Gift of God Devotional

Let’s read Amos 1.

Do you have things that you will not tolerate from people? For me, I have two specific things I can’t stand: lying and entitlement. Those are grounds for someone to be completely removed from my life, or close to it.

God set ground rules long before the days of Amos, and those were non-negotiable. There are eight separate lists of sins by different peoples and nations listed in the first two chapters of Amos. Eight times where God says, “for three sins, even for four, I will not relent.”

How many chances are you willing to give people? There are some people who are very dear to me who have betrayed my trust, but because I love them and I know they had no intentions of doing that, I gave them forgiveness. Jesus calls us to forgive and forgive and forgive as many times as are needed, even to our enemies (Matthew 18). However, Jesus also tells us that if people are unreceptive of your life and ministry, then you are to walk away and have nothing to do with them (Matthew 10).

Do you, like me, tend to remember and hold grudges for the wrongs you have faced? Who do you need to forgive today? Who do you need to cut off for both your sakes? Where do you need to let go and let God take care of it?