Grabbed by the knackers...

Sometimes a piece of Scripture grabs you by the knackers & gets your attention.

So it was as I read through Amos 5 yesterday. I'll let God speak for Himself through His Word, but needless to say this prophetic warning to Israel over 2700 years ago could be just as applicable to many parts of the Western Church today...

Amos 5 (from the Message)

18-20 "Woe to all of you who want God's Judgment Day! Why would you want to see God, want him to come? When God comes, it will be bad news before it's good news, the worst of times, not the best of times. Here's what it's like: A man runs from a lion right into the jaws of a bear. A woman goes home after a hard day's work and is raped by a neighbor. At God's coming we face hard reality, not fantasy— a black cloud with no silver lining."

21-24 "I can't stand your religious meetings. I'm fed up with your conferences and conventions. I want nothing to do with your religion projects, your pretentious slogans and goals. I'm sick of your fund-raising schemes, your public relations and image making. I've had all I can take of your noisy ego-music. When was the last time you sang to me?

Do you know what I want? I want justice—oceans of it. I want fairness—rivers of it. That's what I want. That's all I want."