- Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars and who was as strong as the oaks; I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath. Amos 2:9 – The first chapter of Amos was the Lord directing His wrath over a handful of Gentile nations, yet now we have the Lord speaking over His people of Judah and Israel. In verses 9-11 God reminds Israel that it was He who destroyed their enemies and it was He who rescued them from their enslavement in Egypt. If anyone was to be the focus of their gratitude, it should have been the Lord. Yet Israel had turned to idolatry. They worshipped the gods of the nations around them, they abused the poor, and even walked down the paths of sexual immorality that were practiced by the pagan people around them. They discarded God’s law and chose to follow after other gods. In our verse the Lord is simply trying to remind them that if anyone was to be followed and worshipped, it should be Him. These other gods and nations weren’t the ones who rescued them, it was the Lord alone who did such things. In our story, how often are we giving our following to something that didn’t rescue us? The easy drift in life is to focus on things that don’t really matter and make our lives about things that aren’t eternal. In that we begin to make God, the One who created us and saved us, a background character in our story when He should be the focal point of our story. Remember today what God has done for you and allow that remembrance to affect your steps today. If you truly spend time today remembering all the ways the Lord has provided for you and saved you, there should be no way you continue down a path away from Him. He is good and has done good things for you. Remember that. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3290
- 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.’ Amos 2:12 – 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.” Amos2:6-8 – “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
Daily DEVO 