Removing The Proud (Zephaniah 3:11)

 


Monday, September 9, 2024


Psalm 22:1-22

Zephaniah 3:11-20

1 John 4:1-12


Removing The Proud (Zephaniah 3:11)


We begin afresh the work of the sword and the trowel, of building the kingdom of heaven on earth. The new week has begun, hopefully restored after a holy rest. It is probably a good idea to remind ourselves of the attitude we are to have as we set our hands again to the task before us.


Today, Zephaniah is concluding his prophecy where all of history will conclude: the blessings of God upon his people. If we remember our method of reading biblical prophecy, we can see that all this has happened, is yet to happen, and is happening now (in different ways, of course, as God gradually reveals his ultimate plan through the course of time).


It is comforting to read this final section of the book and know that this is where we are all headed: a place with no shame and no pride, no lies and no fear. When Christ returns and brings all things to its end, we will be resurrected into this perfect life, finally freed from sin entirely, and blessed with the vision of Jesus face to face.


In another way, we know that Christ’s death on the cross was where the victory was won, and his resurrection sealed the deal. And so we could say that, since our end is so bright, so too is the brightness of our now.


Therefore, as we look up to another week of kingdom work, let’s take the opportunity to get into the frame of our mind that our Lord desires of us: do not let your hands hang limp; the Lord our God is with us, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in us, he will quiet us with his love, he will rejoice over us with singing.


What is your attitude towards the work to which God has called you? How might you do such work cheerfully, looking towards your glorious future?


God-With-Us, you rejoice when I do your will. Give me the grace to love this work, and view all things in the mirror of the wonderful eternity you have planned for me.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Knowing The Difference (2 Chronicles 12:8)

Image
  Wednesday, June 26, 2024 Psalms 137; 138 2 Chronicles 12 James 2:8-26 Knowing The Difference (2 Chronicles 12:8) Let’s be honest for a moment. It is all too easy to look around ourselves, at the world around us, to see how non-Christians are living their lives, and wonder if the grass over there might be greener. Our Lord’s commands often seem confusing, or burdensome, and if we were to pack it all in and go our own way, might not things be easier? Becoming lords of our own destiny is the ongoing temptation of the human race. From the fruit in the Garden of Eden, to today’s mantra of “be all you can be”, we have been trapped in this to-and-fro between the intentions of our Creator and the desires of our own hearts. And why not, thought Rehoboam? Why shouldn’t I look at the success of my own rule, and abandon the law of the Lord? Or perhaps he justified his apostasy not from his success, but from his failure to bring the northern kingdom back in line. P
Read more

Anxiety For All The Churches

  Tuesday, June 18, 2024 Psalm 107:1-22 2 Chronicles 6:32-7:6 2 Corinthians 11:16-29 Anxiety For All The Churches (2 Corinthians 11:28) A phrase I often come across when talking with people about life is “I can’t complain; others have got it much worse.” I appreciate the sentiment; when life turns around and smacks you about, one of the most difficult problems to solve is trying to figure out how to deal with it on a spiritual level. For Australian Christians, it seems like an easy lifeline to consider how good our life is from an overall perspective compared to many other people around the world. But then I read this passage from St Paul and I wonder: is that attitude good enough? What if things get really bad – I mean, really bad – will I be able to say “I can’t complain; others have got it much worse”? Because the apostle had it worse than most: beatings, imprisonment, starvation, homelessness, shipwrecks, he had it all. Who could say they had it wor
Read more

The Lord’s Plumb Line (Amos 7:7)

Image
  Tuesday, July 23, 2024 Psalms 54; 55:1-12 Amos 6:8-7:9 Romans 2:1-11 The Lord’s Plumb Line (Amos 7:7) For all these terrifying words about death and destruction, can we find any positive words about God’s judgement? First, there is a vision of locusts devouring a harvest. This seems pretty bad; and Amos intercedes for the people, and God says that “this will not happen”. Then there is an enormous fire that devours everything, a supernatural nuclear holocaust. Again, Amos intercedes, and God replies that “this will not happen either”. But God is coming to pass judgement. And it is not a judgement of a capricious or arbitrary type. It is a fair judgement. It is the judgement of the eye of the careful builder. God sets a plumb line against his people. We use something similar, and we call it a “level”; that small capsule filled with water, with a single bubble within, set on a straight piece of metal or timber. Line it up against whatever you
Read more