Zechariah chapter 10

People in authority, MP's, government ministers, local Councillors, pastors, priests, teachers, business leaders, the police, have such a responsibility under God that I don't think many of them truly appreciate that they will be held to account for how they use the power they hold. It is not just a case of priests, pastors, ministers, church leaders, being held to account for how they have led the congregation, the church, but those in positions of authority, no matter who they are, will be judged by God for how they dealt with people, how they led them in the good times and the bad.

People in authority have such a responsibility and many of them do not even realise it. They go into politics, business as a career move, a way of making money, not appreciating the full consequences of what they are doing. Yes, there are many who do realise the significance, and how they will be held to account, but you only have to look around at the number of politicians using the media to try and portray things in the best possible light, who very rarely answer a question but just confuse you with waffle, and who seek to bury bad news.

In these verses, God is criticising the leaders of Judah and Israel for leading his people astray. The people followed the example of the leaders, the priests, the teachers, and did as they saw. This is one very good reason why we as Christians should be seen to "walk the talk" and let our lifestyles match up with our words, our profession of faith. We too will be held accountable if our way of life causes someone else to stumble.

Jesus is the shepherd, the cornerstone, the tent peg and it is so sad that billions of people today do not realise this. There is so much evidence that Jesus Christ lived, died, was buried and rose again and yet people even doubt his very existence. I think I read somewhere that there is more evidence for the life of Jesus than for that of Shakespeare! And yes, the cynical may say that it was all a Roman plot, or a scheme devised by the disciples who stole Jesus' body and there is no real proof. But if that is the case, why did every single disciple refuse to deny the resurrection? All of them except John were martyred, having their heads chopped off, being crucified and goodness knows what else, but not one of them denied the resurrection, or confessed it was all a lie. I can't think of many people who would suffer an excruciating death because of a lie - they would only do that if it was the truth. After all, if you're lying there about to be tortured or killed in some really painful way, you are going to try and get out of it, and admitting the resurrection was a scam would be the one thing that your torturers/executioners would want to hear. But not one of the disciples ever admitted that. Would you go to your death because of a lie or would you admit the truth? The fact that none of the disciples ever said that Jesus did not rise from the dead has got to be proof it really happened. Nothing else explains it.
And then in verse 6, God has compassion on the people of Judah and Israel, they are reunited as one people, restored, and it is as if God had never rejected them in the first place, because He is the Lord their God, our God, my God, and He will answer them, you and me.