DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR TODAY 16 NOVEMBER 2022: INSPIRATIONAL MESSAGE AND PRAYER
Read Daily Devotional For Today 16 November 2022
Topic: Seek Yahweh
Scripture: Zephaniah 2: 1-3
For the people of Jerusalem this was a warning that the end was at hand for them. They are being told that the destruction will come quickly and they need to be prepared. Wherever we live, destruction can come quickly. Fire, flood, hurricane, blizzard, tsunami, not to mention car accident, falling down stairs; all come quickly.
We don’t need to wait for an invasion to be imminent, to think about how we have been living our lives. Zephaniah gives the Judeans and us the way to live and avoid God’s wrath. We need to seek God; seek humility; seek righteousness and keep the commandments.
I feel like I’m repeating myself, but we need to put God first if we ever want to get the rest right. We often think we are putting God first when we’re just giving him lip service. Who’s in control – God or you?
Do we seek humility? Do we give God the credit for our gifts? Yes, it’s our responsibility to nurture our gifts and we certainly can and should take credit for what we achieve by using them to the best of our ability; that’s why God gave them to us. What about righteousness?
I always seem to link righteousness with justice. How well do we work for justice? Sometimes it’s even hard to know what the just thing to do is in a difficult situation. And, of course, there’s always the necessity of keeping the commandments. It’s not the literal commandments that most people find difficult, but the nuances. Most of us will never murder anyone, but we may act in anger.
Gossip can be worse than outright lying because it’s more subtle and harder to defend against. Although when it comes to adultery, there are way too many people that don’t consider this a sin, let alone sex without marriage or lust, which Jesus claimed was committing adultery in our hearts. Looks like Zephaniah’s warning bell is still appropriate today.
Prayer For Today
Thank you, Lord, for continuing to call us to examine our consciences and ask forgiveness for our sins. We do love you and want to follow you. Please give us the graces we need to do so. Amen.
