Amos 8:11
"The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land—not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. People will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it. In that day the lovely young women and strong young men will faint because of thirst.”
Have you ever been so hungry spiritually that it feels like your heart is aching out of your chest and that there's a black abyss in your soul? You search for anything that will soothe you. But its only temporary at best. There is nothing of this world that can take away the pain.
Thats what I thought of when I read this verse in Amos. I remember clearly the time in my past where I was spiritually dead. I was in a spiritual famine. I knew I was also on the brink of physical death too. I craved death. For many years, I had become desensitized to the effects of evil working through my life. My heart grew hard and cold toward anything good. There was a deep.hunger in my soul that nothing of this world satisfied.
I occasionally watch Court TV and recently they featured the trial of a 32 year old man in Tennessee who murdered his parents. He didn't stop there. He dismembered them. He cut off his mother's head and boiled it in a pot of water on her stove. The same stove where she had just cooked his Thanksgiving meal days before.
I watched the trial as he sat there viewing the pictures of his dismembered parents. He showed no emotion. At points he seemed to gloat as though he was looking at a masterpiece.
Such depravity! To think that a son could hate his parents so deeply. Why? The court's answer is because the parents cut this spoiled, self-seeking son off financially. For the love of money he annihilated his parents and destroyed his family as a whole.
God's word teaches that the reason man falls to evil goes so much deeper. It's the complete absence of Love (God) in the hearts of man that causes one to hate so intensely.
This man that destroyed precious life is famished. He is spiritually starved. Like so many we see on the news that are bent on destruction. They're hungry for something and they don't have a clue what it is they're lacking.
This scripture tells us that there will be a day when God says,, "Enough!" As I look around at this world today, I see masses of people in a spiritual famine and it breaks my heart for them. I believe the day that God has had enough will be here sooner, than later.
I know what they're starving for! God! Remember that God is love. In a heart where God lives, hatred is driven out and love reigns! They cannot coexist!
I've wondered alot recently just how close we are to that moment whe God has reached the end of his rope. But I believe there's still time. There is still hope!
This sad little man that is destined for the electric chair or the needle,, still has a chance to be saved. The mobs that are trolling our streets and destroying life, still have a chance. The law makers and entertainers who are bent on destroying innocent life still have a chance. The average man walking the street feeling hopeless and lost still has a chance.
What i know to the depths of my heart is that until Jesus returns, there is Hope that the most vile and destructive person can be saved.
It only takes acknowledging his own depravity, repenting of his sins and believing that Jesus is the Son of God.
Christ too was mutilated and murdered for our sake . He cried out from the cross where he hung, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." He died and was raised up again, from death to life. Jesus can and will save anyone who reaches out to Him.
Christian, what are you doing to reach the lost? One day we will all stand before God and will have to give account for our time and efforts in fulfilling Jesus's Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20). It wasn't a suggestion. A commission is a mandate for us to.follow through on what He told us to do. Matthew 28:19 reads, "Therefore, GO and MAKE disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit."
If by chance a lost or wounded soul is reading this, it's not too late. There is a light at the end of that dark path you're on. Matthew 8:12 tells us, "Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, 'I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.' "
There is nothing you've done that Jesus will not forgive. Trust me. I've been on the dark side. Jesus forgave me for everything I did against humanity and against God.
God will forgive you too, if you just seek Him!
Matthew 15:19–20
"For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. These are what defile you."
2 Corinthians 5:21
“For He made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
Acts 16:30-31
“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
Acts 4:12
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
John 5:24
"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life."
Romans 10:9-10
"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."
God bless
Allison Pelphrey
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