9/23/2013上帝發怒的日子

經文:西番雅書1－3章

中心思想:西番雅書1章

提要

        西番雅尖銳的先知之筆只記載了五十三節經文，但其中卻陳述了舊約聖經中最強烈的審判。他如火焰般的口頭攻擊，首先針對猶大國發射，繼之朝向列國。耶和華的日子會在烈怒中帶來最後的結局，祂也將有決定性的判語。報復和審判之後，「當那日」必有復興和喜樂。

每日與主同行

        自滿被稱作是「基督徒的詛咒」。自滿使人患癱瘓（1：12），導致不冷不熱的態度。事實上，上帝認為自滿比完全的悖逆還糟（啟3：14-16)。
        試做一項個人的自滿調查:
        1.對我而言，自滿的意思是________________________ ,
        2.就我所見，今日的基督教會在哪些方面表現得自滿________________________ ,
        3.我認為今天基督徒的自滿是造成________________________ 的原因。 
        4.在我的生命中，自滿最常在哪一方面抬頭________________________ ,
        5.為了克服這個惡疾，今天我要開始靠著上帝的幫助
(做什麼？)________________________ ,
        自滿像惡疾，忽視它能使人致命，對付它便能克服它。藉著上帝的幫助，你可以避免以下這個悲劇性的墓誌銘「這位基督徒也不冷也不熱」。飲一杯溫水，同時告訴上帝你打算如何對付你屬靈生命中不冷不熱的領域。你也許想找一位基督徒朋友幫助你，但千萬別找一位對上帝既不冷也不熱的人。

默想

「現在要聽，現在要聽……」
        西番雅在短短三章中用了「耶和華的日子」、「當那日」、「耶和華的大日」、「耶和華發怒的日子」、「那日」等字眼共超過二十次。看看你能找出幾個來？

金言

虛假破壞真理，但沉默則是大大的戕害真理。

The Days of the Lords Wrath

Scriptures:Zephaniah 1-3

Heart of the Passage:Zephaniah 1

Overview

        Zephaniah's pungent pen records only 53 verses, but in the process sets forth some of the strongest statements of judgment in the Old Testament. Looking out over the nation of Judah in particular and the world in general, Zephaniah fashions his fiery verbal assault. The Day of the Lord will come with fury, ferocity, and finality, and God will have the last word. Retribution and judgment will give way to restoration and joy "in that day."

Your Daily Walk

        Complacency has been called "the curse of Christendom." Complacency paralyzes (1:12) and produces lukewannness. In fact, God finds complacency worse than outright rebellion (Revelation 3:14-16).
        Try your hand at a personal investigation of complacency:
        1. To me, complacency means ________________ .
        2. I see complacency in the Christian church today in the areas of ____________________________ .
        3. In my opinion, complacency among Christians today is a contributing cause of ________________________ ,
        4. Complacency rears its ugly head in my life most frequently in the area of ____________________ .
        5. To attack this disease, I will begin today with God's help to _____________________________________ .
Complacency is like a malignancy. When ignored, it can be lethal; when confronted, it can be conquered. With God's help you can avoid having the tragic epitaph, "He/she was neither hot nor cold," applied to your Christian life. Sip a glass of lukewarm water as you talk to God about what you intend to do about the areas of lukewarmness in your spiritual life. You might want to enlist the help of a Christian friend whose heart for the Lord is anything but lukewarm.

Insight

"Now Hear This, Now Hear This. ..."— 
        In three short chapters Zephaniah uses words like "the day of the LORD," "the great day," "that day," "the day of the LORD'S wrath," "the day," more than 20 times altogether. How many of these phrases can you find?

Adage

Truth is violated by falsehood, but it is outraged by silence.