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May 12 + Daily readings & notes

DAY 132

We're finishing the book of Amos today.  Great job!

Image result for amos plumb line wiki commons
DAILY READINGS

Amos 6-9 & Psalm 127

DAILY NOTES

Amos 6
  • God has something to say to those that live in comfort and indulgence and have no concern for the problems of others.
    • Read Verse 12 to get a feeling of how God thinks of what their lifestyle has done.
Amos 7
  • Amos prays to God and the Lord relents.  The image of the plumb line is probably what most people remember Amos for.
  • Amos' prophecies are considered to be an attempt to overturn the kingdom.  He is told to go prophesy somewhere else.
    • Amos responds that he is not a prophet.  He is just doing what God told him to do, where God told him to do it (Verse 14-15).
Amos 8
  • Notice the kind of business dealings that God has issue with.
  • There is a famine coming "not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but of hearing the worlds of the Lord."  
    • The people will eventually realize they need to hear from God, but it will not be available to them.
Amos 9
  • I think the best word of this chapter is "except" (Verse 8).  God promises destruction, except not everything will be destroyed.  
    • That leads to the final promise of God that all things will be restored.
Psalm 127
  • This psalm reminds me of the words we sing, "On Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand."  
  • The psalmist knows that God must be the source of strength and security for all things.

OTHER OBSERVATIONS

There's nothing wrong with enjoying the things of life.  We live in a world where people have created wonderful technology and we can live a relatively comfortable life.  We can have good things.  The problems arise when those things begin to have us.  When our lives become all about our comfort and what's best for us, God takes issue.  Just read Amos 6:4-6 again.

How many times have we heard news of people in need and we just move on with our lives?  

I'll give you an example.  I read an article yesterday that said "400,000 children are at risk of starving to death in the Democratic Republic of Congo..."  I read that, said a quick prayer and then went to bed.  Now, could I have made a difference for that many people in one evening?  Maybe not.  

Maybe, however, my comfort speaks louder than I realize.  Perhaps my faith in the Resurrected Christ should have something to say.  My comfort says, "Go to bed; there's nothing you can do."  My faith is probably telling me something like, "Well, figure something out."

What do you think? Are we too comfortable?

Stay blessed...john
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