What is the source of your joy and entertainment?
• Amos 8:7-10 -> “Jehovah has sworn by the Glory of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works. Shall not the land tremble for this, and all who dwell in it mourn? And all of it shall rise up like the light. And it shall overflow and sink like the Nile of Egypt. And it shall be in that day, says the Lord Jehovah, I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the light of day. And I will turn your feast into mourning, and all your songs into weeping; and I will bring up sackcloth on all loins, and baldness on every head. And I will make it like the mourning of an only son, and the end of it like a bitter day.”.
See all the aftermaths which comes when the people explore the others. The great problem with people is that they think that never the evil will reach them (see Amos 1:4). Don’t trust in your prosperity! Even great kings suffered uncurable evil:
• 2Cr 16:12,13 -> “And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa was diseased in his feet, until his disease was very grievous. Yet in his disease he did not seek to Jehovah, but to the physicians. And Asa slept with his fathers and died in the forty-first year of his reign.”.
• 2Cr 21:16-19 -> “And Jehovah stirred up the spirit of the Philistines against Jehoram, and of the Arabians who were near the Ethiopians. And they came up into Judah and broke into it, and carried away all the stuff that was found in the king's house, and his sons also, and his wives, so that there was not a son left with him except Ahaziah, the youngest of his sons. And after this Jehovah struck him in his bowels with a disease that could not be cured. And it happened as days and as the time went out, at the end of two years, his bowels fell out because of his sickness. And he died of painful diseases. And his people made no burning for him like the burning of his fathers.”.
So, don’t abandon the Creator. As James said:
• Jas 4:8,9 -> “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners; and purify your hearts, double-minded ones. Be afflicted, and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to heaviness.”.
I know that this can sound weird. Nonetheless, instead of getting involved in the delights of the flesh, let’s invest our time sharing the pain of our neighbor:
• 1Co 12:26 -> “And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is glorified, all the members rejoice with it.”.
• Ecc 7:2,3 -> “It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting; for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the face the heart is made better.”.
So, don’t be like Israel:
• Amo 6:13 -> “you who rejoice in nothing, who say, Have we not taken horns to ourselves by our own strength?”.
• Hos 12:8 -> “And Ephraim said, Yet I have become rich, I have found much wealth for myself. In all my labors they shall find in me no iniquity that is sin.”.
Have a good day fearing the Creator and using of compassion for people around you. May your elation make people joyful in Christ Jesus and His ways.
• Amos 8:7-10 -> “Jehovah has sworn by the Glory of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works. Shall not the land tremble for this, and all who dwell in it mourn? And all of it shall rise up like the light. And it shall overflow and sink like the Nile of Egypt. And it shall be in that day, says the Lord Jehovah, I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the light of day. And I will turn your feast into mourning, and all your songs into weeping; and I will bring up sackcloth on all loins, and baldness on every head. And I will make it like the mourning of an only son, and the end of it like a bitter day.”.
See all the aftermaths which comes when the people explore the others. The great problem with people is that they think that never the evil will reach them (see Amos 1:4). Don’t trust in your prosperity! Even great kings suffered uncurable evil:
• 2Cr 16:12,13 -> “And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa was diseased in his feet, until his disease was very grievous. Yet in his disease he did not seek to Jehovah, but to the physicians. And Asa slept with his fathers and died in the forty-first year of his reign.”.
• 2Cr 21:16-19 -> “And Jehovah stirred up the spirit of the Philistines against Jehoram, and of the Arabians who were near the Ethiopians. And they came up into Judah and broke into it, and carried away all the stuff that was found in the king's house, and his sons also, and his wives, so that there was not a son left with him except Ahaziah, the youngest of his sons. And after this Jehovah struck him in his bowels with a disease that could not be cured. And it happened as days and as the time went out, at the end of two years, his bowels fell out because of his sickness. And he died of painful diseases. And his people made no burning for him like the burning of his fathers.”.
So, don’t abandon the Creator. As James said:
• Jas 4:8,9 -> “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners; and purify your hearts, double-minded ones. Be afflicted, and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to heaviness.”.
I know that this can sound weird. Nonetheless, instead of getting involved in the delights of the flesh, let’s invest our time sharing the pain of our neighbor:
• 1Co 12:26 -> “And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is glorified, all the members rejoice with it.”.
• Ecc 7:2,3 -> “It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting; for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the face the heart is made better.”.
So, don’t be like Israel:
• Amo 6:13 -> “you who rejoice in nothing, who say, Have we not taken horns to ourselves by our own strength?”.
• Hos 12:8 -> “And Ephraim said, Yet I have become rich, I have found much wealth for myself. In all my labors they shall find in me no iniquity that is sin.”.
Have a good day fearing the Creator and using of compassion for people around you. May your elation make people joyful in Christ Jesus and His ways.