There is nothing like hope!
After 8.5 chapters of poetry and prophecy about God’s coming judgment, Amos abruptly shifts gears, swings wide open the shutters of the future and lets the sunshine of hope in once again!
Have you experienced the moment hope springs from a barren and hopeless situation? It’s remarkable! There is nothing in this world like hope! It’s the craziest thing! One minute, life is full of darkness, dread, gloom and all the emotions to reside at the bottom of the proverbial barrel! Then, someone punches a hole in the barrel and the slightest beam of light splits the darkness! You’re still at the bottom of the barrel! Your circumstance hasn’t changed one bit! There is no guarantee that the bottom-dwelling is going to end any time soon! All that has been added to your situation is the introduction of the slightest, smallest little ray of hope…and it changes everything!
Yesterday, on day one of the Global Leadership Summit Riverwood is hosting, along with 1600 other sites including 81 prisons, I felt like I personally experienced the sprouting of new hope!
God used Craig Groeschel to teach me about “BTC” (Bend the Curve)! I had been thinking in conventional ways but Craig reminded us the ‘sometimes God withholds what we think we need most in order to provide an even greater return!…Often our constraints lead us to an even greater breakthrough!’ BOOM! Hope just split the dry ground and sprouted!
God used Liz Bohannon to teach me to ‘stop dreaming big and start dreaming small and the sacred value of just 1!’ BOOM! Hope just punched a hole in my barrel! I don’t need to be anybody’s hero! I don’t need to create a great organization! I just need to let the dream get lived out in each relationship and connection!
Towards the end of the day, God used Danielle Strickland to teach me that “disruption is not a threat, its an invitation!” BOOM! The lid was blown off the barrel and the light flooded in!
But hear me! Nothing in my circumstances and challenges changed yesterday…other than ‘hope’ was introduced! And that changed everything!
Amos 9:11-15 was a fresh sprouting of hope for Israel!
YOUR TURN: So, what phrase, word or concept from this chapter lit up your soul today?
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The Bible: A Chapter A Day 
“Hope” yes hope! (Amos 9:11-15). Thank you Ptr. Todd. for the insight of this chapter. When you’re used to this broken world, broken lives, you get used and take for granted to all the results of what hope’ brings you.
I am reminded that there’s always a rainbow ( God’s promise) after every storm.
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Amen Thank You Jesus for hope. God is in the restoration business . As God restored Israel after 70 years He will do the same for us today. Moab and Edom did not come back after the invasion . Egypt never returned to it’s former glory.God made this possible for all of us when He sent His Son some 2000 years ago.All we have to do is accept the gift and commit our lives to the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Lord
You are so good to us. Thank you Lord that we have You and your word. It is so powerful it can transform us into Your likeness and defeat the enemies tactics against us.
Lord I want to thank you for our church and our Pastors. Todd, Carolyn, Jon, Laurence, Dennis, Tim, Mark, the site pastors of Warehouse and African community and all the staff and volunteers of Riverwood church. . Lord bless and protect each one and their families and those they hold dear. I pray for strength. I pray for the personal problem or challenges of each. Help them to stay close to You Lord. I I pray for a special hedge of protection aganst the enemy for each soul who makes our church function the way it does. Please protect our church buildings and everything in them. I pray for each ministry in our church and the leaders that run them. Lord I pray that You would raise up the workers.
II pray Lord that anyone that has to be involved in any way like the city, or lawyer, or anyone outside of our church family that has to make a decision about us, or anything related to us, that they would look with favour on us and be gentle with us if we are in the wrong. I pray any wrong be righted immediately which I believe is the case.
I pray that as we read your word and with the measure of faith that each of us has please prepare our hearts and minds and make us teachable Lord and then be obedient.
Thank you Lord.
Amen
__________
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God in His mercy never wipes out the Israelites completely. There is always a remnant…always hope for the future that God will restore.
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God is Just and because of His justice, He expects those He has blessed to care for the poor, the needy, the vulnerable.
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I see two distinct faces of God in this chapter. One is vengeful and being quite descriptive in how he would reach for somebody into the ground if they try to dig into the grave or pull them down from heaven if they try to escape that way… Even as another reminder to anyone who has some kind of belief, that he controls everything in the sea as well and that you can’t hide an the bottom because He’ll get a fish to get you!
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I don’t think God is vengeful. Would we say that a judge when sentencing a guilty party is vengeful. The Bible says that God is slow to anger. He constantly sent prophets like Amos to warn the people but now it was the time for Him to act. And He is warning the people that He is in control of the universe; they can’t hide from Him.
Truthfully, we all deserved the same punishment but God provided a Way. The Bible says that we were crucified with Christ, that we went to the grave with Him and that we rose from the grave with Him. Now He lives within us through His Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us and empower us to grow more into His likeness. What an amazing God!
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I wanted to add that the other face I saw was a hopeful one for the Israel’s future
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Bravo!
Once again God reveals his truth just when you needed it most!
Impeccable timing!
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