Thursday, June 28, 2007

Amos 1 - 3; Psalm 80; 2 Timothy 4

Just got to wondering who Amos was and in the googling or I use Goodsearch….came across this.
Amos, prophetic book of the Bible. The majority of its oracles are chronologically earlier than those of the Bible's other prophetic books. His activity is dated c.760 B.C. The prophet was a shepherd of Tekoa in the southern kingdom of Judah, but he preached in the northern kingdom of Israel under Jeroboam II (c.786–746 B.C.). Israel was at the peak of its political power but was ridden with social injustices. Amos preached especially against hypocritical worship, oppression of the poor, and immorality. Not surprisingly, he was ordered to cease his preaching. The book falls into three parts: God's judgment on various neighboring Gentile nations climaxing with oracles against Judah and Israel, an indictment of Israel, and visions of destruction. The final oracle, an oracle of salvation, is usually regarded as an addition since it presupposes the destruction prophesied in the rest of the book and the restoration of the Jewish state after the exile in the 6th cent. B.C. The chief thought of Amos is that worship of God necessarily entails protection of the poor and the weak in society. Not even God's people can hope to escape the wrath of God if the social responsibilities that go with election are neglected. See studies by J. L. Mays (1969) and H. W. Wolff (1977); F. I. Andersen, Amos (1989).
Social responsibilities……wondering….no seeing those who in their journey’s follow their God given gifts and abilities into ministries or organizations that are all over what this seems to be saying. And what are the social responsibilities I or you are neglecting? How when you don’t think or feel as though you have anything to offer do you still go about caring …no about jumping into serving? I can forever lament my lack of gifts and abilities or somehow someway overcome all that crap and…….Do you think He speaks to us now?
Jeff had to hear and created The Reclamation Project or participated in it’s creation ….
Eric followed God in to Hillcrest Ministries
Someone followed Him and created the Simple Way
rhymes_with_kerouac chronicles his life serving modeling a life in serving ...
people within my very own church created...... and are looking to more and more ways to partner with a village in South Africa...…..
Kindof cool to watch others but then you wonder……

So if we don’t hear anything are we left off the hook ?? And what about funding programs like these? A lot to think about huh??

2 Timothy 4: 1 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry .

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