RE Verse reading–Amos 7:7-17, 8:1-3 (day seven) “You say, ‘Do not prophesy AGAINST Israel, and stop preaching AGAINST the house of Isaac.’ ” (7:16-17) I got a text from a friend yesterday. It said, “Ok buddy, no more woe, no more gloom and doom.” Not sure whether he was referring to recent sermons or blogs or conversations. I texted back (yes, I know how) that preaching Amos faithfully gave me no other choice. If “ALL Scripture is inspired and profitable” (2 Timothy 3:16), we are not well served by skipping the part that creates a holy anxiety for rightness. The tension is not new. People have always preferred good news to bad. I just wonder whether they are mutually exclusive or pragmatically compatible. Would I be a better man if I were more afraid of some things, less arrogant? Would we be a better country? I think so. I think Amos thought so too. I will see you in worship. We will find hope together!
I am so grateful to have pastors who tell the truth. Wendy Kleck
At times I have worked for doctors who did not want me to tell patients that if they didn’t change their ways they were going to face major problems- tooth loss from periodontal disease caused by poor hygiene, cancer from tobacco use, decay from poor nutrition. They assured me that their patients didn’t want the “doom and gloom”, that I should make them “feel good”. The real doom and gloom would be not telling them and leaving them in their ignorance to face disaster. You keep telling us what God wants us to hear, please. Don’t leave us to disaster from our own ignorance and arrogance.