enemies at the gate

Sunday December 16^th, Zephaniah 3:  14 Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!  15 The LORD has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies.  This is good news only when you are aware of the judgments against you and the enemies at your gates and within.  Step one; honest introspection.  Step two; realization that what you found in step one has been taken away by God.  Step three; Rejoicing.  Note; the enemies at your gates are also the children of God, treat them as such, the tension you feel is most likely  as much your problem as it is theirs, and even if it is mostly theirs, you can’t fix that; you can only fix your stuff.  Note two; the enemies within are far more problematic and personal, you will need prayer and God’s help to deal with them and the part you play in the problem, and sometimes the help of others.  Note three; this is not a onetime thing but rather a daily occurrence.  Therefore, singing aloud and rejoicing are also not limited to a onetime thing, but are an all day, every day event for a child of God.  P.S. please note that the “enemies” at the gate are becoming, one by one, friends, God’s love works that way sometimes.