Today's Passage:  Zephaniah 1-3

To talk about New Year's resolutions seems overdone by mid-January... after all, you are either doing what you said you would,... or not.  It is unfortunate that while new habits require new rituals to become established practice, it's often easy to try a spiritual ritual without true humility and "new heart".  Such practice is useless and brings only emptiness.

The prophet Zephaniah proclaims that God is both perfect justice and perfect love (3:5).  When the call to repentance is continually ignored, God's judgement is a consequence.

The meaning of Zephaniah's name (The Lord Has Hidden) conveys promise to those who will truly repent and remain humble and obedient to the Lord.  Even in the day of judgement these will be gathered to Him, protected and healed.

We don't need any more practice practicing.  Today is time for the real thing.  ...And then no one shall make you afraid (Zephaniah 3:13).