Joel & Amos

Two Prophets Joel & Amos

Happy Friday. In today's readings we work our way through two small books of the Bible; Joel and Amos.
To give you a little history on both; Joel was written by Joel, son of Pethuel. The message of Joel is that there is going to come a day that GOD will intervene in human history. GOD has influences on our daily life, but, there will come a time when we will meet face to face. Only a changed heart and life though Jesus Christ will bring around restoration.
We also learn in Joel that GOD chastens/disciplines the ones HE loves.

Amos is a book that was written to a very specific group of people. Amos was prophesying to a rich society and people. The time period was during the reign of Uzziah, and Jeroboam. Do you remember Uzziah from 2 Chronicles 26:1-4?One trait that I like about Amos is that he was just a regular guy. GOD loves to use the ordinary and plain to do the extraordinary. That to me is always encouraging!

Amos 4:5, 5:21-235 Burn leavened bread as a thank
offering and brag about your freewill
offerings- boast about them, you Israelites,
for this is what you love to do,"
declares the Sovereign LORD. - NIV Version

21 "I hate, I despise your feasts,and I take
no delight in your solemn assemblies.
22 Even though you offer me your burnt
offerings and grain offerings,I will not
accept them;and the peace offerings
of your fattened animals,
I will not look upon them.
deceased away from me the noise
of your songs;
to the melody of your harps
I will not listen. - ESV Version - Very strong words, huh?

Thought for the Day
Today, I thought that we would touch on both themes from Joel and Amos.Joel's message is very clear; every person currently living or deceased, will come face to face with GOD in judgement for their sins. No one will escape this judgement, no one. The one, the only thing that will save us is:

And everyone who calls
on the name of the LORD will be saved;
for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
there will be deliverance,
as the LORD has said,
among the survivors
whom the LORD calls. Joel 2:32

Yes, it is that simple, and that easy; Jesus Christ. This is our mission, we as believers know this, but our friends and family are going to face the same judgement from GOD, and they may not know this. We MUST spread this good news, I cannot imagine myself before GOD receiving my judgement and seeing my friend next to me knowing that he is going to receive the same judgment, and I never told him the Good News.
What a shame I would feel if he were to look at me and ask, "Why did you never tell me about this?" I do not want to be in that position, even if it means that he may think I am a "Jesus Freak" here on earth.
Amos is directed at your heart. Amos wanted to make sure that your offerings to GOD are pure and true. Your "Offerings" are not only money, but can be time, worship, and life. We need to do a heart check every once in a while to make sure our motives are done with a pure heart.
We were watching the movie "Facing the Giants" (Good movie by the way), the movie had a great example of this. The head coach was in desperate need of a new car, so a player and his father gave him a new truck. They pushed his old car away, and left the new truck in it's place with a note on the window and the title in the truck.
The two sat in their car at a distance from the coach and watched him and his reaction. The coach saw GOD, and how HE met a need of his. I am sure that the coach knew it was someone that he knew, but GOD received the glory, not the player and his father. Just before the scene ended, the father said to the son, "No one knows about this." A wonderful offering from the heart to glorify GOD and meet a need of HIS body. Very cool! - Have a Blessed Weekend - Jim :)

Bible Trivia
Amos refers to a different kind of famine, not a famine for food or water, but a famine........?? Hint: Amos 11-12

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