Salt & Light Blog

Zephaniah 2 God is Jealous and that is Good

9/7/2015

Zephaniah 2

Yesterday’s devotional of the first chapter of Zephaniah told us that God is Jealous. In today’s world and in a human perspective jealousy is not a good thing. But God’s jealousy isn’t like ours. There is nothing bad in God and so none in His jealousy. (1 John 1:5). He is our creator, when we belong to God, He considers us wholly His. His love for us is passionate, zealous, and intense. But God also disciplines us. He calls us to Him. He calls us to repent. And He calls us to a relationship so close that He indwells us with His Spirit and lets us in on His heart and mind. (Romans 8:9, 1 Corinthians 2:12-16). Time here on earth is short, the time to answer God’s call is now. Verses 1-3,

“Gather together, yes, gather,
    O shameless nation,
2 before the decree takes effect
    —before the day passes away like chaff--
before there comes upon you
    the burning anger of the Lord,
before there comes upon you
    the day of the anger of the Lord.
3 Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land,
    who do his just commands;
seek righteousness; seek humility;
    perhaps you may be hidden
    on the day of the anger of the Lord.”

Not everyone answers the call to a relationship with The Lord. God’s people are hidden from His anger, His wrath is directed to our enemies, the enemies of Jesus Christ. And because God loves us so intensely and passionately He doesn’t take kindly to anyone who tries to hurt us. Verses 4-6 read,

“For Gaza shall be deserted,
    and Ashkelon shall become a desolation;
Ashdod's people shall be driven out at noon,
    and Ekron shall be uprooted.

5 Woe to you inhabitants of the seacoast,
    you nation of the Cherethites!
The word of the Lord is against you,
    O Canaan, land of the Philistines;
    and I will destroy you until no inhabitant is left.
6 And you, O seacoast, shall be pastures,
    with meadows for shepherds
    and folds for flocks.”

God’s fiery judgement on The Day of the Lord will obliterate all that is evil and be replaced with what is good. And all that good will be for us! Judah’s enemies were destroyed and the remains they left were a gift to Judah. Verse 7 reads,

“The seacoast shall become the possession
    of the remnant of the house of Judah,
    on which they shall graze,
and in the houses of Ashkelon
    they shall lie down at evening.
For the Lord their God will be mindful of them
    and restore their fortunes.”

God doesn’t forget us. He wants the best for us. He disciplines us but He also makes good come out of situations to make us more like Jesus. (Romans 8:28-29). He knows what we suffer. He knows the persecution we face. God will destroy the pride His enemies take in their hatred of Christians and the false religions they created. Verses 10-11 read,

“This shall be their lot in return for their pride,
    because they taunted and boasted
    against the people of the Lord of hosts.
11 The Lord will be awesome against them;
    for he will famish all the gods of the earth,
and to him shall bow down,
    each in its place,
    all the lands of the nations.”

Verse 15 reads,

“This is the exultant city
    that lived securely,
that said in her heart,
    “I am, and there is no one else.”
What a desolation she has become,
    a lair for wild beasts!
Everyone who passes by her
    hisses and shakes his fist.”

People do not like to think about God’s jealousy or wrath. But His love is fervent. It wouldn’t say much of God’s deep love for us, if He didn’t care that we were injured. We are God’s possession. Deuteronomy 7:6 says,

“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.”

He cherishes us. And He has given us eternal life. Because we belong to Him, we are secure. We have enemies, people hate us because of Christ. We look ridiculous to the world. But we depend on The Lord and He keeps us and carries us through. We are citizens of The Kingdom of Heaven now and one day we will be in our eternal city, New Jerusalem. We are the city of God.

God is jealous for us. Is our love for Him as zealous as it could be?

0 Comments

Zephaniah 1 God Warns us for a Reason.

9/6/2015

0 Comments

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew 6:33-34 on photo of Pelican Flying in Blue Sky by Donna Campbell

Zephaniah Chapter 1

Do you ever wonder why God warned people about imminent events? He sent prophets to His people time and again, sometimes they listened and sometimes they didn’t. Sometimes as in the case of Jonah and Nineveh, the people listened and heeded the message. (Jonah 3:6-10). But more often they did not pay attention to The Word of God. But the Lord is Just and He always makes a way for salvation.

Zephaniah was a prophet to Judah and Jerusalem during the days of King Josiah. He had a royal lineage, his great great grandfather was King Hezekiah. (Verse 1). In this chapter God warned Judah and Jerusalem about the upcoming Chaldean invasion. King Josiah was a good King who sought the Lord and who made sweeping changes to rid the nation of Idolatry. (2 Kings 22-23). Perhaps he listened to Zephaniah. We know he listened to other prophets. (2 Kings 22:14).

Verses 2-6 read,

“I will utterly sweep away everything
    from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
3 “I will sweep away man and beast;
    I will sweep away the birds of the heavens
    and the fish of the sea,
and the rubble with the wicked.
    I will cut off mankind
    from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
4 “I will stretch out my hand against Judah
    and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal
    and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,
5 those who bow down on the roofs
    to the host of the heavens,
those who bow down and swear to the Lord
    and yet swear by Milcom,
6 those who have turned back from following the Lord,
    who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him.”

Josiah’s father was Amon, he was a very wicked king like his father Manasseh who brought lots of idol worship and evil to Judah and Jerusalem. (2 Kings 21:19-26). The Lord is a Jealous God. (Exodus 34:14). He wants nothing else between us and Him. He wants our entre heart, not the small part remnant that isn’t taken up with the flesh. Deuteronomy 6:5 reads,

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

When Jesus quoted this scripture, He took it one step further. Luke 10:27 says,

“And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

Jesus added that we are to love the Lord with our minds as well as our heart, soul, and strength. Our minds can get so busy, so cluttered with to-do lists, entertainment, and work. Those things, even seemingly good things can take God’s place in our minds, hearts, service, and spirit. Ask yourself, are you so busy doing God’s work that you are putting that ministry above The Lord? Are we heeding the Truth of the Word of God? Are we listening, trusting, and obeying Him? Is our disregard for The Lord’s message causing us to be disciplined?

The Day of the Lord is near. He is coming. His judgement is perfect. He has warned us. Are we heeding the warning? Verses 7-9 read,

“Be silent before the Lord God!
    For the day of the Lord is near;
the Lord has prepared a sacrifice
    and consecrated his guests.
8 And on the day of the Lord's sacrifice--
“I will punish the officials and the king's sons
    and all who array themselves in foreign attire.
9 On that day I will punish
    everyone who leaps over the threshold,
and those who fill their master's house
    with violence and fraud.”

Many who claim to be Christians, do not actually worship The Lord God Almighty. They worship a god they created, who has an outlook similar to their own. He is not named Jealous, or Lord of Hosts, or Justice. He is love, but not Agape. He is requires no repentance. And he lets them do anything they please or he requires strict adherence to rules. But whoever it is they worship, it is not The One True and Living God. They jumped the threshold and think they have entered the church but they have only entered the building. They’ve tried to steal salvation when Jesus already paid for it and is giving it away. They will be sadly shocked when The Day of Lord arrives. They will cry out “Lord, Lord! Wasn’t I a good Christian? Look at all the work I did for you!” but God knows they do not submit to Him. He knows they are idolaters. He’ll reply, “Go away, your work was for evil, I never had a friendship with you.” (Matthew 7:22-23).

Verses 14-16 read,

“The great day of the Lord is near,
    near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter;
    the mighty man cries aloud there.
15 A day of wrath is that day,
    a day of distress and anguish,
a day of ruin and devastation,
    a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness,
16     a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
against the fortified cities
    and against the lofty battlements.”

To the lost, The Day will come suddenly and swiftly. To the saved who have paid attention to the warnings and signs, it will come exactly on time. We do not know the day or hour but we now the season. We know the signs. We have time to prepare. We have time to warn people and give them a chance to repent and call on Jesus as Lord and Savior. Matthew 24:36-44 reads,

“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

Nothing and no one can save except Jesus Christ, The Lord of lords and King of kings. All the money in the world won’t do anyone any good on The Day of the Lord. It won’t matter if you’ve memorized the entre Bible if you do not take it to heart. It won’t matter how strong you are or who the president is. You can look everywhere for salvation, but you will only find Him in Jesus. Verses 17-18 read,

“I will bring distress on mankind,
    so that they shall walk like the blind,
    because they have sinned against the Lord;
their blood shall be poured out like dust,
    and their flesh like dung.
18 Neither their silver nor their gold
    shall be able to deliver them
    on the day of the wrath of the Lord.
In the fire of his jealousy,
    all the earth shall be consumed;
for a full and sudden end
    he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.”

Don’t waste your life worrying about your money, your goodness, your strength, or your pleasure. Spend your time investing in eternity. Be concerned with The Kingdom of Heaven, God’s wealth, Jesus’ righteousness, The Lord’s power, and His joy. In Matthew 6:19-21 Jesus said it this way,

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

A few verses further He told us we didn’t have to worry about all the earthly stuff. Matthew 6:32-34 reads,

“For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

0 Comments

James 4 What Do Ya Want?

8/23/2015

0 Comments

Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. Psalm 37:3-5 On photo of White Flowers on Log by Donna Campbell

James 4

What do you want more than anything else? Chances are, if you’re like me you can answer that question in a number of ways at different times. There have been times I could give you a list of items I wanted. As I’ve matured in Christ the list is not a list of things, it is a list of spiritual gifts, traits and sometimes things. Several times yesterday I had discussions with people about the ability to speak foreign languages. It is a gift I want very much. I also need a new chair, since my recliner is broken. And then there is the longing for a husband and child. None of these things is wrong to want. It is in how badly I want them, why I want them, and even the manner I might go about in getting them that may make them wrong.

I have at different times let my longing for a family take priority in my heart. I have been covetous of other people’s joy that they could fall in love, get married, and have children. And I have let the grief over not having love fill me. Maybe for you it is children, a better home, a certain lifestyle, or the latest tech gadget. None of those things is wrong, but they also show a discontentedness with Jesus. Those longings can move us away from our pursuit of the Kingdom of Heaven and divide us from our brothers and sisters in Christ. Verses 1-5 read,

“What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?

God isn’t sitting up in Heaven keeping your desires from you and laughing about it. He wants you to have the desires of your heart. He loves to give His children good gifts. (Matthew 7:11). But they have to be good, good for us and good for others. Psalm 37:3-5 reads,

“Trust in the Lord, and do good;
    dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him, and he will act.”

Trusting in The Lord, befriending faithfulness, and delighting yourself in the Lord present a picture of contentedness and faithfulness. This is not an image of a person who wants what she doesn’t have a person who wants her neighbor’s donkey and her sister’s car. It is a picture of a person who trusts God and is satisfied in Him, who longs to please Him and takes joy in Him.

Do you get how much your Father in Heaven loves you? His love is immense, it is bigger and better than our words can describe. It brings us to our knees in grateful worship and humility. We don’t deserve that kind of love but He loves us with a pure and unadulterated love. Even though our love toward Him is often selfish, sullied, and ungrateful. Even though sometimes we only give Him five seconds in the morning to say good morning and help me have a good day, His love for us doesn’t change. Our love is reactionary, His love is perfect huge, and steadfast. Ephesians 3:14-21 reads,

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family[c] in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

A Father that loves us so much wants the best for us. And the best is that we mature to the image of Christ, perfect loving, awesome Jesus. We cannot achieve that on our own. God guides us and shapes us. He gives us what we can’t get alone. He forgives our flaws and reshapes us. He teaches us to walk in Jesus’ footsteps. But He doesn’t force us. If we would rather pursue money, worldly love, or our neighbor’s lifestyle, He says “go for it, good luck with that.” All the while He waits for us to come to Him. He waits for us to realize no amount of caviar and champagne can ever be equal to life in Him. He knows who He has made us to be. He sees us as the image of Christ and who we can be is worth so much more than any worldly pursuit or possession. If having a husband and children will keep me from my full potential in Christ, then I do not want them. If having the ability to travel around the world will keep me from pursing the Kingdom of God, I do not want it. Verses 6-10

“But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”

He does not make it hard for us to make Him first. He is so awesome. And when He is first, everything else falls into place. (Matthew 6:33). Jesus said, the greatest commandment is “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Then He said, “And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:36-40). Loving your neighbor, treating him like you would like to be treated, making him just as important as you is like loving the Lord with your entire being. That is deep! The way we show our love for God, the way we testify to the world about our love for God is to love our neighbors, the people we share the planet with. Jesus clarified these two great commandments with a more simply stated but great and powerful command in John 15:12,

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”

Loving one another and loving the people of the earth is a reflection of our love for God and our love for God is a mere shadow of His intense and bright love for us. When we let covetousness sully that love we squelch the Holy Spirit of God in us and instead of glorifying Christ, we glorify our flesh. We end up saying hurtful things about each other, highlighting faults in others, and breaking down rather than edifying the church. Verses 11-12 say,

“Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?”

Believers, we cannot let our yearnings come between us. Our mission is to make disciples for Christ. Our tool, weapon, and armor is Love. We walk in humility not hubris. We walk like Jesus filled with His Holy Spirit. In John chapter 15 when Jesus gave us the commandment to love another He also said more, He called us His friends. That is Jesus! Creator of the Universe, King of kings, and God who said that! John 15:12-17 reads,

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.”

We are united with the fellowship of brothers, we are united with God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We have the same goal. We have immense joy and we want for nothing. Don’t let longings for the temporary things of the earth come between us. Don’t let personal goals come before God’s goals. Don’t let personal planes take the place of god’s plans. Verses 13-17 read,

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”

We are supposed to be glorifying Jesus, not ourselves. What do you want most in this world?

0 Comments

1 John 3:10-24 Haters Gonna Hate, but Brother, you Gotta Love

1/17/2015

0 Comments

1 John Chapter 3 Verses 10-24

How do you tell the children of God, the followers of Christ apart from the rest of the world? You see the fruition of the God’s Spirit in us through our actions. We are not saved by works, we are recognized by them. Verse 10 reads,

“By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.”

So what is it to practice righteousness? Practicing or regularly applying and living out righteousness is done through loving one another. Verse 11 reads,

“For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.”

Earlier in this letter John had said he was writing to the Believers, not about a new commandment but one they had from the beginning but it had been made new because of Jesus. That commandment was to walk as Jesus walked. (1 John 2:6-8). John brought up the commandment again but this time he worded it to love one another. Certainly Jesus gave this commandment several times during His ministry. (John 13:34-35, John 15:12, 17). It is new because in loving one another we are loving as Jesus, with His Spirit, glorifying the Father and showing people to the kingdom of God. But is the same message given from the beginning, God wants a relationship with people. God wants us to love Him and love others. He never changed His message. He never changed His commandments. Love God, love others, and love one another. That is practicing righteousness.

No matter how well you exemplify Jesus and love people, the world will hate you for it. In fact the more you love, the more they will hate you. You don’t find self-worth in what others think of you, your true value is in the fact that God created you, loves you, gave up His Son for you, died for you, and lives for you. God Almighty became Abba to you by adopting you. Don’t look to the world for your value. Their hate is brought about by resentment and jealousy. They might not know they want God or need Him, but deep down they do want that relationship with God and your behavior and acceptance from God makes them hate you. Verses 12-15 read,

“We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”

The world is living dead and they need the life Jesus offers. If we love as Jesus loves, we care. We care even though they hate us and persecute us. We don’t want to leave them to death. That is tantamount to murder. That is what hate brings. The world wants us to die along with them. God wants them to live alongside us with Him.

That is a grandiose idea how do we make it practical and real? How do we love them in everyday life? Jesus laid down His life for us, we have to do the same for others. That might not mean we have to take a bullet for them (though it might). It does mean we have to be willing to sacrifice ourselves, our desires, even our needs to help others. John gave us an example of how to love another. Verses 16-18 reads,

“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

If you see your brother in need and you have what he needs, you give it to him. If you choose not to care, then can God really be in you? His needs could be food, a job, clothes, encouragement, or prayer. If we move the scope out from your brothers to others, then how can we close our hearts to the world’s need of Jesus? How can we ignore that they are lost, dead in sin, and headed for destruction?

When you do the right thing, when you actually love people as Jesus loved you, you don’t have to fight with guilt, regret, or condemnation. Psalm 85:10 says,

“Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.”

And when your heart denounces and convicts you, when you realize that you haven’t loved and that God doesn’t abide in you, you can turn to God and ask Jesus into your life. God forgives sin. He will take it all away and He will not condemn you if you are in Christ. People have to reach the point of their heart convicting them if they are to ask God to make them righteous. Verses 19-20 put it this way,

“By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.”

When you live out your life in Christ, you know that He is in you and you don’t have to worry about sin keeping you from God. You know you are forgiven and God Almighty is also your Father. You can approach God and talk to Him about anything. He will give you everything you need and He will make it possible for you to live out your salvation by loving one another. Verses 21-22 read,

“Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.”

How do you know? How do you have confidence in your salvation when you still wrestle with your flesh? You know the same way others know because you keep His commandments. You are not saved by works, your salvation shows in your walk and actions. And what are God’s commandments? Verse 23 tells us.

“And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.”

Yep, that is it. Believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love another, just as He commanded us. If you do that, you have no worries. You have no condemnation. You have confidence that you rest in God, and He lives in you. He gives you His Spirit. His awesome wonderful Spirit, His life, His nature, His love. Verse 24 says it like this,

“Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.”

So fellow believers, be encouraged. Sure the world hates you, but you have the Spirit of the Living God within you and He makes it possible for you to love them. It pleases Him when you love them. He gives you all you need to love them. You have Almighty God as your Papa, Daddy, Abba, your Father.

0 Comments

Zephaniah 2 God is Jealous and that is Good

Zephaniah 1 God Warns us for a Reason.

James 4 What Do Ya Want?

1 John 3:10-24 Haters Gonna Hate, but Brother, you Gotta Love

Donna Campbell

Subscribe to Salt & Light Daily

Archives

Categories