God's Holy Fire: 'God's Word Comes by the Spirit'

Saturday, July 6, 2024

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[After the return of the people of Judah from Babylon, this is what the Lord said about them,] "They made their hearts as hard as stone, so they could not hear the instructions or the messages that the Lord of Heaven's Armies had sent them by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. That is why the Lord of Heaven's Armies was so angry with them."
— Zechariah 7:12 NLT

Key Thought

God had told his people to "show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other" (Zechariah 7:9-10). But they wanted a quick and easy religion that made sense to their chosen values, their selfish behaviors, and their disregard for others. They ignored God. They refused to pay attention to the parts of God's will they didn't want to obey. They chose to harden their hearts to God's message, the message the Holy Spirit had inspired the prophets to speak. We must not be like them. We must heed God's warning: The words of the prophets, the message of Scripture, are not human words. They come from God and reveal what is important to him (2 Peter 1:19-21). We ignore them at our spiritual peril.

Today's Prayer

O Father, Lord of Heaven's Armies, forgive me for not valuing what you value, not doing what you command, and not loving people, especially the vulnerable, as you do. Conform my heart to your will through the power of the Spirit. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

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Illustration

Illustration of Zechariah 7:12 NLT — "They made their hearts as hard as stone, so they could not hear the instructions or the messages that the Lord of Heaven's Armies had sent them by his Spirit through the earlier prophets."

About This Devotional

God's Holy Fire is a daily devotional about the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

The Thoughts and Prayer for God's Holy Fire are written by Phil Ware.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture quotations marked MESSAGE are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

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