Image from workingpreacher.org
Seek the Lord and live, or he will break out against the house of Joseph like fire, and it will devour Bethel, with no one to quench it. Ah, you that turn justice to wormwood, and bring righteousness to the ground! They hate the one who reproves in the gate, and they abhor the one who speaks the truth. Therefore, because you trample on the poor and take from them levies of grain, you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not live in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine. For I know how many are your transgressions, and how great are your sins—you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, and push aside the needy in the gate. Therefore the prudent will keep silent in such a time; for it is an evil time. Seek good and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, just as you have said. Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph. (Amos 5:6-7, 10-15)
Happy Wednesday, dear Friend! May today's time spent with the Lord be a blessing and an invitation to serve Him in wonderful ways. As we pray, please pray for those in need, especially those in the wake of Hurricane Michael bearing down on Florida. Our daughter and grandson flew back home from Florida yesterday as the skies were turning black and weather was getting scary. I also ask for prayers for our former bishop, Jim Dorff, who underwent serious cancer surgery and is recovering well. He was able to come home earlier than believed possible, and we continue to pray for his recovery and health. Pray for one another, pray for yourselves.
Amos' sermons were a lot different from those of say, Joel Osteen. You sit for an Osteen sermon and you come out feeling good and positive about yourself. You stand for an Amos sermon and you begin to hear God's voice meddling in your most private of thoughts. Osteen: You're doing great! Amos: You aren't doing what you should be! Amos preached to a remnant of those who should have remembered and been blessed by what God had done in their lives and in their history. The warnings to stay away from false gods, the gods of their new neighbors, went mostly unheeded. The reminder from the prophet Amos is for them to start looking again for God, so that real life might be theirs again. The teachings about justice as a way of life; a compassionate, caring for everyone, under the false god led them to satisfy only their own greed, with no heed for anyone else. Trampling on the poor was a common theme for the prophet, because he was witnessing an unbelievable life, of exploiting the poor and taking bread out of their hands to gobble it for themselves. Their new homes and awesome vineyards would not be for them. Their sin was choking them out of the abundant life God had intended for them. The righteous among them served as their doormats; brides instead of blessings were lining their pockets, and those in need were run out of town. It was an evil time indeed, and some would even say our time is not much different in many ways. Yet, the call was to all to return to God. "Seek good and not evil, that you may life; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, just as you have said. Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph (those who were freed from slavery in Egypt).
Our call from the Lord is to not get comfortable in our relationship with Him and with others. We should be examining ourselves as to how we are living and to ask, "What more can/should I be doing?" And, am I being a good person, seeking righteousness? Or, am I living life just to please myself? Have I found life in God? Or, am I still looking in all the wrong places?
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, truth hurts, but we need to hear it from You. If we are not right before You, please let us know, especially those of us who already know, but seem to hide from the reality of truth. Guide me to be one who refuses to be comfortable and numb; but rather awake and alive to Your leading. I want to find You and receive from You life to the fullest; and I want to share that with those who do not yet have it. This I pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen!
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Seek to share life with those who need a boost!
Eradio Valverde
REMINDER: For our Gonzales area readers, today is our second Faith and Film event. We will be showing a movie worth discussing. It stars Steve Martin in a dramatic role; so take a leap of faith and join us! It starts at 12 noon and goes until about 2 or a little after. We may even have some pizza! It'll bless your day!
My sermon on prayer as preached this past Sunday, 10/7/18 at First United Methodist Church in Corpus Christi, Texas: http://bit.ly/2A1yfjY
