Bible Verse of the Day Saturday June 12th 2021

 Zechariah 1:3  Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty.

Zechariah was speaking for God with a direct urgent memorandum for the Children of Israel. This message accentuates the celestial imperative to “return” to God, to commune with Him. The connotation of the name of God is the God of unlimited means and universal power. The soul of the message Zechariah was bringing forth from God was that He wanted His people to return to Him in sweet fellowship, not some rigid formal allegiance. God’s promise that if they would only return to Him, He would return to them was a pronouncement of the great mercy and grace of the only true God.

The message that Zechariah was bringing forth from God to the Israelites is just as imperative and critical today as it was in a time gone by. The message for us today is much the same as it was then, absolute all-inclusive repentance will bring about a life filled with joy and untold blessings. God’s promise to bestow blessings on all that unswervingly repent of contravening His character is compelling for all time. God will always extend His great mercy and grace to all sinners and draw close to us if we will but draw close to Him (James 4:8). In our human nature, there will always be a tendency to disregard the grace of God; however, when we travel down that rocky path, we will find a dry spiritual field.

The criterion for God's blessings is for the Child of God to confess their sin and enjoy fellowship with God again. This message does not infer that restitution is dependent on our ability or accomplishment. God's forgiveness is and always has been because of His grace and not our good works. In this day in age, some people see God as a pampering grandfather accommodating and nonjudgmental with His grandchildren. This is a manipulation of the expression "God is love." God is love; however, He is also just (Hebrews 12:19). It is important not to separate the grace and mercy of God from our accountability as human beings.

There might be times in our walk with God that we would prefer that God force us to return to Him rather than leaving the ball in our courts. Nonetheless, God desires our love given to Him freely, so He inspires us to freely choose to return to Him of our God-given free will. Zachariah’s message also reminds us of another important concept and that is if we are separated from God, it is us that has moved, God is in the same place that He has always been and will always be.

The story is told of a time many years ago of an older married couple that went out for a Sunday drive. In those days, most cars had bench-style seats and sometimes the woman sat right beside the man driving the car. She inquired of Her husband why they did not sit close to each other anymore, His response was simple, he said”: I was not the one that moved.” If we find ourselves far from God it is because we have moved, God is the same today, yesterday, and always (Hebrews 13:8).