Key Verses: Amos 1:3a
“Thus says the Lord…” (repeated 8 times in Amos chapters 1 & 2)
There are eight prophecies to eight different nations. We can draw the conclusion that God cares about every nation on earth. Each message from God in today’s reading begins with the statement, “For three transgressions of [people group] and for four.” In our courts today, the judge tends to be lenient on the first offence, but after three or four, the repeat offender can expect the hammer of justice to come down hard. Just imagine how a judge feels when he or she must sentence a person to a prison term or even execution! God, who knows in minute detail all the evidence, is never unjust in His sentence of judgment. The law of God is clearly stated in the statutes written by Moses and others; the penalty for sin is death! To satisfy the demands of the Law, God sent His Son to pay that penalty on behalf of His human family by execution on a Roman cross. This is how justice is done in God’s eyes, and God is able to forgive us our sins when we ask forgiveness, repenting of our sins. How thankful we should be that God deals with us as individuals with such love, mercy and grace. But what about the sins of the nations? Let’s think about that as we continue in Amos’ prophecies.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord God, according to Your promises, You have forgiven my sins as I confess them. You have even removed them from Your record books. For this I am totally thankful. I pray for grace to live a holy life for the next minute, the next hour, the next day, and for consistency in doing so. I believe that with Your help, I am growing in grace, becoming more like Jesus, in whose holy Name I pray. Amen!!!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:
Last week I pointed out that the prophet Hosea wrote of God’s “roar” like a lion, getting the attention of His people for His message to them. Amos used the lion’s “roar” (Amos 1:2a) to symbolize prophecy before Hosea did. No doubt Hosea had read Amos’ words and picked up on the lion’s “roar.” The books of the Bible, including Amos and Hosea, are not always in chronological order, as is the case with these two books. Amos was of a generation before the time of Hosea. I’m learning every day, as a 79-year-old, how to use this amazing thing called “the internet.” I’ve just gone into Google and searched 100words.ca and scrolled down to the blog, where I found that fantastic picture of a lion roaring out his message. This whole internet business comes under the heading of “What Will They Think of Next?” If Amos and Hosea had the internet, I think they would’ve done a daily blog too. What about it?

Yours to encourage us all to infuse God’s Word into our thoughts and our lives daily,

David