We are taught that we must become upright people who, in God’s sight, are blameless and fully keep His commandments. “In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly” [(Modern Translation: “When Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah of the division of Abijah, and his wife Elizabeth also came from the family of Aaron. They were righteous before God and faithfully kept all the Lord’s commandments and regulations without fault”)] (Luke 1:5–6). While meditating on this passage, I would like to draw out the lessons given to us: (1) The author of Luke’s Gospel, Luke, first wrote to Theophilus about John the Baptist’s parents. The father’s name was “Zechariah” (meaning, “The LORD remembers...
The desired result? Shalom. "People want 'peace' in the full sense of the term, the absence of harm and the presence of tranquility with prosperity. When people strive for this good end without faith in God and in ways contrary to his principles, God is not "in it,' and they do not experience the shalom (peace) they are looking for. When people work with total dependence on self without faith in God, their activities are 'useless' - t hey do not produce the desired result. The desired result is shalom, but the actual experience is the opposite." (Mark D. Futato, "The Book of Psalms")