Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #137

Destruction and Restoration

Amos 9

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 8) " 'Surely the eyes of the Sovereign LORD are on the sinful kingdom. I will destroy it from the face of the earth--yet I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob,' declares the LORD." (v. 10) "All the sinners will die by the sword, all those who say, 'Disaster will not overtake or meet us.' " (v. 15) "I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them,' declares the LORD your God."

My Thoughts

God says in Amos 9 that He will destroy the kingdom of Israel, but not completely the house of Jacob. He says that all the sinners will destroyed. In this case, I believe the sinners are those who continue in their sins and don't care to repent. We are all sinners, so it makes sense to me that it would be those who don't care to repent and think that their ways are totally alright.

Restoration will come after the destruction. God does not destroy His people and leave them there. He may allow them to fall on hard times, but He always restores them. Us. When we sin, it displeases God and that sin must be punished, but God doesn't leave us. He disciplines us and then restores us again in Him.

Sometimes the only way for us to learn from our mistakes to receive that discipline. Not always do we learn anyway, or at least not right away. Usually we do, eventually, even if it takes us a very long time.

Amos 9 is about Israel's destruction and restoration, right? And the house of Jacob is specifically mentioned. So what does Amos 9 mean for us today? I believe that it can relate to us by replacing 'Israel' with our own name, and also 'house of Jacob' and replacing kingdom with our heart.

It means the same thing, but it is talking to us instead of to Israel now. God's eyes are on our sinful heart and He will destroy it from the face of the earth, but not totally destroy Samantha. God will plant Joseph in his own place, never again to be uprooted from the place God has put him.

Those who continue in their sins and don't care to repent or refuse to give it up will not receive eternal life, but destruction in the end if they do not leave it and repent. That is not something anyone should ever want. Give everything to God and put all evil things behind you. Leave it and walk in God's grace instead.  All of us need to do this. It's not easy, especially if you struggle with something, but keep persevering.

Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!

Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #89

Seek the Lord

Amos 5

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 4) "This is what the Lord says to the house of Israel: 'Seek me and live;" (v. 14) "Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is."

My Thoughts

This passage of Amos tells us to seek God and to seek good, not evil, so that we may live. It means so that we may live forever, with God, not just on this Earth. So what exactly does it mean to seek God and how do you do so? The biggest way, in my opinion, is to keep God at the center of your life and heart.

By keeping God at the center, you are making Him the focus. You are making Him number one. Look for God in all situations, both good and bad. because all good things come from God and He can bring good out of the bad. When bad things happen, look to God for the good that can bring out of it and look for the good that He will bring out of it.

Seeking God is talking to Him regularly. Talk to God and tell Him of the good things that are happening in your life and thank him for it. Tell Him of the bad things that are happening in your life and ask Him for guidance and strength. Ask God what He wants you to do, where He wants you go and how He wants to use you to accomplish good.

So seek God and live. Eternally. That is a choice that each of us has to make. No one else can make it for you. You have to choose whether you want eternal life or not. Eternal life is a gift you can only receive through Jesus Christ. You only have the rest of your life to make the decision, which is not very long in comparison to eternity.

Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!

Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #76

All About You

Amos 4

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 4-5) " 'Go to Bethel and sin; go to Gilgal and sin yet more. Burn leavened bread as a thank offering and brag about your freewill offerings and boast about them, you Israelites, for this is what you love to do,' declares the Lord."

My Thoughts

Some people seem to think that everything is all about them. They take everything personally. If something isn't in their favor, they lose it. Everyone has to abide by them and what they want because the world revolves around them. They are always right no matter what. Do you know anyone like that? Have you ever seen someone like that? I kinda hope not, at least not that extreme.

I don't think I've ever witnessed anyone that extreme, but I have seen this kind of attitude from people before. It's so hard just to talk to them or do anything around them because of that. Some people are even worse than that and take advantage of others for their own gain, or sabotage others for their own gain. Yes, there is a slight difference.

It's not very surprising when things end up bad for these people, and even then, they think the world owes them. The world owes us nothing; God owes us nothing. If anything, we owe God. He payed the price of His own Son, just so we could live, however we choose to live. Don't you think that means that we owe God? If someone were to give up their own child and allow them to die in your place, just to save you from death, without asking for anything else in return, what would that mean to you?

Nothing is about us. It is all about God. God created us and He can undo that just as easily. God owes us nothing, in fact, He has already payed for us what wasn't His responsibility to pay. We owe Him. We owe Him our lives. Yes, Jesus is alive and He defeated death itself, but He suffered through everything before even being crucified. Crucifixion is torture as it is, but Jesus suffered more torture before even that. He felt all of it and tasted death. He owes us nothing. Remember that.

This message isn't to make you feel guilty or condemn you or make you feel depressed or anything. This is the truth. And, if you have already committed your life to Jesus, you don't have to worry about it anyway. If you haven't, the choice is still yours to make and you still have time to decide. Do not do so out of guilt however.

Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!

Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #33

Visions from God

Amos 7

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 7) "This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand." (v. 9) "The high places of Isaac will be destroyed and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined; with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam."

My Thoughts

Have you ever heard or felt God speak to you? And yes, this is something that you can feel, not just hear and you can also see. God communicates with us in many different ways. He actually speaks to us, but He does so in whispers. God nudges us sometimes. You think that you should say something specific to a particular person, and that strong urge to do so may just be God nudging you on. God also shows us things. It's not always visions, though, it may just be something in particular that is meaningful, like a painting.

For us to hear God's voice, we really need to be listening. He speaks in whispers to us, He's not going to yell at us. We become so distracted so often, don't we? Our phones, work, relationships, television, computers, games, music and so on. There's nothing wrong with any of these things, we just need to not let them distract us from what God wants to say to us. Take time out of your day at some point, morning, noon, night, whenever works for you, to just talk and listen to God. My time is when I go to read my Bible and write in my journal. This personal time with God is important as it brings us closer to Him.

Taking that time out of your day to talk and to listen to God is like taking time out of your day to spend time with a friend, whether it be an hour, less or more. Make it a regular thing to spend time with God, He loves it so much whenever we just talk to Him. If you feel that you don't have time during the day, then do this either at night before bed or wake up a bit early to take that time before you start your day.

If we allow Him, God will show us images, or visions. He won't always do this. I personally haven't experienced this very many times. Sometimes I am unsure of whether what I see or imagine is just my own imagination, or if it actually is from God. You may not always understand every vision you get, and that's alright. Don't expect to always be able to understand. King Nebuchadnezzar didn't understand his dream, and God revealed the meaning to Daniel. Pharaoh didn't understand his dream either but Joseph did. Some things are not just going to be revealed to you. God may want you to reach out to someone, so it will be revealed that way, or someone else may need you.

Remember to take time out of your day to talk to God and take away all distractions so that God can respond to you. Don't worry too much if you don't understand something that God has shown you or said to you. Sometimes, what we see or hear may not even be for us to understand, or even have any meaning to us at all. As long as you are talking to God and you are listening to Him as well, I am sure that you will know what you need to do.

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Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!