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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Tuesday, 14 November 2023:
Amos 2:4 – … they have rejected the law of the Lord, and have not kept his statutes, but their lies have led them astray, those after which their fathers walked.
God’s people were first judged by how they treated God in their unique relationship with Him, which, of course, would reflect on their relationships with others. Before rejecting His law, they rejected Him; before they broke any other commandment, they broke the first commandment of serving God alone and the greatest commandment of Love. They were meant to be in a loving relationship with God and to serve as priests and ambassadors for Him to the world, but they rejected Him, disobeyed Him, and led others astray. The people of Judah had been taught to sin by their parents, but that was no excuse for continuing in sin. Those who know Him have a unique responsibility to make Him known to others, to glorify Him, in word and deed. If the world becomes darker, it can only be that the light of God’s people (reflecting from their proximity to God) has grown dim.
Disobedience to God is a rejection of Him and His Sovereignty. Regardless of how we try to make light of sin and justify it, it is cosmic treason against to Almighty. Pray that God will help you see sin the way He sees it.
Amos 2:6-8 – Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals— those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth and turn aside the way of the afflicted; a man and his father go in to the same girl, so that my holy name is profaned; they lay themselves down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge, and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.”
Israel was judged not just for sexual immorality and idolatry but also because the people made themselves rich by putting other people into financial bondage or debt. Through financial manipulation, they made others poor so that they could live in luxury. God does not want us to get rich on the backs of others.
Amos 2:12 — But you made the Nazirites drink wine, and commanded the prophets, saying, “You shall not prophesy.”
A sinful land will not tolerate faithful preachers, and the unfaithful preachers will conform to the current demands of society with watered down, comfortable sermons that tell people what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear.
Amos 2:15 – …he who handles the bow shall not stand….
Sinful nations trust in their man-made might rather than in God. God will knock down that house of cards.
Prosperity achieved in ungodliness will be destroyed by God Himself. Human strength is an illusion.
John 10:1-5, 14-16, 27-28 — Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers…. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
John 10:7, 9 — So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep…. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”
By describing Himself as both the Good Shepherd and also the Door of the sheepfold, Jesus makes it abundantly clear that there is only one way to salvation – through Him and with Him — “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) There aren’t many paths to God, only one, and religion that doesn’t proclaim exclusively the Gospel of Christ is false and antichrist – “Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son…. For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.” (1 John 2:22; 2 John 1:7)
The Divinity and exclusivity of Christ has always been a divisive truth, unacceptable and intolerable to many – “There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. Many of them said, ‘He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?’ Others said, ‘These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?’” (John 10:19-21) Jesus knew the trouble that would come to those who spoke the truth of His Sovereignty – “Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” (Luke 12:51-53)
Jesus explained why some refuse to accept Him: “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me…. My Father… has given them to me.” (John 10:25-27, 29) Only by the Father’s will and the enabling of the Holy Spirit can someone accept Jesus Christ as Savior and hear His voice – “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him…. I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” (John 6:44, 65) “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8)
“And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” It takes courage to proclaim the exclusivity of the Gospel before a hostile world, but this is our calling on earth – “And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations.” (Mark 13:10) “Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.” (Luke 10:3) “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16) You have no idea how God will use you to reach one of His sheep. Be strong and courageous.
From Henry T. Blackaby – “Christians, we talk about God ‘opening doors’ to us as a means of His revealing His will. What we are asking God to do is engineer our circumstances to match what we think would be best. The problem is that we misunderstand what the door is. Jesus said He is the door. Circumstances are irrelevant, for no one can shut the door that Jesus opens (Rev. 3:8). If you have substituted activity for your relationship with Christ, then circumstances can disrupt your activity. When the activity is hindered, you may assume the door has been closed. Yet, if Christ is the door in your life, He will guide you into every experience of Him that He wants, and there will be nothing that people can do to stop Him.
When Paul and Silas were thrown into prison at Philippi, it appeared that the door to their ministry in Greece had been violently and firmly closed (Acts 16:22-24). The reality of their situation, however, was that their Lord had opened a door of ministry to a previously unreached group of men in prison. The Philippian jailer and his household would become a significant nucleus of the new church in Philippi. From a human perspective, a door had been closed; from God’s perspective, Paul and Silas continued to minister exactly where God wanted them to.
When people oppose us, we can become discouraged or worry about what others are doing to us. We may even try to take matters into our own hands to accomplish what we think God wants. This reveals that we do not really believe Jesus is the door for our lives. If we did, we would be assured that through Christ we have access to everything He wants to do in and through us.
Jesus warns us to be on guard for thieves who will try to rob us of what God has for us. Jesus wants us to enjoy abundant life (John 10:10). Since the time of Adam and Eve, people have had to choose whom to believe. Satan convinced Adam and Eve that forfeiting their obedience to God would gain them everything. Instead, their disobedience robbed them of all they had. For the rest of their lives they experienced only a fraction of the blessings God had intended. Scripture is replete with accounts of those who forfeited their inheritance as children of God in order to gain that which was transitory and empty.
The world seeks to convince you that you will find fulfillment if you adopt its standard of morality for your marriage, raising your children, advancing your career, or pursuing pleasure. If you believe this, you will never experience the blessings God intended for you. Sin brings death (Rom. 6:23). It is tragic to listen to the voices of the world instead of to the One who created life and who wants you to experience life to its fullest.
Jesus wants you to live your life with security, knowing that you are a beloved child of God. If you are not experiencing love, joy, and peace, you have settled for less than what God intends for you. If you have been making excuses for why you are not experiencing an abundant and joyful life, determine today to settle for nothing less than God’s best for your life. Stop following the world’s way of finding satisfaction. Instead, listen to the Savior’s voice, and you will find true fulfillment.”
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 14 November 2023: Proclaim the truth of the Gospel today though it will be offensive to many.
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 