Andy Talks

Sometimes, God calls us to things that do not make sense to us. These are the hard times, but these are also the times when our faith really comes alive and really grows. In Zechariah, he is called to shepherd a flock that will be slaughtered.  This makes no sense; he isn’t even paid his correct wage. We see here we have no control over whether people receive our faithfulness and grace, all we have control over is whether we give or not.  Our job is to be faithful. That’s all we control. We cannot control anyone’s response.  Just give grace, even when it doesn’t make sense. The rest is out of our hands. That right there, releasing that, that takes true faith.

Join us for our daily reflections with Andy. In 10 short minutes, he'll dig a little deeper into Scripture and help you better understand God's Word.

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You can read today’s passage here - https://bible.oremus.org/?ql=586860539

You can watch this in video form here - https://revandy.org/blog/

Today, we see another well-known passage: “The sheep wander for need of a shepherd.”  We see that the shepherds are not leading the sheep well at that moment. They are living for their own desires, not for the needs of the sheep.  At this point in my life, I am no longer looking for dynamic or charismatic shepherds, for even the devil has those skills. I am looking for a shepherd who has the Fruit of the Spirit. That is the shepherd who is following after God. To those of us who are shepherds, let’s make sure we are working on that. And to those who are looking for a shepherd to follow, let’s remember first what we should look for.

Join us for our daily reflections with Andy. In 10 short minutes, he'll dig a little deeper into Scripture and help you better understand God's Word.

If you'd like to receive this daily reflection on your phone, text @39110 to 81010 to sign up.

You can read today’s passage here - https://bible.oremus.org/?ql=586583421

You can watch this in video form here - https://revandy.org/blog/

Today, we read the prophecy that we see fulfilled on Palm Sunday. Jesus, humble, riding a donkey. But we often misread this. We see this as only Jesus being humble, which He was. This wasn’t just Jesus being humble; this was also declaring who He was for all the world to see. He is declaring here that He is Messiah, that He is Lord, that He is king. Now, of course, as we see with Pilate, His kingdom is not of the world. Seeing this also teaches us how to understand the Bible. We read all the Bible through Jesus; He is the Word (John 1). We understand the Old Testament in light of the New Testament, and we interpret the passages that are harder to understand through the ones that are easier to understand. 

Join us for our daily reflections with Andy. In 10 short minutes, he'll dig a little deeper into Scripture and help you better understand God's Word.

If you'd like to receive this daily reflection on your phone, text @39110 to 81010 to sign up.

You can read today’s passage here - https://bible.oremus.org/?ql=586497723

You can watch this in video form here - https://revandy.org/blog/

Zechariah continues his joyful words today.  We are told that there will be fasting, but it will be joyful. It will be a celebration We are to be joyfully obedient. But then we see that our joy will be infectious. People will grab the people of God by the garment and say, “We will go with you because God is with you!”  Isn’t that a beautiful hope and desire that people will know that God is with us and will say, let us go with you!  For God is with you!  Our joy, our joyful obedience, it is attractive. It will draw folks to Him.  Our world needs joy, y’all. There’s enough ugly, enough hate, enough anger.  We need joy. And our joy points others to Jesus!

Join us for our daily reflections with Andy. In 10 short minutes, he'll dig a little deeper into Scripture and help you better understand God's Word.

If you'd like to receive this daily reflection on your phone, text @39110 to 81010 to sign up.

You can read today’s passage here - https://bible.oremus.org/?ql=586438968

You can watch this in video form here - https://revandy.org/blog/

Today’s passage is full of good stuff. My entire bible is highlighted today.  The Lord has a word of hope for us today.  He is going to make all things right in His due time. He is going to restore the remnant. He is going to give life where life has been taken,  He is going to make all things as they are made to be. We have this HOPE. And if we have hope, we have strong hands to work, to build the kingdom, to work for good. When we have hope, we have strong hands to work. Losing hope is one of the worst things that can happen to us. But because we have Jesus, we have hope. And because we have hope, we can have strong hands. 

Join us for our daily reflections with Andy. In 10 short minutes, he'll dig a little deeper into Scripture and help you better understand God's Word.

If you'd like to receive this daily reflection on your phone, text @39110 to 81010 to sign up.

You can read today’s passage here - https://bible.oremus.org/?ql=586346547

You can watch this in video form here - https://revandy.org/blog/

We see the Lord explain why He judged the people today. We see Him tell the people how to live. But His instructions may surprise us, and we may find them harder than we expect. He calls us to kindness today. To mercy today.  Those are hard for this age; we show kindness and mercy to “our side,” not to others. He calls us to take care of the weak and needy. To avoid hate in our hearts. To be different.  To be holy. This is hard; it’s not about what we do; it’s about who we are.  It’s what it looks like to live out the Golden Rule.

Join us for our daily reflections with Andy. In 10 short minutes, he'll dig a little deeper into Scripture and help you better understand God's Word.

If you'd like to receive this daily reflection on your phone, text @39110 to 81010 to sign up.

You can read today’s passage here - https://bible.oremus.org/?ql=586269496

You can watch this in video form here - https://revandy.org/blog/

After the Exile is over, several of the people from Bethel go to the prophet and ask this question. Do we still need to fast?  They are asking because the people are back home, and the Temple is being rebuilt. So, must they continue to lament? And the prophet asks this question. Why did you fast?  Why is it that you did what you did?  For God, or for some other reason? Why do we fast?  Why do we do what we do?  Is it to get something from God?  To “make” Him do what we want? Brian Zahnd, in his wonderful book The Wood Between the Worlds, reminds us that thinking like that is paganism. We don’t “do things'' to make God do what we want. We are faithful so we can experience God. 

Join us for our daily reflections with Andy. In 10 short minutes, he'll dig a little deeper into Scripture and help you better understand God's Word.

If you'd like to receive this daily reflection on your phone, text @39110 to 81010 to sign up.

You can read today’s passage here - https://bible.oremus.org/?ql=586091732

You can watch this in video form here - https://revandy.org/blog/

In our Traditional message from June 23, 2024, Andy shares with us from Ephesians 2: 19-20. We see that the church is founded upon the teachings of the Apostles. That is what it means to be "Apostolic," to be part of that lineage. But what does that actually mean?

Today, we see a high priest given a crown. At first, you may think that this crown is one that has religious significance. But this is the kind of crown that goes to royalty.  In this passage, Joshua is crowned “the Branch.”  All of this this points us to Jesus.  He is the Branch (John 15: 1-8).  He is prophet, priest, and king.  He speaks the Word of the Lord, He is our high priest, and He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Today, in this passage, we see everything pointing us to Jesus. 

Join us for our daily reflections with Andy. In 10 short minutes, he'll dig a little deeper into Scripture and help you better understand God's Word.

If you'd like to receive this daily reflection on your phone, text @39110 to 81010 to sign up.

You can read today’s passage here - https://bible.oremus.org/?ql=585746027

You can watch this in video form here - https://revandy.org/blog/

When I read today’s passage, it first made me scratch my head and think, “huh.”  I didn’t really understand exactly what it was saying at first, but after using a tool I really like for Biblical interpretation (the NET Bible), it made a lot more sense. In this passage, this vision points to peace. In time, peace came as Persia defeated Babylon. But, also, in the Lord’s time, peace will come when the Lord returns and makes all things right. But even now in our lives, when we take our concerns to the Lord in prayer, His peace guards our hearts and minds.  Peace will come. It may not come exactly when we may like for it to come. But peace will come. 

Join us for our daily reflections with Andy. In 10 short minutes, he'll dig a little deeper into Scripture and help you better understand God's Word.

If you'd like to receive this daily reflection on your phone, text @39110 to 81010 to sign up.

You can read today’s passage here - https://bible.oremus.org/?ql=585659981

You can watch this in video form here - https://revandy.org/blog/