Daily Manna (Coffee with Jesus)

There will always be givers and takers “where two or more are gathered”.  It “comes natural” to some to think that you must give them what they want or think they need.  It also “comes natural” to some to give without thinking what they will receive in return.  A true giver expects nothing in return, they just give because it is the right thing to do if someone is in need.  It is also Biblical to give when someone is in need.  Jesus went beyond The Law in His message on the mountain to all people listening, extending the meaning of giving, loving, and relating to each other as believers in God:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.” Matthew 5:38-42, NIV

Amos declared why the end was coming. The reason was simple: Israel had broken God’s law and failed to live by His covenant. The first tablet of the law (Ten Commandments given to Moses) speaks to our relationship to God (Exodus 20:3–11) and the second tablet to our relationship to others (Exodus 20:12–17), and Israel had rebelled against both. They did not love God, and they did not love their neighbors

When asked by a learned scholar of The Law… “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

“Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”  Matthew 22:37-40, NIV

I stop, pause, and ask myself, Am I a giver or a taker? 

Amos 8, The Message

You Who Give Little and Take Much

My Master God showed me this vision: A bowl of fresh fruit.

² He said, “What do you see, Amos?”

I said, “A bowl of fresh, ripe fruit.”

God said, “Right. So, I’m calling it quits with my people Israel. I’m no longer acting as if everything is just fine.”

³ “The royal singers will wail when it happens.”
    My Master God said so.
“Corpses will be strewn here, there, and everywhere.
    Hush!”

^4-6 Listen to this, you who walk all over the weak,
    you who treat poor people as less than nothing,
Who say, “When’s my next paycheck coming
    so I can go out and live it up?
How long till the weekend
    when I can go out and have a good time?”
Who give little and take much,
    and never do an honest day’s work.
You exploit the poor, using them—
    and then, when they’re used up, you discard them.

^7-8 God swears against the arrogance of Jacob:
    “I’m keeping track of their every last sin.”
God’s oath will shake earth’s foundations,
    dissolve the whole world into tears.
God’s oath will sweep in like a river that rises,
    flooding houses and lands,
And then recedes,
    leaving behind a sea of mud.

^9-10 “On Judgment Day, watch out!”
    These are the words of God, my Master.
“I’ll turn off the sun at noon.
    In the middle of the day the earth will go black.
I’ll turn your parties into funerals
    and make every song you sing a dirge.
Everyone will walk around in rags,
    with sunken eyes and bald heads.
Think of the worst that could happen
    —your only son, say, murdered.
That’s a hint of Judgment Day
    —that and much more.

^11-12 “Oh yes, Judgment Day is coming!”
    These are the words of my Master God.
“I’ll send a famine through the whole country.
    It won’t be food or water that’s lacking, but my Word.
People will drift from one end of the country to the other,
    roam to the north, wander to the east.
They’ll go anywhere, listen to anyone,
    hoping to hear God’s Word—but they won’t hear it.

^13-14 “On Judgment Day,
    lovely young girls will faint of Word-thirst,
    robust young men will faint of God-thirst,
Along with those who take oaths at the Samaria Sin-and-Sex Center,
    saying, ‘As the lord god of Dan is my witness!’
    and ‘The lady goddess of Beer-sheba bless you!’
Their lives will fall to pieces.
    They’ll never put it together again.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Are we givers or takers?  We can be both! It depends on who you believe and base your life upon.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  We take from God what is offered to us—Eternal life by believing in what Jesus did for us—removed our sins!

When redemption and reconciliation to God is settled, our giving and taking character is changed by God’s Holy Spirit working in us and through us.  We discover that when we really believe what Jesus did for us; we want to be more like Jesus.  We have help doing that—the power of His Holy Spirit!  We begin to see ourselves giving more and taking less.  We want others to know Him, too, so we give testimony to what He is doing in us.  We think less of self and more of Jesus so we take on a new nature, leaving the old selfish take gene of our old nature behind. 

It takes time for this transformation to happen (like all our lives) but it happens!  Day by day, step by step, we respond differently to others.  We love more.  We give more from a place of “cheerfully, joyous giving” as described by Paul to the Corinthian church…”The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:6-7

We take from a loving, generous Father in Heaven who calls us His children and provides all we need.  So, it becomes “natural” to be like Him in love and generosity to others.  We must not refuse our brothers and sisters in need, Jesus tells us.  Being joint heirs with Jesus Christ, we must respond as He would!  Jesus taught us how to love and God loves us when we get along and help each other.

While Jesus pressed the point of giving and loving, He had enemies who angrily disagreed and said so.  We learn from Jesus how to deal with those who oppose our new life as well.  We see what Jesus did not do. He did not retaliate. He did not bite back. He did not say, “I’ll get you!” He left the judging to God. He did not take on the task of seeking revenge. He demanded no apology. He hired no bounty hunters and sent out no posse of rag tag disciples.

If ever a person deserved a shot at revenge, Jesus did. But he didn’t take it. Instead he died for them. How could he do it? I don’t know. But I do know that, all of a sudden, my wounds seem very painless. My grudges and hard feelings are suddenly childish.

When someone challenges your integrity, disregards your opinion, takes more from you than you have and ignores your work to grow in Christ, how do you respond? Do you lose your temper, hold a grudge, or put the person down? Next time you face criticism, consider how Jesus carefully chose his words and used Scripture to answer his opponents.  Yes, we learn from Jesus every day if we dive in to who He is and what He did.  Follow Jesus—Take from Him what He has to give…His wisdom.

Amos describes a famine that would be a lack of not only literal food but also of spiritual nourishment.  Warren Wiersbe comments are worth our consideration:

“What a tragedy to have plenty of religion but no word from the Lord! Note the striking similarity in the contemporary world with its proliferation of religions and spirituality without truth or substance. That means no light in the darkness, no nourishment for the soul, no direction for making decisions, no protection from the lies of the enemy. The people in Amos’s day as well as ours stagger like drunks from place to place, always hoping to find food and drink for their bodies and spiritual sustenance for their souls.”

Take what God has to offer.  Give the Good News to those who are still wandering and staggering in the dark seeking the Light.

Oh Lord,

You are teaching us so much about how to live for you through your prophets of old.  You are also teaching us the consequences of what it is like if we do not follow you, taking from the world whatever it has to offer selfishly.  Lord, I’m yours.  Continue to grow your character traits in me so I will bear the Holy Fruits of your loving Spirit.

In Jesus Name, Amen

We will not always make friends by speaking Truth—Words that God says to say through us.  Even those in our family who say they love us will raise eyebrows when you stand for what God says in His Word as the way to please God with our lives. “What credentials do you have to speak to us this way” is the retort.  “Who are you to say anything about right living when you have sinned yourself?”  Like the blind man who was healed by Jesus; “I don’t know how He did it, all I know is once I was blind and now I see”.

It seems Amos has the same problem.  God has given Amos, the shepherd farmer a message along with a vision of what will happen to the “house of Jacob”, Israel, if they do not turn back to God.  Amos has the courage to beg for his ancestry’s deliverance and God says he will spare them if they will turn back to Him.  But they do not.   Amos is confronted with a high priest official who does not want the “bad news” to be heard and works to squash the Truth.  But God takes care of Amos.  God’s truth is heard and administered just as He said.  As the for Truth-Squasher, Amaziah…Well, he died homeless. 

It seems Jesus, the Person of Truth, “the Word made flesh”, went through the same challenges as He told the Truth of God to those in charge of God’s Temple work.  So, we when speak Jesus, we will experience the same challenges.  People want to remain the same, doing the same, without thought for tomorrow.  But tomorrow will come and many will not be ready.

Amos 7, The Message

To Die Homeless and Friendless

^1-2 God, my Master, showed me this vision: He was preparing a locust swarm. The first cutting, which went to the king, was complete, and the second crop was just sprouting. The locusts ate everything green. Not even a blade of grass was left.

I called out, “God, my Master! Excuse me, but what’s going to come of Jacob? He’s so small.”

³ God gave in.

“It won’t happen,” he said.

* * *

⁴ God showed me this vision: Oh! God, my Master God was calling up a firestorm. It burned up the ocean. Then it burned up the Promised Land.

⁵ I said, “God, my Master! Hold it—please! What’s going to come of Jacob? He’s so small.”

⁶ God gave in.

“All right, this won’t happen either,” God, my Master, said.

* * *

⁷ God showed me this vision: My Master was standing beside a wall. In his hand he held a plumb line.

^8-9 God said to me, “What do you see, Amos?”

I said, “A plumb line.”

Then my Master said, “Look what I’ve done. I’ve hung a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel. I’ve spared them for the last time. This is it!

    “Isaac’s sex-and-religion shrines will be smashed,
    Israel’s unholy shrines will be knocked to pieces.
    I’m raising my sword against the royal family of Jeroboam.”

¹⁰ Amaziah, priest at the shrine at Bethel, sent a message to Jeroboam, king of Israel:

“Amos is plotting to get rid of you; and he’s doing it as an insider, working from within Israel. His talk will destroy the country. He’s got to be silenced. Do you know what Amos is saying?

¹¹     ‘Jeroboam will be killed.
    Israel is headed for exile.’”

^12-13 Then Amaziah confronted Amos: “Seer, be on your way! Get out of here and go back to Judah where you came from! Hang out there. Do your preaching there. But no more preaching at Bethel! Don’t show your face here again. This is the king’s chapel. This is a royal shrine.”

^14-15 But Amos stood up to Amaziah: “I never set up to be a preacher, never had plans to be a preacher. I raised cattle and I pruned trees. Then God took me off the farm and said, ‘Go preach to my people Israel.’

^16-17 “So listen to God’s Word. You tell me, ‘Don’t preach to Israel. Don’t say anything against the family of Isaac.’ But here’s what God is telling you:

    Your wife will become a whore in town.
    Your children will get killed.
    Your land will be auctioned off.
    You will die homeless and friendless.
    And Israel will be hauled off to exile, far from home.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Amos saw God’s coming judgments on Israel through five visions. After each vision, he prayed that God would be merciful.

God sent his prophet Amos to warn the people of Israel to repent of their sins. God gives us these examples to teach us that he hates sin. And he promised a Savior who would save us from our sins—Jesus!

When Jesus breathed his last breath on earth, Matthew tells us the NOON day sky grew dark as night!  It covered the entire earth where Jesus hung on that cross for our sins.  “From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land” (Matthew 27:45)  This is a supernatural darkness. Not a casual gathering of clouds or a brief eclipse of the sun. This is a three-hour blanket of blackness.

Of course, the sky is dark; people are killing the light of the world.

Because of all the sins of the world (yours and mine) placed upon his shoulders, God turned his back from His Son because God cannot be where sin is.  God and sin cannot occupy the same space.  The Savior no one understands pierces the darkness with heaven’s loneliest question: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” (Matthew 27:46 NCV).

In this hour Jesus is anything but righteous. But his mistakes aren’t his own. “Christ carried our sins in his body on the cross so we would stop living for sin and start living for what is right” (1Peter 2:24 NCV).

Christ carried all our sins in his body.

Take a moment and meditate on the truth that Jesus carried your sins in his body that day when he died a horrible death on the cross—abandoned by God because of our sin. Thank him for his astonishing love.

Then on that Third Day, Christ arose!  He went to hell and back again for us, defeated death, removed our sins forever, and lives today.  God, Son and Holy Spirit back together again and forever! This victorious act of love, mercy, and grace opens the doors of heaven to all who believe, call on His Name, and repent of their sins! 

Our Hope has risen and we will live forever with Him.  Hope gives us a reason to get up every morning and praise the One and Only who set us free!  THIS is the Truth. 

AND Jesus is coming back…How do you feel about that?  Ready or not, here He comes!

And I’m singing my prayer today…by Keith Green…There is a Redeemer…

… There is a redeemer
Jesus, God’s own Son
Precious Lamb of God, Messiah
Holy One

… Jesus my redeemer
Name above all names
Precious Lamb of God, Messiah
Oh, for sinners slain

… Thank you, oh my father
For giving us Your Son
And leaving Your Spirit
‘Til the work on Earth is done

… When I stand in Glory
I will see His face
And there I’ll serve my King forever
In that Holy Place

… Thank you, oh my father
For giving us Your Son
And leaving Your Spirit
‘Til the work on Earth is done…

Thank you, dear Jesus, Amen!

Soon and very soon,
We are going to see the King,
Soon and very soon,
We are going to see the King.
Soon and very soon,
We are going to see the King,
Hallelujah, hallelujah,
We are going to see the King!

(By Andrea Crouch)

When a child is headed for the outlet with fork in his hand, we shout stop, “Don’t do it, that will hurt you!”  But they look at you with stubborn, determined eyes, turn around and do it anyway.  With quickened hands, the deed is done.  The hurtful, shocking burn is felt by the perpetrator.  You are hurt by watching them get hurt.  Maybe the lights go out from the electric shock, tripping the safety switch.  Now the deed has affected more that the one who did it.  Dangerous deeds like this one sometimes leads to death—all because of doing something that would hurt them just to see what would happen or to just be in control.  So, how’s that working for us?

God is telling his people that what they are doing is definitely not right.  God is detailed in his descriptions of what “living only for today while grabbing all you can for yourself” looks like and where it will lead.  He tells them of the hurt, pain and agony that will follow their actions.  What they are doing hurts themselves and all those around them.  But His people have turned their face away from Him, with that same stubborn look in their eyes that a toddler gets when disobeying their parents.  Do we do that?

God says, “It’s time to wake up!”  Look around, get off your arrogant pedestal of pride!  “You are headed for disaster!”

Amos 6, The Message

Those Who Live Only for Today

^1-2 Woe to you who think you live on easy street in Zion,
    who think Mount Samaria is the good life.
You assume you’re at the top of the heap,
    voted the number-one best place to live.
Well, wake up and look around. Get off your pedestal.
    Take a look at Calneh.
Go and visit Great Hamath.
    Look in on Gath of the Philistines.
Doesn’t that take you off your high horse?
    Compared to them, you’re not much, are you?

^3-6 Woe to you who are rushing headlong to disaster!
    Catastrophe is just around the corner!
Woe to those who live in luxury
    and expect everyone else to serve them!
Woe to those who live only for today,
    indifferent to the fate of others!
Woe to the playboys, the playgirls,
    who think life is a party held just for them!
Woe to those addicted to feeling good—life without pain!
    those obsessed with looking good—life without wrinkles!
They could not care less
    about their country going to ruin.

⁷ But here’s what’s really coming:
    a forced march into exile.
They’ll leave the country whining,
    a rag-tag bunch of good-for-nothings.

You’ve Made a Shambles of Justice

⁸ God, the Master, has sworn, and solemnly stands by his Word.
    The God-of-the-Angel-Armies speaks:

“I hate the arrogance of Jacob.
    I have nothing but contempt for his forts.
I’m about to hand over the city
    and everyone in it.”

^9-10 Ten men are in a house, all dead. A relative comes and gets the bodies to prepare them for a decent burial. He discovers a survivor huddled in a closet and asks, “Are there any more?” The answer: “Not a soul. But hush! God must not be mentioned in this desecrated place.”

¹¹ Note well: God issues the orders.
    He’ll knock large houses to smithereens.
    He’ll smash little houses to bits.

^12-13 Do you hold a horse race in a field of rocks?
    Do you plow the sea with oxen?
You’d cripple the horses
    and drown the oxen.
And yet you’ve made a shambles of justice,
    a bloated corpse of righteousness,
Bragging of your trivial pursuits,
    beating up on the weak and crowing, “Look what I’ve done!”

¹⁴ “Enjoy it while you can, you Israelites.
    I’ve got a pagan army on the move against you”
    —this is your God speaking, God-of-the-Angel-Armies—
“And they’ll make hash of you,
    from one end of the country to the other.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

No one likes to be confronted with resulting discipline.  But it is we who have made discipline a “bad word”.  Discipline is a time of learning, growing and discovering that God cares enough, to come close to us, bringing us back to Him if we allow our hearts on the inside to be changed.  Coming closer to the Teacher who loves us most for compassion words of course corrections, along with His power and wisdom that will save our lives forever, is a great thing. 

We shouldn’t turn our backs on discipline for it is a time when we are closest to God!

We change our lives by changing our hearts!  I know we do not like being disciplined. Yet, it is often through this discomfort of being awakened and confronted that we return to the right path. (Recalculating, rerouting…) 

Let’s make our lives easier. How? Repent of our sins before God must bring discipline. If we are being disciplined, correct the wrong and the attitude quickly.  And know this about God…He immediately forgives AND forgets!  You won’t be reminded of your past sins but encouraged to live life to the full with Him again!

Stop looking for love in all the wrong places.  The shock and awe for a moment does not compare with a love that last forever!

Lord,

How many times do head for the “outlets” of danger and you beckon us back to your protection?  Too many for me personally to count!  Thank you for your discipline that transforms my thinking and resulting behaviors.  I’m not there yet, I have not arrived, but you are always there to teach me and put me back on the right path.  Thank you, Lord!  I ask for your wisdom, insight and understanding that goes so far beyond human reasoning, so that I might know you more and live for you by Your Spirit living in me.

In Jesus Name, Amen

… Lord I come, I confess
Bowing here, I find my rest
Without You, I fall apart
You’re the one that guides my heart

… Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour, I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

Are we all show, no go when it comes to helping people find and follow Jesus? 

… Where sin runs deep, Your grace is more
Where grace is found is where You are
And where You are, Lord, I am free
Holiness is Christ in me

… Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour, I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

Do we represent ourselves as being “Christ-like” only when necessary but avoid the “likeness” when it gets hard or gets in our way of what we have established as a way of life?

… So teach my song to rise to You
When temptation comes my way
And when I cannot stand, I’ll fall on You
Jesus, You’re my hope and stay

… Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour, I need You
My one defense, my righteousness

Oh God, how I need You
You’re my one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

Do we say a hearty yes to Jesus in corporate worship in a great show of oneness, but in real life brush away the command to love each other as Jesus loves us and continue to walk in our own way that is more convenient?

… My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You…

Israel has fallen and she can’t get up.  God’s people are all show, no go—with no substantial foundation to stand on or hold them up in faith and following God.  Arrogance and pride, ignoring God, falling for idols and perverted behaviors are not legs to stand on when it comes to serving God with all that is in them. 

Do we fall into these traits?  Yes.  “So, seek God and live! You don’t want to end up with nothing to show for your life…” Amos tells God’s people.

Amos 5, The Message

All Show, No Substance

Listen to this, family of Israel,
    this Message I’m sending in bold print, this tragic warning:

² “Virgin Israel has fallen flat on her face.
    She’ll never stand up again.
She’s been left where she’s fallen.
    No one offers to help her up.”

³ This is the Message, God’s Word:

“The city that marches out with a thousand
    will end up with a hundred.
The city that marches out with a hundred
    will end up with ten. Oh, family of Israel!”

^4-5 God’s Message to the family of Israel:

“Seek me and live.
    Don’t fool around at those shrines of Bethel,
Don’t waste time taking trips to Gilgal,
    and don’t bother going down to Beer-sheba.
Gilgal is here today and gone tomorrow
    and Bethel is all show, no substance.”

⁶ So seek God and live! You don’t want to end up
    with nothing to show for your life
But a pile of ashes, a house burned to the ground.
    For God will send just such a fire,
    and the firefighters will show up too late.

Raw Truth Is Never Popular

^7-9 Woe to you who turn justice to vinegar

 and stomp righteousness into the mud.
Do you realize where you are? You’re in a cosmos
    star-flung with constellations by God,
A world God wakes up each morning
    and puts to bed each night.
God dips water from the ocean
    and gives the land a drink.
    God, God-revealed, does all this.
And he can destroy it as easily as make it.
    He can turn this vast wonder into total waste.

^10-12 People hate this kind of talk.
    Raw truth is never popular.
But here it is, bluntly spoken:
    Because you run roughshod over the poor
    and take the bread right out of their mouths,
You’re never going to move into
    the luxury homes you have built.
You’re never going to drink wine
    from the expensive vineyards you’ve planted.
I know precisely the extent of your violations,
    the enormity of your sins. Appalling!
You bully right-living people,
    taking bribes right and left and kicking the poor when they’re down.

¹³ Justice is a lost cause. Evil is epidemic.
    Decent people throw up their hands.
Protest and rebuke are useless,
    a waste of breath.

¹⁴ Seek good and not evil—
    and live!
You talk about God, the God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
    being your best friend.
Well, live like it,
    and maybe it will happen.

¹⁵ Hate evil and love good,
    then work it out in the public square.
Maybe God, the God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
    will notice your remnant and be gracious.

^16-17 Now again, my Master’s Message, God, God-of-the-Angel-Armies:

“Go out into the streets and lament loudly!
    Fill the malls and shops with cries of doom!
Weep loudly, ‘Not me! Not us, Not now!’
    Empty offices, stores, factories, workplaces.
Enlist everyone in the general lament.
    I want to hear it loud and clear when I make my visit.”
        God’s Decree.

Time to Face Hard Reality, Not Fantasy

^18-20 Woe to all of you who want God’s Judgment Day!
    Why would you want to see God, want him to come?
When God comes, it will be bad news before it’s good news,
    the worst of times, not the best of times.
Here’s what it’s like: A man runs from a lion
    right into the jaws of a bear.
A woman goes home after a hard day’s work
    and is raped by a neighbor.
At God’s coming we face hard reality, not fantasy—
    a black cloud with no silver lining.

^21-24 “I can’t stand your religious meetings.
    I’m fed up with your conferences and conventions.
I want nothing to do with your religion projects,
    your pretentious slogans and goals.

I’m sick of your fund-raising schemes,
    your public relations and image making.
I’ve had all I can take of your noisy ego-music.
    When was the last time you sang to me?

Do you know what I want?
    I want justice—oceans of it.
I want fairness—rivers of it.
    That’s what I want. That’s all I want.

^25-27 “Didn’t you, dear family of Israel, worship me faithfully for forty years in the wilderness, bringing the sacrifices and offerings I commanded? How is it you’ve stooped to dragging gimcrack statues of your so-called rulers around, hauling the cheap images of all your star-gods here and there? Since you like them so much, you can take them with you when I drive you into exile beyond Damascus.” God’s Message, God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

It begins with the awareness of who is living life around you.  Realize the life does not revolve around you and your busyness as validation for your importance and significance.  Our lives revolve around Jesus.  This can begin with merely opening a door for someone else.  Wait, what?!?

The Etiquette (or Selfless Kindness) of the Open Door:

When you approach a door that pulls open, reach out to open it then, continuing to hold the door open, stand aside so the person you’re with may enter. When you approach a door that pushes open, go on through as you hold the door, standing aside as you continue to hold it so others may enter. 

Yep, that’s how it works.  Baby steps, friends, baby steps…

Step two is looking a person in the eyes with the love of Christ in your heart.

Step three:  Show the love Jesus has given to you by calling you by name and simply introducing yourself.  Ask them for their name.  Use their name in an encouraging sentence or comment so you won’t forget.  There are more steps but we will stop here with baby steps to get us started.

I have a story that will bring tears to your eyes… “The Door Guy”

Holding a door open for someone else is a polite gesture that often goes unnoticed. But for a boy named Josh, opening doors for others became an act of courage that changed his whole life.

Josh’s story has been taking the internet by storm: After being bullied at his high school, he changed schools to try to make a fresh start. At his new school he wanted to find a way to distinguish himself from the other kids. He decided to start by opening doors for his classmates and offering a greeting to every person as they passed.  Josh’s small act of kindness has transformed his life and his future,

See the whole story here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIHtuKc3Gjg

So, taking this story to heart, I talked to a young couple after church service.  They are  about to have their second child next month.  Randy and I have been there, done that, having three kids of our own “back in the day.”  The mom’s eyes lit up when I told her how I made faces at their adorable two-year-old in church last week.  The dad smiled when we told him how his recent testimony and baptism touched our hearts. 

Two minutes of encouraging kindness—even as you walk out the door of your church– can lift hearts.  We aren’t the only ones in the room.  We aren’t the only ones living life in our world outside the building we call church.  Be the church inside AND outside the building.  We all struggle to remain close to Jesus.  All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  But we are redeemed and called to show Jesus to others.

More instruction of how to be like Jesus to others is found throughout the Bible, but a clearly concise “list” of behaviors can be found in Romans 12, one of my favorite places to go for help.  Here are a few snapshots of the whole picture:

“Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it.” 

“…it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.”

“If you preach, just preach God’s Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don’t take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don’t get bossy; if you’re put in charge, don’t manipulate; if you’re called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don’t let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.”

“Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it.”

Our response? Look for opportunities to say a kind word.  Like Josh found out, kindness is revolutionary and life-changing.  Mm, and so was Jesus!  Be like Jesus!

Oh God, how we need You
You’re our one defense, our righteousness
Oh God, how we need You…

Lord,

Helps us to love like you love us—without conditions.  Our response is to believe, truly believe that you are who you say you are so we can be who you created us to be in you.  Help us to walk humbly with you as we help others know you, too, through acts of generous kindness.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen

I don’t know about you but the minute I decide to go on a diet for my health and wellbeing, my mind immediately tells me to eat all things NOT healthy and not on the diet.  I notice and I am drawn to all the fast food commercials who tempt me, causing the cravings to grow stronger.  I can almost taste the fries and hear the sugary beverage poured into a clear glass so I can see it even better!  What a disappointment to receive nothing close to what is represented on the commercial at the establishment, but I eat it anyway!  I want all that I do not need.  I want that burger and fries along with that tall glass of soda pop!  But will that satisfy my hunger and thirst?

I’ve been a yo-yo dieter all my life. This is what I have learned. The more I cave into the cravings of unhealthy foods, the more and more my body demands them.  The more I think about the unhealthy foods, the more I crave them and the more I eat them.  It is an unending cycle that eventually causes bad habits, grumpy attitudes, and a sluggish life style.  We can blame no one but ourselves.  I hunger and thirst for everything that satisfies for a moment but hurts me eventually.  How about you?  I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who struggles with this human lack of control.

It is apparent that God’s people have decided to go on a starvation diet…a diet that excludes God from their lives.  Yikes!  Read on…

Amos 4, The Message

You Never Got Hungry for God

“Listen to this, you cows of Bashan
    grazing on the slopes of Samaria.
You women! Mean to the poor,
    cruel to the down-and-out!
Indolent and pampered, you demand of your husbands,
    ‘Bring us a tall, cool drink!’

^2-3 “This is serious—I, God, have sworn by my holiness!
    Be well warned: Judgment Day is coming!
They’re going to rope you up and haul you off,
    keep the stragglers in line with cattle prods.
They’ll drag you through the ruined city walls,
    forcing you out single file,
And kick you to kingdom come.”
    God’s Decree.

^4-5 “Come along to Bethel and sin!
    And then to Gilgal and sin some more!
Bring your sacrifices for morning worship.
    Every third day bring your tithe.
Burn pure sacrifices—thank offerings.
    Speak up—announce freewill offerings!
That’s the sort of religious show
    you Israelites just love.”
        God’s Decree.

⁶ “You know, don’t you, that I’m the One
    who emptied your pantries and cleaned out your cupboards,
Who left you hungry and standing in bread lines?
    But you never got hungry for me. You continued to ignore me.”
        God’s Decree.

^7-8 “Yes, and I’m the One who stopped the rains
    three months short of harvest.
I’d make it rain on one village
    but not on another.
I’d make it rain on one field
    but not on another—and that one would dry up.
People would stagger from village to village
    crazed for water and never quenching their thirst.
But you never got thirsty for me.
    You ignored me.”
        God’s Decree.

⁹ “I hit your crops with disease
    and withered your orchards and gardens.
Locusts devoured your olive and fig trees,
    but you continued to ignore me.”
        God’s Decree.

¹⁰ “I revisited you with the old Egyptian plagues,
    killed your choice young men and prize horses.
The stink of rot in your camps was so strong
    that you held your noses—
But you didn’t notice me.
    You continued to ignore me.”
        God’s Decree.

¹¹ “I hit you with earthquake and fire,
    left you devastated like Sodom and Gomorrah.
You were like a burning stick
    snatched from the flames.
But you never looked my way.
    You continued to ignore me.”
        God’s Decree.

¹² “All this I have done to you, Israel,
    and this is why I have done it.
Time’s up, O Israel!
    Prepare to meet your God!”

¹³ Look who’s here: Mountain-Shaper! Wind-Maker!
    He laid out the whole plot before Adam.
He brings everything out of nothing,
    like dawn out of darkness.
He strides across the alpine ridges.
    His name is God, God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND

We learn from Amos that to go on a diet that excludes God from every part of our lives leads to trouble, lack of protection, and bad attitudes.  Selfishness leads the way that causes us to want more and more of all that we do not need but we grab it anyway no matter who it hurts.  If we stay on this diet without God in our lives, we eventually will not hunger or thirst for Him at all.  Self becomes our manager and guide.  Evil comes in to take over what we think we are controlling and leads us to all kinds perverted activities.  This “diet” will lead to death eventually. 

I’m reminded of what Paul says is healthier for us in Ephesians 4…Read this entire letter of what God told Paul to write to us—it is a great “diet” for our spiritual health!  Here is a snapshot;

“Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”  Ephesians 4:15-16, NLT

And who is the Truth?  Jesus.  Jesus changes everything.  Jesus is the One and Only who will quench our hunger and thirst forever, making us healthy and whole.

Jesus describes Himself…

• I am the Bread of Life (John 6:35)
• I am the Light of the World (John 8:12)
• I am the Door (John 10:9)
• I am the Good Shepherd (John 10:11,14)
• I am the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25)
• I am the Way and the Truth and the Life (John 14:6)
• I am the Vine (John 15:1,5)

AND to those who believe in Jesus, we will never thirst again…

“On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’  John 7:37-38

Hunger and thirst for God and we will always be filled—forever!  Best “diet” ever!

Lord,

When I hunger and thirst for you, you provide.  My cravings for you grow stronger as I seek you and are filled in ways that I never knew to be possible.  You are amazing.  You fill us and provide all that we need in loving ways.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

In Jesus Name, Amen

“Teacher, teacher, will there be a test?”  This was indicator of study.  As a former public school teacher, I know that if I told my students that there would be no spelling test for the words I gave them to learn, they would not bother to study.  There is no learning where there is no test to hold students accountable for learning what is taught to help them grow and mature.

Imagine putting the spelling words on the board, then turning around to face students to tell them, “See these words?  They are important for you to learn.  Study them, memorize how to spell them, use them in a sentence, practice using them so they will become a part of you.  But there will be no test, I will never hold you accountable to see if you learned these words.”  Mmm….

Amos 3, The Message

The Lion Has Roared

Listen to this, Israel. God is calling you to account—and I mean all of you, everyone connected with the family that he delivered out of Egypt. Listen!

² “Out of all the families on earth,
    I picked you.
Therefore, because of your special calling,
    I’m holding you responsible for all your sins.”

^3-7 Do two people walk hand in hand
    if they aren’t going to the same place?
Does a lion roar in the forest
    if there’s no carcass to devour?
Does a young lion growl with pleasure
    if he hasn’t caught his supper?
Does a bird fall to the ground
    if it hasn’t been hit with a stone?
Does a trap spring shut
    if nothing trips it?
When the alarm goes off in the city,
    aren’t people alarmed?
And when disaster strikes the city,
    doesn’t God stand behind it?
The fact is, God, the Master, does nothing
    without first telling his prophets the whole story.

⁸ The lion has roared—
    who isn’t frightened?
God has spoken—
    what prophet can keep quiet?

* * *

^9-11 Announce to the forts of Assyria,
    announce to the forts of Egypt—
Tell them, “Gather on the Samaritan mountains, take a good, hard look:
    what a snake pit of brutality and terror!
They can’t—or won’t—do one thing right.” God said so.
    “They stockpile violence and blight.
Therefore”—this is God’s Word—“an enemy will surround the country.
    He’ll strip you of your power and plunder your forts.”

¹² God’s Message:

“In the same way that a shepherd
    trying to save a lamb from a lion
Manages to recover
    just a pair of legs or the scrap of an ear,
So will little be saved of the Israelites
    who live in Samaria—
A couple of old chairs at most,
    the broken leg of a table.

^13-15 “Listen and bring witness against Jacob’s family”—
    this is God’s Word, God-of-the-Angel-Armies!
“Note well! The day I make Israel pay for its sins,
    pay for the sin-altars of worship at Bethel,
The horned altars will all be dehorned
    and scattered around.
I’ll tear down the winter palace,
    smash the summer palace—all your fancy buildings.
The luxury homes will be demolished,
    all those pretentious houses.”
        God’s Decree.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Will the students do what the teacher says if the teacher never holds them accountable for what they have learned?  Most students perform for the teacher, doing it for the teacher, without thinking this information will be good for them to know.  A few will have the self-motivated tenacity to learn and see the benefit but most think, “If the teacher doesn’t care enough to confront me and hold me accountable then why should I care?”

God cares.  God holds us accountable for our thoughts and actions.  He sent Jesus, His Son, to care enough to confront sin as he sought the lost to save them.  God cares enough to confront us when we refuse to learn, practice what He teaches, as we disconnect ourselves from the most important relationship we can have with God.  God also knows we need to be helped, encouraged, and rescued.  When God calls us to account like He did His people, He follows up with a plan to deliver us.

Look at verse 10!  What a terrible indictment: “They can’t—or won’t—do one thing right.” They were so bound by their greed and idolatry that they found doing what was right virtually impossible. Like many people today, they were addicted to affluence. They didn’t care that others lacked the necessities of life so long as they themselves enjoyed luxuries.  God cared enough to hold them accountable and confront their behaviors that were hurting others!

Be grateful we have a God who cares enough to confront, encourage, guide us through the deep waters, hide us in the cleft of His hand, teach and hold us accountable for His teaching of how to live and walk with Him in a loving relationship. 

God loves us enough to confront us when we are headed toward a crash of consciousness with resulting behaviors unbecoming a child of God.  He helps us to avoid hurting ourselves and others by guiding us back on the path less traveled with Him at our side.  Yes, God holds us accountable with His compassionate testing as we grow and mature in His love for Him and for others.  There is no one like our God.

I am grateful for The One who loves me most of all as the One who holds me accountable.  To God be the glory!

Thank you, Lord! 

Thank you for teaching us, coming alongside us, guiding us back on the path of what is right in your eyes, while leading to the Way everlasting with you.  You are indeed our Solid Rock on which we stand amazed at your glory!  You are Life.  You are Love.  Help me to hear your voice above all other voices in this world with courage to follow you.

In Jesus Name, Amen

We get ourselves in to messes of our own making, blame others for it, then we try to hide it so others won’t see it.  What we present to the world when we step out of the doors of our homes each day might be a different person than the person who lives hidden inside for no one else to see.  We wonder why guilt follows us everywhere we go causing our emotions to be all over the map.  That guilt is God’s Holy Spirit calling us to repentance to God—and to Truth, the Person of Jesus Christ, who paid the debt for all our sins, mistakes, and shortcomings in our judgement and actions.  Disobedience to God carries a heavy price—a price too high to bear forever.

We cannot hide what we have done for long from people.  We cannot hide anything from God who knows our hearts and minds inside and out and knows that our soul hungers for Him—especially when we are guilty and haven’t done anything to rid ourselves of the guilt.  We pile on more guilt by thinking we will never get this Jesus life right so we go on doing what we know even when it is bringing us down lower each day.

We cannot run from God.  “Where could I go that you are not there?” proclaims the Psalmist.  (Psalm 139) God created all so He is in all and knows all.  He knows who we are by name, what we are thinking and planning to do right now, what we will do and where we are headed unless we allow Him to transform our thinking which in turn transforms what we do.  We are either for Him or we are not.  We either run to Him or ignore His guidance and run from Him.  The latter is a useless act that leads nowhere.

The nations have turned their backs on God despite all He has done for them and through them.  God wants to bless His people but they have fallen for all the lies of the evil one who owns the culture in which they live.  They are no different than those who do not know God.  Therefore, they are in a mess. 

Amos 2, The Message

^1-3 God’s Message:

“Because of the three great sins of Moab
    —make that four—I’m not putting up with her any longer.
She violated the corpse of Edom’s king,
    burning it to cinders.
For that, I’m burning down Moab,
    burning down the forts of Kerioth.
Moab will die in the shouting,
    go out in the blare of war trumpets.
I’ll remove the king from the center
    and kill all his princes with him.”
        God’s Decree.

^4-5 God’s Message:

“Because of the three great sins of Judah
    —make that four—I’m not putting up with them any longer.
They rejected God’s revelation,
    refused to keep my commands.
But they swallowed the same old lies
    that got their ancestors onto dead-end roads.
For that, I’m burning down Judah,
    burning down all the forts of Jerusalem.”

Destroyed from the Roots Up

^6-8 God’s Message:

“Because of the three great sins of Israel
    —make that four—I’m not putting up with them any longer.
They buy and sell upstanding people.
    People for them are only things—ways of making money.
They’d sell a poor man for a pair of shoes.
    They’d sell their own grandmother!
They grind the penniless into the dirt,
    shove the luckless into the ditch.
Everyone and his brother sleeps with the ‘sacred whore’—
    a sacrilege against my Holy Name.
Stuff they’ve extorted from the poor
    is piled up at the shrine of their god,
While they sit around drinking wine
    they’ve conned from their victims.

^9-11 “In contrast, I was always on your side.
    I destroyed the Amorites who confronted you,
Amorites with the stature of great cedars,
    tough as thick oaks.
I destroyed them from the top branches down.
    I destroyed them from the roots up.
And yes, I’m the One who delivered you from Egypt,
    led you safely through the wilderness for forty years
And then handed you the country of the Amorites
    like a piece of cake on a platter.
I raised up some of your young men to be prophets,
    set aside your best youth for training in holiness.
Isn’t this so, Israel?”
    God’s Decree.

^12-13 “But you made the youth-in-training break training,
    and you told the young prophets, ‘Don’t prophesy!’
You’re too much for me.
    I’m hard-pressed—to the breaking point.
I’m like a wagon piled high and overloaded,
    creaking and groaning.

^14-16 “When I go into action, what will you do?
    There’s no place to run no matter how fast you run.
The strength of the strong won’t count.
    Fighters won’t make it.
Skilled archers won’t make it.
    Fast runners won’t make it.
Chariot drivers won’t make it.
    Even the bravest of all your warriors
Won’t make it.
    He’ll run off for dear life, stripped naked.”
        God’s Decree.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Run to God—He is waiting for you with open arms of love and compassion!  The goodness of God ought to lead us to repentance, as it did the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:17; Rom. 2:4)

Stop hiding from God—It is a useless quest that compounds our stress and worry, the biproducts of guilt that eventually destroys us.

“Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.  Psalm 139:7-12

Believe, repent, and be saved for eternity with God because of Jesus, His Son. His gift of obedience is peace.

So, when we are in a mess, don’t mess with God—run to God! Hear and follow His voice above all the other voices of this world.  God will help us when we turn and take the first baby step toward Him.  And He will be with us always!  That is His promise and God does not lie!

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:23-24

Lord,

I confess my mess and ask for your help.  Thank you for delighting in all the details of my life.  I give you my life, all of it, as an offering to you this morning.  Teach me, guide me, lead me through the high and low waters of this life.  Cleanse my heart, renew my mind, refresh my soul with all of you in me, and restore the joy of your salvation at work  in me. 

In Jesus Name, Amen

We love to “seek” justice by joining groups who fight for causes for all kinds of reasons and seasons, so that the “government” or some others organization will solve the poor and exploited problems without really giving anything from our pocket books personally. 

What if we “act” justly by generously giving without anyone knowing—without stopping to think how giving will benefit us in some way?  We have to ask ourselves, “How openhanded and generous am I?”  “What are my motivations for acting justly toward others in need from what God has given so generously to me?”

Amos is famous for reminding God’s people to cease from exploiting the poor.  As we continue to study the “minor prophets” with a powerful message from God, I am reminded of what the prophet Micah said that boils it all down for us, “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)

I also recall what Jesus said when the woman spilled out her greatly expensive perfume over Jesus to honor Him and Judas incited the others to be indignant over the act.  Jesus responds; “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me.”  (Matthew 26:10-11, See also John12:8) In this case, Jesus corrects those with good motives. His response is not harsh, but it is instructive. He tells them they will always have the poor with them.  In other words, they will never lack opportunities to help those in need.

Jesus is pulling from Deuteronomy as He explains the love and generosity of God to emphasize what our right and pleasing, generous response back to God and His people should be.  Jesus quotes His “you will always have the poor” statement from Deuteronomy 17:7-11:

“If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need. Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: “The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near,” so that you do not show ill will toward the needy among your fellow Israelites and give them nothing. They may then appeal to the Lord against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore, I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.”

Some use only the statement, “you will always have the poor among you” as a loophole of sorts to think, “Oh well, why give?  It will always be this way.”  But we are missing the point.  If we are to grow to be more like Jesus, developing the character traits of God, then we give because He gives.  It’s who God is.  We become who He is—Givers who love to give.

“For God so loved, He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 

Amos 1, The Message

 The Message of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa, that he received on behalf of Israel. It came to him in visions during the time that Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam II son of Joash was king of Israel, two years before the big earthquake.

Swallowing the Same Old Lies

² The Message:

God roars from Zion,
    shouts from Jerusalem!
The thunderclap voice withers the pastures tended by shepherds,
    shrivels Mount Carmel’s proud peak.

^3-5 God’s Message:

“Because of the three great sins of Damascus
    —make that four—I’m not putting up with her any longer.
She pounded Gilead to a pulp, pounded her senseless
    with iron hammers and mauls.
For that, I’m setting the palace of Hazael on fire.
    I’m torching Ben-hadad’s forts.
I’m going to smash the Damascus gates
    and banish the crime king who lives in Sin Valley,
    the vice boss who gives orders from Paradise Palace.
The people of the land will be sent back
    to where they came from—to Kir.”
        God’s Decree.

^6-8 God’s Message:

“Because of the three great sins of Gaza
    —make that four—I’m not putting up with her any longer.
She deported whole towns
    and then sold the people to Edom.
For that, I’m burning down the walls of Gaza,
    burning up all her forts.
I’ll banish the crime king from Ashdod,
    the vice boss from Ashkelon.
I’ll raise my fist against Ekron,
    and what’s left of the Philistines will die.”
        God’s Decree.

^9-10 God’s Message:

“Because of the three great sins of Tyre
    —make that four—I’m not putting up with her any longer.
She deported whole towns to Edom,
    breaking the treaty she had with her kin.
For that, I’m burning down the walls of Tyre,
    burning up all her forts.”

^11-12 God’s Message:

“Because of the three great sins of Edom
    —make that four—I’m not putting up with her any longer.
She hunts down her brother to murder him.
    She has no pity, she has no heart.
Her anger rampages day and night.
    Her meanness never takes a timeout.
For that, I’m burning down her capital, Teman,
    burning up the forts of Bozrah.”

^13-15 God’s Message:

“Because of the three great sins of Ammon
    —make that four—I’m not putting up with her any longer.
She ripped open pregnant women in Gilead
    to get more land for herself.
For that, I’m burning down the walls of her capital, Rabbah,
    burning up her forts.
Battle shouts! War whoops!
    with a tornado to finish things off!
The king has been carted off to exile,
    the king and his princes with him.”
        God’s Decree.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

• We learn from the beginning how NOT to be like the grasping for power culture around us. 
• Avoid being hard hearted, mean spirited, selling out people to exploit them for personal benefit while extending little to no mercy. 
• Act justly to all people. 
• Love mercy.
• Walk humbly with God who sees the heart and knows why we do what we do.
• Be generous, give generously as God as so generously given to us.

THINK ABOUT IT…

“More people are exploited and abused in the causes of religion than in any other way.  Sex, money, and power all take a back seat to religion as a source of evil.  Religion is the most dangerous energy source known to humankind.  The moment a person (or government religion or organization) is convinced that God is either ordering or sanctioning a cause or project, anything goes.  The history, worldwide, of religion-fueled hate, killing, and oppression is staggering.  The biblical prophets are in the front line of those doing something about it.” –Eugene Peterson, Introduction to Amos, The Message 

“The biblical prophets continue to be the most powerful and effective voices ever heard on this earth for keeping religion honest, humble, and compassionate.  Prophets sniff out injustice, especially in justice that is dressed up in religious garb.  They sniff it out a mile away.  Prophets see through hypocrisy, especially hypocrisy that assumes a religious pose.   Prophets are not impressed by position or power or authority.  They aren’t taken in by numbers, size, or appearances of success.”—Peterson

“They pay little attention to what men and women say about God or do for God.  They listen to God and rigorously test all human language and action against what they hear.  Among these prophets, Amos towers as defender of the downtrodden poor and accuser of the powerful rich who use Gd’s name to legitimize their sin.”—Peterson

“None of us can be trusted in this business.  If we pray and worship God and associate with others who likewise pray and worship God, we absolutely must keep company with these biblical prophets.  We are required to submit all our words and acts to their passionate scrutiny to prevent the perversions of our religion into something self-serving.  A spiritual life that doesn’t give a large place to the prophet-articulated justice will end up making us worse instead of better, separating us from god’s ways instead of drawing us into them.” –Peterson

Lord,

Help us to guard our hearts knowing you see our hearts and know us better than we know ourselves.  Make us holy before you as only you can.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen

We were warned the battery was weak with instruments that revealed the power left; but we kept going because we wanted to get to our destination in our time in our own way.  That was a mistake in judgement and wisdom. 

ONLY GOD.  As I read over this chapter that continues a warning to all God’s people and the treacherous, evil obsessed people around them, I am even more impressed with the love, patience, and compassionate heart God has for us.  Truly His mercies are new and fresh each morning, each day of our lives here, as we yield our hearts, allow the transformation of our minds and a filling of our souls with all HE wants. 

The prophet Joel warns Israel about God’s impending judgment for its spiritual complacency and religious neglect. When the people prospered, they abandoned God or minimized the importance of him in their lives. 

When things in life are going well, do we forget who got us there? 

Do we ignore the warning lights, bells and buzzers that are going off in our minds?

God always gives us chances, opportunities to repent before he inflicts discipline. Like a loving parent, God’s purpose is not to punish but to correct and nurture.  Even now, it is God’s will that “no one perish” but that all the world would believe and be saved by Jesus who died for our sins and rose to be our hope forever.  (2 Peter 3:9 and John 3:16) God also shows a safe place to hide when evil runs rampant under the shadow of his loving wings of protection.  (Psalm 91:4)  Our God, that is who He is…

Joel 3, The Message

God Is a Safe Hiding Place

^1-3 “In those days, yes, at that very time
    when I put life back together again for Judah and Jerusalem,
I’ll assemble all the godless nations.
    I’ll lead them down into Judgment Valley
And put them all on trial, and judge them one and all
    because of their treatment of my own people Israel.
They scattered my people all over the pagan world
    and grabbed my land for themselves.
They threw dice for my people
    and used them for barter.
They would trade a boy for a whore,
    sell a girl for a bottle of wine when they wanted a drink.

* * *

^4-8 “As for you, Tyre and Sidon and Philistia,
    why should I bother with you?
Are you trying to get back at me
    for something I did to you?
If you are, forget it.
    I’ll see to it that it boomerangs on you.
You robbed me, cleaned me out of silver and gold,
    carted off everything valuable to furnish your own temples.
You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem
    into slavery to the Greeks in faraway places.
But I’m going to reverse your crime.
    I’m going to free those slaves.
I’ll have done to you what you did to them:
    I’ll sell your children as slaves to your neighbors,
And they’ll sell them to the far-off Sabeans.”
    God’s Verdict.

* * *

^9-11 Announce this to the godless nations:
    Prepare for battle!
Soldiers at attention!
    Present arms! Advance!
Turn your shovels into swords,
    turn your hoes into spears.
Let the weak one throw out his chest
    and say, “I’m tough, I’m a fighter.”
Hurry up, pagans! Wherever you are, get a move on!
    Get your act together.
Prepare to be
    shattered by God!

¹² Let the pagan nations set out
    for Judgment Valley.
There I’ll take my place at the bench
    and judge all the surrounding nations.

¹³ “Swing the sickle—
    the harvest is ready.
Stomp on the grapes—
    the winepress is full.
The wine vats are full,
    overflowing with vintage evil.

¹⁴ “Mass confusion, mob uproar—
    in Decision Valley!
God’s Judgment Day has arrived
    in Decision Valley.

^15-17 “The sky turns black,
    sun and moon go dark, stars burn out.
God roars from Zion, shouts from Jerusalem.
    Earth and sky quake in terror.
But God is a safe hiding place,
    a granite safe house for the children of Israel.
Then you’ll know for sure
    that I’m your God,
Living in Zion,
    my sacred mountain.
Jerusalem will be a sacred city,
    posted: ‘no trespassing.’

Milk Rivering out of the Hills

^18-21 “What a day!
    Wine streaming off the mountains,
Milk rivering out of the hills,
    water flowing everywhere in Judah,
A fountain pouring out of God’s Sanctuary,
    watering all the parks and gardens!
But Egypt will be reduced to weeds in a vacant lot,
    Edom turned into barren badlands,
All because of brutalities to the Judean people,
    the atrocities and murders of helpless innocents.
Meanwhile, Judah will be filled with people,
    Jerusalem inhabited forever.
The sins I haven’t already forgiven, I’ll forgive.”
    God has moved into Zion for good.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Believe, really believe that what God says about who He is, what He has done, is doing and will do, is really real.  If we do believe; we are saved for God has forgiven us perfectly and completely.  Trust and Obey God.

My prayer this morning even before reading this scripture for myself might be helpful to you today…

Lord,

Thank you for hearing my heart and words in the quiet of this first hour of this day.  Thank you for being with us. Thank you for peace when evil brings panic to my heart and rattles my mind.  Continue to replace worry with wisdom, panic for peace, concerns with contentment.  I trust you, dear Jesus, I trust you.  Thank you, Lord.  You are indeed my hiding place when the battle gets rough and I need to turn it all over to you. There is no one like You!  Nothing is too hard for you.  With You all is possible and all is well with my soul.  I’m living underneath the shadow of your protective wing.  Amazing love!

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen

The song, “Rescue,” by Lauren Daigle, came to mind and is playing in the background as I read the prophet Joel’s words this morning…

You are not hidden
There’s never been a moment
You were forgotten
You are not hopeless
Though you have been broken
Your innocence stolen

I hear you whisper underneath your breath
I hear your SOS, your SOS

I will send out an army to find you
In the middle of the darkest night
It’s true, I will rescue you

There is no distance
That cannot be covered
Over and over
You’re not defenseless
I’ll be your shelter
I’ll be your armor

I hear you whisper underneath your breath
I hear your SOS, your SOS

I will send out an army to find you
In the middle of the darkest night
It’s true, I will rescue you
I will never stop marching to reach you
In the middle of the hardest fight
It’s true, I will rescue you

Oh, I will rescue you…

Joel 2, The Message

The Locust Army

^1-3 Blow the ram’s horn trumpet in Zion!
    Trumpet the alarm on my holy mountain!
Shake the country up!
    God’s Judgment’s on its way—the Day’s almost here!
A black day! A Doomsday!
    Clouds with no silver lining!
Like dawn light moving over the mountains,
    a huge army is coming.
There’s never been anything like it
    and never will be again.
Wildfire burns everything before this army
    and fire licks up everything in its wake.
Before it arrives, the country is like the Garden of Eden.
    When it leaves, it is Death Valley.
    Nothing escapes unscathed.

^4-6 The locust army seems all horses—
    galloping horses, an army of horses.
It sounds like thunder
    leaping on mountain ridges,
Or like the roar of wildfire
    through grass and brush,
Or like an invincible army shouting for blood,
    ready to fight, straining at the bit.
At the sight of this army,
    the people panic, faces white with terror.

^7-11 The invaders charge.
    They climb barricades. Nothing stops them.
Each soldier does what he’s told,
    so disciplined, so determined.
They don’t get in each other’s way.
    Each one knows his job and does it.
Undaunted and fearless,
    unswerving, unstoppable.
They storm the city,
    swarm its defenses,
Loot the houses,
    breaking down doors, smashing windows.
They arrive like an earthquake,
    sweep through like a tornado.
Sun and moon turn out their lights,
    stars black out.
God himself bellows in thunder
    as he commands his forces.
Look at the size of that army!
    And the strength of those who obey him!
God’s Judgment Day—great and terrible.
    Who can possibly survive this?

Change Your Life

¹² But there’s also this, it’s not too late—
    God’s personal Message!—
“Come back to me and really mean it!
    Come fasting and weeping, sorry for your sins!”

^13-14 Change your life, not just your clothes.
    Come back to God, your God.
And here’s why: God is kind and merciful.
    He takes a deep breath, puts up with a lot,
This most patient God, extravagant in love,
    always ready to cancel catastrophe.
Who knows? Maybe he’ll do it now,
    maybe he’ll turn around and show pity.
Maybe, when all’s said and done,
    there’ll be blessings full and robust for your God!

* * *

^15-17 Blow the ram’s horn trumpet in Zion!
    Declare a day of repentance, a holy fast day.
Call a public meeting.
    Get everyone there. Consecrate the congregation.
Make sure the elders come,
    but bring in the children, too, even the nursing babies,
Even men and women on their honeymoon—
    interrupt them and get them there.
Between Sanctuary entrance and altar,
    let the priests, God’s servants, weep tears of repentance.
Let them intercede: “Have mercy, God, on your people!
    Don’t abandon your heritage to contempt.
Don’t let the pagans take over and rule them
    and sneer, ‘And so where is this God of theirs?’”

* * *

The Trees Are Bearing Fruit Again

^21-24 Fear not, Earth! Be glad and celebrate!
    God has done great things.
Fear not, wild animals!
    The fields and meadows are greening up.
The trees are bearing fruit again:
    a bumper crop of fig trees and vines!
Children of Zion, celebrate!
    Be glad in your God.
He’s giving you a teacher
    to train you how to live right—
Teaching, like rain out of heaven, showers of words
    to refresh and nourish your soul, just as he used to do.
And plenty of food for your body—silos full of grain,
    casks of wine and barrels of olive oil.

^18-20 At that, God went into action to get his land back.
    He took pity on his people.
God answered and spoke to his people,
    “Look, listen—I’m sending a gift:
Grain and wine and olive oil.
    The fast is over—eat your fill!
I won’t expose you any longer
    to contempt among the pagans.
I’ll head off the final enemy coming out of the north
    and dump them in a wasteland.
Half of them will end up in the Dead Sea,
    the other half in the Mediterranean.
There they’ll rot, a stench to high heaven.
    The bigger the enemy, the stronger the stench!”

* * *

^25-27 “I’ll make up for the years of the locust,    the great locust devastation—
Locusts savage, locusts deadly,
    fierce locusts, locusts of doom,
That great locust invasion
    I sent your way.
You’ll eat your fill of good food.
    You’ll be full of praises to your God,
The God who has set you back on your heels in wonder.
    Never again will my people be despised.
You’ll know without question
    that I’m in the thick of life with Israel,
That I’m your God, yes, your God,
    the one and only real God.
Never again will my people be despised.

The Sun Turning Black and the Moon Blood-Red

^28-32 “And that’s just the beginning: After that—

“I will pour out my Spirit
    on every kind of people:
Your sons will prophesy,
    also your daughters.
Your old men will dream,
    your young men will see visions.
I’ll even pour out my Spirit on the servants,
    men and women both.

I’ll set wonders in the sky above
    and signs on the earth below:
Blood and fire and billowing smoke,
    the sun turning black and the moon blood-red,
Before the Judgment Day of God,
    the Day tremendous and awesome.
Whoever calls, ‘Help, God!’
    gets help.
On Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
    there will be a great rescue—just as God said.
Included in the survivors
    are those that God calls.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Did this passage strike a chord of longing in your heart as it did mine for myself and other loved ones? —

“Come back to me and really mean it! Come fasting and weeping, sorry for your sins! Change your life, not just your clothes. Come back to God, yourGod.  And here’s why: God is kind and merciful. He takes a deep breath, puts up with a lot, this most patient God, extravagant in love, always ready to cancel catastrophe…there will be a great rescue, just as He said.” 

Wow!  Is God calling out to you right now, asking you to turn back to Him and really believe what He says about Himself and His gift of salvation through His Son, Jesus?  If so, sing with me…

I hear the whisper underneath your breath
I hear you whisper, you have nothing left

I will send out an army to find you
In the middle of the darkest night
It’s true, I will rescue you
I will never stop marching to reach you
In the middle of the hardest fight
It’s true, I will rescue you

Oh, I will rescue you

God warned His people of impending danger of living away from Him.  What warning signs is God giving you (and me) that should alert us to trouble? What attitude or action have we failed to confront? Is it hard to persevere? Yes! But it is so important.

“Oh, I will rescue you”, says God but He loves it when we can do our part to avoid those things that will take us under.  Call out to Him in those moments, He will help us!  He promised!

Lord,

Thank you for your teaching today that reminds us to heed warnings of the danger of walking away from your truth. Thank you for bringing us back to you.  Thank you for the warnings that lead to your beautiful rescue—all because of your relentless love for us.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen