Rainy Day

Hi everyone!
I hope you are enjoying this rainy day as much as I am! It allows me time to read and relax. I think it is so strange how rain can make us so calm and sleepy-like. So you are probably wondering what happened with my promise to blog last night? Well, after work a group of old friends got together and chatted and caught up late into the night. So I apologize for leaving you all hanging. However, today I will blog and catch up.

So what did I learn from Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah?

Nahum
This book for me was about how God is a jealous God. He wants all of us to follow him and all of each of us to be in pursuit of Him and allow Him to lead us.

Nahum 1:7, "The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him, but with an overwhelming flood he will make an end of Nineveh; he will pursue his foes into darkness." This to me sums up Nahum. God is good all the time and he will return to Earth to settle the divide between good and evil.

Habakkuk
This book for me was about questions we ask God and His answers. For example, we see injustice in the world and we say, "God where are you?" He is there in the midst of the trouble and we will not know or understand His mysterious ways in our lifetime but we can rest in the thought that He is a God of love.

I have always enjoyed 1:5
" 5 "Look at the nations and watch—
and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days
that you would not believe,
even if you were told."

I really got a lot from the "woes" in 2:9-20. It gives a lot of examples of what God does not like and His feelings about them.

Example being in verse 2:15-16,

15 "Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors,
pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk,
so that he can gaze on their naked bodies.

16 You will be filled with shame instead of glory.
Now it is your turn! Drink and be exposed [a] !
The cup from the LORD's right hand is coming around to you,
and disgrace will cover your glory."

This is a clear picture of how a sin can reflect back on you. A poor dicision can lead to distance from God and a need to repent. As believers, we need to seek a lifestyle that does not cause us to be living in sin.

Read 3 it is an intense chapter of the Bible. However, it paints a clear picture, as I said before.

The biggest thing I learned from reading Habakkuk was this: trust in the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord. Love the Lord with all your heart, regardless of what season you are in.

17 "Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,

18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.

19 The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights.
For the director of music. On my stringed instruments."


Zephaniah
I really liked the way it was bluntly worded in verse 1:12 about complacency. I think teaching and learning about getting out of complacency and into a life of actual change and understanding is huge in growing spriritually.

1:12, "At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps
and punish those who are complacent,
who are like wine left on its dregs,
who think, 'The LORD will do nothing,
either good or bad.'"

It is evident here that God does not like a complacent attitude or lifestyle. God wants us to take up our life and give it to Him to lead, develop and grow. This does not mean that we sit around doing nothing until Jesus returns to earth. It means GROWING! MOVING! STUDYING! Move in the gifts of the Spirit and begin to understand what God is all about. Do not become another complacent Christian that sits at church and then forgets what they heard all week. The Christian LIFE is more than that. Much more. It means power and developement and removing that comfort zone and allowing yourself to go further than what your brain tells you is Christianity and what you can wrap your head around.

3:14-20 A MUST READ!

3:20,
20 "At that time I will gather you;
at that time I will bring you home.
I will give you honor and praise
among all the peoples of the earth
when I restore your fortunes [a]
before your very eyes,"
says the LORD."