Poor Heart - Amos 4:1-3

The poor will always be among us. I've been poor. God cares for all of us no matter what your finances are but, He being a loving God expects us to love eachother as well. We are rebuked for neglecting the poor. What is God rebuking here? The issue is a heart issue. Do you have a heart for those less fortunate then you and do you take action to be a blessing in some way to the poor? Take it a step further and look at the poor in spirit. 

Pastor Patrick

Looking Within - Amos 3:9-15

Everything in the Old Testament prophets seems to deal with idolatry. It all speaks to God's heart for his people and how they turn their backs to God and rely on their own knowledge, their own pleasures, their own business practices, their own religion of prosperity, their own politics. Examine yourself and see if you are living the religion that Jesus gave us as the example to the heart of God. Or, are you living in the man made religion of criticism and slavery to the rules and regulations.

It is not our place to judge the people of the world and their sins. We are to love them and accept them as they are so that they see the unconditional love of God in our character and all we do. We are to judge ourselves and the log in our own eye should be our main concern. Looking within at the work God is doing will allow you to have the compassion to help those in the family of God and without.

Pastor Patrick

The DUH Moment - Amos 3:1-8

Some things in life are just a no brainier! Like when my tummy growls it means it's time to eat. Or when someone sneezes we would say bless you. Well, God is giving us the DUH moments here in Amos. Does God use his prophets to speak? Duh! Does God expect us to listen and obey? Duh! Is Gods judgement righteous? Duh! 

Pastor Patrick

Taking it Personal - Amos 2:6-16

It is difficult to ignore the horrible murders and injustice taking place in America through abortion. Sure we have many faults and the idolatry of the American Dream is grieving the heart of God. Just as Amos prophesied against the social injustices taking place in prosperous Israel at the time, it is the responsibility of the Prophets of today to warn us of going down the same path. God has fought many battles for us here in America, but he will not be able to ignore the sins of this nation for long. His holy nature will not allow it and if it were not for His long suffering we would have already seen his discipline. It's time to take it personal. 

Pastor Patrick

Subtle Sin - Amos 1:1 - 2:5

Amos a shepherd and business man from Judah really brings about the issues that the two kingdoms we're dealing with here. Both were in prosperous times and the poor were being oppressed says the scholars. These first seven Oracles seem to me to represent different types of compromise and oppression within the camp of Gods chosen people and Amos is calling it out and rebuking it. 

What areas of the world are encroaching into your life and leading you into compromise? Remember the enemy dosnt come raising a big red flag but is very subtle and crafty, most of the time it's barely noticeable and you have to dig deep to see it. You can choose to ignore these little compromises and allow the oppression to develop deep roots or expose these for what they are, SIN! 

Pastor Patrick

His indwelling presence - Joel 3

Ruin and destruction lie ahead for all who do not know and trust the Lord. But all who belong to Him through repentance and faith are promised His indwelling presence, as well as eternal abundance, total satisfaction, and security. Believers feeling outnumbered and bullied by the world should be encouraged to know that all the worldly powers someday will be assembled before the Lord to receive His justice. Believers should consider times of crisis as opportunities for reflection on the character of our lives, especially our relationship with the Lord. For unbelievers these are opportunities to recognize our vulnerability and our need for a relationship with the living God. (Holman)

God loves his people. He loves you! There is no question that God will protect us from the world. Seek his presence and know His love and peace.

Pastor Patrick

Down Payment - Joel 2:28-32

When I go down to buy a new used car, I get to take it out for a test drive. Then I make my decision to buy it or not. Once I settle on the car I want we go into negotiations on the price and payments. After we come to terms I give them a down payment as a promise to pay for it all. God gave His Spirit to all believers as a down payment of more to come. This is talking about the second coming of Christ here in Joel. At Pentecost however we received the down payment and the promise from God. 

2 Corinthians 5:5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 

Pastor Patrick

The Lord Responds - Joel 2:18-27

God’s promises are real answers to the prayers of faith, because with him saying and doing are not two things. One thing you can take to the bank and that is God is faithful to respond to our repentance. Not only on an individual basis but as well as a national basis. What is God's response to our repentance? Blessing! 

Let us put into perspective what blessings from God is. It is, the necessities of life and an abundance of the needs we have to live. It is not, Cadillac's and diamonds. God is faithful to meet our obedience with blessing both spiritual and physical. 

Pastor Patrick

Return to the Lord - Joel 2:12-17

The heading in my bible reads "Return to the Lord". The crazy cycle that Israel was always wrapped up in is nuts. What is funny about reading how wishy washy these people were in their relationship with God is it kind of mirrors my own walk. The first five years was like my personal redemption from Egypt and my wilderness wandering. Then ten or so years of half hearted worship. I worshiped the Jesus I made, not the Jesus from the Father. 

Now the last six years have been amazing. There always seems to be some kind of drama or a struggle in my life. Yet, my Jesus is there and faithfully walking with me because I returned to Him as he asked in obedience. 

Pastor Patrick

Trumpet Call - Joel 2:1-11

It can be a difficult task to bring the truth of prophetic judgement from God. It is not always received with open arms and joy. The minister has the responsibility to sound the alarm once the prophet has spoken the word. Joel says to blow the trumpet and sound the alarm. Joel is speaking to the priest. It is the responsibility of the ministers to warn us, the sheep, of the judgements of God. 

The priest back then didn't listen to the prophet. He didn't go and blow the trumpet or sound the alarm like he was asked to do. It was his responsibility to warn the people. Gods judgement is not a fun filled, feel good message. It forces us to look at our sin before a Holy and Pure Creator. The blackness of our hearts can be a stumbling block to hearing from Gods anointed. Let us not make the same mistake Judah did by closing our hearts to the word of God given by His ministers through His Prophets. 

Pastor Patrick

The Real Reason for You - Joel 1:14-20

Starve yourself! That will bring you closer to God. The prophet is calling for a fast and repentance. I make light of the fast but in all reality God is honored when we set aside our pleasures and desires for Him. Dig into the deeper things of God.. A deeper relationship is what He seeks from you. Have you ever asked yourself, what does God want from me? it's a relationship, that is what he wants from you a deep, real, meaningful relationship. This is the purpose you were created for. 

Pastor Patrick

Lament Like a Virgin - Joel 1:8-13

There was a report on the news about a young man who died in a car accident on the way to his wedding. The young bride was devastated. How heart breaking, I was in tears for this young girls grief. None of us here can even relate to this girl and the heart break she had to deal with. 

This is how we are called to repentance. To lament like a virgin! The more we are wedded to our creature-comforts that harder it is to part with them. We are called out to lament the sins of our nation and the sins of our heart, and with the world and its un-holy culture of acceptance through compromise. The countrymen and the clergy are called out in Joel to mourn and cry. What? Here comes the prophetic! 

Isaiah 32:10–12

 10  In little more than a year you will shudder, you complacent women; for the grape harvest fails, the fruit harvest will not come. 11  Tremble, you women who are at ease, shudder, you complacent ones; strip, and make yourselves bare, and tie sackcloth around your waist. 12  Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.

Are you heart broken because of the sin in your life and the sins of our people and nation? God is!

Pastor Patrick

Locust? Joel 1:1-7

I'm like a locust plague? What is that? Some of us may not be able to grab hold of this with an understanding that hits home, but this was a serious disaster. It's like the stock market crashing for us today. Losing everything in our retirement plan and not being able to recover. The call from the prophet here is to wake up and see this disaster for what it really is. A spanking from the Creator for the idolatry,  and the compromise in the hearts of the people of the land.

I remember when 9/11 happened and Katrina hit the coast. There were some prophets calling out the sins of our nation like abortion, homosexuality and the love of money. Some people received the warnings and some ignored it. While these issues are evident in our society the real issue is the hearts of the people. You may get upset and not agree with God that abortion is murder, or that homosexuality is not what God intended for the human relationship. Again, the issue at hand is us compromising our God given virtues with those of a lost and dying world. 

I encourage you to search your heart and accept Gods word as your only rule of life. As you will see as we move through the word of God, he wants to bless us but we get in the way.

Pastor Patrick

The Grace Offering- Hosea 14

Here as we finish up the last chapter of Hosea I love how God has asked his people to repent and then shared the love and forgiveness that he can bring to the people. It's amazing how God actually fulfill that promise through Jesus. That promise is alive and well to us today. Each one of us that believe on Jesus and acknowledge our shortcomings are able to abide in the love of God. It's because of the blood that Jesus shed on the cross that this grace has been given to us. 

Pastor Patrick