September 17, 2020While listening to my daughter, Bethany, read the fifth chapter of Amos this evening, I was reminded of the speech that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave in Washington, D.C. on August 28, 1963. He quoted Amos 5:24 – “But let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” – in what would be considered by many as the greatest speech in the 20th century. For more about Dr. King’s references to the Bible, please see: https://www.beliefnet.com/inspiration/articles/4-bible-references-in-mlk-jrs-i-have-a-dream-speech.aspx and to watch Dr. King deliver his historic speech, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smEqnnklfYs.
In the May 2018 edition of “Turning Points” magazine, Dr. David Jeremiah writes: “When Paul Harvey gave his famous speech, ‘So God Made a Farmer,’ at a 1978 convention of the Future Farmers of America, he began: ‘God said, ‘I need someone willing to get up before dawn, milk cows, work all day in the fields, milk cows again, eat supper, and then go to town and stay past midnight at a meeting of the school board.’ So God made a farmer.” God chose Amos, a sheepbreeder and fruit grower in Judah in the eight century B.C. to announce His message of judgment to the people of Israel. Dr. Jeremiah writes: “Amos tells us God despises the exercise of empty religious ritual. Our conduct must always grow from an authentic desire to love others and please Him, and our lives should always produce a true harvest of justice and righteousness.”
While driving to Montreal this morning, I heard part of a message by Dr. David Jeremiah in which he stressed the importance of consciously worshipping God. How often do we sing a familiar hymn and fail to think about the words? In our fast-paced world (in 2017, 269 billion emails and about 82 billion texts were sent daily) we can get caught up in the busyness of communications without taking time to consider what our real purpose in life is: to glorify God. May we seek to bring honour to the One who bore our sins on the cross of Calvary.
Scripture for the weekend: “A wise man is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is arrogant and careless.” Proverbs 14:16 (NASB)
Thought for the weekend: “Friend, do you realize why the troubles you face are so complicated and confounding – far beyond your ability to reason them out? It is because the Lord your God wants you to rely on His wisdom and strength – to know you have access to the omniscient mind and omnipotent power of the One who loves you and saves you.” – Dr. Charles Stanley (from his book “Standing Strong”)
By His grace,
Steve