Return to Me Part 3

Read: Zechariah 1
“Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Return to Me,” declares the LORD of hosts, “that I may return to you,” says the LORD of hosts.” Zechariah 1:3

Examine:
God was preparing to restore Israel and there were a lot of great things taking place. As He spoke through Zechariah, He reminded them of the failures of their fathers and warned them to not follow their example. There were three choices at the heart of every failure of the forefathers; they disobeyed a direct word from God, they delayed in following God, or they doubted the integrity of God.

Apply:
A lack of self-control is a double-edged sword. When I try to do right I over do it and set the bar too high. When I loosen my standards and attempt to live moderate I over-indulge and become carnal. I am taken to Paul’s words in Roman 7 when he discussed feeling the same pain. The indwelling power of sin in my flesh is constantly mounting a military campaign against the new nature given to me by Christ. From now until I am taken into heaven the old nature will constantly try to gain victory and control over me and my actions. This tension will never cease, but neither does it have to create misery in me.

There are two things that God is saying that I must obey. First, I have to accept His grace. Part of the tactic the flesh uses against the Spirit of God is to disqualify me. I will incessantly be taunted by my failures. They will be called to remembrance continuously. I have to accept that the grace of God given to me by Christ is enough and simply leave it at that.

Second, Jesus called me to a different set of standards. He said love God with everything that is in me, love others more than myself, center my life on His power, and then go radiate His joy to the world. That is it. That is my law, that is my call, and that is what is expected of me. When I take my eyes off of this and look towards the things I must stop doing I turn my life towards the very thing I hope to avoid.

Pray:
For the second time in the past few weeks I hear You saying I am praying an impossible prayer. I want the tension between the flesh and the Spirit go away but the truth of Your Word says that will never happen. I will always struggle, I will always fail, and I will always want to walk away. Those feelings will never fully die, those longings will never fully cease, and my pursuit of You will always be plagued with failure. There is no more discussion to be had on this and so I set it aside. Thank You for Your grace. I take my eyes off of my sins and turn them back towards You.

Help me to love You with a passion that exceeds everything else in my life. Create a longing in me to put others before myself. Center my life on the power of Christ that dwells inside of me and release me to be a strong witness for the joy I have found in Christ. Let me face radiate it, my words articulate it, and my actions reflect it. Fill my heart to the full with what is right in Christ and use that to change the world around me.