Bible League: Living His Word The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.— Zephaniah 3:17 ESV King Josiah (640-609 B.C.) had no greater fan in all of Judah than the prophet Zephaniah. Following the reign of his righteous great-grandfather Hezekiah, Josiah’s grandfather Manasseh and his father Amon made an utter mess of the nation; not only allowing, but inviting the debaucherous idolatry of the surrounding nations to be practiced throughout the land. As Josiah strove to bring about righteous reform among the people, Zephaniah (though clearly proclaiming that pending judgment would soon arrive in Judah as it had in Israel) spoke wonderful words of encouragement to sustain the people once judgment was complete. As the prophet begins to conclude this short prophetic utterance on an encouraging note (vs 3:14), one can almost sense a growing crescendo of joy immersed in the national reformation that will take place! He invites the people to “sing aloud” with him, as he foretells the wonderful ways in which the Lord will dispel fear, build faith, and restore fortunes for all of eternity. Indeed, the transformation of the nation that is described in verses 18-20 is truly something to sing about! But what makes the people respond positively to all the transforming benefits God wishes to bestow upon them, is knowing that despite previous sinful downfalls, God is “in their midst!” God is the “mighty one who will deliver them,” who will “rejoice over them with gladness” who will “quiet them by his love.” Indeed, as the people are singing (vs 14), God is also singing aloud with them in a mutual exaltation! (vs 17). Imagine that: God singing along with His people! Surely, this is an expression of His love for them. And what God did for His children and will do in the future, He does for us who belong to Him today. We too have experienced His wondrous love through being rescued from our sins. We rejoice with Him, knowing He has quieted our restlessness in life with an assured confidence of His presence and love; and then we hear Him sing aloud with gladness over us, encouraging increasing advancement in our loving relationship with Him! It is in how God loves us that we are positioned to respond positively to the transforming work He wants to do in us daily. London businessman Samuel Trevor Francis (1824-1925), who traveled across the Atlantic Ocean more times than he could count would often ponder the vastness of God’s love for him as he gazed upon the rolling waves of the ocean. At one time, he took pen to paper and jotted this verse he would sing: “O the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free! Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me, underneath me, all around me, is the current of thy love; leading onward, leading homeward to my glorious rest above.” As we walk (or sail) through the days of our lives, may we have a song we can sing, highlighting the love God has for us, knowing that He sings along with us all along the way! By Bill Niblette, Ph.D., Bible League International staff, Pennsylvania U.S. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingNumbers 1, 2 Numbers 1 -- The Census of Israel Totals 603,550, Exempting Levites NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Numbers 2 -- Arrangement of the Tribal Camps NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Mark 3:1-21 Mark 3 -- Jesus Heals on the Sabbath, Chooses the Twelve, discusses Beelzebub, Mother and Brothers NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion Finally, I confessed all my sins to youand stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the LORD.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Insight What is confession? To confess our sin is to agree with God, acknowledging that he is right to declare what we have done as sinful, and that we are wrong to desire or to do it. Challenge It is to affirm our intention of abandoning that sin in order to follow him more faithfully. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon John 1:41 He first findeth his own brother Simon.This case is an excellent pattern of all cases where spiritual life is vigorous. As soon as a man has found Christ, he begins to find others. I will not believe that thou hast tasted of the honey of the gospel if thou canst eat it all thyself. True grace puts an end to all spiritual monopoly. Andrew first found his own brother Simon, and then others. Relationship has a very strong demand upon our first individual efforts. Andrew, thou didst well to begin with Simon. I doubt whether there are not some Christians giving away tracts at other people's houses who would do well to give away a tract at their own--whether there are not some engaged in works of usefulness abroad who are neglecting their special sphere of usefulness at home. Thou mayst or thou mayst not be called to evangelize the people in any particular locality, but certainly thou art called to see after thine own servants, thine own kinsfolk and acquaintance. Let thy religion begin at home. Many tradesmen export their best commodities--the Christian should not. He should have all his conversation everywhere of the best savour; but let him have a care to put forth the sweetest fruit of spiritual life and testimony in his own family. When Andrew went to find his brother, he little imagined how eminent Simon would become. Simon Peter was worth ten Andrews so far as we can gather from sacred history, and yet Andrew was instrumental in bringing him to Jesus. You may be very deficient in talent yourself, and yet you may be the means of drawing to Christ one who shall become eminent in grace and service. Ah! dear friend, you little know the possibilities which are in you. You may but speak a word to a child, and in that child there may be slumbering a noble heart which shall stir the Christian church in years to come. Andrew has only two talents, but he finds Peter. Go thou and do likewise. Daily Light on the Daily Path Isaiah 63:4 "For the day of vengeance was in My heart, And My year of redemption has come.Leviticus 25:10 'You shall thus consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim a release through the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, and each of you shall return to his own property, and each of you shall return to his family. Isaiah 26:19 Your dead will live; Their corpses will rise. You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy, For your dew is as the dew of the dawn, And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits. 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. • Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Hosea 13:14 Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from death? O Death, where are your thorns? O Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion will be hidden from My sight. Jeremiah 50:34 "Their Redeemer is strong, the LORD of hosts is His name; He will vigorously plead their case So that He may bring rest to the earth, But turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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