Unity

Readings for today: Zephaniah 1-3

I was asked recently what I loved most about God. Not an easy question to answer! There is so much I love about God but if I had to choose what I love most, it is His heart for the nations. God loves humanity. God loves every human being who has ever been conceived on the face of the earth. God loves every tribe and tongue and nation. God loves every culture and language and ethnicity. God loves every people group. God loves young and old. Rich and poor. Abled and disabled. And His great desire is to get to know each and every one on a deep, intimate, personal level.

So often when we think of the Great Commission, we think of Matthew 28. But did you know there is a Great Commission in every single gospel? Did you know the Great Commission often shows up in the Old Testament as well? Consider the words of Zephaniah from today’s reading…“For I will then restore pure speech to the peoples so that all of them may call on the name of the Lord and serve him with a single purpose.” (Zephaniah‬ ‭3‬:‭9‬ ‭CSB‬‬) I imagine the people listening would have immediately thought back to the Tower of Babel. The place where God came down and confused the languages of the earth. The place where God judged the people of the earth for not fulfilling His Great Commission to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth. Zephaniah points them forward to a day when God will reverse the curse. The people will come together in unity to call on the name of the Lord and serve Him with one accord. This is exactly what happens at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit is poured out and everyone hears the gospel preached in their own languages. The early church called on the name of the Lord and were saved. They served God with one accord, holding all things in common. They had great favor as a result with all the people and the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

This is what God wants to do in and through His church today. So how does that happen? We open ourselves up to God. We surrender to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. We draw near to God in repentance and He then draws near to us. How will we know when He is near? Listen to how Zephaniah describes it…“The Lord your God is among you, a warrior who saves. He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will be quiet you in his love. He will delight in you with singing. I will gather those who have been driven  from the appointed festivals; they will be a tribute from you and a reproach on her. Yes, at that time I will deal with all who oppress you. I will save the lame and gather the outcasts; I will make those who were disgraced throughout the earth receive praise and fame. At that time I will bring you back, yes, at the time I will gather you. I will give you fame and praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes. The Lord has spoken.” (Zephaniah‬ ‭3‬:‭17‬-‭20‬ ‭CSB‬‬‬) Friends, these are the signs God has drawn near. Joy. Gladness. Peace. Love. Loud singing. Comfort for those who mourn. Freedom for the oppressed. Healing for the lame. Inclusion for the outcast. Reversal of reputation for those who’ve been put to shame for His name sake. God makes Himself known in the gathering of His people. God makes Himself known among all the peoples and all the nations of the earth. God makes Himself known in favor and blessing. How is God making Himself known to you in your life today?

Readings for tomorrow: 2 Kings 22-23, 2 Chronicles 34-35

Humility

Readings for today: Zephaniah 1-3, Psalms 134

I once knew a man who gave up a six figure income here in the US to return to his native country of Rwanda where he did not draw a salary for three straight years. He went from being in the top 1% of the world’s wealthiest people to the bottom 1% of the world’s poor. He gave up security and safety to live in danger and place his family at risk. He gave up power and influence and privilege in one of the world’s most significant NGO’s to work among those who have been forgotten. When I expressed my admiration for such a sacrifice, his response was confusion. “What sacrifice?” he said. “My life is not my own. My life has never been my own. My life is in the hands of God to do with as He wills.” This, friends, is true humility. 

“Seek the Lord, all you humble of the earth, who carry out what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be concealed on the day of the Lord’s anger.” (Zephaniah‬ ‭2‬:‭3‬ ‭CSB‬‬) It is hard to overstate the importance of humility to the Christian faith. Humility is what keeps us grounded before the Lord. Humility is what keeps us dependent on Him. Humility is what opens our hands and our hearts, allowing us to release those things in which we too often place our trust. Wealth. Health. Power. Privilege. Status. Authority. Pride. We are fools to place our trust in these things and yet it is so hard to resist temptation. We who have so much actually fall prey to our own desires. Our ability to gratify those desires instantaneously only serves to tighten our bonds. Thinking we are free, we choose to become slaves and there’s nothing more pitiful than a free man or woman choosing to remain in bondage. Nothing more heartbreaking than sitting in a cell with the door wide open, refusing to leave. This is the state we find ourselves in today. Our culture has made Self a “god” and the result is entitlement. Narcissism. Selfishness. Greed. And far too many of us worship at this altar. 

So how do we resist this temptation? How can we uproot Self out of the center of our lives and re-focus our devotion around God? Humility. The fundamental recognition that my life is not my own. My future is not mine to determine. My hopes are not set on the limited horizons of this world. My happiness does not come from chasing temporal pleasures. Humility honors God as sovereign over all of life, including my own. Humility submits. Humility surrenders. Humility bows before the God of the universe and willingly entrusts Him with all that we are and all that we have. This is the secret that my friend understood. He owned nothing. Not his house. Not his salary. Not his job. Not his family. Not his lifestyle. Not his degrees. Not his professional success. Not his future. None of it was his to hold onto. All of it came from God and all of it was used by God as He wills for His good pleasure. So when God called him to leave Colorado Springs and move to Kigali to help his people recover from the genocide, he went. No questions asked. The Master called. My friend answered. The King issued a command. My friend obeyed. The Father made an appeal. My friend responded in faith. Though life has been much harder. Much more difficult. Much more painful and heartbreaking. He has no regrets.  

Humility. Not just an attitude of the heart. Not just a thought process in the mind. But a way of life. It means holding onto the things of this world loosely, knowing the Lord may require them at any time. It means holding onto our hopes and dreams loosely, knowing the Lord may change course at any time. It means holding onto even our pain and heartbreaks and suffering loosely, knowing the Lord often leads His people through such experiences to teach them of His sufficiency. It means holding onto our strength and safety and security loosely, knowing the Lord may demand even our lives at any time. 

Now all this may sound very scary. Very frightening if this has not been your path. Here’s the good news. God doesn’t ask for blind obedience. He doesn’t require us to step into the great unknown. He gives a promise to all who walk humbly before Him. “The Lord your God is among you, a warrior who saves. He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will quiet you in his love. He will delight in you with singing. I will gather those who have been driven from the appointed festivals; they will be a tribute from you and a reproach on her. Yes, at that time I will deal with all who oppress you. I will save the lame and gather the outcasts; I will make those who were disgraced throughout the earth receive praise and fame. At that time I will bring you back, yes, at the time I will gather you. I will give you fame and praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes. The Lord has spoken.” (Zephaniah‬ ‭3‬:‭17‬-‭20‬ ‭CSB‬‬‬) God can be trusted. God is true to His Word. His faithfulness never ends. His love never fails. Simply believe and let God take you by the hand today. 

Readings for tomorrow: Job 1-3, Psalms 135 (No devotionals on Sundays)

Humility

Readings for today: Zephaniah 1-3

I once met a man who gave up a six figure income here in the US to return to his native country where he did not draw a salary for three straight years. He went from being in the top 1% of the world’s wealthiest people to the bottom 1% of the world’s poor. He gave up security and safety to live in danger and place his family at risk. He gave up power and influence and privilege in one of the world’s most significant NGO’s to work among those who have been forgotten. When I expressed my admiration for such a sacrifice, his response was confusion. “What sacrifice?” he said. “My life is not my own. My life has never been my own. My life is in the hands of God to do with as He wills.” This, friends, is true humility and it’s what Zephaniah talks about in our passage for today. “I’ll leave a core of people among you who are poor in spirit - what’s life of Israel that’s really Israel. They’ll make their home in God.” (Zephaniah 3:12 MSG) It is hard to overstate the importance of humility to the Christian faith. Humility is what keeps us grounded before the Lord. Humility is what keeps us dependent on Him. Humility is what opens our hands and our hearts, allowing us to release the things in which we too often place our trust. Wealth. Health. Power. Privilege. Status. Authority. Pride. We are fools to place our trust in these things and yet it is so hard to resist temptation. We who have so much actually fall prey to our own desires. Our ability to gratify those desires instantaneously only serves to tighten our bonds. Thinking we are free, we choose to become slaves and there’s nothing more pitiful than a free man or woman choosing to remain in bondage. Nothing more heartbreaking than sitting in a cell with the door wide open, refusing to leave. This is the state we find ourselves in today. Our culture has made Self a “god” and the result is entitlement. Narcissism. Selfishness. Greed. Self-protection. And far too many of us worship at this altar. 

So how do we resist this temptation? How can we uproot Self out of the center of our lives and re-focus our devotion around God? Humility. The fundamental recognition that my life is not my own. My future is not mine to determine. My hopes are not set on the limited horizons of this world. My happiness does not come from chasing temporal pleasures. Humility honors God as sovereign over all of life, including my own. Humility submits. Humility surrenders. Humility bows before the God of the universe and willingly entrusts Him with all that we are and all that we have. This is the secret that my friend understood. He owned nothing. Not his house. Not his salary. Not his job. Not his family. Not his lifestyle. Not his degrees. Not his professional success. Not his future. None of it was his to own. All of it came from God and all of it was used by God as He willed for His good pleasure. So when God called him to leave adopted home and move back to his native country to help his people recover from a genocide, he went. No questions asked. The Master called. My friend answered. The King issued a command. My friend obeyed. The Father made an appeal. My friend responded in faith. Though life has been much harder. Much more difficult. Much more painful and heartbreaking. He has no regrets.  

Humility. It’s not just an attitude of the heart. Not just a thought process in the mind. It is a way of life. It means holding onto the things of this world loosely, knowing the Lord may require them at any time. It means holding onto our hopes and dreams loosely, knowing the Lord may change course at any time. It means holding onto even our pain and heartbreaks and suffering loosely, knowing the Lord often leads His people through such experiences to teach them of His sufficiency. It means holding onto our strength and safety and security loosely, knowing the Lord may demand our lives at any given moment.

Now all this may sound scary. Frightening if this has not been your path. Here’s the good news. God doesn’t ask for blind obedience. He doesn’t require us to step into the great unknown. He gives this promise to all who walk humbly before Him...“Don’t be afraid. Dear Zion, don’t despair. Your God is present among you, a strong Warrior there to save you. Happy to have you back, He’ll calm you with His love and delight you with His songs.” (Zephaniah 3:16-17 MSG) God can be trusted. God is true to His Word. His faithfulness never ends. His love never fails. Simply believe and let God take you by the hand today. 

Readings for tomorrow: 2 Kings 22-23, 2 Chronicles 34-35