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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy
word.
“Do what is good and run from evil so that you may live! Then
the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will be your helper, just as you have claimed. Hate
evil and love what is good; turn your courts into true halls of justice. Perhaps
even yet the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will have mercy on the remnant of His
people.”
Amos 5:14-15 (NLT)
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks
be to God.
Have you sinned and done things that have placed you in
opposition to God?
Yesterday, we saw that the Israelites of Amos’ time had
done just that, placing themselves in a precarious position. For no one since
the dawn of creation has been able to stand toe-to-toe with God and come out
the victor. Rather, they have found themselves soundly defeated and sometimes
obliterated,
Indeed, being in a place where you are against God is not
the place anyone should want to be.
So what can you do if you have started down the road of
getting on God’s bad side and in the crosshairs of His judgment?
Today’s scripture passage, a mere two verses from Amos 5,
shows us as we see the Lord informing His people that there was a chance they
could escape His consequences. Look at these words again:
“Do what is good
and run from evil so that you may live! Then the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies
will be your helper, just as you have claimed. Hate evil and love what is good;
turn your courts into true halls of justice. Perhaps even yet the Lord God of
Heaven’s Armies will have mercy on the remnant of His people.” Amos 5:14-15 (NLT)
The message was simple. The only way the Israelites could
turn things around is if they did what was good and ran away from their evil
ways. They needed to hate evil and love what is good. They needed to do away
with the injustices they were committing, especially in regard to the poor and
vulnerable, and turn their halls into “true halls of justice”.
If they did these things, if they turned away from sin
and toward the righteousness God expected, then they would live and the Lord
God of Heaven’s Armies would not be their opponent but their helper.
Friends, getting right with God always involves a turning
away from sin, the sin He despises, the sin that compelled Him to sacrifice His
only Son Jesus to die in our place.
God understands we will sin. It’s been a part of our
nature since the great fall of Adam and Eve in Eden’s garden. He knows we will
sin but He will not tolerate us not repenting of it and continuing to live in
it. He wants us to do what is good and run from our evil ways. He wants us to hate evil, love what is good, and once again follow His will, word, and way.
If we fail to accept His call to return to Him, rest
assured He will take action against us just as He did the Israelites in Amos’
day. For they decided to not turn from their injustices and worship of false
gods and idols so God sent the Assyrians and Babylonians to lay waste to their
homeland and carry them away into captivity. The people of God were given an
opportunity to turn things around and experience God’s rich mercy, grace, and
forgiveness but they passed on it.
What’s it going be for you today if you have allowed
yourself to live in sin before the Lord who despises it?
Will you repent and return to God, receiving His pardon?
Or will you continue in your transgressions, refuse to
adopt the way to turn things around, and make yourself the next candidate who
will be seen as a fool for going head-to-head with the God of all creation, a
fight no one will ever win?
Those are really the only two choices you have. I pray
you will choose wisely and repent of your sins before it’s too late.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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