I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

     The high priest of the Northern Kingdom accused Amos of plotting against the king. He then told Amos to take his prophecies back to the Kingdom of Judah. Amos replies that he was not a prophet, nor the son of a prophet. The implication here is that the priest was implying that Amos was serving the interests of the Kingdom of Judah and his prophesies were meant to encourage the people of Israel to reunite with and submit to the rule of the king of Judah. That is, Amos’ prophesies were serving a political agenda. Amos’ reply was that he had no political agenda and was merely responding to the call of the Lord.
     Amos then prophesies once more about God’s judgment on those whose only interest in religious events is when they will end so that they can go back to taking advantage of the poor. He prophesies that the day is soon coming when the spiritual malnourishment that comes from worshiping something other than God will cause the people to starve spiritually and that starvation will be as devastating as physical starvation. This spiritual starvation will lead to destruction and death. Those who are true followers of God will not be lost, but those who wallow in sin will die by violence.
     This destruction will be followed by the day when God calls people from every nation to be His people. In that day He will build His kingdom with those who serve Him, no matter what their ancestry. The descendants of Jacob have a special place in God’s heart, but so do other peoples on the earth. God may have special plans for the descendants Jacob, but He loves all people.

     The next category of Christian group is that of the Church in Philadelphia. They did not have much strength. Their power was limited. However, they obeyed God’s word and would not deny Him in the face of opposition. As a result of their faithfulness, God has opened a door for them and what God has opened no one can close. God has given them an opportunity to serve Him and they took it. Let us be this group. Let us recognize that we do not have much strength and must rely on God to open doors for us. I will also recognize that no one can close the doors which God opens for me. No matter what the opposition my path to serving the Lord will NOT be blocked.
     Finally we have the Church in Laodicea. They are neither hot nor cold, but merely lukewarm. I have seen different ways to interpret this. I think everyone understands the lukewarm part; they are the “go-along-to-get-along” sort. However, Christ says that He wishes they were either hot or cold. What does He mean by that? Which is which is a matter of little import, but I think He was saying that He wishes they were either those who are confrontational about their faith, “Are you Born Again?” Or those who are welcoming and gentle in their faith. The latter being those who are not judgmental about the sins of those who do not believe, but sacrifice to show them Christ’s love. God has a place in His kingdom for both sorts. For those who call out people for their sin and those who show His love to people despite their sin. I think that we are each called to sometimes be one and sometimes be the other. Further, this group is confident of their material possessions and think that this grants them security. Of the seven groups, this is the one furthest from serving the Lord. Christ tells us that even if we are here, He wants us to join Him. He is standing at the door and knocking. I pray that I am hearing Christ knock at my door and will open it to let Him in. Will you listen for His knock? Will you open the door to Him?

     I will not be proud. I will not demand that I understand all of God’s plans for me. I will calm myself and be satisfied that He has a plan. I will put my trust in God.

     If we are proud, we will be humiliated. If we are humble, we will be honoured. Oh Lord, let me live in humility. I know that I am no one special. My only value is as someone who allows you to use me.

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.

     Amos has two visions of destruction. After each one he pleads with God not to do it. In each case, God responds to Amos’ plea and tells Amos that He will not bring about that destruction. Then God gives Amos a vision showing God measuring a wall with a plumb line to see if it was straight (from top to bottom, not as it ran along the ground). God told Amos that He would measure Israel with a plumb line to see if they were righteous. He told Amos that He would no longer ignore Israel’s sin. God was going to bring Jeroboam’s dynasty to an abrupt end. How do we measure up against the plumb line of righteousness? Do we stand straight, or are we crooked?
     Amos utters a prophecy against those who rob the poor. He says that they are impatient for the end of Sabbath days and religious festivals so that they can get back to cheating the poor. They use dishonest measures and fixed scales. They adulterate food with things that are harmful to health. God told Amos that He was going to bring a time of judgment on them. He was going to bring famine on the land, but not famine of food. Rather God was going to bring a famine of His word. People will search for the word of the Lord and be unable to find it. When I read this I thought of all the businesses today that do not think they can be closed on Sunday, or on Holidays. I think of the stores that opened on Thanksgiving Day to get a jump on Christmas sales. Then I thought about how many places where you used to get exposed to God’s word in this country where it is no longer allowed. We regularly hear stories about a school forbidding a student to talk about God. I regularly hear trained ministers and leaders in Church bodies who deny the validity of some, or all, of scripture. In many ways we have a famine of God’s word in our country today. There are many seeking to find God’s word who are having trouble finding it. Let us plant a new crop and water it with prayer.

     Today I read the messages to the last two of the seven churches. The message to the church in Philadelphia begins by saying that it is from the one who has the key of David. What He opens cannot be closed, what he closes cannot be opened. The church in Philadelphia is told that God (or Christ, in this passage it makes no difference) has opened a door for them that no one can close. He knows that they have little strength, yet even so they have obeyed God’s word and remained faithful. They are commended for persevering and told that for this they will be spared from the coming time of great testing. Do I persevere despite my weakness? Do I acknowledge that I am weak? I pray to God that He grant me the strength to persevere. I strive to acknowledge that I am weak, that my only hope to hold on is for God to give me strength. Let me see the door that God has opened for me and go through it in order to serve Him.
     The final message is to the Church in Laodicea. It is in many ways the most scathing and probably the most applicable to the church in the U.S.. They are condemned for being neither hot nor cold, for being indifferent. They are a rich church that is convinced that they have all they need. This sounds like all too many Christians in the U.S., myself included. All too often I allow my Christian walk to become stale. Let me turn from my tendency to indifference so that I may become an enthusiastic disciple of Christ. Either a burning hot coal that sets hearts on fire for Him, or a cool drink of water that provides refreshment and relief to those who are suffering. I know that He is standing at the door and knocking, I will open it and let Him in. I will let Christ take over my life and use me to His ends.

     Let me follow the example of the psalmist and not be proud or haughty. Let me not concern myself with matters great and awesome. Rather I ask that God calm and quiet me as a child weaned from its mother’s milk. Prepare me, my Lord, to eat the meat of instruction that You put before me. Teach me to follow in Your ways and undertake the tasks which You give me. I will put my hope in the Lord.

     What a perfect proverb to follow up on today’s psalm. If we are proud, we will be humiliated. Instead let us humbly acknowledge our limitations so that we may be honored.