Shalom Aleichem...
Reflections is a weekly Christian Teaching Ministry. Each week we will talk about the Bible and lessons we can put to use in our daily life. We will try to, on a weekly basis, provide to you stories, thoughts, and just easy ways to live your life on a straight path.
The Triqueta
THIS WEEK'S TEACHING....January 22, 2019
To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek him the greatest adventure; to find him, the greatest human achievement. ― Church Father, Augustine
The Triqueta...shown above, is an ancient Celtic symbol that Christians used to try to communicate the concept of the Trinity: three persons but one God symbolized by three separate ovals that are linked into one shape. Where does the doctrine of the Trinity come from? The word Trinity itself never occurs in the Bible but the teaching has been a part of the Christian church since the early centuries of its existence.
The word theology means the study of God and that is in essence what this lesson is about in an introductory way.
Sometimes this area of study is called theology proper. Theology may seem intimidating, but anytime we form an opinion about God or make an assertion about him or look to him for anything we are in essence doing theology. If we say God is good, that is a theological proposition. If someone curses God, they are saying God is bad. If we say a prayer to God, we are implying that he not only exists, but that he acts in our lives in a personal way. Therefore, most of us are theologians whether we think we are or not. This lesson will be divided into four separate sections: 1) sources of knowledge about God, 2) the basic names of God, 3) the attributes/perfections of God, and 4) the evidence and explanation of the Trinity.
Sources of Knowledge of God:
Natural Revelation
The source of all knowledge about God comes from God himself and this can be divided into two areas: natural revelation (i.e., the creation itself) and special revelation (primarily, God’s words recorded in the Bible and in the incarnation of Jesus Christ).
There are at least five passages the Bible that speak of the natural revelation that God gives through his creation. The first is in Psalm 19. It reads: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the sky displays his handiwork. Day after day it speaks out; night after night it reveals his greatness. There is no actual speech or word, nor is its voice literally heard. Yet its voice echoes throughout the earth; its words carry to the distant horizon” (Ps 19:1-4). This passage says that every day people can see the glory and magnificence of God. Everyone day and night 24-7 can understand the greatness of God.
The second passage occurs in Romans 1. It reads, “for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth by their unrighteousness, because what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people are without excuse” (Rom 1:18-20). Here Paul states that another thing we can learn from creation is how powerful God is. A vaguer expression relates to the divine nature of God, which is seen as well.
Thirdly, in Matthew, Jesus makes a statement that relates to this topic. He states, “But I say to you, love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be like your Father in heaven, since he causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matt 5:44-45).
In arguing that disciples of Jesus need to love their enemies, Jesus mentions that the blessings of the sun and rain go to all people whether they are righteous or unrighteous. This would imply that God’s love toward all is seen in these blessings, which is sometimes referred to as common grace. In a similar passage, Paul addresses the topic of God’s goodness as witnessed in the blessings he gives to all people. Luke records the speech: “In past generations he allowed all the nations to go their own ways, yet he did not leave himself without a witness by doing good, by giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying you with food and your hearts with joy” (Acts 14:16-17).
The last passage is from Genesis 1. “God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them” (Gen 1:27). Since God is a spirit and man is created in God’s image, there must be something about the immaterial nature of man that is reflected in God. The question though is: what part of God’s image is there? Both God and man are personal, relational, moral, and rational. These seem to be some of the inferred characteristics that both God and man share.
So what can we understand about God through natural revelation? The following characteristics are evident: 1) God is glorious; 2) God is powerful; 3) God loves all; 4) God is good to all and; 5) God is a personal, relational, moral and rational being. One must also notice what is not understood though natural revelation, which is God’s plan of salvation.
Sources of Knowledge of God:
Special Revelation
As good as natural revelation is, special revelation was needed to communicate more specific truths about God and his plan of salvation for man. Paul states regarding the gospel that it needs to be preached and heard: “And how are they to believe in one they have not heard of? And how are they to hear without someone preaching to them (Rom 10:14).” This suggests that no one is going to understand God’s plan of salvation by looking at a star. Even understanding what natural revelation communicates comes from special revelation found in the Bible. Special revelation is God speaking to man through signs, dreams, visions, manifestations of God, inspired verbal messages, inspired written messages and also the incarnation of Jesus Christ. The focus of special revelation centers on two areas: the written word of God (the Bible) and the incarnation of Jesus Christ.
The Bible speaks about God and is inspired by God. Every scripture is inspired by God as Paul states (2 Tim 3:16). Over and over in the Old Testament the prophets speak: “This is what the Lord says.” The Bible speaks about who God is and what God does and what he wants people to do. For example, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen 1:1). Apart from such statements, mankind would be very much in a fog of knowledge about God and his actions.
The second major area of special revelation is God the Father revealed by the Logos (translated as “Word”) who is his son Jesus Christ. John writes, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God. The Word was with God in the beginning. . . . Now the Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We saw his glory . . . . No one has ever seen God. The only one, himself God, who is in closest fellowship with the Father, has made God known (John 1:1, 2, 14, 18). Later Jesus stated, “The person who has seen me has seen the Father!” (John 14:9). The author of Hebrews states that God has spoken by his Son, who is the exact representation of God (Heb 1:1-3).
The Names of God
One good way to start to understand God is through the names of God as recorded in the Bible. Names have meaning attached to them and the names of God are no exception. The meanings of God’s names give us instruction as to who God is and what he is like. The first reference to God in the Old Testament is the Hebrew word Elohim (Gen 1:1). Sometimes this fuller name is abbreviated to El. The root meaning of this Hebrew word is to “Be strong.” The Greek translation of the Old Testament normally translates these Hebrews words as theos, which is the basic Greek word for God Elohim is used 2,310 times for the true God in the Old Testament. One interesting point about this name is that it is a plural word in Hebrew. A common explanation for this is that it is a plural of majesty indicating the manifold greatness of God. It has also been suggested that it allows for the later revelation of the Trinity.
There are also compound names for God with Elohim: 1) El-Shaddai means God Almighty, which indicates God’s omnipotence (Gen 17:1); 2) El-Elyon means God Most High (Gen 14:19), which stresses God’s supremacy and sovereignty; El-Olam means The Everlasting God (Gen 21:33), which communicates his timelessness or eternality; El-Roi means The God who Sees (Gen 16:13), which is an indication of his omniscience.
The personal name for God in the Old Testament is the Hebrew YHWH (יהוה) or Yahweh. The four consonants are sometimes referred to as the tetragrammaton. The first occurrence of YHWH is in Gen 2:4 and it occurs about 5321 times in the Old Testament. This name is probably related to a Hebrew word which means “to be or exist.” The name Yahweh was considered so sacred in Israel one was not allowed to speak it. As a substitute when the Old Testament was read, Adonai was spoken. Adonai is the Hebrew word for Lord. The Jewish people had other ways of referring to God that avoided verbalizing God’s name. For example, instead of saying Yahweh will bless you, one could say the Lord or heaven will bless you. One could also put a statement in the passive voice “you will be blessed” with Yahweh as the understood agent of the blessing. Following this respect for God’s personal name, the Greek in the Old and New Testaments translated the divine personal name as kurios, which means lord in Greek as Adonai did in Hebrew.
A key passage regarding God’s personal name is found in Exodus 3. There Moses said to God, “If I go to the Israelites and tell them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ – what should I say to them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I am that I am.’ And he said, ‘You must say this to the Israelites, I am has sent me to you.’ God also said to Moses, ‘You must say this to the Israelites, ‘The Lord [Yahweh] ( – the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob – has sent me to you. This is my name forever, and this is my memorial from generation to generation’” (Exod 3:13-15). One thing to notice in this passages is that Moses was instructed by God to verbalize God’s name = Yahwehto Israel. Saying the name itself was even commanded by God so that people would know what his name was.
As with the name El, there are also compound names for God with Yahweh. Yahweh Jirehmeans, The Lord Will Provide (Gen 22:14); Abraham named God this after God provided a ram as a substitute for Isaac who was one altar and about to be offered as a sacrifice. Yahweh Nissimeans, The Lord is my Banner (Exod 17:15); Moses named God this after a defeat of one of Israel’s enemies. Yahweh Shalom means, The Lord is Peace (Judges 6:24). Yahweh Sabbaothmeans The Lord of Hosts or Armies (1 Sam 1:3).
Yahweh Maccaddeshsem means The Lord your Sanctifier (Ex 31:13). Yahweh Roi means The Lord my Shepherd (Ps 23:1). Yahweh Tsidkenu means The Lord our Righteousness (Jer 23:6). Yahweh Shammah means The Lord is There (Ezek 48:35). These names indicate the greatness of God and how he concerns himself in meeting our needs in various situations we face. Someone once well said, “God is the answer now what is the question.” We answer that next week...
To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek him the greatest adventure; to find him, the greatest human achievement. ― Church Father, Augustine
The Triqueta...shown above, is an ancient Celtic symbol that Christians used to try to communicate the concept of the Trinity: three persons but one God symbolized by three separate ovals that are linked into one shape. Where does the doctrine of the Trinity come from? The word Trinity itself never occurs in the Bible but the teaching has been a part of the Christian church since the early centuries of its existence.
The word theology means the study of God and that is in essence what this lesson is about in an introductory way.
Sometimes this area of study is called theology proper. Theology may seem intimidating, but anytime we form an opinion about God or make an assertion about him or look to him for anything we are in essence doing theology. If we say God is good, that is a theological proposition. If someone curses God, they are saying God is bad. If we say a prayer to God, we are implying that he not only exists, but that he acts in our lives in a personal way. Therefore, most of us are theologians whether we think we are or not. This lesson will be divided into four separate sections: 1) sources of knowledge about God, 2) the basic names of God, 3) the attributes/perfections of God, and 4) the evidence and explanation of the Trinity.
Sources of Knowledge of God:
Natural Revelation
The source of all knowledge about God comes from God himself and this can be divided into two areas: natural revelation (i.e., the creation itself) and special revelation (primarily, God’s words recorded in the Bible and in the incarnation of Jesus Christ).
There are at least five passages the Bible that speak of the natural revelation that God gives through his creation. The first is in Psalm 19. It reads: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the sky displays his handiwork. Day after day it speaks out; night after night it reveals his greatness. There is no actual speech or word, nor is its voice literally heard. Yet its voice echoes throughout the earth; its words carry to the distant horizon” (Ps 19:1-4). This passage says that every day people can see the glory and magnificence of God. Everyone day and night 24-7 can understand the greatness of God.
The second passage occurs in Romans 1. It reads, “for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth by their unrighteousness, because what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people are without excuse” (Rom 1:18-20). Here Paul states that another thing we can learn from creation is how powerful God is. A vaguer expression relates to the divine nature of God, which is seen as well.
Thirdly, in Matthew, Jesus makes a statement that relates to this topic. He states, “But I say to you, love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be like your Father in heaven, since he causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matt 5:44-45).
In arguing that disciples of Jesus need to love their enemies, Jesus mentions that the blessings of the sun and rain go to all people whether they are righteous or unrighteous. This would imply that God’s love toward all is seen in these blessings, which is sometimes referred to as common grace. In a similar passage, Paul addresses the topic of God’s goodness as witnessed in the blessings he gives to all people. Luke records the speech: “In past generations he allowed all the nations to go their own ways, yet he did not leave himself without a witness by doing good, by giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying you with food and your hearts with joy” (Acts 14:16-17).
The last passage is from Genesis 1. “God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them” (Gen 1:27). Since God is a spirit and man is created in God’s image, there must be something about the immaterial nature of man that is reflected in God. The question though is: what part of God’s image is there? Both God and man are personal, relational, moral, and rational. These seem to be some of the inferred characteristics that both God and man share.
So what can we understand about God through natural revelation? The following characteristics are evident: 1) God is glorious; 2) God is powerful; 3) God loves all; 4) God is good to all and; 5) God is a personal, relational, moral and rational being. One must also notice what is not understood though natural revelation, which is God’s plan of salvation.
Sources of Knowledge of God:
Special Revelation
As good as natural revelation is, special revelation was needed to communicate more specific truths about God and his plan of salvation for man. Paul states regarding the gospel that it needs to be preached and heard: “And how are they to believe in one they have not heard of? And how are they to hear without someone preaching to them (Rom 10:14).” This suggests that no one is going to understand God’s plan of salvation by looking at a star. Even understanding what natural revelation communicates comes from special revelation found in the Bible. Special revelation is God speaking to man through signs, dreams, visions, manifestations of God, inspired verbal messages, inspired written messages and also the incarnation of Jesus Christ. The focus of special revelation centers on two areas: the written word of God (the Bible) and the incarnation of Jesus Christ.
The Bible speaks about God and is inspired by God. Every scripture is inspired by God as Paul states (2 Tim 3:16). Over and over in the Old Testament the prophets speak: “This is what the Lord says.” The Bible speaks about who God is and what God does and what he wants people to do. For example, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen 1:1). Apart from such statements, mankind would be very much in a fog of knowledge about God and his actions.
The second major area of special revelation is God the Father revealed by the Logos (translated as “Word”) who is his son Jesus Christ. John writes, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God. The Word was with God in the beginning. . . . Now the Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We saw his glory . . . . No one has ever seen God. The only one, himself God, who is in closest fellowship with the Father, has made God known (John 1:1, 2, 14, 18). Later Jesus stated, “The person who has seen me has seen the Father!” (John 14:9). The author of Hebrews states that God has spoken by his Son, who is the exact representation of God (Heb 1:1-3).
The Names of God
One good way to start to understand God is through the names of God as recorded in the Bible. Names have meaning attached to them and the names of God are no exception. The meanings of God’s names give us instruction as to who God is and what he is like. The first reference to God in the Old Testament is the Hebrew word Elohim (Gen 1:1). Sometimes this fuller name is abbreviated to El. The root meaning of this Hebrew word is to “Be strong.” The Greek translation of the Old Testament normally translates these Hebrews words as theos, which is the basic Greek word for God Elohim is used 2,310 times for the true God in the Old Testament. One interesting point about this name is that it is a plural word in Hebrew. A common explanation for this is that it is a plural of majesty indicating the manifold greatness of God. It has also been suggested that it allows for the later revelation of the Trinity.
There are also compound names for God with Elohim: 1) El-Shaddai means God Almighty, which indicates God’s omnipotence (Gen 17:1); 2) El-Elyon means God Most High (Gen 14:19), which stresses God’s supremacy and sovereignty; El-Olam means The Everlasting God (Gen 21:33), which communicates his timelessness or eternality; El-Roi means The God who Sees (Gen 16:13), which is an indication of his omniscience.
The personal name for God in the Old Testament is the Hebrew YHWH (יהוה) or Yahweh. The four consonants are sometimes referred to as the tetragrammaton. The first occurrence of YHWH is in Gen 2:4 and it occurs about 5321 times in the Old Testament. This name is probably related to a Hebrew word which means “to be or exist.” The name Yahweh was considered so sacred in Israel one was not allowed to speak it. As a substitute when the Old Testament was read, Adonai was spoken. Adonai is the Hebrew word for Lord. The Jewish people had other ways of referring to God that avoided verbalizing God’s name. For example, instead of saying Yahweh will bless you, one could say the Lord or heaven will bless you. One could also put a statement in the passive voice “you will be blessed” with Yahweh as the understood agent of the blessing. Following this respect for God’s personal name, the Greek in the Old and New Testaments translated the divine personal name as kurios, which means lord in Greek as Adonai did in Hebrew.
A key passage regarding God’s personal name is found in Exodus 3. There Moses said to God, “If I go to the Israelites and tell them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ – what should I say to them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I am that I am.’ And he said, ‘You must say this to the Israelites, I am has sent me to you.’ God also said to Moses, ‘You must say this to the Israelites, ‘The Lord [Yahweh] ( – the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob – has sent me to you. This is my name forever, and this is my memorial from generation to generation’” (Exod 3:13-15). One thing to notice in this passages is that Moses was instructed by God to verbalize God’s name = Yahwehto Israel. Saying the name itself was even commanded by God so that people would know what his name was.
As with the name El, there are also compound names for God with Yahweh. Yahweh Jirehmeans, The Lord Will Provide (Gen 22:14); Abraham named God this after God provided a ram as a substitute for Isaac who was one altar and about to be offered as a sacrifice. Yahweh Nissimeans, The Lord is my Banner (Exod 17:15); Moses named God this after a defeat of one of Israel’s enemies. Yahweh Shalom means, The Lord is Peace (Judges 6:24). Yahweh Sabbaothmeans The Lord of Hosts or Armies (1 Sam 1:3).
Yahweh Maccaddeshsem means The Lord your Sanctifier (Ex 31:13). Yahweh Roi means The Lord my Shepherd (Ps 23:1). Yahweh Tsidkenu means The Lord our Righteousness (Jer 23:6). Yahweh Shammah means The Lord is There (Ezek 48:35). These names indicate the greatness of God and how he concerns himself in meeting our needs in various situations we face. Someone once well said, “God is the answer now what is the question.” We answer that next week...
DID YOU EVER WONDER???
The Price of Children
This is just too good not to pass on to all. Something absolutely positive for a change. I have repeatedly seen the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way. It's nice, The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle income family. Talk about sticker shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition. But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into:
· $8,896.66 a year,
· $741.3 month, or * $171.08 a week.
· That's a mere $24.24 a day!
· Just over a dollar an hour.
Still, you might think the best financial advice is don't have children if you want to be "rich." Actually, it is just the opposite.
What do you get for your $160,140?
· first step,
· first word,
· first bra,
· first date, and
· first time behind the wheel.
You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.
In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits.
So . . one day they will like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!
Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren!!!!!!!
The Price of Children
This is just too good not to pass on to all. Something absolutely positive for a change. I have repeatedly seen the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way. It's nice, The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle income family. Talk about sticker shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition. But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into:
· $8,896.66 a year,
· $741.3 month, or * $171.08 a week.
· That's a mere $24.24 a day!
· Just over a dollar an hour.
Still, you might think the best financial advice is don't have children if you want to be "rich." Actually, it is just the opposite.
What do you get for your $160,140?
- Naming rights. First, middle, and last!
- Glimpses of God every day.
- Giggles under the covers every night.
- More love than your heart can hold.
- Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
- Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
- A hand to hold, usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
- A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites
- Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.
- finger-paint,
- carve pumpkins,
- play hide-and-seek,
- catch lightning bugs, and
- never stop believing in Santa Claus. You have an excuse to:
- keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
- watching Saturday morning cartoons,
- going to Disney movies, and
- wishing on stars.
- You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.
- retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
- taking the training wheels off a bike,
- removing a splinter,
- filling a wading pool,
- coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.
· first step,
· first word,
· first bra,
· first date, and
· first time behind the wheel.
You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.
In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits.
So . . one day they will like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!
Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren!!!!!!!
BOOKS OF THE BIBLE...A TEACHING
We look, this week, at the Book of Amos...
Who wrote the book?
The prophet Amos lived among a group of shepherds in Tekoa, a small town approximately ten miles south of Jerusalem. Amos made clear in his writings that he did not come from a family of prophets, nor did he even consider himself one. Rather, he was “a grower of sycamore figs” as well as a shepherd (Amos 7:14–15). Amos’s connection to the simple life of the people made its way into the center of his prophecies, as he showed a heart for the oppressed and the voiceless in the world.
Where are we?
Amos prophesied “two years before the earthquake” (Amos 1:1; see also Zechariah 14:5), just before the halfway point of the eighth century BC, during the reigns of Uzziah, king of Judah, and Jeroboam, king of Israel. Their reigns overlapped for fifteen years, from 767 BC to 753 BC.
Though he came from the southern kingdom of Judah, Amos delivered his prophecy against the northern kingdom of Israel and the surrounding nations, leading to some resistance from the prideful Israelites (Amos 7:12). Jeroboam’s reign had been quite profitable for the northern kingdom, at least in a material sense. However, the moral decay that also occurred at that time counteracted any positives from the material growth.
Why is Amos so important?
Amos was fed up. While most of the prophets interspersed redemption and restoration in their prophecies against Israel and Judah, Amos devoted only the final five verses of his prophecy for such consolation. Prior to that, God’s word through Amos was directed against the privileged people of Israel, a people who had no love for their neighbor, who took advantage of others, and who only looked out for their own concerns.
More than almost any other book of Scripture, the book of Amos holds God’s people accountable for their ill-treatment of others. It repeatedly points out the failure of the people to fully embrace God’s idea of justice. They were selling off needy people for goods, taking advantage of the helpless, oppressing the poor, and the men were using women immorally (Amos 2:6–8; 3:10; 4:1; 5:11–12; 8:4–6). Drunk on their own economic success and intent on strengthening their financial position, the people had lost the concept of caring for one another; Amos rebuked them because he saw in that lifestyle evidence that Israel had forgotten God.
What's the big idea?
With the people of Israel in the north enjoying an almost unparalleled time of success, God decided to call a quiet shepherd and farmer to travel from his home in the less sinful south and carry a message of judgment to the Israelites. The people in the north used Amos’s status as a foreigner as an excuse to ignore his message of judgment for a multiplicity of sins.
However, while their outer lives gleamed with the rays of success, their inner lives sank into a pit of moral decay. Rather than seeking out opportunities to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly, they embraced their arrogance, idolatry, self-righteousness, and materialism. Amos communicated God’s utter disdain for the hypocritical lives of His people (Amos 5:21–24). His prophecy concludes with only a brief glimpse of restoration, and even that is directed to Judah, rather than the northern kingdom of Israel (9:11–15).
How do I apply this?
Injustice permeates our world, yet as Christians we often turn a blind eye to the suffering of others for “more important” work like praying, preaching, and teaching. But the book of Amos reminds us that those works, while unquestionably central to a believer’s life, ring hollow when we don’t love and serve others in our own lives. Do you find yourself falling into that trap at times—prioritizing prayer over service?
The prophecy of Amos should simplify the choices in our lives. Instead of choosing between prayer and service, the book of Amos teaches us that both are essential. God has called Christians not only to be in relationship with Him but also to be in relationships with others. For those Christians whose tendency has been to focus more on the invisible God than on His visible creation, Amos pulls us back toward the center, where both the physical and the spiritual needs of people matter in God’s scheme of justice.
HAVE A SAFE AND BLESSED WEEK:)
Ho'omaikaʻi ka Pua iā kākou