AMOS 3:14

“‘For on the day that I punish Israel’s offenses, I will also punish the altars of Bethel; the horns of the altar will be cut off and will fall to the ground.’”

Have you ever heard the expression “Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades”? Sometimes imitation is the ultimate flattery. Traveling overseas I have seen some pretty good imitations of handbags and other expensive items. They were close to the original but not quite.

Jeroboam had built an altar at Bethel for the Northern Kingdom to offer their sacrifices. He did not want them going back to Jerusalem to the temple because he feared their allegiance to him might falter. Here, Amos prophesies that altars destruction. It might have been built to look like the original, but it could never replace it.

APPLICATION

Do you live your Christian life like that? Do you try to live an artificial Christian life? You practice your faith on certain days, but on others you live another life. Your faith may look real, but it’s a poor imitation. There can only be one real life for Christ. You can’t fake it.

So, how do you not fake it? There is really only one way. You have to live each and every day with one purpose. That is to glorify Jesus in all you do. If you do that, your life won’t be imitation. It will be real. It will be genuine. It won’t need to be torn down like Jeroboam’s altar.

I am thankful that I can walk with Him daily. His Spirit guides me as I surrender to His will. I don’t like it sometimes, but I know it is the right thing. My flesh wants to rebel, but my spirit leads me. I have learned the hard way, believe me. Trust Him to lead you each day. You won’t regret it.

I trust You Lord to lead me. Even when I resist, pull me along.