December 19

Zephaniah 1:1-3:20, Revelation 10:1-11, Psalm 138:1-8, Proverbs 30:11-14

Pray: Gracious God, as we near the celebration of Christmas, draw us close to realize that with great celebration comes great sacrifice. Many will be with family, friends, and will enjoy this special day with people they love, while others will be separated from loved ones through estranged relationships or due to death. Let us remember to pray for and encourage those who find it hard to celebrate due to great loss. On the other hand, let us not be afraid to remind family and friends that death nor sin has the last word…Emmanuel is with us.

Read: Zephaniah is known as a minor prophet but let this not fool us into thinking that he is any less a 'mouthpiece' for God. We only read three chapters, but they are indeed powerful with God’s gutsy, truth-telling of how rebellious Jerusalem has been, yet God’s arm of mercy is long. We can repent—turn from our pride and wickedness and turn to God’s way which leads to freedom and healing. 

Edify: The words from Zephaniah ring true, “For the Lord God is living among you for he is a mighty savior.” Wow, God is living among us just as John 1:14 will say much later after Zephaniah is written, “and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…” Tangible, close-up and personal. This is our God. He is not distant nor removed from our suffering and our problems. He lives on the same street we do, He works in the same places we do, He attends the same schools and yes, He lives in the same home as we do. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus is still present even now with you. Let us not shun Him but invite Him to remain, to prune us, to shape us into works of beauty for God.

Practice: The writer of Proverbs declares that those who disrespect their parents are right and clean in their own eyes but in their hearts, they are deceitful. What a tragedy to believe that I am fine, without fault, honorable and clean before God when I am in fact justifying my sin and brokenness. This is very, very dangerous ground to stand on yet many people build their entire lives upon such faulty footing. They gather people around them who will tell them what they want to hear, who will live under the same deceit as they do and declare that their friend is without fault when she or he is blatantly living contrary to God’s Living Word. This is not only dangerous, but it is a path of destruction. May we all humble ourselves and seek to be open for revelation when we sin and willing to receive correction, so we don’t blow up our lives.