August 2
Habakkuk 1:1-3:19; Zephaniah 1:1-2:27
The opening number to the Broadway show, "Les Miserables" is "Look Down". It features prisoners so beaten down, so downtrodden that they will not so much as raise their eyes. When I go to the hospital, as I leave the parking lot and take the elevator up, I say a short prayer that God will use me as His ambassador to those that I encounter. To those that I'm not directly involved in caring for, that might simply mean to exude His joy. What I have noticed over the past few years is that this has been rendered difficult since everyone "Looks down". Either walking buried with their face in their cell phones, or simply walking around with masks and staring at the floor, the masses pass by. Not even realizing it, either consumed with the god of self, engrossed in their own little universe, consumed with fear since their life is more sacred than anything else, yet God has so much more for them if they would simply look up and seek Him. Sadly, the masses that I pass are already defeated without a single gun being fired, subjects to their own false gods.
We read in Zephaniah 1:12, 17, "And it shall come to pass at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And punish the men Who are settled in complacency, Who say in their heart, 'The Lord will not do good, Nor will He do evil.'...I will bring distress upon men, And they shall walk like blind men, Because they have sinned against the Lord; Their blood shall be poured out like dust, And their flesh like refuse." There are many who like to state that they believe, especially around holiday seasons, but in reality, they take God lightly. In fact, God does not even factor into their daily thoughts, actions, or anything else in their lives. The Lord seeks worshipers who will worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23). Most have faith like the church of Laodicea, also known as "the Lukewarm Church" as Jesus stated in Revelation 3:15-16, "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth." God is not interested in outward shows of religiosity. He is worthy of and desires true, earnest, faith and dependence upon Him for every aspect of our lives. Before God begins calling out specific types of individuals (leaders, judges, false prophets, priests), He issues this general condemnation, directed at Jerusalem, but which we would do well to meditate on it's application to our own nation, in Zephaniah 3:1-2, "Woe to her who is rebellious and polluted, To the oppressing city! She has not obeyed His voice, She has not received correction; She has not trusted in the Lord, She has not drawn near to her God."
So, here we find ourselves, in a generation consumed and in love with themselves, who elevate their opinion over every other opinion, yet, since they have no love of God, mindlessly follow the dictates of godless individuals and "experts" who feed "self" with what it desires to hear. The satanic creed, "Do what thou wilt" is alive and well in many of his unsuspecting subjects. This is completely opposite to God's commands to love Him and to love one another, to seek Him and the welfare of others. We read words of condemnation that applies to us now in Proverbs 30:11-14, "There is a generation that curses its father, And does not bless its mother. There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, Yet is not washed from its filthiness. There is a generation - oh, how lofty are their eyes! And their eyelids are lifted up. There is a generation whose teeth are like swords, And whose fangs are like knives, To devour the poor from off the earth, And the needy from among men." What is the antidote in these godless, self absorbed times? Seek God and His word, as the psalmist wrote in Psalm 138:2, "I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name."
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: