“For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel,
‘Seek Me that you may live.
But do not resort to Bethel
And do not come to Gilgal,
Nor cross over to Beersheba;
For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity
And Bethel will come to trouble.
Seek the Lord that you may live,
Or He will break forth like a fire, O house of Joseph,
And it will consume with none to quench it for Bethel,
For those who turn justice into wormwood
And cast righteousness down to the earth.’” (Amos 5:4-7 NASB1995)

Bethel, Gilgal, and Beersheba were all locations of idolatry, i.e. the worship of idols. In our world today they do not necessarily have to be physical cities or locations, but they can be opportunities to do what is evil in the sight of God and to reject truth and righteousness in favor of sinful practices, which are idols. For an idol is anything we put above God and that we give our loyalties, devotion, time, energies, heart, and passion to, or our dependence upon, in place of God, but especially in the area of obvious sinful addictions.

And these idols can be other humans. They can be movie stars, sports heroes, pastors and elders of “churches,” politicians, the news media, world leaders, famous people, doctors, lawyers, book authors, and any people who claim to be Christians but who may, in fact, be liars and hypocrites who are out to deceive, to trap, and to get you off course and to following after a lie. Or these idols can be worldly possessions, intellect, hobbies, or anything that gets our time and devotion which supersedes our worship of God.

And worship of God is not something we do just in a “worship service” in a gathering of what is called “the church,” and only for an hour or so once a week, at which time we might sing a bunch of “worship songs.” And worship of God is not just in having “daily devotions” where we might read a passage of Scripture or a devotional written by another human, and at which time we give our prayer requests to God. Worship of God is in giving our lives to God as living sacrifices to God, holy and pleasing to God, and it is ALL THE TIME.

Now when the Lord says, “Seek me that you may live,” that is not just Old Covenant teaching. Much of what is taught under the Old Covenant is still applicable to our lives today. God still demands obedience to his commands (New Covenant), and surrender to him to do his will and purpose for our lives. He still demands that we die to sin and that we live holy lives, pleasing to God, in his power. And disobedience to his commands, in practice, is still regarded as unbelief which ends in death, not in life eternal with God.

For Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

So our God, who is a God of mercy and grace, is still a God of justice and righteousness. And so we are all going to stand before him in judgment at the end, and we will all have to give an account to God with regard to what we did with him and with Jesus Christ and with his gospel message. And a profession of faith in him, not accompanied by living in obedience to his commands, in holy living, and in the forsaking of our sins, will be met by him with, “I never knew you. Depart from me you workers of lawlessness.”

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

The Letters

Based off Revelation 2-3
An Original Work / December 17, 2013
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

To the angels of all the churches write:
These are the words of your Lord and your God.
I know all your deeds, and your witness, too,
And who holds to My words and tells what’s true.
I know all your hard work and your perseverance,
Yet I hold against you: you’ve forsaken Me.
Listen to what I say to you.

You have people there who deny My name,
And who put the cross of Christ up to shame.
They entice the people to Me, profane,
And their worship of Me is all in vain.
They are so adult’rous as they chase their idols,
And you put up with them easily enough.
Listen to what I say to you.

You give off an image of godliness,
But what you present is so fraudulent,
Or else you lack passion for Jesus Christ,
So you look to others to tell what’s right.
I say turn from your sin, or you will face judgment.
He who overcomes will have eternal life.
Listen to what I say to you.

I know your afflictions and poverty;
How you suffer for your Lord patiently.
Do not fear the devil and company.
You be faithful to your Lord endlessly.
I know all your weakness and your dedication.
You have kept My Word and not denied your Lord.
I will write on you My new name.

Seek God That You May Live
An Original Work / January 8, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love