September 19, 2014

  • Shameless Nation

    InChristMoney Doesn't Talk

    In Zephania's time some of the people of Judah were financially secure. However, Zephaniah had a message from the Lord for them on investing. Apparently, some of them had received a bad investment tip and were at risk of losing it all. Learn the lesson that some things cannot be bought at any price.

    Personal Application - (This prophesy is still true to this day and applies to all of us)

    Israel had silver and gold, but no holiness. God said that their riches would not help them when it came time to account for their sins (Zephaniah 1:18).

    In this life, we often rely on money for a sense of security and power. When we are poor, we feel weak. When we are rich, we feel strong. But wealth doesn't make us right with God. Nor can it buy our salvation or influence God's will. At the final judgment our riches will be worthless.

    If you're already rich, ask God to help you maintain a humble attitude, use what you have for His glory, and live righteously. If you're middle class or poor, rather than working to accumulate wealth, work at cultivating holiness. It's the one thing you can take with you when you die.

    Bible Reading

    Stand in silence in the presence of the Sovereign LORD, for the awesome day of the Lord's judgment has come. The LORD has prepared His people for a great slaughter and has chosen their executioners. "On that day of judgment," says the LORD, "I will punish the leaders and princes of Judah and all those following pagan customs. Yes, I will punish those who participate in pagan worship ceremonies, and those who steal and kill to fill their masters' homes with loot."

    "I will search with lanterns in Jerusalem's darkest corners to find and punish those who sit contented in their sins, indifferent to the LORD, thinking He will do nothing at all to them. They are the very ones whose property will be plundered by the enemy, whose homes will be ransacked. They will never have a chance to live in the new homes they have built. They will never drink wine from the vineyards they have planted."

    Your silver and gold will be of no use to you on that day of the Lord's anger. For the whole land will be devoured by the fire of His jealousy. He will make a terrifying end of all the people on earth.

    Gather together and pray, you shameless nation. Gather while there is still time, before judgment begins and your opportunity is blown away like chaff. Act now, before the fierce fury of the LORD falls and the terrible day of the Lord's anger begins. Beg the LORD to save you -- all you who are humble, all you who uphold justice. Walk humbly and do what is right. Perhaps even yet the LORD will protect you from His anger on that day of destruction.

    from the book of ZephaniahZephaniah

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