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In Zechariah 5:5-11 we read that Zechariah had a very unusual vision. In v.5 we are told that he saw an ephah [AV], that is, an earthenware jar [NKJV] or a measuring basket [NIV] going forth. What exactly is an ephah? Well, in Bible times it was a dry measure which would contain about seven and a half gallons, three pecks or nearly a bushel of dry material. Because an ephah was a specific measure in Israel, that is what we shall continue to call it. But what was it used for in Israel? Well apparently, it was used for measuring something like wheat or some other cereal in OT times, and so it was quite a large item.

Readings: Job 29-30; Zechariah 6-7; Revelation 3-4

One of the greatest challenges in our daily discipleship is remembering what is important in our lives. We can easily be distracted and pulled away with busy pursuits that we can get involved in. As a result, our spiritual lives can suffer.

It’s by no coincidence then, that one of the parting themes the Lord Jesus Christ emphasises in his ministry was the need for vigilance in keeping before us the reality of the coming kingdom, which surely can’t be far away. Consider these words of Luke 21:28,36:

We re-join the prophet in chapter 3. If you recall that the rulers had been oppressing the people. Verses 5 and 6 then state: “The just LORD is in the midst thereof; he will not do iniquity: every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame. I have cut off the nations: their towers are desolate; I made their streets waste, that none passeth by: their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, that there is none inhabitant”.

Readings: Job 18-19; Zephaniah 1; 2 Peter 3

The events surrounding the birth of Jesus are only recorded in two places in the Bible; in Matthew’s and Luke’s gospels. The critical aspect of his birth was that he was the Son of God, and we need to understand that it was a fantastic miracle and there is no way that we can explain exactly how it happened. We need to accept in faith that Jesus was the Son of God and the whole events commenced with Mary being overshadowed by the power of God; the Holy Spirit. This clearly explains that Jesus wasn’t born by a man and a woman coming together as normally happens when children are conceived.

In Zephaniah we have one of the smaller revelations to the people of Israel. The minor prophets appeared toward the critical end points of the divided nation, clusters of messages at key times in the nation’s history. Here were the Father’s last attempts to draw his people back from the edge of their self-induced destruction. They also sought to give comfort and hope to the remnant of the faithful. Perhaps we see the same pattern towards the end of the New Testament, in the flurry of smaller letters which arose just prior to the fall of Jerusalem and the long prophetic silence of the darkness of the days of the Gentiles.

Readings: Job 10; Micah 6; James 2

“My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.  For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?” (James 2:1-4).

This short letter Paul penned to Timothy is poignant and urgent and gives a unique message to one Paul describes as his 'beloved son'. Although relevant to all believers, it was written as a personal letter to one man, Timothy, and begins by reminding Timothy of his relationship with the apostle Paul, and his calling. Paul encourages Timothy to follow the example he has set, warns him that he will encounter suffering, and urges him to get to Rome (from Ephesus) to complete the apostle's mission. Timothy needs the encouragement. He is under pressure from the spiritual battle faced in Ephesus. Remember Paul's warning to the Ephesian elders there, in Acts 20 at Miletus, when he said savage wolves would enter, not sparing the flock and, from the eldership itself, men would arise speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them.

Reading : Romans 13:1-7

The Bible makes it plain that disciples of Christ do have a duty to the State. But how far does this duty extend? Does it mean that they are required by God to offer total and unquestioning obedience to their human overlords in all circumstances? If not, where is the line to be drawn?

Readings: Esther 9-10; Jonah 1; Hebrews 6-7

Our reading in Hebrews 5, yesterday, finished by drawing a distinction between milk and solid food, and suggesting that the reader should be progressing from the former to the latter. Clearly the author believed that the readers were capable of grasping the ‘meaty’ material being presented to them. And today’s chapters, must certainly fall into the category of ‘meaty material’.

The author was appealing to Jewish believers of the first century to recognize that Jesus had removed the need for the law of Moses to be followed. As the Apostle Paul had said in his epistle to the Romans, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Romans 10:4).

The return of Christ is a prominent theme in Paul's First Letter to the Thessalonians. Five times in this short letter, he writes of the 'coming' of the Lord, and in each case he uses the Greek word 'parousia'.

There are other words translated 'coming' which are used in reference to the coming of Christ, but Paul's use of the word 'parousia', particularly in his letter to the Thessalonians, suggests a connection with Matthew's account of the Lord's Olivet Prophecy. Of the three gospels that include the Olivet Prophecy, it is only Matthew who uses the word 'parousia', where it occurs four times, as for example: "For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming [parousia] of the Son of Man be." (Matthew 24:27).