GPS for the week of July 6th, 2025
“The Gospel That Has Come To You”
Using your phone? Try a new app: www.bible.com
This will make us alive, this powerful word of grace and love that has
brought us out of the darkness and into the kingdom of our Lord
Jesus. We can let go of trying to think we are good and trying to get
others to think we are good. The God of all creation loves us!
Dear Lord, thank you for your life-giving grace and love. Help us
to share it freely as it was given freely to us. Amen.
Monday 7.7 “But I am a herdsman, and a dresser of
sycamore trees.”
Amos 7:7-17
“… And the Lord said to me, ‘Amos, what do you see?’ And I said, ‘A
plumb line.’ Then the Lord said, ‘See, I am setting a plumb line in the
midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by; the high
places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel
shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with
the sword.’ Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent to King
Jeroboam of Israel, saying, ‘Amos has conspired against you in the
very center of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his
words. For thus Amos has said, “Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
and Israel must go into exile away from his land.”’ And Amaziah said
to Amos, ‘O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, earn your bread
there, and prophesy there; but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it
is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.’ Then
Amos answered Amaziah, ‘I am no prophet, nor a prophet’s son; but I
am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the Lord took
me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, “Go, prophesy
to my people Israel. Now therefore hear the word of the Lord. You
say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel, and do not preach against the
house of Isaac.” Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Your wife shall
become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and your daughters
shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be parceled out by line;
you yourself shall die in an unclean land, and Israel shall surely go
into exile away from its land.’” God called Amos to speak out for the
healing of Israel.
Tuesday 7.8 “Rescue the weak and the needy.”
Psalm 82
“God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the
gods he holds judgment: ‘How long will you judge unjustly and show
partiality to the wicked? Selah. Give justice to the weak and the
orphan; maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute. Rescue the
weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.’ They
have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk around in
darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. I say, ‘You are
gods, children of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, you shall die
like mortals, and fall like any prince.’ Rise up, O God, judge the
earth; for all the nations belong to you!” We find ourselves
surrounded by cruelty toward the weak and needy in our own society.
Let us move with God to care for them in their desperation.
Wednesday 7.9 “You have heard of this hope.”
Colossians 1:1-14
“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our
brother, To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in
Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. In our
prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love
that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in
heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth,
the gospel that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and
growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among
yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the
grace of God.” Paul rejoiced to see the fruit of the gospel among the
Colossians.
Thursday 7.10 “May you be made strong.”
Colossians 1:1-14
“This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a
faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, and he has made known to
us your love in the Spirit. For this reason, since the day we heard it,
we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled
with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and
understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully
pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow
in the knowledge of God. May you be made strong with all the
strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be
prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving
thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance
of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of
darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in
whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” We may stop
striving to be proud in ourselves and rejoice in the redeeming power
of God’s forgiveness.
Friday 7.11 “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Luke 10:25-37
“Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what
must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in
the law? What do you read there?’ He answered, ‘You shall love the
Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all
your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.’
And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and
you will live.’ But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And
who is my neighbor?’’’ We will come alive as we give ourselves over
to love God and our neighbor.
Saturday 7.12 “The one who showed him mercy.”
Luke 10:25-37
“Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho,
and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and
went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going
down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other
side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him,
passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came
near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to
him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them.
Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took
care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the
innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will
repay you whatever more you spend.” Which of these three, do you
think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the
robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to
him, ‘Go and do likewise.’” This merciful Samaritan was a neighbor
to the man who fell into the hand of the robbers.