the12journey

What do Amos and Paul's second letter to the Corinthians have in common?  One thing for sure: it matters how we live as people of faith.  The world is watching to see if what Scripture says about following Christ is true, not so much by what we say but in how we live out our faith each day.

Sometimes when working for the good of His creation, His righteousness requires His standing against evil in the world and actively working against it.  That answers the question of whether or not God cares about the evil we see going on in the world today and if He is at work in our human experience to effect His good will in spite of that evil.  Nahum shows us how.

Cancel Culture is nothing new.  Micah shows us the ways to remain faithful when the world around us makes following Jesus not just difficult but dangerous.  

Malachi had some strong things to say to the religious leadership of his day that is still a good word to our own day.  Giving our best to the world around us because we seek political influence, popularity, and preference while giving our worst to God leads us down the wrong road every time as Believers.  Having the right priorities, even in a difficult and uncertain time, is paramount.

One of the most amazing and powerful moments in the Old Testament that fixes our eyes on the redemptive work of Jesus is found in a collection of visions given to the Minor Prophet Zechariah.  God's people then needed to hear that God could redeem all of the bad things that had happened before and take all of their shame and brokenness because of the pursuit of sin and restore them to Him again through His mercy and grace.  We need to hear that today, too.  Zechariah points us straight to the cross of Jesus.

The word "beautiful" might not be the first adjective you'd choose to describe an ancient traveler's feet.  What would prompt that kind of description?  Nahum the Minor Prophet lets us know.  The answer lies not in the feet themselves but in what they carry to others.  

Joel opened his amazing book with the command to God's people to tell the next generations about not only what happened but why it happened when it came to their honest testimony of running after idols instead of God and then ending up in wreckage.  You and I as Christians today have a testimony, too.  That testimony begins with the honest assessment that we needed to be saved by Jesus from the brokenness of sin in our lives.  No matter what your history may be, if you are saved in Jesus today and made new by Him, it's a great testimony to share!

We may look at the news today and wonder about global events and whether God still works or not in the world today.  Faithful ol' Obadiah helps us wrestle with this idea and reveals a powerful truth: no nation is beyond the reach of Almighty God especially if that nation is cruel and destructive in its actions.  God is a defender of those who call on Him in faith through Christ no matter where they may be in the world.  God is able to humble the nation that wounds others in its pride and greediness.