Having made known to us in all wisdom and insight the mystery of His will, according to His purpose which He set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth. Ephesians 1:9,10.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12.

Let me hear in the morning of Your steadfast love, for in You I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul. Psalm 143:8 ESV.

When we open our hearts to Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, we open ourselves to being able to learn from Him. There is a closeness that never was before. How can we ever think again that God is far away when we experience His love and His peace within? With God is such a difference and in the fullness of time, what is spoken of in our chapter, Zechariah 8, will be our reality. The word of the Lord Almighty came to me. This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her.” This is what the Lord says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City, and the mountain of the Lord Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain…Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each of them with cane in hand because of their age. The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there…I will save My people from the countries of the east and the west. I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be My people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God…The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will produce its crops, and the heavens will drop their dew…Just as you, Judah and Israel, have been a curse among the nations, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing…The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. Therefore love truth and peace…Many people and inhabitants of many cities will yet come, and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the Lord and seek the Lord Almighty. I myself am going.’ And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord Almighty and to entreat Him…In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’” v. 1-3, 4-5, 7-8, 12, 13, 19-23. And in the not yet before this time is yet to be fulfilled: This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Just as I had determined to bring disaster on you and showed no pity when your ancestors angered Me,” says the Lord Almighty, “so now I have determined to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah. Do not be afraid. These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this,” declares the Lord. v. 14-17.

When Jesus, the Son, came – He upended everything. He did what only Creator God can do – He spoke truth to everyone, Jew and Gentile. He speaks truth still through the Holy Spirit. There is so much we need to understand about the love of Creator God and it begins heart first. Our thoughts war against that – to question, to doubt, to reject. How can it be that simple? The wrath of God is against everything that harms us, including our own thoughts and actions harming ourselves and others. And the love that He brings begins a healing in us – by the very cleansing fire of His Love, that without understanding, we fear. His wrath is not our wrath. His love is not our love. His thoughts are not our thoughts. His ways are not our ways! He upends everything! Heart first. Or to put it another way…our wrath is not His wrath…our love is not His love…our thoughts are not His thoughts…our ways, still in evidence today, are not His ways. How can it be that hard? Because we have not yet turned to Creator God who loves us. Heart first!