One of my favorite things about the Chronological Bible is that the words of the prophets are placed into the reading so they are talking straight at the kings and people who God called them to warn.

We are now reading what the prophet Amos has to say to both Israel and Judah.  He was called by God to rebuke the current religious establishment which was focused on leading their people to develop meaningless religious traditions while refusing to give mercy and justice to the oppressed and needy.

Israel was experiencing a time of prosperity which led them to a lifestyle of greed and immorality.

Sound familiar?  Do we see any of this in our culture today?  Immorality – have you turned on your TV lately? Have you looked at billboards along the freeways?  Greed – there are so many examples its hard to figure out where to start.

As we read Amos, God speaks to our hearts and asks us to critically evaluate our religious habits and our ethical conduct.  He also warns us against complacency – getting too comfortable.

Are we too happy about being in our Christian bubble?  For God so loved the world……we have been commissioned to tell the world the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ.  That’s not comfortable – that’s being stretched and reaching into the mess that is our culture today with the love of Jesus.

As we take a close look at our lives, we may find that we have wandered into some immorality.  Or greed.  Or meaningless religious traditions. Or complacency.

If that’s true, God promises us restoration.

When we turn and repent, he restores.  And he renews.  And he gives us strength to change.

Thank you, Abba Father.