Hand Me the Remote and No One Gets Hurt

I love to encourage people and also to be encouraged by others!  I think that's one reason God placed me on this earth.  And there's tons of places in the Bible to find encouragement but what about the other stuff that's in there too?  It's not something that makes us feel good to read but if God didn't mean for us to read it and live by it, then He probably would have left it out, right?  Those are the parts I want to grab the remote and fast forward through so I can get to the parts I love.  This mornings scripture wasn't that encouraging Word that I just love but rather something to make me think about do a little self evaluation.   So, here it is:

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.' Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the LORD's wrath."...Zephaniah 1:12, 18.  

What if The Lord searched our nation?  What would He find?  Better yet, what would He find if He searched our very own homes?  A house adorned with the best decor, closets filled to capacity with the latest trends and top name brands and garages with the nicest vehicles around?  Now think about our spiritual life?   How's that working out for us?  Have we become complacent or worse yet, we haven't even really thought about Him or even considered putting forth the effort to grow closer to Him? Maybe we are more concerned with who and when we get to hang out with some of our friends rather than hanging out with God.  Do we give no thought to God...or maybe a morning or nightly prayer is all He gets of our precious time?  Are we of the mentality that it doesn't really matter because 'The LORD will do nothing, either good or bad.' (verse 18)?

Matthew 7:21 says "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  So maybe it's time we think about what we've "done for Him lately".  Maybe it's time to see if we are the complacent one the Bible speaks of in this passage because if we are alive to  read this, then The Lord has granted us more time to live for Him instead of living for this world. 

Until next time...