Amos 6

Living the good life verse 1

WOE to them that are at ease in Zion

and trust in the mountain of Samaria

which are named chief of the nations

to whom the house of Israel came

Judgment to others verse 2

Pass you unto Calneh – and see

and from thence go you to Hamath the great

then go down to Gath of the Philistines

be they better than these kingdoms?

OR their border greater than your border?

Fiddling while judgment coming verse 3- 6

You that put far away the evil day

and cause the seat of violence to come near

That lie upon beds of ivory

and stretch themselves upon their couches

and eat the lambs out of the flock

and the calves out of the midst of the stall

That chant to the sound of the viol

and invent themselves instruments of music like David

That drink wine in bowls

and anoint themselves with the chief ointments

BUT they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph

Delivering up Samaria verse 7- 8

THEREFORE now shall they go captive with the first that go captive

and the banquet of them that stretch themselves shall be removed

The Lord GOD has sworn by HIMSELF

says the LORD the God of hosts – I abhor the excellency of Jacob

and hate his palaces

THEREFORE I will deliver up the city with all that is therein

Description of judgment verse 9- 11

AND it shall come to pass – IF there remain ten men in one house

that they shall die

AND a man’s uncle shall take him up and – and he that burns him

to bring out the bones out of the house

and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house

Is there yet any with you?

AND he shall say – NO

THEN shall he say – Hold your tongue

for we may not make mention of the name of the LORD

FOR – BEHOLD – the LORD commands

and HE will smite the great house with breaches

and the little house with clefts

Poisoning righteousness verse 12- 14

Shall horses run upon the rock? – Will one plow there with oxen?

FOR you have turned judgment into gall

and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock

You which rejoice in a thing of nought – which say

Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?

BUT – behold – I will raise up against you a nation – O house of Israel

says the LORD the God of hosts

AND they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hemath

unto the river of the wilderness

COMMENTARY:

DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers

: 1 Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came! (7600 “at ease” [sha’anan] means quiet, carefree, self-confident, undisturbed, free from fear or doubt, or easy in mind.)

DEVOTION: There is a problem in Samaria. The people are lounging around with nothing to do. They think they have no problems. They think everything is good. They are popular. They are famous. They are the ones that everyone comes to for help. If this is true, is there really a problem?

The answer is yes while Emperor Nero is said to fiddle while Rome was burning, the rich people of Samaria were playing when judgment was on the way. They were complacent. What does that mean? They didn’t care what was happening around them as long as they were having fun.

That is what is happening in many churches today. It seems that as long as Sunday goes well it doesn’t matter what is going on in the world around the church. One day they will wake up and see that the world is going to hell because the church is not reaching them for the LORD.

There are some Christians who think that those without Christ are just going to walk into church without an invitation. They think that there is no need to witness to anyone because everyone has made their choice and who are we to interfere with them.

Judgment day is coming and Christians are going to stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ and find out if they had the right attitude. The other event is going to be the Great White Throne Judgment where all those who have rejected Christ will be sentenced to the lake of fire. Will they be able to turn around and see us and ask why we never told them about the LORD? We are not to have an I don’t care attitude toward our neighbor’s relationship with the LORD.

CHALLENGE: It is great to be popular but it is even greater to watch a neighbor or friend become a believer. Don’t live at ease. Stand for the LORD!!

DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers

: 6 That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. (2470 “grieved” means to be or become weak, be or become sick, be or become diseased, or be or become sorry.)

DEVOTION: When all seems to be going well, there is a tendency to think that all is right with the world. The children of Israel were living at ease. They had all the possessions that they thought they needed. They were living in comfort. They were singing up a storm. They were having parties. They were eating gourmet food.

At the parties they were drinking wine in bowls. They were not even using cups. They had all the wine they wanted. They were also able to anoint their bodies with the best perfume. They were living large.

However, they didn’t realize that they watching their nation going through affliction because of their sin. They were only concerned with their lifestyle. As long as everything seemed good, they were going to celebrate.

The LORD told Amos to tell them that this time of living for their personal pleasure was going to come to an end very soon. There was a nation coming to destroy them. The LORD hated their palaces or rich living without HIM. HE was the one who was sending the blessings and they were just taking them for granted. The LORD told them that being at ease was going to cause them to go into judgment. They seemed to not care if they went into judgment. People were going to die.

Today we have the same attitude in the church. We think that we can live the good life and not care that the rest of the world is going to hell for eternity. OR we think only of ourselves while our fellow Christians are suffering. OR we see the church going in a wrong direction but our lives are good so we don’t let it bother us. The LORD is trying to warn us not to be at ease. The enemy is real and comes in three forms. The three forms are the world, the flesh and the devil. We should be sorry if our church is in such a condition. Why? Because the LORD can send affliction our way too before the return of HIS Son.

CHALLENGE: Are we living at ease as if nothing is wrong today? What actions do we need to take in our lives that will change what is happening to those around us?

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: 10 And a man’s uncle shall take him up, and he that burns him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say to him that is by the sides of the house, Is there yet any with you? And he shall say, No, Then shall he say, Hold your tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of the LORD. (2142 “mention” [zakar] means remember, mindful, think, recall, be thought of, recollect, or commemorate.)

DEVOTION: H. A. Ironside states of this verse: When at last the destruction came, the fearful sense of Jehovah’s wrath would close every mouth, even as they buried the dead, for the name of the Lord would be unsuited to their defiled lips (vers. 9, 10). It is sad indeed, to be under the rod, and yet to be utterly unable to get into touch with Him who appointed it. Such is the hardening power of the deceitfulness of sin.

When judgment comes the people of Samaria are afraid to turn to the LORD. We find this happening during the Tribulation period when the LORD’S wrath is judging the people and they would rather have the rocks fall on them than call on the name of the LORD.

The people of Samaria didn’t want to call on the name of the LORD because they thought if they got HIS attention HE would judge them rather than forgive them. They were wrong. If they had genuinely called on the LORD for forgiveness, HE would have forgiven those individuals. They had a wrong concept of God.

Today, we have many people walking around us who have this same concept of God. They think that they have sinned so much that if they mentioned the name of the LORD HE would strike them with lightning. It is wrong thinking. God wants everyone to call on HIS name. Most will not because they are too stubborn to admit they need HIM.

CHALLENGE: Our message to them is to tell them to call on the name of the LORD. HE will forgive repentant sinners.

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DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers

: 12 Shall horses run upon the rock? Will one plow there with oxen? For ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock. (6666 “righteousness” [tsadaqah] means justice, right, truthfulness, rectitude, virtue, piety, blameless behavior, honesty, or beneficence)

DEVOTION: The world of the children of Israel was upside down. They were doing everything against the commands of the LORD. They were counting on their defenses to save them from attack. They were consuming the best foods and the best drinks to satisfy their desires. They were mocking the LORD and thinking that they would not answer for their sins.

The LORD gave examples of other cities that were as strong or stronger that had fallen to the enemy. HE asked if they thought HE would save them. HE was sending judgment and they were going to face it.

Here HE asks them some questions. Do you allow horses to run upon rocks? Do you use oxen to plow rocks? The answer to both questions is NO. HE is informing them that they were doing everything wrong in HIS eyes.

They have done just the opposite of what the LORD wanted and therefore were turning judging into bitterness. They were not helping the poor with proper judgments in their courts but were hurting the innocent and allowing the guilty to get away with murder. They were turning doing right into a poison. They laughed at people who were trying to do the right things. Scorn was all they offered to those who wanted to honor the LORD.

In the book of Acts the disciples were accused of turning the world upside down but in reality, they were turning the world right side up. This was not happening in Samaria and therefore the LORD had to judge them.

Our responsibility as followers of Jesus Christ is to turn our world right side up. It is really upside down right now.

CHALLLENGE: We need to be willing to work in our poisoned society to turn it into a righteous society one person at a time. Remember that most of the people we see each day are dead in trespasses and sin. We have life to offer them.

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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:

BODY

Chastity (Purity in living)

Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)

Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)

Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)

Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)

SOUL

Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)

Frugality (wise use of resources)

Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)

Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)

Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)

SPIRIT

Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)

Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)

Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)

Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)

Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)

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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:

Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)

God the Father (First person of the Godhead)

Lord – Adonai (Master, Owner) verse 8

GOD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 8

Lord GOD verse 8

Sworn by HIMSELF verse 8

LORD – Jehovah verse 8, 10, 11, 14

LORD the God of hosts verse 8, 14

Hate verse 8

Name of the LORD verse 10
Judgment verse 14

God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)

God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)

Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)

God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign, Plural name) verse 8, 14

God of hosts verse 8, 14

Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)

Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)

Calneh verse 2

Hamath verse 2

Gath verse 2

Philistines verse 2

Hemath verse 14

Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)

Ease in Zion verse 1

Trust in the mountains verse 1

Evil verse 3

Violence verse 3

Turn judgment into gall verse 12

Turn the fruit of righteousness into hemlock verse 12

Claiming victory for self verse 13

Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)

Fruit of righteousness verse 12

Israel (Old Testament people of God)

Zion verse 1

Samaria verse 1

House of Israel verse 1, 14

David verse 5

Affliction of Joseph verse 6

Excellency of Jacob verse 8

Church (New Testament people of God)

Last Things (Future Events)

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QUOTES regarding passage

When at last the destruction came, the fearful sense of Jehovah’s wrath would close every mouth, even as they buried the dead, for the name of the Lord would be unsuited to their defiled lips (vers. 9, 10). It is sad indeed, to be under the rod, and yet to be utterly unable to get into touch with Him who appointed it. Such is the hardening power of the deceitfulness of sin! (Ironside, H. A. (1909). Notes on the Minor Prophets. (170). Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers.)

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6:1 The woe-cry (hôy), a funeral lament, was in sharp contrast to the leaders’ self-evaluation. The following active participles (“who are complacent” and “who feel secure”) function as prophetic accusations in describing their behavior. Zion’s (i.e., Jerusalem’s) leaders were “complacent.” They were at ease and untroubled (cf. Isa 32:9–11). Perhaps that attitude grew from their inflated opinion of their spiritual preeminence.

Samaria’s leaders felt “secure.” Their confidence was in their own ability to control their destiny. They were “trusting in Mount Samaria,” literally. Samaria’s topography made it a natural fortress. Their leaders’ trust may have been in their political and military preeminence. Both sets of leaders (from Judah and Israel) thought of themselves as the “notable men of the foremost nation.” “You notable men” translates the passive participle of a verb (nāqab) that can mean to “pierce,” “point to,” or “designate” (cf. Gen 30:28). The position of “foremost” was self-assigned. The leaders designated themselves the number one nation. “To whom the people of Israel come” describes the pitiable plight of Israel’s people, who must depend on leaders whose trust is in Mount Samaria rather than God. (Smith, B. K., & Page, F. S. (1995). Amos, Obadiah, Jonah (Vol. 19B, p. 117). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)

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Woe was again uttered (see comments on 5:18), this time against those who were complacent in Zion and those who felt secure on Mount Samaria. Amos included Zion, capital of the South, in his opening lament, for they too were beginning to awaken God’s wrath. The remainder of his message, however, was addressed to the careless pride of the Northern Kingdom.

The leaders of Samaria considered themselves the notable men of the foremost nation. Their nation was militarily and economically dominant, and they were its most distinguished citizens. All the people of Israel looked to them for guidance and for handling the nation’s affairs. (Sunukjian, D. R. (1985). Amos. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1442). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)

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This “woe” was addressed to both Judah (“Zion”) and Israel (“Samaria”) because both kingdoms were indifferent toward God’s Word and the judgment that hung over them. They called themselves “the foremost nation” (v. 1, niv) and enjoyed an unwarranted false confidence for several reasons.

The first cause of their complacency was their geography. Situated on Mount Zion, Jerusalem was considered impregnable (Pss. 78:68–69; 132:13–18); and Samaria also had a seemingly secure position. But when God decided to deal with these cities, nothing could stop the enemy.

As for their prosperity, government, and military strength, Amos had already exposed the folly depending on them; for the heart of each nation was corrupt to the core. The notable men in Israel’s government gave their opinion that the nation was safe and secure, and the people believed them, just as people today believe the political “experts” and the polls. False confidence that’s based on expert advice, statistics, and material resources and that ignores the spiritual dimension of life is sure to lead to shameful defeat.

Amos mentioned areas in Syria and Philistia that had already fallen to the Assyrian army and then asked two questions: “Are you better than they? Is your territory bigger than theirs?” If the enemy had already destroyed places bigger and stronger than Samaria and Israel, what hope was there for the Jewish people, especially when the Jews were living like the Gentiles and were disobeying the Lord? God doesn’t look at the talent of national leaders, the extent of a nation’s army, or the prosperity of its economy. God looks at the heart, and the heart of the two Jewish kingdoms was far from the Lord.

Complacency is an insidious sin, because it’s based on lies, motivated by pride, and leads to trusting something other than God (Zeph. 1:12). Like the people in the church of Laodicea, complacent people consider themselves “rich, and increased with goods” and in need of nothing (Rev. 3:17). In reality, however, they have lost everything that’s important in the spiritual life. When the Lord sees His people becoming complacent and self-satisfied, He sometimes sends trials to wake them up. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be concerned (pp. 56–57). Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor.)

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Ver. 1. Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, &c.] Or secure there; which was a strong hold, the city of David, the seat of the kings of Judah; where their court was kept, and the princes and chief men resided, and thought themselves safe, the place being well fortified with walls, towers, and bulwarks: or at ease; that is, in easy, prosperous, comfortable circumstances of life; as Job was before his troubles, and others he mentions, Job 16:12 and 12:5 and 21:23. though to be in such a state is not criminal, but a blessing of providential goodness, for which men should be thankful, and make use of it aright: but woe to the rich in Zion, as the Vulgate Latin version renders it, when they have nothing else but temporal riches; this is all their portion, and the whole of their consolation, Luke 6:24. when they trust in these uncertain riches, and consume them on their lusts, as described in the following verses; are unconcerned at the troubles of others, and give them no relief, but despise them, Job 12:5; Psal. 123:4 and even are thoughtless about their own future state, and put away the evil day far from them, Luke 12:19, 20 and such are they who like Moab are at ease from their youth, as to their spiritual state, Jer. 48:11. never had any true sight of sin, or sense of danger; never complain of a body of sin, or are concerned about sins of omission or commission; nor troubled with the temptations of Satan, and have no fears and doubts about their happiness; and such there be who yet are in Zion, or in a church-state, which Zion often signifies; and being there, trust in it, and in the privileges of it, and so are secure, and at ease; such are the foolish virgins and hypocrites, who place their confidence in a profession of religion, in being church-members, and in their submission to external ordinances, and so cry Peace, peace, to themselves, when destruction is at hand; and are moreover at ease, and wholly unconcerned about the affairs of Zion, both temporal and spiritual, and especially the latter; they don’t trouble themselves about the doctrines they hear, whether truth or error; and about the success of them, whether they are made useful for conversion and edification; and about the continuance of a Gospel ministry, and a succession in it; and about the discipline of the church of God, and the walk of professors; or about what trials and afflictions are like to come upon the churches; or about the judgments of God in the earth; and therefore such carnal secure persons are either called upon to awake out of their sleep, and come off of their beds of ease, and shake off their vain confidence and carnal security; for the word may be rendered ho, as a note of calling, as in Isa. 55:1; Zech. 2:6. or a threatening of calamity is denounced upon them, that the day of the Lord should come upon them as a thief in the night, or as a snare upon them that dwell on earth, and they be surprised with the midnight cry, and with the terrors of devouring flames, as the foolish virgins and hypocrites in Zion will, Matt. 25:6, 7; Isa. 33:14. The Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, render it, who despise Zion, or neglect her; and the word is sometimes used of insolent persons, and to express their insolence; see Isa. 37:29 and so may be understood, not of the Jews in Jerusalem, but of the ten tribes, as the following clause; who despised Zion, the city of solemnities, the temple, and the worship of God there, and set up the calves at Dan and Beth-el, and worshipped them; and therefore a woe is denounced upon them. And trust in the mountain of Samaria; in the city of Samaria, built on a mountain, a strong fortified city, where they thought themselves safe; the royal city of the kings of Israel, the head of Ephraim, and the metropolis of the ten tribes, who here are intended: though the words may be rendered, and the sense given a little different from this, as woe to the confident ones that are in Samaria; not that put their trust in Samaria, but dwell there; but, however, are confident in their own strength, wealth, and might. The Targum is, “that trust in the fortress of Samaria;” see 1 Kings 16:24. Which are named the chief of the nations; the persons at ease in Zion, and trusted in Samaria, were the principal men of both nations, Judah and Israel; or these cities of Zion and Samaria were the chief of the said nations: Zion, which was near Jerusalem, and includes it, was the metropolis of Judea; as Samaria was the head city of Ephraim, or the ten tribes. The Targum is, “that put the name of their children, as the name of the children of the nations;” as the Jews did in aftertimes, giving their children the names of Alexander, Antipater, &c. To whom the house of Israel came; meaning not to the seven nations, of which the two named cities were chief, into which Israel entered, and took possession of, and dwelt in; for Samaria never belonged to them, but was built by Omri king of Israel, long after the entrance of the Israelites into the land of Canaan, 1 Kings 16:24. but the cities of Zion and Samaria, into which the whole house of Israel came, or had recourse unto, at certain times: the ten tribes came to Samaria, where their kings resided, the court was kept, and the seats of judgment were; and the two tribes came to Zion, to Jerusalem, to the temple there, to worship the Lord. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 6, pp. 503–504). London: Mathews and Leigh.)

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FROM MY READING:

Moved with Fear
“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” (Hebrews 11:7)
Noah was indeed a man of mighty faith, believing God’s word even about “things not seen as yet,” preparing for a worldwide flood in a day when God had never yet even “caused it to rain upon the earth” (Genesis 2:5). Noah was “a preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5) to an unbelieving world for at least 120 years (Genesis 6:3), “while the ark was a preparing” (1 Peter 3:20), without gaining any converts except his own family.
But why would he have been “moved with fear”? Noah was surely not afraid to die! He had “walked with God” (Genesis 6:9) for 600 years (Genesis 5:32; 7:11) before the Flood, and he was certainly not afraid to die and go to meet the Lord now.
Evidently it was for “the saving of his house” that he was afraid, realizing that his own children would soon be engulfed by the awful spirit of unbelief and wickedness that pervaded the antediluvian world if they could not somehow be delivered from it. So he “prepared an ark,” and his house was saved. “Come thou and all thy house into the ark,” said the Lord, “for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation” (Genesis 7:1). Although they could easily have refused, they all chose to follow Noah.
In a like manner today, God speaks to the head of each house: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:31). A consistent example of obedient faith set by a godly father (or mother, if necessary) almost inevitably results in his (or her) children also trusting in the Lord for salvation. Every caring parent should resolve that “as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15).

(HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)

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Shutting the Kingdom
“But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.” (Matthew 23:13)
Our Lord Jesus pronounced eight “woes” in Matthew 23 on the religious leaders of His day. This one condemns them for refusing the liberty that Christ was bringing with the new covenant.
The first “formal” message that Jesus preached was taken from the great prophecy in Isaiah 61: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised” (Luke 4:18).
Later, the apostle Paul noted that “before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed” (Galatians 3:23). These self-righteous leaders were so enamored with their positions and prestige that they refused to rejoice in the “liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free” (Galatians 5:1) and kept the prison doors of legalistic self-righteousness shut fast—even against those who were responding to the good news of the Kingdom!
It is interesting to note that Jesus condemned both groups (Pharisees and Sadducees) for the same problem. Yet they were much different in their positions. The Pharisees would be analogous to the legalists of our day and the Sadducees to the liberals. Both camps claimed belief in “inspiration” and both camps prided themselves on their knowledge of Scripture.
Their common error was distorting the truth of God with interpretations that clouded the message—thereby shutting up the doors out of unbelief that led into the “glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). May God keep us from such confusion.

(HMM III, The Institute for Creation Research)

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Mark 9

Jesus is transfigured as a validation of His identity as the Deity and Messiah.

INSIGHT

The Transfiguration gives us an exciting glimpse into our resurrection life. From it, we may learn several things. Our physical bodies may be startlingly brilliant and beautiful, as we witness the amazing appearance of Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. We may know each other automatically since the disciples seemed to recognize Moses and Elijah without instruction. We apparently will not be subject to the physical limitations of nature since Moses and Elijah appeared and disappeared. What a joy awaits us in eternity!

(Quiet Walk)

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HOLY HANDS

I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. 1 Timothy 2:8
There are conditions that govern the activity called prayer. One condition is that we are to lift up “holy hands.” We are not now concerned about the question of posture in prayer, nor to indicate that the Jews generally stood and held up their hands to God when they prayed. We shall not tarry with the fact that it was a Jewish custom to wash their hands before they took part in an act of worship. That was merely the external symbol used to emphasize the principle that the apostle is anxious to stress.
The clean hands, the “holy hands,” are indicative of and represent a holy character. That must ever be the first question in any approach to God. “Holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). “Thou [God] art of purer eyes than to behold evil” and cannot “look on iniquity” (Habakkuk 1:13). There is nothing that is so utterly contrary to the whole teaching of the Bible as the assumption that anyone at any time without any conditions whatsoever may approach God in prayer. Indeed, the first effect of sin, and the main result of the Fall, was to break the communion that obtained between God and man. Man, by sin, has forfeited his right approach to God, and indeed were he left to himself he never would approach God. But God in His wondrous grace has made a way for man to approach Him. That is the explanation of all the teaching concerning offerings and sacrifices in the Old Testament, as it is also the explanation of the ceremony of the Tabernacle and the Tem ple and the Aaronic priesthood. Without these things men could not approach God. We can commune with Him only in this way and according to His dictates. There is no access otherwise.
A Thought to Ponder: We can commune with God only according to His dictates.
(From Why Does God Allow War? pp. 25-26, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

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PRAYER AND PRAISE:

Prayer request policy: If you want the prayer request to be private or just between me and you please say so in the email. I will pray for those requests. If you don’t mind others praying for the request, then just send the request with no restrictions and I will put it in the devotional for other to pray. We don’t include last names in any of our prayer requests. Thank you.

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Please pray for the persons whose last name begins with the letter “X on your prayer list, which includes your address book, church directory and email list.

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Please remember to pray for the Biblical churches and pastors in the states of Missouri and Alaska . (REMEMBER THAT IF YOU KNOW BIBLICAL PASTORS IN THESE STATES TO LET US KNOW THEIR NAMES AND CHURCHES AND WE WILL PRAY FOR THEM)

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Deborah Watts ask (GA) Bob got through the surgery as good as new! He has the surgeon taking a picture of his tumor. The doctor agreed to show him at his next visit. Unfortunately, I got to see it when the Doctor talked to me after his surgery, but Bob hasn’t. and he’s mad. ha! He feels great and out of pain from the back of his leg. He is not resting so he is bleeding a little more than he should be; they have a little bottle draining his blood from the surgery. If he continues to increase losing blood he has to go back to the doctor, he suppose to see him one week after surgery. Please keep praying he continues to rests even if he feels better! Thank you for all the positive messages and prayers !

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Paul Decker (NY): Family Stuff _ Still no baby yet, but I put my “money” down on the 22nd. So I am a loser in that category. Grace’s baby is due to be born on the 26th. Meanwhile, Erie County (where Mercy Hospital is – south Buffalo) is on a travel ban because of blizzard conditions. We are getting a good amount of snow here in Niagara County (we live right on the border between the Erie and Niagara counties), but there is a lot of wind which causes drifting and visibility issues. We have over a two-foot drift at the end of our driveway presently. So, now we are praying that the little girl will at least wait until Sunday morning. Actually, it is rather important for uncited reasons that she waits. So please do pray.

As far as CA went for the semester, I am extremely content with our progress. It has been difficult as our former director, Sally Henien, took a new position at a church in Houston. So Tim Stewart took back the director responsibilities and did a fantastic job while balancing his national responsibilities and seminary studies. Just a few days ago, Tim finished his last paper for seminary. Woo hoo!
As I have mentioned before, Morgan Williams joined our team, leaving a CA position in Oregon. We have been absolutely delighted to have her here and she has been a tremendous addition to our team. She is born and bred West Coast (California and Oregon), so coming out East was certainly a big change for her, but she has fit right in marvelously.
Our last event of the semester was our annual Christmas party that we hosted at our house. It was a great success. One particular student, a freshman, came who has been kind of barely around, just showing up from time to time on Thursday evenings. He has been a melancholy sort of guy, but for the first time all semester, I saw him smile. In fact, he wouldn’t stop smiling. Some of the students formed a kind of dance party in our living room after we had finished everything else and it was the first time I saw him emanating with joy. Something happened there. I can hardly wait for the next semester – maybe I will have an opportunity for one-on-ones with him.

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Drew-Edith Erikson writes (MO ): This morning we woke to our furnace being out, so it’s a bit of a chilly day as we’ve been making calls to find the part! Few days ago our refrigerator also went out so we ordered a new one which will arrive after Christmas. One of our vehicles is at the dealership. It’s definitely an abnormal week- but here is Zoe writing in a journal for the first time. Writing is improving! Given the abnormal week both girls have a lot to write about in their journals. We’re quite eager for warmer temperatures and thankful our stove still works for hot tea/ hot chocolate.

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