Category Archives: Abiding

Abiding, Bible, Scripture, Treasures, Wealth

YOURS BUT NOT YOURS

ZEPHANIAH 1:13

“‘Their wealth will become plunder, and their houses desolate; yes, they will build houses but not inhabit them, and plant vineyards but not drink their wine.’”

There is a housing development not too far from where I live that sits deserted. The developer started building this high-end, gated community years ago, but had to stop. The parts he finished are elaborate. The houses are big and expensive. The walls and gates are impressive. Yet, no one possesses them. They sit there rotting away.

Those who spurn the Lord find themselves in the same predicament. Zephaniah, in today’s verse, gives us the Lord’s words towards such people. Psalm 52:7 says something similar. “Behold, the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches and was strong in his evil desire.”

APPLICATION

In Luke 12:13-21 Jesus tells us a similar story. Someone approaches Jesus and asks Him to tell his brother to divide their family inheritance with him. As is customary for Jesus, He illustrates truth through a story. It’s one of greed and possessions, something I am sure the man asking the question was concerned about.

Jesus closes the story with these words. “20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is demanded of you; and as for all that you have prepared, who will own it now?’ 21 Such is the one who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich in relation to God.”

I guess I am in luck since I am not rich, lol. Seriously, you can be greedy and not possess a lot. It’s all about your heart. How is your heart? Is it rich in relation to God, as Jesus said? Is knowing Him more important than what you have? Things of this earth will not last but knowing Him will.

Lord, thank You for the richness of Your love.

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Abiding, Affliction, Bible, Deliverance, God's Will, Oppression, Rescue, Scripture

LIVING IN A BOWL

ZEPHANIAH 1:11

“‘Wail, you inhabitants of the Mortar, because all the people of Canaan will be destroyed; all who weigh out silver will be eliminated.’”

The city where I live, Chattanooga, is in a bowl. We sit in this valley fringed by mountains which gives our geographic area a bowl-like appearance. Pollen settles here and makes breathing hard for those with allergies. We do get protected from some storms because of our geography, but at other times, if the weather comes from a southwesterly direction, we can get hit hard.

That is the case here in Zephaniah 1:11. The word “Mortar” is actually referring to the geographical location the people find themselves in. They are trapped in a bowl. Much like drugs are crushed by a pestle inside a mortar, their enemies would crush them in their valley, in their bowl. Judgment is sure.

APPLICATION

You may feel like you are being crushed by life’s circumstances. I know sometimes the pressures of life can be horrible. It seems you are being hit from every side. Can I put all that in perspective for you? Philippians 2:5-8 can do that. “5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men. 8 And but being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross.”

Sure, we suffer hardship. But compared to what Jesus has done for us, it is nothing. The sins of the world were on His shoulders. Can we even imagine the pressure He was feeling? And remember, He had not done anything wrong. He had never sinned. Can we say that?

I am thankful for the opportunities He gives me to trust Him. Even when I am in that bowl of affliction and there seems to be no way of escape, He is there. He will sustain me. He will lift up my head. He will deliver me. Praise be to Him.

Yes, Lord, You are the lifter of my head. To You I will look for my deliverance during each trial and hardship.

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Abiding, Bible, Protection, Scripture, Security, Trust

FALSE SECURITY

ZEPHANIAH 1:10

“‘And on that day,’ declares the LORD, ‘There will be the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate, wailing from the Second Quarter, and a loud crash from the hills.’”

There is nothing worse than to think you are safe only to find out you’re not. I have ridden out several hurricanes in my lifetime. Most of them weren’t a big deal. But there was one… We thought we were fine, but when it hit, we thought we had made a mistake in staying. It hit harder and stayed longer than we thought.

Zephaniah is relaying the Lord’s words in verse 10 which describe the people’s reliance on their man made defenses against their enemies. The Fish Gate couldn’t withstand them. Nor could the Second Quarter of the high points of the city. All reliance on their defense efforts fell short. Why? Because the Lord had removed His protection.

APPLICATION

Oh, to think where I would be without the Lord’s protection. I would probably be in some gutter. I know my flesh. But because I have chosen to follow Him and give my life to Him, He has made a covenant with me to protect me. Psalm 17:8-9 give us a promise. “8 Keep me as the apple of the eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings 9 from the wicked who deal violently with me, my deadly enemies who surround me.”

Just as the Lord covenanted with David, so He covenants with us. We do not have to rely on our own defenses. And because we are His children, He will never withdraw His protection. The key is abiding in Him. Take a minute and read John 15. There is the key to abiding in Jesus.

I have found that abiding in Him is a whole lot easier than trying to protect myself from a ruthless enemy. I am no match for him on my own. My only defense is Jesus. As I submit to my Master and resist the enemy, he has to flee (James 4:7). Are you tired of failing on your own. Come to Him.

I praise You, O Lord, for keeping me safe from the evil one. You are my Protector and Defender.

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Abiding, Accountability, Bible, Covenant, Discipline, God's Will, Judgment, Scripture

ACCOUNTABILITY

ZEPHANIAH 1:8

“‘Then it will come about on the day of the LORD’S sacrifice that I will punish the princes, the king’s sons, and all who clothe themselves with foreign garments.’”

I have been privileged to be a leader in several Christian organizations and churches through my almost 44 years of ministry. I have served with several very good leaders. I have also had the misfortune to serve under some poor or maybe even bad leaders. What made the difference in those leaders? Accountability to God. Good leaders are not afraid of being held accountable to do the right thing.

The leaders of Judah had flirted with foreign powers. They had welcomed their idols and pagan worship. They had brought in all kinds of foreign influences which led the nation away from Yahweh. Now it is time to be held accountable. God, the maker of all creation, is now demanding they be judged for these offenses. If only they had “checked in” for often with the Lord, they may have corrected their paths.

APPLICATION

Good leaders seek out accountability. I once had a boss who really just left me alone. He trusted me to do my job, and I did it well. I finally asked him for more regular accountability. I wanted to make sure he was aware of what I was doing and that it lined up with his vision for the ministry. Bad leaders shirk accountability. Ironically, they usually hold their employees to higher level than they do themselves, though.

Let me ask you a question. You may not be a leader in an organization or church, but you will be held accountable for everything you do in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:10 tells us, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive compensation for his deeds done through the body, in accordance with what he has done, whether good or bad.” Are you ready for that?

I want to encourage you today to bring it all to the table. Uncover every detail. Confess it all to Jesus. Ask Him daily for your battle plan. Let Him direct your path. Then you can be accountable to Him. Knowing that you are in His will helps make sense of life here on earth.

I want to know, Lord, how I’m doing. Tell me and direct me in Your will.

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Abiding, Belief, Bible, Choices, Confession, Consequences, Denial, Faith, Scripture

DENIERS

ZEPHANIAH 1:6

“‘And those who have turned back from following the LORD, and those who have not sought the LORD nor inquired of Him.’”

It hurts to have someone turn their backs on you and behave as if you didn’t exist. I have had that experience a time or two in my life. It was no fun. Some of those situations were eventually made right, but others were not. To this day, there is a distance that I do not have the ability to fix.

The Lord is still speaking here in verse 6 and is explaining the extent of His judgment. In today’s verse, He is telling us He will eliminate (that verb is found back in verse 4) all the unbelievers, those that have claimed to know Him and turned their backs on Him and those who have never believed. Denying God is a whole lot worse than denying an earthly friend. Denying Him has eternal consequences.

APPLICATION

Denial is not just a river in Egypt. You’ve probably heard that one before. But seriously, denial is serious. I have heard it hundreds of times. God is love and would never send anyone to hell. That is exactly right. He doesn’t. We do it to ourselves by denying His existence. By making that choice, we choose hell.

Fortunately, I have known people who refused to believe most of their lives but accepted Christ before they died. Whew! That’s too close for comfort. We never know when God is going to say, “That’s it!” We need to be ready, right? Are you? Are you sure? Are you sure that you’re sure?

There is no better feeling than knowing you are securely in the arms of Jesus. He will carry you through. Once you know Him, you will never want to leave Him. Once you are sealed by His Holy Spirit, nothing can take you out of His hand. So, don’t be a denier. Don’t be a procrastinator. Come to Jesus!

I am so thankful that You have me in Your hands, Lord. I know I am secure for eternity.

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Abiding, Belief, Bible, Blessing, Choices, Flesh, God's Will, Idols, Loyalty, Scripture

MY PLEASURE

ZEPHANIAH 1:5

“‘And those who bow down on the housetops to the heavenly lights, and those who bow down and swear to the LORD, but also swear by Milcom,’”

When I was in my early teen years, I worshipped pleasure. Now, I didn’t say that out loud, but my actions all pointed to that. I still attended church and even sang in the youth choir, but my heart was pledged to something else. All I desired was pleasure. I didn’t really care what the source was as long as it felt good. I did not call it a god, but it was.

The people of Judah had turned to worshipping all sorts of idols. One was worshipped on their housetops through incense. They worshipped the Sun and Moon. And they even worshipped the detestable idol of the Ammonites, Milcom (also known as Molech). This god was brought into the nation by King Solomon when he was pursuing his own way.

APPLICATION

Ask yourself whom you serve? Oh Carl, of course I serve God. I attend church every week and even put money in the offering plate. I’ve taught Sunday School for decades. That’s all well and good, but whom do you worship? For whom are you living? Is your god the God of the universe or some figure you have developed in your own mind that fits your lifestyle?

So many of us go through life thinking we are doing the “Christian thing” well. We go to church, we serve and even get baptized. We can do all those things well and still miss God by a mile. God desires complete surrender. We have to give Him our all. When we worship, it has to be all about Him. Nothing from the world can make our worship better. We have to be centered on Him and bow only to His will.

I don’t like not getting my way. I’m just like most people in that regard. But I have learned to yield my desires to Jesus. There is pleasure in serving a holy, righteous God. There is pleasure in knowing I am pleasing Him. My pleasure senses have been transformed through His Word and His Will. Yours can be too.

Thank You, Lord, for teaching me what real pleasure is all about.

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Abiding, Bible, Faith, Judgment, Scripture, Trust

ALL INCLUSIVE

ZEPHANIAH 1:3

“‘I will remove human and animal life; I will remove the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea, and the ruins along with the wicked; and I will eliminate mankind from the face of the earth,’ declares the LORD.”

Sometimes we pack stuff to go on a trip and mistakenly leave things out. That happened to me recently. I packed my pants, shirts, undershirts and socks. But I left out one important part of my wardrobe. Did you catch it? My underwear! When you pack, you need to pack the entire wardrobe. You have to include it all.

In the previous verse, Zephaniah said the Lord was going to destroy it all. Beginning with today’s verse the Lord begins to list everything included in “all.” All human and animal life will be gone. All birds and fish will disappear. God’s judgment is complete. He says He will not spare anything.

APPLICATION

Man, I am so glad that I won’t have to face God’s wrathful judgment. I will be judged for my works, but my place in heaven is guaranteed by the blood of the Lamb, the blood of His Son, Jesus. All I have belongs to Him. All I am is because of Him. I owe it all to Jesus. He is the author and perfecter of my faith (Hebrews 12:2).

What part of your “all” are you holding back? Are you afraid God is going to take it away from you and not give it back? Anything you give God is in safe hands. He will take your life and work in it every day to improve it. The more you yield to Him, the more He gives back, new and improved.

I want to encourage you today to give it all to Him. Every smidgeon of your being needs to be placed in His capable hands. Everything! And when you place it there, leave it there. Trust Him! If you start taking things back, you will never experience that peace that only come through Him.

Only trust Him, only trust Him, only trust Him now!

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Abiding, Bible, Blessing, Christmas, Promises, Prophesy, Scripture

EVEN IF

HABAKKUK 3:17

“Even if the fig tree does not blossom, and there is no fruit on the vines, if the yield of the olive fails, and the fields produce no food, even if the flock disappears from the fold, and there are no cattle in the stalls,”

Having no hope is well…hopeless. When someone reaches that point, they have a hard time believing that anything good could come to them. Perhaps you are in that position right now. Here on Christmas Day, you feel all alone and that no one cares. You may be surrounded by people but still feel that way.

Habakkuk is winding down his message with today’s verse. He will end with two powerful verses (check back the next two days for those blogs). But right here in today’s verse he is numbering the losses. There were no figs, no fruit, no oil, no food, no flocks and no cattle. Seems pretty hopeless to me. But he is setting up his ending. Check back tomorrow.

APPLICATION

The world may be going to “hell in a hand basket,” as the saying goes. But God is still on His throne. Even if marriage has been redefined by a government, God still sanctions marriage between one man and one woman. Even if churches today are sanctioning unbiblical practices, God still has His plan for the church. Even if…

Christ came on an “even if” day. There had been 400 years of silence. God had not spoken to the people since Malachi. The people were hopeless and felt alone. Even if! You see, God had a plan that had to take its time. God brought Jesus into the world on an “even if” day. God brought hope to the hopeless.

I am so glad we can celebrate Christmas today. Even if the world is falling apart, I will worship Him. Even if my health fails again, I will worship Him. Even if all my plans crumble, I will worship Him. How about you? Can you say, “Even if…”?

Joy to the world, the Lord has. Let earth receive her King.

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Abiding, Bible, Comfort, Peace, Rest, Scripture

WAIT QUIETLY

HABAKKUK 3:16

“I heard, and my inner parts trembled; at the sound, my lips quivered. Decay enters my bones, and in my place I tremble; because I must wait quietly for the day of distress, for the people to arise who will attack us.”

I have mentioned before that I have worked with children most of my ministry. Only in the last few years has my focus turned to discipling men (that’s a story for another day). I don’t know how many times I have dealt with children who would not get quiet at bedtime. They just couldn’t rest. You may be that way.

As Habakkuk closes his message to the people, he now reflects on the chastisement of the nation, the terror of their enemies and finally his position in this. He says, “I must wait quietly.” The Hebrew word here means to rest, to get quiet, to withdraw, to get comfort. In other words, in the midst of the trial, Habakkuk felt a peace.

APPLICATION

Rest! It’s not easy sometimes. My wife gets mad at me because I can go to sleep so quickly. I tell her it’s a gift, lol. But I haven’t always been that way. There have been many a night when I could not shut my brain off. I couldn’t rest. I was anxious about things. Stress can do that to you. So can your physical health.

Are you at rest? My brother-in-law, Dr. Wayne Barber, wrote a book about this. It’s entitled “The Rest of Grace.” You can find it on Amazon at The Rest of Grace by Wayne Barber (1998-07-04): Amazon.com: Books. His basic message in the book is for us to rely on the strength and power of God and not ourselves. We have to rest in the grace God has given us.

As I have gotten older, I have learned to do that more. I still struggle from time to time when I pick up those old habits. But for the most part I have learned to rest in Him. There is a peace that is so comforting when I do that. Will you join me in His rest?

Lord, I am thankful for the rest You give me when I place my trust in You alone.

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Abiding, Belief, Bible, Enemies, God's Will, Rescue, Salvation, Scripture, Trust

WAVE RIDER

HABAKKUK 3:15

“You trampled on the sea with Your horses, on the foam of many waters.”

I love to watch the waves as they crest and then break on the beach. The power in each wave is incredible. I have never personally seen twenty or thirty foot waves, but I know people who have. They tell me they are not only powerful but are also terrifying and destructive. Can’t you just picture that?

Habakkuk paints a portrait in today’s verse of God riding the waves, leading the charge against the enemy. Albert Barnes quotes a couple of other Old Testament verses that give the same picture. Isaiah 63:13 says, “who led them in the depths;” and Zechariah 10:11 reads, “And He shall pass through the sea.” Barnes says, “God was literally there.”

APPLICATION

God is still out front defending us. He is riding the waves in our defense. He will drown our enemies the same way He drowned Pharoah’s army in the Red Sea. What seemed to be an obstacle for the Hebrew children became their way of escape and their source of salvation.

We don’t understand the ways of God. We certainly don’t understand them when we are going through hard times or if our very lives seem to be crumbling. But God is at work, in His time. His timing is always perfect. He is never late. When the time is right, He will ride that wave and wash away our enemies.

I don’t begin to say I understand that. I’ve tried and failed. I have come to the conclusion that I have to just trust Him. I know that sounds too spiritual. But it is the truth. We must come to the point that we simply trust Him who has saved us eternally to save us temporally also. If it His will to rescue us here on earth, praise His name. But if He should choose to rescue us by bringing us home eternally, then so be it. It’s really a win-win now, isn’t it?

Lord, I will watch as You ride the waves in my defense and will praise You if You carry me home.

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