Bible Verse for Today “…..And you still didn’t return to me, declares the Lord.” Amos 4:6 GW “Prepare to meet your God.” Amos 4:12 GW

          What does it take for the Lord to get your attention? This is the question that the prophet confronts Israel with. However, it is stated in the first person. God is addressing His people through the prophet in a very personal way. This is not a prophet telling the people; this is the Lord confronting His people.

          Amos 4:6-11 contains statements about all the ways the Lord was trying to get the attention of His people and to bring them back to Him. His desire was for them to forsake their idols and to serve Him alone.

          Famine: no rain on the crops. One field had rain, but theirs did not. They had no water. The crops they did have were infested with mildew and eaten by locusts. The Lord sent plagues. Their young men were killed in battle. Some cities were destroyed just as Sodom and Gomorrah had been. After each of these, we find the statement, “and still you did not return to me.”

          God’s people, then, like some people now, fail to allow life’s events to turn them to the Lord. Perhaps for the first time, perhaps returning to the Lord. The Lord speaks in many ways, but one of those is through natural events. In Israel’s situation, these natural events were the consequences of their rejecting the Lord and following Him with full-hearted devotion.

          As I thought about this, I was reminded of what we see in the Book of Revelation. As the events of the tribulation take place, we find on more than one occasion verses like these,

The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, ²¹ nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts. (Revelation 9:20,21 ESV)

I recall in years gone by when rural areas were in a drought, community members would often gather to pray for rain. When our founding fathers were deadlocked in establishing a new nation, Benjamin Franklin stood and called them to prayer. I remember when I lay in a hospital bed, totally paralyzed by West Nile Virus, I prayed, “Lord, now that you have my attention…”

Often, life events cause people to turn away from the Lord. However, many events in life should compel us to turn to the Lord and find the security and life that are complete only in a personal relationship with Him and in complete submission to His Lordship.

As difficult as it is to realize, we have a choice to come to the Lord or be confronted by the Lord. The Lord is patient and long-suffering, but there is a day when all will stand before Him. The writer of Hebrews caution was, “do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness.” (Heb. 3:8 NIV) The Lord’s call to His people as they prepared to enter the promised land was, “Choose life.” “Choose blessing.” (Deu. 30:19)

What does it take for the Lord to get your attention? Be quick to always turn to Him and trust in Him.

Hilkiah, the high priest, said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” 2 Kings 22:8 GW

          King Josiah became king when he was eight years old. He was the son of Amon, who ruled for only two years. He was the son of Manasseh, who ruled for 55 years as an idolatrous and evil king.

          The prophet of the Lord condemns Manasseh as the most evil of all the evil kings of Judah and Israel, and even more vile than the nations that occupied the land before Israel. It must have been during the long reign of Manasseh, when the Temple lay in ruins, that the law was lost.

          Without the guidance of the law of Moses, the people of God fell into deep idolatry that became the reference point until the Babylonians took Jerusalem captive.

The Lord spoke these words through His prophet, “Because Manasseh king of Judah has committed these abominations and has done things more evil than all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols, ¹² therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such disaster^[b] that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle.” 2 Kings 21:11,12 GW

          When the law was found, it was read to Josiah, and he realized that the nation was under God’s judgment. As a leader, Josiah took action. He had the law read to all the people and then made this commitment,

And the king stood by the pillar 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 this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant. 2 Kings 23:3 GW

          Even though the Lord had pronounced the doom of Jerusalem, it did not deter Josiah from riding the land of Judah and Israel of idolatry. He even destroyed the calf idols of Israel according to the words of the prophet from hundreds of years earlier.

          The importance of God’s word, God’s Law in the Old Testament, was to be the plumb line to give God’s people purpose and guidance for their lives. Joshua was commanded to follow the law of the Lord if he wanted to be successful. The Psalms are filled with verses that speak of the value of the Law. Psalms 119, the longest of the Psalms, extols the importance of God’s laws, His instructions, and protection. It is the vision of God, the restraining force, that keeps God’s people from “running rampant” and perishing.

          When God’s people followed the law, they were successful. When it was disobeyed, they sinned and were defeated.

          God’s Word today for those who want to follow Christ is a must. It guides our path. It trains, rebukes and corrects. When we disregard and fail to follow God’s Word, we sin. We fail to understand God’s true nature. We become prey to the world around us.

          I believe it was D.L. Moody who said of the Bible, “This book will keep me from sin and sin will keep me from this book.” What place does God’s Word have in your life? Do you need to discover it or rediscover it? Do you read it? Do you obey it? It is our all-sufficient rule for faith and doctrine. That means what we believe and how we behave. Don’t allow anything to rob you of your commitment to God’s Word.

Never worship in the way that it’s being done here today, where everyone does whatever he considers right. Deu. 12:8 GW

In those days, Israel didn’t have a king. Everyone did whatever he considered right. Judges 21:25 GW

               During my morning Bible reading in Deuteronomy, I noticed this verse. Moses is giving instructions, reminders, and warnings to the generation that will enter the Promised Land. God’s people will serve as His agents of judgment on these nations that have been living idolatrous and vile lives.

               This promise to Abraham provided insight into the Lord’s patience and His holding nations and peoples accountable for their sins and actions.

Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” Gen. 15:13-16

               The Lord God is not just the God of a nation or people. He is the God of the universe and world, even if He is not recognized as such. We see this when Jonah went to Ninevah and the entire capital city of this nation repented and stayed God’s judgement at that time. Even though they were Israel’s enemies.

               Moses’ basic commands from the Lord to God’s people were, “don’t live like the nations that you will conquer and replace.” Yet we see that God’s people did not follow the Lord wholeheartedly in future generations. They were warned against idolatry, but they became idol worshipers. They were warned about the sinful behavior of the nations, but they followed that sinful behavior. In the end, the Lord expelled them from the land, just as the Lord had said He would.

               Yet in the Lord’s discipline of His people, He allowed them to return from their captivity in Babylon. This shows that the Lord is faithful to hold people accountable yet provides for restoration.

               We see the ultimate path of restoration in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”  2 Cor. 5:21

               John the apostle, like Moses of old, provides a warning to us today. “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” 1 John 2:15,6 NKJV

               When we live or desire that which is of the world and act and follow the world’s priorities and practices, we are like the Children of Israel who refused to follow God’s instructions on how to live a prosperous and fulfilling life.

               This is an ongoing challenge. Yet when the Holy Spirit convicts us, we find that God is ready to forgive and restore. When we ignore those promptings, we will continue to spiral down into a miserable existence.

He shall take the live bird with the cedarwood and the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, and dip them and the live bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. ⁷ And he shall sprinkle it seven times on him who is to be cleansed of the leprous disease. Then he shall pronounce him clean and shall let the living bird go into the open field… Leviticus 14:6,7 (ESV)

I have to admit that I don’t draw too much inspiration from the Book of Leviticus. It shows the Lord’s precision in determining the conduct of sacrifices and what is acceptable to eat. God’s people were reminded that they were not determining what was and was not acceptable to God – God was!

I remember the man who told me how he had lived a good, honest life and done his best, and if that was not good enough for God, it was “too bad.” That is man determining what God should accept instead of us submitting to what God says.

Leprosy was a dreaded disease in both the Old and New Testaments. The condition gave the image of death. Paul the Apostle wrote, “You were dead in your transgressions and sins…” (Eph. 2:1) So each of us has a case of “spiritual leprosy.”

In Leviticus 14 are the instructions on how a leper who has recovered from his disease can be redeemed and enter again into the congregation of God’s people. What is striking is the ritual of these two birds.

One is killed over fresh water. The other bird, along with cedar, scarlet yarn, and hyssop, is dipped in the blood of the sacrificed bird. That bird that has been covered in the blood of the sacrifice is let go and flies away.

What a significant image of what Christ accomplished on the cross when you look at this process. A sacrifice in which blood and water serve as the two cleansing agents. Then there is a bird covered in the blood of the sacrifice, set free to fly away into the country.

The one who conquers the world is the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus Christ is the One who came by water and blood.He did not come by water only, but by water and blood…” (1 John 5:5,6)

When I picture the bird flying out of sight, I think of Psalms 103:12, “As far as the east is from the west so far has He removed your transgressions from you.”

I am also reminded of the words of hymns from the past. Ones that say things like,  “Keep me safe from day to day under the blood…”  “The blood of Jesus is washes white as snow.” “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.” “Are you washed in the blood, the soul cleansing blood of the lamb?” “Redeemed how I love to proclaim it, redeemed by the blood of the lamb!” While it may seem morbid in natural eyes, spiritually we see the lifeblood of Jesus shed for us is what gives us spiritual life.

John 5:39, we see the word of Jesus to the rule-keeping, Torah-focused Pharisees and read, “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! Do you think He was referring to Leviticus? I believe he could have. Especially since Jesus was willing to touch the leper. He told those He had healed to go show themselves to the priest and offer the required sacrifices.

Here is the rest of Ephesians 2 that I referenced at the beginning:…ButGod, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— ⁶ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,  (Eph. 2:4-6)

In scripture, we see these pictures from death to life. From lost to being found. In prison and set free. Outcasts, but brought near by the blood of Christ.

Just when you don’t believe a Book of the Bible has any application or inspiration, sometimes the Holy Spirit surprises you.

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 (NIV)

          This verse from Paul’s letter to the Church at Philippi has been a promise Christians have declared down through the ages. It is one that I often include when I autograph one of my testimony books.

          But the last time I was reading this book, during the third time I had read it in 2025, I finally connected the verse with the context. This verse is a response to the sacrificial final support the Church in Philippi had provided to Paul during his missionary travels.

          He begins in verse 10: “I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me.” How did they show their concern? By providing financial support to Paul. This is when no one else was doing so.

          He shows this in these verses:  “…it was good of you to share in my troubles….in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need.”

          The Philippians were responsive even when Paul did not expect them to be. They gave and gave again when no one else did. The Philippians did not know this until Paul wrote this letter. This was not giving under compulsion. They did not think, “Well, no one else is supporting Paul, so I guess we should.”

          We see this in 2 Corinthians 9, where Paul says giving should not be done reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. Cheerful giving is giving freely and gladly. It is viewed as a privilege. It is sowing into the lives of others and meeting needs so that the Lord will be praised.

          Read Paul’s words carefully, “Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account.”(v. 17) Who was giving the Philippians account a credit? A credit is an addition; the Philippians were not the ones receiving, but the ones giving. Look back at Paul’s reference to giving as an issue of “giving and receiving.” When we give, we don’t lose, we gain. What we give financially, we receive in heaven’s bank account. We receive the reward of the gospel. The gifts that were sent to Paul were more than enough to meet his need.

          I am thankful for a God who is more than enough! He has more than enough grace to cover your sin. He has more than enough love to call the lost to Himself. He has more than enough power to bring healing. He has more than enough riches to meet every need.

          That is Paul’s reassurance to the Philippians financial support, “And my God shall supply all of your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

          That’s the promise to the generous. Paul is telling the Church at Philippi, you have supplied my needs out of your limited riches, and now my God will supply all your needs out of His unlimited riches through Christ. That’s the theme of scripture.

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38

“…whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”  2 Cor. 9:6 (NIV)

“Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.”        2 Cor. 9:10 (NIV)

          We don’t give to get. We give to receive. We receive from the Lord out of His storehouse of blessings. Obedience is what matters. God is glorified. The lost are saved, and heaven becomes more crowded. The gospel continues to go throughout the world. We may track the outflow, but God will take care of the inflow into our lives. That is what Paul wanted the Philippians to know and us too.

Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long;
    we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. Psalms 44:22 ESV

          Psalms 44 is one that certainly gets your attention and causes many questions to be asked. How can there be victory after victory in our lives and then find ourselves in a struggle, where it seems that God has abandoned us with cause?

          That is where David is at in this Psalm. The Psalm begins with a focus on God’s faithfulness in past generations:

O God, we have heard with our ears,
    our fathers have told us,
what deeds you performed in their days,
    in the days of old:  Psalms 44:1-3

          David also declares the Lord’s presence and intervention in the present:

But you have saved us from our foes
    and have put to shame those who hate us. Psalms 44:7

          Now there is a drastic and unexpected and unreasonable change. The God who was faithful to God’s people in the past and showed Himself powerful and fighting for His people in the present, seem to have abandon them.

But you have rejected us and disgraced us
    and have not gone out with our armies.
You have made us turn back from the foe,
    and those who hate us have gotten spoil.
You have made us like sheep for slaughter
    and have scattered us among the nations. Psalms 44:9-11

          The dire situation that God’s people find themselves in, is not due to sin and rebellion or a failure to keep God’s covenants.

All this has come upon us,
    though we have not forgotten you,
    and we have not been false to your covenant.
Our heart has not turned back,
    nor have our steps departed from your way; Psalms 44:17, 18

          God’s people believe they have not changed, but God suddenly has. This is not like the sin of Achan after the defeat of Jericho, where there was sin in the camp. Why has God all of a sudden not come through with His part of the bargain?

          But the Psalm ends with David crying out to the Lord and seeking deliverance once again.

Rise up; come to our help!
    Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love! Psalms 44:26

As I consider this Psalm, several thoughts come to mind. Why doesn’t the Lord always provide victory and never let us suffer hardship or defeat? Job faced a challenge when, as a righteous man, he suffered greatly. His response to his wife is telling.

Job said to her, “You’re talking like a foolish woman. Will we receive good from God but not also receive bad?” In all this, Job didn’t sin with his lips. Job 2:10 CEB

Perhaps David, like many of us today, believed that if we do our part, the Lord is committed to doing His part? It is easy to take the Lord’s provision for granted. Is there a reason for times of distress and testing? What can we learn when we are on the “losing side” for a season?

          I don’t know all that this Psalm has in mind, but we do see that David does not allow the present circumstances of his life to change his trust in the Lord, and he asks the Lord to change the circumstances that God’s people are facing.

          My takeaway from this Psalm is that we are reminded that times of difficulty will come. We are to remain faithful. We are to be reminded that God’s grace and favor are not to be taken for granted or to be confused with our spiritual commitment. We are called to remain faithful in times of victory and times of testing. We can pour out our hearts to the Lord and seek Him always. The challenge is not to always find out the “why” but to maintain our trust and faith.

Recently, in Jerusalem, a special ceremony was held commemorating the discovery and excavation of the original “pilgrimage road” from 2,000 years ago. This road is a series of steps that begin at the ancient Pool of Siloam to the Temple Mount.

          The Pool of Siloam was a large pool where men would wash to prepare themselves to travel up to the Temple Mount. This video provides some details about the project and its significance.

https://www.ifcj.org/news/fellowship-blog/walk-the-pilgrims-road-that-led-to-the-jewish-temple-2000-years-ago

               The Psalms of Ascent are a collection of Psalms that were recited by Jewish pilgrims as they traveled to Jerusalem for the three annual feasts that all men were commanded to honor and celebrate. There have been many theories that have tied these Psalms found in Psalms 120 -134 to the place where they were cited.

          These Psalms were written by David and Solomon, so they were written prior to 2,000 years ago. The location where they were recited during the time of Jesus and even before is certainly brought to light with this recent discovery.

               The Psalms ascent begins with the pilgrims in a place of distress. As we move through the series, there is a recognition of “Our help comes from the Lord the Maker of Heaven and Earth.” (Psalms 121)

          Our trust must be in the Lord and Him alone. That is what makes us secure. (Psalms 125) There is a plea for the Lord to bring restoration. (Psalms 126). It is the Lord who provides safety and security. He builds the house. He guarantees our future through children. (Psalm 127)

          There is recognition of the historic assault on those who have been against God’s people and pleading for the Lord’s judgment on them. (Psalms 129) There are cries for the Lord’s mercies and waiting patiently while our eyes are on Him. (Psalms 130, 131) As God’s people gather together in Jerusalem, there is a declaration of the blessings of the Lord in unity. (Psalms 133)

As the pilgrims are in Jerusalem, the collection of Psalms ends with these words of praise.

Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,
    who stand by night in the house of the Lord!
Lift up your hands to the holy place
    and bless the Lord!

May the Lord bless you from Zion,
    he who made heaven and earth! (Psalms 134)

          What a great picture of the spiritual life we have through Jesus Christ. We begin in the distress of sin and distant from the Lord’s presence, and we end in the place where God’s presence dwells and where there is perpetual worship.

          We are being constantly reminded in our present day of the faithfulness of God’s Word and that what the Lord has promised will come true. We wait patiently and in hope as we journey to the New Jerusalem.

That is the question that came to my mind when Debbie and I visited there on a group tour in 2000. We had an opportunity to stay in Cairo and then travel south. We stayed at a hotel on the Nile. To my surprise, instead of the murky waters of the Nile in Cairo, the river was a pristine blue, something you would expect to see in the Caribbean. It made me wonder if that is what the Nile looked like during the time of Moses.

          We saw the ancient pyramids and rode camels. We saw the incredible ancient temples and structures. These feats of engineering are still a marvel and a mystery to this day.

          When we read the Old Testament and look at recorded history, Egypt was at one time the most powerful nation in the world. It was a place of refuge for Abraham and Jesus. Although it was the place of slavery for God’s people for 400 years, it became the place where some of the remnant of the Hebrews during the Babylonian captivity tried to flee to escape the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.

          Egypt was known as having a formidable army. One that was often a threat to the security of Israel and other nations. They were known as the possessors of other nations and victorious in battle.

          However, as we viewed the condition of Egypt today, it is only a shell of that former great empire. History will account for this by looking at the historical record and pointing to the world dominance of the Babylonian Empire and the succeeding world powers. History shows world powers come and go.

          However, the Bible is a predictor of history. We see this in the words of the Old Testament prophets. We see it in the Book of Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar’s statue of gold.

          But when we read the Bible, we see the prophets speaking to the nations of the world on God’s behalf. The Lord, through these prophets, spoke words of warning and rebuke and spoke of their destiny.

          My moment of insight came when I was reading Ezekiel 29. This is what we find. Then God said,

“Because you said that the Nile is yours and you made it, I am your enemy and the enemy of your Nile. I will make all of Egypt an empty wasteland, from the city of Migdol in the north to the city of Aswan in the south, all the way to the Ethiopianborder.”  Ezekiel 29:9,10 (GNT)

But as the Lord often promised, devastation was not the end of the nation.

“The Sovereign Lord says, “After forty years, I will bring the Egyptians back from the nations where I have scattered them, and I will let them live in southern Egypt, their original home. There, they will be a weak kingdom,the weakest kingdom of all, and they will never again rule other nations. I will make them so unimportant that they will not be able to bend any other nation to their will.” Ezekiel 29:13-15 (GNT)

What we see is that the Lord God is not a regional god or a god of just a nation. He is the creator of the world and ruler overall. He raises up and puts down. We don’t always understand all that has happened in history and why the Lord allowed the wars and devastation that have taken place. His ways and thoughts are higher than ours.

          We are certain we serve a God who knows the beginning from the end. He is working out His purposes and eternal plan. Our call is to trust in Him. To be diligent in serving His purposes in the world. To be diligent in our study of scripture and anticipate the future God has for those who belong to Him.