Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 116, Amos 8-9.
“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD, “when I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.”
Amos 8:11 ESV
Would I rather worship or wander through Wally World?
Would I rather scroll through the truth of the Word or the foolishness of Facebook?
Would I rather skip my daily dose of carbs or the daily bread of the Lord’s presence?
Would I rather sit in a pew or sit on a couch?
Would I rather be in the front row of a church or the front row of a concert?
Would I rather listen to the correction of a wise counselor or the consolation of a foolish friend?
Would I rather miss a dinner date with my BFF or a breakfast date with my Heavenly Father?
Would I rather miss my morning cup of java or my morning cup of living water?
Would I rather have an empty belly or an empty mind?
“Sabbath days and sabbath work are a burden to carnal hearts, that are always afraid of doing too much for God and eternity.
Can we spend our time better than in communication with God?
And how much time do we spend pleasantly with the world? Will not the sabbath be gone before we have done the work of it and reaped the gains of it? Why then should we be in such haste to part with it?
They were fond of market-days: they longed to be selling corn and setting forth wheat. When they were employed in religious services they were thinking of their marketings …
Those are strangers to God, and enemies to themselves, that love market days better than sabbath days, that would rather be selling corn than worshipping God.”
Matthew Henry, Commentary on Amos 8
Heavenly Father, Align our hearts with Yours. Make us love what You love. Break our hearts for what breaks Yours. Give us a holy hunger. Make us hunger for what is healthy and right, what is pure and true. Make us sick over what makes You sick. Give us discernment to recognize what is truly lovely and what is a joy stealer. Help us spot the counterfeits, the deceptions, those things that masquerade as beautiful, and give us hearts that hunger and thirst for righteousness for Your Name’s sake. In the Name of Jesus Christ, the Righteous One, the One who meets our every need, the well that never runs dry, the unending source of living water and the eternal bread of Your living presence, we pray. Amen.
Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 114, Amos 4-5
As a mom, I want my discipline to bring my children to repentance. I want them to grieve their sin, see their error, and turn around.
But, all too often, that’s not the case. In fact, my discipline can end up making them more hard-hearted and rebellious. My words of gentle correction, or the natural consequences of their actions, can end up causing them to blame everyone but themselves.
Does that mean I’m wrong to discipline them?
Does that mean I should look the other way as they run headlong away from what is right?
My heart grieves with the Lord as He says five times in Amos 4, “yet you did not return to me.” He had withheld rain. He had struck their gardens with blights and locusts. He had even brought death upon some of their young men, yet they did not return to Him.
It reminds me of a line from one of Charles Spurgeon’s sermons.
The same sun which melts wax hardens clay. And the same Gospel which melts some persons to repentance hardens others in their sins.
C.H. Spurgeon
The Lord disciplines those He loves. That discipline will harden some and convict others. I wonder, which am I? Am I listening when the Lord is trying to get my attention? Am I willing to correct my course when the Lord is putting road blocks in my way?
How about you? How have you handled the Lord’s rod of correction? Where do you need to do an about-face and return to Him, your Creator?
Heavenly Father, We are indeed silly sheep who often go astray and wander into dangerous places. Forgive us, Father, for our foolishness, our rebellion, and our disobedience. Thank You for Your loving hand that seeks to bring Your children back into the fold. Your rod and Your staff are our comfort. Help us to listen to Your voice of corrections and change course, to RETURN to YOU, the lover of our souls. In the Name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 112, Amos 1
Until doing the 2 Year Bible reading plan, I’d never studied Amos for myself, though my pastor did spend several weeks teaching through it in August 2019. In fact he spent about a year teaching through all the minor prophets verse by verse. If you’re like me and need a quick overview of the Book of Amos, you might want to read Got Questions’s post here.
For Amos 1, I took some time to learn a little about the locations of Amos 1: Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, and the Ammonites. And that got me thinking about how God pronounced these judgments on the whole city-state, not merely on individuals or even the king.
So I started thinking about what kind of judgment God would have on my city, state, and nation. We have forsaken His Word. We have forgotten His commands. We have aborted babies in the name of choice. We have allowed criminals to run free while we have forbidden prayer and the Bible from our schools. We have set aside a month to celebrate men who pretend to be women and women who pretend to be men. We have bowed down to idols of all kinds: money, mortal men and “Mother Earth.” We have hidden the gospel and turned a blind eye to our neighbor in need.
Heavenly Father, Forgive us, Lord. Forgive us. Please, Father, shed Your grace on us. We need You. Turn our nation back to You. Turn the hearts of fathers back to their children. Turn the hearts of mothers back to their homes. Turn us back to Your Word. For Your glory and honor I pray. Amen.
But Jehu did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin—that is, the golden calves that were in Bethel and in Dan.
2 Kings 10:28-29 ESV
Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your Holy Spirit who brings conviction of sin and Your Living Word that pierces our hearts like a skilled surgeon removing a cancerous tumor. Thank You for the body of Christ, for those iron sharpening iron relationships that are so essential in this dark world. Grant us wisdom to know when to admonish the idle and when to encourage the fainthearted. May we help the weak and restore with gentleness the repentant, remembering our own need for help and restoration. In the Name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, we pray. Amen.
Beware of Hating Other’s Sins while Overlooking Your Own – 2 Kings 10 – FormerAtheist58
Matthew West – Good (Lyric Video)
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When I was an atheist, it sometimes felt like Christians WANTED me to “get what I deserved.” That was not Elisha’s reaction.
And the man of God [Elisha] wept. And Hazael said, “Why does my lord weep?” He answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the people of Israel. You will set on fire their fortresses, and you will kill their young men with the sword and dash in pieces their little ones and rip open their pregnant women.”
2 Kings 8:11b-12 ESV
Seeing Elisha weep over the destruction coming to the people of Israel reminded of Ezekiel 33:11, “As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?”
Heavenly Father, Give us a love for the lost. May our hearts break for them. May our love for our neighbor drive us onto our knees and out of our front doors. May we not rejoice in the death of the wicked, but desire earnestly for them to repent and be saved. May we remember that it is only by Your grace that any of us can be saved. Thank You for Your mercy and love. In the Name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, we pray. Amen.
Elisha Wept. Do We? – 2 Kings 8-9 – FormerAtheist58
Jesus is Coming Back Soon – Forrest Frank & Josiah Queen
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If your town was starving and you happened upon an abandoned warehouse with enough food to feed everyone for a year, would you keep that good news to yourself, or would you invite others to feast with you?
When four starving lepers discovered an abandoned city full of food and riches, they began taking everything for themselves. “Then they said to one another, ‘We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news. If we are silent and wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come; let us go and tell the king’s household.’” (2 Kings 7:9 ESV)
Friends, I’m afraid all too many of us are hiding a Costco-size stash of bread inside our hearts and homes, too selfish, too busy, or too lazy to share. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35 ESV) Do you believe that? Don’t keep it to yourself. SHARE THIS GOOD NEWS! God wants you to tell others where to find this bread.
Quit Hiding the Good News – 2 Kings 6-7 – FormerAtheist58
Dusty Bibles – Josiah Queen
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This story of Naaman and Elisha and Gehazi is a warning for me to remember that I’m just a poor beggar telling other beggars where to find bread. This story, like all Scripture has been “breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16) May we all remember Paul’s warning in 1 Timothy 6:10, “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”
The Love of Money is the Root of All Kinds of Evils – 2 Kings 5 – FormerAtheist58
Worthy of It All – The Worship Initiative, Shane & Shane
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In 2 Kings chapters 3-4, we read about one miracle after another. God sends water into the desert. God fills vessel upon vessel with oil. God conceives a child in a barren woman’s womb. God brings a boy back from the dead. God makes pure a poisonous stew. God feeds a multitude with 20 loaves of bread and a sack of grain.
This is a light thing in the sight of the LORD.
2 Kings 3:18a ESV
Yet, to the Lord, all of these things are light. None of these incredible events are hard for Him. God isn’t exhausted after doing them. He doesn’t struggle or labor night after night to achieve these mighty feats. What is a few jars of oil or one little baby to a God who can speak the entire universe into existence by the sheer power of His voice?
In light of this truth, we need to remember that there is nothing too big for Him, but also there is nothing is too small for Him.
Out of work and need a job? No problem.
In a hurry and need a parking spot? Got it.
Struggling with discipling and disciplining your children? He can help.
Nothing, absolutely nothing, is impossible for Him. And nothing, absolutely nothing, is too little for His care.
As a mom of four adult children, I can tell you first-hand, how much I love it when my children ask for my advice and my help, no matter how big (or how small) it is. Likewise, our perfect Heavenly Father loves His children to seek His help in all areas of our lives.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Philippians 4:6 ESV
Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
1 Peter 5:7 NLT
Heavenly Father, thank You for always being there for us. We know that nothing is impossible for You. We believe that You are able to do all things. Help us to trust You and turn to You moment by moment and day after day. Whether the thing to us looks too big or too small, may we entrust it into Your watchful, loving care. In the Name of Jesus Christ our Savior we pray. Amen.
I Cast All My Cares Upon You / Jesus Loves Me
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Read the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 52, 2 Chronicles 34-36
“Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. And the king went up to the house of the LORD, with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the Levites, all the people both great and small. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the LORD. And the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book. Then he made all who were present in Jerusalem and in Benjamin join in it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.
2 Chronicles 34:29-32 ESV
Love God? Love Others – 2 Chronicles 34-26 – FormerAtheist58
How Deep the Father’s Love for Us – JJ Heller
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Teach What is Good 
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