Zephaniah 2: 1-3
Gather together--yes, gather together, you shameless Nation. Gather before judgment begins, before your time to repent is blown away like chaff. Act now, before the fierce fury of the Lord falls and the terrible Day of the Lord's Anger begins. Seek the Lord, all who are humble, and follow His commands. Seek to do what is right and to live humbly. Perhaps even yet the Lord will protect you--protect you from His anger on that Day of Destruction.
Jesus is coming soon! We've heard this phrase so often that it seems trite. But its Truth is becoming more and more present in the World today.
God is giving our Nations time and space to realize their errors and turn around. He does not want to have to pour out His wrath on people, that's why He put it on Jesus on the Cross. But He will not violate our Free Will--those who refuse His offer will experience His wrath. He is just, and justice must be done.
God is also merciful in not wanting to give us the punishment we deserve, and gracious in granting us all the good that we don't deserve in Jesus.
O my Father, I pray for my Nation. I pray that You would wake up Your church here, set us on fire with Your Holy Spirit. Reveal the hidden things and make them known; reveal who are Yours and who are not; and reveal to us the secret sins hidden in our own hearts. We hereby confess those sins as You reveal them to us, and forsake those personal gods that have separated us from You and cause us to run from You.
Please turn us around as a Nation to remember the first things; to return to You, O Lord God, and Your ways that initially made us great. Let us be that City on a Hill that displays to the World Your goodness and Your greatness.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
