Southwest First Assembly of God Church

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.

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.