Monthly Archives: March 2022

Accountability, Angels, Battles, Bible, Deceit, Destruction, Eternity, Following, Idols, Judgment

BLOWS FROM ABOVE

AMOS 9:1

“I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said, ‘Strike the pillar capitals so that the thresholds will shake and break them on the heads of them all! Then I will put to death the rest of them with the sword; they will not have a fugitive who will flee, nor a survivor who will escape.’”

Anyone knows when you are engaging your enemy you always want the high ground. That gives you a better view of the enemy’s moves and you can better defend yourself. Also, when you strike, you strike from above. Being above your target can give you an edge in the fight.

God is standing in Amos’ vision and tells His Angel of the Lord to strike the place of worship that Jeroboam had built. Strike it from above. Crush it and anyone who is there worshipping. God was done with this façade of worship. He wanted it done away with.

APPLICATION

I don’t think you want to feel God’s blows from above, do you? Well, if you are in Christ, you have nothing to fear. That’s not how God treats His children. He may discipline you, but it will always be in love and to draw you to Him.

But for those who are not in Christ, they have no idea what is coming. They will be judged one day, and they will feel those blows from God. He will crush them and send them to their eternal punishment.

There is a person on television right now who claims to be an atheist. He has done a commercial to talk about his atheist group. Just because he doesn’t believe in God, doesn’t make God not exist. But he closes his commercial by stating that he is okay with burning in hell. He has no idea. We should all pray that all these who claim such nonsense will come to their senses and realize there is a God who loves them so much.

God, I am so thankful I don’t have to fear Your blows from above. I am safe in the arms of Jesus.

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Altars, Bible, Choices, Confession, Disciplemaking, Double-minded, Eternity, God's Will, Idols, Obedience

I SWEAR

AMOS 8:14

“As for those who swear by the guilt of Samaria, and say, ‘As your god lives, Dan,’ and, ‘As the way of Beersheba lives,’ they will fall and not rise again.’”

My mama didn’t allow any swearing in her house. If one of us said, “I swear,” she would wear us out. We weren’t allowed to say, “My God!” She had a high respect and awe of God and didn’t allow her children to say or do anything that went against that.

The Israelites were warned by Moses and Joshua not to swear by any other God besides Jehovah. This “guilt of Samaria” probably referred to the calf that was there and was worshipped by the people. “The way of Beersheba” more than likely referred to the avenue of their idols they had set up. God despised this and held them accountable for their idol worship.

APPLICATION

We still make vows and swear by God. When I married, I made vows to my wife before God. When I go to court and have to testify, I am asked to raise my hand and vow to tell the truth. Swearing to God isn’t bad. Swearing to another god is a different story. That still isn’t okay with God.

You are probably thinking I would never do that. I would never swear to another god. You may not do that consciously. But have you ever put something above God in priority? Have you chosen something of the world above something that has eternal value?

We swear in all kinds of ways. We can’t allow ourselves to get sidetracked or out of focus. Satan loves to get our eyes off what is eternal and onto the temporal. We can become so obsessed with worldly things that we totally forget what is important, what is righteous, what is pure. Take a step back today and evaluate what you put first in your life.

Lord, keep me on the straight and narrow. Help me to focus on the eternal things.

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Affliction, Battles, Bible, Comfort, Drought, God's Will, Rescue, Scripture

I’M GOING TO FAINT

AMOS 8:13

“On that day the beautiful virgins and the young men will faint from thirst.”

Have you ever felt like you were going to faint? When I went through my chemotherapy a couple of years ago (boy, it feels like yesterday), I had several episodes of fainting. One second I’m upright and talking. The next I’m on the ground. It’s really a strange feeling.

But I have never fainted due to thirst. The young virgins and the young men, who are the ones filled normally with the most hope, are at their end. They see nothing in their future when it should be full of hopes and aspirations. So they collapse as if fainting from thirst.

APPLICATION

Let me turn this a little. How thirsty are you for Jesus? Do you pant after Him? Do you crave His Word like you do a cool drink of water on a hot day? We should! We need to have our thirsts quenched by Him each day. We shouldn’t let ourselves get “spiritually dehydrated.”

Just picture yourself sitting before a flowing fountain. The water is crystal clear. A sign is there telling you to drink to your heart’s content. It also says the water will allow you to live forever. Would you turn that down? Of course, not. So, why aren’t we diving headfirst into the Word each day?

My thirst is quenched each and every day through the Word. Writing his blog fills my soul. I can’t imagine not hearing Him speak to me through His written Word. I pant, but I don’t pant out of desperation. I pant because I long for His Word and because I know how it refreshes my spirit. Will you join me?

O God, You are the source of all life. Quench my thirst with Your Word.

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Asking, Battles, Bible, Consequences, Deceit, Devil, Encouragement, Following, Inheritance, Judgment, Scripture

OUT OF REACH

AMOS 8:12

“People will stagger from sea to sea and from the north even to the east; they will roam about to seek the word of the LORD, but they will not find it.”

Nothing is much more frustrating than not being able to find something. Recently I misplaced a metal box in which I keep our important documents. I knew where I had last seen it, but it wasn’t there. Of course, like most men, I thought my wife had moved it. Low and behold, it was right where I put it – in my closet on the floor.

I found my box, but the Israelites would not find the word of God. The Lord said through Amos that they would look “from sea to sea and from the north even to the east;…but they will not find it.” That “it” isn’t in the text, but it refers to the word of God. They just couldn’t find it or hear it. How sad!

APPLICATION

Lost and found! In the church where I served there is a box of lost items. We keep these items for a period of time, and if they are not claimed within a few months, we donate them to a charity. Some people have lost the Word of God and don’t even know it. They go on with life without contemplating the significance of their loss.

The Word of God is so important for our Christian walk. We can’t navigate the trials of this life without it. You can’t wait until you need it to pull it out and think that’s going to work. You need to equip yourself with the Word through memorization and meditation, so you can combat the evil one on a daily basis.

I am thankful for the verses I have memorized. I desire so much more. I wish I could just download the entire Bible to a memory chip in my brain. That’s not possible (yet). But I can work diligently at memorizing so I will always have a portion of God’s Word available to me. Is that true for you?

Father God, I praise You for Your Word. I need it every day in my life in order to face the trials that come my way.

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Alone, Battles, Bible, Encouragement, Forgiveness, God's Will, Hearing

NO WORD

AMOS 8:11

“‘Behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘when I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread or a thirst for water, but rather for hearing the words of the LORD.’”

I have a friend who goes on “Silent Retreats.” These retreats are designed for the participant to spend a weekend in total silence. After the initial instructions on Day 1, you spend the rest of the weekend without saying a word to anyone – no phone calls, no texts, etc. He says it really helps him hear from the Lord.

Amos is sharing God’s warning that there will come a famine of His words. That prophecy did come true during the almost 400 years of silence from God between the book of Malachi and the New Testament. Deafening quietness. No word for God. Despite the cries of the people, no word.

APPLICATION

I’m a talker, especially in the mornings. My wife bans me to another part of the house until she’s had her coffee because of that, lol. I can’t imagine going one day without talking to her. I love to talk to her. I want to know how she’s doing. I love to just hear her voice. Why? Because I love her.

So, I can’t imagine 400 years of not hearing from God. I get up every morning and spend time with Him. He talks to me through His Word. He talks to me through my prayer time. I hear because I’m listening. When those dry spells come, and they will, I search my heart for what is blocking His voice. It’s always me. It’s always my sin.

I want to hear from the Lord daily. That means I have to confess my sins to Him daily. The days I can’t recall a sin, I ask Him to forgive my forgetfulness. I know I have sinned in some way because I am still flesh and blood and subject to it. But with Christ as my guide, I can avoid most of those sins that so “easily entangle us.” Do you hear Him? Listen.

O Lord, I long to hear Your voice each day. I love the sound of Your voice as You guide and direct me.

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Affection, Bible, Comfort, Encouragement, Grief, Modeling, Mourning

SACKCLOTH

AMOS 8:10

“Then I will turn your festivals into mourning, and all your songs into songs of mourning; and I will put sackcloth around everyone’s waist, and baldness on every head. And I will make it like a time of mourning for an only son, and the end of it will be like a bitter day.”

I remember the old burlap bags I used to bag up potatoes on my grandmother’s farm. We would dig the potatoes, bag them in those bags and carry them to the old farmhouse and pour them out on the floor for storage. Burlap bags can do a number on your knuckles and hands after a day of lugging those things around.

I can’t even imagine wearing those around my loins. That’s what they did during their mourning. The coarseness of the sackcloth (burlap bag) rubbed them reminding them of their fallen state. It was uncomfortable. They didn’t realize changing your clothes doesn’t bring about true repentance.

APPLICATION

Here in the U.S., we are accustomed to wearing black when we are mourning. A widow or widower will dress in black when their spouse passes away. If you think about it, if the loved one who passed was a believer, we should be celebrating. We should wear bright and festive clothes.

I preached a funeral recently where the widow wore a beautiful turquoise jacket. I bet there were some in the crowd who questioned that. No need to. Her husband loved Jesus. We were giving praise to Jesus for his homecoming. I know she was grieving, but she was also celebrating.

How do you face mourning? Are you trusting in the One who truly knows our griefs? He can restore your joy. He can cause you to celebrate. Let Him lead you during those times of mourning and you will come out the other side singing for joy.

I trust You in the good times, so I will trust You in the hard times.

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Accountability, Bible, Darkness, Judgment, Light

TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE SUN

AMOS 8:9

“‘And it will come about on that day,’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘That I will make the sun go down at noon, and make the earth dark in broad daylight.’”

I have lived through several total eclipses. They are pretty amazing. Of course, now we understand what is happening in the skies. We know the moon passes in front of the sun, blocking the light of the sun temporarily. Even now as an adult, I am amazed by this celestial event.

I can’t imagine what ran through the mind of the Israelites when they heard these words. According to historical documents, an eclipse did occur about 3 years after this prophecy. They didn’t have our Hubble telescope or the scientist to explain what was happening. Surely, the feared the wrath of God had come.

APPLICATION

Will it take a celestial disturbance for you to turn everything over to the Lord? I sure hope not. We don’t need to wait on some miraculous event to stir us to action. Our submission to God should be led by our love and thankfulness for what He has done for us through His Son Jesus.

But mark my words, judgment is coming. Nothing on earth is going to stop it. We have the opportunity to set things right with Him now. That way we have nothing to fear. We will face a reckoning for our works one day, but we will not risk our salvation. That is secure in Christ.

Aren’t you glad that your security is not based on something you have to do? It’s all due to His actions on the cross. He died to make your salvation a sure thing, once you accept Him as your Savior. But don’t wait until the next eclipse to confess and set thing right with Him. He wants to hear from you. Talk to Him today.

Lord, You are so dependable and true. I know I can rest on Your promises.

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Abiding, Advice, Battles, Bible, Busyness, Commitment, Encouragement, Fear, Scripture

EARTHQUAKE

AMOS 8:8

“Because of this will the land not quake, and everyone who lives in it mourn? Indeed, all of it will rise up like the Nile, and it will be tossed about and subside like the Nile of Egypt.”

When my daughter was a little girl, I would often wake her in the mornings with an “earthquake.” I would put a hand on the bed on each side of her and start shaking very slightly. I would gradually shake her stronger until she was literally bouncing off the bed. She loved it (well, at least most mornings she did, lol).

Amos uses the imagery of an earthquake causing the earth to rise and fall, like the Nile River rose and fell. The undulations of the earth would be felt through the whole nation. There would be no mistake of what was happening. Fear would be rampant.

APPLICATION

Has God shaken your world yet? We all need our world shaken. Now, I don’t mean a physical earthquake. I’m referring to a spiritual earthquake. We need to be so shaken that nothing remains as it was. Everything is rearranged.

We tend to have our priorities messed up most of the time. We put so many things above God. We delegate God to the time we have left in the day. God deserves the best part of our day. He deserves to be first on our agenda. Everything else comes behind Him.

The only way I can do that is to get up early in the morning. If I don’t spend my time with Jesus then, I get sidetracked and busy, and He loses His spot. I am not saying everyone should get up at 4 a.m. and pray. Most of us would be asleep by 4:03, lol. But you have to find that time when it’s set aside for God. God will honor you with His presence, I promise.

I look forward to spending time with You, Lord. You have truly shaken my world for the better.

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Abuse, Advocate, Bible, Compassion, Encouragement, Judgment, Mercy, Passion, Rescue

OUR PROTECTOR

AMOS 8:7

“The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob, ‘Indeed, I will never forget any of their deeds.’”

Growing up in my home in Southwest Georgia, I never doubted for a second that my dad had my back. I mean, he was my protector. My dad wasn’t the biggest man in town or the toughest. But my dad loved his family and would stop at nothing to protect it if necessary.

The Lord swears by Himself (the pride of Jacob) that He will protect the poor and needy. The previous few verses told of the injustices that were on these people. God says here that He would never forget what those people had done to them. He came to their defense.

APPLICATION

Let me ask you something. Who are you protecting? Do you look out for those less fortunate than you? Do you try to help those who come to you? Jesus tells us in Luke 6:30a, “Give to everyone who begs from you…” Have you done that lately? I have to confess that I haven’t.

God is always picking up the downtrodden. He lifts up the fallen. His heart is bent towards those who are struggling. So, He calls on us to be His hands and feet. He may call on you to deliver some much needed food to a widow. Or He may ask you to help a single mom with some childcare needs.

Just be willing to do whatever He asks you to do. Don’t be like the Israelites who looked over or took advantage of the ones who were hurting in their midst. I bet you those are the first ones Jesus would go to if He were here. Don’t you?

Forgive me, Lord, for looking over those in need. Help me see their need and do whatever I can to help.

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Abuse, Apologies, Bible, Conceit, Condemnation, Guilt, Judgment

FLIP FLOPS

AMOS 8:6

“So as to buy the helpless for money, and the needy for a pair of sandals, and that we may sell the refuse of the wheat?”

I remember getting my first pair of flip flops. You know those shoes that just have a place that fits between your big toe and your second toe and is usually made of rubber. I loved those flip flops. I loved the way they sounded when you walked in them. That distinctive flip flop, flip flop could be heard all around. One thing about those shoes, though. The cheap rubber ones didn’t last very long. They weren’t worth very much.

I don’t know why, but that’s the image I got when I read this verse today. The rich and powerful people in Israel were treating the poor and needy like a cheap pair of flip flops. Use them and them throw them away. They looked down on them and really abused them. This was another reason God was judging them.

APPLICATION

I pray you would never treat someone like a cheap pair of flip flops. It’s demeaning and cruel. But people do it all the time. Even people in the church can be guilty of this. People in positions of power can take advantage of those who serve under them. Instead of shepherding them, they abuse them.

We need to see everyone through God’s eyes. He sent His Son to die for every single person we encounter. There is not a soul on planet earth who wasn’t the object of God’s love when Jesus came to save us. If God values them that much, shouldn’t we do the same.

The older I get the more I see the sins of my life. I have been guilty of looking down on others. It may be in jest to begin with, but it can rapidly become a serious thing. I have asked the Lord to forgive me for those actions in the past. Will you do the same? Ask Him to reveal your sins to you. He will and then make them right.

O Lord, my God! I beg Your forgiveness for every belittling one of Your creations. Help me see others as You see them.

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