Prosperity is not always an emblem of God's approval. God will not prosper us if it would cause spiritual damage, insulating us from seeking His kingdom.

Preaching to the ancient Israelites, Amos' indictments parallel today's spiritual decline. God wants His people to repent and avoid impending judgment.

Destruction comes from a gradual withdrawal from intimacy with God rather than outright rejection. We must be vigilant against spiritual complacency.

The church must forcefully deal with the overwhelming feeling of hopelessness or it too will succumb to the terrifying vortex of despair.

In the rich young ruler, we see a respectful and eager young man who leaves Christ and goes away sorrowful. The Christian walk is particularly hard for the wealthy.

Our love for beauty must be coupled with love for righteousness and holiness. Our relationship with Christ must take central place in our lives, displacing all else.

The best way to attain true wealth and the abundant eternal life is to loosen our grip on worldly rewards and treasures, and single-mindedly follow Christ.

Members of God's church usually come home from the Feast of Tabernacles with renewed strength. Yet, some fall away each year. Here's how to stay the course.

Ancient Israel had at the core of its religion an obsession to please the self at the expense of justice and the best interests of the disadvantaged.

Our biggest danger at this time is to be lured into spiritual drunkenness by the pagan Babylonian system. Our God is not what we say we worship but whom we serve.

We must learn to let God provide blessings rather than, through crafty scheming life our forefather Jacob, grabbing them from others for themselves.

Jesus taught that all outward sin stems from inner inordinate desire. What we desire or lust after automatically becomes our idol.

Often physical prosperity works against godly character and spiritual well-being. To be rich toward God means to seek His Kingdom first, live His way, and trust Him.

Coveting—lust—is a fountainhead of many other sins. Desiring things is not wrong, but desiring someone else's things promotes overtly sinful behavior.

In the Bible, eating can be a symbol of fornication. Like Jacob and Christ, we must learn to curb our appetites, learning to distinguish holy from profane.

Laodiceanism is the attitude that dominates the end time. It is a subtle form of worldliness that has infected the church, and Christ warns against it strongly.

In God's plan, the development of uncompromising character requires struggle and sacrifice. Our victory requires continual drill, tests and development of discipline.

The letters to the seven churches of Revelation warn of losing our first love, heeding false teachers, compromising God's Truth, and forgetting right doctrine.

Both Israel and Judah during Hosea's time adopted paganism from the surrounding nations. Syncretistic religion blends paganism and Christianity.

The danger of abundant blessings is that we tend to forget the source of the blessings and cease being thankful. When we forget to be thankful, we forget God.

Paradoxically, humble obedience and dependency upon God strengthens us, while prideful self-sufficiency weakens us.

The people to whom Amos writes have the mistaken assumption that because they have made the covenant with God, they can bask in a kind of divine favoritism.

Pride leads to destruction, tricking us into thinking we deserve better than we have. Paradoxically, pride is a mark of inferiority, causing overcompensation.