Suffer the Little Children -- Amost 1:13-15

Amos 1:13-15


"This is what the Lord says: ‘For the many crimes of Ammon, I will punish them. They ripped open the pregnant women in Gilead so they could take over that land and make their own country larger. So I will send fire on the city wall of Rabbah that will destroy its strong buildings. It will come during a day of battle, during a stormy day with strong winds. Then their king and leaders will be taken captive; they will all be taken away together,’ says the Lord." (NCV)

A fictional story has been circulating on the Internet:

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A worried woman went to her gynecologist and said:

'Doctor, I have a serious problem and desperately need your help! My baby is not even 1 year old and I'm pregnant again. I don't want kids so close together.'

So the doctor said: 'Ok and what do you want me to do?'

She said: 'I want you to end my pregnancy, and I'm counting on your help with this.'

The doctor thought for a little, and after some silence he said to the lady: 'I think I have a better solution for your problem. It's less dangerous for you too.'

She smiled, thinking that the doctor was going to accept her request.

Then he continued: 'You see, in order for you not to have to take care of 2 babies at the same time, let's kill the one in your arms. This way, you could rest some before the other one is born. If we're going to kill one of them, it doesn't matter which one it is. There would be no risk for your body if you chose the one in your arms.'

The lady was horrified and said: 'No doctor! How terrible! It's a crime to kill a child!'

'I agree', the doctor replied. 'But you seemed to be OK with it, so I thought maybe that was the best solution.'

The doctor smiled, realizing that he had made his point.  

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The Ammonites destroyed unborn children in order to better further their own desires. But if we focus only on unborn children, I believe we lose the point. Children are children. A child doesn’t become a child simply by passing through the vaginal canal. A child becomes a child at the moment of conception—when God Himself breathes life into the combined egg and life begins. And all children are precious.

"But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, ‘Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.’" (KJV)

The disciples had decided that Jesus—and they—were much too busy to be bothered with giggly, sweaty, rambunctious children and they proceeded to try to send the children away. But Jesus—the Lord of all—was "much displeased." The Greek word used here aganakteo has the connotations of being physically irritated, indignant, and also greatly grieved. The Lord was not only angry at what happened, He was grieved that His disciples would care so little for children.

The Lord loves children!

As Christians, many of us have become arrogant in our disapproval of abortion. And with that, I would heartily concur. Abortion is wrong, evil. It’s never right to kill someone for our own convenience. That being said, as Christians, we have often failed the born children just as greatly. How many larger churches are filled with paid staff pastors who sit around and do . . . whatever . . . and yet the church doesn’t have a Christian school . . . or a Christian preschool . . . or an after school program? How many of us spend thousands of dollars every year on unneeded luxuries that we "justify" having (cable TV, cell phones, Internet, vacations, multiple cars, etc.) and yet allow children in our communities to go without food, without clothing, without someone who cares?

Years ago—before I became a public school teacher—I started my concern about the millions of children in public school, most of whom have been emotionally abandoned by the adults in their lives. I went to the local pastors’ organization and suggested that each of them could volunteer a few hours one day a week at a public school simply reading to kids and listening to them. (The reason I began with the pastors is because if a pastor does something, people in his/her congregation will often follow.) Every pastor in that organization told me that he was too busy.

Too busy to give even an hour or two once a week to listen to a lonely, neglected child?

We have become too self-centered, too complacent in our "stuff" and in our own routines to understand that there are children—many, many children—who desperately need us, even for a few hours a week, just to be a friend, to be Jesus in their lives. I understand this trap. I’m "off" for the summer (me and my boxes of work that need to be done in six short week) and I’d love nothing better than to have my solitude and limited time to try to get everything done. But once a week, I invite a number of girls into my home on the pretext of helping with the music plans for next year. Are they actually helping? Of course! But like any other activity of which one is adept, it takes longer to train new people than to simply do it yourself. But that’s not the point. The point isn’t to get the job done. The point is to invest myself into the lives of these girls, to be Jesus to them when perhaps no one else will. They come into my house. They see the scriptures on the walls, on my desk. We talk about whatever is important to them. They are learning to trust me, but more importantly, they are learning to trust Jesus because it’s Him they see.

We have sacrificed our children, their children, your children so that we can have the desires—the lusts—of our hearts. We need to turn that around, we can turn that around. Even with one hour a week, the Church could make an enormous difference! If you don’t work regular hours, go volunteer at a school one day a week. If you can’t do that, help with the children at your church one Sunday a month. Start a Friday night movie night. Have a homework club after school. Invite children into your front yard for cookies. The possibilities are endless; the results are eternal.

© 2014 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved.

For permission to copy, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com

Be Angry and Show Mercy -- Amos 1:11-12

Amos 1:11-12


"This is what the Lord says: ‘For the many crimes of Edom, I will punish them. They hunted down their relatives, the Israelites, with the sword, showing them no mercy. They were angry all the time and kept on being very angry. So I will send fire on the city of Teman that will even destroy the strong buildings of Bozrah.’" (NCV)

They were angry all the time—very angry—and they showed no mercy.

What is mercy? Mercy is showing compassion, particularly to those who are either in distress or who are in our power. We always have the choice . . . to show compassion, to show mercy or to demonstrate power, even when that power continues to hurt. The Edomites used the sword and showed no mercy. The NKJV says:

"Because he pursued his brother with the sword, and cast off all pity; his anger tore perpetually, and he kept his wrath forever."
It doesn’t say why the Edomites were angry. In fact the reason—or intention—for their behavior isn’t mentioned because it’s not important. What’s important is what they chose to do with their anger. In Ephesians, Paul talks about this:

"Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. (v. 26-27 NKJV).

The Lord knows that we will be angry. Sometimes it will be a sinful anger, coming out of a desire to protect ourselves and what we want, and sometimes it will be a righteous anger, anger against sin. Regardless, when we are angry we are not to sin. How do we do that? We do that by giving the people and the situation to the Lord and then living according to the fruit of the Spirit, even with that person who has wronged us.

Instead, we often stew in our anger, fantasizing about what we will do to hurt the person who hurt us. We want to get even! And so we plot our revenge, often taking that revenge when vengeance clearly belongs to God.

Anger is something that will eventually fade if we give the situation to the Father. If we walk in the fruit of the Spirit, the emotions that well up inside of us due to anger will fade and God Himself will direct how we are to respond (if and when we are given that opportunity). The Edmonites did four things that caused their downfall:

• They acted on their anger (hunting down their relatives)
• They showed no mercy
• They were angry all the time
• They kept on being very angry

They chose to fuel their anger and then they acted on it. The opposite of this is to surrender the situation to the Lord. Then there is no reason to continually fuel the anger. While we may still be angry (and have that right), we will look to the Lord for His response, not our own. We will be able to meet hurtful words softly and with wisdom. That, in itself, may be enough to defuse the situation and prevent destruction on both sides.

Here’s the reality: if the Lord can’t change someone, there’s no way that we can, regardless of how much we talk or what we do. Therefore, our anger can only lead to destruction. Better to back away and allow God to do what He does best—take charge of bad situations.

© 2014 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved.

For permission to copy, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com

Let Your Words Be Few -- Amos 1:9-10

Amos 1:9-10


"This is what the Lord says: ‘For the many crimes of Tyre, I will punish them. They sold all the people of one area as slaves to Edom, and they forgot the agreement among relatives they had made with Israel. So I will send fire on the walls of Tyre that will destroy the city’s strong buildings." (NCB)

"Say only yes if you mean yes, and no if you mean no." (Matthew 5:37a NCB)

"Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; therefore let your words be few. For a dream comes through much activity, and a fool’s voice is known by his many words. When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; for He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed—better not to vow than to vow and not pay." (Ecclesiates 5:2-5 NKJ)

There is an old saying: Say what you mean and mean what you say.

There are people who lie a little and then there are people who lie a lot. The problem is, with one lie comes a question about whether or not the next statement is a lie. And with one broken problem comes the distrust about any other promises.

God intends for us to keep our word.

He also intends for us to be prudent about what we promise. The people of Tyre were punished, not only for selling others into slavery, but for forgetting an agreement they had made with Israel. Sometimes it’s easier to let an agreement slide—to conveniently "forget" it—than to have to make good on a promise. We often promise in the moment and then, when the promise needs to be fulfilled, realize that the promise may require substantial sacrifice on our part. Since we don’t want to sacrifice, we don’t fulfill the promise.

It really can’t be that bad . . . can it?

"Let your words be few."

I believe that one of the reasons that one of the fruit of the Spirit is self-control is because we so desperately need it . . . self-control! Think about why we make those rash promises. Often it’s either to look good to someone else or it’s to manipulate a situation. In both cases, we are failing to trust God to work all things our for our good. We are stepping in because we think we know better. And we are "rash with our mouths."

"Let your words be few."

Someone once told me that we—human beings—were given two ears and one mouth so that we would listen twice as much as we talk. Pretty sound advice, I think. But more than that, God considers it a sin when we fail to make good on a promise we’ve made.

"But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said to Him, "The first." (Matthew 21:28-31 NKJV).

Perhaps it’s better not to make a promise, but then if we are able, to make a blessing, rather than make a promise and be unable to fulfill it.

　

© 2014 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved.

For permission to copy, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com

Turn from Our Wicked Ways -- Amos 1:6-8

Amos 1:6-8

"This is what the Lord says: ‘For the many crimes of Gaza, I will punish them. They sold all the people of one area as slaves to Edom. So I will send a fire on the walls of Gaza that will destroy the city’s strong buildings. I will destroy the king of the city of Ashdod, as well as the leader of Ashkelon. Then I will turn against the people of the city of Ekron, and the last of the Philistines will die,’ says the Lord God." (NCV)

They sold the people into slavery.

What happens when one becomes a slave? A slave is completely and absolutely subject to that person who is ruling over her. She has no will, has no choice.

Paul talks about slavery of a fashion in Romans 6:

"What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (v. 15-23 NKJV).

Slavery. Paul chose to use slavery as the analogy because he knew his audience would understand that helplessness that comes from being a slave. One has no choices when living as a slave. In the same way, a person has no choices when living without Christ; they will choose the way of sin. Those who aren’t saved have no choice; they will choose unholiness, evil, and sin. They have no choice.

One of the problems in America is that we continue to try to use politics to clean up sinfulness. We want those around us who are unsaved to adhere to the laws of righteousness because that’s what we are comfortable with. Because we, as a Church, as biblical illiterate, we continue to press forward with an agenda that has no end other than failure. Why? Because we have convinced ourselves that we can "change the world" with ideology.

Ideology—culture—is a hopeless issue. It is a construct that is spiritually non-existent. But because we have listened to teachers who have told us that there is not just black and white, sin and righteousness, but also gray areas of non-morality, we have become convinced that we can vote righteousness into existence in the community around us.

People don’t need better laws. People need the Lord Jesus! People need to become saved. And the saved need to start acting like we really are slaves to righteousness. Many are currently standing with one foot in the Church and one foot in the world. Why are we not ashamed of those things which represent evil, which are evil, those things which we still embrace in our own lives? Why do we continue to choose sin instead of obedience?

We are as much—or more of the problem—than our unsaved neighbors.

Ann Graham Lotz, the daughter of Billy Graham, is currently promoting seven days of prayer beginning on July 1^st, culminating with seven hours of fasting and prayer on July 7^th. She has been burdened with the message in 2 Chronicles 7:14:


"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

I, too, for many years, have been burdened by this verse. But I fear that this "call to arms" will be useless because the call ignores an important piece of this promise: "turn from their wicked ways." Christians all over America want revival, but they don’t want to turn from their wickedness. "What wickedness is that?" you ask. Look around your home, in your life. What is there that is unpleasing to the Lord? How do you spend your time, your resources? Over the past years, I have worked at purging my life. I have to admit, ashamedly, that what I have done over the years should have been done in a matter of moments. Sin is hard to purge because we use it to protect ourselves, to reward ourselves, to comfort ourselves. Our idols are precious to us and Satan uses them to embed his claws into our souls. But in an effort, I have given away (or thrown out) books whose authors and stories don’t glorify the Lord. (This includes some book series that I really, really liked, I’m sorry to say.) DVD’s are gone. Cable TV is off. But there are still things in my life! As I have begun this process, I am more aware of what I have spent my time and resources on that has gotten in the way of my relationship with the Lord. It all needs to go!

Can you imagine what would happen in America if Christians threw out the stuff that consumes them and turned to the Lord instead?

We are those who have made slaves of those around us. We have made our children into slaves of the rubbish that consumes our culture by sending them to public schools and by immersing them in secular media. We have made ourselves slaves to sin by embracing that which is displeasing to the Lord. We have made our friends and neighbors slaves to sin by refusing to live as Christians should live.

We are as guilty as the Philistines. I pray for God’s mercy on our souls. We need to repent and turn from our wicked ways. If we do that, God will heal our land. If not, the ramifications from Amos are clear.

　

© 2014 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved.

For permission to copy, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com

God Is in the Circumstances -- Amos 1:3-5

Amos 1:3-5


This is what the Lord says: ‘For the many crimes of Damascus, I will punish them. They drove over the people of Gilead with threshing boards that had iron teeth. So I will send fire upon the house of Hazael that will destroy the strong towers of Ben-Hadad. I will break down the bar of the gate to Damascus and destroy the king who is in the Valley of Aven, as well as the leader of Beth Eden. The people of Aram will be taken captive to the country of Kir,’ says the Lord. (NCB)

Amos begins, in chapters 1 and 2, with the Lord indictment of Israel’s neighbors. God may use unbelievers to correct His children, but He always will have vengeance on those who harm His chosen.

We are always beloved!

Even in the midst of chastening, God loves us. Even when He allows us to be persecuted, we are not abandoned. He walks with us, taking care of those things behind us, and preparing for those things ahead of us.

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life in you." (2 Corinthians 4:7-12 NKJ)

We are always beloved!

And as the beloved, God is always on our side! Even when we feel He has abandoned us, He hasn’t. He is working everything for our good (Romans 8:28) and will have His vengeance on our enemies at the time of His choosing.

That being said, there are lessons we can learn even from the enemies of God because He is not only concerned with our relationship with Him, but also with our choices, our actions. And when we do that which is displeasing to Him—when we sin—He will deal with us, not in retribution, but in chastisement so that we will make better choices in the future.

The crime of Damascus was anger. They were very angry with Israel and were determined to overcome them, to overpower them, to harm them so much that Israel would have no option except to capitulate. "They drove over the people with threshing boards that had iron teeth."

A threshing board was a farm implement made to help separate the wheat from the straw. It would commonly be a board, or several boards fastened together, possibly with metal teeth underneath that would cut the wheat plants and help release the wheat kernels from the stalks. As you can imagine, if this implement was dragged over a person, it would be torturous.

The implication in Amos isn’t that this literally happened, but that this is a word picture of the extreme torture (either physical or emotional) that Damascus used to try to punish and manipulate Israel. The question then comes to us, have we ever used such tactics with others?

Of course we have. In anger, in frustration, in fear, we have used whatever tactics we thought necessary to escape, to survive, to fight back. We have used harsh, hurtful words. We may have even used physical blows.

Galatians 5 describes the comparisons of the natural or flesh life and the spiritual life:

"Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another." (v. 19-26 NKJ)

Let’s look at several of these in comparison to each other:

hatred contentions outbursts of wrath (anger)

longsuffering (patience) kindness gentleness

The truth is, there is no middle ground. Either we are living the fruit of the Spirit or we are living the works of the flesh. That’s the one thing that can make living as a Christian easier. We simply have to focus on living the fruit of the Spirit all the time and we will avoid the works of the flesh. While in practicality it’s not necessarily easy, in functionality it is! We simply ask ourselves if we are being patient, kind, and gentle? We know what those things look like. The opposites are hateful, contentious, angry. And while our emotions may pull us into a direction we shouldn’t go, we aren’t animals unable to control our lusts. The Holy Spirit Who lives within us is constantly wanting for us to live out His fruit in our lives. All we have to do is stop, pray, and obey. Let Him take care of those we are hurtful to us. God will have His vengeance! We need to trust Him.

His job is to take care of the circumstances and the people in them. Our job is the live the fruit of the Spirit while we are in those circumstances.

© 2014 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved.

For permission to copy, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com

The Lord Roars -- Amos 1:2

Amos 1:2


And he (Amos) said: "The Lord roars from Zion, and utters His voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the top of Carmel withers." (NKJV)

"The Lord roars."

God’s warnings are often not soft nor silent. He warns loudly and persistently that we might hear what He has to say. But even with the loud roar, He is often ignored.

"There is no God."

"God is love. He would never be angry with me."

"Everyone has their own definition of God. Mine doesn’t include such restrictions."

It doesn’t matter what the justification. God is ignored by many, regardless of how loudly He warns, how mightily He demonstrates His power, how pervasively He shows His love. And there was never a communication so loud, so mighty, so intense as Calvary.

Jesus taught this parable:

"A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers. And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated. And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some. Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But those vinedressers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.’ Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others." (Mark 12:1-9 NKJV).

While this parable, on one hand, was addressed to the religious leadership of Israel, it can also be addressed to those to whom God has sent His beloved Son.

God sent His Son . . . His Son to teach, His Son to show the Father, His Son to love . . . His Son to die.

There is no louder, no more mighty "roar" in all of eternity than the Lord Jesus’ death at Calvary. There is no excuse that we can give for failing to fall on our knees in abject obedience, gratitude, and love. God never roared louder . . . and that roar continues throughout the ages. "I gave My Son for you."

"The Lord roars."

There is also another aspect to this verse in Amos. The Hebrew word sha’ag translated here "roar" also means a cry of distress. The Father takes no joy in condemning those who reject Him. He constantly longs for everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). This isn’t, for God, a matter of winning, of being right. He has no need for those kinds of confirmations. He is already God, Creator and Master of the universe. No one—regardless of their beliefs—can change that or take that away from Him. He is the Almighty, the Everlasting, the King of all kings, the Lord of everything. Rather, His longings are for each and every soul to come to repentance, to reach out for salvation, that none may be lost. His is a cry of mourning, of distress that the sinful have taken such a stand as to have to come to the place of punishment. And His punishment isn’t about retribution. It’s about trying to compel the rebellious to turn from their sin. Everything God does is about that!

"The Lord roars."

He roars loudly throughout the land. He roars in mourning as He watches those He loves sin again and again and again. "The Lord roars."

The question is . . . are we listening?

© 2014 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved.

For permission to copy, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com

Just a Sheepherder, Just a Woman -- Amos 1:1

Amos 1:1


The words of Amos, who was among the sheepbreeders of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. (NKJ)

Amos grew up, like many of us, probably not anticipating that he would become a prophet for the Lord. He didn’t attend any of the "prophet schools," but rather was trained as a sheepherder. According to some of the commentaries I read, there is the possibility that he was a wealthy herd owner, but more likely that he was a poor sheepherder who lived in a very rural town that consisted mainly of nomadic families who followed the water. The town, Tekoa, was in the hills above the Dead Sea. In the winter and spring, there were fields in the area suitable for grazing, but as the warmer summer months approached, the herders would take their flocks further east, closer to the Dead Sea, in order to find adequate foliage for their animals. This was likely the kind of life that Amos lived . . . until God spoke to him. It was a quiet life, a life focused on the day-to-day care of his sheep, a life of quiet and simplicity.

And then God spoke.

In fact, Amos says that he saw the words, rather than heard them. It may have been that he saw the vision and wrote it into words; it may be that he was literate and God showed him the words in actual writing. It may be that God supernaturally gave him the ability to read what he was shown. Regardless, God spoke and Amos was receptive not only to hearing from the Lord but to obeying it.

And isn’t that the point of it all?

As contemporary Christians, we may be those which fill our lives with the "word of God," through TV programs, through the Internet, through listening to CD’s, through even reading the Word. But none of that is important if we fail to act on what God has shown us. I actually am coming to believe that we can drown ourselves in Christian-speak and still be spiritually starving. Do you know that it’s possible to drown in water and yet be dehydrated? When the water is allowed to do what it’s not supposed to do (go into our lungs), it can kill us! I think that many Christians are spiritually starving while they are simultaneously immersing themselves in Christian stuff. Why? Because they are failing to apply what they are hearing. In fact, we can sometimes hear too much. It becomes overwhelming. We don’t know where to start and so we fail to start at all.

That happens to me. I want to change my diet, but when I do research and am bombarded with the many, MANY options, I end up not doing any of them. I’m afraid to choose the wrong one, so I choose none.

I think that, as Christians, we can hear too much Christian-speak, become confused about what to actually do in our lives, and end up walking back into the lifestyles that we have previously had, not making any changes and never becoming more Christlike. Perhaps the problem is that we’re allowing ourselves to listen to "just anybody" rather than seeking the message of the Word for ourselves. Perhaps also we are listening to teachers whose lives we’ve failed to investigate. (Not everyone who says they’re a Christian is truly following the Lord.)

Amos listened to God and God alone. Amos was willing to step outside of his comfort zone and respond in obedience to the Lord. I’m sure there were times he totally regretted God choosing him for this assignment. But perhaps the one reason God did choose him is because the Lord knew Amos would be obedient and do what God wanted him to do. Perhaps God hasn’t yet chosen us because we aren’t yet willing to be obedient regardless of what’s asked of us. Perhaps we fill up our time with Christian TV, CD’s and books because we think by doing so, we are putting in our time. Perhaps we really don’t want to hear from God. What if He asked us to move outside of our comfort zone? What if He asked us to do something that was really hard . . . or painful . . . or difficult? And yet, we can do all things through Christ! Do we believe that . . . or not?

I know that I’m no more than a sheepherder in this society. I’m not famous. I’m not wealthy. I’m not powerful. I’m simply a woman who wants to follow the Lord.

Perhaps that really is enough.

　

© 2014 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved.

For permission to copy, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com