(Amos 1:1) “The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa,….”  Ah, how often do we see the Lord speaking to and using shepherds! Even the first good son, Abel, was a shepherd. Abel, killed by his brother. Jesus, the Great Shepherd of the Sheep, killed by His brethren. Some of us have the privilege of being God’s Shepherds. Praise God, each of the saved have the privilege of being His sheep!

Prior to the 70 year captivity to Babylon, the Lord stressed His warnings through a lack of blessings. He also warned of the terrible day of judgment approaching. Yet, He offered a way of staying the Hand of Judgment: (Joe 2:12) “Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: (13)  And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.” Friend, a judgment is approaching like this world has never seen! It is called the Tribulation Period. One also awaits the lost individual – an eternity in hell. The staying of that judgment remains the same through Jesus: “Turn to Him with ALL your heart; remorse over your sins; rending your heart; turning to your God.”

(Hos 1:2) “The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD. (3 ) So he went and took Gomer….” I once knew a man who had impregnated a woman outside marriage. His pastor said, “If you do not love her you do not have to marry her.” What? Doing right before God comes before self. And besides, since when is true love an emotion? There are times my emotions say, “I don’t love my wife.” Yet, I choose to love her, be affection to her, and cling to her in obedience to my God. My reward – a joyful, God blessed, continuing marriage.

Daniel, a captive at Babylon, in all probability a teenager: (Dan 1:8) “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank:…” From the very beginning of his captivity, he put his God over that of man – even a king! Who reigns in your life? Does it say, “I will not defile myself with the world’s meats ?

Ezekiel one day saw this revelation of the pre-incarnate Christ: (Eze 1:26) “And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. (27)  And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. (28)  As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.”  Thus, the rainbow given on earth as testimony of a covenant, was a copy of a part of God’s glory! Our God keeps ALL His promise – His covenants. The New Testament is the New Covenant. It says, “I will save you and forgive you IF you turn from you sins and My Son’s sacrifice and blood is the seal of it all! Praise Him!

(Jer 1:4) “Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (5)  Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” It is a wonderful thing to know one has a divine purpose for one’s life. YOU have a divine purpose. You are to live for the glory of He Who gave His life in payment for your sins. Jeremiah was faithful to his purpose, through man dark times – humanly speaking. What about you? Does your life proclaim a purpose?

(Isa 1:2) “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.”  Today I wish to focus our attention on the first portion of that verse. Our Lord has spoken, we have the completed message in our KJV Bible, and therefore need to “give ear” – hear it! THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE for reading the Bible. No commentary, devotional, nor sermon can take the place of humbly opening your Bible, submitting to the Holy Spirit’s teaching, listening to God speak to you!

(Pro 1:7)” The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” One does not truly fear the Lord who refuses to read, listen, and then heed His instruction. By refusing to do so, they are despising the wisdom of His Word. I have had folks say to me, “My God wouldn’t send anyone to hell.” My response is, “Your god is not the God of the Bible. Your god is the god of the imagination.” Read the Book. Go to a Baptist Church that holds to an infallible Bible. Get to know the true God through the teaching and obeying of His Word!

(Psa 1:1) “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. (2) But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. (3)  And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” You cannot have the promise of verse 3 without the obedience to verses 1 &2. It never ceases to amaze me when people believe they can claim the promises of God without obedience to the other Scriptures. One cannot have the blessings of being planted without the Born Again Experience, an imperative according to the Lord Jesus. And one cannot bear fruit unless one obeys the law of separation of verses 1 and 2.

“There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. The word “perfect” is not speaking of sinlessness, for the Bible says “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. It is referring to perfect in his desire to do what is right in God’s sight, adding he “feared God and eschewed evil.” Do you fear Him? To “eschew” means to turn away from, in this case, that which is evil. It is true that when one plays with fire they sooner or later get burned; with bees – stung; with snakes – bit. YOU are no exception.