Bible teacher and best-selling author Sheila Walsh believes prayer is the “single most underused weapon in the Church.”

“Over the last two-and-a-half years, I’ve had this burning thing inside of me that every morning I wake up with this word ‘prayer’ on my heart,” Walsh told The Christian Post. “I’ve been a Christian for many years, but I didn’t understand the importance of prayer.”

“I kept recalling the words of Corrie Ten Boom: ‘Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?’ In other words, is it what guides my life, or is it a last resort? I am convinced there’s nothing the enemy would love more than for us to stop praying.”

Walsh knew she wasn’t alone in her struggle. She spent two years researching what God says about prayer, looking at how the early Church fathers viewed prayer, and even penned a survey asking women what they thought about prayer. The results, she said, were astonishing.

“So many women said they got bored, distracted, felt like they were repeating themselves when they prayed,” she recalled. “Others asked, ‘Why bother to pray when God already knows all?’ or, ‘I prayed and God didn’t answer, so why would I keep praying?’”

“That,” she added, “gave me a fresh passion to provide women a practical, step-by-step handbook as to how to pray through some of the toughest times of life.”

The Scottish-born evangelist is gearing up for the Feb. 4 release of her latest book, Praying Women: How to Pray When You Don’t Know What to Say. In it, she teaches women to experience the power of prayer through conversation with God by inspiring them to develop a lifestyle of prayer.

While researching for her book, Walsh said she discovered that for many women — herself included — the most difficult time to pray is in times of pain and suffering. Yet Walsh stressed the importance of “processing your pain in the presence of God.”

“I believe Satan makes us feel like we don’t want to pray; it’s a strategy of the devil,” Walsh posited. “We do have an enemy who would love to make sure that we don’t pray. I think sometimes when we’re walking through painful situations, we think, ‘God, you’re powerful enough to have changed this, but you didn’t.’ We get confused in our pain and the last thing we want to do is pray.”

SOURCE: Christian Post, Leah MarieAnn Klett

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The Department of Education is looking to expand its experimental Second Chance Pell initiative to bring college programs to more prisons nationwide but is butting heads with the White House Office of Management and Budget over funding, an official said Thursday. 

Dianne Auer Jones, the principal deputy undersecretary of education, spoke on the state of higher education before dozens of college presidents and administrators at the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities annual presidents conference at the Westin City Center.

Jones updated the gathering on the status of the second cohort of the Second Chance Pell Experimental Site Initiative. Since its launch it 2016, the initiative has helped bring college programs to as many as 12,000 incarcerated individuals nationwide.

With 180 member schools across the globe, CCCU has 13 institutions that have participated in the Second Chance Pell Experimental Sites Initiative since it was launched by the Obama administration.

“Second Chance Pell is an experiment that we think is incredibly important,” Jones said. “It is probably also illegal.”

“But the prior administration started it and we have a lot more flexibility,” she continued. “One of the things we are not allowed to do with experimental sites is changing eligibility requirements. So technically, it is not a legal experiment. But Congress likes it and the last administration started it and we said, ‘What the heck, we’ll join the club.’”

The Second Chance Pell initiative essentially uses the authority of the Experimental Sites Initiative of the Higher Education Act to circumvent a 1994 law passed by Congress banning those in prison from receiving Pell Grants.

Over 60 colleges and institutions participated in the first cohort of Second Chance Pell. Last year, the department announced that it would allow new cohorts of colleges and universities to apply for the initiative.

Jones told the administrators that the department will soon release the names of schools selected to participate in the second cohort of the experimental site initiative. She said that the agency has received over 130 applications so far.

“Our biggest obstacle there is we have to get a budget number from the Office of Management and Budget,” Jones explained. “There is a cost associated with the new cohort of Second Chance Pell because it allows additional students to participate and get a Pell Grant. There is a cost associated.”

SOURCE: Christian Post, Samuel Smith

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TEXT: Psalm 72

1 Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king’s son.

2 He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment.

3 The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness.

4 He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.

5 They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.

6 He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.

7 In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.

8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.

9 They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.

10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.

11 Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.

12 For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.

13 He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy.

14 He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight.

15 And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall he be praised.

16 There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.

17 His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.

18 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things.

19 And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.

20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.

——-

David Jeremiah said, “Even though it has been nearly 2,000 years since Christ’s first coming, His second coming is certain.”

A clock was once left without its pendulum, sitting in the living room. The seconds ticked on in a frenzied manner. Without the pendulum all the intricate mechanism rattled on in a blind precipitation. Here is a picture of the world today. God has created all things to move in proper balance, but men refuse the Lord Jesus Christ who is God’s Providence. Men talk about Providence as though it were a force. God says it is a Person—Christ, and that He “upholdeth all things by the word of His power’ (Heb. 1:3). Nothing will move with perfection until He comes again.

In our last few messages in this series, we looked at the hope that we have for the Second Coming based upon the Covenant that God made with King David and the blessings He bestowed upon the Kingdom of Israel. First, we saw that Jesus’ reign will be a reign of righteousness. Second, we saw that Jesus’ reign will be a reign of peace. Third, we saw that Jesus’ reign will be a reign of totality. Fourth, we saw that Jesus’ reign will be a reign of compassion.

Fifth, Jesus’ reign will be a reign of prosperity. Psalms 72:16-17 says, “There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth. His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.” According to the Food Aid Foundation, 795 million people in the world, or about one in nine people, do not have enough food to lead a healthy active life. When we are under the reign of King Jesus, food will be bountiful. Our passage says that food will grow bountifully even on the rocky and snow-covered mountaintops. Matthew Poole said that “It shall yield such abundance of corn, that the ears, being thick, and high, and full of corn, shall, when they are shaken with the wind, make a noise like that which the tops of the trees of Lebanon sometimes make upon the like occasion.” James Boice said, “Gold, grain, and fruit were ancient measures of prosperity. So this is a way of saying that under the reign of Jesus there will be prosperity of every conceivable kind.” The vision of prosperity shown in this passage is paralleled by the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah 35:1-2 says, “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God.” Isaiah 55:12-13 says, “For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.” The curse that Adam and Eve laid upon nature through their sin will be broken in the reign of Christ. No longer will the earth only bring forth thorns and thistles. No longer will we only be able to eat by the sweat of our brow. Nature will be restored to its former glory as in the garden of Eden, and will bring forth prosperity and plenty for all.

—–

Now, if you are not a believer in Jesus Christ, I urge you to trust in Him because He is coming again and you do not want to be left behind. Here is how you can place your faith and trust in Him for Salvation from sin and the consequences of sin.

First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”

Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 10:28: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

Now that is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.

Romans 10:9 & 13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved… For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, and you want to trust Him for your Salvation today, please pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. I am sorry for my sins, and today I choose to turn from my sins. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. I trust Jesus Christ as my Savior and I choose to follow Him as Lord from this day forward. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.

If you just trusted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, and you prayed that prayer and meant it from your heart, I declare to you that based upon the Word of God, you are now saved from Hell and you are on your way to Heaven. Welcome to the family of God! Congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door.” Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”

God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.

Daniel Whyte III has spoken in meetings across the United States and in over twenty-five foreign countries. He is the author of over forty books including the Essence Magazine, Dallas Morning News, and Amazon.com national bestseller, Letters to Young Black Men. He is also the president of Gospel Light Society International, a worldwide evangelistic ministry that reaches thousands with the Gospel each week, as well as president of Torch Ministries International, a Christian literature ministry.

He is heard by thousands each week on his radio broadcasts/podcasts, which include: The Prayer Motivator Devotional, The Prayer Motivator Minute, as well as Gospel Light Minute X, the Gospel Light Minute, the Sunday Evening Evangelistic Message, the Prophet Daniel’s Report, the Second Coming Watch Update and the Soul-Winning Motivator, among others.

He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology from Bethany Divinity College, a Bachelor’s degree in Religion from Texas Wesleyan University, a Master’s degree in Religion, a Master of Divinity degree, and a Master of Theology degree from Liberty University’s Rawlings School of Divinity (formerly Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary). He is currently a candidate for the Doctor of Ministry degree.

He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica since 1987. God has blessed their union with seven children.

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By every indication, American football is the country’s most-watched and most-loved sport. No sport or hardly anything else produces the kind of excitement, hope, and die-hard passion that the dawning of a new football season does each time it rolls around. Though football has its fair share of detractors, according to national bestselling author Daniel Whyte III, it is also the one sport that most gives glory to God while providing lessons — both spiritual and physical — for the life God has given mankind. In his short but inspirational new book, God Receives Glory Even from Football, Whyte points out how football is analogous to real life and draws on the spiritual parallels between real life and life on the gridiron, encouraging readers who love football to transfer the dynamic energy and lessons learned from the field into their own lives so they can be victorious in life. 

In the introduction to the book, Whyte writes, “As we commemorate one hundred years of football in America, I thought of how many prayers have gone up before a football game and during a football game, how many times someone has given God the glory for success in football. I thought of all of the scenes down through the years of people such as Reggie White and others gathering together the home team and the visiting team at the end of a game in the center of the field for prayer; how many heads bowed in prayer in the stadium of thousands when somebody got injured; how many teams led by Christian coaches who did extraordinarily well; how many teams led by Christian players who did extraordinarily well; how many people have heard the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ from the testimony of a coach or a player who said, “Jesus Christ is my Saviour and I give Him the glory for this success.” I thought about how many souls have seen John 3:16 at the end of the end zone so that they can read the Gospel for themselves and have a chance at being saved. I thought I would put together a little easy reading book, somewhat of a devotional, titled: God Receives Glory Even From Football: Spiritual Parallels Between Real Life and Life on the Gridiron.”

Chapters include:

God Receives Glory Even from Football is available now on Amazon Kindle as an ebook for $2.99.

Daniel Whyte III has spoken in meetings across the United States and in over twenty-five foreign countries. He is the author of over forty books including the Essence Magazine, Dallas Morning News, and Amazon.com national bestseller, Letters to Young Black Men.

He is also the president of Gospel Light Society International, a worldwide evangelistic ministry that reaches thousands with the Gospel each week.

He is heard by thousands each week on his radio broadcasts/podcasts. He preached the Gospel for 100 days straight leading up to the 2012 election, and he preached the Gospel for 367 days straight throughout the controversial 2016 presidential election season. He just completed preaching this year the Gospel for 1000 days from January 2017 to January 2020.

He is currently a candidate for the Doctor of Ministry degree. He holds a Master’s degree in Religion, a Master of Divinity degree, and a Master of Theology degree from Liberty University’s Rawlings School of Divinity (formerly Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary). He also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Religion from Texas Wesleyan University, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology from Bethany Divinity College.

He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica since 1987. God has blessed their union with seven children.

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Four people were shot, two of them fatally, following a funeral Saturday afternoon at a church in Riviera Beach, Florida, police said.

The shooting was reported just after 2:30 p.m. at Victory City Church.

A 15-year-old boy and adult male were pronounced dead at the scene. A woman and a juvenile were also shot and taken to a hospital for treatment, Riviera Beach police said in a press release.

So far, no arrests have been made.

Riviera Beach is about six miles north of Palm Beach.

Source: NBC News

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Structures erected to temporarily replace three churches that fell victim to an arson attack have been burned down by suspected Islamist militants.

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On December 28, arsonists decimated places of worship belonging to the Sudan Interior Church, the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. Less than three weeks later, the buildings installed in their place were also destroyed by fire.

“This incident is true, the three churches were set on fire twice in less than a month,” one local pastor told Morning Star News. He suspects that the Islamic community was feeling disgruntled by the presence of churches in the area — located near the border with South Sudan — and took the action to repel the Christian presence.

The Sudanese Minister of Religious Affairs Nasr al-Din Mufreh said that one suspect had been arrested, questions, and released due to lack of evidence. He insisted that if the fires “occurred as a result of a criminal offense” the criminals will be “identified, pursued and brought to justice.”

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Open Doors USA lists Sudan as the seventh most dangerous country in which to live as a Christian, warning that “Christian converts with a Muslim background are particularly at risk.”

“A very high level of violence against Christians is evident, particularly in the Nuba Mountains, Darfur, South Kordofan and the Blue Nile State regions where Christians are targeted indiscriminately by government security forces,” reads the group’s factsheet.

Do pray for all those affected by this dreadful attack.

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When it comes to marks of congregational vitality, the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Episcopal Church congregations rank themselves lowest on evangelism, according to a recent survey.

PC(USA)’s Research Services department released an analysis of the U.S. Congregational Vitality Study centered on PC(USA) and the Episcopal Church congregations.

The survey, released Monday, included 156 congregations, 78 from PC(USA) and 78 from the Episcopal Church, with the opinions of about 9,000 church members taken, according to Presbyterian News Service.

PC(USA) looked at responses centered on what they described as the “Seven Marks of Congregational Vitality,” which include “caring relationships,” “ecclesial health,” “intentional, authentic evangelism,” “lifelong discipleship,” “outward incarnational focus,” “servant leadership,” and “Spirit-inspired worship.”

Taken on a scale of 1-100, the survey found that of the congregational vitality marks, “evangelism” was ranked the lowest at 69, deemed the equivalent of a D+ grade.

Within the overall questions pertaining to evangelism, the statement “I try to ensure that visitors to my church feel welcome” was the most popular of the responses, while “I invite people who do not attend church to come visit mine” was the least popular.

The highest of the vitality marks was caring relationships, scoring at 81 percent, or a B to B-, followed by worship and ecclesial health, both at 79 and servant leadership at 78.

Angie Andriot, a research analyst with the PC(USA)’s Research Services, said in comments to Presbyterian News Service that this marked “the first deep analysis” of the congregational vitality data, with more analysis expected in the near future.

Regarding differences in responses between Presbyterian and Episcopal congregations, Andriot said both denominations tended to have similar responses.

Source: USA Today

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This is Daniel Whyte III, president of Gospel Light Society International with the Whyte House Family Devotional Reading of Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening podcast. This is Episode #15.

Charles Spurgeon was a prominent English Particular Baptist preacher. He was very influential among the Christians of various denominations during his age and even today, and is commonly called the “Prince of Preachers”. After some time of alternately searching for God and running from God, he had a powerful encounter which led him to give his life to Christ. Spurgeon was only 16 when he preached his first sermon and he began publishing books shortly afterward. At the time of his death, he had preached nearly 3,600 sermons and published 49 volumes of commentaries, sayings, anecdotes, illustrations and devotions. Spurgeon said, “encouraging thoughts are like honey to the heart”, and wrote this devotional in hopes that its uplifting messages for each day of the year would bring comfort and refreshment to our walk with God. He was inspired by Isaiah 50:4 which reads, “He wakeneth morning by morning. He wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned” and Psalm 63:5-6 which says, “My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips; when I remember Thee upon my bed, and meditate on Thee in the night watches.”

Exodus 28:38 reads: “And it shall be upon Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.”

What a veil is lifted up by these words, and what a disclosure is made! It will be humbling and profitable for us to pause awhile and see this sad sight. The iniquities of our public worship, its hypocrisy, formality, lukewarmness, irreverence, wandering of heart and forgetfulness of God, what a full measure have we there! Our work for the Lord, its emulation, selfishness, carelessness, slackness, unbelief, what a mass of defilement is there! Our private devotions, their laxity, coldness, neglect, sleepiness, and vanity, what a mountain of dead earth is there! If we looked more carefully we should find this iniquity to be far greater than appears at first sight. Dr. Payson, writing to his brother, says, “My parish, as well as my heart, very much resembles the garden of the sluggard; and what is worse, I find that very many of my desires for the melioration of both, proceed either from pride or vanity or indolence. I look at the weeds which overspread my garden, and breathe out an earnest wish that they were eradicated. But why? What prompts the wish? It may be that I may walk out and say to myself, ‘In what fine order is my garden kept!’ This is pride. Or, it may be that my neighbours may look over the wall and say, ‘How finely your garden flourishes!’ This is vanity. Or I may wish for the destruction of the weeds, because I am weary of pulling them up. This is indolence.” So that even our desires after holiness may be polluted by ill motives. Under the greenest sods worms hide themselves; we need not look long to discover them. How cheering is the thought, that when the High Priest bore the iniquity of the holy things he wore upon his brow the words, “Holiness to the Lord:” and even so while Jesus bears our sin, he presents before his Father’s face not our unholiness, but his own holiness. O for grace to view our great High Priest by the eye of faith!

PRAY.

Thank you for listening to the Morning and Evening podcast. If you do not know the Lord as your Savior, here is how you can be saved from Hell and walk with the Lord morning and evening until you go to that wonderful place called Heaven when you die:

First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”

Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 18:8: “Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.” Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

Now that is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.

Romans 10:9 & 13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved… For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, and you want to trust Him for your Salvation today, please pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. I am sorry for my sins, and today I choose to turn from my sins. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. I trust Jesus Christ as my Savior and I choose to follow Him as Lord from this day forward. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.

If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the Cross, was buried, and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”

If you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior today, please email me at [email protected] and let us know. There is some free material that we want to send you. If you have a prayer request, please e-mail that to us as well, and we will pray for you until you tell us to stop.

God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.

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This is Daniel Whyte III with The Scripture & The Sense Podcast #400, where I read the Word of God and give the sense of it based on an authoritative commentary source such as the Bible Knowledge Commentary. This podcast is based upon Nehemiah 8:8 where it says Ezra and the Levites “read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.” The aim of this podcast is that through the simple reading of the Word of God and the giving of the sense of it, the church would be revived and the world would be awakened.

Today we are reading Amos 1:1.

The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

________

That was Amos 1:1. Now here is the sense of it.

The Matthew Henry Commentary reads:

God employed a shepherd, a herdsman, to reprove and warn the people. Those to whom God gives abilities for his services, ought not to be despised for their origin, or their employment. Judgments are denounced against the neighbouring nations, the oppressors of God’s people. The number of transgressions does not here mean that exact number, but many: they had filled the measure of their sins, and were ripe for vengeance. The method in dealing with these nations is, in part, the same, yet in each there is something peculiar. In all ages this bitterness has been shown against the Lord’s people. When the Lord reckons with his enemies, how tremendous are his judgments!

The Bible Knowledge Commentary reads:

These are the words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa, a town directly south of Jerusalem. These sayings or messages resulted from what he saw concerning Israel. They were delivered to the Northern Kingdom two years before the earthquake, during the prosperous reigns of Uzziah in Judah and Jeroboam in Israel. (For a discussion of the prophet, the date, and Kings Uzziah and Jeroboam, see the Introduction.)

____________

Thank you for listening to the Scripture & The Sense Podcast. Remember to read the Word of God each and every day and pray without ceasing to God for wisdom to understand it and apply it to your life. Most importantly, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Please stay tuned for a complete presentation of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ so that you can get your soul saved from Hell to that wonderful place called Heaven when you die. May God bless you and keep you is my prayer.

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