Loving God, for Your mercy let this dear reader be thankful and aware of Your presence in all they may face today; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Our text for today comes from the prophet Amos 1: 1 This is what the Lord God showed me—a basket of summer fruit. 2 He said, "Amos, what do you see?" And I said, "A basket of summer fruit." Then the Lord said to me, "The end has come upon my people Israel; I will never again pass them by. 3 The songs of the temple shall become wailings in that day," says the Lord God; "the dead bodies shall be many, cast out in every place. Be silent!" 4 Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land, 5 saying, "When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain; and the sabbath, so that we may offer wheat for sale? We will make the ephah small and the shekel great, and practice deceit with false balances, 6 buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and selling the sweepings of the wheat." 7 The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Surely I will never forget any of their deeds. 8 Shall not the land tremble on this account, and everyone mourn who lives in it, and all of it rise like the Nile, and be tossed about and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt? 9 On that day, says the Lord God, I will make the sun go down at noon, and darken the earth in broad daylight. 10 I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on all loins, and baldness on every head; I will make it like the mourning for an only son, and the end of it like a bitter day. 11 The time is surely coming, says the Lord God, when I will send a famine on the land; not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. 12 They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it.
Amos shared the sad word of God about unfaithful people. God knew the hearts and minds of His people and how far they had gotten from Him, so the result of their action would be that God would cease to listen to them. Having chosen to disconnect themselves from God they had set themselves free from God and they would, as verse 12 says, "wanter from sea to sea, and from north to east...seeking the word of the Lord but they shall not find it."
We sometimes choose to disconnect ourselves from God because of the many distractions that present themselves in our lives. May God forgive us for those times and allow us to re-connect and re-charge in His presence and power. May the distractions of the day keep us from becoming like the ancients of Israel that chose complete "freedom" only to discover a bondage to death.
PRAYER: Loving God, free me for joyful obedience. May I come to know that through prayer, Bible study, worship, fellowship, service to others, I am reconnecting the plan and purpose for my life. I ask this in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord.
Eradio Valverde
PS Praises to God for a very special and moving Service of Celebration for my becoming district superintendent. Bishop James Dorff led us in a wonderful service, I shared the word and was blessed by the presence of many of my pastors, their families. I was especially thankful for the presence of my family; Nellie, our daughters, our sons-in-law, and our babies; sisters-in-law, Carmen Ramirez, Blanca Rodrigue, and my younger brother Elias, his wife Orpha, and my nephes, Elias II, and Alex. Please continue to pray for me as I have begun this new journey of ministry.
