Behold, days are coming, declares the Lord God, “When I will send a famine on the land. Not a famine for bread or a thirst for water.
But rather for hearing the words of the Lord." (Amos 8:11).

Famine for the word of the Lord happened. “In those days there was no open vision, the words of the Lord are precious.” Realizing that the WORDS of GOD are more necessary than food, we should endeavor to treasure these words in our hearts and commit them to our memory so we will be guided accordingly.

Meditate on the WORD day and night (Ps. 1:2). Meditation means to think deeply and continuously about something. To a Christian this means remaining in the presence of God and pondering each truth He reveals about Himself until it becomes real and personal in his life. The truth moves from your head to your heart and pierces the division of soul and spirit where character is formed, attitude is shaped and action is done.

Rejoice in God’s WORD (Jeremiah 15:16). Isaiah brought the message of hope to the people of God, when hope was seemingly impossible. Samuel received words from the Lord in times of deep national crisis, and revival came to a hopeless people. Today when we hear the word of the Lord, let us rejoice, whether it be of praise or of correction.

( 1 John 4: 7-8 )

“God loves us with an everlasting love.” ( Jeremiah 31:3 ) In His book “Lectures In Systematic Theology”, Henry Thiesen writes; “He is unlike the gods of the heathen who hate and are angry, and the god of the philosopher who is cold and indifferent.”

God’s love is active and powerful. It has an innate power to create value on the object of love! Further, His love of His children is not based on their obedience but on His faithfulness and His nature of being the God of Love!

On the basis of that love, God redeemed us from the curse of sin and gave us a new heart. “If anyone is in Christ”, Paul wrote, “he is a new creation”. We, have received a brand new life capable of loving God and others. Conclusively, as a disciple, John wrote what he learned from his Lord, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God: and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” ( I John 4:7-8).

His compelling love:
Ours is a God of love. He loves us with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3). God’s love is an ever mastering feeling of affection, so powerful that compels one to action. It is the only power that opens the inner man to love even the unlovely. The quality of love JESUS has for us longs to express, to comfort, to bless and to help others.

Love that cannot be concealed, cannot be forgotten, cannot be avoided.
Love that does not let go until it wins.
Love that will not give up even to the point of death.

(Psalm 103:10-13)

The apostle Paul must have felt terribly burdened by guilt. He was on His way to Damascus, after which time he spent three years under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit. Surely, Paul encountered guilt. How could he ever forgive himself after what he had done to countless Christians he persecuted.

We learn in Acts 7:58 that Paul, formerly, Saul of Tarsus, was involved in the stoning of Stephen, a saint of the early Christian church. Knowing that he had been one of the greatest enemies of Christ and was involved in the execution of an innocent man, Paul certainly felt the enemy’s accusatory sting of false guilt.

Yet Paul went on to pen the Bible’s most refreshing truths on liberty in Christ. He understood that God’s perfect plan called for Christ to bear on Himself all of man’s sin and the accompanying guilt.

When a believer refuses to forgive himself for some past misdeeds, he in effect is refusing to believe God’s word. Notice in Luke 4:18 how Christ described Himself early in His ministry. In his hometown synagogue, He read from the Scriptures and proclaimed that He had come to set the captives free. If you are still in bondage, the chains are false. The truth has already set you free. Forgive yourself, because the Lord has already forgiven you. He paid the penalty of your sins and rendered you justified by the power of His blood shed on the cross. Come to Him just as you are. He will give you a brand new life.