Meeting with God

Amos 3:3 (HCSB)

“Can two walk together without agreeing to meet?”

The question is hypothetical and the answer is obvious. No—two people cannot walk in fellowship if one refuses to meet with the other.

I have had this experience. Perhaps you have two. I sensed that the person’s attitude had changed toward me suddenly. They had been friendly to me. Overnight that changed. They almost made it a point to let me know they were not speaking to me. I called them to ask to meet, but this individual said “No.” I tried to get them to discuss it on the phone, but they said they had nothing to say to me.

That was one of the more heart-breaking experiences of my life. Since then our relationship has been cordial, but there is not the warmth there once was.

But the same is true of our relationship with God. For that relationship to grow we must meet with God on a daily basis. I know for a fact that God is always ready to meet with us. If there is no meeting it is not God’s fault, it is ours.

Are you agreeing to meet with God daily? Are you going to meet with God today?

Judgment Is Coming!

Amos chapters one and two delineate the crimes of the nations and vindicate God’s judgment against them. It is a heavy dose of judgment. Some would say, “How could a God of love be a God of judgment?” Doesn’t God love all those people who were abused and exploited and murdered? He loves them too, and their deaths must be avenged.

But this is not the point. God’s treatment of those nations in the past is a blueprint for God’s dealings in the future. If God judged Moab for her injustice and Edom for her cruelty to His people, should we not expect Him to avenge His people murdered in China, Russia and Africa? Of course! As someone said, “If God does not judge America He owes Sodom and Gomorrah an apology.”

God will judge. Give Him time. And don’t be in His way!

Old Testament Salvation

Joel 2:32 (NLT)

“And anyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.”

Did you know this verse is in the Old Testament? He is talking about a future day, but the promise is in the old dispensation.

Some think that people were saved in New Testament times by trusting in Jesus, but people in Old Testament times were saved by offering sacrifices or keeping the commandments. But that is not what the Bible teaches. Abraham was made right with God by faith before the Law was given. Man has always been made right with God by grace through faith.

Heart Cry for Revival

Joel 1:14 (HCSB)

Announce a sacred fast;

proclaim an assembly!

Gather the elders

and all the residents of the land

at the house of the LORD your God,

and cry out to the LORD.

The land of Israel was in a bad way. They had forsaken the Lord, and now they were reaping the consequences. There was a famine in the land. The Lord had withdrawn His hand. Times were hard. Even the cattle in the fields were starving to death.

Saddest of all, joy was gone from the house of the Lord. There was little to rejoice about. So the prophet Joel calls his people to repentance. He begins with those who serve the Lord. The ministers were to spend the night at the altar. There was to be fast. All the people were called to gather at the house of God and cry out to Him.

Are we willing to pay the price? Are we desperate enough to fast and spend a night a church repenting of our sins and crying out to God for revival? I don’t think so.

Things can get worse… a lot worse. At least there is food to eat. But when the food is gone, will we cry out then?

How bad does it have to get before we realize that we have sinned and God is using whatever He must to get our attention? When will we cry out? Wouldn’t it be better to do it now?

Hosea 11:8

“I have had a change of heart; My compassion is stirred!”

Does God change His mind? No. His heart was moved and this is a good thing.

We should never appeal to God’s plan. As an Administrator God’s economy is set.

But there is much good that can come from appealing to God’s heart! He is full of compassion and tender mercy.

When we pray for America we should make the appeal to God’s heart for mercy. I do not know what God’s plan is for America, but I know in His heart He only wants to do good to us.

“Lord, You love us with an everlasting love. You want us to return to You and glorify You. But we cannot do this with without Your help. We don’t even have the desire to return without You putting that desire in our hearts. So I ask you, Dear Father, remember Your mercy. Love us and pity us as a Father loves and pities His rebellious child. Bring us back to Yourself—whatever it takes—turn us back to You.”

Hosea 10:12 (HCSB)

Sow righteousness for yourselves

and reap faithful love;

break up your untilled ground.

It is time to seek the LORD

until He comes and sends righteousness

on you like the rain.

It is time to seek the LORD!

We have pursued our own self-interests. We have sought our own gain. We have sought our own advantage. We have sought our own pleasure. I am not speaking of the world. I am speaking of the church—believers.

Now it is time to break up the untilled ground of our hearts. It is time to repent of our sins—to call them by name, to ask the Lord’s forgiveness, and to put them away from ourselves. Now it is time to seek the LORD!

We have nearly hit the bottom. If we do not turn to Him and seek Him now it may be too late. We desperately need Him to come and rain righteousness on us like rain.

Let us turn and seek the LORD with all our hearts!

Sowing and Reaping the Whirlwind

I have heard the Law of Sowing and Reaping explained like this:

1) You always reap what you sow

2) You always reap after you sow

3) You always reap in proportion as you sow

We reap what we sow. That is, if we plant apples we harvest apples. If we plant oranges we harvest oranges. We do not plant one thing and harvest something different. If we plant apples we do not harvest oranges. The harvest corresponds exactly to the planting. What we give is what we get. If we sow to the flesh we reap from the flesh. If we sow from the Spirit we reap from the Spirit. If I sow kindness I’ll reap kindness. If I sow anger I’ll reap anger.

The harvest season always comes after the planting season. A farmer must be patient. If he expects immediately results he will be disappointed. He does not plant in the morning and then go the nest morning with a basket—unless he planted mushrooms. We have to wait for the seed to germinate and sprout. This takes time. God sends the sunshine and the rain. “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (Galatians 6:9, NKJV).

Finally, we reap in proportion as we sow. In other words, if we sow sparingly we reap sparingly. If we sow abundantly we reap abundantly.

The third part of this law is the only one that is flexible. Hosea 8:7 says, “they sow the wind and they reap the whirlwind.” In other words, they got worse than they gave. But there are also times when we get better than we deserve. So we best not argue with this component of the law!