Our weekly encouragement message today comes from an unlikely source. The
\nmessage today is from Martin Luther’s lectures on the book of Zechariah from 1526 – so
\nalmost 500 years ago and he writes this about just the phrase: \u201cThus says the Lord of
\nhosts.\u201d Luther writes:
\n\u201cThe prophets and the scriptures everywhere call God \u2018the Lord of hosts\u2019 for the word
\nmeans the military or the army. He is then the Lord of soldiers or of the military. This
\ncertainly is a wonderful name for God. It is given to us not only to teach but also to
\ncomfort us.
\nFor teaching, you apply it this way: all those who confess the name of this king or Lord
\nmust be soldiers. They must always be armed and in the field just as Job says: \u201cMan’s
\nlife on Earth is military service.\u201d We have very dangerous and very powerful enemies
\nboth against our good character and even against the Word and that is the greatest evil.
\nThe world threatens death. It even threatens to take away life along with our our
\nproperty. Likewise the closest army is our own flesh, that foe in one’s own house. The
\nflesh harrasses us with a concern for the nourishment of our body and of those people
\nwho are close to us. It seduces us into shameful activities. Then, too, Satan never
\nceases assaulting us with spiritual hosts of wickedness, with despair against faith and
\nwith the uncovering of sin. All the while the devil erodes our conscience in every way,
\nmisleads us to a lack of hope, and never ceases prowling around seeking someone to
\ndevour as Peter says in 1st Peter chapter 5. So we must lead the life of active soldiers
\nas we are assailed by very powerful foes and as we do battle under the Lord our God.
\nHe is called the Lord of hosts to comfort us, that we may know that he who is in us is
\ngreater than he who is in the world. For he has overcome the world. Indeed, not even
\nthe prince of this world has any power against him. Instead, he has overcome both the
\nworld and the prince of the world, but he has overcome them on our behalf. Therefore it
\nis our consolation that this good Lord of ours faithfully comes to our aid and battles for
\nus in the field. He fights for us at our side, lest we lose faith, regardless of what great
\nevils assail us. So this is why the prophet Zechariah here repeats the expression \u2018the
\nLord of hosts\u2019 three times, as if to say \u2018Whatever you fear, whatever it is that you were
\nconcerned about, be confident. The Lord does battle for you. He goes ahead of you as
\ngeneral of the war as he fights in the field.\u2019\u201d
\nSo these words – again written some 500 years ago – I think are very relevant for us
\ntoday as we think about the battles that we face in our world and in our own lives and
\nwe can be taught that God is the Lord of hosts and then that also gives us comfort as
\nwe face those foes against our lives.
\nLet’s join in prayer: Lord of hosts we appreciate that these spiritual forces that are with
\nyou are greater than the spiritual forces that are against us in our world and no matter
\nwhat they are – Satan, the world, or our own lives – that challenge us in our faith. Come
\nalong side of us and fill us with peace and confidence, with joy and with hope, especially
\nas we pray these things in the name of Jesus our Saviour. Amen.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Our weekly encouragement message today comes from an unlikely source. The message today is from Martin Luther’s lectures on the book of Zechariah from 1526 – so almost 500 years ago and he writes this about just the phrase: \u201cThus says the Lord of hosts.\u201d Luther writes: \u201cThe prophets and the scriptures everywhere call God […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n