Month: September 2022

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The Power of Persistent Prayer!

there is power in prayer

Amos 7-9 Amos was just a sheepherder by trade as he shared with Amaziah, the false priest of Israel, but he also had a powerful ministry of prayer. God called him, and he left Judah and his work to follow God. God revealed horrible visions to him about the future of Israel, and with a broken heart, Amos pleaded for God to relent, which He did—not once but twice.

Amos’ persistence with God reminds us of the NT story of the persistence of the man who needed provisions for a visiting friend. He went to his neighbor, who was already in bed, but persisted until the neighbor got up and provided help. Jesus told that story by saying, “because of the first man’s sheer persistence, he will get up and give him whatever he needs.” [Luke 11:8]

What might happen if we pray, not just once but persistently, for our loved ones who are lost and dying or our nation floundering in sin like Israel was?

The power of intercessory prayer is a model for us to follow. Where am I being persistent in prayer?

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Advanced Preparation

are you prepared

Amos 4-6 Are we prepared to meet God?  

We swear we will tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help us, God. This solemn oath reminds us of the consequences of not telling the truth. As we do that, we follow God’s pattern, who confirms an oath by his holy character. [Heb 6:16, 17]  What He says is true and will never be altered because He is the “way, the truth, and the life.” [Jn 14:6]

Amos reminded Israel that God was calling them to repent and return, yet they refused. God’s day of reckoning would come swiftly as lightning; therefore, they should prepare.  Because of God’s great compassion, He reveals his plans to men. [Amos 3:7] But, just like in Amos’ day, our world is busy spending time and money on that which will decay, but not time hungering and thirsting for the Word of God. [Matt 5:6]

 If God were to blow the trumpet, what would He find us doing?

You took an oath that you believed in Jesus. Does your life reflect that oath? Thus we should seek the Lord to live, once in this lifetime and then again in the hereafter.

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Sheepherder or Ph.D.?

Amos had a message and he shared it

Amos 1-3 Simple but profound

Two days ago, my childhood friend passed from this earthly life to sit at the feet of Jesus. Her mother washed my diapers, and my mother did the same. That is how long we have been childhood friends. She was not a theologian of the Bible, but her life was a theology lesson in her deeds. She was, in some ways, the Ruth to her Naomi and her mom. Then her Boaz served her when she slipped into Alzheimer’s. It was fitting that God chose him, for he was an undertaker by profession. In some ways, that is sort of ironic, isn’t it? Just like “sort of like” Amos was a sheepherder. Who would have chosen a sheepherder from Tekoa to care for His sheep? But God needs shepherds and God needs us.

We say Amos was “just” a sheepherder, but God chose him out of all the Ph.D.’s and the others to tell the nations of His plans. How often do we feel like Amos because we don’t have a pedigree, or do we feel like Jeremiah thinking some other person will tell them? But, God has chosen what the world thinks foolish to shame the wise and what the world thinks weak to shame the strong. [1Cor 1:27]

So what does that have to do with our study today? Amos shared this truth: the Sovereign Lord does nothing without first revealing his plan. [Amos 3:7] And that truth is: God is not willing that any should perish, but all come to repentance. [2Peter 3:9] God uses sheepherders and those who have a Ph.D. God uses ALL of us to be His conduit to a lost and dying generation. God had a simple warning message: For three things…no make that four was his repeated refrain.

What simple message has God given you to share? And more importantly, are you going and telling?

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God and His Character

Remember the character of God

Joel 1-3 Joel’s short book of prophecy is used by the NT writers on more than one occasion and recalling the words of Moses to God about His impending discipline. God was ready to “wipe them off the map.” But, Moses reminded God that if He did that, the nations around them would say: “Where is their God?” It would be an occasion to mock God, so God listened to Moses’ argument and relented.
On Pentecost, Peter used the prophecy of Joel about the Holy Spirit and His power. [Acts 2:18-32] Also, Paul used Joel as a call to salvation. “Call upon the Lord and be saved.” [Rom 10:13]

The book hinges on this one point: God’s character: “He is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and boundless in loyal love—often relenting from calamitous punishment.” [Joel 2:13]

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Faithfulness =Blessing

God is faithful even if we are not

Hosea 11-14 God’s Love is Faithful
Over and over through this book, we have read the principle of Jeremiah: I have loved you with an everlasting love; that is why I have been faithful to you. [Jer 31:3] Yet, the nation of Israel has ignored that love and trashed it with other lovers who are faithless. God reminds them that even though He is angry and hurt, He has kept them in his heart, and He does the same for us—even when we sin. So as Hosea closes his treatise on Israel, he reminds them that the righteous live by God’s ways and are blessed, and the contrast is also true. Those who ignore God’s ways will stumble and fall. [Hosea 14:9]

God is faithful, are we? How’s your walk with God today?

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Do NOT judge?

God is the perfect judge

Hosea 8 to 10 If you listen carefully, you will hear many saying: “do not judge.”   Jesus used that verse to remind us of the standard of judgment and that the standards we apply to others, God applies to us. Jesus is teaching that we are not God and we don’t know the motives behind a person’s heart. So what does that have to do with Hosea chapters 8 to 10? God is saying I am the ultimate judge, and I alone can judge the heart.

When God looked at the northern tribes, he saw sin and judged it. Outwardly the people were saying, “God, we acknowledge you!” But, God says, let’s look at the evidence. I found you and raised you only to see that your eyes drifted to man-made idols. This should not be!  What you have sown, you will also reap. I spelled out my law for you in great detail, but you regard it as nothing. I sent you wise prophets, but you called them fools. My prophet was sent to you as a watchman to remind you of where you have fallen. Like the Ephesians, they had lost their first love. God reminds them to seek Him early while He may be found! Repent and return to the Lord

This is a wake-up call to us as well. Where have we taken our eyes off God and looked to the world for its man-made idols and structures? Have we lost our first love?  

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“True or False Faithfulness?”

God keeps an account

Hosea 5 to 7 Hosea reminds the Israelites that their unfaithfulness is just like the morning mist which disappears with the sunrise. He reminded them that instead of seeking God, they sought Assyria, but their king will not be able to help them.  They seek help not from faithful God but from ungodly nations that are here today and gone tomorrow. God is calling them and us to delight in Him alone!  He delights in our faithfulness to Him, not sacrifices or burnt offerings. He delights in our acknowledgment of Him.

The world is saying: God is archaic! God’s words do not bring hope!  So how’s that working? Romans 1:18-31 shows us the futility of men and governments that do not follow God’s ways.

Hebrews reminds us that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” [Heb 13:8] and “Heaven and earth passes away, His words will never pass away.” [Mark 13:31]

God is saying, “I delight in faithfulness, not simply sacrifice.” [Hosea 6:6; Matt 9:13] “I do not go back on my promises return to me. I make distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not.” [Mal 3:18] Where are you today in your walk with God?

Remember this; God keeps a scroll of remembrance of the faithful. Is your name on it?

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How strong is your faith?

How strong is your faith?

Hosea 1-4 The Heart of God & His people
Hosea was a prophet to the northern kingdom of Israel for 45+/- yrs. He told the message God had given him, and he lived a life with an unfaithful wife along with three children who would hear playmates, perhaps, mock their names. Through it all, Hosea remained faithful to his calling as a prophet of God. We sometimes are called to a mission, but when the hard times come, we fail for lack of vision or a lack of steadfastness. God knew exactly who he should call to speak to his errant children; He needed a man of strong character and disposition. Hosea fit the bill to demonstrate the broken heart of God: “Go, show love to your wife again, even though she loves another man and continually commits adultery. Likewise, the Lord loves the Israelites although they turn to other gods.” [Hosea 3:1] Later, God would explain why: “Because there is no faithfulness or kindness Or knowledge of God in the land.” [Hosea 4:1] His people are dying spiritually not because they did not know but because they refused His discipline and love. They might have been unfaithful like Hosea’s wife Gomer, but God remained faithful…even as his heart was breaking.

Where am I unfaithful like Gomer (a picture of unfaithful Israel,)

or where am I like Hosea, strong and steadfast?

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The Mystery is Revealed…or is it?

Daniel's vision

Daniel 10-12 Daniel’s Vision

Daniel receives a vision and is troubled. Would I be the same? How often do I read something in the Word and am troubled because I do not understand? God, in His graciousness, sends relief and help to Daniel, but others with him are so frightened they fade away, and only Daniel is left to see and hear. The vision is clear: there will be wars and rumors of wars, but the end is not yet. Evil men will arise to do damage to the Holy Land but only for a time. God will protect His people and His land.

More than once, Daniel is assured that he is beloved and blessed. Even though he has lived in a foreign land for over 70 yrs., he has remained faithful, and God is pleased. God was willing to send an angel to assure him that his time here on earth was ending. Soon, he will stand before the God he loves and has served these many years. Daniel’s words will be left to us now and in the future so that we might see and understand that God has a plan and will fulfill it.

When I am in a quandary, I turn to the Holy Spirit, my resident teacher, to explain what I do not understand. Sometimes He explains, and other times He allows me to be disturbed until I search out the answer.

How about you?

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God can be trusted

God is trustworthy

Daniel 7 to 9 Daniel received visions from God about the future. They were frightening, and he wanted to understand them. God sent an angel to tell the highest angel of all, Gabriel, to explain the visions to Daniel. God revealed the future to Daniel, and we have to his words to understand what God was going to do. On the day of Pentecost, Peter also received God’s plans which we can read about in Acts 2. Today, we don’t receive visions because we have the completed Word of God.

Have you immersed yourself in His Word to know the beginning from the end?

Do you ask what am I to learn from these visions and these words?

This is truth: God has a plan, and He will fulfill it. We can trust God to complete His plans.

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