As I studied the book of Zephaniah this morning, I was struck by chapter 1, verse 12.
"At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs, who think, ‘The LORD will do nothing, either good or bad."
Again, Amos 6:1 and 7 says this, "1 Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come!... 7 Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging will end."
Is God okay with complacency? Is God okay with the the believer who mentally says, "I go to church on Sunday. I checked that box. I am all set for the next week." What about to those who would say, "I live a good life. I am kind. I donate a can of soup when the post office does their 'Stamp Out Hunger' drive." What if you don't even mentally say those things to yourself, but you are just complacent in your life, in your walk and relationship with the living God - are you okay with status quo?
Zephaniah 1:12 is pretty clear how God felt about complacency. He didn't like, at all. He was willing to punish the people of Judah for their complacency.
The burden I feel for the American church is that we have lost our true sense and true purpose - that we have become complacent and "okay" with the status quo. Why have we chosen to serve the living God by giving our hearts to Him and getting baptised, but then unconsciously or consciously stop serving Him. What happens between choosing to LIVE for Him and unconsciously living for ourselves, while simultaneously thinking we are living for Him?
A little further on in Zephaniah, we see that the Word of the Lord to Zephaniah says this: (Zeph 2:3)
3 "Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD’s anger."
God tells us exactly what we need to do... SEEK HIM! God sent His Son for so much more than our salvation and our happiness, but He does care about us and He gives us very clear and precise instructions on how to avoid His wrath.
In the book of Zechariah, this was the word of the Lord - Zechariah 3:7, " This is what the Lord Almighty says, 'If you will walk in my ways and keep my requirements then you will govern my house and have charge over my courts, and I will give you a place among those standing here."
Jeremiah 29:13 has become my new favorite single verse, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
There is nothing in that verse that speaks of complacency. There first is an action on our part then, there is an unfailing God who will show Himself to us when we seek Him with ALL of our heart!
My heart feels so heavy for the apathy that has gripped our nation, our churches, and the lives of the very people who call themselves Christians and yet they sit idly by, living out their "busy" lives. We have to be willing to die to ourselves and make Him our daily focus, waking up and asking ourselves, "Lord, how can I best serve you today? How can you use me to bring glory to Your Name and make Your Name known among ALL nations?"
David Platt, in Radical, says this, "Jesus said to His followers, "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." Jesus clearly acknowledged that following him invloves risking the safety, security, and satisfaction we have found in this world. But in the end, Jesus said, following him leads to a radical reward that this world cannot offer. This begs the question from each of us: do we believe the reward found in Jesus is worth the risk of following him?"
Want to start somewhere? Here are two great possibilities:
1. Start with some one on one time with God, the Creator of heaven and earth. Journal. Tell Him how much you love Him... how much you need Him.
If you are not even sure if you believe in Him, start by asking Him to make Himself known to you, ask Him to forgive you for the past, then make a commitment to Him to serve Him with ALL of your heart. Make Him known to you - I can PROMISE you, He's been making Himself known to you your whole life! If you would like help with this, please, let me know. I would love to talk with you, walk you through this.
If you are a believer and you have found yourself complacent, it's not too late to change that. Pupose in your heart to make a difference, starting with your OWN walk, then move on to helping the poor, the widowed, the orphaned, etc....
2. Meet my family and I as we serve the poor on Saturday mornings. We will meet up at John F. Kennedy Stadium in Manchester, NH, serving food to the Manchester area families that are in need of assistance. We meet up at 9:30am, get our "post" from the NH Food Bank, then we begin the priveledge of serving at 10am.
Acts 20:24, "Yet, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me - the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace."
Acts 20:28, "Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood."
and finally in Acts 20:32-38 Pauls ends with this, 32 “Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. 34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. 35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
36 When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. 37 They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. 38 What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship."
Jesus... and Paul (not on the same level as Jesus) did not live a life of contentment and apathy. We have committed our hearts to God - now it's time to commit our lives to God!
Blessings!
"At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs, who think, ‘The LORD will do nothing, either good or bad."
Again, Amos 6:1 and 7 says this, "1 Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come!... 7 Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging will end."
Is God okay with complacency? Is God okay with the the believer who mentally says, "I go to church on Sunday. I checked that box. I am all set for the next week." What about to those who would say, "I live a good life. I am kind. I donate a can of soup when the post office does their 'Stamp Out Hunger' drive." What if you don't even mentally say those things to yourself, but you are just complacent in your life, in your walk and relationship with the living God - are you okay with status quo?
Zephaniah 1:12 is pretty clear how God felt about complacency. He didn't like, at all. He was willing to punish the people of Judah for their complacency.
The burden I feel for the American church is that we have lost our true sense and true purpose - that we have become complacent and "okay" with the status quo. Why have we chosen to serve the living God by giving our hearts to Him and getting baptised, but then unconsciously or consciously stop serving Him. What happens between choosing to LIVE for Him and unconsciously living for ourselves, while simultaneously thinking we are living for Him?
A little further on in Zephaniah, we see that the Word of the Lord to Zephaniah says this: (Zeph 2:3)
3 "Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD’s anger."
God tells us exactly what we need to do... SEEK HIM! God sent His Son for so much more than our salvation and our happiness, but He does care about us and He gives us very clear and precise instructions on how to avoid His wrath.
In the book of Zechariah, this was the word of the Lord - Zechariah 3:7, " This is what the Lord Almighty says, 'If you will walk in my ways and keep my requirements then you will govern my house and have charge over my courts, and I will give you a place among those standing here."
Jeremiah 29:13 has become my new favorite single verse, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
There is nothing in that verse that speaks of complacency. There first is an action on our part then, there is an unfailing God who will show Himself to us when we seek Him with ALL of our heart!
My heart feels so heavy for the apathy that has gripped our nation, our churches, and the lives of the very people who call themselves Christians and yet they sit idly by, living out their "busy" lives. We have to be willing to die to ourselves and make Him our daily focus, waking up and asking ourselves, "Lord, how can I best serve you today? How can you use me to bring glory to Your Name and make Your Name known among ALL nations?"
David Platt, in Radical, says this, "Jesus said to His followers, "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." Jesus clearly acknowledged that following him invloves risking the safety, security, and satisfaction we have found in this world. But in the end, Jesus said, following him leads to a radical reward that this world cannot offer. This begs the question from each of us: do we believe the reward found in Jesus is worth the risk of following him?"
Want to start somewhere? Here are two great possibilities:
1. Start with some one on one time with God, the Creator of heaven and earth. Journal. Tell Him how much you love Him... how much you need Him.
If you are not even sure if you believe in Him, start by asking Him to make Himself known to you, ask Him to forgive you for the past, then make a commitment to Him to serve Him with ALL of your heart. Make Him known to you - I can PROMISE you, He's been making Himself known to you your whole life! If you would like help with this, please, let me know. I would love to talk with you, walk you through this.
If you are a believer and you have found yourself complacent, it's not too late to change that. Pupose in your heart to make a difference, starting with your OWN walk, then move on to helping the poor, the widowed, the orphaned, etc....
2. Meet my family and I as we serve the poor on Saturday mornings. We will meet up at John F. Kennedy Stadium in Manchester, NH, serving food to the Manchester area families that are in need of assistance. We meet up at 9:30am, get our "post" from the NH Food Bank, then we begin the priveledge of serving at 10am.
Acts 20:24, "Yet, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me - the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace."
Acts 20:28, "Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood."
and finally in Acts 20:32-38 Pauls ends with this, 32 “Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. 34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. 35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
36 When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. 37 They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. 38 What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship."
Jesus... and Paul (not on the same level as Jesus) did not live a life of contentment and apathy. We have committed our hearts to God - now it's time to commit our lives to God!
Blessings!
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