“1PREPARE TO MEET YOUR GOD, For behold, He who forms mountains, And creates the wind, Who declares to man what his thought is, And makes the morning darkness, Who treads the high places of the earth—THE LORD GOD OF HOSTS IS HIS NAME.” (Amos 4:12-13) 1kuwn: to be firm, be stable, be established. Amos was not a well-to-do man of the upper class. He was a simple shepherd. He lived in Tekoa 12 miles southeast of Jerusalem about 800 years before Christ. He describes God’s call on his life in (Amos 7:15), “The Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.'”
Amos was called to prophecy against King Jeroboam who built high places of false god to worship and set up his own priesthood and new holy days. Because of all this the JUDGMENT OF GOD IS COMING in a significant way and there is no avoiding it.
How does this apply to us today? It’s almost that time of year again—yep, Christmas. And oh, there are so many distractions to look forward to. The new iPhone is out!!!
“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, PRINCE OF PEACE.” (Isaiah 9:6) I enjoy those special times with family and friends, but I often wonder if Christmas hasn’t become too busy. If we aren’t careful we will schedule ourselves into a frenzy. We will become so busy that we fail to consider and fully appreciate WHO IT IS that we are celebrating. This happened near the city of Nazareth with the shepherd watching the sheep “…an angel stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone, they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said, “Do not be afraid, I bring you good tidings of great joy. For there is born to you this day A SAVIOR, WHO IS CHRIST THE LORD. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST, AND ON EARTH PEACE, goodwill toward men!“ (Luke 2:9-14)
-Bill Stockham