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18 September 2007
Amos 8 v 1-3
This is what the Lord GOD showed me: a basket of summer fruit. He said to me, "Amos, what do you see?"
I said, "A basket of summer fruit."
Then the LORD said to me, "An end has come for my people Israel, because I will not overlook their sins anymore.
"On that day the palace songs will become funeral songs," says the Lord GOD. "There will be dead bodies thrown everywhere! Silence!"
There's something about me you should know. I like strawberries! Actually, I love strawberries. As my husband will testify, if I've got strawberries in front of me then no one can get my attention and no-one gets my strawberries. They're an indulgence - a sheer luxury! Well, they used to be a luxury, but maybe not anymore. Supermarkets buy them from abroad as they seek to meet our demand.
In this passage the summer fruits are like the strawberries - once a luxury but now overlooked by everyone. To be honest they're not really significant.
God has been over looked too. He's been there constantly providing the people of Israel with everything they've needed and forgiven them numerous times. Yet they still don't get it! They take Him for granted and believe He will continue to forgive them, but we read here that God "will not overlook their sins anymore."
It was because of their constant sinning and unwillingness to live a right life that caused God to say "I will not overlook their sins anymore".
How many times have you done the same thing over and over, knowing God will forgive you, but you haven't made a conscious effort to change?
Reflect on the things you have done over and over again.
How many times have you been forgiven?
Ask God to help you address these things and help you to NOT do them.
Written by Louisa Haynes
Amos 8 v 1-3
This is what the Lord GOD showed me: a basket of summer fruit. He said to me, "Amos, what do you see?"
I said, "A basket of summer fruit."
Then the LORD said to me, "An end has come for my people Israel, because I will not overlook their sins anymore.
"On that day the palace songs will become funeral songs," says the Lord GOD. "There will be dead bodies thrown everywhere! Silence!"
There's something about me you should know. I like strawberries! Actually, I love strawberries. As my husband will testify, if I've got strawberries in front of me then no one can get my attention and no-one gets my strawberries. They're an indulgence - a sheer luxury! Well, they used to be a luxury, but maybe not anymore. Supermarkets buy them from abroad as they seek to meet our demand.
In this passage the summer fruits are like the strawberries - once a luxury but now overlooked by everyone. To be honest they're not really significant.
God has been over looked too. He's been there constantly providing the people of Israel with everything they've needed and forgiven them numerous times. Yet they still don't get it! They take Him for granted and believe He will continue to forgive them, but we read here that God "will not overlook their sins anymore."
It was because of their constant sinning and unwillingness to live a right life that caused God to say "I will not overlook their sins anymore".
How many times have you done the same thing over and over, knowing God will forgive you, but you haven't made a conscious effort to change?
Reflect on the things you have done over and over again.
How many times have you been forgiven?
Ask God to help you address these things and help you to NOT do them.
Written by Louisa Haynes
