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In the Presence of God

Read

1 I am Zephaniah, the son of Cushi, the grandson of Gedaliah, the great-grandson of Amariah, and the great-great-grandson of Hezekiah.

When Josiah son of Amon was king of Judah, the Lord gave me this message.

Judgment on Judah

2I, the Lord, now promise

to destroy everything

on this earth—

3people and animals,

birds and fish.

Everyone who is evil

will crash to the ground,

and I will wipe out

the entire human race.

4I will reach out to punish

Judah and Jerusalem—

nothing will remain

of the god Baal;

nothing will be remembered

of his pagan priests.

5Not a trace will be found

of those who worship stars

from their rooftops,

or bow down to the god Milcom,

while claiming loyalty

to me, the Lord.

6Nothing will remain of anyone

who has turned away

and rejected me.

7Be silent! I am the Lord God,

and the time is near.

I am preparing

to sacrifice my people

and to invite my guests.

8On that day I will punish

national leaders

and sons of the king,

along with all who follow

foreign customs.

9I will punish worshipers

of pagan gods

and cruel palace officials

who abuse their power.

10I, the Lord, promise

that on that day

noisy crying will be heard

from Fish Gate, New Town,

and Upper Hills.

11Everyone in Lower Hollow

will mourn loudly,

because merchants

and money changers

will be wiped out.

12I'll search Jerusalem with lamps

and punish those people

who sit there unworried

while thinking,

“The Lord won't do anything,

good or bad.”

13Their possessions will be taken,

their homes left in ruins.

They won't get to live

in the houses they build,

or drink wine from the grapes

in their own vineyards.

Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®) © 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
See this passage in other languages or Bible versions

Reflect

Be silent as you enter the throne room of the Lord of Hosts today. Watch and wait in quiet awe and reverence so that you can see God in his righteousness.

As you sit in silence, turn your eyes away from everything happening around you and contemplate your own life. Are there things in your life that are keeping you from worshipping God?  Are the voices that are speaking into your life calling you to bow down to other gods than the Lord your God? Is there somebody who you have spoken or dealt cruelly with? Is there a situation where you have abused power or dealt dishonestly? If so as you sit quietly before a holy and righteous God, accept his gracious forgiveness. Do not deceive yourself, our Lord sees who you are, and knows your deepest secrets. He will test each of your works by fire.

As you purify your life, as you sit quietly in the Holy of Holies, allow God’s grace to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Now look with fresh eyes at the world around you. You will observe that God has been actively involved in your world and still is actively involved in every aspect of your world today. Look with anticipation for God sees the sinfulness, the idolatry, the apathy and know that a day of judgment is near and rapidly getting nearer. It will be the Lord’s Day for God alone acts in holy power, in justice and in loving grace.

All God asks of you is to sit silently in his presence and to purify yourself even as he is pure.

Respond

Father of Lights in whom there is no shadow of changing, we purify ourselves as we sit humbly in your presence. Reveal to us your righteousness, so that we may continue to praise your holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

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James Bruyn

Dr. James Bruyn is a bi-vocational visionary leader, writer and speaker who enjoys helping individuals integrate their faith in God with their daily life. James is passionate about connecting the rich promises of our loving Heavenly Father that we find in the Bible, with the joys and challenges of living out our faith in the workplace. James leads a ministry to Christians in the marketplace in Calgary, provides leadership coaching, and consults for the rail industry. Publications: God With Us At Work; Gifted To Do Our Work (Word Alive Press)

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