by 
So many times I sit down to write or type a message that I think is an awesome revelation that is for someone else. In this case I have to tell you that this particular revelation may only have been for me but thought I would share it with you.
Years ago a friend of mine wrote a song that starts with the words “In the book of Zephaniah chapter three verse 17.” It is a great song that talks about part of the scripture that sometimes gets glossed over. Maybe because it is a small book in the Old Testament. Maybe because some people did not even know there was a book in the Bible entitled that name. Maybe because in all of our clambering around with rushing to one place or another we did not take the time to grasp the gem inside this whole chapter.
I know I sang this song for about two years without reading the next few verses or the entire book. Shame on me.
I encourage you to read it for yourself and conclude your own understanding, but I have to tell you get ready to shout thanks and praises.
The simple break down is this: When we come to God, when we come to the place in our lives that we are totally committed to him, God, Himself, rejoices over us. That within itself is an awesome thing, but then it hit me. God, Himself, singing. We have seen the video that listens to the sounds of the pulsars, whales, distant stars all harmonizing together to sing “How Great Is Our God” (and if you have not I encourage you to search it out). We have heard beautiful choirs, soloists, quartets, duets, quintets, bands, and the list goes on.
Yet here lies the rub: My God, the Creator of all these things, the Creator of me and you, Who taught the angels how to sing, the One who gave His only Son to die for my sins, rejoices over ME. Some translations say He stands and sings over me. What a concept in my mind’s eye, that I have a Creator that protects with not just His hands but also His voice.
I read a little further after that verse and get even more excited. Not only is God rejoicing, but He is giving me the things that it seemed this world took away: Refilling the things that seemed gone and replenishing what that old devil stole from me. Whether it was my joy, my finances, my relationships; God not only gives them back, He also makes the enemy flee before me.
I have said it before that I am not a Name It and Claim It, or Blab It and Grab It preacher, but I do believe that we should cling to scriptures and hold them close to us. We should claim our God that wrote the scripture. If He said it, that settles it.
Maybe, just maybe, if we as Christians get right with God, get our own lives together, start showing others by example, then maybe we can start getting our smaller victories. Maybe if we do as the old adage says and sweep our own porch before telling others how to clean their house, then we can see God move once again across this great nation and become the Christian Nation with the principles upon which we were founded.
Would it not be great to see our children and grandchildren raised in a Nation of God and not just with a Notion of God?
By Roger Barkley Jr.
Photographs by Craig Harris
See more of Roger Barkley Jr.’s writing in the November 2015 issue of SGN Scoops‘ digital magazine, coming soon.
For Christian Life articles and artist features, read the current issue of SGN Scoops, October 2015, here.