June 21

Do you ever get the feeling like God is serious? Sometimes I think we get lulled into thinking that things are optional – as long as we are going to church and not killing people. As we see here, things are not optional, in fact, although the people did their religious duties (at least going to church and giving an offering), everything was good – or so they thought. But they had forgotten to let God be God of all! He just doesn’t want some, He wants all!

It seems like everywhere that I go lately there have been divine appointments. Nearly everyone I meet, God wants to use me. From meeting someone in a store to the guy from Craig’s list, God is doing something through me. There is no, and must be no option – I must give all to Him, especially when it comes to the needy, as Amos spoke about. I can’t save all the poor in the world, but if my relationship with God is so lofty that I don’t do anything for, nor reach out to the poor and needy, then my relationship with God has degraded to a selfish one. I can’t solve homelessness or the plight of the poor, but God’s heart is for them, and if I have God’s heart, I will be for them as well, and that heart will drive me to action.