Are you in a rut with your Bible reading? I’ve been there, sweet friend. Because of that, I thought I'd write a little about what I've been reading in the Bible recently. This past weekend found me in the book of Amos, and I'd love to show you a little of what jumped out at me. 

I normally do not love the prophetic books in the Old Testament. I don't really understand them, I never have and it's just not my thing. I told my friend that Monday, we each have our "thing" with Bible reading, and the prophetic books are not mine. 

Insert the word ‘but’ here. 

I have just finished studying the book of Hosea very intently in the months since January, and it's because of that I can say that I am loving the prophetic books right now. On Sunday and Monday of this week, I read the book of Amos. It has nine short chapters, and this picture above is from where I was on Sunday. I love what Amos 4:13 says.

“He is here: the one who forms mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, the one who makes the dawn out of darkness and strides on the heights of the earth. The LORD, the God of Armies, is his name.”- Amos 4:13

It reminded me so much of what I studied about Hosea. In chapter four, Amos was warning Israel (the Northern kingdom with all the bad kings) that judgment was coming to them if they did not return to the Lord and repent of their sin against a holy and righteous God. God is so holy that He cannot look upon sin.

“Your eyes are too pure to look on evil, and you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.” Habakkuk 1:13a

Sin had to be punished. God gave them warning after warning to return to Him and in Amos 4, He kept saying, "yet you did not return to me." Israel was stubborn, prideful and their hearts were hardened toward God. By the way, that is what pride does, if it goes unchecked for too long.

God had given them chance after chance. All they had to do was repent of their sin and turn back to Him, but they didn't heed His warning. He warned them in Amos 4:2 of what was to come.

“The Lord God has sworn by his holiness: Look, the days are coming when you will be taken away with hooks, every last one of you with fishhooks.”- Amos 4:2

They had been warned that they would be carried off into captivity, and they were. Israel had enjoyed prosperity under an evil king and because of the fact that they were unwilling to repent, eventually they would be taken into captivity by the Assyrian army.

Israel continued to reject God, and though they were stubborn and prideful, God didn’t abandon them completely because of His great love for them. He was always near them and you can read for yourself that time after time, He was moved to compassion on their behalf. All they had to do was turn away from sin and turn back to God.

Doesn't it seem so simple today, as we look back on these past events?

Why do I write about all of this, you ask? Well, doesn't it seem like our own country right now? As a whole and as a nation, we have turned our backs on God. We took God and prayer out of schools, there is no sanctity of life, and we are biting and devouring each other in our own nation. We are prideful, as a whole and as a nation. We are stubborn and we have forgotten God. There are few of us who love Him, sure, but we are definitely the minority. We could easily turn back to Him as Lord and Savior... but will we? I don't know the answer to that.

What I do know is that God is good. If we were to call out to Him, He would be right there, ready to forgive, just like what I wrote from Amos 4:13. I'm going to share it once again.

“He is here: the one who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, the one who makes the dawn out of darkness and strides on the heights of the earth. The LORD, the God of Armies, is his name.” - Amos 4:13

In His majesty as Creator God, He formed the mountains. He created the wind, and just like the Holy Spirit, though we cannot see it, we know the wind is there and we can feel the gentle breeze of it on our faces. He reveals His thoughts to man when we read His word and that is also how He speaks to us today. He made the dawn out of darkness - His light (the dawn) pushes back darkness. Read what John 8:12 says:

“Jesus spoke to them again: ‘I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.’” - John 8:12

He strides on the heights of the earth, and as the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary states, "God treadeth down the proud of the earth. He subjects to Him all things however high they be."

The LORD, the covenant keeping God of Armies is His name. God is Creator and He always keeps His word. When we repent and turn from sin, He is compassionate toward us and He is abounding in love and mercy. He lavishes us with His grace. It's so simple.

Do you know Him? I want you to know Him like I know Him. You can know things about Him and not know Him. He wants you to know Him and He longs for a relationship with you. So many people think they're not good enough yet, but He wants you to come as you are - messy, raw and vulnerable. He will take the old you and make a new creation. You will be forever transformed when you answer His gentle beckoning. 

If you want to talk, reach out. Don't wait! Do it today, we are never promised one more day here on earth. You can comment on Instagram, find me there or email me. I'm easy to find. I would love to talk more.

[Instagram: @jenlloydgoodwin]

[Facebook: Jennifer Lloyd Goodwin]

[Email: allboys@gmail.com]

A closing prayer: Thank you for your word, Lord. I pray you’ll pierce our hearts with it on a regular basis, don’t let us grow hardened toward you. Help us to apply your word to our lives everyday. Help us to remain soft and teachable to the things you want to show us. Help us have ears to hear and eyes to see all that you want to teach us. I love you, Lord and ask this in your strong and holy name. Amen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

When Jennifer isn't focusing on her family of her husband and four (almost) grown sons, she is passionate about leading women to a deeper knowledge of and relationship with Jesus, through the reading of the Bible and through prayer. After years of serving in student ministry, the Lord pulled her out of that and planted her solidly in the women's ministry within her local church. She leads a small group on Wednesday nights, and together they study the word of God verse by verse, and book by book of the Bible. She loves to write, and you can find her sharing regularly on her blog, Overflowing With Thanksgiving . She also loves to sing and to help lead worship at her church, and will always be a choir girl at heart. You can find out more about her and her hobbies on her favorite social media outlet Instagram, as JenLloydGoodwin.