“This is what the Lord says; The people of Judah have sinned again and again, and I will not forget it. I will not let them go unpunished any longer! They have rejected the laws of the Lord, refusing to obey him. They have been led astray by the same lies that deceived their ancestors” (Amos 2:4 NLT).
Nothing new under the sun, God said all those years ago?
We all thought it would have been easier back then, didn’t we?
We assumed the straight and narrow was, well, straighter and narrower?
The enemy a little less deceitful?
The consequences of sin a little, shall I say it, less harsh?
Being that the book of Amos was written approximately 755 B.C., it’s hard to fathom those temptations to sin as tempting as they are now.
Sins are sins. The enemy still prowls looking for someone to devour. Maybe his tactics have been fine-tuned to match the culture. Maybe satan’s attempts to channel doubts and fear our way have upgraded from rabbit ears to the latest satellite technology. Maybe he’s as savvy on the World Wide Web as he was on parchment scrolls.
No, nothing’s changed. Salvation is as needed now as it was needed back then. A closer walk, an intimate walk, is as necessary as it was necessary back in the day. A dedication to God is as vital today as it was in Amos’ time.
It still boils down to this: We will follow who we want to follow.
So, today, September 3, 2011, who are you choosing?
Malinda Edgell
Illinois
PRAY TOGETHER: Lord, help me to plan to be prepared spiritually for worship tomorrow. May I spend more time preparing spiritually than I do in the meal/physical preparations.
