10.30.06
Posted in Thoughts on Hosea at 10:01 am by Administrator
Text: Hosea 3:1-5 Theme: Living with God means living without our pet sins Key verses: ”Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods…” (v 1) “So I bought her for 15 shekels…Then I told her, ‘You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will live with you.’ For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince…or idol. Afterward…They will come trembling to the Lord and to his blessings in the last days.” What God said to me: Dwayne, I have loved Israel with an everlasting love. Time and time again I have gone into the back alleys and dark corners to find them in their rebellion and bring them out to my protection and care. Hosea demonstrated my love through his actions for his wayward, adulterous wife. However, Hosea’s love was not without expectations. And neither is mine. True love doesn’t overlook and ignore sin. Furthermore, my holiness cannot allow unholiness to dwell in my presence. Who will ascend unto the hill of the Lord? He who has clean hands and a pure heart. I stripped Israel of their securities in kings and idols. I took away their carnal pleasures. Only then was the evil smoke cleared enough for them to see where real pleasure, real hope and real security abides - in my presence forever. What I said to God: Thank you, precious Lord, for reminding me today of your everlasting love. You reached down into the garbage dump and pulled me out many years ago. Nearly 2000 years earlier you died proving your love and determination to bring us all back to you. Forgive me when I want to “have my cake and eat it too.” Forgive my wayward thoughts, my rebellious ways. I have played the harlot more than once as I chased after other much smaller gods. Thank you for never giving up on me. Like Hosea, you brought me back, and you expect me to live only for you. I surrender to your holy house rules!
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10.25.06
Posted in Thoughts on Hosea at 6:10 am by Administrator
Text: Hosea 2:1-13 Theme: The results of forgetting God Key verses: “Rebuke your mother…for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband. Let her remove her adulterous look…and the unfaithfulness…Otherwise I will strip her naked…I will make her like a desert…and slay her with thirst.” (v. 2-3) “Then she will say, ‘I will go back to my husband as at first, for then I was better off than now.’ She has not acknowledged that I was the one who gave her the grain…who lavished on her the silver and gold…” (v.8) “So now I will expose her lewdness…I will stop her celebrations…I will ruin her vines…I will punish her for the days she burned incense to the Baals; she decked herself with rings and jewelry and went after her lovers, but me she forgot.” (v. 10-13) What God Said to Me: Dwayne, I will not be easily forgotten. People may manage to put me out of their minds for a little while. But if they belong to me, if they are my children, if they are a part of my bride, the church, I will make them remember me. Israel and Judah forgot me, but I never forgot them. They wished I had forgotten them, as I stripped from them everything they had gained by dishonest and immoral means. But no such luck on their part. No, they didn’t know what was good for them, but I did. I do. I didn’t make them return to me. But I gave them every reason to want to. That’s the job of a faithful husband, a loving father. That’s what I was to them. That’s what I am to you and to my church today. What I Said to God: Thank you, loving and awesome Father and God and Husband, for speaking so clearly to me. You have reminded me in no uncertain terms over the past few days that I am to meet every early morning with you. You have so much to teach me. I so appreciate your patience with me and your determination not to allow me or any of your children to forget or ignore you. You are our life, our source, our joy, our future! You are our God, and I humbly submit my life and my day to you. Protect my family and remind them of your ways today as well. I love you!
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10.10.06
Posted in Thoughts on Hosea at 7:49 am by Administrator
Text: Hosea 1:1-9 Theme: Hosea’s life, his marraige, his wife and children were a living analogy for God’s people. Key verses: “When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, ‘Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord.’” (v. 2) “Then the Lord said, “Call him Jezreel, because I will soon punish…” (v. 4). “Then the Lord said, ‘Call her Lo-Ruhamah, for I will no longer show love to…Israel.’” (v. 6) “Then the Lord said, ‘Call him Lo-Ammi, for you are not my people and I am not your God.’” (v. 9) What God said to me: Dwayne, I go to extreme measures at times to get my message across to my people. Hosea was being faithful to me; yet his life was depicting the unfaithfulness of Israel. An oxymoron? A double standard? Not at all. Your first responsibility is to obey me and not question my ways and will. Hosea met his responsibility. It was not an accepted practice of that day to marry prostitutes and name children such judgemental and dispairing names. No doubt it upset and disgusted many back then who heard of what Hosea had done. That was my way of graphically depicting my disgust with Israel. Faithfully follow me. What I lead you to do may at times confuse and frustrate some around you. Who-besides me-can say whether I perhaps intend to use your non-conventional life decisions to teach this world and my people something about me? What I said to God: Lord God, I appreciate and thank you for meeting with me this morning. Forgive me for missing my time with you the past few days, especially yesterday when I had ample time and opportunity. Thank you for Hosea, who faithfully followed your every command without question. Thank you for loving his wife and children. Thank you most of all for using imperfect people like Hosea’s family and like mine to proclaim your message of holiness and mercy. I willingly submit to whatever you lead me to do today, tomorrow, through all of life.
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