DOING GOOD

“Seek good, not evil, that you may live.  Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is.”  Amos 5:14

         We find in the book of Amos the prophet a lament and call to repentance to Israel.  They are told in the above verse to seek good and not evil.  Since God doesn’t wink at man’s sin, He is not with those who practice evil, ungodly acts.  Therefore it behooves all men who wish to please God to live good, peaceable, godly lives full of love, mercy and grace toward others. 

         God abides within the true believer in the form of His Holy Spirit.  I use the term “true believer” for many say they believe yet show no evidence of such belief.  A true believer is one who takes very seriously his or her relationship with God.  They seek to be like Christ in all their daily doings.  They comb the scriptures looking for nuggets of wisdom and guidance to aid them in their spiritual walk.  The casual believer lives as they so choose, paying little attention to God’s directives, yet go to church each Sunday to get their weekly dose of spiritual food.  They are malnourished and don’t even realize it.  Their spirit is starving for the meat of the word; they crave the thirst quenching waters of the Spirit, yet remain lacking.  They may even wish to delve deeper in a relational way but don’t know how.  Seek the face of God daily and feast on His word.  Learn at His feet and hear what His spirit wishes to impart to you.
          There is no lasting benefit to doing evil.  Those who practice deceit will be rooted out and punished.  You can count on it.  There is peace that comes from doing good.  There is joy that comes from pleasing the Lord with your lifestyle.  There is hope that overshadows any discouragement when you abide in the Lord.  Do good and shun evil.  It’s what we have been called to do as true believers.  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!