Southwest First Assembly of God Church

Amos 2.10-11 “I brought you up out of Egypt, and led you forty years in the desert to give you the land of the Amorites. I also raised up prophets from among your sons and Nazirites from among your young men. ‘ Is this not true, people of Israel?’ declares the Lord.”

Thought of the day: What a great reminder of the greatness of God. Through Amos, God reminded the people of Israel that He was responsible for delivering them from bondage. He was the one responsible for providing their needs in the 40 years of wandering and waiting in a desert. He was the one who raised up the spiritual leaders for their nation. He was the one. He was the only ONE!

Simply stated, if God has done it before He can do it again. We can look to him for deliverance from any bondage. We can look to him for provision even when our season of waiting and wanting extends from days into weeks or months or even years. We can look to him to raise up spiritual leaders who are armed with faith and a fresh word from the Lord.

I love and respect our country and our government, but they are not the source of my hope. I feel physically strong and capable of doing whatever job comes my way, but I am not the source of my hope. I have many good and faithful friends, but (sorry friends) you are not my source of hope. My hope is in the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Let me leave you with the words of the Psalmist. “My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge” (Psalm 62.1-2, 5-8)

Amos 1.9-10 This is what the Lord says: “For three sins of Tyre, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath.  Because she sold whole communities of captives to Edom, disregarding a treaty of brotherhood, (10) I will send fire upon the walls of Tyre that will consume her fortresses.’

Thought of the day: The people of Tyre were facing judgment from God because they had violated treaties with other countries.  Some people might read this and complain that God was overreacting.  The problem was, the people of Tyre had broken their word.  They lied.  According to the teachings of the Christian Bible, a man who continually lies has a serious problem and eventually will have to answer to God for it.

I realize that integrity and honor may sound like old-fashioned ideals, but imagine life without them.  Every relationship depends on people cooperating within terms of agreement.  Violate the agreement and the relationship suffers.  This principle is true in marriage, in business and in any other relationship you can think of.

Deuteronomy 6.24 teaches that we will prosper when we fear God and honor His laws.  Psalm 37.28 teaches that the Lord loves and preserves the faithful.  Proverbs 2.8 teaches that God will guide the course of the man of integrity.  The people of Tyre had not been living according to these principles and were soon to pay dearly for it.  Get the picture?

As noted in our recent morning devotions, I truly believe our culture is in need of a spiritual reformation.  While that reformation includes important principles such as prayer and repentance, let’s not overlook the practical issues of decency, honesty and credibility.  Protect them because if you lose them, you don’t have much left.

Amos 7.1-2 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts after the king’s share had been harvested and just as the second crop was coming up.  When they had stripped the land clean, I cried out, ‘Sovereign Lord, forgive!  How can Jacob survive?  He is so small!’

Thought of the day: One thing that strikes me about this passage is the utter sense of desperation expressed by Amos.  He knew the Jewish people would not be able to survive the coming judgment.  He knew that their hope rested in God and God alone.

Notice how Amos described God as the “Sovereign Lord”.  As Sovereign, He has no superior or equal.  He answers to no one.  Notice Amos described Jacob (Israel) as “small”.  It seems to me that there are many in our culture who would disagree with Amos.  We see God as small and act as if we are sovereign.  This philosophy is not only unfortunate, it is damnable.  Don’t wait for the threat of a catastrophe to bring you to your knees and remind you of your absolute dependence on Almighty God.  Always remember that God is bigger than us and smarter than us.  Let’s live like it.

Good morning. I’m baaaack.

Amos 2.4-5 “This is what the Lord says: ‘For three sins of Judah, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath. Because they have rejected the law of the Lord and have not kept his decrees, because they have been led astray by false gods, the gods their ancestors followed, I will send fire upon Judah that will consume the fortresses of Jerusalem”

Thought of the day: Amos taught that blessings or judgment from God are relative to how we respect God’s laws. As I see it, the American culture is heading down a path that leads to God’s judgment. To illustrate, let me refer you to the 10 commandments recorded in Exodus 20. Tell me honestly, how many of them do you see being consistently honored in our culture? You don’t have to openly oppose God’s laws in order to reject them. You only need to ignore them.

Deuteronomy 6.3 teaches that God blesses the people who obey his words. Do you want to know how to change the culture of an entire community? It changes one person at a time. It changes when people like you and me take God’s laws seriously. Read them. Study them. Internalize them. Practice them. Our culture depends on it. As a matter of fact, your soul depends on it.