Saturday, May 22, 2010

Hey Amos, You talkin' to me?

Amo 6:1 “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel comes! 2 Pass over to Calneh, and see, and from there go to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Or is their territory greater than your territory, 3 O you who put far away the day of disaster and bring near the seat of violence? 4 "Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory and stretch themselves out on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock and calves from the midst of the stall, 5 who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp and like David invent for themselves instruments of music, 6 who drink wine in bowls and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph! 7 Therefore they shall now be the first of those who go into exile, and the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away."

OR maybe this makes more sense to us:

Woe to those who are at ease in American Churches. To those who rest on the strength of the denomination and the notable men who the churches follow. 2 Go over to the dwindling Episcopals, or the Catholics losing members, or even to the stagnant Charismatics and Pentecostals. Are you better than these people? Does your reach exceed theirs? 3 You who consider the seat of judgment as too far away, do you play near the seat of violence and calamity? 4 Woe to those who spend all their time on fancy beds that you can adjust as soft as you want, or lie on the sofa all day watching TV and eating Bar-b-q. 5 who sing popular songs when no-one is listening and invent new ways to listen to music, like records and tapes and CDs and internet and I-pods and I-phones, 6 who don’t have a big enough Margarita or Mojito unless it fills a bowl, who cry out for one more beer, BUT YOU DO NOT GRIEVE FOR THE LOST AND DYING. 7 Therefore, they shall be the first that go into exile, and the enjoyment of being a couch potato will go away.

HEY, I'm not a prophet, I'm a GRACE preacher, but even I can read the writing on the wall.


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