The forgotten side of the relationship with God
Amos 3:1-15, 4:1-3 A while back, a friend shared an incident about taking her son to a birthday party where the birthday boy received the newest iPhone model from his parents. As the boys were horsing around, he dropped the…
Taking the log out of our eyes
Amos 2:4-16 Recently, I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror and for a fraction of a second, I thought I saw my mum: the same eyes, the same facial expression. It was a surprise, as I do not…
Where is God when wars and atrocities happen?
Amos 1:2-15; 2:1-3 War crimes and atrocities in armed conflicts are nothing new, but in the West we can be too far removed from it all. However, with the ongoing war in Ukraine and the conflict between Israel and Gaza,…
Introduction to Amos
Amos 1:1; 2 Kings 14:23-27; 2 Chron 26:1-23 I once saw a photo of a man sitting in a deckchair in the sun reading a newspaper. It looked an idyllic picture except for the fact that the man was positioned…
Lessons from the place of distress and remembering the Lord
Ps 102:1-28 One of the things I noticed living in the West is how much more private people are about their troubles and how much harder it can be to know what they are really feeling. Even at funerals, those…
The secret of a transformed life: From distress to joy
Hab 3:16-19 Perhaps one of the most searching questions in the Bible is asked in Job’s story, ‘Does Job fear God for nothing?’ (Job 1:9). The accusation made is that God has lavished His blessings on Job, so he is…
The missing piece we need in our image of God
Hab 3:1-15 Among secular people today, as well as among many Christians, God is viewed as good, loving and kind, close when we need Him and caring for us. Our church buildings also reflect this perspective – they tend to…
Knowing the reality of God and the difference it makes
Hab 2:15-20 The twentieth century novel, Lord of the Flies, is the story about a group of public-school boys who land on an uninhabited island. Without adult authority, their behaviour degenerates into violence and savagery with one boy eventually bludgeoned…
The outcomes of a self-sufficient life and its remedy
Hab 2:5-14 We finally begin to see in our reading an answer to Habakkuk’s question about the wickedness of the Babylonians and whether God is going to judge them (Hab 1:13). The portrait of the oppressor describes the way of…
The righteous shall live by his faith and the NT
Hab 2:4; Rom 1:16-17; Gal 3:11; Heb 10:32-39 The study of this famous verse, ‘The righteous will live by his faith’ (Hab 2:4) would not be complete without a reflection on how this line is used in the NT, most…