Wake Up America

"The Lord stood by a straight wall,

with a plumb line in his hand.

.

The Lord said to me,

"Amos, what do you see?"

.

I said, "A plumb line."

.

The the Lord said,

"See, I will put a plumb line among my people Israel

to show how crooked they are.

I will not look the other way any longer."

Amos 7: 7-8

Wake Up America

Tony Campolo

READ Amos 7:1-9:15

SITUATION Amos saw God's coming judgments on Israel through two visions. After each vision, he prayed that God would be merciful.

OBSERVATION God sent his prophet Amos to warn the people of Israel to repent of their sins. God gives us these examples to teach us that he hates sin.

INSPIRATION The task of the prophet is to nurture, nourish, and evoke a vision of an alternative to the dominate system. The prophet must generate hype for something that lies beyond the present order. We need a vision of an alternative future that will energize us and motivate us to act, a vision of possibilities that will make our blood run hot and give us the courage to revolt against the way things are.

A prophet's vision can replace people's numbness with energy. The possibility of a glorious "might be" can enable us to live in ways that appear dangerous to the custodians of the status quo. With vision, the dead bones can come alive. The physically dead can be resurrected. The spiritual sleepers can be awakened. Out of sorrow for the death of the old can come a new dynamism to us; through the message of the prophet we can come to believe in a new heaven and a new earth. The apathy that works in people in dying societies can be dispelled. There can be passion. There can be a "new song" (Isaiah 42:10), and the fatigue that is so evident among those in the present order can be overcome. . .

All of this energy comes from the message of the prophet. The people of the dying society can be "born again." The prophet's hope can generate the dynamism for change. (From Wake Up America by Tony Campolo)

APPLICATION Use Sundays as a chance to get to know God better. Go to church faithfully. Worship and listen attentively. Spend Sundays building relationships with others in your church and spend time with your family.

EXPLORATION Bold Witnesses -- Matthew 5:13-15; Mark 4:21-25; John 3:21; Acts 1:8; Galatians 6:9.

The Devotional Bible - Experiencing the Heart of Jesus; Max Lucado General Editor, Thomas Nelson Publishers, New Century Version

Michael W Smith - A New Hallelujah