You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with your whole heart. Jeremiah 29:13.

The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. When they finished, James spoke up. “Brothers,” he said, “listen to me. Simon has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for His name from the Gentiles. The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: “‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear My name, says the Lord, who does these things’ – things known from long ago.” Acts 15:12-18.

The above Scripture in Acts quoted by the Apostle James was from our chapter, Amos 9, the final chapter of this book of Amos. This chapter in Amos does not stint on telling about the judgment of sin by Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit. God’s love is His judgment on our sins because it is our sins then and now that are destroying us. Our sins then and now are the offensive way within us that we must see and repent of and trust God to remove, that we can be in a right relationship with Him and with one another. Listen to God speaking through Amos, because His words are life-giving correction and He is the One who helps us understand: I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and He said: “Strike the tops of the pillars so that the thresholds shake. Bring them down on the heads of all the people; those who are left I will kill with the sword. Not one will get away, none will escape. Though they dig down to the depths below, from there My hand will take them. Though they climb up to the heavens above, from there I will bring them down…v. 1-2. Remember the words of David…Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; If I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast…See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:7-10, 24. These are not just beautiful words. They are the way to life lived with Creator God that is good and so needed. “The Lord, the Lord Almighty – He touches the earth and it melts, and all who live in it mourn; the whole land rises like the Nile, then sinks like the river of Egypt; He builds His lofty palace in the heavens and sets its foundation on the earth; He calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land – the Lord is His name. Are not you Israelites the same to me as the Cushites?” declares the Lord. “Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir? Surely the eyes of the Sovereign Lord are on the sinful kingdom. I will destroy it from the face of the earth. Yet I will not totally destroy the descendants of Jacob,” declares the Lord. “For I will give the command, and I will shake the people of Israel among all the nations as grain is shaken in a sieve, and not a pebble will reach the ground. All the sinners among My people will die by the sword, all those who say, ‘Disaster will not overtake us.’ In that day “I will restore David’s fallen shelter – I will repair its broken walls and restore its ruins – and will rebuild it as it used to be, so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear My name,” declares the Lord, who will do these things.” v. 5-12. Yes there is warning from Creator God about the wages of our sins. And there is hope in His love that brings healing of our sins, and restoration so needed by each of us. “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills, and I will bring My people Israel back from exile. They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit, I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them,” says the Lord your God. v. 13-15.

When will we begin to see that it is our very sins that are bringing the hurt to ourselves and others that we cry out against in this broken world? We can’t stop the sins and the hurting of this world. But we can trust Creator God to know exactly what is needed for each of us. And when we turn to Him for understanding, we see more clearly the results of our sins in our own lives and in our world for what they are; but we also see our needed hope is Creator God, and He is the One who leads us in the way everlasting with Him. What a beautiful hope that is! Our hope is our Creator God and His love for us that will not leave us in our sins!