205. Hearts Like Flint

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205.


A Call to Justice and Mercy

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Today's Passage: Zechariah 7:1-14

Get to know your bible. It will become a good friend.

Or find the passage NASB version on Bible Gateway here.
You can search for other versions there as well. Versions even in foreign languages.

Or, for your convenience I have typed the verses below from the
New Living Testament (NLT).


Thank You for meeting us, LORD.
We welcome you into this place.

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1. On December 7 of the fourth year of King Darius' reign,  
another message came to Zechariah from the LORD. 
2. The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regemmelech,  
along with their attendants, to seek the LORD"s favor. 
3. They were to ask this question of the prophets and the priests  
at the Temple of the LORD of Heaven's Armies: 
"Should we continue to mourn and fast each summer on the  
anniversary of the Temple's destruction, as we have done for so many years?" 

4. The LORD of Heaven's Armies sent me this message in reply: 
5. "Say to all your people and your priests, 'During these seventy  
years of exile, when you fasted and mourned in the summer and in  
early autumn, was it really for me that you were fasting? 
6. And even now in your holy festivals, aren't you eating and  
drinking just to please yourselves? 
7. Isn't this the same message the LORD proclaimed through  
the prophets in years past when Jerusalem and the towns of Judah 
were bustling with people, and the Negev and the foothills of  
Judah were well populated?'" 

8.  Then this message came to Zechariah from the LORD: 
9. "This is what the LORD Of Heaven's Armies says:  
Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another. 
10. Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor.  
And do not scheme against each other. 

11. "Your ancestors refused to listen to this message.  
They stubbornly turned away and put their finger in their ears to keep from hearing. 
12. They made their hearts as hard as stone,  
so they could not hear the instructions or the messages  
the LORD of Heaven's Armies had sent them by his Spirit  
through the earlier prophets. That is why the LORD of Heaven's Armies  
was so angry with them. 

13. "Since they refused to listen when I called to them, I would not  
listen when they called to me, says the LORD of Heaven's Armies. 
14. As with a whirlwind, I scattered them among the distant nations,  
where they lived as strangers. Their land became so desolate that  
no one even traveled through it. They turned their pleasant land into a desert." 

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2.

12th strategy.
History - Oh wow, so that is where it comes from.

Again, I would like to emphasize, simple acts of meditation are not so much difficult, as uncomfortable.
God wants you to know how His story happened.
He wants us to know how He created the earth, made his children, and how traditions became interwoven into his family.

• Open your heart. Begin with confession.
• Ask God to prompt you to hear Him and what He wants you to come away with.
• Read the passage.
• Does this passage answer questions or lay down foundations of traditions you have often wondered about?
• Does this passage have a well-known scripture that you have heard for many years but had no idea where it was or what it was talking about? Has that scripture been used often to encourage certain practices in the faith?
• Read the passage again.
• Take a moment to highlight the verses that answer a question you have often wondered about.
• Has a particular spiritual practice been born out these particular passages. If so, write the spiritual practice down, and then the scripture book and numbers corresponding to it.
• You might consider writing this in the margin of your bible, or even in the inside cover for future reference.
• End by asking God to reveal to you the reasons for His traditions. Is there a meaning that applies to you today?
• Don't forget to thank God for being with you right where you are, right now.

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3.

Thank you LORD.
Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness...
These are written in Your word.
Thank you for showing us these powerful guides for a life that gives glory to You.
In your name we pray,
Jehoshua
Amen.

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4.

Please leave your name and your last initial.

We are so thankful for you being here.
Some of our members are in different parts of the world.
Please pray for our world.

And I will be back here tomorrow,
I hope I will see you here too.
~Robyn


Blessings abounding. That is our prayer for you.
Robyn and Biff,
RR&BC©2016

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