sinful behavior – Page 5

Amos 1:1-15 – The Lord Speaks

Amos was just a layperson like me, not a paid professional like a pastor who preaches as their vocation. Amos devoted his life to serving the Lord. You could find him herding his sheep and tending to the sycamore-fig trees in the Judean countryside. He came from a humble family, but God saw his heart. God told him to take his message to the northern kingdom of Israel, but the message continues to bring wisdom to all generations.

If you’ve been following my devotional blog, it wasn’t long ago that we walked together through the books of 1 and 2 Kings. You’ll find reflections on what was happening in the lives of these kings as well as God’s people. I love how we have nearly a snapshot in time of when Amos first heard from God between knowing about the earthquake and the kings in power at the time. As we read through the Book of Amos, imagine what it would have been like to bring such messages to the people.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 – Get Right With God

Read 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Did you see yourself in that list of sinners? I’m sure the list is a lot longer than that! We can all think of sins we’ve committed. We can all remember seeing important people in our lives falling prey to obvious sin. Paul’s words can be startling. “[N]one of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.” But hold on, all is not lost!

Paul assures his readers that we don’t have to stay stuck in our sins. There is a way out. Jesus was sent on a rescue mission to capture our hearts and draw us closer to God. Being “right with God” is what Paul says is what we need to do. “[Y]ou were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

1 Corinthians 5:1-13 – Tough Love

Read 1 Corinthians 5:1-13

black and white hands holding a red rose with the words LOVE being projected

This was a hard text to read. It was confrontational and appears to be unloving. Where is the grace, mercy, and love? This is one of those texts we often disregard, believing it’s not relevant anymore. For me, because it is in the Bible, it’s important and eternally applicable. As far as I know, God hasn’t made any “amendments” to his word. So, let’s unpack it a bit.

When we read the Bible, it serves us well to always take things in context and understand what was happening in the world at the time the words were written. That does NOT give us liberty to disregard the parts that make us feel “uncomfortable.”

2 Kings 15:1-38 – Slippery Slope of Sin

Read 2 Kings 15:1-38

chasm showing how our choice results in separation from God

We covered a lot of ground in the reading today. It seems like Chapter 15 opens and closes the kingly episodes as quickly as possible. The allegiance of the Kings of Israel shows us how weak Israel has become in terms of its faithfulness. It’s now a slippery slope toward the doom the prophets have been speaking of. I think the Israelites were in denial, not believing the seriousness of their offense to God.

We also hear briefly about a few of Judah’s kings. For this period at least, they are all pleasing God, to a point. None of these kings have done away with the pagan shrines. People were still able to spend time separated from God despite having a king that was pleasing God. Why do you think each king left the pagan shrines alone? Were they trying to “please” the people not realizing how hurtful it was to God?

Galatians 5:16-26 When the Spirit Takes Control

Read Galatians 5:16-26

Fruit of the Spirit displayed in a tree with various fruit all named, entitled "This Fruit is Always in Season"

I couldn’t help but picture a little devil and a little angel sitting on my shoulder, like the familiar meme. Especially when I read, “these two forces are constantly fighting each other.” It’s true. We are constantly fighting the battle of sin in our lives. Evil can often disguise itself as good, or we can try to explain away our sinfulness.

I hope you’re happy, too, to know that we have a helper in the Holy Spirit. We can be assured that when follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in our life, we will be less likely to stumble into the traps of the evil one.