Welcome to this Daily PBJ devotional. Read 2 Kings 21, Zephaniah 1, and John 13. This devotional is about Zephaniah 1. This is the word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah, son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah, son of Ammon, king of Judah. I will completely sweep away everything from the face of the earth, declares the Lord. I will sweep away man and beast. I will sweep away the birds of the air and the fish of the sea, and the idols with their wicked worshipers. I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth. declares the Lord, I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all who dwell in Jerusalem. I will cut off from this place every remnant of Baal, the names of the idolatrous and pagan priests, those who bow down on the rooftops to worship the host of heaven, those who bow down and swear by the Lord, but also swear by Milcom, and those who turn back from following the Lord, neither seeking the Lord nor inquiring of him. Be silent in the presence of the Lord God, for the day of the Lord is near. Indeed, the Lord has prepared a sacrifice. He has consecrated his guests. On the day of the Lord's sacrifice, I will punish the princes, the sons of the king, and all who are dressed in foreign apparel. On that day I will punish all who leap over the threshold, who fill the house of their master with violence and deceit. On that day, declares the Lord, a cry will go up from the fish gate, a wail from the second district, and a loud crashing from the hills. Wail, O dwellers of the hollow, for all your merchants will be silenced. All who weigh out silver will be cut off. And at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and punish the men settled in complacency, who say to themselves, The Lord will do nothing, either good or bad. Their wealth will be plundered, and their houses laid waste. They will build houses, but not inhabit them, and plant vineyards, but never drink their wine. For the great day of the Lord is near, near, and coming quickly. Listen, the day of the Lord, then the cry of the mighty will be bitter. That day will be a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. a day of hornblasts and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the high corner towers. I will bring such distress on mankind that they will walk like the blind. Because they have sinned against the Lord, their blood will be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung. Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them on the day of the Lord's wrath. the whole earth will be consumed by the fire of his jealousy, for indeed he will make a sudden end of all who dwell on the earth. This is God's word. the prophets, and the historical books of the Old Testament, document for us centuries of idolatry, centuries of injustice to the poor, centuries of violence, sexual misconduct, and many other sins among the people of God. God's punishment for these sins came when the Assyrians invaded the northern kingdom of Israel, and later when the Babylonians defeated the southern kingdom of Israel. But God was not only displeased by the sins of his people. He was also angry about the lack of spiritual desire and growth among the people. In verse 12, here in Zephaniah 1, God said, this time from the NIV, A complacent person is one who is stagnant. It is a person who is not growing or getting stronger. Instead, the complacent person has given up. He or she is someone who has concluded that this is the way it is or the way it always will be. The next few phrases in verse 13 tell us that the complacent are like wine left on its dregs, who think, the Lord will do nothing either good or bad. In other words, they think, God won't judge us, but also, God isn't going to bless us either. They are resigned to the situation as it is, and have no expectation that it will get better or worse. The reality is, however, that unless you are striving to get better, things are getting worse. You know this as an adult. Your level of physical fitness declines as you get older, unless you work on getting stronger and fitter. Your diet may stay the same for years, but your health doesn't stay the same. It gets poorer. It may take a long time before it gets really bad, but it won't get better without effort. The Bible teaches us to be content, but that's not at all the same thing as being complacent. Contentment means being satisfied with the results God gives you for your work and your effort. It's the opposite of being jealous or envious or materialistic. It's not the opposite of working hard or striving for improvement. That's what contentment is. It's striving and being satisfied with what God gives. But God sees complacency as a sin to be addressed. And you can see verse 13 for that. Now complacency isn't the same as idolatry, but neither one of them is glorifying to God. So where in your life are you complacent? Have you put your ministry in our church on autopilot? By that I mean, you're still showing up and doing it, but not with the same level of excellence or creativity or heart that you once had? Is your walk with God hindered by complacency? How about your family life or your financial health? Is it your physical body or your work that you've given up on? Complacency stems from a lack of faith. The last phrase of verse 12 teaches the mindset of the complacent. This person thinks, the Lord will do nothing, either good or bad. That's the motto of a man or woman who doesn't expect anything from God, either judgment or blessing. Is that where you are? What would your life be like if you expected to be disciplined by the Lord for your sin or to be blessed by him for your faithfulness? Repent of your complacency. It's a sin. And ask God to breathe fresh life into your life by faith. If you found this devotional helpful, go to my website, dailypbj.com slash subscribe, enter your email address there, and starting tomorrow, you'll receive an email from me every day. And that email will contain a link to the daily scripture readings, as well as a link to these devotionals. The scripture readings will help you be in God's word every day. And the devotionals will help you apply God's Word to your life every day. This is completely free, and you can unsubscribe at any time. So there's no risk. Give it a try. Go to dailypbj.com slash subscribe. 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