Monday, September 14, 2020
![mind[1]](https://thenoontimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/mind1.jpg?w=354&h=266)
Words and Woes
Hear this word, O you of Israel, that the Lord pronounces over you, over the whole family that I brought up from the land of Egypt: You alone have I favored more than all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your crimes.
These are harsh verses to hear from a God whom we see as forgiving and merciful; yet Amos speaks these words and woes.
God says: I have created you in my image. I have brought you out of exile. I have healed you, clothed you, and fed you. I have loved you. When you are in crisis I walk with you. When you are fear-filled I protect you. When you are libeled and slandered I defend you. And when you turn away from me I cry out to you. When calamity strikes I am beside you even though you may not see me or feel my presence. I am ever waiting. I am ever yearning. Come to me with all that you have and all that you are.
From Luke 6: Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose twelve, whom he also called Apostles: Simon, whom he called Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who called a Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon and came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured. Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because the power came forth from him and healed them all.
Wisdom 9:13: Who can know God’s counsel, or who can conceive what God intends? For the deliberations of mortals are timid, and unsure are our plans.
We cannot understand the mind of God and yet we see God’s mercy.
We cannot know how God will judge and yet we see God’s justice.
We cannot comprehend the heart of God and yet we see God’s goodness.
Let us go to God with our own words and woes and let us listen for God’s voice.
Image from: http://37stories.wordpress.com/2008/06/30/the-mind-of-christ/
To understand more about the Northern Kingdom of Israel, visit: http://www.gotquestions.org/Israel-Northern-Southern-kingdoms.html
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