Amos: An Invitation to the Good LifeSample

Not So Famous Amos

Hey, my friend! Pull up a chair, and let’s talk, Amos! I’ve poured my coffee, but I will admit first thing that I would much rather sit here with this hot dark coffee and munch my way through a bag of, you guessed it, Famous Amos® chocolate chip cookies. Ever had one—or one hundred? (Because you just can’t stop at one cookie.)

Oh. My. Goodness.

All I can say is every time I think of Amos, I can’t get Famous Amos and his cookies off my mind!

So, we need to get to know this Amos—Not So Famous Amos—with whom we’ll be spending lots of time.

Let’s ask God to guide us as we get started. Lord, open our hearts as we open Your Word. Amen.

All right, let’s go! Open your Bible to Amos 1:1.

Yep, those are the facts all in one verse! Amos was a shepherd and fig grower (you’ll discover this later) who lived in Tekoa in Judah. He left home as a prophet to speak God’s message to the Northern Kingdom of Israel.

Look up Amos 7:14-15. What did Amos say about himself and his qualifications?

To me, that says your family history does not dictate the if, how, or when you will step into “His” story. It says that no matter where your family tree is planted, you can still blossom! No matter how bent and broken the branches on your family tree may be, God can still pluck you out and plant you anywhere He chooses. You do not need to be raised in the church to have a ministry in and to the church. You do not need to have a perfect history to help change history through your obedient, yielded life. Amos didn’t come from prophet pedigree, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be a prophet.

Our present, our past, our problems, our personalities—none of those predict or preclude us from being and doing what God sets before us. We need to be willing, like Amos, to be who God is calling us to be and do what He is calling us to do.

Amos 7:15 explains that God took Amos “from” and sent him “to.” Let’s pray for the spirit of Amos. As you open your hands and heart to God in prayer, deeply consider where you are, what you do, and your willingness to be open to following God’s call as Amos did—even though it may look very different from his.