FROM PASTOR TIM JOHNSON:
The apocalyptic pace of Zechariah has quickened dramatically as we have plowed this most pleasurable book for all the produce it has. Oh, what a day when the topography of the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem and all Israel will change dramatically on the day our Messiah returns.
One saint indicated after the service that the thought of God splitting the Mount of Olives in two in order to make a way for His people to escape His wrath reminded her of the splitting of the Temple curtain at the death of Jesus. What a wonderful insight!
Only the Gospel of Mark in 15:38 recounts how the Temple curtain that separated the inner Holy of Holies from the rest of the holy area was split in two from top to bottom at Jesus’ death.
This splitting of the curtain indicated that since Jesus’ death paid the price to satisfy God’s just demands for justice, those who trust God’s plan through Jesus now have direct access to God and no longer need mediators or formal sacrifices.
What a glorious truth! This dramatic change also provided a way of escape from God’s wrath for those who trust Jesus. What had been a separated relationship with God due to sin now has become an opportunity to be in relationship with the God of the universe.
From time to time someone asks me to pray for them and seems to think that my prayers are more valuable than theirs, or, at least more likely to reach their destination than theirs. Not true! We all have access now through faith and as sons and daughters of the living God, we can know He hears and cherishes our every prayer.
Best of all, we know that because of that intimate relationship with God, we need not worry about “the day” when He returns and changes everything. And all those changes indicate that God honors His word and therefore never changes!
Be in awe of this just and merciful God.
Rescued by Christ,
Pastor Tim