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21 September 2007
Amos 9 v 1-4
I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said: "Smash the top of the pillars so that even the bottom of the doors will shake.
Make the pillars fall on the people's heads; anyone left alive I will kill with a sword.
Not one person will get away; no one will escape.
If they dig down as deep as the place of the dead, I will pull them up from there.
If they climb up into heaven, I will bring them down from there.
If they hide at the top of Mount Carmel, I will find them and take them away.
If they try to hide from me at the bottom of the sea, I will command a snake to bite them.
If they are captured and taken away by their enemies, I will command the sword to kill them.
I will keep watch over them, but I will keep watch to give them trouble, not to do them good."
At some point today you are likely to be caught on CCTV. Whether this is a good thing or not is hotly debated. However what it does mean is that criminals are increasingly under pressure and some acts of crime are resulting in punishment due to being caught on CCTV.
Amos can seem like a book full of doom and gloom. His message for the people of Israel is very hard to hear. In summary he tells us - God has blessed you, you continue to do wrong, you do not learn from your mistakes, God is watching and he will punish you.
CCTV ensures that some people are held accountable for their crimes. Amos tells the people of Israel that God will hold them accountable, but reminds them of a well known phrase "you can run but you can not hide!"
How can anyone think they can run from a God who is everywhere?
What have you done that you wish God had not seen? Maybe now is an opportunity to confess all to Him.
Lord, You know all that I have done but I tell you now what I wish you hadn't seen. (use this space to bring before God those things). Hold me accountable Lord and forgive me. Amen
Written by Louisa Haynes
Amos 9 v 1-4
I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said: "Smash the top of the pillars so that even the bottom of the doors will shake.
Make the pillars fall on the people's heads; anyone left alive I will kill with a sword.
Not one person will get away; no one will escape.
If they dig down as deep as the place of the dead, I will pull them up from there.
If they climb up into heaven, I will bring them down from there.
If they hide at the top of Mount Carmel, I will find them and take them away.
If they try to hide from me at the bottom of the sea, I will command a snake to bite them.
If they are captured and taken away by their enemies, I will command the sword to kill them.
I will keep watch over them, but I will keep watch to give them trouble, not to do them good."
At some point today you are likely to be caught on CCTV. Whether this is a good thing or not is hotly debated. However what it does mean is that criminals are increasingly under pressure and some acts of crime are resulting in punishment due to being caught on CCTV.
Amos can seem like a book full of doom and gloom. His message for the people of Israel is very hard to hear. In summary he tells us - God has blessed you, you continue to do wrong, you do not learn from your mistakes, God is watching and he will punish you.
CCTV ensures that some people are held accountable for their crimes. Amos tells the people of Israel that God will hold them accountable, but reminds them of a well known phrase "you can run but you can not hide!"
How can anyone think they can run from a God who is everywhere?
What have you done that you wish God had not seen? Maybe now is an opportunity to confess all to Him.
Lord, You know all that I have done but I tell you now what I wish you hadn't seen. (use this space to bring before God those things). Hold me accountable Lord and forgive me. Amen
Written by Louisa Haynes
