When Facing Life's Mountains

Zechariah 4:1-9

The Gold Lampstand and the Two Olive Trees

4 Then the angel who talked with me returned and woke me up, like someone awakened from sleep. ² He asked me, “What do you see?”

I answered, “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it, with seven channels to the lamps. ³ Also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.”
⁴ I asked the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”
⁵ He answered, “Do you not know what these are?”
“No, my lord,” I replied.
⁶ 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.
⁷ “What are you, mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of ‘God bless it! God bless it!’”
⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to me: ⁹ “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.   NIV Bible Gateway.com

     Wouldn't it be great if it were easy to do God's will? But sometimes it seems as if a mountain stands between us and what we've been called to do. When Zerubbabel felt this way, the Lord sent His prophet Zechariah with a message of encouragement.
   Zerubbabel was given the task of rebuilding the temple. When King Solomon built the first temple, the kingdom was at peace, the treasuries were overflowing, and the workforce was huge. But the situation was quite different when the Jews returned after 70 years of Babylonian captivity. They were few in number, their enemies kept attacking them, Jerusalem was in ruins, and resources were very limited. Zechariah's message to Zerubbabel (4:1-9) contained two principles that strengthened him and will also help us when we face insurmountable obstacles.

• We are to face our God-given tasks in the power of the Holy Spirit, not in our own strength and energy (v. 6). The Lord's work can never be done with human strength. His indwelling Spirit must empower us with the wisdom and energy to accomplish His will in our lives.
• When God calls us to a task, He assumes the responsibility for removing any hindrances (vv. 7-9). What seems to us like Mount Kilimanjaro is a mere anthill for the Lord. When we're tempted to give up, it's time to look up, see the obstacle through His eyes, and trust Him.

 Is the Lord asking you to do something that seems impossible? Dwelling on your own inadequacy leads to discouragement, but focusing on the Lord gives hope and the strength to persevere.
Stanley, Charles F. "When Facing Life's Mountains." In Touch: Daily Readings For Devoted Living October 2016. Atlanta: In Touch Ministries, page 28.

Belief and Faith

John 3:16-18

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. NIV from Bible Gateway.com
 
   The Apostle Paul told his jailer, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household" (Acts 16:31). That Philippian man and his household had saving faith-they accepted the invitation and joined God's family.
   Saving faith has three elements: knowledge, conviction, and trust... To believe in Jesus as our Savior, we need to know who He is, what He accomplished, and why it was necessary.
  WHO IS JESUS? He is deity-God the Son. At the request of God the Father, Jeus set aside His divine rights, took on human form and dwelled on earth (Phil. 2:6-7).
   WHAT DID HE ACCOMPLISH? Jesus lived a perfect life, which qualified him to be our substitute: He stood in our place and bore God's judgement for our sins. His death on the cross made a way for us to be forgiven and experience peace with God.
   WHY DID HE HAVE TO DIE? We could not save ourselves, since our "good deeds" are all marred by our sin nature. When we accept Christ's atoning work, we go from being God's enemy to becoming a member of His family...
   Knowledge without conviction and trust does not bring salvation. Even the demons understood that Jesus was the Son of God (Luke 4:41). Do you believe what you know to be true?

John 1:12-13

¹² Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— ¹³ children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. NIV from Bible Gateway.com

    ... Knowledge of who Jesus is and what He did must be accompanied by confidence that the facts are true and apply to us.
   First, it's important to realize, I have broken God's law-that makes me a sinner. All of us are born with a nature that rebels against the Lord. Second, we acknowledge that none of our efforts can earn His favor. Third, we agree that Jesus died for each of us. He paid for all our sins, no matter how terrible they are in the world's eyes.
   Next, we believe that Jesus' death is sufficient payment for our wrong-doing; nothing else is needed. We must accept that He paid our penalty and endured the Father's wrath in our place. Finally, we accept by faith that we've been adopted into God's family on the basis of Christ's atoning death. The invitation is for all humanity, but not everyone has true conviction. Too many people see these facts as "information" rather than life-altering truths.
   Once we are convinced that Jesus is our Savior, trust is demonstrated through action. As a "new creature" (2 Cor. 5:17), we each are no longer who we once were, and there are different values and priorities for us to embrace. Jesus, our Lord, has authority over our life, and He alone deserves to be our top priority. He knows what pleases the Father and has sent His Spirit to live in us and teach us.
   Take time to examine yourself for evidence of knowledge, conviction, and trust. If one area is lacking, ask God to help you come to true saving faith.
Stanley, Charles F. "What It Means to Believe in Jesus" & "Saving Faith." In Touch: Daily Readings For Devoted Living, June 2016. Atlanta: In Touch Ministries. pages 20 & 21.