Scripture:

Zechariah 3:3-5

3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel.
4 Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.” 5 And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.”
So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the Lord stood by.

"By His Grace"

If you have been in church for any time, you may have heard it said, "Our righteousness is like filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6). That is because our goodness can't get us into heaven; we cannot work our way in; it is the fallen nature of man that sets us back.   It is only in Christ that we are made right with God, and when we are saved, we put on Christ, His righteousness.   This picture here in Zechariah of the High Priest Joshua is a picture of what Christ does for us, takes our filthy rags, our sin and shame, and takes it away... Breathe that in for a moment; let that hit you differently today.   He replaces our sin with His righteousness; the Angel takes his filthy rags and gives him "rich" robes, then places a clean turban. This is a picture of restored dignity and honor; the Lord restores his honor, his place in the Kingdom.   This vision is a foreshadowing of what Christ has done for you and me; this should cause your heart to pump this morning.

Today our God-Shot is to remember that apart from Christ we are not good enough, like filthy rags, that we could never by good works make our way to heaven.   Today is a reminder of our great need for Christ and His presence, His Holy Spirit in our lives to lead us into all righteousness.   

Your past has lost its power because Christ has removed it like filthy rags and given you a new future... Let that simmer...

Lord, I thank you that because of you, I can face tomorrow, that I have a future and a hope, that my good could never have taken me in, but yours can, that you have exchanged my past and my shame for your righteousness; and because of it my filthy rags have been exchanged for garments of white, robes rich, and you have given us back our dignity and honor, thank you Lord that you sent Christ to redeem us, in Jesus' name, Amen!

Scripture:

Ezra 5:5,6:3-6

5:5 But the eye of their God was watching over the elders of the Jews, and they were not stopped until a report could go to Darius and his written reply be received

3 In the first year of King Cyrus, King Cyrus issued a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem: “Let the house be rebuilt, the place where they offered sacrifices; and let the foundations of it be firmly laid, its height sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits, 4 with three rows of heavy stones and one row of new timber. Let the expenses be paid from the king’s treasury. 5 Also let the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple which is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and taken back to the temple which is in Jerusalem, each to its place; and deposit them in the house of God”—

"Who Can Stop His Plans"

When you and I set out to do the work of the Lord in our lives, believe you me, the enemy will not like this, and he will do whatever he can to thwart the plan and cause trouble. If you read Ezra chapter 4, you will see that the enemy comes in pretending to worship God and wanting to help, but the elders are not fooled and refuse to let them. In turn, the enemy sends letters to the king slandering the work, claiming that these "rebellious people" will only rebel against the king. Sure enough, when the king looks back, he sees that their rebellion against God actually landed them in captivity in Babylon. But you and I know that this plan is from God to see the temple rebuilt, and here we discover that nothing will stop that.   

I included Ezra 5:5 because after they are stopped and discouraged in chapter 4, they are able to get back to work, but some inspectors see the work and question them, but God had His eye on them... 

Let that sit with you for a moment. God has His eye on you and the things that you are doing for Him, He is with you, yes you will see difficulties; yes the enemy will try to discourage you, and derail the progress, but God is with you in it.   

Not only was God with them, but He had the King fund the whole rebuild, restore the treasure to the house of the Lord, and provide the sacrifice.  

Today our God-Shot is that "Nothing can stop the plan of God in your life."   (Philippians 1:6) Nothing can stop it!.   Be aware that the enemy is always going to try to stop the plan of God in your life, always going to try to discourage, slow down, derail the plans so that you get frustrated and give up, but today remember that God is with you and the plan of God cannot be stopped, that is what Phillipians 1:6 says the good work that He began in you He will bring to completion. 

Lord, I pray that you would encourage those who have been derailed by the lies of the enemy, that they would not give up, that they would know that you have had your eye on them since they set out to do your work, to walk in your purpose, help them, supply their needs, send encouragement, those will labor with them, those who will speak encouragement in the name of Jesus'. Amen!

Scripture:

Daniel 10:12-13

12 Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. 13 But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.

The Resistance 

I think many of us don't want to think about forces working against us and God's plan for our lives, but the fact is that doesn't change the truth: there is a resistance- forces working to keep God's plan from you, to delay, to discourage and yes even to derail the plan of God in our lives. 

The angel tells Daniel God heard your words and sent a response to them.    This is a great reminder that God hears our prayers and is acting on behalf of us, He is acting on them, sending power and strength into the situation.  The good news is that nothing can stop the plans of God; they may try to resist, but His plans will always prevail.

Today our God-Shot is to be aware that the enemy doesn't want you to receive the answers, doesn't want you to step into the plan, or even hear the plan of God, much less see the answer to your prayers.   Be diligent, be alert. The Bible says that we should be alert (1 Peter 5:8) because the enemy is looking for ways to devour us.

Maybe today you needed to know that your prayers have not fallen to the ground, and that there may have been a delay because all of hell does not want you to receive it, but be of good courage; the Lord will prevail, and the answer will come.

Thank you, Lord, that no resistance can withstand you, not even the demonic forces, in the spiritual realms. Thank you, Lord, that you hear our prayers and answer them, that nothing can stop your plans, your work in our lives, not even the gates of hell. We praise you and thank you for your mighty hand today... In Jesus' name, Amen!

Scripture:

Daniel 9:22

22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand.

When God is your source, you have everything you need. Everything I have—all my knowledge, understanding, and aptitude—comes from Him; God has supplied it. I have worked in the IT field for over 20 years, and the credit for everything I am capable of goes to the Lord; He has been my supply. In church, whenever I needed to fill a role but didn't have the person to do it, God would give me the ability to fill the gap.  Listen to what Isaiah says:

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. ~Isaiah 40:29

He has what I need; He has what you need; you just need to trust Him for it and ask.

Today our God-Shot is to remember, like James (1:5) says, "If anyone lacks wisdom," we should ask, and the promise is that He will supply it.   The good news is He never runs out of it, He can and will supply what you need to do what He has purposed you to do.

• What are you trusting Him for?
• What have you received from Him?
• What is your testimony of the greatness of God and how He has helped you?

Lord, I pray that those today who need your wisdom, your understanding, those who need your power or strength, even those who need your peace, that today they would find you, that they would trust you for it, strength to the weary and power for the weak, in Jesus' name, Amen!

Scripture:

Daniel 6:10

Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.

Nothing Between Us

What a picture. Here’s Daniel. As soon as he knew a document had been signed that anyone who prays to God, anyone who worships anyone besides the king, would be killed. As soon as Daniel hears that, what does he do? 

The enemy is always working to steal, kill, and destroy; his plan has not changed, nor has his commitment to it.   If he could steal your attention from God by filling your life with stuff that doesn't matter, he will. In doing so, he knows that the more you focus on these things that don't matter, the more it will kill your relationship with the Lord.    By the way, anything that you give more to than you give to God, you are worshiping.    You can see the enemy in this story: "Anyone who prays to God, or anyone besides the king."    It might not be this obvious in your life, but it calls for self-examination, to ask is there anything that has my heart.

For Daniel, it was obvious who had his heart: the Lord, no matter what the consequences, Daniel committed to do what he had always done: seek the Lord, lift his voice in prayer to the one who supplies all his needs, who gives him wisdom, who blesses and protects his life.

Today our God-Shot is more of a question:  What does your devotional habits look like, what has been in the way of your time with God?   Are there things that have take priority over Him, or do you put Him first...?   Daniel put God first and not even Lions could keep him from it.

Lord, let us be like Daniel in that our habits reflect our relationship with you, that we would always put you first, that you would have priority in our lives, keep us near you, don't allow the distractions of the world or the plan of the enemy succeed, but keep us vigilent and near you, in Jesus' name, Amen!