Familiar truths from forgotten texts. That’s what we’re looking at this week on Help for Today. I want us to take a look at those little books tucked in there at the end of the Old Testament, those minor prophets, often overlooked, but they give us some very great truths that we already know from other portions of Scripture.

The first of these minor prophets we’ll look at this week is the book of Joel. God raises up this man named Joel to go to the southern tribes of Judah and deliver a message from God. The people have just experienced a great tragedy. Locusts have come in and devoured their crops, leaving Judah in a time of famine and really just hopeless times. But God raises up Joel to tell them that this judgment they’re experiencing is in fact the hand of God coming down upon them for their sin.

Then he says that this judgment, though great, is nothing when compared to the final day when God pours out his wrath one final time, referred to as the day of the Lord. Here from this book, we see very clearly, and we’re reminded that God despises and God judges sin. We all know, “be sure your sin will find you out.” But even after this great pronouncement of judgment, he comes back and says that if you repent, God will have mercy. God will extend his grace.

And that’s what I want us to focus on from the book of Joel this morning. Two familiar truths are this. One, God does judge sin. So may that impact our decisions this week. But secondly, God has mercy for whatever it is that you’re going through, whatever struggle, whatever burden, God has the mercy to help you through it.

Hopefully these familiar truths will be a help for you today.

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Emory Fuller, GSBC Activities Director

Emory Fuller is a faculty member for Golden State Baptist College, heading up all of the activities and much of the intramural sports. His wife, Jein, serves alongside him in the church Media Department.