relationships (Zephaniah 2:1-15) Useful vs Useless Efforts

(Zephaniah 2:1-15) 

1   Gather yourselves together, yes, join together,
     You nation without shame,
2   Before the decree takes effect—
     The day passes like chaff—
     Before the burning anger of the Lord comes upon you,
     Before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you.
3   Seek the Lord,
     All you humble of the earth 
     Who have practiced His ordinances;
     Seek righteousness, seek humility.
     Perhaps you will remain hidden 
     On the day of the Lord’s anger.

4   For Gaza will be abandoned,
     And Ashkelon will become a desolation;
     The inhabitants of Ashdod will be driven out at noon,
     And Ekron will be uprooted.
5   Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast,
     The nation of the Cherethites!
     The word of the Lord is against you,
     Canaan, land of the Philistines;
     And I will eliminate you 
     So that there will be no inhabitant.
6   So the seacoast will become grazing places,
     With pastures for shepherds and folds for flocks.
7   And the coast will be 
     For the remnant of the house of Judah,
     They will drive sheep to pasture on it.
     In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening;
     For the Lord their God will care for them 
     And restore their fortunes.

8   “I have heard the taunting of Moab 
     And the abusive speech of the sons of Ammon,
     With which they have taunted My people 
     And boasted against their territory.
9   Therefore, as I live,” declares the Lord of armies,
     The God of Israel,
     “Moab will assuredly be like Sodom,
     And the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah—
     Ground overgrown with weeds and full of salt mines,
     And a permanent desolation.
     The remnant of My people will plunder them,
     And the remainder of My nation will inherit them.”

10 This they will have in return for their arrogance, because they have taunted and boasted against the people of the Lord of armies. 11 The Lord will be terrifying to them, for He will starve all the gods of the earth; and all the coastlands of the nations will bow down to Him, everyone from his own place.

12 “You also, Ethiopians, will be slain by My sword.”
13 And He will stretch out His hand against the north 
     And eliminate Assyria,
     And He will make Nineveh a desolation,
     Parched like the wilderness.
14 Flocks will lie down in her midst,
     All animals that range in herds;
     Both the pelican and the hedgehog 
     Will spend their nights in the tops of her pillars;
     Birds will sing in the window,
     Devastation will be on the threshold;
     For He has uncovered the cedar work.
15 This is the presumptuous city 
     That dwells securely,
     Who says in her heart,
     “I am, and there is no one besides me.”
     How she has become a desolation,
     A resting place for animals!
     Everyone who passes by her will hiss 
     And wave his hand in contempt.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

Verse 3 might seem like a contradiction to the pre-Trib. stance, but it is not.  God is telling people to actually become a believer, instead of just acting like one, so they can avoid going through the Tribulation, as well as eternal punishment.  While going through the motions will have a few benefits, this will do nothing to save a person.  All efforts made by unbelievers, no matter how "good" they are, are worthless and will be destroyed.  

Verse 2 talks about a day passing like chaff.  Chaff is the useless, worthless parts of a crop that blows away as the wheat is being threshed in order to gather the grain.  For an unbeliever, this would be a day spent rebelling against God, or running away from God, or just pretending to believe in God...  A sadly pointless day is spent by very religious people who strive to work to save themselves. 

For believers, a wasted day would be one that didn't involve God in everything they were doing and saying.  Because Christianity is not a religion!  It is all about having a personal relationship with the Lord!  Therefore, involving Him in every aspect of our lives is the opposite of "work".  A few hours a week at church, worshiping and serving the Lord.  A few minutes daily spent in God's word.  Thanking the Lord whenever we eat.  Praying to Him throughout the day to have Him help us and guide us toward healthy decisions and attitudes, and then asking Him to do these things FOR us... The benefits to both God's kingdom and our lives are massive!

God can use us anywhere and anytime!  I heard a quote the other day that said, "Bring the Glorious into the mundane."  God can and will use the smallest things in great and mighty ways!  As we trust in the Lord to work for us, in us and through us, in His strength, love and righteousness we will produce fruit, which is valuable, because it is all for God's kingdom and glory!

relationships (Zephaniah 1:1-18) Set Apart and Protected

(Zephaniah 1:1-18) 

The word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah:

2   “I will completely remove all things 
     From the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
3   “I will remove human and animal life;
     I will remove the birds of the sky 
     And the fish of the sea,
     And the ruins along with the wicked;
     And I will eliminate mankind from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
4   “So I will stretch out My hand against Judah 
     And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
     And I will eliminate the remnant of Baal from this place,
     And the names of the idolatrous priests along with the other priests.
5   And those who bow down on the housetops to the heavenly lights,
     And those who bow down and swear to the Lord, but also swear by Milcom,
6   And those who have turned back from following the Lord,
     And those who have not sought the Lord nor inquired of Him.”

7   Be silent before the Lord God!
     For the day of the Lord is near,
     Because the Lord has prepared a sacrifice,
     He has consecrated His guests.
8   “Then it will come about on the day of the Lord’s sacrifice 
     That I will punish the princes, the king’s sons,
     And all who clothe themselves with foreign garments.
9   And on that day I will punish all who leap on the temple threshold,
     Who fill the house of their lord with violence and deceit.
10 And on that day,” declares the Lord,
     “There will be the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate,
     Wailing from the Second Quarter,
     And a loud crash from the hills.
11 Wail, you inhabitants of the Mortar,
     Because all the people of Canaan will be destroyed;
     All who weigh out silver will be eliminated.
12 And it will come about at that time 
     That I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
     And I will punish the people 
     Who are stagnant in spirit,
     Who say in their hearts,
     ‘The Lord will not do good nor harm!’
13 Their wealth will become plunder,
     And their houses desolate;
     Yes, they will build houses but not inhabit them,
     And plant vineyards but not drink their wine.”

14 The great day of the Lord is near,
     Near and coming very quickly;
     Listen, the day of the Lord!
     In it the warrior cries out bitterly.
15 That day is a day of anger,
     A day of trouble and distress,
     A day of destruction and desolation,
     A day of darkness and gloom,
     A day of clouds and thick darkness,
16 A day of trumpet and battle cry 
     Against the fortified cities 
     And the high corner towers.
17 I will bring distress on mankind 
     So that they will walk like those who are blind,
     Because they have sinned against the Lord;
     And their blood will be poured out like dust,
     And their flesh like dung.
18 Neither their silver nor their gold 
     Will be able to save them 
     On the day of the Lord’s anger;
     And all the earth will be devoured 
     By the fire of His jealousy,
     For He will make a complete end,
     Indeed a horrifying one,
     Of all the inhabitants of the earth.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

Here is a warning that the Tribulation is coming and there will be an end to all evil.  And it is a stern warning for someone to open their eyes and see their need for Jesus' forgiveness and salvation.  Because the Lord is a God of relationships, and He created us and knows us better than we know ourselves, He knows exactly what it will take to get those who will become believers - to become believers!  

For some people, Jesus simply needs to gently hold out His hand for them to take.  For others, they need to learn the hard way.  And for those who will reject Jesus to the end, they will be without excuse.  Because God loves everyone and desires that all come to know Him personally, He will make sure everyone has fair opportunity.

All believers leading up to the rapture, will not be part of those seven years of judgment and punishment upon the earth, because we have been consecrated... set apart and made holy.  From reading this chapter, particularly verse 7, it is clear that we can be encouraged and confident about this!  The God of love and purpose knows exactly what He is doing and promises to protect and look after His children!

(1 Thessalonians 5:1-11)  Now as to the periods and times, brothers and sisters, you have no need of anything to be written to you. 2 For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord is coming just like a thief in the night. 3 While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction will come upon them like labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness, so that the day would overtake you like a thief; 5 for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; 6 so then, let’s not sleep as others do, but let’s be alert and sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who are drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we are of the day, let’s be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. 11 Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, just as you also are doing.