Bible Scripture Reading

"Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for 1 February 2013, from Cindi, a Daughter of the King of kings and Lord of lords."

Today's Blog Title: "Warnings To Zion and Samaria"
Today's Blog Scripture Reading: Amos 6:1-14
Today's Blog Key Verse: Amos 6:The  Lord GOD has sworn by Himself, The LORD God of hosts says: :I abhor the pride of Jacob, and hate his palaces; Therefore I will deliver up the city And all that is in it."

Zion in verse 1 refers to Jerusalem, the capital of Judah in the southern kingdom, and Samaria was the capital of Israel, in the northern kingdom.  In the day of Amos and his prophecy, Israel and Judah together had enjoyed a generation of military might and economic prosperity.  It became natural for officials in both capitals to regard themselves as "notable persons."

Riches are not intrinsically evil.  But to often wealth promotes self-indulgence and makes us indifferent to others.  It is this misuse of wealth that Amos condemns.  

"Who sing idly to the sound of stringed instruments like David," means that they displayed a genius and creativity similar to that of King David, but with one major difference: David's music was inspired by God and directed man's heart to praise Him, but their music turned man's heart away from God to their own lusts.

If God takes an oath, He takes it "by Himself," for there is none greater than He.  God personally would see to the destruction of Samaria and its proud inhabitants.  Verse 10 depicts the aftermath of God's judgment, when relatives came around to carry out the bodies, and the people who had not believed that God would come in judgment, would now be afraid of what further disaster He might bring upon them.

The two rhetorical questions in verse 12, "Do horses run on rocks? Does one plow there with oxen?" would demand a negative answer.  For horses do not run on rocks, or they would become lame; nor does one plow rocks with oxen, or else the plow would be broken.  To violate natural law is to reap the consequences of it.  Even more, Israel's folly in transgressing God's law will bring certain judgment. 

Israel's pride in her military strength would be her downfall.  God's punishment of Israel would fit her sin of "pride."  As the Israelites reckoned that they had extended their borders by their own military strength, God would allow them to be harassed and defeated from border to border.  From North to South, from border to border, God would allow Israel to be defeated in battle; they would realize that their own strength was puny indeed.

Clink on the link at www.cindi-davis.blogspot.com for a Bible Verse from James 3:13.

Please uplift Youcef Nardankari and American Pastor Saaed Abedini who have been falsely accused by the Iranian government and have been imprisoned in an Iranian Prison.  Pray that God will Uplift and provide for them His Strength, Hod Peace, and His Comfort and also to their families.  Pray also for all Christians who are being persecuted for their Faith and Trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Jesus Reigns, and He Is, Has Been, and Always Will Be, in Complete and Total Control!!!

Your Sister in Christ,
Cindi


   

Bible Scripture Reading

"Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for Monday 28 January 2013, from Cindi a Daughter of the King of kings and Lord of lords."

Today's Blog Title: "A Call To Repentance"
Today's Blog Scripture Reading: Amos 5:1-27
Today's Blog Key Verse: Amos 5:4 "For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel: :Seek Me and live."

God had promised Abraham to multiply his offspring.  But that blessing could only be experienced bu obedient generations.  Sin in the Nation of Israel had reversed the blessing: rather than increase tenfold, this generation will "decrease" tenfold.

In verses 4, 6, 14 we see the Lord telling the nation of Israel to, "Seek Me and live." Though the judgment of God is imminent, it can avoided, or at least postponed, by seeking the Lord.  The ONLY hope is to seek the Lord in true repentance and thus avoid the judgment of Almighty God.

In verses 7-11 "justice" means fair and unbiased court decisions.  the God who Created and sustains the processes pf all the universe surely can bring His judgment to bear, even upon the strong of the earth and their fortresses.  The "gate in verse 10, was the location of the town court, where justice was to be upheld in all legal proceedings, whether civil or criminal.

We as human beings, every day have a basic moral direction which is shaped and maintained by daily choices.  Our calling is to love good and let good shape the course of our life.  "The Day of the Lord" in verse 18, often serves as a technical theological term making the setting of described events and placing them at history's end.

The vision of Amos of history's end has a glorious aspect: Israel is to be redeemed and given a premier place among the world's nations under the rule of the Messiah.  This delighted the people in the day of Amos, who were eager for God to act.  But Amos also warns them that the "Day of the Lord" is also a day of "judgment."  It is the dark and bitter aspect of God's visitation that the generation in the day of Amos will experience.  The lesson for us as Christians today is clear: Look eagerly for the return of Jesus Christ, but those who are living in sin, will not look look forward to it.

In verse 19, the images of a "bear" and a "serpent" evoke the terror that follows when a person escapes a terrible danger and is exhausted and relieved, only to find a worst danger so close at hand that is inescapable.

In verse 21, "I hate, I despise your feast days," means that God see religious activity without heart reality is repugnant to God.  God had ordained forms of worship and and our worship of Him with a heart uplifted in Praise to Him and to Him alone, is only nauseating, empty formalism, and they anger rather than appease God

Please Pray for Youcef Nardarkhani and American Pastor Saeed Abedini who have been falsely accused and placed in Iranian Prison. Pray for their families that God's Strength, Peace, and Comfort will also be with families.  Keep in Prayers all who are being persecuted for there Faith and Trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Have a God Filled and Spirit Led Day. Go in Peace and Serve the Lord our God with Gladness. ALWAYS remember that when you have a spiritual, emotional, relational, physical, or financial dilemma in your life, and you yell out, "I CAN'T," GOD Whispers to you, "BUT I CAN." 

Click on this link www.cindi-davis.blogspot.com for a Bible Verse from James 1:19-20. 

Jesus Reigns and He Is, Has Been, and Always Will Be, In Complete and Total Control."

Your Sister in Christ,
Cindi

Bible Scripture Reading

"Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for 23 January 2013, from Cindi, a Daughter of the King of kings and Lord of lords."

Today's Blog Title: "Israel Did Not Accept Correction"
Today's Blog Scripture Reading: Amos 4:1-13
Today's Key Verse: Amos 4:13 "For behold, He who form mountains, And creates the wind, Who declares to man what his thought is, And makes the morning darkness, Who treads the high places of the earth--The LORD God of hosts is His name."

"Hear this word, you cows Bashan," is an indictment against the women of Samaria.  The "cows" of Bashan were noted for being well fed and strong because of the lush pastures of the area.  The women of Samaria lived in luxurious wantonness, enjoying their luxury, because they oppressed the poor and crushed the needy.  When the women of the land sink to such a low moral and degraded state, God's judgment must fall, for the entire land is degraded.

In Psalm 32:9, the writer urges believers not to "be like the horse or mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle."  Israel was even worst: God's people were unwilling to be controlled even though God used the rod. 

In verses 6-11,  are a series of 5 calamities that God had already set upon the Israelites in an effort to drive them to repentance.  The 1st calamity in verse 6, was "famine."  The 2nd calamity in verses 7-8, was "drought."  The 3rd calamity in verse 9, was "crop disease" and "locusts." The 4th calamity in verse 10, was "plague" and "warfare."  The 5th calamity in verse 11, was the "destruction of Israelite cities."  

Because Israel would not return to God through these 5 calamities, she would have to meet God Himself.  To be confronted--inescapably--by the God it had scorned and rejected, would be a fate more terrible than Israel could ever imagine.

"Prepare to meet your God, O Israel," is a warning that God is not going to visit Israel with salvation, but rather with inevitable and complete judgment.  "Wind" in verse 13, also means "spirit."  God creates both the "wind" and the "human spirit", therefore, He is sovereign over both.

Have a God Filled and Spirit Led Day. Go in Peace and Serve the Lord our God with Gladness. Love God More Today. ALWAYS remember that when you have a spiritual, emotional, relational, physical, or financial dilemma in your life, and you yell out, "I CAN'T," GOD Whispers to you, "BUT I CAN." 

Click on this link at www.cindi-davis.blogspot.com for a Bible Verse from Isaiah 14:12-15.

Jesus Reigns, and He Is, and Always Will Be In Complete and Total Control!!!

Your Sister in Christ,
Cindi

 

Bible Scripture Reading

"Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for 21 January 2013, from Cindi, a daughter of the King of kings and Lord of lords."

Today's Blog Title: "Punishment of Israel's Sins"
Today's Blog Scripture Reading: Amos 3:1-15
Today's Blog Key Verse: Amos 3:13-14 "Hear and testify against the house of Jacob, Says the Lord GOD, the God of hosts, That in the day I punish Israel for their transgressions, I will also visit destruction on the altars of Bethel; and the horns of the alter shall be cut off And fall to the ground."

"The whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt," in verse 1, emphasizes the personal, intimate relationship that God had with Israel.  "You only have I known," in verse 2, should be understood in the sense of God's setting Israel apart and to bring her into a covenant relationship with Himself.  It is used with similar meaning in Psalm 1:6; 147:19-29; and Ezekiel 20:5.

God does not do anything that is morally wrong, but His judgments on sin are undoubtedly experienced by sinful man as "bad news." The voice of God roars through His prophets like the warning roar of a lion.  God does not keep his intention to judge sin a secret, but He clearly reveals His plans.  There is no excuse for not heeding God's words. 

"Ashdod," in verse 9, was one of the five principle cities of the Philistines, on was on the Mediterranean coast, southwest of Israel.  For God to call "Philistia" and "Egypt" to witness His judgment on Israel, implies that these pagan nations were relatively more righteous than Israel.  These nations had NOT received God's revelation at Sinai; yet Israel, having received it, had violated it grossly and repeatedly.

In verse 10, "For they do not know to do right," pictures the fortresses of Israel as centers for the defense of the land and its people, but as strongholds in which riches taken from the people are preserved for the wealthy.  The rich have plundered their own land, and in the process their moral sense has become so warped that they no longer can separate right from wrong.

The "shepherd" in verse 12, was responsible to the owner for the safety of the sheep.  He had to make good any loss, unless he could prove it was unavoidable.  A "lion" taking a sheep was an unavoidable loss, but the shepherd had to prove that the lion had taken it.  The remains of a sheep eaten by a wild animal were saved to prove that the shepherd had not stolen it.  When the enemy invades the land of Israel, only a few torn remnants of the people will be snatched from the invaders.

"Alters" and "summer homes" in verse 14, symbolize the flaws in Israel's society: "false religion" and a "passionate materialism" that produced a wealthy class at the expense of the poor.  The "summer" and "winter" houses are most likely two residents maintained by the rich, while the dispossessed poor lived in the streets.

Have a God Filled and Spirit Led Day. Go in Peace and Serve the Lord our God with Gladness. Love God More Today. ALWAYS remember that when you have a spiritual, emotional, relational, physical, or financial dilemma in your life, and you yell out, "I CAN'T," GOD Whispers to you, "BUT I CAN."

Jesus Reigns, and He Is, and Always Will Be in Complete and Total Control!!! 

Your Sister in Christ,
Cindi


  

Bible Scripture Reading

"Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for 7 January 2012, from Cindi, a daughter of the King of kings and Lord of Lords."

Today's Blog Title: "Judgment of Judah and Israel"
Today's Blog Scripture Reading: Amos 2:1-16
Today's Key Verse: Amos 2:13-14 "Behold, I am weighed down by you, As a cart full of sheaves is weighed down.  Therefore flight shall perish from the swift, The strong shall not strengthen his power, nor shall the mighty deliver himself."

Judah was Israel's neighbor to the south.  Israel and Judah shared a common heritage, a common language, a common faith, and a common covenant with the Lord: "the law of the LORD...His commandments."  The basis of Judah and Israel's judgment was different from that of the nations had to account before them as stated in Amos 1:3-2:3.  Judah and Israel had received God's special revelation at Sinai, and they were in a special covenant relationship with Him and were held to a higher standard of accountability.

The phrase, "they sell the righteous" in verse 6, means only those who are sold are in the right, not that they are blameless.  "They" here are the oppressing classes in Israel.  people with power and influence cares so little for the rights of the needy that they would take a bribe as a pair of sandals to decide against them.

The wealthy were so indifferent to the poor that they walked all over their rights, as disinterested as if they were walking along a road.  Where no one cares about the needy, the legal system itself will then become corrupt and the poor will be denied access however just their case.

The phrase "go in to the same girl" in verse 7 would refer to slave girls, who by tradition might be given as a secondary wife to a son of the household.  But to simply use such a person as a sexual plaything for the men of the household, violated the letter and the spirit of the Old Testament Law concerning slaves, and show the utter moral corruption of the land.

Because of Israel's  flagrant violations of God's righteous law and His gracious provisions, inescapable judgment must inevitably fall , though it will fall only after God has permitted Himself to endure Israel's many and grievous sins far beyond what might ordinarily be considered the breaking point.

Have a God Filled and Spirit Led Day. Go in Peace and Serve the Lord our God with Gladness. Love God more Today. ALWAYS remember that when you have a spiritual, emotional, relational, physical, or financial dilemma in your life, and you yell out, "I CAN'T," GOD Whispers to you, "BUT I CAN."

Jesus Reigns and He is in Complete and Total Control!!!

Your Sister in Christ,
Cindi

Bible Scripture Reading

"Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for 4 January 2013, from Cindi, a Daughter of the King of kings and Lord of lords."

Today's Blog Title: "Judgment on the Nations"
Today's Blog Scripture Reading: Amos 1:1-15
Today's Blog Key Verse: Amos 1:2 "And he said: "The LORD roars from Zion, And utters His voice fro Jerusalem; The pastures of the shepherds mourn, And the top of Carmel withers."

While earthquakes mentioned in verse 1, are not uncommon in Palestine, the one that Amos refers to must have been unusually severe; for it is mentioned again by Zechariah in his prophecy (Zechariah 14:4-5) more than two hundred years later.  It stands as a reminder of God's great power in nature and is a warning of His judgment that is about to overtake Israel.  Amos begins his prophecy with words taken from Joel (Joel 3:16).

Damascus is the capital city of Syria and is to be especially stricken in judgment because of the cruelties Syria had inflicted on Israel. "For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four" introduces the message of judgment to all of the nations, including Israel and is a rhetorical way of saying that the offender has been guilty of an incalculable number of offenses.  "The plain of  Aven" may have been an area in which idolatry was deeply entrenched.  The "house of Eden" ("House of Pleasure") may refer to the king's pleasure resort.  The precise location of Kir is unknown.

The mention of Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron and the remnant of the Philistines in verse 8,, lets us know that the prophecy is directed against Philistia as a whole.  Their crime was the taking of a whole population captive and delivering it over to Edom.  Joel 3:3-8 fills in the details that Amos's prophecy lacks.

Tyre "remembered not the brotherly covenant" which their king Hiram had made with David and Solomon.  This covenant had been long standing (2nd Samuel 5:11; 1st Kings 5:2-6, 15-18; 9:11-14), and no king of Israel or Judah had ever made war on Phoenicia.  Though Judah honored its side of the treaty, Phoenicia had sold Israelites to others (Joel 3:4-8).

"Rabbah" in verse 14, was the capital city of Ammon.  Amos prophesies that it will be utterly destroyed, and the king and his princes taken into captivity for its unspeakable atrocities against God's people.

Have a God filled and Spirit Led Day. Go in Peace and Serve the Lord our God with Gladness. Love God More Today. ALWAYS remember that when you have a spiritual, emotional, relational, physical, or financial dilemma in your life, and you yell out, "I CAN'T," GOD Whispers to you, "BUT I CAN."

Jesus Reigns and He is in Total and Complete Control!!!

Your Sister in Christ,
Cindi