Amos 1:1,  The words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa ~ the vision he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake, when Uzziaih was king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash, was king of Israel.  

Amos, a shepherd who was willing to follow God and do and say what God told Him to, even though he was not someone others would have expected God to use.  He wasn’t a religious scholar or a known prophet; he was just a shepherd.  God loves to choose those others overlook.  Amos was used because he put his “yes” on the table and didn’t take it off when the assignment wasn’t going to be a popular one.  His message was about the pending judgment of the Northern kingdom of Israel. Now, here’s the thing… he was from the “south”.  Amos was from Tekoa, about 12 miles from Jerusalem. I never would have fully understood the depth of that until I moved to the South in the U.S. after having grown up in the Northern part of the U.S. One cannot fully grasp the division until it is experienced. So for Amos to be called in the first place out from the shepherd fields, it may have been a surprise for some people. The fact that he was headed north to spread the words God gave him about the judgment headed their way would not have made it any easier for him.  So to show up in the Northern Kingdom with a message of “Y’all are about to get whoopin’ from the Lord!” Wasn’t going to be a welcome message, but he left that shepherd field to go do what God told him to do, regardless. 

Everyone around the world has been talking about Charlie Kirk and the impact of the message God gave him that he faithfully delivered. One of the challenges he had thrown at him over and over was that he didn’t finish college, and yet many of the most successful people in the world don’t have a college degree. It was the message they were actually opposing, not his education. When the message doesn’t agree with the way people want to live, they will look for whatever they can to discredit the person bringing that message. What they miss is that the message is God’s, not the person’s delivering it, just as it was in this case with Amos. God doesn’t call the qualified; He qualifies the called! Don’t think that because you don’t have a degree, or you come from a small town or family, that God can’t use you in a mighty way.  It isn’t about your surroundings, who you know, what you know,  what your family name is, or whether or not you were popular in school; it is always about Him, and He wants to use you!  God has a plan for your life, but it requires your willingness to follow Him.  Every call of God is important, and every Christian has a call of God on their life to serve Him with whatever He puts in front of us to do. Jesus washed the feet of His disciples to show us just how important every task is! You are significant in His plan.  He has chosen you for something. What has He put in front of you to do that satan is trying to distract you from? Trust me, that is a continual battle for me and one I must get better at fighting. Don’t allow anyone or anything to keep you from what God is asking you to do. The time is short, and there are so many people who are lost and need Him as their Savior. It will take all of us doing our part to reach them!

We should be excited ~ while the message we have been given has pending judgment in it, we have been given the answer to share of how that eternal judgment can be avoided by anyone who is willing to believe, accept Jesus as their Savior, and allow Him to be the Lord of their life.  We have the answer ~ Jesus! God is calling us to share that Good News with the world, so let’s not let satan get in our way!