A Nugget from New Life Network
Scripture for the Day (July 7, 2017)
Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. (Isaiah 60:1-2)
The title of this devotional may upset some folks. Why is that? Well, it could be that we have let this word “zealot” be turned into a negative word due to our own state of being and the state of the Church. The word “zeal” is used many times in the Bible and is used in a negative and positive way. Let’s look at the positive way.
The first confrontation Jesus had with the religious leaders of His day was when he came to the Temple and saw the money changers and merchandisers at work. If you remember, his response was not what we would describe today as cordial and polite. He turned their tables over and dumped their money on the floor. As his disciples watched they remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten me up”. What in the world does that mean???
The word zeal means to be passionate, fervent, on-fire or hot. Jesus was so zealous about what the House of God was supposed to be about that He was not going to stand by and see it misused and abused. He told them that God’s house was to be a house of prayer. That phrase house of prayer means a place to pray, a place to worship, or an oratory chapel. In today’s language, Jesus was saying this is not Walmart folks!!!
Where are we today? Really think about that! Are we hot or cold or are we lukewarm? Have we made zeal a negative word and relegated zealots to the crazy bin? How would we respond to zealots like John the Baptist today? Worse yet, how would we respond to the zealot Jesus if He walked into our church on Sunday morning? Would we prostrate ourselves on the floor and worship Him, or would we call 911?
Here are a few scriptures we all need to consider and think about when we are taking our own spiritual temperature and assessing the Christian Church as a whole:
My zeal hath consumed me, because mine enemies have forgotten thy words. Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it. (Psalm 119:139-140)
For zeal for Your house has consumed me, And the [mocking] insults of those who insult You have fallen on me. (Psalm 69:9, Amplified Bible)
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. (Revelation 3:15-19)
