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“For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” The Apostle John reiterates what Jesus told His disciples in John 16:33. Jesus said that He has overcome the world and so John says that everyone who has faith in Jesus also overcomes the world. Our faith in Jesus is the basis for a right relationship with God and, therefore, directly connects us to His overcoming power. We overcome the world because Jesus already did. Although we encounter adversity in this world, we enjoy victory over the adversity because we now live in a right relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.