Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Our Reading titled God of Justice was written by Karen Pimpo.

As a teenager, Ryan lost his mom to cancer. He found himself homeless and soon dropped out of school. He felt hopeless and often

went hungry. Years later, Ryan founded a non-profit that empowers others, especially young children,

to plant, harvest, and prepare their own garden-grown food. The organization is built on the belief that nobody should go without food,

and that those who have something should care for those who don't.

Ryan's concern for others resonates with the heart of God for justice and mercy.

God cares deeply about the pain and suffering we face.

When he observed terrible injustice in Israel, he sent the prophet Amos to call out their hypocrisy.

The people God once rescued from oppression in Egypt were now selling their neighbors into slavery over a pair of sandals.

They betrayed innocent people, denied justice to the oppressed, and trampled

on the heads of the poor, all while pretending to worship God with offerings and holy days.

Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Amos pleaded with the people. Then the Lord God

Almighty will be with you just as you say he is.

Like Ryan, each of us have experienced enough pain and injustice in life

to be able to relate to others and to be of help.

The time is ripe to seek good and join him in planting every kind of justice.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Amos chapter 2, verses 6 through 16.

This is what the Lord says. For three sins of Israel, even four, I will not relent. They sell the

innocent for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals. They trample on the heads of the poor as on the

dust of the ground, and deny justice to the oppressed. Father and son use the same girl, and so profane my holy name.

They lie down beside every altar on garments taken and pledge. In the house of their God, they drink

wine taken as fines. Yet I destroyed the Amorites before them. Though they were tall as the cedars

...