This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says:
Judge fairly,
and show mercy and kindness to one another.
Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor.
And do not scheme against each other.
Your ancestors refused to listen to this message.
They stubbornly turned away
and put their fingers in their ears to keep from hearing.
They made their hearts as hard as stone,
so they could not hear the instructions
or the messages that the LORD of Heaven’s Armies
had sent them by his Spirit…
Be sure to give to the LORD
the best portions of the gifts given to you.
(Hubble telescope photo– unbarred spiral galaxy NGC 5033, located in the constellation of Canes Venatici)
For the word of God is alive and powerful.
It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword,
cutting between soul and spirit,
between joint and marrow.
It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God.
Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes,
and he is the one to whom we are accountable.
The kings of earth prepare for battle;
the rulers plot together
against the LORD
and against his anointed one.
“Let us break their chains,” they cry,
“and free ourselves from slavery to God.”
But the one who rules in heaven laughs.
The Lord scoffs at them.
Then in anger he rebukes them…
‘…Return to me, and I will return to you,
says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.’
“…Everything I said through my servants the prophets happened…”
‘…My love for Jerusalem and Mount Zion
is passionate and strong…’
‘…My Temple will be rebuilt,
says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies…’
…’Jerusalem will someday be so full of people and livestock
that there won’t be room enough for everyone!
Many will live outside the city walls.
Then I, myself, will be a protective wall of fire around Jerusalem,
says the LORD.
And I will be the glory inside the city!’
So the LORD sparked the enthusiasm of Zerubbabel…
and the enthusiasm of Jeshua…
and the enthusiasm of the whole remnant of God’s people.
They began to work on the house of their God,
the LORD of Heaven’s Armies
Don’t let anyone capture you
with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense
that come from human thinking
and from the spiritual powers of this world,
rather than from Christ.
The LORD is good,
a strong refuge when trouble comes.
He is close to those who trust in him.
Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,
and there are no grapes on the vines;
even though the olive crop fails,
and the fields lie empty and barren;
even though the flocks die in the fields,
and the cattle barns are empty,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD!
I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
Christ is also the head of the church,
which is his body.
He is the beginning,
supreme over all who rise from the dead.
So he is first in everything.
For God in all his fullness
was pleased to live in Christ,
and through him God reconciled
everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
