AMOS

Chapter 1

For three…and for four….(v.3 and others) They wouldn’t stop. That’s what this line that stands out many times in Amos’ writing means. This was a cultural way during that time of say someone just continued to do what they were doing. And in the case here, God’s people just would not stop sinning. They loved their idols and loved their new way of life too much. If we’ve seen anything from these previous books like Hosea and Joel, our God is a God of second chances. He is showing that His character is not a “One and done” type where is He is just waiting for you to mess up to strike you. He’s demonstrating Himself as a patient, loving father who sees He children walking away from Him; towards a path that is only going to hurt them. As any loving father, He’s going to offer the child a means of return and forgiveness, but this fact remains. The child needs to turn around. There needs to be a change taking place in the child’s life. If not, this is when we begin seeing the wrathful side of God. When He offers His loving, helpful hand out to us but we smack it away because we just don’t want to stop what we want to do. Take it from Jesus’ example, God wants to spare us from having to deal with the punishment of our sins. If though we push Him away, continue to push His love and help away, understand dealing with the punishment for you sins is exactly what you’ll be doing. There needs to be a stop, turn around, and accepting of His hand. Until then, God is going to be just and allow you to deal with your sins, and everything that comes with them, on your own. – Daily DEVO 42

Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron. Amos 1:3 – This phrase “For three…and for four…” comes up quite a few times here in Amos, so what does it mean? It’s a poetic way of saying the people just kept on with something. In this context it was keeping on abusing God’s people. Not just three or four times, but a continual abusing and continual sinning that went past God’s patience. What this helps us see is that God does have patience with us. He’s not going to smite His follower just because they slip up. He understands we’ll struggle along they way and just wants us to refocus and move back onto the mission. It’s when we refuse to turn and refuse to listen that we begin to feel the course correction of God in our life. Know God will bring things into our story to get us back on the right path and sometimes those course corrections aren’t gentle, yet know God is also very patient with us. If then your story isn’t fully pursuing the mission, what course correction needs to take place today to get back on track? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1192

The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. Amos 1:1 – To better understand Amos, here’s what’s happening in the book. Amos, a shepherd, is being sent to the northern kingdom of Israel to come down on them for their mistreatment of other people. They have treated their own brothers with all sorts evil and God chose Amos to deliver His message to them. While Amos wasn’t a prophet to start with, nor did he come from a family of prophets, as Chuck Swindoll said, more than almost any other book in the Bible, Amos holds God’s people accountable for their ill-treatment of others. So don’t let your current labels dictate your future calling. You may have made some deep mistakes in your past, but that doesn’t mean you can’t share the message of Jesus. You may not see yourself as qualified, but Jesus just needs you available. Let narratives like we see in Amos be  proof to you that no matter where you came from, what labels you carry, what’s your backstory, or what limitations you think you have, if God wants to use you then all He needs is for you to be open to Him using you. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2077

Chapter 2

He who handles the bow shall not stand, and he who is swift of foot shall not save himself, nor shall he who rides the horse save his life (v.15) While personally I don’t see this as that big of problem in my life, it has sure gotten me into some situations that could have been easily avoided. I’m an “I’ll handle it myself” sort of guy. I’d rather just tackle the project on my own and just let everyone enjoy it once it’s all done. Now that’s not being a very good leader of me, but I’m still growing you know. This response though of “I’ll handle it myself” is far too often the answer we find people giving as a response to their sin. In Amos, he writes this verse above showing how the people planned to respond to the coming judgement of God. They planned to save themselves, but God is opening up to them that in no way is that going to work. As a follower of Jesus, I can’t help but relate this back to yours and mine situations. When it comes to our sin and the consequences of it, a response of “I’ll handle it myself” just won’t cut it. The only response that will work for the sin in our lives is “Jesus, will you handle it for me?” This is exactly what Jesus is seeking. I do believe that God gives us the strength to handle the struggles of temptation on our own, but even then, we are finding that strength to refuse the temptation from Him. This faith is not an “I’ll handle it myself” type of faith; it’s an “I need you Jesus” type of faith. That’s what God has longed for all along. – Daily DEVO 43

But you made the Nazirites drink wine, and commanded the prophets, saying, ‘You shall not prophesy.’ Amos2:12 – The Nazirites made strict vows on how they were going to live for God and the prophets were gifted and chose to dedicate their lives to using those gifts for God. Yet they were being pressured to break all those choices that they made to live differently for God. How relatable is that today. Students are pushed in so many ways to set aside their choice to live for Jesus. Adults are pushed to set aside their convictions because the workplace doesn’t have the same values they do. Even individuals within their own family sometimes feel they can’t be their true self as a follower of Jesus because others in the family don’t view Jesus like they do. My encouragement, and scripture’s encouragement, to any and all is to stand firm in the choices you made to deeply follow Jesus with your life. No, it won’t be easy, but Jesus never said it would be a easy. Your struggle is something God can and will use to make His name known to the people around you. Let your story be a tool God loves to use. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1193

Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals— those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth and turn aside the way of the afflicted; a man and his father go in to the same girl, so that my holy name is profaned; they lay themselves down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge, and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.” Amos 2:6-8 – “I will not revoke the punishment.” God’s wrath on their sin was coming and nothing was going to change that. We can read this and think God is  mean and very different now than He was back then. Because He doesn’t do this still right? Wrong, God’s wrath for our sin is still real. What’s different for us is that the cross stands between us and God’s wrath. God is still faithful to His word in punishing the sin of the world, but do to His great love He gave the world a way to have their sin taken care of. Any who follow Jesus now have the sacrifice of Jesus covering the wrongs of their sin. Yet anyone who refuses to follow Jesus needs to understand their is nothing protecting them from God’s wrath on their sin and they will have to deal with the punishment of sin on their own. So today, if you haven’t given your life to Jesus, please do. He died on the cross as a way to take the punishment of your sin on Himself so you wouldn’t have to. God’s wrath on your sin has been dealt with by Jesus on the cross, you just have to choose to follow Him and accept His forgiveness. For those of us who have chosen to follow Him, find joy today again in how amazing it is that we now walk free from fear of God’s wrath because of Jesus. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2078

Chapter 3

For the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secrets to his servants the prophets. (v.7) It’s far too easy to take an overhead shot of the Old Testament and see God as one who is vengeful and filled with anger and only wanting to punish. Time after time we see the stories of how punishment came upon His people; painting this picture of God as one who is merciless and quick-tempered. We together though have zoomed in on the stories, and seen a much different side that’s not near as often talked about. We’ve seen just how merciful and just how patient God really is. God always warned and gave chances for the people to turn back. He gave them signs and gave them prophets. Why? So His people would know what’s going on and have a choice. Either follow Him or pay the price of their disobedience. What we do see with that overhead shot is how they responded to that choice. For us, the story is clear as well. God’s not quick-tempered or impatient with us. He’s very much the opposite. He does though have a direction set for us; to walk in faith after Him. And He’s shown us in His word what it looks like and what will come out of a life that isn’t after Him: absence of joy, un-fulfillment, death. This isn’t the sentence, this is the warning. God wants so much more for you than this life, but if this life is all you want, He’ll allow you to have it and all that comes with it. Just realize God has already spoken to you in His word what that sort of life truly will bring about. There’s no surprises here. – Daily DEVO 45

The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken; who can but prophesy?Amos 3:8 – Every effect has a cause. We see Amos giving multiple little examples of this inside this chapter like people being afraid due to a trumpet sound or a trap springing due to something walking over it. So why has the Lord spoken, why has the lion roared? Because of the sinfulness of the people. God’s wrath is coming because of their choice to store up violence and robbery and sin, not just because God is some mean, angry person. This sinfulness also has an effect that we see played out in verse 3. How can we walk together with God if we haven’t agreed to walk the path He’s going? Your choices today have an effect. The effects you are feeling today have a cause attached to them. Are you feeling like you’re running on empty, is it because your daily walk with God isn’t as strong lately? Are you feeling extra confident in Christ today, is it because you’ve spent extra time in prayer? Good and bad effects in our story comes from the choices we make each day in our walk. What choices then today can help you see healthier effects in your walk for tomorrow? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1194

You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. Amos3:2 – This is God speaking to His chosen people of Israel. He reminds them how of all the people on earth, He chose them to be His people and to reveal His will, His law, and His word to. They have a special relationship with God that no others had and as a result, they were held to a different standard. Those of us today who have a special relationship with God are held to a higher standard as well. This special relationship is where you’ve chosen to let Jesus forgive your sin and you’ve chosen to follow Him. As a result, you are now in the family of God and your Heaven Father expects you to live differently as one of His own children. You don’t live like the world does. You don’t talk like your non-Christian friends talk. You are a child of God and God is holding you to a higher standard. Is this unfair to us? Absolutely not. What’s unfair is that we’ve been given the offer of salvation. Fair would look like everyone spending eternity in Hell due to their sin. God though isn’t treating us fairly and is offering a way to life with Him instead. Yet, as we’ve seen today, in that life with God you’re called to live different. Just know the ones He holds to a higher standard are the ones He’s saved. You want to be held to a higher standard. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2079

Chapter 4

Come to Bethel, and transgress; to Gilgal, and multiply transgression; bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days; offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened, and proclaim freewill offerings, publish them; for so you love to do, O people of Israel!” declares the Lord God. (v.4-5) Little Bible study tip: when something is repeated in a passage, usually that means the writer is trying to draw our eyes to that point. So what do we see repeated five times in this chapter? “Yet you did not return to me.” After so many different times of God trying to tear their attention away from fake, un-fulfilling lives, can you guess what they turned to? Right back to their worship of false gods, even multiplying the amount of their sinful acts to them. That’s what today’s passage is all about. Those sacrifices, tithes, and offerings were not being given to God, but to some fake idols. It’s heartbreaking to see how someone could return back to their hurtful lifestyle even when God is stretching out His hand to help them to a better place. Possibly you’ve been at that same point too. Having to make that choice of do I continue or do I change. Maybe you’ve even chosen the same path they choose which was to continue. Let my next few words then sink deep into your story. It’s not too late to change directions. If you’re still breathing, those breaths are God’s blessing to you to give you another chance to return to Him or come to Him for the first time. Please don’t be deceived into thinking that you have time to change directions later. You may, but you also may not. Don’t miss the life you could be having with Him all because you couldn’t let go of some temporary filling sin. God is so much more fulfilling than any life sin could give you. – Daily DEVO 46

“I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in all your places, yet you did not return to me,” declares the Lord. Amos 4:6 – As we move through these books by the prophets, we’re going to come across this theme often. Where God sought to get the people’s attention away from their sin, but they refused to turn their focus back onto Him. We see God holding back food, holding back rain, sending mildew, and even sending them plagues like He did to the Egyptians of old. Each effort though from God to get the attention back on Him and away from the things that were hurting them didn’t work. Allow yourself to be open to when God is trying to get your focus off of something that’s going to hurt you, unlike the people spoken of in our passage. Spend time in scripture and actually listen to what God is speaking to you through it. Listen to when a trusted brother or sister in Christ is speaking into your story. Listen when the Holy Spirit begins laying something on your heart. Know that God is still able to speak to us and is speaking. The question is are you listening and are you willing to obey what you hear from Him. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1195

“Come to Bethel, and transgress; to Gilgal, and multiply transgression; bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days; offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened, and proclaim freewill offerings, publish them; for so you love to do, O people of Israel!” declares the Lord God. Amos 4:4-5 – To understand what’s going on, know Bethel and Gilgal were centers of great idol worship at this time. The people of Israel were coming here, following the commands God laid out about tithes, sacrifices, and offerings…but to these false gods instead of The Lord. What’s even more saddening is the people were zealous in doing so. The passion God desired His people to have in following Him they gave to these false gods and worshipped them in the ways God wanted to be worshipped. Can we look at our life and see anywhere in it where we have given the passion we should have for following Christ to something else? What right now has your fire? What’s keeping you up at night, it’s what’s your mind is thinking on during the day, your daily calendar has to work within the bounds of this thing. It’s so easy to let something other than our pursuit of Jesus have our passion, so let’s be careful it doesn’t. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2080

Chapter 5

Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? (v.25) It’s a clear sign that a relationship has some serious issues when appreciation and love is shown only in the desperate times. Example: A guy is selfish and rude to his girl until the moment when she says they are done. Then the guy becomes the most grateful, loving gentleman you’ve ever seen because he doesn’t want to lose the girl. Thing is, it’s too late. That loving, caring gentleman should have come out and been the way he was always with her a long time ago if there he ever wanted a chance for this to work. That’s what we see unfolding here in Amos. Amos is telling them it’s too late. They had their chance to offer and sacrifice. God gave them more than enough chances to be the grateful, loving people that they needed to be. It just wasn’t until them moment they realized that things weren’t going to go well for them that a swift, and fake, change of character took place. That’s just not the change God’s seeking after. A character that changes in these moments is only one that is self-preserving, self-absorbed, and well selfish. Key term in all that is “self.” That term just doesn’t fit in any healthy relationship. It has to be more than just about you. God’s seeking a relationship with us that has “self” removed and it’s about “us.” An “Us” character is exactly what God brings into the relationship. He’s all about how can He be everything we need. God is longing for us to bring an “Us” to the table and seek that same question of “How can I be what God needs me to be” in more of our lives than just the times when things aren’t looking good for us. Let’s be what God is needing us to be for Him before it’s too late and we lost our chance to be what God actually needed us to be for Him in this life. – Daily DEVO 47

I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. 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. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. Amos 5:21-23 – When the wrong heart and motive is attached to these sort of things, it’s not honoring or pleasing to God. Your sacrifices, your offerings, even your voice in worship, if your heart isn’t after God under all that, it’s not a pleasing thing to God. We see God throughout scripture calling us to check ourselves before stepping into worship of Him. To check to see if our heart and mind are in the right place. Can we come to God when it’s not, of course, but know what is pleasing to God is a heart that’s undivided in its devotion to Him and is longing to be in the worship we’re speaking of today. So as we step into our church services today, where’s your heart at? Is the attitude of your heart when offered going to be a pleasing sacrifice to Him? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1196

For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel: “Seek me and live; but do not seek Bethel, and do not enter into Gilgal or cross over to Beersheba; for Gilgal shall surely go into exile, and Bethel shall come to nothing.” Amos 5:4-5 – God is calling His people to seek Him and follow Him. To live their lives in pursuit of Him. What we also see in the passage is a given about of pursuit of Jesus, but something we also may not think enough on. Pursuing Jesus means we can’t pursue other things like we are anymore. God tells them to seek Himself, but also don’t seek these other cities and the false gods within them. In order to fully seek God like we’re called to we’re going to have to stop seeking some things we’re going hard after right now. Your glory and seeking God’s glory can’t happen at the same time. Your will and seeking God’s will can’t happen at the same time. You choice to follow Jesus means choosing to not follow certain things in your story anymore. What then is something that would need to be unfollowed in order for you to fully follow Jesus? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2081

Chapter 6

Pass over to Calneh, and see, and from there go to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Or is their territory greater than your territory (v.2) If you had seen someone far stronger than you fail at lifting a weight, would you assume you’d be able to lift it? If you knew someone was far smarter than you at a subject and they failed the test, do you really think you’d be able to ace it? The reason why I’m asking these rhetorical questions is because in a way, that’s what Amos is doing too. God is asking the people, “Since these nations who are far stronger than you couldn’t stand up against what I sent them, do you really think you’ll be able to?” If their “gods” couldn’t protect them, why would you run to their “gods” and expect any different outcome for you? The question then gets redirected unto us, why would we expect any different outcome for us when we run to things not of God when those before us and around us didn’t find what they needed from sin? I could lead the direction of this devotion to help those of us who need to step out of a sinful lifestyle, but I think you can already see where I could go with that message without me outlining it out for you. How about for those of us on the other side. For those of us who have been there, seen the pain ourselves, and come out the other side with the firsthand knowledge that sin isn’t worth it. Let’s actually step into the stories of those struggling with sin and use what we have learned to help them see a side of sin they haven’t seen yet. The side that the enemy doesn’t want them to see. The side that shows how damaging sin really is for them. Let’s open up that side for them with our story with sin. Let’s not hide our past, but rather use it to help someone who is struggling see the pain of sin without them having to experience the pain themselves. That’s what really family does for each other. – Daily DEVO 48

Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory and stretch themselves out on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock and calves from the midst of the stall, who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp and like David invent for themselves instruments of music, who drink wine in bowls and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph! Amos 6:4-6 – Notice what is spoken right there at the end, “But are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!” We have scripture speaking of people who are so caught up with the pleasures of the world that they forget about the troubles of others. Where are you with this? How distracting to you is the pursuit of what you want? Do you see the brokenness around you while you pursue your desires? Does your pursuit of your desires keep you from stepping into the struggle of those around you? Know this sort of lifestyle grieves God. If we are too busy and too blind to see the struggles of those around us we are failing at the mission. Slow down, open your eyes, and step into the brokenness of people around you and show them Jesus can help. That’s why you are here. I love you, but Jesus loves them more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1197

Pass over to Calneh, and see, and from there go to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Or is their territory greater than your territory, O you who put far away the day of disaster and bring near the seat of violence? Amos 6:2-3 – God is inviting His people to really look at these other nations. To notice how they have sinned and notice how God dealt with their sin. Then God asks, are you any better than they? He was opening their eyes to their deep sin, and as His beloved people who are held to an even higher standard, should they expect a lesser condemnation on their wrong? Understand today if you are a believer you are held to a higher standard as a child of God. Sin should not be something you are content with having in your story. The world is content with sin, and look at how God still punishes their sin. You are His follower, His child, and He is going to expect more from you than someone who isn’t His follower. What sin then needs to go in your story? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2082

Chapter 7

Then Amos answered and said the Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. But the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’”(v.14-15) Don’t ever let your titles hold you back from carrying the message that God has put in your heart. The title “too young” doesn’t hold you back. The title “just a church member” should never hold you back. Carrying the title of “businessman,” “stay at home mom,” “teacher,” or “student” are no excuses to why we can’t carry the message of Jesus’ love and grace. I love how Amos answers Amaziah, saying I’m not a prophet or have any connections with one. In fact I was just a shepherd, but God met me while I was taking care of my sheep, gave me a message, said go share it, and that’s what I did. It so simple and so beautiful, and it’s exactly the same for us. So what if you aren’t trained in ministry and have gone to Bible college. So what if you aren’t a pastor or church leader. That doesn’t matter, but what does matter is that God has met you today wherever you are at. He’s given you a message to share. Now He’s saying share it. If Amos, a shepherd with no credentials could share his message, then you have what it takes to share your message too. Don’t ever let your lack of a title, or the presence of a title, be what holds you back from carrying out God’s message. You have special talents and special gifts that enable you to spread the message in a way only someone like you could. You have everything you need already to make His name known, so get out there however God leads you. – Daily DEVO 49

And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass by them Amos 7:8 – So after some research on my part I figured out what a plumb line was. Picture a weight hanging from a string that builders would use as a tool to make sure a building was centered and standing straight. With it they could see how straight certain boards are and how far off centered others were. God is saying he is placing a plumb line in the midst of His people to see how straight or off centered they are. We can use God and His Word as our plumb line too. We can place His Word within our life to see just how centered we are with Him. We also can find ourselves building in wrong ways when we don’t have God and His Word at the center telling us how to build. Make sure then that you have God and His Word at the core of what you do. Measure off of Him and what He says to ensure the path you are walking and building on is straight and centered. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1198

But the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel.” Amos 7:15 – God changed Amos’ role. God took Amos from a position of following to a position of leading. Amos was where God wanted him at with the flock, but the moment God called him away from the sheep was the moment Amos remaining there any longer would have been against God’s will. Where you are at right now may be exactly where God wants you, yet if God has shown you that some sort of change needs to happen, then a staying-where-you’ve-been decision isn’t right. God may be asking you to move jobs, quit that job, break up with that person, propose to that person, leave that church, settle in and join that church, reach out to that person, or serve in a new way at your church. Changes that God is directing you to make can come is all sort of forms, but the answer to any change God is directing you to make must be, “Yes Lord.” Remain in God’s favor by remaining faithful when He says to move. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2083

Chapter 8

Hear this, you who trample on the needy and bring the poor of the land to an end, saying, “When will the new moon be over, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may offer wheat for sale, that we may make the ephah small and the sheckel great 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?” (v.4-6) Let’s say you get the chance to have a one-on-one talk with a prisoner that was arrested for theft. In your conversation, the prisoner could do nothing but talk about how when he is out of here how he is going to steal everything that he can. He’s going to steal bigger items than he ever did before. Showing that nothing has changed and he has no plans of changing. While I’m all for the process of healing and giving prisoners second chances, if they show absolutely no desire for a change in their life, why would we want to give someone freedom only to find himself in shackles again? This probably isn’t the best example, but that’s what we see happening in these few verses. God is explaining why He hasn’t relented from His wrath. It’s because not only have the people not changed, their hearts are longing for the chance to sin even more. My encouragement to you with this devotion is if God has directed you away from a certain way of life, take His lead and step away from it. Only longing for the life God has directed you away from will only bring about disappointment and un-fulfillment. Recognize if God is leading you away from it, it’s because He has something better for you. Continuing to long after it and strive after it won’t change the amount of fulfillment that thing will bring into your story. Letting go of it is truly your way of stepping closer to the path that God knows will bring the fulfillment you’ve really be searching for. – Daily DEVO 50

…saying, “When will the new moon be over, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may offer wheat for sale, that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great and deal deceitfully with false balances,” Amos 8:5 – Literally what is happening here is the people are saying, “When will the time of me having to dedicate time to God be over so I can get back to what I want to do.” That sounds so disrespectful to God, and us as the readers of this passage may be tempted to look in judgement on the people spoken of in Amos…but let’s check ourselves first. Is this mindset ever something we see come up in our story? Do we ever sit at 11:55am on a Sunday morning thinking to ourselves “how will the pastor get his last point in this message within these five minutes we have left to the sermon? I have a game to go home and watch.” Or have we ever stayed stayed home from a Bible study simply because we wanted to do our own thing? Let’s check ourselves first before casting too much judgement on the people here. Let’s have a heart that cherishes the time we have dedicated to God. Let your attitude within those times show God you actually want to spend time with Him. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1199

“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.” Amos 8:11 – This past Wednesday I spoke with the youth on how important it is to be watchful of the things we are consuming. This upcoming week we’re going to continue that idea about making sure we are taking in time with Jesus like we need to. That He is the bread of life and the source of living water. What’s scary about this passage is showing how the choice to keep consuming sin can close off the communication channels between us and God. The bread of life, the living water, the word of God we need to be consuming, we aren’t and our choice to chase after sin is making it impossible to chase after God. Choosing to pursue your sin will leave you hungry, thirsty, and, as the passage reminds us, in a state of silence from God. So are you asking for help, asking for answers, asking for reasons why from God yet at the same time making no changes when it comes to your sin? Don’t expect the words from God you’re looking for. Set aside the sin, repent, and begin a pursuit after Jesus again. In that pursuit is the bread, water, and word we need to make it through life. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2084

Chapter 9

If they dig into Sheol, from there shall my hand take them; if they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring the down. If they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, from there I will search them out and take them, and if they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them. (v.2-3) Hiding always seems to be our first response to our mistakes. We want to cover it up, hide it away, and pretend like it never happened. It’s all because we know what comes about when our mistakes are made known and clear. I can’t help but relate this to Adam and Eve’s sin and their initial reaction to hide when they heard God coming. I love God’s response though in Genesis 3:9 when He says, “Where are you?” It’s not like God didn’t know where they were, He knew everything. That question wasn’t for Him, was for them and it’s for us to. It’s so easy to run a hide when we make a mistake and fall short. What we see in these two passages is that hiding doesn’t make things any better. What God is seeking out is a response to come out of the hiding and come to Him. He already knows about the mistake, covering it up won’t help. He already knows where you are, hiding won’t help. Don’t take that as something to be fearful of though. Yes He knows everything in detail of what happened, but He’s saying to come to Him and open up. We have found forgiveness within Jesus, but our hiding from God won’t ever bring us closer to Him. Own your mistakes, come out of hiding, hand everything to Him, and allow God to bring healing to what you and Him have together. – Daily DEVO 52

If they dig into Sheol, from there shall my hand take them; if they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down. If they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, from there I will search them out and take them; and if they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them. And if they go into captivity before their enemies, there I will command the sword, and it shall kill them; and I will fix my eyes upon them for evil and not for good. Amos 9:2-4 – God is speaking judgement here over His people. He’s making sure they know wherever they may try to hide to somehow remove themselves from this coming judgement, it won’t work. We learn here that we can’t hide from God’s sight and we will never be in a place too far for Him to reach. When it comes to our sinfulness, maybe we would wish that truth wasn’t so true. Yet when it comes to us in our struggle, pain, and confusion, this truth about not ever being too far for God to reach us still rings true. In the good and bad, God sees us and is able to reach us. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1200

“I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them,” says the Lord your God. Amos 9:15 – In this final verse of the book of Amos we see once again God’s desire for His people. To be restored back to a faithful walk after Him and where they are enjoying deeply the blessings that come from such intimacy with God. As we’ve read through Amos, we see God isn’t content leaving us in a state of sin when it comes to how we treat each other. He will speak, move, bring opposition, and even wrath if necessary to bring us back to a faithful pursuit of Him. What needs to be seen though by His followers is just how much more beautiful a life listening and following God is over following our sin. God wants to settle you in His blessings, never to be removed from that place again. How though is your sin interfering with that? God is inviting you to a better life with Him; once and for all set aside that sin to step more deeply into His blessing. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2085