SCRIPTURE: Amos 4-6; Ps. 86; Tit. 1
Amos 5:6 and 21-24
So seek God and live! You don’t want to end up
with nothing to show for your life
But a pile of ashes, a house burned to the ground.
For God will send just such a fire,
and the firefighters will show up too late.“I can’t stand your religious meetings.
I’m fed up with your conferences and conventions.
I want nothing to do with your religion projects,
your pretentious slogans and goals.
I’m sick of your fund-raising schemes,
your public relations and image making.
I’ve had all I can take of your noisy ego-music.
When was the last time you sang to me?
Do you know what I want?
I want justice—oceans of it.
I want fairness—rivers of it.
That’s what I want. That’s all I want.
OBSERVATIONS: We talk about fishing for men. We have seminars on fishing for men. We give awards for folks who talk about fishing for men. We sell all the acoutrements of fishing for men. We build shrines for fishing for men. But we don’t fish much anymore. Neither do we do a lot with fairness and justice. Much of what we do comes down to “confirmation bias.” We listen to those who say what we want to hear.
Our religious relationships are about God, and very rarely with God.
APPLICATION: Joey, if you’re going to preach the Gospel, you have to preach about fairness and justice. If you’re going to live the gospel, you’re going to have to contribute to fairness and justice, and with more than your words. It has to come out of your time with Christ everyday.
PRAYER: God, become present in my life. When I ignore you, return my thoughts to you swiftly. Take me as yours, that I might glorify your name in every day. Through Christ, Amen.
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