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Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is at hand;the Lord has prepared a sacrifice, he has consecrated his guests. At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the people who rest complacently on their dregs, those who say in their hearts,‘The Lord will not do good, nor will he do harm.’ Their wealth shall be plundered, and their houses laid waste.Though they build houses, they shall not inhabit them;though they plant vineyards, they shall not drink wine from them. The great day of the Lord is near, near and hastening fast;the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter, the warrior cries aloud there. That day will be a day of wrath, 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, a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements. I will bring such distress upon people 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. Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the Lord’s wrath; in the fire of his passion the whole earth shall be consumed; for a full, a terrible end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth. (Zephaniah 1:7 12-18)
Some parents say and raise their kids to be happy. My dad said and raised us to be good. And usually those who say as my Dad, really mean it and expect more from their children. I am a graduate of Belt High and belt low. Yes, my Dad spanked us. His warning on the first day of school echoed what we already knew; "You misbehave in school and get a paddling, you'll get another one when you get home!" Gulp. And Dad would not tolerate misbehavior in church either. It was bad enough we had been drug (my "drug" problem) to church, once there we had to behave. And, you have to remember, for some kids, that's just impossible. I had friends. I liked to laugh. Put the two together and you're talking about a spanking after church. Oh, how I would pray! "Dear Lord, let the blessings of the rest of this worship service to permeate the heart of my father that he will forget that I misbehaved during worship time! Amen." And, on some very rare occasions, he forgot.
The passage above reminded me of that but makes clear that God is a serious God. He's a loving God and provides for us, but demands from us that which lifts high His name throughout the earth. In other words, the day is coming when we will be held accountable for all of our actions, especially those for which we have not asked forgiveness. For the ancient Jew, this meant utter destruction of all they knew because of how we would be judged. This image of God taking a lamp to search Jerusalem means we won't be able to hide, not conceal our sins from God. And God's judgment will take place. The Good News? We will escape the judgment through Jesus Christ, Who will be our advocate. If we have a relationship with Jesus as our Lord and Savior, it will be Jesus who will speak up on our behalf and declare us innocent. You think getting a warning from a police officer instead of a ticket feels good? Imagine hearing Jesus say, (your name) is innocent!" And so it will be if we have invited Jesus into our lives and hearts and have made Him Lord and Savior of our lives.
What are you waiting for?
PRAYER: Loving God, this week has been a time of reminder about being ready, living right and in relationship with You; may it be so. Come, Lord Jesus, into my heart and be my Lord and Savior. This I ask in Thy name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Live a life that shows you belong to Jesus!
Eradio Valverde
