KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Monday, September 19, 2016
Chapters: Amos 4-6
Message: Preparing For Judgment Day
Hello My Friend,
God is amazing, He does not force anyone to come to Him, He really does not even judge those who reject His Son, in fact, Jesus said, “And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.” – John 12:47. God only saves those who want to be saved, and to be saved today is simple, all we have to do is receive Christ as their Saviour. Praise God. As Christians, as much as we would like to go on with our lives as they are awaiting the day we get to see Jesus, whether we leave the earth or He returns, we have work to do. There will come a time when people are going to be so desperate that they will seek to hear from God, but He will not be found, we have to reach as many as we can before that happens.
“Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.” – Isaiah 55:6-8.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,” If you ever wondered where God is with all the crazy things going on in the world today, the answer is, He is right there waiting for His people to return to Him. Through Amos, God tells Israel no matter what He has done to them, whether it was helping them prosper or chastening them, they never returned, and this is why they were facing judgment.
“So two or three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD. I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured them: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD. I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD. Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.” – Amos 4:8-12.
“yet have ye not returned unto me,” Afflictions and calamities are often used by God to get people to turn to Him, they are warnings that it is time to stop trusting in the false gods of the world before judgment comes. Do you think God wants to see His people suffering, and living in poverty? No He does not, and the sooner we realize we need Him in every part of our lies the better off we will be. While judgment day is not avoidable God does make a way for a person to escape it or find peace through it. Through Amos, He reminds us that all we have to do to be saved is seek the LORD.
“For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live: But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought. Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel. Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.” – Amos 5:4-6,14,15.
“But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal,” People will do anything and go anywhere to get out of the situations they are in, but they will never escape them until they turn to God. Seek Him and live, seek Jesus and live, no matter what this world has to offer it is worthless without Christ, we cannot take anything with us, but we can take Christ and live. So many people do some crazy things as if Judgment Day will be very soon. While we will never know the day in which Christ will return it is not an excuse for reckless behavior.
“Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it? I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.” – Amos 5:18-22.
“Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD!” As much as we look forward to seeing Christ return and to be with Him, the judgment of the world is not something we need to be eager to see. Do you have any idea what it will be like here on earth before Jesus returns? Take the most ruthless, wicked, and evil places in the world and times that by a thousand. This goes beyond people living immoral lives, this is pure evil, fro the devil himself, and something that no one ought to wish on anyone.
“Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came! Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border? Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near; The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.” – Amos 6:1-3,8.
“Ye that put far away the evil day,” While we are not to dwell on the end times, we must not push them aside either, we cannot live in sin with the sense we are saved and can live any life we choose. I know that the prophecy books seem to repeat the judgment over and over again, but God cannot stress the importance of knowing that Judgment Day is coming, and how we can be saved from it. He does not want to see any soul end up in hell, unfortunately, that is where anyone who rejects Christ will go.
“For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.” – Romans 14:9-13.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name.” – Amos 4:13.
Today’s Prayer: God, As we remember the cross of Calvary and apply Christ’s blood to our souls we find life. What great liberty and joy to know that our names are written down in heaven. If we set our hearts on this world we will wear down and lose the joy that comes with the life You have given us. Lord, as we set our hopes and joys on the joy of our salvation we can be a testimony to all who seek answers that this world cannot provide. Thank You for raising Christ from the dead so that we can be redeemed and walk with Him. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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