rulers, prophets, and mutism

hello everyone! i hope you are all having a tremendous day today. i am trying to. :) today is my first day back at work after a lovely two week break, and i would be lying if i said i didn't want to throw my alarm across the room this morning when it went off at 6am. two days ago, i was sleeping until noon...it was blissful. but here we are. monday. sigh. i couldn't think of a better way to spend my lunch today (albeit at 2pm) than with the lord and his word, and with you. feel special...i dare you.

day 3 (because yesterday was really day 2)

psalm 2
genesis 3
1 chronicles 3
luke 1:57-80

psalm 2 describes something that i think is a pretty hot topic. it describes the lord's sovereignty over the rulers of this earth and their lack of respect for his authority. he warns them of their fate if they continue to ignore him. a key passage here would be verses 10-12 which says, "Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him." this makes me nostalgic and fearful at the same time. i think about how our country was built by god-fearing men that desired a country in service to the true king. then i think about our country now, one that is "accepting" of all religions, and at the same time, tries to snuff out any hint of christianity creeping into our government. this is terribly disheartening. the warning from the lord is not an empty one. i long for the day when there will only be one ruler, in heaven and on earth. until then, i would urge you to pray with me for those that god has chosen to lead us now. pray that they would seek his will for our country and for our people. for those that have not been called to faith, i pray that they would be, and that the lord would do a mighty work in and through them. i think about esther, how she was placed in her position "for such a time as this" (esther 4:14). i also think about the fathers out there. yes, we have a president, and a government to rule over us, but we also have men that rule over their families. would it be too far reaching to apply this text to them as well? are they not also called to leadership? they too, are called to serve the lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. i pray often for the men i know, those that are fathers and those that might be some day, that they would fight for this privilege the lord has bestowed on them, to rule over their families, to lead them, and to take refuge in the lord.

i'll also share with you some of my thoughts on luke 1:57-80. john the baptist is born! the prophet of the most high. the passage begins with his birth and describes the time when john was to be named. elizabeth said his name was to be john. when everyone questioned this, and asked his father, zechariah also said that his name should be john, and not zechariah, after himself. well, that's not exactly true. zechariah didn't say anything. he couldn't talk because when gabriel told him about the future birth of his son, he didn't believe him. due to his unbelief, zechariah was to be unable to speak until the birth of his son. so when asked about the name, zechariah wrote it on a tablet. his name was to be john because that is what the lord commanded. when zechariah confirmed that the baby was to be named john, his mouth was opened and he was able to talk. the part of the passage i like most, besides the fulfillment of prophesy and birth of the predecessor to our savior, of course, is zechariah's reaction. i tried to put myself in his shoes. i have no idea how i would act once i was able to speak again. i would hope my reaction would be the same. do you know what the first thing he did was? the scripture says he blessed god. sidenote: this phrase has always seemed weird to me. the thought of blessing god when god is the one we typically think of as giving blessings. but shouldn't it really be the other way around? should god not receive all blessing and honor? he is the only one worthy. back to the point: after receiving the consequence of silence for so long, the first thing he did was praise god. i also wonder about the "consequence" as i've just titled it. it seems from the text (earlier in luke 1), that zechariah's speech was taken away because of his unbelief (v. 20), but i think there might be more to it. wouldn't it make sense that yes, zechariah was handed this consequence as a result of his actions, but also that the circumstances surrounding john's birth would be more wonderful with the restoration of zechariah's speech? i don't know if that's true, but think about it. his speech was restored at the fulfillment of the prophecy and he immediately blesses god and then continues by prophesying about the coming of jesus, whom his son would eventually introduce! pretty cool if you ask me. the restoration of his speech got the people's attention long enough for them to hear what john's purpose would be, to go before jesus, the one who would save them. i want to clarify that i am just thinking out loud about what i've read. if anyone disagrees, please feel free to point me in the right direction!

so those are my thoughts for today. i must say, this is an interesting way of "reaping" for me. to think that other people might be reading this is a bit terrifying. on the other hand, it has already opened opportunities for discussion, so i think i'm going to stick with it for the time being.

again, have a lovely day. fino a domani...