8-31-21 Today in the Word

RETURN TO THE LORD My husband Peter agreed to hold down the fort for a few days, allowing me to retreat to a little cabin to finish this Today in the Word study. When he sent me a text message to check-in, I responded, “Hosea is hard.” This prophetic book can be difficult to interpret and a painful message to process. If you’ve hung in there this month, well done! Today’s passage is a bit of a “payoff” as it summarizes our month with the prophet. What can we take away from this book? First of all, Hosea forces us to face our sin— personal, corporate, and national. Chapter 14 starts with a final call to repentance (vv. 1–3). God still longed to give His people life, but for this to be possible, they needed to repent. Hosea instructed them to ask humbly for forgiveness and express their need for God’s grace (v. 2). Then Israel was to repent specifically of their sins—depending on other nations and worshiping other gods (v. 3). The prayer finishes with praise for the compassionate nature of the one true God. Hosea also demonstrates the relentless grace of God. Verse 4 declares His response to repentant prayer: “[He] will heal their waywardness and love them freely.” Then he gives a final string of metaphors that paint a powerful picture of God’s healing love. It is life-giving, like the dew that brings the lily to full bloom. It is grounding, like roots that strengthen the enduring cedars of Lebanon. It is splendid, like the luxurious olive trees and the flourishing grain. Hosea finishes with an exhortation to all of us. Will we respond with wisdom and understanding? Will we walk in the ways of the Lord—or won’t we? >> Don’t leave this study without spending time in repentance. Use Hosea’s prayer as a model. Pray for your family, your church, your nation. And know that God always responds to true repentance with life-giving love. PRAY WITH US “Who is wise? Let them realize these things. Who is discerning? Let them understand. The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them” (Hos. 14:9). Lead us in righteousness, Lord.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

9-17-23 Not in a Billion Years

Not In A Million Billion Years :: By Dave Hubley Published on: December 24, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles (There is a special message at the end of this article for those who might happen to read this and do not have Jesus in their life and are looking for peace and a way to better understand the present-day insanity and confusion.) Several years ago, I had a conversation with a guy in a waiting room while getting an oil change (in the car, not me). I don’t recall exactly how the conversation originated or how it progressed, but I have never forgotten it. As I recall, it had something to do with evolution and an article that was contained in a “waiting room magazine” that was available there. He made the observation that God was “something that man had made up.” I can’t recall the exact reason he used to justify his opinion, but it had something to do with the usual reasons people give: Weak-willed people needing a crutch, and blah, blah, blah. I engaged him in a “witness,
Read more

9-16-23 Santa Staleness

Santa Staleness :: By Edwin Tan Published on: December 24, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles My one and only trip to Israel had more than a profound effect on my present-day psyche. It might have been three decades ago, but there is more than a lingering aftertaste. It happened smack in the last fortnight of the year. Surprisingly absent were the familiar sights and sounds of the Christmas most people are accustomed to. Hardly any Christmas decorations in downtown Tel Aviv, if not any of the shopping thoroughfares across the Holy Land. Hanukah was a breath of fresh air – not anything resembling a Christmas carol most people grew up with did surface. The Christmas Eve service in a small Protestant church not far away from Jerusalem’s Old City was awesome; songs that truly celebrated the virgin birth of our Lord, which though seemingly unheard of, were a welcome inspiration to many a soul. There was even one sung in Arabic! So it began, my overt disdain for the secular Christmas t
Read more

9-15-23 Miracles 2

Miracles 2 :: By Jim Towers Published on: December 21, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles This story is a continuation of the exciting things God continues doing in my life. I was supposed to have died a while back, and sometimes I feel as though I may do so soon. But since I’m ready to meet my maker, I have no fear of death. In fact, my evangelistic zeal has only increased, especially as I see the fast approaching of the “Tribulation period” mentioned in the book of Revelation. Insofar as my acting career is concerned, I just finished filming a soliloquy featuring Melchior, one of the three Magi who followed the star to Christ lying in the manger, and am preparing to portray a Jewish Priest on stage. Like I said, God is working overtime in my life, and I will be appearing on stage singing Broadway show tunes sometime in March, so I have a lot of rehearsing to do. In the meantime, I will be signing Christmas carols acapella at a park here in Naples. Since it is a spontaneous th
Read more