Tuesday
God had specially chosen the Israelites because of his promise to Abraham, yet their pride and willful disobedience led them to doing the things they were warned against doing. I am pretty sure that Amos’ prophecy is not met with “oh wow, we should change what we are doing and start following God again, let’s not worship other gods, let’s not oppress the poor.”
How much better for them if that was true, but as we will learn in later books, the people of both Israel and then Judah are taken into captivity.
What if someone like Amos stood up today in our country and proclaimed the same message? Would our nation turn back to God? Would we stop fighting each other? Would we learn to love as Jesus loved? Has our pride in our own accomplishments tarnished our hearts so that we no longer need Christ in our lives or in the life of the country? I am pretty sure that Amos’ prophecy would fall on deaf ears today as they did almost 3000 years ago. Why do we never learn?
Chapter 5 gives us the opportunity to repent. Seek God and live. The God who is the creator of the universe (5:8) is calling us back to Him. Then and now. If you have become distracted and are falling away from God, take time, right now, to ask for forgiveness and repent. Ask God to be the Lord of your life and cling to only Him. Don’t let everyday activities keep you from spending time with the Lord. Don’t let pride and selfish ambition detour your spiritual journey. This is my prayer for myself today, and I pray it for all those who have forgotten their first love. (Rev. 2:1-7)
Shalom
Pastor Kathy