"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."— Amos 5:14-15 (ESV)"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."— James 4:7 (ESV) Reflect:Seeking t...  Read More

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together."— Colossians 1:15-17 (ESV)"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from ab...  Read More

"But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."— John 4:23-24 (ESV) Reflect:At Gilgal, Israel had ritual without renewal — going through the motions of sacrifice and ceremony while their hearts stayed uncha...  Read More

"for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise."— Galatians 3:26-29 (ESV)"Do not be conformed to this...  Read More

"Hear this word that I take up over you in lamentation, O house of Israel: 'Fallen, no more to rise, is the virgin Israel; forsaken on her land, with none to raise her up.' For thus says the Lord God: 'The city that went out a thousand shall have a hundred left, and that which went out a hundred shall have ten left, to the house of Israel.' For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel: 'Seek me a...  Read More

"Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel; because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel! For behold, he who forms the mountains and creates the wind... the LORD, the God of hosts, is his name!"— Amos 4:12-13 (ESV)"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."— Ephesians ...  Read More

"But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."— Romans 5:8 (ESV)"For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures."— 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (ESV) Reflect: Amos 4 shows us that we, like I...  Read More

"I gave you empty stomachs in every city, and lack of bread in every town; yet you did not return to me, declares the LORD. I also withheld the rain from you... yet you did not return to me, declares the LORD. I struck you with blight and mildew... yet you did not return to me, declares the LORD. I sent among you a pestilence after the manner of Egypt... yet you did not return to me, declares the ...  Read More

"Come to Bethel, and transgress; to Gilgal, and multiply transgression; bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days; offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened, and proclaim freewill offerings, publish them; for so you love to do, O people of Israel!" declares the Lord GOD.— Amos 4:4-5 (ESV) Reflect: Israel never stopped attending worship — they simply stoppe...  Read More

"Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to your husbands, 'Bring, that we may drink!' The Lord GOD has sworn by his holiness that, behold, the days are coming upon you, when they shall take you away with hooks, even the last of you with fishhooks. And you shall go out through the breaches, every one straight ahead;...  Read More

“‘Hear, and testify against the house of Jacob,’ declares the Lord GOD, the God of hosts, ‘that on the day I punish Israel for his transgressions, I will punish the altars of Bethel, and the horns of the altar shall be cut off and fall to the ground. I will strike the winter house along with the summer house, and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall come to an end,’ declare...  Read More

“Proclaim to the strongholds in Ashdod and to the strongholds in the land of Egypt, and say, ‘Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria, and see the great tumults within her, and the oppressed in her midst.’ ‘They do not know how to do right,’ declares the LORD, ‘those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds.’ Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘An adversary shall surround the ...  Read More