Do you ever look back and wonder why you did something? Well, that's kind of where I've been the last week or so with our P4 readings. You see, I was just adamant that we should read in the Old Testament and look at some of the minor prophets in December. So now, here we are and I have to be honest with you, this has been some tough reading. I've struggled a little with the heaviness of it all. As I read Zephaniah 1, I groaned and thought Here we go again. (Maybe that was your reaction too?) So I asked the Lord to help me and to show me what He had for me from Zephaniah today. I'm so glad I did that. I read chapter 1 again and this is what I came away with: God will not be ignored. He is jealous for our hearts and ultimately all of mankind and creation will recognize Him. That means God and God alone had better be my first priority.
So what did you get out of Zephaniah 1? Has God impressed a particular message on your heart as we've worked through Hosea, Micah and now Zephaniah? Tami W.
Yep Tammy, as usual, my first impression was in agreememt with your take on yet another judgemental passage. As I read, however, I thought of how we need to be rooted in obedience to God's authority even at this joyous time of celebration Christ's birth. It is far too easy to get caught up in the "surfaceness" of gifts and spending and even "what am I going to get" instead of staying grounded in praising and adoring God's wisdom and benevolence.
Merry Christmas to you and all the staff at BTTB. May the Good Lord bless and prosper you and yours for your dedicated ongoing efforts on behalf of this community and the body of Christ in general.
Allan S
God has the power to "utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth." But He hasn't. Simply because of His love for us. Even though we are not any better (maybe worse) than the folks in Zephaniah's time, he still holds back His wrath, waiting for us to love Him and trust Him. Thank you Lord for your patience!!
Your right he needs to be our first priority at all times. Throughout every waking moment, then things wouldnt be so confusing. Unfortunately we only think in a finite way when God can think in a heavenly way in the past, present, future at all times. As Allen said we need to root ourselves in Obediance to God. The more we do that it comes more prevalent on the fore front in our mind. Constantly keep ourselves prepared for the comming of our Lord! Compleet trust in our farther that all things will work out for the best. My greatest blessing came out of what I thought was total disature when all he was doing was preparing the way for a blessing. Trust in our Lord and pray for desernment of knowledge and a daily infusion of the holy spirit. Mery Christmass you all and God Bless!!
Amen Tami :) Your comments also made me think of the passage where it speaks of all creation groaning for the Lord. Love ya girl :)
Yes i do believe God must be our first priority at all times. Reading from Hosea, Micah and now Zephaniah is a reminder that God is indeed God there is no other. There is a song that says "you are not a God created by human hands, you are not a God dependent on any mortal man, you are not a God in need of anything we can give, you are God and thats the way it is". As i read the words actually came alive and i am understanding better who we serve as our God(none can compare).God chastises us when we deserve to be chastise but i also love how he loves us in giving us time to repent and how when we obey him how he forgives us and restores us unto him. As we celebrate christmas, let us not lose focus of the real meaning -JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD AND THE GREAT HOPE THAT WE HAVE IN HIM BECAUSE GOD LOVES US BY GIVING US HIS SON. Merry Christmas to you all.
Even though we do not deserve God's mercy and grace, He still gives it to us. Isn't this wonderful. We who only checks in with Him when we have a problem. Every morning we get out of bed we should bow before Him and thank Him for another day, another day He has given us so we can look deep in our hearts and ask are we really serving Him in the way we should. We should, yes, thank Him for the extra day so we may learn more about Him and listen to Him.
This Christmas, we (our family and friends) are inviting our Lord in by giving Him thanks and bring back the true spirit of Christmas - The First Coming of our Lord and Saviour on earth and looking for His Second Coming. We will be reading from Isaiah 9:1-7 One of the prophesies) and Luke 2:1-20 (our youngest children will be asked to read Luke and an adult will read Isaiah. We will sit and sing carols and pray that the younger generation will really see that it is not all about them getting presents or us getting presents but that it is all about God's gift to us, His only Son and that it is much better to give.
I pray that each and everyone of us will experience something wonderful this Christmas and may the love for God glow on our faces. I pray that all who are experiencing a difficult time will find joy, peace and prosperity and may our Lord and Saviour give us the strength to continue serving Him for as long as He gives us life. Let us show our families and friends how much we care and love them during this season. May your holiday be blessed. Tami thanks for Powered by 4. God has really insoired you and we thank Him for you.