Category: Minor prophets
Truth that offends!
Scripture reading for August 5th: Amos 7-9, Matthew 15
Matthew 15: 7-12 “You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said, “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me; in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” And He called the people to Him and said to them, “Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person. Then the disciples came and said to Him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heart this saying?”
Jesus was not one to sugar-coat sin in the lives of people, particularly those claiming to be the most religious and righteous. The Pharisees had confronted Jesus about His disciples not washing their hands when they ate. Jesus spoke strongly back to them with questions about why they had broken God’s laws for the sake of their traditions. He openly called them “hypocrites.’ They were pointing fingers at others problems but ignorant of their own issues. They claimed to honor God and keep His Word, but were only giving lip service and not obeying the heart of God. They were blind guides leading blind people–both would fall into the ditch! This hypocrisy came from hearts that were not submitted to God, but rather became offended when Jesus spoke Truth to them. God’s Plumb Line of Truth tests all men’s hearts.
Matthew 15:13-14 “He answered, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. Let them alone: they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
Prayer: Father God, forgive me for the times I have judged others but purposely ignored my own faults and breaking of God’s Word. I want to be one who worships God in sincerity and Truth and teaches and lives out God’s Word in heart-felt submission. Deliver me from offense and finger-pointing. Rather empower me to walk in the Holy Spirit and live out Your Truth.
Amos 7:7-8 “This is what He showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in His hand. And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by.”
Compassion in desperate times!
Scripture reading for August 4th: Amos 4-6, Psalm 55, Matthew 14
Matthew 14:10-14 “He (Herod) sent and had John (the Baptist) beheaded in prison, and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus. Now when Jesus heard this, He withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by Himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed Him on foot from the towns. When He went ashore He saw a great crowd, and He had compassion on them and healed their sick.”
Matthew told the story of Jesus’ response to the beheading of John the Baptist by Herod due to an oath taken at a drunken party. Jesus lived and ministered in the wicked world of the Roman empire where violence and murder was common and the government was corrupt. This wickedness broke Jesus’ heart and He withdrew to seek His Father’s direction. However, lost and hurting people followed Jesus on foot and were there as He arrived. The compassion of the Father flowed through Jesus to heal all their sick and oppressed and even to feed them a meal! God’s love never fails!
Psalm 55:16-18 “But I call to God, the Lord will save me. Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and He hears my voice. He redeems my soul in safety from the battle that I wage, for many are arrayed against me. God will give ear and humble them, He Who is enthroned from of old, because they do not change and do not fear God.”
Prayer: Father God, thank You for Your promises of hearing my prayers and protecting me and all believers from the traps of the wicked. We live in desperate times and I ask for a fresh anointing of power and compassion for the lost and hurting to counter the cruelty of this time. Pour out Your Spirit in conviction of the lost so that they might change and fear God to their salvation in Jesus Christ.
Amos 5:13-15 “Therefore he who is prudent will keep silent in such a time, for it is an evil time. Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of Hosts, will be with you, as you have said. Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the Lord, the God of Hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.”
Jesus’ prophetic warning!
Scripture reading for August 3rd: Amos 1-3, Matthew 13
Matthew 13: 47-50 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Gospel preaching is likened by Jesus to the casting of a fishing net into the sea of humanity. The Gospel is offered without charge to all people of every status and ethnic background. It draws people through God’s Truth bringing conviction on rebellious hearts. Some respond to the conviction and repent and are changed into “good fish” caught in the Gospel net. Others never repent, although they may hang out in the church and appear caught in the ‘net’ of God’s Truth. In the end, at the judgment, the net will be pulled in and angels will separate the ‘good’ fish from those who never received God’s Truth. Those cast away will be sent to the fiery lake and suffer eternal punishment away from God and His people.
Matthew 13:41-43 “The Son of Man will send His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”
Prayer: Father, thank You for the prophets and apostles You sent to bring prophetic warnings to me and all mankind. Thank You for Jesus, Your final Word from heaven. His message is a trumpet of “Good News” that all may repent and turn to Him for forgiveness of sins and salvation with eternal life. Use me today to share this message of hope delivering those headed for eternal punishment.
Amos 3:6-7 “Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the Lord has done it? For the Lord God does nothing without revealing His secret to His servants the prophets.”
Repentance and rest!
Scripture reading for August 1st: Jonah, Matthew 11
Matthew 11:20-22 “Then He began to denounce the cities where most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.”
Jesus called out those who were hard-hearted and resisted His Gospel message of faith and repentance preached with signs and wonders and significant miracles. The people saw the miracles and heard God’s call to repentance, but they resisted. Jesus said that the wicked cities of Chorazin, Tyre, and Sidon would have repented if those works were done in them. He stated that it would be more bearable for them on Judgment Day than for those who saw Jesus’ miracles and heard His message. Jesus called them to come to Him and find rest for their souls from the heavy yoke of sin and coming judgment.
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Prayer: Father God, Thank You for sending Jesus, Your Son to draw us to repentance and faith and to show us Your heart of love for lost and hurting man. I have found the rest of coming to Jesus Christ and following Him. His yoke is easy and His burden is light! Use me today to share the Good News and call all to find rest in following Jesus Christ! Judgment Day is coming and our Father wants all saved!
Jonah 3:3-5 “So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the Word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three day’s journey in breadth. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.”
Seek the lost sheep!
Scripture reading for July 29th: Joel, Matthew 10
Matthew 10: 1, 5-8 “And He called to Him His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. . . . These twelve Jesus sent out instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. An proclaim as you go, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.”
In response to their own praying to Father God for laborers to go into His harvest field, Jesus now instructs His twelve chosen disciples, including Judas, to go out to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. They were to go proclaiming the kingdom of heaven was at hand–now appearing in Christ and those who were His disciples. Not only that, they were given authority to heal all sickness and diseases and to cast out demons in demonstration of God’s kingdom authority and compassionate rule. They were especially sent to lost sheep–those Israelites in need of compassion and harassed by Satan and sickness and sin.
Matthew 10:40 “Whoever receives you receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him Who sent Me.”
Prayer: Father God, Your amazing mission of saving the lost sheep and using those You call and equip is dear to me. Thank You for those You used in my life to declare God’s kingdom and to minister healing and deliverance. Thank You that all benefits in the Kingdom are received by grace through faith–they can’t be bought or bargained for. I am in awe that though my witness, I represent You to lost people like the prophets of old and the disciples of our Lord!
Joel 2:12 “”Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and He relents over disaster.””
Jesus explains marriage and divorce
Scripture reading for July 23rd: Matthew 19
Key Scriptures: Matthew 19:3-9 “And Pharisees came up to Him and tested Him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that He Who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” They said to Him, “Why did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” He said to them, Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.””
Marriage issues have been around for a long time, even in and amongst God’s chosen people! The Law of Moses contained instructions about marriage and divorce. Jesus pointed the questioners to God’s written Word for help and then explained to them God’s plan for marriage. God made humans in two sexes–male and female. Marriage was to be between a man and a woman. They must leave their father and mother and cleave to each other, forming a new family entity of ‘one flesh’. God, Himself joins them together and man is commanded not to separate. God would use the union to bring godly offspring into the earth to fill and care for it. Jesus went on to explain that Moses was given instructions about divorce because of man’s harness of heart, not because it was God’s plan. Jesus emphasized that sexual immorality was the only ground for divorce. Getting married to another after a divorce for any other reason resulted in committing adultery. Broken marriages sow violence into our lives. God’s plan is simple for marriage. Man’s hard hearts make it complicated. Godly marriage is a reflection of Christ and His Bride the Church.
Ephesians 5:31-32 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the Church.”
Faith confession and prayer: Father God, thank You for Your plan for godly marriages and the raising of godly children. Thank You for grace when marriage is broken by hardened hearts. Have mercy on our land and Your people as many have not believed Your plan for marriage–one man and one woman till death parts. Heal us from the violence sown from broken covenant marriages. Protect those living according to Your plan.
Malachi 2:15-16 “Did He not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife or your youth. For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the Lord, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the Lord of Hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not be faithless.”
Prayer and godly living!
Scripture reading for January 5th: 1st Timothy 2
Key Scriptures: 1st Timothy 2:1-6 “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, Who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For their is one God and there is one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, Who gave His life as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”
Prayer and godly living go hand in hand. Paul taught Timothy and us that all types of prayers and thanksgiving for all people, and especially political and spiritual leaders, would yield great benefits. Those under authority who pray for those in authority help to set the atmosphere of their own lives and the community, state or nation of which they reside. God is pleased with the faith exhibited through prayers. Jesus Christ is seated at God’s right Hand to intercede for us in agreement with our prayers and He alone gave His life and blood to ransom all men. This testimony stands true and must be shared with all men before Christ Jesus returns!
Psalm 32:6 “Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to You at a time when You may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him.”
Faith confession and prayer: Lord Jesus, I believe You are the One and only mediator between God and man. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit to enable me to pray effectively and give continual thanksgiving for all men and those in authority. I want a quiet and godly life, sharing the Gospel, and pleasing my Savior!
Micah 6:8 “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
Repentance resisted!
Scripture reading for December 11th: Malachi, Psalm 2, Revelation 9
Key Scriptures: Revelation 9:20-21 “The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.”
John recorded the seven trumpets and their woe brought upon the earth as the scroll had been opened and God’s final judgments were being poured out on the earth. One of the curious truths John recorded was that although many of earths final group of people were killed by the judgments, the rest refused to repent. They clung to their idols and worshiped demons and continued to flaunt the breaking of God’s holy commandments. Neither positive miracles nor the calamitous judgments of these last days could penetrate the hardened hearts. Although they knew the judgments were from God, they refused to ask for His mercy.
Psalm 2:12 “Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.”
Faith confession and prayer: Lord Jesus, I am in awe of Your great mercy towards me and my family. Thank You for Your love and mercy. I pray that all of my offspring will “kiss the Son” of God, Jesus Christ and take refuge in Him.
Malachi 4:1-2 “For behold, the Day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The Day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear My Name, the Sun of Righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out like calves from the stall.”
Winning a full reward!
Scripture reading for November 27th: Zechariah 12-14; Psalm 94; 2nd John
Key Scriptures: 2nd John 6-9 “And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. For everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.”
Deception is a mark of the devil and his agents in this world. Lying is the antithesis of God the Father and Jesus the Truth and is the native language of the devil. John again mentions those false teachers and calls them ‘antichrist’ as well as deceivers. This word means ‘counterfeit’. They were in the visible church but really not believers in Jesus Christ, Son of God. They advocated false doctrines and were under a deceiving spirit trying to rob believers of their full reward. The true believers could stay safe by abiding in Jesus’ love and showing love for Him by obedience to all His commandments. These were summed up in two: love God and love your brothers and sisters.” This is our “work” of faith, to believe and follow Jesus’ teaching in His love. Watchfulness is needed over our own souls and those of other believers because the ‘antichrist’ is already here.
Psalm 94:12-13 “Blessed is the man whom You discipline, O Lord, and whom You teach out of your law, to give him rest from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked.”
Faith confession and prayer: Father, deliver me from the evil one! Fill me each day with Your Word and Spirit, and discipline me if needed. Give me the watchful eyes of an under-shepherd to help brothers and sisters live in Your love and abide in Your Word, receiving their full reward.
Zechariah 13:9 “And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon My Name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are My People’; and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.'”
Do you have eternal life?
Scripture reading for November 26th: Zechariah 9-11; 1st John 5
Key Scriptures: 1st John 5:12-15 “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the Name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.”
The devil always wants to get us into doubting our faith and our relationship with God. The aged Apostle John wrote to the early church to give them confidence. It is really quite simple: if you have Jesus Christ, God’s Son, you have life eternal. If you do not have Jesus Christ as Lord in your life, you abide in death. Having confidence in our relationship with Jesus Christ means knowing that what God’s Word says is true. Faith rests on God’s Word, not our feelings. We can now pray effectively and confidently to find the help we need to live victoriously by faith overcoming the devil!
Faith confession and prayer: Lord Jesus, I am thankful for Your trustworthy Word and the confidence that comes as I believe that You are God’s Son and my Savior. I call on You daily to fill me with Your Holy Spirit and strength to do Your will.
Zechariah 10:1 “Ask rain from the Lord in the season of the spring rain, from the Lord Who makes the storm clouds, and He will give them showers of rain, to everyone the vegetation of the field.”