God's Word For Every Day

Warning against "the danger of going outside the sphere of faith into the area of observation", G. C. Berkouwer disputes the legitimacy of interpreting the ways of Providence on the basis of facts" ( The Providence of God , pp. 164-165). He aims to guard against the possibility that "everyone according to his own prejudice and subjective whim (can) canonize a certain event or national rise as a special act of God in which He reveals and demonstrates His favour" (p. 164). Acutely aware that "the interpretation of an historical event as a special revelation of Providence too easily becomes a piously disguised form of self-justification" (p. 166), Berkouwer insists that "no event speaks so clearly that we may conclude from it a certain disposition of God - as long as God Himself does not reveal that His disposition comes to expression in the given event" (p. 170). Concerning events in the history of Israel, which are recorded in Scripture, Be...

Amos 3:1-5:5 ‘You only have I chosen... therefore I will punish you for all your sins’(3:2). Along with the privilege of being ‘chosen’ to belong to the Lord comes the responsibility of living as the servants of the Lord. God’s Word is not to be taken lightly - ‘The lion has roared - who will not fear?’(3:8). God speaks to us very directly about the way we are living - ‘You have not returned to Me’(4:6,8-11). We must take Him seriously: ‘Prepare to meet your God’(4:12). God calls us to ‘seek Him and live’: ‘Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake His way and the evil man his thoughts, Let him turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him, and to our God, for He will freely pardon’(5:4; Isaiah 55:6-7).

Amos 1:1-2:16 ‘The Lord roars.’ ‘The Lord thunders’ (Amos 1:2). We thank You, Lord, that Your Word comes to us from above - ‘The Lord will roar from on high.’ You speak to us from heaven - ‘He will thunder from His holy dwelling.’ We dare not ignore Your Word. Your Word comes to us as a Word of warning - ‘He will shout against all who live on the earth’ - and a Word of judgment - ‘He will bring judgment on all mankind.’ You're calling for our attention: ‘Look! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation; a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth.’ You're speaking to us about Your ‘fierce anger.’ You're calling us to turn from our sin. Help us, Lord, to return to You and hear Your Word of salvation: ‘I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more (Jeremiah 25:30-32,37; 31:34). Amos 3:1-5:5 ‘You only have I chosen... therefore I will punish you for all your sins’ (Amos 3:2). Along with the privilege of being ‘chosen’ to belon...

Amos 7:1-9:15 ‘That’s enough, prophet! Go back to Judah and do your preaching there... Don’t prophesy here at Bethel any more’(7:12-13). Amos was a faithful preacher of God’s Word - but his hearers wanted to get rid of him! This was the beginning of a time of great darkness: ‘The days are coming when I will send a famine through the land - not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the Word of the Lord, but they will not find it’(8:11-12). There were dark times ahead - but God was looking beyond them to a brighter future: ‘I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel’(9:14). ‘Restore us again, O God of our salvation...’(Psalm 85:4-7).

AMOS 1:1-2:16 ‘The Lord roars.’ ‘The Lord thunders’ (Amos 1:2). We thank You, Lord, that Your Word comes to us from above – ‘The Lord will roar from on high.’ You speak to us from heaven – ‘He will thunder from His holy dwelling.’ We dare not ignore Your Word. Your Word comes to us as a Word of warning – ‘He will shout against all who live on the earth’ – and a Word of judgment – ‘He will bring judgment on all mankind.’ You’re calling for our attention: ‘Look! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation; a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth.’ You’re speaking to us about Your ‘fierce anger.’ You’re calling us to turn from our sin. Help us, Lord, to return to You and hear Your Word of salvation: ‘I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more (Jeremiah 25:30-32,37; 31:34). 3:1-5:5 ‘You only have I chosen… therefore I will punish you for all your sins’ (Amos 3:2). Along with the privilege of being ‘chosen’ to belong to You, Lord c...

"How horrible it will be ... " (Amos 6:1,3-6,13) - This is a prophecy concerning God's judgment. Such words need to be heard, if people are to be turned back into walking in the ways of the Lord. If we don't hear of God's judgment, we are likely to keep on walking in our own ways. There needs to be "an alarm to the unconverted" (Joseph Alleine). There needs to be an alarm to the converted. The danger of remaining apathetic and unconverted is not the only danger. There is also the danger that, after being converted, we become apathetic and backslidden. God is calling us to turn to Him. He's calling us to keep on being turned towards Him. "Almighty Lord, please forgive us!" (Amos 7:2) - This is the prayer that the Lord is waiting to hear and answer. "Almighty Lord, please stop!" (Amos 7:5) - This is a prayer for God's mercy. We come to Him, deeply aware of our sin and His judgment. We cry to Him for mercy. Why sh...

Amos begins with a humble description of himself - "one of the sheep farmers" (Amos 1:1). Being a prophet of God has nothing to do with  what we are in ourselves. It's all about God. It's all about His grace and His call. Looking after sheep - This is such an apt description of the ministry of a pastor. "The Lord roars from Zion" (Amos 1:2). These words make us think of a lion. This could be terrifying for sheep. Think of the lion - Aslan - from "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" (C S Lewis). It's a picture of Christ. His voice is more than a roar. It's the voice of love. The "roar" speaks of authority. The greatest authority is the authority of love. How does the Lord command our respect? He loves us. As we learn to appreciate His love, we learn to love Him. Our love for Him is inspired by His love for us. As we learn to love Him, our obedience to Him increases in strength. "The Lord has said this" (Am...

Amos 5:6-6:14 ‘Seek the Lord and live’. ‘Seek good, not evil...’(5:6,14). Those who truly seek the Lord are to live a godly life. God sees right through hypocritical religion. He is not pleased with it: ‘I hate your show and pretence - your hypocrisy of ‘honouring’ Me with your religious feasts and solemn assemblies... Away with your hymns of praise - they are mere noise to My ears. I will not listen to your music, no matter how lovely it is’(21,23). God is looking for true obedience: ‘a mighty flood of justice - a torrent of doing good’- ‘Let justice flow like a river and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream’(24). God speaks to us about our sins - ‘Many and great are your sins. I know them so well’- so that we might learn to ‘hate evil’ and ‘love good’(5:12,15). Amos 7:1-9:15 ‘That’s enough, prophet! Go back to Judah and do your preaching there... Don’t prophesy here at Bethel any more’(7:12-13). Amos was a faithful preacher of God’s Word - but his hearers...

Amos 1:1-2:16 ‘The Lord roars’. ‘The Lord thunders’(1:2). God’s Word comes to us from above - ‘The Lord will roar from on high’. He speaks to us from heaven - ‘He will thunder from His holy dwelling’. We dare not ignore the Word of the Lord. His Word comes to us as a Word of warning - ‘He will shout against all who live on the earth’- and a Word of judgment - ‘He will bring judgment on all mankind’. God is calling for our attention: ‘Look! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation; a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth’. God speaks to us about His ‘fierce anger’. He calls us to turn from our sin. Let us return to the Lord and hear His Word of salvation: ‘I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more (Jeremiah 25:30-32,37; 31:34). Amos 3:1-5:5 ‘You only have I chosen... therefore I will punish you for all your sins’(3:2). Along with the privilege of being ‘chosen’ to belong to the Lord comes the responsibility of living as the ...