Sunday 18 Sep 2022

September 18: Amos 8:4-7

Key Verse: Amos 8:4
Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land,

Devotion:
When the people of Israel lost their way or went after other things instead of God, God sent prophets to come and give dire warnings to the people to give them every chance at turning away from their evil ways and to turn back to God… It didn’t always work at first because the people had become proud in many ways, proud of their own ideas and proud of the way they did things – mostly when they found they could make money or gain riches by doing things other than what God had asked for!

We still do things like that nowadays – we seek after riches and ways in which we can gain riches instead of following God’s righteous ways and living with Christ in our lives. We still get caught up in our pride and greed and we still (mankind as a whole) run after riches instead of following God’s ways.

Amos was given this stern message to remind the people God does not miss anything and remembers everything we do! There is no sin which He does not see and none He will forget on their own. It is only when we turn back to Him and ask Christ to forgive our sins that we can safely have them removed from our record – in which case God will not hold on to them!

God wants us to see what we gain in our lives and to help those around us who are in need, especially when they need something we are gaining. If we can help others and we withhold that help, then we are working against God because these are Gods people! God looks out for the poor and needy – if we reject them, we are working against God!

Points to Ponder:
What riches do you have in your life?

Can you bless others with those riches?