filled with mercy

Tuesday July 14^th, Amos 7: 14 Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, "I was no prophet, nor a prophet's son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. 15 But the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.'  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell when something stinks, but if we squint our eyes just right and scrunch our nose and try real hard, we can pretend all is ok in this world we have built.  It is easy for each of us to get caught up in our own dance with the devil and forget who is playing our song, but in the end, the next morning in the light of day, it is not always a pretty sight.  We have all been given not only the task of bringing forth God’s vision for a peaceful world filled with mercy and justice, but the ability to do it.  And not just do it, but do it in such a way that makes this world, which still belongs to God, just a little bit better, a little bit closer to God’s plan of manna and mercy for all.  Amos was a lowly hired farm hand.  Through the voice of God he was also a voice of justice for his nation and all the nations of the world, then and now and into the future.  Just imagine what God can do through you if you let him?  It’s kind of scary isn’t it? It is also what brings life.