The Daily Fountain Daily Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 4 September 2020 – TOPIC: WOUNDED FOR YOUR SAKE
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TOPIC: WOUNDED FOR YOUR SAKE
READ: ZECHARIAH 12:1-14 (NKJV)1. The burden of the word of the LORD against Israel. Thus says the LORD, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him:2. “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem.3. “And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.4. “In that day,” says the LORD, “I will strike every horse with confusion, and its rider with madness; I will open My eyes on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.5. “And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem [are] my strength in the LORD of hosts, their God.’6. “In that day I will make the governors of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left, but Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place — Jerusalem.7. ” The LORD will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah.8. “In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David [shall be] like God, like the Angel of the LORD before them.9. “It shall be in that day [that] I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.10. ” And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for [his] only [son,] and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.11. “In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.12. “And the land shall mourn, every family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves;13. “the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, and their wives by themselves;14. “all the families that remain, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves.THE MESSAGE:As we have seen, the book of Zechariah centres on the coming Messiah. The suffering He would go through to the point of being pierced was foretold over 500 years before its reality (verses 10-13; Isaiah 53:3-5; John 19:32-34). This agony He went through was the reason why people would mourn for Him.Brethren, it is no more a story that the Messiah would come, suffer, and die. It is a settled case. The deed has been done. The long awaited prophecy came to pass over 2000 years ago. Our response to the one pierced therefore is not to mourn for Him again because the beauty of mourning is at the instance of the event. Mary, the mother of Jesus together with her friends, mourned the crucified Christ and immediately resorted to serving Him better. Very early on the third day, they were at the grave for cleansing. Why then should you cry more than the bereaved? What should be paramount in your heart is what to do to reciprocate His love for you. You must acknowledge His saving grace; confess your sins to Him, repent from and forsake all of them and then tell the story of this salvation to others.PRAYER: Thank You Jesus for the great love You bestowed on me by Your suffering