Zephaniah 1:2: “‘I will utterly consume everything / From the face of the land,’ / Says the LORD.”

December 7th, 2021 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Zephaniah the prophet was related to the reigning King Josiah, which gave him access to the royal family. This prophet’s message was focused on the Day of Judgment that will come on the whole earth. Zephaniah was not only speaking of a day of judgment for his own generation, but also of a distant Day of Judgment that is yet to take place, called the day of the Lord, or as Jesus called it, The Great Tribulation. We understand that the day of the Lord begins immediately after the body of Christ, the church, is “caught up” as described in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. Jesus will take all who believe in Him with Him to heaven for 7 years, and during that time, the day of the Lord will begin here on earth for those who have been resisting His love.

It will be a dark and gloomy day that will shock many people into realizing the truth of God’s love and His plan of salvation, and as a result they will turn their hearts toward Him and accept Him as their Lord and Savior. It will be a time of great difficulty and tribulation, but it is still a picture of God’s desire that not “any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9), for “all men to be saved” (1 Tim. 2:4).

Marietta J. Reeside and Lauretta Ballew, 2 single ladies, were missionaries to the Kiowa Indians of Oklahoma. They arrived at Mount Rainy in 1893. Miss Reeside was not with the Indians long before they came to know what it meant to be a believer. Out of great respect for her, they gave her a new name, calling her “Aun-de-co.” Chief Big Tree (Adoeette), former war chief of the Kiowa tribe, explained her name this way years later:

When we Kiowas see anyone on the wrong trail, we call out, “Aun-de-co,” which means “Turn this way.” Our sister came to us from a far land and found us on the wrong path and in great danger. She stood and called to us, and said, “Turn this way,” and then she showed us the Jesus road. God bless Miss Aun-de-co.

“LORD, please help us to use this day to lead others to Your throne of Grace.”