I Was Jerusalem
Recently I was reading the Book of Zephaniah. When I came to chapter 3, the description of Jerusalem in the first four verses sounded like a description of who I used to be.
- Zephaniah 3:1-4 Woe to her who is rebellious and polluted, To the oppressing city! 2 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. 3 Her princes in her midst are roaring lions; Her judges are evening wolves That leave not a bone till morning. 4 Her prophets are insolent, treacherous people; Her priests have polluted the sanctuary, They have done violence to the law.
In the Words of God through the prophet Zephaniah, I saw my life as it was before I knew and accepted the truth about God.
Verse 1 – No Hope
- How unfortunate for this defiled rebel
- One who mistreats those nearest to him
Verse 2 – No Relationship with God
- Has not obeyed His voice
- Has not received His correction
- Has not trusted Him
- Has not drawn near to Him
Verse 3 – No Moral Restraint
- Living like a wild animal – ruled by uninhibited appetites
Verse 4 – No Moral Compass
- Unprincipled and untrustworthy
- Defiling what is sacred
- Violating God’s standards
But regardless of my shamelessness, day by day God persisted in the righteous that defines everything He is and everything He does.
- Zephaniah 3:5 The LORD is righteous in her midst, He will do no unrighteousness. Every morning He brings His justice to light; He never fails, But the unjust knows no shame.
In His time, in His ways, according to His terms, I surrendered.
Now I am in Christ!
And in Christ,
I am a new creation!
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creation; old things have passed away;
behold, all things have become new.
Here is just a small sample of who the Bible says that I am in Christ.
I am delivered from the guilt, shame and punishment of my sin!
- Romans 3:24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
I am near to God!
- Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
I am preserved as a child of God!
- Jude 1:1 Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ:
I am made by God to do the good works He planned in eternity past!
- Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
I am no longer condemned!
- Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
I am a recipient of God’s gift of eternal life in Heaven!
- Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
In Christ is love, truth, eternal life and purpose.
Surrender to Him!
Prayer
Holy Father, in Your perfect time, in Your loving way, draw many to surrender to the name above all names, Jesus. I plead for the souls of the lost in the name of Your Son Jesus Christ. Amen.
