LEARNING DAILY

 

Amos 8:11, Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord God. “that 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.

 

Amos was a shepherd God chose to fearlessly speak against the materialism, injustices and idolatry that characterized in the northern kingdom of Samaria and in Judah (David Jeremiah). Amos spoke that judgment was going to fall on God’s people because of their disobedience, complacency in following Him and oppression of the poor. He told the people that God “hated” and “despised” their phony religious practices. Prophets of God had been telling the people to return to Him and get rid of their altars to false gods; they did not repent and follow Him.

 

When people and/or a nation do not repent and chooses not to acknowledge God and His Word and obey the truth, their heart becomes hardened to the point that God gives them what they want. This means that God would no longer send a prophet to them, no word would from Him to them; that means when they sought Him during a time of trouble, there would only be silence. There would be a famine for the hearing of God’s words.

 

I am not sure there is a lack of God’s Word being spoken today as a lack of hearing, the desire to hear God’s word and be obedient. I wonder if people today are so busy “so busy doing what is right in their own eyes” that they do not want to hear the Word of God. 2 Timothy 4:2 tells us, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, be turned aside to fables.” Too often the word of God is heard with indifference, with the thought it might be good for you but not for me. It is heard without any effect on lives. Perhaps, when one reads the Word of God, the reading is accepted as good but is not read as words that will change our life. Do you understand what I am saying?

 

The thought today is that God’s Word is constantly being questioned as to its relevancy, that is, should be interpreted through today’s culture instead of the other way around. Believers, we are judged according to the Word of God, it does not change nor become outdated! It cannot be sugar-coated to make walking on the narrow way easy. Walking the narrow way conforms us into the image of God, it is not an easy way that costs us nothing. The only way we can figure out how to live in this evil and corrupt world is to turn to the Bible.

 

Are we in a time where God is turning His back on those who have turned away from Him? Is He giving them over to the willful sin they desire? Read Romans 1:18-32 and decide for yourself what is happening in this world today. “Those who are disregarding God’s Word might be getting what they want – a society where the Bible is no longer read nor proclaimed and where they can sin without being confronted for what they are doing. A society without a moral compass of Scripture will self-destruct because of moral decay” (David Jeremiah)!

 

May we all seek to know Jesus Christ better and grow in His likeness as we walk the narrow way into eternal life in His kingdom. May each of us study to show ourselves approved and meditate on His Word that our hearts might be saturated with truth and His light. This world is growing darker all of the time; Jesus could come back for His faithful Church at any time. May we be the light of Jesus Christ in this dark world.