https://esv.literalword.com/?q=Amos+8%3B+john+14
Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Monday, 20 November 2023:
Amos 8:4-8 – Hear this, you who trample on the needy and bring the poor of the land to an end…. and deal deceitfully with false balances, that we may buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals and sell the chaff of the wheat?
Amos stood out vocally in a nation which had become more concerned about making money and pursuing luxury than obeying God and His law of love. The political/economic scene has not changed much over the centuries, nor has the individual temptation to seek wealth and comfort over God’s glory. Jesus warned that a person must choose between God and money — “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (Matthew 6:24) Nations must choose what they will prioritize too. In a sinful nation, economics (prosperity and security) becomes god, the top priority for decisions, and the poor get poorer while the rich get richer. Amos warns a godless society is doomed – destruction is inevitable, quick, and unexpected. Nations change when hearts change.
What does how you give and forgive reveal about the plumb of your walls? “Let a person examine himself….” (1 Corinthians 11:28; 2 Corinthians 13:5)
Amos 8:11 — “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD, “when I will send a famine on the land— not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.
From Henry T. Blackaby – “One way God communicates is through silence. The Israelites blatantly ignored and rejected God’s word to them, and God responded by sending a famine. This famine was far more severe than a shortage of food and water. Instead, they were deprived of His words of life.
God’s silence may be hardly noticeable at first. You may still remember times when God spoke to you, but you gradually realize you’ve not heard His voice for a long time. If you realize you are in a ‘drought,’ immediately seek God and ask Him what adjustments your life requires so you can once again enjoy fellowship with Him. It may be that you disobeyed His last instructions to you and that He is waiting on your obedience before giving you a new direction. It may be that there is unconfessed sin in your life or that you have a damaged relationship (Isa. 1:15; 1 Pet. 3:7). It is possible that you have done too much talking in your prayer times and that He wants you to listen. God’s silences can be powerful times for Him to communicate with you.
God is God! Because He is God, when He speaks He expects a listening ear and an eager response. He will not be mocked! (Gal. 6:7). When we ignore Him, He may withhold His voice until we repent and get right with Him. The prophet Isaiah assured King Asa, “The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.”
John 14:6 – Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
From Henry T. Blackaby — “If you are walking daily with the Lord, you will not have to find God’s will–you will already be in it. If you are walking with Him in obedience day by day, you will always be in the will of God. The Holy Spirit’s role is to guide you step by step to do God’s will. Walking closely with God each day guarantees that you will be exactly where He wants you to be. You would have to reject all of the Holy Spirit’s activity in your life in order to get out of the will of God.
The disciples never had to ask Jesus where they should go next. They simply looked to see where Jesus was going and stayed close to Him! Jesus was their ‘way.’ They didn’t need a map as long as they had Jesus. Too often, we would prefer a road map of our future rather than a relationship with the Way. It often seems easier to follow a plan than to cultivate a relationship. We can become more concerned with our future than we are with walking intimately with God today.
Jesus will never give you a substitute for Himself. He is the only way to the Father. That’s why it is critical that you clearly know when God is speaking to you (Isa. 30:21). If you are disoriented to how God speaks, you will not understand when He is giving you a new revelation about what He is doing. If you want to know God’s will, take time to cultivate your relationship with Jesus and learn to identify His voice. He is more than willing to show you the way.”
John 14:15, 16, 21, 23, 24 — If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever…. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me…. If anyone loves me, he will keep my word…. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.
When something is repeated in the Bible it is for emphasis. Three times in John 14 alone, Jesus reiterates that love and obedience go hand-in-hand. Many people believe in God, but James reminds us that even the demons believe in God – “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!” (James 2:19) There is a difference between knowledge of the Truth and faith in the Truth which loves, trusts, and obeys. James goes on to say that faith without works is dead. Obedience is not the path to salvation but rather the fruit and evidence of saving faith.
To love God is to obey Him with contentment from the heart – “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” (1 Timothy 6:6) Jesus points out that love inspired obedience will be VERY powerful in the life of a true Christian – “Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it…. the Spirit of Truth… will be in you…. I will love him and manifest myself to him…. The Helper… will teach you all things… Peace I leave with you.” The powerless Christian has a love problem. The loving Christian will be evident to all by the power of the Spirit flowing through him or her. How is your spiritual love life?
Again, from Henry T. Blackaby — “Obedience to God’s commands comes from your heart. When you begin struggling to obey God, that is a clear indication that your heart has shifted away from Him. Some claim: ‘I love God, but I’m having difficulty obeying Him in certain areas of my life.’ That is a spiritual impossibility. If I were to ask you, ‘Do you love God?’ you might easily respond, ‘Yes!’ However, if I were to ask you, ‘Are you obeying God?’ would you answer yes as quickly? Yet I would be asking you the same question! Genuine love for God leads to wholehearted obedience. If you told your spouse that you loved her at certain times but that you struggled to love her at others, your relationship would be in jeopardy. Yet we assume that God is satisfied with occasional love or partial obedience. He is not. Obedience without love is legalism. Obedience for its own sake can be nothing more than perfectionism, which leads to pride. Many conscientious Christians seek to cultivate discipline in their lives to be more obedient to Christ. As helpful as spiritual disciplines can be, they never can replace your love for God. Love is the discipline. God looks beyond your godly habits, beyond your moral lifestyle, and beyond your church involvement and focuses His penetrating gaze upon your heart. Has your worship become empty and routine? Have you lost your motivation to read God’s Word? Are you experiencing spiritual lethargy? Is your prayer life reduced to a ritual? These are symptoms of a heart that has shifted away from God. Return to your first love. Love is the greatest motivation for a relationship with God and for serving Him.”
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 20 November 2023: Pray that God would increase your love and heartfelt commitment to obey Him for His glory.
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 