Prepare to Meet Your God

Five calamites, and yet, they did not return to the Lord.

Lack of bread in all your places – “Yet you have not returned to Me” [1]
Lack of rain and drinking water – “Yet you have not returned to Me” [2]
Disease/pests against their crops – “Yet you have not returned to Me” [3]
Death via plague and war – “Yet you have not returned to Me” [4]
Overthrow as Sodom overthrown – “Yet you have not returned to Me” [5]

So now, “Prepare to meet your God!” [6]

With so much evil happening in our country, you would think there would be a massive turning the Lord. So many “leaders” are defiantly legislating against the Lord. We have mass shootings. We have mass addiction to alcohol, harmful drugs, and pornography. Rather than “fear the Lord,” the message of the day is “fear to believe in God and obey Him.”

“Judah was carried away captive to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness.” [7]

The people of Judah are a negative example for us. They would not worship the Lord. They were defiant. They delighted in a culture of no boundaries. What happened to them? Their land was invaded, destroyed and they were deported to serve the whims of a cruel tyrant.

One of their nation’s founders wrote, “Blessed are those who keep justice, and he who does righteousness at all times!” [8] But now they despise those who invested in their future.

A wise king instructed his people this way: “Do not withhold correction from a child, for if you spank him, he will not die. You shall spank him and deliver his soul from hell.” [9] Offer a lesser pain in a loving way to save the child from a greater pain later on.

The wise king also wrote, “Do not let your heart envy sinners, but be zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day; for surely there is a hereafter, and your hope will not be cut off.” [10]

There is a hereafter. A face-to-face encounter with a holy God! God advises us to prepare to meet Him. It is going to happen.

The Apostle Paul advises us to... “Put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” [11]

Christ is the answer! He transforms sinners into saints. Rather than defiance choose dependence! Rely on Christ. Daily place yourself in His hands. With the backing of the Creator and Sustainer of the universe you will be prepared to meet Him.

[1] Amos 4:6
[2] Amos 4:7-8
[3] Amos 4:9
[4] Amos 4:10
[5] Amos 4:11
[6] Amos 4:12
[7] 1 Chronicles 9:1
[8] Psalm 106:3
[9] Proverbs 23:13-14
[10] Proverbs 23:17-18
[11] Ephesians 4:22-24