Category Archives: Salvation

Accountability, Belief, Bible, Born, Decisions, Following, God's Will, Obedience, Salvation, Scripture

KNOW THE DAY

HAGGAI 1:15

“on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of Darius the king.”

You are probably saying, Carl, what in the world can you get out of this verse? Let me start by saying that there are a couple of dates that are important to me. My birthdate is important – November 18. My wedding date – December 7. My children’s birthdates – June 11 and December 12. And most importantly, my spiritual birthdate – July 31, 1977. I remember those dates. I have them marked on my calendar.

For some reason, the Lord inspired Haggai to mark down this date of the 24th day of the 6th month. Why? I think he wanted us to realize something. If you look back at Haggai 1:1, you will see Haggai delivered God’s message on the first day of the sixth month. Now we are on the 24th day. Why did it take them 23 days to obey God’s command? Hmmm? Over three weeks had elapsed. But when they did obey, Haggai marked it down. Finally! Let’s celebrate this day.

APPLICATION

Okay, before you judge the Israelites for waiting three weeks to obey, let me ask you something. How long have you been waiting to obey something the Lord has clearly told you to do? We all do that. We hear the Lord speak through His Word or in our prayer time or in a message we hear at church. We know God is speaking, and we still put off obeying. Yes, we have all done that. The Israelites mulled this decision over in their minds for three weeks.

Let me ask you another question. What dates in your life have you marked as milestones? What dates impacted your life? They might be dates that I mentioned earlier – birthdates, marriage dates, maybe even the date someone died. Whatever the dates you have down, ask the Lord how you should remember them. Ask the Lord to show you the importance in His eyes. He sees time differently than we do.

It is so important to remember that. God sees the past, present and future all at once. Time has no meaning to Him. He is eternal, and He sees things eternally. What we think is an important date may mean nothing eternally. There is one date that is still unknown but it the most important date – the date of His Son’s return. That date is only known to the Father. One day that date will occur. Are you ready for it?

This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice, I will rejoice and be glad in it.

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Abiding, Bible, Faithfulness, Promises, Salvation, Scripture

I AM WITH YOU

HAGGAI 1:13

“Then Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, spoke by the commission of the LORD to the people, saying, ‘“I am with you,” declares the LORD.’”

There is nothing quite like having close friends or allies who you can depend on. I am fortunate to say that I have some whom I call at 3 a.m., and they would come running. They are true friends who have my back. They are not only friends. They are also brothers and sisters in Christ. That common bond links us together not just here but for eternity.

Oh wow! Look at today’s verse. Knowing God was with them must have cheered their hearts. They had felt so alone for so long. Now God was saying to them “I am with you.” Did you catch that phrase? “I am – with you.” Who is with them? I AM is with them. The same I AM who was with Moses when he was told to go to Pharoah and demand the release of His people. That I AM was now declaring He was with them.

APPLICATION

There are so many verses that back up this thought of God being with us. How about Psalm 23:4? “When I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.” Or how about Matthew 28:20. “‘Lo I am with you always, even to the end of the world.’” We could cite dozens of verses that remind us of God’s promise to be with us.

Probably the greatest reminder, however, is Immanuel. God with us. He chose to come in the form a baby to die for us. His whole earthly life was lived for that purpose. He lived so He could die. That doesn’t make sense to us, does it? I mean, who does that? No one, except a loving God. He gave it all for us.

So, if God is with us like He declared through Haggai, why are we depressed? Why are we forlorn? Why are we seeking for other things to bring us joy? God is with us! We should be shouting that from every mountain top. God is with us! Rejoice! God is with us! Praise His name! GOD IS WITH US!!!!

O Lord, my God, You are with me in the darkest hours and You are with me in my greatest joy. I praise Your holy name.

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Bible, Joy, Reconciled, Rejoicing, Salvation, Scripture

HE WILL REJOICE OVER YOU

ZEPHANIAH 3:17

“‘The LORD your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will rejoice over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.’”

Children need their parents to show them praise. They need to know how proud their parents are of them. This can be done with words or deeds, but however it is done, it must be done. The absence of praise or rejoicing in a child’s life can have lifetime effects. Don’t underestimate how much your child needs this. They probably will never ask for it. Just do it.

Don’t you just love today’s verse? God, the One who made all things, the One who redeemed you from your sins, He rejoices over you. He rejoices over you with shouts of joy. Can you believe that? Shouldn’t we be doing that towards Him? Of course, we should. But He also rejoices over us. What a glorious thought!

APPLICATION

Those days when you are feeling lowly, remember this. He loves you with an everlasting love. His love is eternal. It will never end. There is nothing you can do to cause Him to stop loving you. He loved you while you were His enemy. Listen to these words from Paul in Romans 5:10-11. “10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only this, but we also celebrate in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.”

Did you catch that second verse? We also celebrate. So, while God is rejoicing over us with joy, we are rejoicing that we have been reconciled back to Him. We rejoice because He rejoices. He rejoices when we rejoice. Doesn’t that give you something to shout about today?

Celebrate Jesus today. He is celebrating you. He loves you so much and wants you to know that. If He were here today (and He is through His Holy Spirit), He would be telling you that to your face. Listen to the Spirit that is within you. He is telling you the same thing. “My beloved, I rejoice in you.”

I love You, Lord, and I lift my voice to worship You, O my soul rejoice.

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Abiding, Bible, Forgiveness, Repentance, Salvation, Scripture, Shame

NO SHAME

ZEPHANIAH 3:11

“‘On that day you will feel no shame because of all your deeds by which you have rebelled against Me; for then I will remove from your midst your proud, arrogant ones, and you will never again be haughty on My holy mountain.

Carl Willis, you ought to be ashamed of yourself. Boy, I heard that a lot growing up. Either my mom or a teacher was always getting on to me for my behavior. I was just a mischievous boy. Did I feel ashamed? Well, sometimes I was but most of the time I wasn’t. I didn’t do horrible things, but they were not nice either.

The Lord is telling His people in verse 11 that they felt no shame. Why? Because they did not think about the consequences of their actions. They certainly found out. God says He was going to remove the proud, arrogant and haughty people. They had no right to be on His holy mountain. They would be judged by the God of heaven.

APPLICATION

Shame! Does God shame us? Well, His Word should cause us to be ashamed. Why? Because none of us are sinless. Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We should feel shame when we dishonor God and His commandments. It’s that disgrace that drives us to repentance. Even once we are saved, the Holy Spirit will use that to lead us to confession of the sins we commit.

So, shame in and of itself is not a bad thing. However, the devil will take that shame (if unconfessed) and whisper that we are not worthy of God’s forgiveness. That shame then grows and leads us to an even darker place. Shame that does not lead to repentance is not of God. God always wants to reconcile us back to Himself, never further away.

The closer I get to the Lord, the more aware I am of my sin. It’s like the Holy Spirit in me is blaring warnings at 110 decibels. The Word which is implanted in me drives me to confession. We must help those without Christ to hear Him speaking to them drawing them to Himself. Don’t let their shame consume them. Give them the antidote.

I am so thankful I know where to unload my shame. I am so glad I can come to You with a repentant spirit and receive a cleansing.

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Abiding, Bible, Destruction, Eternity, Salvation, Scripture

THE END OF THINGS

ZEPHANIAH 2:14

“Flocks will lie down in her midst, all animals that range in herds; both the pelican and the hedgehog will spend their nights in the tops of her pillars; birds will sing in the window, devastation will be on the threshold; for He has uncovered the cedar work.”

I like movies that have the hero stopping an end of the world plot by the villain. There are a lot of those kinds of movies out there. Usually, it comes down to the last second to save mankind. The hero risks everything to accomplish his mission. But in the end, he is successful (and usually gets the girl, lol). That ending is happy, right?

Not so with the destruction of Nineveh and Assyria who Zephaniah is describing here in verse 14 of chapter 2. Their destruction will be so complete that the animals will live in their cities. They will sleep in the fallen caps of the pillars that held up their impressive homes and buildings. And among all that destruction, the birds will still sing. Total destruction and a return to the wild.

APPLICATION

How do we apply a verse like this to our lives? Remember, every word of Scripture is inspired by God and given to us for instruction. So, what does this mean to us? Nothing we can accomplish on this earth will remain. Nothing we build will withstand God’s final judgment on earth. All the wealth we obtain will get us nowhere.

The only thing that will last is our relationship with God. Our eternal destiny rests in the decision we make concerning Him. Jesus tells us in John 14:6 “…‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.’” There is no other way. You cannot earn your way to the Father. You cannot get there through anything you do here. You must go through Jesus.

I pray you have made that decision. I pray you are resting in that decision if you have made it. As believers, we know everything we have here really belongs to Him. We hold it all very loosely in our hands. But we hold tightly to Him. Why? Because He is our hero. He has already defeated the villain of our spiritual lives. We know the ending. Jesus is triumphant. Amen? Amen!

I hold my success and all I have accomplished in my hands and offer it all to You, Lord.

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Accountability, Accused, Belief, Bible, Cleansing, Commitment, Faith, Forgiveness, Redemption, Salvation, Scripture

EVERY KNEE WILL BOW

ZEPHANIAH 2:11

“The LORD will be terrifying to them, for He will starve all the gods of the earth; and all the coastlands of the nations will bow down to Him, everyone from his own place.”

I can still remember when I came to Christ. I was raised in church and even got baptized at eight, but I did not bow to Christ until I was sixteen. While singing a song, Christ spoke to me clearly and showed me my sins. That night I bowed to Him and gave my life to Him. I was proud and egotistical, but I knew I was lost and in need of salvation.

Zephaniah tells us in 2:11 that all “the nations will bow down to Him. The Hebrew word here for “bow down” is shachah which means to bow down, crouch, fall down flat, humbly beseech, do reverence, worship. Do you get the picture? One day, Zephaniah says, they will all worship Him. That holds true today. Everyone will bow one day before the Lord. No exceptions.

APPLICATION

If this prophecy is true (and it is), then we need to be busy spreading the good news. Philippians 2:10-11 says, “10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Sounds a little bit like Zephaniah, doesn’t it?

We all know people who are just like I was at sixteen. They are too proud to admit they need a Savior. They think they can handle things on their own. But it is not about that. It’s about realizing we will all answer for our sins one day. Without Christ in your life, you will not have the right answer. Without Christ there is no escaping God’s wrath.

But praise be to God, with Christ, we have the answer. Our answer to God is “I am Your child. I belong to You because of the blood of Your Son. He paid the price for me.” Is that your answer today? Have you bowed down to Him? Have you seen your sins and realized your need for a Savior? If not, do that today. He is waiting.

I bow before You today, O God. I worship You.

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Accused, Belief, Bible, Consequences, Deliverance, Faith, God's Will, Holiness, Redemption, Salvation, Scripture

INSTEAD OF THIS, YOU GET THAT

ZEPHANIAH 2:10

“This they will have in return for their arrogance, because they have taunted and boasted against the people of the LORD of armies.”

The old payback – no one wants that. Right? If you have ever done something to harm someone who has the ability to get you back, you are constantly looking over your shoulder. Siblings are great at that. They will plot until just the right time and then nail you. I’ve known people who waited for years to strike back and get their vengeance.

Of course, God is not getting vengeance on the Moabites and Ammonites. He is simply giving them what they deserve according to His judgment on them. In return for their violence against His people, they will be judged. Instead of blessings, they have incurred His wrath. If they had only yielded to Him. But instead, they rebelled and now are suffering the consequences.

APPLICATION

God is still in the reward business. If we turn to Jesus and confess Him as Lord and Savior, then He rewards us by giving us eternal life. Instead of His wrath, we get blessings. If we do not come to Jesus, we will be judged by a holy God and be found lacking. Nothing we have done or could do will earn us a place in glory.

It’s really pretty simple. I think that is the problem. People don’t believe it’s that easy to get saved. They think they have to do something. All God asks of us is to confess our sins, believe in His Son and surrender to His Will. Who do you know who needs to do that? Can you lead them into a saving knowledge of Jesus today and help them escape the wrath to come?

I could list a number of verses about salvation here, but I would prefer that you look them up. Just do a Google search on salvation verses. You will get dozens and dozens. If you are not a believer, let the Word convict you and lead you to Him. If you are a believer, share these verses with someone who needs them. Praise God for His mercy and grace.

I love You, Lord, and I lift my voice to worship You. Oh my soul rejoice.

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Abiding, Bible, Blessing, Caregiver, Confession, Covenant, Forgiveness, Salvation, Scripture

IN HIS CARE

ZEPHANIAH 2:7

“And the coast will be for the remnant of the house of Judah, they will drive sheep to pasture on it. In the houses of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening; for the LORD their God will care for them and restore their fortunes.”

Yesterday, my wife and I had the privilege to have our youngest granddaughter at our house for the day. She is almost five and is full of energy. She never stops, but we love it. We don’t consider caring for her as babysitting. We care for her because we love her and want to spend time with her.

The same holds true for our Lord. Zephaniah reminds his people that God cares for them and wants to “restore their fortunes.” How did God care for them? He removed their enemies. He gave them possessions to meet their needs. He returned what had been taken from them by their enemies. He proved His promises were true.

APPLICATION

We all desire to be cared for, don’t we? Recently, I was sick and needed someone to care for me. I did not call my neighbor or a stranger. I was cared for by the one person who knows me best here on earth. I was cared for by the person I spend a lot of time with. I was cared for by the person who has loved me and has cut covenant with me these past 37 years. My wife cared for me (and by the way, she did an incredible job).

In the same way, God knows you better than anyone and can meet the needs you have even before you know you have them. He wants to bless you and see your “fortunes” restored. What is required of us to receive that blessing? Simply abide in Him. If you are His child, He cares for you. If you are His child, He wants to see you blessed.

That’s the big question, isn’t it? Are you His child? If you are not sure, go to Him now. Make sure of it. If you know you are not in His family, ask Jesus to be your Savior and Lord. Confirm that with someone. Talk to a Pastor or another believer. Tell someone. And then watch the way God works in your life as He cares for you. You will be amazed.

Your blessings blow me away, O God. Your tender touch reassures me of Your care.

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Belief, Bible, Choices, Consequences, Destruction, Faith, God's Will, Judgment, Salvation, Scripture

THE RESULTS OF UNBELIEF

Zephaniah 2:4

“For Gaza will be abandoned, and Ashkelon will become a desolation; the inhabitants of Ashdod will be driven out at noon, and Ekron will be uprooted.”

Choices have consequences. I remember dealing with a troubled young man one time at one of the children’s homes where I served. I told him after a particularly heated episode, “You can make your own choices, but you can’t choose your consequences.” Years later I ran into this young man, now an adult, married with two children. He told me he never forgot those words, and they had guided him ever since that day.

Zephaniah begins in verse 4 listing all these nations that surrounded Judah that were rebellious towards God. Look at how he describes their end. They were abandoned, desolate, driven out and uprooted. None of these end results were positive. All these nations suffered God’s wrath. They all were judged by a holy and righteous God.

APPLICATION

I don’t want to be abandoned or desolate or driven out or uprooted. Thanks to Christ, I never will be. Because of the faith I have placed in His saving grace, I will always have God by my side. I will never be desolate. I will never be driven away from Him. I will always be grafted into Him. Those are the results I want and now have.

But so many around us are headed in the same direction as Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod and Ekron. They are headed for disaster. The sad thing is they are not even aware of it. They think they are just fine. It’s all smooth sailing. Tragedy awaits. But we have the answer, don’t we?

Knowing where I am headed makes this life so much easier. I may still face hard times, but He is with me. 2 Timothy 1:12 tells us, “For this reason I also suffer these things; but I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to protect what I have entrusted to Him until that day.” Are you convinced?

Thank You, Lord, for giving me a future and a hope. I rest in You.

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Bible, Messages, Names, Salvation, Scripture

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

ZEPHANIAH 1:1

“The word of the LORD which came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah:”

I am named for my two grandfathers, whom I never knew. Carl was my maternal grandfather’s first name. William was my paternal grandfather’s middle name. I am proud of my name and for what it stands for. I am, in a sense, carrying on both of my family lines with my name. Names mean something, don’t they?

So, when you come to the Old Testament, most people’s names meant something. Take for instance, the names mentioned here in the first verse of Zephaniah. (Oh, by the way, we are starting a new study today which will take us through the next 53 days.)

Zephaniah means “whom the Lord hid.” Gedaliah means “whom the Lord made great.” Amariah means “whom the Lord promised.” And Hezekiah means “whom the Lord strengthened.”

So, what does that mean for us?

APPLICATION

The most famous name ever given is found in Matthew 1:21. “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Jesus’ name meant Yahweh saves. Even His name brought the message of salvation to mankind. Every time Mary called Jesus in for dinner, she would be uttering the message.

Think on that for a minute. How many of us name our children so that we are reminded of a message from God each time we call them. I have known a lot of women named Faith or Grace. I have even known a girl named Merry Christmas (no joke). I am not telling you to go and rename your children now. That would be silly. But look up the meaning of their names if you don’t already know it. The next time you call their name, think about what that means.

I am so glad that Jesus lived up to His name, aren’t you? He was born with a message. He grew up in that message. He died giving us that message. He certainly was the salvation for man. Yahweh saves. He saved through His Son. I pray you know Him as your Savior and Lord. The next time you say His name, think about what it means. He came to save you.

Oh God, I am eternally thankful for the message written in the name of Jesus. He saves!

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