Gift of Wonder

 

For the Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6, NASB)

That multi-part sentence's wordiness may make it hard for readers to understand its meaning. Possibly, those readers might have memorized it for a pageant, speech, or choir anthem. But has each part of this bulky verse been considered individually and as part of the whole prophecy? To understand what a passage meant to people back then, Bible students should examine the full text and its historical context. Only then can they truly carry its intent into their lives and times.

To understand this passage, we will review what we learned from verses one through five first, then consider verse six. Recall, Isaiah, a prophet, spoke to the northern kingdom (called Israel after the split) of the Promised Land after the split of Israel. Isaiah prophesied to them what God told him to say. He said their adversary would overthrow Israel and would capture them, making them slaves in a foreign land. (Assyria did this in 722BC.) Yet God wanted the people of Israel to have hope. Consider now what Isaiah said in verses one through six.

Isaiah prophesied to the people of Israel, which included Jews and Gentiles from the northern border tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali. From this, as the study titled The Dawn of the Light (Thoughts from Another Home ©: The Dawn of the Light) showed, we understand God’s promise is for all people, Jews and Gentiles. God wants all people to listen to Him and heed what He plans to do and give.

God, through Isaiah, said He would send a great light to the people, to the ones who live in a dark land. He would give them hope. God gave a continual hope, not a stagnant hope.

In verse three, God also stated He would multiply the nation—geography and numbers of His children. (Thoughts from Another Home ©: Gift of Joy) He said He would increase the people’s joy. With these promises, the people captured by Assyria held onto hope because the promises came from the ever-faithful God. He Himself would supply their light, increase their nation, and increase the people’s joy. The people of Israel they were not be alone, they realized. They still had a champion.

When God gives, especially when He gives joy, a natural reaction occurs—rejoicing. Isaiah the people would rejoice, like when they divided the booty from a battle victory and like when they harvested their crops. The joy God put into them would cause praising, worshipping, and feasting. Rejoicing generally includes more than one person; it does not containable in a person. Joy bubbles, then bursts forth from a person as rejoicing. Like when a person laughs, other people cannot help but laugh, too. Likewise, when one person rejoiced, people would join in rejoicing. Rejoicing is a communal reaction to God’s goodness and blessings. The person whom God blesses, as well as the community around that person, benefit from God’s blessings. Meals are shared. Praise bursts forth among them. Dancing and singing occur. Joy is uncontainable.

Isaiah continued prophesying to the people of Israel in verse four by telling what else God would do. Remember, these actions of God prophesied by Isaiah would give hope to the people then and while in captivity. They would help the people realize God had not forgiven them. These actions by God would give joy and cause a communal response of praise, worship, and celebration. Now, God said through Isaiah that He would break the yoke, the rod, and the staff of their oppressor, Assyria. (Thoughts from Another Home ©: Freedom from Oppression) The people’s captivity by another government, the cruelty of slave masters, and the burdens of work and of the heart would not last forever. God would rescue them like He did when He caused the defeat of the Midianites, a regular pest of the Hebrew people.

Continuing to use the battle metaphor, God said through Isaiah He would end wars and battles. They would not need armor and battle clothing. God would make the implements of war fuel for His eternal fire. (Thoughts from Another Home ©: Gift of Peace) He would defeat the Assyrians Himself. The Medes and Babylonians defeated them in 625BC and fulfilled that part of the prophecy.

God gave the people of Israel hope by saying He would give Jews and Gentiles hope, light, joy, and peace and would multiply their people. He did not say this would happen once. God is faithful to His promises. Prior to their captivity, the people heard the prophecy. They remembered it during their captivity. The people recognized the metaphors and understood this prophecy foretold the future defeat of their enemies and that the light contrasted with the persistent darkness (evil) in the world. Aligned with other prophecies, this one spoke of God’s evil defeat of darkness where He rules supreme and peace reigns. The people may have hope before the captivity, during it, and hold on to it forever because God does not change, and their adversary would continue until the prophesied Messiah arrived.

With this hope and the reminder in verses one through five of the Messianic prophecies, Isaiah spoke eternal words of hope that would end all fear. He said, “For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us” (vs. 6a). Other Old Testament writers wrote about the Messiah in Psalm 2, 89:26,110:1, 2 Samuel 7:13-14, Proverbs 30:4, and 1 Chronicles 17:13-14. The Old Testament contains numerous Messiah references, including these few. God gave the people of Israel an eternal that included the past, present, near future, and eternal future.

Isaiah referred to the Messiah when he prophesied of the “Child” and “Son” to be born and given by Yahweh God to every person. God said through Isaiah that this Son—the Messiah—would be the government, the ultimate leader. Leaders of the people of Israel and other types of leaders amongst those they encountered included emperors, kings, governors, soldiers, advisors, priests, town elders, and tribal leaders. Recall these leaders subjugated them, impoverished them, beat them, etc. They harmed the people in heart, mind, body, and spirit. What sort of leader would this “Child” and “Son” be?

Isaiah prophesied “the government will be on His shoulders.” Though fathoming a child carrying the burden of ruling any group is hard, he did not intend a literal interpretation of this sentence. Notice, the “Child” is a “Son.” The young child ages, like all people. Consider God’s divine purpose for this “Son.” He foretold “the government would be on His shoulders.” This meant the “Son” would bear burdens on his shoulders, like people and beasts carry heavy-weighted items. This phrase symbolizes strength and support. It carries the connotation of being a leader and carrying responsibilities. The “Son” would carry burdensome weight, literally and metaphorically.

By using the words “the government,” Isaiah meant the “Son” foretold would rule by God’s divine appointment. For people of the time, particularly Jews, it meant the “Son” would be a king. He would bring justice and peace among the people. The “Son” will lead people. This leader, the Jews thought, meant He would be a warrior leading them to defeat their enemies or a king who would grow their nation into an international symbol of superiority. People saw leadership in Jesus as a twelve-year-old boy who remained at the temple and astonished the educated men with His understanding. They saw it during Jesus’ three-year ministry.

Despite being captives, the people of Israel held onto hope as they believed in God's ongoing control over everything. He would punish their captors for battling God’s people. Israel's people, both Jews and Gentiles, past and present, can hold on to hope for the arrival of the Messiah, who will rule the world with supremacy. This “Son” would be their King ruling in righteousness, bringing justice and peace. Compare that with the current leaders of the Zebulun and Naphtali tribes and of the entire northern and southern kingdoms. Those leaders ruled selfishly. They dominated their people. Those rulers sought their own good first. They did not lead the people to seek and to worship God.

The “Son” in Isaiah 9:6 is the foretold Messiah. As such, this prophecy states the Messiah will reign supreme with righteousness. He will bring peace and justice. The Messiah literally will bear the burden by carrying the cross to Calvary and figuratively by lightening the burden of God’s people. God’s people would carry a lighter burden because peace and righteousness would reign and be how the people lived. Revelation 21:4 records the future time of the Messiah’s reign.

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning or crying or pain; the first things have passed away. (NASB)

What sort of government would this “Son” bring? How would He rule? The people of Israel may have wondered if He would match King David’s stature. The prophecies foretold the Messiah would sit on the throne of David eternally. Isaiah used four descriptors in this prophecy to tell the people about this “Child” and “Son.” He prophesied in verse six, saying, “And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” These descriptors spark hope within in a person. They sound grand and powerful. What did God mean by them?

“Wonderful Counselor” speaks of advisors. Counselors are educated men. Today, international, national, military, community, and religious leaders, et al. have advisors. They are cabinet members, parliament, congress, and specialists in areas the leaders are not. From these advisors, leaders gather information to help them make better decisions about what they consider doing, what occurred, and what transpires in the present. Though many possibilities exist about which leaders need to be aware, advisors educated in various facets of life can help him or her make the best decision to reach the intended goal.

The prophesied “Wonderful Counselor” would be extraordinary and a marvel to see and hear. He would understand things beyond human comprehension, things only God knows. This “Counselor” would inspire awe and reverence for God. What He said and did would represent God’s power and presence manifested. Because of this “Wonderful Counselor,” God would deliver His children.

This “Counselor” would show God’s active involvement in the world. He impacts humanity's past, present and future. The “Counselor” and Messiah would transcend all understandings or imaginings. This wise "Wonderful Counselor," possessing complete knowledge and power, needs no guidance to fulfill his plans. Comparing the “Wonderful Counselor” with Israel’s much lauded King Solomon, the Messiah would be absolutely correct and need no advisor. Solomon, renowned as the wisest ruler of all, failed and paled when compared to the Messiah. The Messiah, not Solomon, is the standard toward which human counselors/advisors, and all people, should strive.

God’s “Son,” the Messiah, would be the Wonderful Counselor. He would need no advisor. The Messiah would be marvelous and awesome in deed and word. No one could surpass Him. For this, people would clamor to follow Him and be in His presence and kingdom.

The “Child” and “Son” would be the inerrant, “Counselor” and “Mighty God.” What He intends could and would be done by Him. Nothing could stop Him. Humans described as mighty in Bible times were heroes, like Saul, Gideon, and David. People held them in high regard. The “Child” and “Son” would need no advisor to make the best decision. The Messiah would be courageous and moral, unlike the Israelite heroes, such as Saul, Gideon, and David.

This hero — “Child” and “Son” — would not be only in human form. He would be God, El. El described the true, mighty, and powerful One with the people of the Old Testament. For the Hebrews, El was Yahweh, the eternal One who exists past, present, and future. He is the pre-existent One who was before creation. He created everything from nothing. The “Child” and “Son,” about which Isaiah prophesied in verse six, would be almighty and ever-present (omnipresent). He is mightier than anything or anybody. He is eternal, with nothing before or after Him.

This “Child” and “Son” would be mighty and supreme God with, for, and in them. The Jews called Him the Messiah, the anointed One. He is the chosen One God sent to rectify the relationship rupture between God and humanity because people’s sins. Only God could be the “Wonderful Counselor and Mighty God.” God added to these descriptors of the “Child” and “Son.” He called Him “Everlasting Father.”

The "Everlasting Father," referenced in Isaiah's prophecy of the "Child" and "Son," signifies God's eternal nature. He is the One who made covenants—promises—with the Hebrews. The Hebrews did not keep their side of the Mosaic covenant with God. Yet God faithfully fulfilled His side. He is faithful; God is true to Himself and His promises. What He promises will occur. Because these people greatly relied on God’s promises, hearing this prophecy about the “Child” and “Son,” the Messiah, would give them hope God remembered them and would fulfill His promises.

The last descriptor Isaiah used for this “Child” and “Son” is “Prince of Peace.” A prince is a ruler, though fallible, prone to selfishness and self-aggrandizing, like humanity often does. The “Prince” Isaiah prophesied about would be a ruler, not a tyrant, enslaver, or selfish and fallible leader. He would be a champion for His people, promises, and kingdom. This “Prince” would not be an errant human. This just and righteous leader would bring peace, justice, and righteousness to the world.

The peace this “Prince” would bring would not only keep their borders firm. It would bring more than physical peace. This “Prince’s” peace would be complete and without end. With the total welfare of each person in mind, God’s peace would give heart, mind, spirit, body, and soul peace. No uncertainties challenged its mental assurance. No sin could remove it from the soul and spirit. No trauma could remove it from the heart, mind, and spirit. And when His kingdom comes, nothing could constrain the whole and total peace to the body. What El, “Mighty God” gives, nothing can take from His children or kingdom. The “Prince of Peace,” the Messiah from God the Father, would give complete welfare in all things. None of His children will lack anything and peace will reign because of this “Prince of Peace.”

This “Prince of Peace,” “Everlasting Father,” “Mighty God,” and “Wonderful Counselor” has more significance than what they appear to mean. Consider these adjectives describing the prophesied “Child” and “Son” to come. He is the Light in verse two. This “Son” will multiply the nation with the salvation He gives, which brings complete peace. This “Child” will bring increasing and everlasting joy. This “Son” will unite Jews and Gentiles as children of God. This “Son” is the “Mighty God” who breaks the yoke, staff, and rod of the oppressor. This “Child” will be unlike the aggressor, conqueror, slavedriver, insatiable, and fallible humanity called Assyria. The “Child” will be the omniscient Counselor, omnipotent God and King, eternal and omnipresent Father, and Peace-giving Prince.

God’s prophecy to the people of Israel is not a history lesson. Like the Israelites who were familiar with God and held onto His eternal promises, God’s promises apply to our lives today. The final part of His Messianic covenant written and sealed by Jesus’ death and resurrection has not yet occurred. Jesus is yet to return to earth for the second time to distinguish believers from non-believers. He tarries so no one will die forever separated from Him.

God wants an eternal and right relationship with each person. He loves each of us that much (John 3:16). Because humanity broke the Mosaic covenant sealed between God and them, God created an eternal covenant with humanity that requires just His action to fulfill it. He began fulfilling it by sending His Son, Jesus the Messiah, to be born in human form. Jesus will fulfill (consummate) the covenant at His second coming. People do nothing to receive this covenant except believe Jesus is the Son of God who died for their sins. This Messianic covenant is a one-sided covenant; humanity does not have to fulfill a side because they are incapable, since they are sinful. God gave the covenant and fulfilled and consummates it at Jesus’ second coming. God gives each person the choice to decide if they want to be part of this covenant. Paul wrote about this covenant in Romans 10:9-10.

If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. (NASB)

Don’t be confined by weak wisdom, limited leaders, helpless heroes, and paltry peace.

Jesus is the

Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God,

Eternal Father, and

Prince of Peace.

Believe in Him and you will have surety, safety, hope, and peace now and forever with Him in His kingdom.

Flask in the Desert

A great number of people heard of all that He was doing and came to Him. (Mark 3:8b [NASB])

Imagine you have been walking in the desert for two weeks and you ran out of water two days ago. You come to a place with nothing except sand in sight then see a bulging flask. You cannot survive without fluids more than another day, so do you determine what is in the flask? Do you tell yourself the flask is for someone else? Do you drink of the water and live to tell the story?

Why all these questions? Because these may be the same types of questions the people in Mark 3:7-12 had. Four groups of beings meet Jesus in this Scripture passage–the crowd of people, the disciples, the Pharisees and scribes, and the demons (unclean spirits). Which of these beings are you like?

The crowd that clamored toward Jesus came from all over Judah, Israel, and from Phoenicia. These people had heard of Jesus healing people by Him touching them and by people touching the hem of His cloak. These people fell over themselves to fall upon Jesus so that His power would heal them. They clamored to see what would happen around Jesus this time. Most of the people did not journey to see the Son of man, as Jesus called Himself in Mark’s gospel. They came to watch the “magic”. They did not trust Jesus was the prophesied Messiah.

The disciples walked with Jesus to the sea because He called them to follow Him. As of that time, many of them did not believe in Him as the Son of man, as Daniel prophesied in Daniel 7:13-14. They followed Jesus because He commanded them and He spoke with authority, healed people, and cast out demons. This man, Jesus, amazed them. Mark often used these exclamations of amazement.

The Pharisees and scribes had watched and listened as Jesus taught with authority, healed with power and authority, cast out demons with power and authority, and challenged them about who He is, the Son of man. Jesus further explained to them He has authority over the sabbath. From Mark 3:1, these Pharisees and scribes sought a way to remove Jesus and His power over the people. They did not want their own power to decrease by Jesus becoming the leader the people followed. The Pharisees determined to arrest Jesus for breaking the law so they could kill Him. They reasoned by doing that, they could regain their power and authority over the people. The Pharisees and scribes did not recognize Jesus as the Son of man or Son of God.

The unclean spirits (demons) from Mark 1:23-3:12 proclaimed Jesus to be the Son of man and the Son of God, then fell at His feet in prostration. Each time they said these things, Jesus commanded them to be quiet and tell no one who He was. It is in His nature to have authority and power over unclean spirits. The demons recognized Jesus was the Messiah. They proclaimed it, but Jesus knew the time had not yet come for people to know Him as such. He didn’t want the demons’ confession. The demons did not obey Jesus. Their father is Satan, and they obeyed him.

Jesus wants the confession of people with changed hearts because of belief in Him as the Son of God. He wants obedience from love of these people. God sent Jesus to earth as a man because of His love for all people. He wants none to be lost from Him eternally. John said this in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Consider this question again. Which of these beings are you like–the disciples, the crowd of people wanting to see or touch Jesus, the Pharisees and scribes who seek to arrest and kill Him, or the demons who recognize who Jesus is, but who don’t give themselves to Him in loving obedience? Or, are you the person who recognizes Jesus as the Son of God, confesses Him as your Savior, and obeys Him because of your love for Him? If you are like this last person, you are the one who sees the flask, recognizes it holds water, and drinks it for continued life?

Will you see the Water and drink for salvation and eternal life?

Jesus is the Water of eternal life.

Lord, I have clamored to go see the healers, the prophets, and the apostles, but I didn’t go to see, meet, and accept You into my life. I was watching the sensational things that happened and praised the man or woman for what he or she did. Please forgive me for seeking things and not You. Please forgive me for hearing about You, but not seeking You. Forgive me for recognizing my life is contrary to Your ways and not wanting to let You have the power and authority over my life. I was wrong in all these things. I wanted to live the way I wanted to live. I wanted to be my own boss, but Lord, I wasn’t my own boss then; Satan was. I’m tired of the fighting in life and tired of trying to live my own way. Forgive me my rebellion, Lord. Forgive me for ignoring You when you came to me. Lord, I do not deserve Your love, forgiveness, grace, mercy, or salvation, but, Lord, I desperately want You now. I accept and confess You as my Lord and Savior. Cleanse me and make me new in Your image. Use me for Your purposes to bring You glory. I will follow You and proclaim You to the world. Amen.

Love Poured Out

“God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16 [NASB]

For so many people, like you, whether Christian or not, who attended Sunday School at some time, this verse was the first one that struck home for you. It was the first one you memorized, and it may be the only one you memorized. For people who continued attending church and who gave their lives to Jesus Christ, a deeper understanding of the message of this verse occurred. This understanding goes like this, “God loves me so much that He sent His Son to die because of my sin, my badness, in my place so I would not have to endure eternal judgment.” God loves you so much He does not want you to be separated from Him forever but made a way to bring you back to rightness with Him by cleaning your sins and the guilt of sins from your life.

This understanding is correct. It really is about you…about me. But how often have we stopped there saying, “Yes, I believe. Thank you, Lord, for saving me”? How often have we not taken our blinders off to see beyond ourselves to what this verse could mean for other people. Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13 [NASB]) Was He only speaking about His loving people and so dying for them? Or, was He teaching others what they should also do?

Jesus’ life on earth was more than just coming to die for us and then going back to the Father. If that was all He came to do, He could have come down fully grown, and been crucified immediately. Instead, Jesus spent 33 years on earth. Why? So, He could be about His Father’s business. (Luke 2:49) He said this as a twelve-year-old child to his mother and father when they looked for him and found him teaching in the temple. Jesus came to earth to teach us about the Father, His love for us, His care, His heart, and His gift of salvation. A teacher never teaches just so the listener can have knowledge. A teacher teaches so the listener can have and use knowledge by which to live in this world. That was a big part of Jesus’ life. He began teaching at 12 and didn’t stop until his death 21 years later.

When Jesus said in John 3:16, “God so loved the world,” He taught about true love, which only comes from the Father because God is love. (1 John 4:7-21) He taught about God’s love so we would desire it for ourselves and come to know Him as our Savior. But Jesus also taught about true love, the love that comes only from God, to educate people so they would embody this love of God in their daily interactions. He wanted His followers to be intentional in loving other people, just as the Father was intentional and made a plan from the beginning of time to love people by sending His Son.

You see, John 3:16 is not all or only about You. It is about God. Since it is not all about you and since you have received His wonderful gift of love and salvation, you are compelled by His love within you to share it. The love God puts in each of us when we accept His gift of salvation is not for hoarding. It cannot be hoarded because it is too high, wide, and deep to fathom or contain. True love, God’s love, when it enters your heart, overflows abundantly. It rushes over the top and floods out of your life in words, actions, and thoughts. Yes, “God so loved you,” but hear Jesus’ words again. “God so loved the world.” True love, God’s love, is alive, active, overflowing, unending, uncontainable, and for all people. This love is about God and from God for all people.

Jesus came to bring us salvation and eternal life. He did it because of His love for us even when we were filthy with sin. With our dirty faces, darkened evil hearts, and blindness to anyone but ourselves, He saw our spirits and knew who we really are and He cared. Jesus loved us too much to let us stay that way, captive to the dark. Jesus’ love poured out to us, as He explained in John 3:16, allows us to see other people as Jesus sees people and allows us to love other people as He loves them. When this happens, we say, “God so loves them (the world) that He gave His only begotten Son so that whoever of them believes in Him will not perish but having everlasting life, and I so love them that I must tell and show them God’s love poured out in and through me.”

Jesus came to bring salvation and life. He also came teaching us to do as He did on earth. Jesus taught and commanded His disciples and followers to go and tell the world about Him and make disciples. Through Peter, He said, “If you love Me, feed my sheep.” “God so loved the world” is not just for you to hoard. With God’s love in you, you are to be like Jesus; go to all the nations and telling them about the love of God, His great plan from the beginning of time. See people through God’s eyes of love and go tell and show them His love. “God so loved the world” is for all people, not just you or me.

“Do you love Me?” Jesus asked.

You must answer that for yourself with your heart, your words, and your life.

How will you answer? In word only or in deed?

“So, when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right for so I am. IF I then, the Lord and Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.” (John 13:12-15 [NASB])

Continuation and Conclusion: Enhancing Work with Refugees

Introduction

With this final chapter of learning how to hear from God where He wants you to join Him at work and how to begin a faith-based ministry, we will learn about steps each organization must consider after the first month or year of the ministry organization’s life. These steps are evaluation, adaptation, continuation, expansion, and discontinuation. After remarks on these phases, a conclusion to this project will be made.

Summation of Chapters

In previous articles, we learned the most important part of any faith-based organization is prayer, staying in intimate contact with God, the Giver of the vision for the ministry program. Before, during, and after each stage of creating and enacting the ministry, prayer must enwrap the participants, recipients, resources, and leadership. No changes or removals of any part of the ministry should occur without intentionally seeking God’s will. Recall each stage of the inception process with the below summaries.

Stage One-Getting to Know the Refugees

Besides prayer, the most important element of a faith-based ministry, for refugee work, is getting to know the refugees. This stage requires

• ·         Seeking the need of the refugee groups in your city,
• ·         Speaking to them, building trust with them
• ·         Asking their perception of their needs
• ·         Your noticing of their needs
•        Asking general questions about a good day and time for the refugee group to meet for ministry
• ·         Determining who are the gatekeeper, leader, activist, and caretaker of the refugee group
• ·         Researching the refugee’s people group and national histories
• ·         Putting yourself in their shoes.

Stage Two-Founding a Faith-based Ministry

After getting to know the refugees, the next stage for working with refugees is founding a faith-based ministry. What does it entail to set up the organization’s structure? Along with prayer throughout the process, this stage requires:

• ·         Deciding if the organization will be an NGO or NPO
• ·         Recalling the vision God gave you, then creating the mission statement
• ·         Setting long and short-term goals and objectives based on the help you will give refugees
• ·         Determining what services the faith-based ministry will offer such as English classes, skills training, peace-building and integration between refugees and the community, emergency material relief, marches and learning-sharing dialogues between refugee leaders, ministry leaders, and community leaders including the government, orientation sessions to teach about refugee rights and access to services, psycho-social assessments of refugees, job training, and counselling services
• ·         Looking within the Christian community for resources to help meet the refugees’ perceptions of their greatest needs, their practical needs, and spiritual and emotional needs.

Stage Three-Connecting

The third stage of beginning a faith-based ministry to refugees is connecting. This stage involves meeting people in the community and working with them. It includes casting vision to them, so they will accept the new ministry program and want to join it. There are several reasons for connecting. These include:

• ·         To get volunteers
• ·         To get funding
• ·         To enlarge the ministry
• ·         To get added expertise
• ·         To advocate about refugees in the community, city/town, state, province, and country

While working in this stage, you will learn of and visit, call, or email community leaders, professionals, and businesses who can help the people with the aim of developing relationships for the future to help refugees. These connections could lead to volunteers joining the ministry team, getting partners, and gaining more funding sources. While doing this stage, you will want to visit or interview other NGOs and NPOs like A21, World Relief, USAID, churches, homeless shelters, UNHCR, a refugee center, etc. to see how they work. You might need their help, input, or connections while working with refugees. While you are connecting with these organizations, advocacy for refugees begins and continues in the community with the help of legal advocates, government, immigration businesses, teachers, doctors, principals, other mission organizations, etc.

Stage Four-On Your Mark

When the earlier stages are complete, you are ready to begin doing the practical things to get the faith-based organization for refugees started. These include

• ·         Praying
• ·         Finding a venue
• ·         Acquiring resources for the ministry through NGOs/NPOs, corporations, churches, small companies, UNHCR, etc.
• ·         Buying supplies for the ministry-stationery, books, food, blankets, copies of lessons or intake sheets, etc.
• ·         Finding volunteers-workers, prayer supporters, experts
• ·         Advertising the ministry to refugee via flyers, word of mouth through the refugee community leaders, and notices on boards in the community
• ·         Advertising the ministry to the community to get their acceptance of the refugees and their help with the ministry to the refugees
• ·         Praying

Stage Five-Being and Doing

You have done all the background work, connected with potential partners and community leaders, talked with and become acquainted with the refugees in the community, established the ministry program as either an NGO or NPO, and set up the mission statement, goals, and objectives. Now is the time to begin the actual ministry to refugees. This stage has six parts.

• ·         Prayer-begin the day of ministry with prayer and continue it throughout the day
• ·         Prepare-lessons, clothes closet, food pantry, rules, policies, and train the volunteers
• ·         Present-open the doors and do intake with each refugee treating everyone as a created child of God.
• ·         Assess-at the end of the day, week, and year, assess what went well, what did not go well, and where adjustments and expansion of ministries can occur
• ·         Adjust-adjust the ministry as determined by the assessment.
• ·         Prayer-close the day, week, month, and year with prayer. Pay careful attention to each worker to determine if they are getting overwhelmed so you can talk to them and pray with and for them.

Evaluation and Adaptation

Stage five teaches evaluation and adaptation as part of day one’s work. The leader of the ministry should do it at the end of the first weeks, month, and year to ensure the help needed by the refugee is being provided. It helps the leaders and other workers decide if the perceived and expressed needs are the real needs and if they are being met by the ministry. Evaluation and adaption are a continuing cycle of any positively impacting organization. Whether the ministry is one week, one year, or ten years old, evaluation and adaptation should occur.

Expansion, Continuation, and Discontinuation

Because of regular assessments of needs, funds, and partners, the leaders of the faith-based ministry to refugees could see the necessity and viability of expanding the ministries to refugees. A ministry that only offered English classes can now offer food or clothing assistance. Where before they could just help with used clothes, the ministry leaders see an opportunity to teach the refugee how to write a resume (curriculum vitae), and how to look for and interview for a job. Expansion assumes the refugee ministry will continue. Keeping things stable also assumes the ministry will continue.

Situations exist where a ministry needs to be discontinued. Possibly it was an added-on ministry to meet felt needs, but when put into practice, the need was not great enough to warrant using resources. Other situations may exist where the ministry should be discontinued. Reasons for this could be the refugee population dwindled because they returned to their home countries, the venue was not convenient to refugee habitation sites, the ministry’s reputation fell and refugees, volunteers, and funders no longer wanted to work with the ministry. The other reason a faith-based refugee ministry should cease to exist is when God says it should. We cannot fully comprehend the reason God tells us to do or not do something, but we must always obey and then seek His will for other areas in which He wants us to serve.

Conclusion

Wherever you are in the process of obeying God by serving Him in ministry, prayer is always paramount. Through prayer you grow closer to God, can hear more clearly from Him, receive the conviction and courage to act on His vision for you at the time, and gain strength, direction, and motivation to do what He asks of you. Without prayer interweaving and enwrapping a ministry, it will unravel. The weave will fail, the colors will bleed, and true support, encouragement, training, and help will not happen.

God created each person. He loves everyone whether they are from our own country or one 30 hours away by plane. God loves each person no matter what their religion or culture and wants everyone to come to know His as their Lord and Savior. Peter stated it this way in 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” John also spoke of Jesus dying for all people in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” God’s gift of salvation and eternal life with Him is for everyone who believes. God loves every person, even the aliens/refugees.

Before we became Christians, we alienated ourselves from God because of our sin and rebelliousness. Yet, He did not want that to be. God provided the perfect sacrifice through the death of His Holy Son, Jesus Christ. No other sacrifice for sins was needed after it. If God loved us that much before He formed us in our mother’s wombs, even though we alienated ourselves from Him, then we, as Christians, should love those who are alien to us. God taught this to the Israelites in the Old Testament and Jesus taught it to the people of the New Testament. In Leviticus 19:34, Moses told the Israelites what God commanded him. He said, “The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.” In Deuteronomy 10:19, God reminded the Israelites they once lived as aliens in Egypt. Moses said it this way. “So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.” Jeremiah recorded in Jeremiah 22:3,

“Thus says the Lord, ‘Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place [Judah, the place of God, as is our hearts the place of God].’” [NASB]

Other key passages in the Old Testament about aliens/sojourners in the community include Deuteronomy 14:29, 24:14, & 17-21, 26:12-13, and 27:19.

In the New Testament, the Jesus translated for the Jewish lawyer commandments Moses taught the Israelites. The lawyer tried to trick Jesus by asking how he can inherit eternal life. Jesus answered him with a question, “What is written in the Law?” The lawyer replied stating the first and second greatest commandments. He said in Luke 10:27, “You shall love the Lord your God will all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus told the lawyer he answered correctly, now do it and live. The lawyer, being trained in debate, wanted to justify himself (most likely because he had not loved his neighbor). He asked Jesus in verse twenty-nine, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied with a parable, a story with a meaning. The parable is of the good Samaritan in Luke 10:30-35. After telling the story, Jesus asked the lawyer in verse thirty-six, “Who proved to be a neighbor to the beaten man?” The lawyer replied with truth in verse thirty-seven saying, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Jesus commanded him, “Go and do the same.” Works earn no one salvation, but works are evidence of a person’s salvation and proof of a life showing the love of salvation.

Whether you call refugees and asylum-seekers neighbors, aliens, or sojourners, God commands us all, believers and unbelievers, to care for them because He created and loves them. As Christians, this mandate is even stronger. We show our love for God by our obedience to Him. John taught this in 1 John 5:3 when he wrote, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.” He also taught this in John 14:15. In this verse John recorded Jesus saying, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” Jesus brought it closer to home when in Matthew 7:12 He said, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this in the Law and the Prophets.”

We, Christian and non-Christian, have God’s natural and written laws, and the moral laws instilled in our consciences. They should lead us to care for refugees and asylum-seekers. Along with the instilled conscience and God’s written laws, we have the God-given capacity for compassion, love, and care. Within each of us, we know the right thing to do-care for the aliens/refugees and asylum-seekers.

With this understanding, we must decide with the free will God gave each person if we will obey this internal and written mandate to care for the oppressed, widowed, poor, orphaned, and alien. We must decide if we will weave our weft threads on the loom with the refugees and asylum-seekers warp threads to make a beautiful tapestry with God. This tapestry woven together is stronger than the individual, singular weft threads or warp threads. With this woven tapestry, “we” and “them” become “us” that supports, encourages, helps, teaches, feeds, and walks alongside as the family God envisioned humanity to be. We each get to choose to be woven by God into the beautiful tapestry of community and love. This is chosen woven-ness. You get to choose; God does not force you. If you choose not to weave into the lives of others in your community, you force the gifts God gave you to stagnate or extinguish. You become the weaker person in the community because you do not have the strength of the whole community, only your own. Will you choose to be woven by God into His tapestry of a compassionate and loving humanity?

Joshua said in Joshua 24:15, “As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

We can change that for this project and say when we choose to obey God in His mission to the refugees and asylum-seekers,

“As for me and my house, we will (weave) with the Lord.”

A Birthday and a Callling

A Birthday and A Calling

Today marks 41 years to the day since I accepted Jesus as my Savior and Lord. I wasn’t naughty. If you lived in my home, you didn’t dare be naughty. I didn’t take drugs or drink alcohol. I made mostly A’s in school. I was working on being self-sufficient. It’s necessary in today’s world to take care of yourself because no one else would, right? Still, I was like most people; I ran from God as He pulled on my heart.

I don’t know of what I was afraid; I had experienced love in the church and from the church staff for years. No one in the church had ever hurt me, but instead showed and taught me about God’s love. I learned the endearing songs “Jesus Loves Me” and “Jesus loves the little Children” as a preschooler in church. I heard the stories of Jesus’ birth, Lazarus’ resurrection from the dead, Jesus turning water into wine, and His healing of people-the leper, the blind man, the woman who bled for years. Still, when God called to my heart and mind, I ran. When I say I ran, I mean I literally ran. I couldn’t tell you who was at the door, but I knew it was church people when the bell rang. I ran upstairs to my room, out the back door, and down the fire escape.

Why did I run? I really don’t know still. Maybe it had to do with that drive to be self-sufficient. Maybe I didn’t want to lean on anyone. It’s possible, the Father figure of God scared me, like my father scared me. I think the biggest reason I ran from God is why most people run. I was afraid of what He would ask me to do.

Remember all the stories in the Bible of which you’ve heard. God called Abraham to be His man. He told Abraham He would make him the father of a great nation, then told him to go to a land he would show him. God told Moses to go to Egypt and set His people free. God called Samuel while a little child and used him to be His prophet. He called Isaiah, convicted his heart of his sin, then sent him out to be a prophet. Jesus called each of the disciples to follow Him. They didn’t know they would follow Him to the cross. You get my point here. It seemed when God called people, He called them to sacrifice themselves, their lives, and their stuff. I had my whole life ahead of me. I was afraid of what God would call me to do. I was afraid. That’s how I re-entered my parent’s house at 14 years old.

I remember nothing else about that night except that I didn’t run from God anymore. My life started revolving, by my choice, around church-choir, youth group, Sunday School. I didn’t go to church anymore just for a haven or to be with people who loved me. I went to church to know God more. I couldn’t get enough of Him. When the youth played on a Friday night, I read my Bible on the church steps. When a special youth week occurred, I was there devouring the Word. During that week, I sensed God telling me I would be a minister’s wife. That was the second time I realized God was speaking to me. Then I remembered, when I was nine years old and in Sunday School, I felt God softening my heart for missionaries. My teachers taught about them that day and the page they gave me to color was about Thailand.

That fourteenth summer of my life one other thing happened that brought me to the foot of the cross. A young adult woman took an interest in me. She was ten years older than me, but she decided to include me in her life. This young lady picked me up and took me to the mall, to burger restaurants, to choir, and to church. One snowy day, we arrived at her apartment to sled down the hills around her apartment complex. After sledding, we made hot chocolate in her kitchen and then sat on the floor. After some quiet (remember, God was working on my heart), I asked her why she cared about me. I had never known her before she chose to care about me. Her response changed me forever. She said, “I love you because Jesus loves you and me.” My glass wall shattered! Why? Because someone loved me when she didn’t have to.  She chose to love me.

God’s love through Jesus Christ shattered my wall and I have never been the same. His love shattered my defenses of self-sufficiency and fear. I realized without Him I could do nothing. Paul said this positively in Philippians 4:13 when he said, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Jesus stated it explicitly in John 15:5. He said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”

At that time, I realized I need not fear. God loves me more than anyone. His love wants only the best for me, so why should I fear what He may call me to do. The greatest Bible verse we all have memorized expressed God’s love. John 3:16 tells us how great God’s love is for us. It says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” Since God loves me enough that He sent His Son to die for me (for my sins), and for the whole world for all time, then I can trust Him and not fear. David wrote about the coming Messiah throughout the Psalms. In Psalm 27:1, he declared his faith in Yahweh. He said, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; whom shall I dread?”

At that point in time, when I was 14 years old, God told me He loved me enough to send His Son to die for me. He told me He is my light and salvation; I have nothing to fear. Through the Bible, God also told me that without Him, I can do nothing. Faced with these three absolutes, I realized my mortality, sinfulness, and need of the Savior and Lord. Without fearing to what He would call me in the future, I walked into His loving, open arms and gave my heart and life to Him. God gave me a new birthday, a spiritual birthday. Today, I say, “Happy birthday, to me. Thank you, Jesus.”

We don’t know to what God will call us. Neither do we know what we will face in the future without God. The future without God is unknown. A future with God, we understand, holds love, guidance, strength, and provision. There is nowhere we can go that God won’t find us. Likewise, there is nowhere God can send us that He won’t love, protect, provide, and guide us. What is fear? It is fearing the unknown. With God, nothing is unknown. We realize He loves us. That is what is important. I didn’t know where God would call me to walk or work in the future, but I trusted Him and His heart implicitly.

Where do you stand today? Are you afraid of the future? Do you feel unloved? God loves you now, just as you are. Go to Him and His love and you will never need fear what will come against you, or of being alone and unloved. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31 [NASB])

We know that God causes all things to work together for the good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Just as it is written, “For your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:28-39 [NASB])

Lord, God, I realize I am a sinner in need of a Savior. Thank You for dying for me and for Your forgiveness. Thank You for Your love that never gave up on me and never will give up on me. Please take my heart today and make it anew for Your purposes. I trust You and have no fear. You are God and know all things. Whom shall I fear? I am Yours for Your purposes. Amen.

Cake Mix

When Jesus began His earthly ministry, He went to different places, sought different people, and told them to come and follow Him. He ate with people of difference occupations and beliefs, and to all of them He spoke about being in a relationship with the Father. For each of those people whom He met, Jesus explained the great love of God, that He wanted none of them to be lost forever, but to have an eternal relationship with Him. He explained this depth of relationship with the most astonishing verse ever written in the Bible. Jesus said, “God loved the people of the world so much, that He gave His only Son (Jesus), so that whoever believes in Him will not perish forever from a relationship with Him, but will have eternal life with Him” (John 3:16, my paraphrase). God wants no one to be lost to sin and death.

This being the case, that God loves us, you, so much that He sent Jesus to die for you, we realize Jesus’ earthly ministry was very important. Jesus didn’t go to a person and say God loves you, then go away. No, Jesus spent time with the people, especially His disciples. He taught them about having new life. Jesus taught the followers about having a relationship with God. He used His relationship as an example for the people. Jesus prayed the believers would be one, just as He and the Father are one. John recorded this prayer in John 17:21, but please read that whole chapter; it’s important. To be “one,” means to be in a relationship, but not just any kind of relationship. It means to be in a close, life-altering relationship. It requires work on your part. Let’s consider two examples to help us understand the degree of this closeness.

When you first met the person of your dreams, you didn’t go to them and say, “Let’s get married now.” No, you called the person, dated him or her. You spent time with the person and thought about that person often. You may have sent letters or emails, possibly left cards on his or her car or sent flowers. These were ways to deepen your relationship.

Let’s consider another example. When you crave cake, you think of the ingredients and decide which flavor you want to taste. You take the cocoa from the cabinet and put it in the bowl. You add flour, eggs, butter, baking soda, salt, and milk. Now, you have poured all these into the bowl and you step back. There’s still no cake. You might have the right ingredients for cake, but there was no personal effort to mix it so it can become (grow) into what you desire. That’s like going to church, hearing a sermon, listening to some songs, and giving a tithe, but not giving of yourself, putting no personal effort into it. Without applying what you know, like mixing the cake ingredients in the bowl which is adding yourself and effort, your ingredients won’t become a cake. This is the same as having a close relationship with God. You must apply yourself in the relationship-go to Him, read the Bible, worship Him at church, pray to Him regularly, take to heart the sermons and Bible studies you hear, and seek His will. Without your effort to seek God, your relationship with Him won’t grow. You would understand all the right things to do, but you wouldn’t have applied yourself to the effort. Your lack of effort to have a close relationship with God means you do not really love Him.

Jesus realized relationships required effort. He preached about it in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus said in Matthew 7:7, “Ask, and keep on asking, and it will be given to you. Seek, and keep on seeking, and you will find. Knock, and keep on knocking, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks the door will be opened.” Jesus spoke about being in relationship with God while he walked with people on earth. Keep asking. Keep seeking. Keep knocking. It requires personal effort; it requires drive to want to have a relationship with God. If you just want to taste the individual ingredients, you are missing the party. The cake is so much better when you mix it and invite some friends. Mix the ingredients of your cake and taste the fruit of your rewards. The fruit of putting in the effort with God is a vital, personal relationship with Him.

Lord, please help us realize having a relationship with You is not about checking the boxes as if faith is a task. It is about being with You, seeking You, and talking to You. Help us add to our faith, hope and love, and with those a desire to be with You.

Plumb Line of God

Introduction

Amos spoke eight prophesies to the Israelites of the northern kingdom, seven about the nations around them and one about their own people. He then spent four chapters (chapters 3-6) proclaiming the sins about which God charged and judged them. The northern Israelites for their entire time as a divided nation worshiped idols and lived for themselves. During Amos’ time of prophesying, in the 750s BC, the people of Israel, particularly Samaria, were very wealthy and lived luxurious and extravagant lifestyles. They did not care for the poor and corrupted justice in their land. For their oppression of the poor and their corruption of justice, God judged them. He said a nation north of them would take them captive into exile.

In chapter seven, Amos told the people of the northern kingdom about the visions God gave him concerning them. He spoke of three visions in chapter seven then Amaziah, the chief priest of Bethel, abruptly interrupted him. Today’s study will cover the first nine verses of Amos 7. This study will lead us to understand the first three visions God showed Amos and how they concerned Israel. The study will stop before Amaziah interrupts Amos in verse ten. These three visions were of locusts, fire, and a plumb line.

Vision of Locusts

With verses one through three, God showed Amos a vision of how His judgment would affect the Israelites. These verses show us the hearts of Amos and the LORD, too. Amos said in verses one through three,

¹ “Thus the Lord GOD showed me, and behold, He was forming a locust-swarm when the spring crop began to sprout. And behold, the spring crop was after the king’s mowing. ² And it came about, when it had finished eating the vegetation of the land, that I said, ‘Lord God, please pardon! How can Jacob stand for he is small?’ ³ The LORD changed His mind about this. ‘It shall not be,’ said the LORD.” [NASB]

The first two visions in this chapter use the same format: vision from God, Amos’ intercession for Israel, and God’s changed mind. Let’s look at what God showed Amos in verse one.

This first sentence begins with “thus” meaning “so.” It refers to the earlier passages where God judged Israel. He told them a nation from the north would enter their territory and take many as captives and leave their land in desolation. “Thus,” said God, the land of the Israelites would be like when locusts swarm and devour land. God gave Amos a vision. Amos perceived its meaning and impact for Israel. In verse one, Amos saw God forming a locust swarm. The word forming means to fashion and create. The Bible writers used this term for God the Creator. God was the One who allowed and brought the locusts to Israel. He created this swarm to purposely devour the Israelites’ land. These locusts arrived after the king mowed what he wanted from the fields. They ate everything that remained above the ground and all newly sprouted vegetation. Before the produce matured, the locusts consumed it. This vision of locusts reminded Amos and the Israelites of the plague of locusts God sent to devour Egypt’s vegetation when the LORD passed through Egypt and passed over the children of Israel. This locust swarm of the vision would be God’s passing through the Israelites, His punishment on them. With verse two, we note the locusts of Amos’ vision took the hope of food and prosperity from the Israelites. The Israelites’ bellies would growl with hunger. Their wealth would decrease and fail them. This vision would affect the Israelites’ physically, materially, and mentally. They would have no food, no increase in wealth, and dashed hopes for the future.

In the last part of verse two, Amos interceded for the Israelites. He asked the Lord GOD to please pardon them. Amos called on the God of mercy to forgive the Israelites. He recognized the extent of this vision. This plague was a judgment on the Israelites’ sinfulness. Amos begged God to turn His judgment away from Israel because they were small. Because God showed His faithfulness to Israel over the centuries, he did not plead for Israel based on their covenant, but on the basis of need. Israel was small and could not survive God’s judgment shown in the vision to Amos. They needed God’s grace and mercy. Did Amos’ intercession to God for the Israelites help them? Let’s consider verse three to learn.

In verse three, Amos told the Israelites, “The LORD changed His mind about this.” He said, “It shall not be.” Did the LORD see the Israelites’ sin as less because Amos begged Him not to destroy the Israelites? No. He changed His mind about judging them. God showed mercy on them once again. The words “changed mind” from verse three mean to have compassion or pity on someone. These words mean “relent,” too. God relented from this judgment of the Israelites because He pitied them. Their potential suffering from the judgment shown in the vision concerned Him. That is compassion and mercy. Bible writers record this compassion of God many times. Moses told the Israelites about His compassion in Deuteronomy 32:36 when he stated the LORD will vindicate His people and have compassion on them though they sinned and enemies besieged them. Jeremiah 26:19 retells the LORD changed His mind about the misfortunes He pronounced against Judah. Hosea 11:8 says God rued He wanted to cause Israel’s capture. He kindled His compassion for them. Amos stated in chapter five verse fifteen he had hope the LORD God of hosts would be gracious to the remnant of Joseph. Jonah 3:10 says God saw the people turned from their wicked ways and He did not do the calamity He declared on them. He is a loving Father who does not wish to punish His children, but will to correct and bring them closer to Him. His punishment comes from His love for them, His compassion. God knew the people deserved punishment/judgment. He charged and judged them.

Because of this vision, Amos, with attuned heart to his brethren of the north, begged the Lord for pardon. When Amos saw the extent of God’s judgment, he understood the depth of it. As shepherd and sycamore harvester, he understood the devastation a horde of locusts could have on a nation. Amos’ heart felt pain and hopelessness for the Israelites and on their behalf interceded for them to the LORD. He asked for pardon for them. Amos interceded as a priest though he was just a shepherd. He understood his calling from God to be the prophet of the LORD. Amos recognized His love for the people and the esteem God felt for him so went before Him and begged for forgiveness for the Israelites. He was not the only prophet to intercede for Israel. Isaiah and Jeremiah prayed for the Israelites in Isaiah 37:4 and Jeremiah 42:2. Amos reminded the LORD Israel was very small; they would not prevail or even endure against an enemy as mighty as the Assyrians without Him as their might and protection. Just as Jeremiah pled with God to pardon the Israelites for the glory of His name (Jeremiah 14:7, 20-21), Amos, too, reminded God Israel was small and could not stand without His hand of protection and might battling for them. Amos interceded for Israel. God had compassion and relented; He abandoned His harsh judgment. He was still righteous. God’s charge and judgment were just, but His love and compassion for the people of Israel compelled Him to give them one more chance. His relenting was not forever, but a stay of execution of His judgment. Amos’ intercession, the prayer of a righteous man, brought about God’s relenting of judgment. The repentance of Israel was the way to make the judgment go away.

·         Have you been through a time when nothing seemed to work out according to your plans? Perhaps you couldn’t find a job or money for rent. Possibly you had a month like no other–car broke down, doctors’ bills due, electricity bill overdue, and you didn’t know what to do. Those could have been times when the “locusts ate your crops.”

·         Could these times have possibly been when God tried to get your attention to get you to turn around and seek Him instead of trying to live your own life and be your own resource, your own god?

·         Turn back to God, confess your wrongdoings, repent (genuinely regret what your wrongdoings), and give your life to God.

Vision of Fire

After God’s vision of a locust swarm, He showed Amos the extent of His judgment against Israel in a second vision. God’s judgment would be like a fire that destroyed everything, not just above ground, but below, too. He said in verses four through six,

⁴ “Thus the Lord GOD showed me, and behold, the Lord God was calling to contend with them by fire, and it consumed the great deep and began to consume the farm land. ⁵ Then I said, ‘Lord GOD, please stop! How can Jacob stand for he is small?’ ⁶ The LORD changed His mind about this. ‘This too shall not be,’ said the Lord GOD.” [NASB]

Remember, we learned the fire that would come upon the citadels of the other nations meant either supernatural fire from God or fire from their enemies attacking them would come because of God’s wrath. This time, God showed He would cause or allow fire to come upon Israel, the people who considered themselves safe because they were Yahweh’s children. In verse four, GOD showed Amos a vision. In it the Lord God called to contend with the Israelites by fire. The Lord proclaimed His intention to fight against, not for, the Israelites with a devouring fire. In Deuteronomy 32:22, Moses told the Israelites God’s fire burns to the lowest part of Sheol and consumes the earth and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains. Isaiah 66:15-16 records Isaiah telling the people the LORD will come in fire to render His anger with fury. He did this to Sodom and Gomorrah, too. The ancestors of the current Israelites knew from teachings and history that God’s judgment could come down as fire and completely consume a place. The destruction in this vision given to Amos noted the fire would go to the great deep and consume the farm land. What started in the city of the rich would go to the farmland. It would destroy everything above the dirt and go to the roots of the plants and undergound water sources. Nothing would remain after the fire of God’s judgment. No new growth or new life would occur.

Amos once again pled with God after seeing this vision. He begged Him to please stop. Amos did not plead for God to forgive/pardon the Israelites this time. He petitioned God based on Israel’s need and God’s grace. Amos reminded God how small Jacob was and how quickly and completely fire would destroy them. Amos interceded like a priest for the Israelites because of his love for them and because of his love for Yehovah.

With verse six, we understand the LORD changed His mind. He had compassion and relented from destroying the Israelites completely. Amos did not appeal to the LORD’s covenant with the Israelites in this vision. He appealed to God’s compassion. Jonah noted this same relenting from God in Jonah 3:10 when the Ninevites repented and turned to God. Amos knew God is compassionate. He knew the loving Father did not want to judge and punish people. Amos’ intercession brought a reply from God of relenting from this judgment of an all-consuming fire.

·         Remember when hard times came and, when you turned to your friends and family, they did not help you?

·         Recall the time when the only way that seemed to offer relief from your burden was going in debt further and you just didn’t know if that was the right thing to do?

·         In each of these instances, you dug through the locust-eaten land searching for the deep waters to get by on only to find dust. You searched out other sources, but they didn’t seem right, still you considered them anyway. That was a time of you being your own god again, using your own wisdom instead of giving your life to God.

·         God is calling you to seek Him, confess and repent, and let Him be your God. Will you go to Him?

Vision of the Plumb Line

With God’s third vision shown to Amos, He expressed clearly the extent of His wrath. In verses seven through nine, Amos recorded,

⁷ “Thus He showed me, and behold, the Lord was standing by a vertical wall, with a plumb line in His hand. ⁸ And the Lord said to me, ‘What do you see, Amos?’ And I said, ‘A plumb line.’ Then the Lord said, ‘Behold I am about to put a plumb line in the midst of My people Israel. I will spare them no longer. ⁹ The high places of Isaac will be desolated and the sanctuaries of Israel laid waste. Then shall I rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.’” [NASB]

Once again God showed Amos a vision. This time the vision showed the standard-a plumb line- by which God held His people accountable. A plumb line is a string or rope with a lead weight with a point (plummet) tied to the end of it. By standing on a wall and lowering the plummet line down the side of the wall, gravity pulls it straight and shows if a wall is straight, bulging, or bowing. If the wall is straight, it is “true”.

In this third vision, God used a plumb line to measure the Israelites. He stood on a vertical wall. That wall was the Israelites whom God built. It was also the wall that would crumble under His judgment. If the Israelites remained faithful to their covenant with the LORD, the wall would stand perpendicularly straight with the ground and have no bulges. When a builder finds a wall that is not true, he tears it down below where the bulge starts then rebuilds the wall from that point.

In this vision, God told Amos He was about to put a plumb line among His people to see who was straight and true and who was unjust. This implied He would tear down the wall that was not true and right. This meant the people who did not follow Him but changed His laws and commandments to suit their own purposes God would remove. In Samaria, we understand this meant God’s judgment would bring down most people. This idea was prevalent at the time. Second Kings 21:13 spoke of God stretching out over Jerusalem the same plummet line He used over Samaria and the house of Ahab. Isaiah said in Isaiah 28:17 God would make justice the measuring line and righteousness the level. He said in Isaiah 34:11 God would stretch out over Judah the line of desolation and the plumb line of emptiness. Finally, in Lamentations 2:8, God did the same thing to Jerusalem. God’s righteousness sets the plumb line straight, not gravity. In Amos 7:8, God said He would no longer spare the unrighteous of Israel. That means He would not “pass over” them anymore. He would “pass through” them and judge them just as He did the Egyptians, Sodomites, and later the Israelites and Judahites. Jeremiah recorded in Jeremiah 15:6 God’s weariness over Judah and His unwillingness to relent from His judgment of their sins any longer.

Just as the LORD grew weary of relenting and allowing His children in Judah to sin against Him and people as recorded by Jeremiah, He came to this same point with Israel in Amos. He would no longer spare them. Amos recorded the extent of God’s unrelented wrath based on this vision. God would desolate the high places and lay waste the sanctuaries. The house of Jeroboam would fall by a sword. What did this mean? Are not the first two parts the same? The “high places” comes from the Hebrew word bamah and means cultic platforms and places of worship for idols. These were the places of informal worship of false gods and idols. Genesis 46:1, Hosea 10:8, and Micah 1:5 speak of these. God said these bamah would “be desolated.” The word “desolated” comes from the Hebrew word shamem and means to devastate or ravage. The high places would be ravaged, torn apart, and deserted. It would be ruins.

Besides the high places, God would make the sanctuaries as waste. The sanctuaries in Israel were the formal sacred places such as temples or tabernacles. These were the two places Jeroboam I established for the people of the northern kingdom to worship the golden calves in Bethel and Dan in the south and north of the kingdom. The word “waste” comes from the Hebrew word charab and means to make desolate, in ruins, and be waste. Nothing would remain standing for the people to worship or a place in which to worship. No one would recognize a place for worship because God brought about their ruin.

The LORD God is mighty to destroy the high places of informal worship (mountains, orchards, pastures, and forests) and the formal sanctuaries in the cities. God would destroy every worship site in Israel. The Israelites knew from Leviticus 26:31 God would lay waste their cities and sanctuaries if they were unfaithful to their covenant with Him. Isaiah told the Judahites their adversaries would trample Yahweh’s sanctuary in Isaiah 63:18. The people of Israel broke covenant with the LORD. They oppressed the poor, over-indulged instead of helping others, sought glory instead of giving it to GOD, and corrupted justice. The sanctuaries and high places were places where they flaunted their wealth, and acted with oppression and corruption. God’s destruction came upon these places because the people visited there and they led people further away from their covenant with Him.

Along with destroying the Israelites’ places of worship, in this vision God said He would rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword. God would show His mighty power over the Israelites’ ruler and his family as well as their priests and idols. He said He would use a sword against Jeroboam’s house. He would do battle/cause battle to kill the line of Jeroboam. They would no longer be the rulers of Israel because they led the people astray to worship other gods, to oppress the poor and live lavishly, and to corrupt righteousness. In this third vision, God’s wrath dealt with the religious and political rulers of the kingdom for leading the people away from covenant faithfulness with Yehovah. These establishments of leadership among the Israelites would not continue to exist.

A special note needs mentioning here. Amos did not intercede for the Israelites after this vision. He did not ask God to relent from this judgment. Amos recognized the rightness of God’s wrath and judgment on the Israelites. He knew the Israelites’ sins were complete (“for three transgressions and for four”) and understood it required God’s intervention by more than mere prophets. A supernatural judgment needed to intervene in the Israelites’ lives and kingdom.

·         Do you remember hitting bottom and thinking you had sunk as low as you could go? There was no one else to whom to turn. You didn’t know what to do. You wanted someone to take the problems from your hands. You wanted out.

·         God will meet you there. Don’t be like the Israelites who fell into captivity because of their stubbornness and pride. Meet God where you are. Call out to Him with earnestness. Confess and repent and let Him be your Lord.

·         He promised that all who call to Him He will hear in 2 Chronicles 7:14.

·         James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

·         God does not want your utter destruction. He wants a permanent relationship with you, one for all eternity.

Recap

The visions God showed Amos dealt with His judgment of their sinfulness. You will recognize the intensity of the rightness and judgment of God increases with each vision. With the locust swarm vision, God just removed the produce and vegetation of the land. That would affect the Israelites’ bodies and mental states. With the fire upon the land, God would consume and destroy the water and roots under the land, and the land itself. The Israelites would not survive a drought and famine. Israel would be a wasteland. The Promised Land would not flow with milk and honey because God would remove His blessings. The Israelites would experience life without His blessings. The vision of the plumb line is the most devastating. God’s judgment would affect the leadership of the land-political and religious. There would be no government-religious or political. This vision showed God would tear apart the walls that were not plumb with His righteousness. He would take them down to the point where they began to lose their straightness and later rebuild them.

God judged the whole kingdom for their faithlessness to Him and their sins against people. He highlighted mostly the rich and leaders of the land who did not help the poor, corrupted justice, and led the people of the nation away from Him. Nothing would remain after His wrath came upon them. Israel’s enemy would crack and tear down their walls and defenses. The land would reap destruction and give no sustenance. The people who remained in the land would scavenge to exist. Surrounding nations would learn of the might of the LORD and learn even His people are not immune to judgment for their sinfulness.

Conclusion and Relevance

God called the Israelite people His people. He made them a royal priesthood and a holy nation for Himself. Over the hundreds of years they lived as His people in the Promised Land, they showed their unworthiness of being called His people. These Israelites lived unfaithfully to their covenant with the Lord. They broke His laws and commandments and had other gods besides Yehovah. With Amos’ prophecy, God told the Israelites His judgment of them for their sins and still they did not return to Him repenting. They chose to be their own god and do what they wanted. God explained the severity of His judgment of them, through their punishment. They still did not repent and return to Him. Within thirty years the kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrian army and became captives and exiles. The Assyrians took the leaders, artisans, merchants, and wealthy as captives. Most other Israelites remained in the land scratching for an existence along with exiles the Assyrians imported from other areas of their empire. The people who lived in the once northern kingdom of Israel were no longer the holy people of Yehovah. They were a mixed group of many cultures, gods, and languages.

Today God continues to call people to come to Him and be His children. Yes, we all sin, but God wants us all to come to Him, be His children, and worship Him. The Lord provided a way for everyone to be His people. This better way did not require daily animal sacrifices from people for remission of sins. That better way is through Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection.  God gave His Son’s life as the death penalty for each person who believes in his or her heart Jesus is the Son of God and confesses it with his or her mouth. Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins is enough. We need not sacrifice for atonement daily. Does that mean we no longer sin? No, we are all sinners. See Romans 3:23-24, For we all sin and fall short of the glory of God. But, God makes us just, no longer meriting punishment, by God’s gracious gift of Jesus Christ by whom we received redemption. Jesus died for all people so they who believe do not have to die in permanent separation from God. Did you understand that? Jesus redeemed us. We do not have to face eternal separation as punishment for our sins; Jesus bore that penalty for us. That is redemption. Jesus paid our sin penalty. Does that mean God doesn’t punish us when we sin then? No, that is not what it means. God is our loving Father, and just like any loving father, His love means He will give corrective action to lead us from harming ourselves and other people, and to follow Him as Lord. To do that, He corrects us, maybe even punishes us, but He never punishes us to eternal separation from Him. That correction can come in many forms, just like our parent’s correction of our actions, words, and attitudes took many forms. Correction is to train us up in a peaceful way to live with other people in community according to righteousness, God’s righteousness. If you read the Bible, you will see some of the many ways God corrected people. Maybe He allows a person to fail at school or work. Possibly God allows a regular speeder to get so many speeding tickets instead of constant warnings so the person must have his or her license revoked. That would teach a lesson of following the law and being careful of other people around you. None of these corrective punishments causes a person to lose their eternal relationship with God if they are a believer in Jesus Christ. These are for correction.

The point here is God provided a way for us to be in a permanent eternal relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. We have free will and can choose if we want to be a follower of Jesus. Without accepting Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord, you do not have a saving relationship with God. You will experience eternal separation from Him when you die. When God judges His Christians that judgment does not remove our status as child of God and co-heir with Jesus Christ. His judgment is punishment to correct us and grow us in our relationship with Him and our walk in the world. Just as God’s rainbow to Noah was His promise never to destroy the world with a flood again, the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus, is His promise to His children they will never be separated from Him. Both the rainbow and Jesus death and resurrection give hope to people. The first is for all people. The second is for all people who believe in Jesus Christ. God offers eternal hope. Have you accepted this hope He offers through His Son, Jesus Christ? John the Apostle said it best in John 3:16-17.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him.” [NASB]

Do you believe Jesus is God’s Son? Do you want eternal life with God?

What keeps you from believing in Jesus Christ as the Son of God who died for your sins?

Will you seek God, pray and repent asking Him to forgive you of your sins, and give your life to Him?

Now is not too soon.

Read James 4:8-10 again,

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.” [NASB]

Who do you choose to be your Lord and God – you or Yehovah?