Proverbs 13:1:
1 A WISE son heeds [and is the fruit of] his father's instruction and correction, but a scoffer listens not to rebuke.
This is not just referring to boys, but also refers to any child of a father! WE can be wise "sons" of our Father God IF we heed (give attention to) His Word! Verse 9:
9 The light of the [uncompromisingly] righteous [is within him -- it grows brighter and] rejoices, but the lamp of the wicked [furnishes only a derived, temporary light and] shall be put out shortly.
The "light" of the righteous is the presence of the Living God within us by His Spirit! He cannot be put out, but changes us from the inside out and is the source of our joy! The wicked, or unbelievers, do NOT have the Spirit of God living in them, therefore their "lamp" is just the small "candle" of natural life. We need to be constantly sharing the Light of Life with the unbelievers around us by sharing the Good News of the Gospel through every area of our lives! BE the DIFFERENCE for someone today! Amen!
Revelation 19 reveals rejoicing in heaven over the victory of God and the marriage of the Lamb to His bride! Verse 9 says that people are invited to the marriage supper. The Bride is not invited to her own wedding. The Church is the bride! This would be for all the other believers; both Old Testament saints and Tribulation saints! Verse 10b shows us that the entire Word of God revolves around Jesus!
10b Worship God! For the substance (essence) of the Truth revealed by Jesus is the spirit of all prophecy [the vital breath, the inspiration of all inspired preaching and interpretation of the divine will and purpose, including both mine and yours].
The rest of Proverbs 13 shows the return of Jesus of Nazareth to the earth for His Second Coming! I am so very thankful that we are going with Him at His APPEARING! How about you?
In Zechariah 7 the people want Zechariah to find out if they are still supposed to fast in the fifth month as they did during the exile. I really like the LORD'S answer in verses 5-6:
5 Speak to all the people of the land and to the priests, saying, When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months, even those seventy years you were in exile, was it for me that you fasted, for Me? 6 And when you ate and when you drank, did you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves?
We shouldn't have to ask anyone about prayer or fasting or meditating on the Word of God. These decisions should always come from a heart that is determines to worship and honor the One, True God! I like this from the Bible Exposition Commentary:
Zechariah wasn't condemning traditions as such. He was emphasizing the fact that the true spiritual life can't be turned on and off at our convenience, so that we serve God one minute and forget Him the next. If we feast, we must do it to glorify God (1 Cor 10:31); if we fast, we must do it to honor Him. The Lord must be the center of our lives and the reason for our actions. If we keep a fast (or any other religious tradition) just to please ourselves and win the admiration and approval of others, then God was not pleased and the activity was wasted.
I also like this concerning Zechariah 8:
God's people don't live on explanations; they live on promises. Faith and hope are nourished by the promises of God given to us in the Scriptures. That explains why Zechariah dropped the discussion of the traditions and delivered a new message from the Lord. In this message, he focused the people's eyes of faith on the future and shared some wonderful promises to encourage them. Note the repetition of the phrase, "Thus saith the Lord," which is used ten times in this chapter.
Get to know the One, True God through His Word! This includes all of His precious promises and as well as all of His instruction and correction! He only and always desires that you be extremely blessed (John 10:10)!
Shalom in Him!
