What can you expect? Straight talk, laughable humor, real truth, simple living, and passionate yearning...
all regarding the God that still involves Himself in the details of the lives of His people
A calling to write what He leads, no matter how uncomfortable...
Because simple daily Christian living is never what we thought it would be
Whatever is Demanded
Amos was absolutely obedient. He had no formal training in the law, and no heritage in the line of prophets. Yet, when he stood before the court, guilty of speaking against the King and his royal ways, Amos did not hesitate regarding his assignment. He was a sheepherder. But when God asked him to do a task, he just stood up and went. Amos loved the Lord our God with the sort of love that made his loyalty unquestionable…and his assignments absolutely conquerable.
A sheepherder’s social status was pretty low. I’m not saying that there was no value to his job, just that, in the rank of things, he was not considered anything significant. If the king needed some advice, even on sheep, there is little chance that he would be seeking out Amos for information. And yet, Amos had built a sturdy relationship with God. So when God came to Amos and told him to go and speak to His people Israel, Amos did not consider his uneducated background or his lack of prophet heritage, or his position. He just obeyed.
So Amos went and told his visions over and over to the people of Israel. And it made them uncomfortable. Of course he wasn’t spreading the news of blessings and prosperity. He was telling them exactly what the Lord was showing him. Amos told the people in detail how they would be destroyed city by city. Then he reminded them of their punishable crimes…in detail…and publically. And though his sheep had been his priority, it was the Lord’s sheep that now needed his attention. And, Amos did what the Lord asked of him; even though he was not qualified, even though he had no family blood line to back him up, even though his occupation made him laughable to everyone from king to commoner. Amos heard the words of the Lord and prophesied in the streets about their disobedience and consequential destruction. And it made them angry.
So they took him to the courts and demanded that something be done to stop him. The superior of the courts listened to the charges and then, it seems, gave Amos a little grace in his decision. He stood before Amos who was not trying to defend or apologize for what he had done, and instead of sending him to the dungeons or just beheading him right there, this authority of the courts announces that Amos is to move to another city…to eat his bread and do his prophesying. But did Amos look up and thank the high court? Did he thank God for sparing his life and walk away feeling blessed and rescued? No. Amos stood before the high court’s man and said,
“I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet; for I am a herdsman and a grower of sycamore figs.
But the Lord took me from following the flock and the Lord said to me, ‘Go prophesy to My people Israel.’
And now hear the word of the Lord;
you are saying, ‘You shall not prophesy against Israel nor shall you speak against the house of Isaac.’
“Therefore, thus says the Lord,
“Your wife will become a harlot in the city, your sons and your daughters will fall by the sword, your land will be parceled up by a measuring line, and you yourself will die upon unclean soil. Moreover, Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.”
Amos did this because He was yielded and wanted to be the instrument of God, in God’s time, and for God’s plan. He had heard the instructions from the Lord, and without trying to manipulate or rearrange those instructions according to the circumstances happening around him, He was willing to stay true to the task.
I wish, but doubt very seriously, that I am obedient at this level. I still hesitate and consider my family and my desires and my comforts. I plead a lot with God and remind Him of all the things that I am not. And, I weasel out of obedience. Then I sit and contemplate the worthlessness of my life.
When I read the story of Amos, I could not help but think of my Christ: His love too great to be defeated, His actions directly in line with obedience to God. And, when we brought Him before the high courts because He was making us all feel uncomfortable about the way we were living, He did not defend himself or make excuses. And, He did not take an out when He knew He could have called for a rescue. No, Christ stood there. And when they were finished accusing, He simply spoke the truth.
Both Christ and Amos dealt with their adversaries in the same matter-of –fact way. To each of them there was no consideration of the situation, or the cost… only the will of God and their obedience to it. Christ paid a price that we cannot possible understand. We see the suffering of the cross and the physical violence. We see the price He paid being fully man. But, I believe the description of the price He paid as fully God that day is something our minds cannot withstand. And still, He yielded. Now Amos was not Christ. And he was not deity any more than you or I. In fact, that is the point. Amos was just a man. But because of his love for God and his willingness to be obedient, he impacts us even today.
How many degrees do you have? Do you have 6 or do you have none? Does your dog have a better pedigree than you? Whether you have all the right paperwork and bloodline, or you are just a herdsman…God wants your obedience. He doesn’t play by our social rules and He will most likely ask you to do something completely out of your comfort zone and social standing. He likes it that way…He is God. He wants each of us to recognize, to really know, just what we can become in His strength alone.
If the Lord asks you to do something today that is completely out of your league…would you resist? Would you make excuses and offer up reason after reason as to why someone else would be more qualified? Would you jump into action and then when things got heated up…ask the court for grace and just walk away…thanking God for saving you from the whole ordeal? Or, would you follow through…no matter what the situation, no matter what the cost, and yield completely to the will of God…whatever is demanded?
In obedience
Rhonda D Loucks
Both Christ and Amos dealt with their adversaries in the same matter-of –fact way. To each of them there was no consideration of the situation, or the cost… only the will of God and their obedience to it. Christ paid a price that we cannot possible understand. We see the suffering of the cross and the physical violence. We see the price He paid being fully man. But, I believe the description of the price He paid as fully God that day is something our minds cannot withstand. And still, He yielded. Now Amos was not Christ. And he was not deity any more than you or I. In fact, that is the point. Amos was just a man. But because of his love for God and his willingness to be obedient, he impacts us even today.