✍️ THE 📖OF AMOS
Days: 197 Amos: 03 – 07
Wednesday: 27.01.2021

Amos, “God is totally aware of our thoughts and actions.”

In chapter 4, Amos tells the people of Israel that God has had enough. In a sarcastic way God says, “People of Israel, go to the holy place in Bethel and sin, if you must. Go to Gilgal and sin with all your might! Go ahead and bring animals to be sacrificed morning after morning, and bring your tithes every third day. Go on and offer your bread in thanksgiving to God, and brag about the extra offering you bring! This is the kind of thing you love to do.”

God was relating their thoughts back to them; this was the way they thought and the way they lived. Going through the motion…going in body only for show and not going with the heart ❤ to show love for God. The Israelites were using the Sabbath for show and even bragged about the extra offering they brought to the holy place. Everything had become about self, not about God!

On the sabbath the put on a show and the rest of the week, they ignored God and took advantage of the poor and the weak. They were greedy. They cheated the people they traded with.

“Listen to this, you women of Samaria who grow fat like the well-fed cows of Bashan, who mistreat the weak, oppress the poor, and demand that your husbands keep you supplied with wine (Amos 4:1).

“You people hate anyone who challenges injustice and speaks the whole truth in court. You have oppressed the poor and robbed them of their grain. I know how terrible your sins are and how many crimes you have committed. You persecute good people, take bribes, and prevent the poor from getting justice in the courts” (Amos 5:10-12).

God knew what was in their hearts and minds 🧠, just as He knows our minds and hearts💞.

Oh, Israelites…Wake Up … Wake Up…Wake Up
At times God has gone to great lengths to get the attention of His people and to wake them up. The Israelites were hard-headed just as we can be today.

The prophet Amos’ message was that God had sent him to get their attention and to convince them to turn from their sinful ways.

“I was the one who brought famine to all your cities, yet you did not come back to me. I kept it from raining when your crops needed it most. I sent rain on one field, but another dried up… Still you did not come back to me”
(Amos 4:6).

“I sent a scorching wind to dry up your crops. The locusts ate up all your gardens and vineyards, your fig trees and olive trees. Still, you did not come back to me”
(Amos 4:9).

“I sent a plague on you like the one I sent on Egypt. I killed your young men in battle and took your horses away. I filled your nostrils with the stinks of dead bodies in your camps. Still you did not come back to me” (Amos 4:10).

“I destroyed some of you as I destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Those of you who survived were like a burning stick saved from a fire. Still you did not come back to me“ (Amos 4:11).

“So then, people of Israel, I am going to punish you. And because I am going to do this, get ready to face my judgment” (Amos 4:12).

Even in this time of anger, God remembers the promise He made to David. He will punish the people of Israel but save a remnant to carry on the line of David.
In 3:10, the Lord says, “As a shepherd recovers only two legs or an ear of a sheep that a lion has eaten, so only a few will survive of Samaria’s people.”

Punishment can be avoided

– or at least recovered from
For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel:
“Seek me and live;
but do not seek Bethel,
and do not enter into Gilgal
or cross over to Beersheba;
for Gilgal shall surely go into exile,
and Bethel shall come to nothing.”
Seek the Lord and live,
lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph,
and it devour, with none to quench it for Bethel,
O you who turn justice to wormwood
and cast down righteousness to the earth!
Amos 5:4–7

When we sin, we can immediately begin to repair the damage. While the consequences may be immediate or delayed depending on the sin, we must act.

There are three things to do to recover from the devastating results of sin.
Repentance is the start of recovery.
It means we change our mind about sin. It means we seek God instead of our own way. We want Him and His way more than anything. That is the way we are meant to live and it is the best way to live. 👍

Prayer is the means of recovery

In prayer, we confess our sins to God and declare our desire to follow unconditionally.
We find an edifying fellowship with Him and enjoy his presence once again.

Obedience is the life of recovery.
There is no other alternative for the follower of Jesus. We live lives of obedience.

This means we go where Jesus tells us to go, say what He tells us to say and do what He tells us to do.
We know that when we are obedient, we can change the world around us. This life of obedience is the abundant life that Jesus promised.

God has a standard

This is what He showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,

“Behold, I am setting a plumb line
in the midst of my people Israel;
I will never again pass by them;
the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate,
and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,
and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”
Amos 7:7–9

What God desires is not a mystery. We don’t have to go through life not knowing if we are accepted by him. He has clearly revealed his requirements in scripture. Think of your life as a building.
When you build on the principles of God’s word you are a wise builder. When you don’t, you are a foolish builder.

Building on the truth of God results in a solid life that stands the test of storms and time.
When you immerse yourself in God’s word and allow it to saturate your life, you will be changed and you will find the eternal life – the awesome life – that God wants for you.

God may call you

Amos was a farmer. He kept sheep and fig trees (Amos 7:14).
But God called him to proclaim words of warning to his people. Whatever you are doing right now, you need to know that God could call you.
He could place his message on your heart and send you out to broadcast that message.
Surprise! Be ready and listen for His voice. You might just have a higher calling on your life!

✍️Mrs. Kalaiselvi Balakrishnan in Jesus Christ