THE LORD SPOKE (December 16)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Amos 4-6

What a sad refrain. Five times the chorus is repeated, “...yet you have not returned to me, declares the Lord” (4:6,8,9,10,11). Israel had grown complacent (6:1) and careless about her relationship to God. She went through her religious duties perfunctorily but there was no life there. Sound familiar?

REPENTANCE HAD BEEN AVERTED - One of God’s purposes in sending affliction is to force us to our knees and bring us back to Himself. Though they were hungry (vs. 6), thirsty (vs. 8), decimated by plague (vs. 9), dying (vs. 10), and suffering cataclysmic calamity (vs. 11), they didn’t repent and respond to God’s mercy. So He says, “Prepare to meet thy God” (4:12). There comes a point after which there is no more remedy.

JUSTICE HAD BEEN PERVERTED - “You oppress the righteous and take bribes and you deprive the poor of justice in the courts” (5:12). Israel had it exactly backwards - she loved evil and hated good. But God says, “Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts” (5:15). His message is good for us today also: “Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-ending stream!” (5:24). When our sense of justice is perverted we don’t even recognize anymore how far off the track we’ve gotten. God calls us back with the amazing reminder: He “reveals his thoughts to man” (4:13). Therefore, if we seek Him we will live (5:4,6). Our sense of justice and right-living will be restored and we can please Him once again.

PRIDE HAD BEEN EXERTED - It’s sure to turn God’s stomach every time. He cannot countenance pride. He abhors it wherever it is found (6:8) and has promised to judge it. When it rears its ugly head, which is often, He is committed to strike it down. It was the first sin and it’s the most common sin on every man’s list. Consider what God has to say about it:

• Leviticus 26:19 - “I will break the pride of your power”
• Proverbs 8:13 - “the fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way”
• Proverbs 16:18 - “Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”
• Proverbs 29:23 - “a man's pride shall bring him low”
• Daniel 4:37 - “those that walk in pride he is able to abase”
• Obadiah 3 - “the pride of thine heart hath deceived thee”
• I John 2:16 - “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”

Father, forgive us for our pride and help us to fix our eyes on You. We gratefully acknowledge You as sovereign over all and cast ourselves upon You. Thank you for revealing Yourself to us - and for revealing our sinfulness to us too. Apart from You, there is no life worth living. Don’t let us forget.


Proverbs 16

“Love God and do as you please.” So said Augustine. His statement is quite similar to Proverbs 16:3 which tells us to “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” If we truly love God and commit our every activity to His scrutiny and approval, we won’t want to do anything that displeases Him.

James is sometimes cited as an argument against making big plans on our own. True, it’s a thing that can be done in the flesh but James doesn’t say, “don’t plan”. He says, “Plan!” but do it with the honest preface of “if it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that” (Jas. 4:15). If God can lead us in the doing He can just as certainly lead us in the planning!

So the key is to so love God and desire that His will be accomplished, that our own plans and actions will willingly conform to His direction. Our thoughts will be His thoughts and our plans will be according to His plan. Then our actions too will be in conformity with His will. If we truly love God, we can do as we please for our pleasure will always be to please Him.

Oh! to be like Thee, blessed Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh! to be like Thee, oh! to be like Thee,
Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

Oh! to be like Thee, full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wand’ring sinner to find.

Oh! to be like Thee, lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer, others to save.

Oh! to be like Thee, Lord, I am coming,
Now to receive th’ anointing divine;
All that I am and have I am bringing,
Lord, from this moment all shall be Thine.

Oh! to be like Thee, while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love,
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Thomas O. Chisholm