Today's Reading
Amos was a shepherd from the village called Tekoa. He was not from among the prophets, yet God called and used him. His announcements of coming judgment upon Israel, Judah and the surrounding kingdoms echo those of Jeremiah and Ezekiel. God really wanted them to see that they would face judgment and that He is the judge! I believe that He wants that for us today, too.
Revelation. Each of these letters was a specific message to an existing church. The messages were addressed to the angel, or "messenger", of the church. I believe that God assigns His angels responsibilities and that it is likely that every Christ-following church has an attending angel. The church at Ephesus had left its first love, somehow cooling to the faith of their past. Smyrna was holding up in the midst of persecution. Pergamum was collapsing under the strain of corruption, greed and immorality. I can think of churches today in all three of these categories. Which one represents your church, do you think?
Psalms. What would it be like to say, "From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me"? Most of us have never known such trial. I rather think that our lack of experience makes it hard to fully understand this Psalm.
Proverbs. It is always tempting to give someone a piece of our mind when we see them doing wrong. I recently heard someone speak of life before a complete surrender to Christ: "Why didn't I just read and believe what the Bible said back then?" The answer, of course, is that the person wasn't ready to listen and obey.
What have you noticed today?
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