Praise the
Lord. The Lord blessed us with wonderful day to travel to Baltimore and back
yesterday. While in Baltimore I picked up the daily newspaper, The Washington
Post, where I read that the year 2012 has been one of the warmest years on
record. As I shared yesterday that I just returned from Australia where it
summertime and the temperatures in the high 90's. I love warm weather, whereas
my wife loves winter with lots of snow. She is praying for snow for Christmas.
She told me
yesterday that if it does not got cold here in New York, she is ready to move to
Canada.
We will meet
for mid-week gathering for fellowship and study this evening at 6 PM for a
special meal followed by Bible Study at 6.30 PM. We will be looking at Zephaniah.
While aboard ship one morning I overheard a group of young people discussing
about the world coming to end on December 21, 2012. One morning I read the book
of Zephaniah for my morning devotion. There’s quite a bit of bad news in
Zephaniah – out of three chapters, two and a half are filled with woes and
warnings.
The “Day of the Lord” is referenced over twenty times in these three short chapters, more than in any other Old Testament book. In his outstanding commentary on the Minor Prophets, James Montgomery Boice writes: “No matter how depressing the message of judgment in the Minor Prophets becomes, it is never the final word of God to His people.” Like Joel, Zephaniah urged the people to return to God before it was too late. In 2:3 it is written, “Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what He commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger.”
Zephaniah is among the readings for the coming Sunday, the 3rd Sunday in Advent. Zephaniah 3:17 has been called the “John 3:16” of the Old Testament. “The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” God’s presence – God is with you! “The Lord your God is with you…” When we feel alone or abandoned, remember that God’s presence is with us. This literally means that God is “in the midst of you.” God is not just watching us; He is walking through life with us. He’s not just near us; He’s right in the midst of whatever we are going through.
Our God is for us! “…He is mighty to save…” God is a mighty warrior and He overcomes all odds to defeat the enemy so we can be free and safe.
The “Day of the Lord” is referenced over twenty times in these three short chapters, more than in any other Old Testament book. In his outstanding commentary on the Minor Prophets, James Montgomery Boice writes: “No matter how depressing the message of judgment in the Minor Prophets becomes, it is never the final word of God to His people.” Like Joel, Zephaniah urged the people to return to God before it was too late. In 2:3 it is written, “Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what He commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger.”
Zephaniah is among the readings for the coming Sunday, the 3rd Sunday in Advent. Zephaniah 3:17 has been called the “John 3:16” of the Old Testament. “The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” God’s presence – God is with you! “The Lord your God is with you…” When we feel alone or abandoned, remember that God’s presence is with us. This literally means that God is “in the midst of you.” God is not just watching us; He is walking through life with us. He’s not just near us; He’s right in the midst of whatever we are going through.
Our God is for us! “…He is mighty to save…” God is a mighty warrior and He overcomes all odds to defeat the enemy so we can be free and safe.
Our God delights in
us! “…He will take great delight in you…” The word delight means to be bright
and cheerful. Some of us think that God frowns when He thinks of us. Instead of
glaring at us, He is taking joy in us.
Our God calms
us! “…He will quiet you with His love…” can be translated “He will be at rest in
His love.” The NASB puts it this way, “He will be quiet in His love.”
Most often the
love of the Lord is expressed as loyal love, stressing God’s unconditional
commitment to us. God celebrates us! “…He will rejoice over you with singing.”
God moves from the quiet rest of being in relationship with us to exuberant
rejoicing. The Hebrew word for “rejoice” means “to spin around in joy with great
gladness and glee.” When our girls were younger I used to spin them around and
we’d giggle together. God is spinning around when He thinks of His sons and
daughters as well. The word for singing refers to “a shout or shrill sound.”
This is loud singing, not just mumbling or half-hearted lip synching. Do you
picture God spinning and shouting in song when He thinks of you?
Dennis Jernigan
has written a translation of Zephaniah 3:17 from the Hebrew that captures the
majesty of this verse: “The eternal self-existent God, the God who is three in
one; He who dwells in the center of your being is a powerful and valiant
warrior. He has come to set you free, to keep you safe, and to bring you
victory. He is cheered, and He beams with exceeding joy and takes pleasure in
your presence. He has engraved a place for Himself in you, and there He quietly
rests in His love and affection for you. He cannot contain Himself at the
thought of you and with the greatest of joy spins around wildly in anticipation
over you…In fact, He shouts and sings in triumph, joyfully proclaiming the
gladness of His heart in a song of rejoicing! All because of you!”
Rejoice in singing. Frederick Nietzsche, the nineteenth century German philosopher famous for his quote that “God is dead,” once said this of Christians: “If they want me to believe in their God, they’ll have to sing me better songs…I could only believe in a God who dances.” We are called to rejoice in God because God rejoices in us. 3:14: “Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart…”
Rejoice in singing. Frederick Nietzsche, the nineteenth century German philosopher famous for his quote that “God is dead,” once said this of Christians: “If they want me to believe in their God, they’ll have to sing me better songs…I could only believe in a God who dances.” We are called to rejoice in God because God rejoices in us. 3:14: “Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart…”
I love what
Alexander Maclaren said about this passage: “What a wonderful rush of exuberant
gladness there is in these words! The swift, short clauses…the very words seem
to dance with joy…for every throb of joy in man’s heart; there is a wave of
gladness in God’s. The notes of our praise are at once the echoes and occasions
of His.”
In Christ of
Christmas,
Brown
Living Nativity
Presented b the Union Center United Methodist Church.
Location: The
Oakdale Mall, Johnson City, NY.
Date: Saturday,
December 22.2012
Handel's Messiah
Presented by the Down Town Singers of Binghamton
Date: Friday
December 21, 2012
Time:
8.PM
Location:
Helen Foley Theater in Binghamton High School (corner of Main & Oak
Streets).
Christmas Eve
services
4:30 PM at First
UMC, 53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott
Candle Light
service.
Pianist: Aric
Phinney,
Organist: Yancey
Moore
Soloist: Emma
Brunson
Pastor Brown will be
Preaching
7.30 PM Candle Light
Communion Service.
Union Center
UMC
128 Maple
Drive
Organist: Betty
Phinney
Pianist: Laureen
Naik
Preacher Rev Brown
Naik
All are
welcome.
Phone for
information:
607-748-6329
or 607-748-1358
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