The Christ Quarter
The Christ Quarter discusses God's Words through scripture, what those means and how they apply to our lives. I hope that God will speak to you through His Words and that my discussion of those words and will help to bring you closer to Him.
I am blessed to have this opportunity to share God's word with you and I thank you so much for listening.
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Thank you very much!
- Kirk
- TheChristQuarter@GMail.com
The Christ Quarter
God doesn’t want your songs if He doesn’t have your heart
Together we unpack two unforgettable images: a man fleeing a lion only to meet a bear, another resting at home who is then bitten by a serpent. Those scenes expose two modern traps—keeping God at arm’s length and mistaking familiar routines for spiritual safety.
Then comes the piercing center: God rejects songs and feasts when the heart is far away. Not because God opposes music or celebration, but because He loves integrity—worship that overflows into fair dealings, compassion for the poor, and honest, humble lives. “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream” isn’t a slogan; it’s the pulse of true praise.
We speak candidly about the difference between doing church and loving God, about meals that become ministry, and songs that become prayer when sincerity leads. The invitation is simple and demanding: open your heart, let God clean what’s hidden, and realign your habits so grace shows up in your calendar, your budget, and your words. If you’ve felt the forms of faith grow heavy, this conversation offers clarity and hope.
Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a gentle jolt, and leave a review with one practice you’ll realign toward justice and righteousness this week.
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Amos 5:18-24 - KJV
18 - Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord! to what end is it for you? the day of the Lord is darkness, and not light.
19 - As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.
20 - Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?
21 - I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.
22 - Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.
23 - Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.
24 - But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.
Welcome to the Christ Quarter. I'm so glad you're here with me to take 15 minutes of this day to enjoy the presence of Christ and the words of Christ. We will read a brief section of Scripture and discuss what it means and how it applies to our lives. It is my hope that God will speak to you through these words and bring you closer to Him. I am blessed to have this opportunity and I thank you so much for being with me here today. Today's scripture selection is Amos chapter 5, verses 18 through 24. The King James Version reads as follows Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord. To what end is it for you? The day of the Lord is darkness and not light. As if a man did flee from a lion and a bear met him, and went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, and the serpent bit him. Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness and not light, even very dark, and no brightness in it? I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offering, I will not accept them, neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs, for I will not hear the melody of thy vials, but let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream. Let us pray. Lord, we thank you for this day. We thank you for the freedom and the ability to discuss your word and enjoy your presence. Help us to understand your word and your will for our daily lives more fully. We ask that you bless this discussion of your word, that it will speak to someone who needs to hear from you. We ask that you will use these words to bring someone closer to you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. The verses for today are uncomfortable. God is speaking to us in a way that feels very personal for Him. Often we look at our relationship with God from our perspective, but there is another side to it, God's side. He wants a relationship with us, and he wants us to take it seriously. Many of the ways we fellowship with God involve gathering with fellow believers to eat, to sing, or simply to pray. I'm sure God enjoys these and is pleased by them when they are done to his glory. And when they are done in a way that moves us all closer to him. But when we fake it and do it to our own glory, or just to be in a club with our friends, we're not only faking, but we're lying. God is very displeased with this. Today we see that God has sent a prophet named Amos to speak to Israel on this type of behavior. Amos was born in the southern kingdom of Judah, but God sent him to the northern kingdom of Israel. During this time Israel had prospered and her enemies were weak, but she had moved away from God. The Israelites were unjust towards the poor and were generally crooked. In the scriptures preceding those that we have today, Amos describes the Israelites' abuse of the poor. Amos chapter five, verses eleven and twelve read For as much therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and you take from him burdens of wheat, ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them. Ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them. For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins. They afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right. These are the people and attitudes Amos is continuing to speak to in our text today. So let's get right to it. The first section of today's text, verse 18, reads, Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord. To what end is it for you? The day of the Lord is darkness and not light. Woe. Messages that start out with woe are often uncomfortable. Woe introduces messages of warning and judgment. Today's text is no exception. The Israelites enjoy their covenant place as God's chosen people, but they have put aside the responsibilities that come with that privilege. Their blessings come with a responsibility to be faithful to God. If they continue to live up to this responsibility, they will face the resulting judgment. God has sent Amos to them to warn them away from this path. Years ago, I, along with several of my friends, were working for my dad. It was a hot day and we were very tired. My dad left to get something we needed, and my friends decided to stop working while he was gone. I was surprised by this and told them that we had to keep working. Even though my dad was not there, we still had to work, and we would be held accountable for our results when Dad returned. You can probably imagine that they were not happy with me that day. In my defense, it wasn't just a job to me. It represented food that we would have on the table later. I imagine that Amos' message was not welcomed any more than my friends welcomed my message of continued responsibility and work. I imagine that the Israelites were looking at Amos and thinking, who is this person from out of town bringing us bad news? The Israelites were enjoying being God's chosen people and no longer felt accountable to what that position required. They believed that God's return would be a great day for them, that there would be a great display of God's power, and they would watch God's judgment fall on others while they remained exempt. This is like in the example of my friends and myself working for my dad, that if I had gone along with them and stopped working, but expected only my friends to get in trouble upon my dad's return. My friends would be in trouble, but I would be in even more trouble because my dad expected more from me than he expected from them. Likewise, God expects more from his chosen people. Israel is in for a rude awakening when they find that they are headed for darkness and not light. The second section of today's text, verses 19 and 20, reads, As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him, or went into his house and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him, shall not the day of the Lord be darkness and not light, even very dark, and no brightness in it. In these two verses, we see a man running from a lion. He was apparently getting away from the lion, but then ran into a bear. While another unfortunate man is at home comfortable, thinking himself protected and safe from harm, only to be suddenly bitten by a snake. This second man suddenly finds that his shelter from the outside has become a prison as he finds himself in need of help. As he dies alone, his home has now become his tomb. The imagery and sadness of an unaccompanied, unknown tomb is very dark and unsettling. The darkness Jesus describes will be much worse than this. In Jesus' words, shall not the day of the Lord be darkness and not light, even very dark and no brightness in it. The day of the coming of the Lord will be like this for so many. Some people are actively maintaining a safe distance from God and all those crazy Christians, only to find that they have not avoided the day of the coming of the Lord at all. It was in front of them all along and much closer than they thought. Other people are like the second man, comfortable in their traditions and daily structures, only to find on judgment day that these same traditions and daily structures are what had been keeping them from seeing God all along. He had been there the whole time, patiently waiting for them to acknowledge him. The third section of today's text, verses twenty-one and twenty three, reads, I hate, I despise your feast days, I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them, neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beast. Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs, for I will not hear the melody of thy vials. As bad as verses 19 and 20 are, these verses are much worse. Did God say that he hates their beast days? This reminds me of Jesus going to the temple and running the money changers out. God is not pleased, to say the least. While the Israelites are going through the motions of serving and glorifying God, their hearts are far from him. How many ceremonies do we participate in because it's customary or because it's expected? How many times have we gone to church? Not because we love God and want to praise him, but because it's Sunday. These activities are without the right heart and are rejected by God. As Pastor Jackson of Mount Zion Church has asked, are you doing church or are you just doing Sunday? There's nothing wrong with fellowshipping with like Christians on Sunday or during celebrations, but when the reason we're celebrating and fellowshipping is not God, but rather Sister Royster's corn pudding or Sister Muffy's singing, then God will reject your offering. God is interested in our hearts. The greatest prayer, the greatest song, or the most amazing testimony is nothing if it is not offered with a heart for God. But a wonderful song that ministers to our hearts, or an amazing corn pudding that brings us to the table for a heartfelt discussion about God, are pleasing to God. These types of praises of God and worships of God are small events that please God. They improve our daily lives by building us up and growing us into stronger Christians. They ensure that we will not be among those who are woeful on that day. I view this last verse as a warning of what is to come and also a statement of obedience. The day of the coming of the Lord will be a terrible day for many, but yet we want the Lord's will to be done. The Lord's return will be terrible and woeful for many, but it will be amazing and indescribably wonderful for many others. Let each of us strive to know what God's will is for us in our day-to-day lives and take action to make it real. Let each of us open our hearts to God so that He can clean us. So that our praise, our worship, and even our fellowshipping will be pleasing to Him and will not be rejected by Him. So that our day-to-day lives here will be the best that they can be, and that we will rejoice on that wonderful day when the Lord returns. That concludes our scripture discussion for today. Thank you for spending this time with me talking about, learning about, and enjoying Christ. It is my hope that God has used my words to touch you today and has brought you closer to Him. Please contact me if you wish to have further information about Christ. Let us pray. Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.