DAILY REMINDER – Today, September 19’s Bible reading is Hosea 1-7.
NEXT DAY REMINDER – Tomorrow, September 19’s Bible reading is Hosea 8-14.
May God bless you with the reading of His WORD.
HOSEA MOMENT – (19SEP19)
“When the Lord first began
speaking to Israel through Hosea, he said to him, ‘Go and marry a prostitute, so
that some of her children will be conceived in prostitution. This will
illustrate how Israel has acted like a prostitute by turning against the Lord and worshiping other gods’” (Hosea 1:2). Hosea was tasked with the mission of warning the nation concerning
their unfaithfulness to the Lord. Whereas Ezekiel’s wife was taken in death as
a sign of judgment to the nation, Hosea was told to marry and have children. His
wife, however, would be a prostitute who was unable to be faithful symbolizing the
unfaithfulness shown by Israel towards God. Not only did Hosea’s wife represent
Israel’s adultery, but the names assigned to his children by the Lord tells of
His feelings concerning their attitude towards Him. The Lord had been unhappy
with His people and it showed through the messages that He gave to His prophets
long before their judgments finally came down.
What if the Lord
told you to marry a prostitute? How many of us would possibly go on a fast to
ensure that we heard right? Many would probably have a Gideon moment where
confirmation after confirmation would be needed before proceeding with such a
thing, and rightfully so. Nevertheless, God will often use what we may consider
as crazy things to teach us meaningful lessons. Many of us have learned some of
the most valuable lessons about God by what we have gone through in life. God
will oftentimes allow things both good and bad to come our way to strengthen
our faith muscles and teach us how to live in obedience to Him. The Bible says:
“Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not
burdensome. For
every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through
our faith. And who can win
this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of
God” (1 John 5:3-5). This scripture lets
us know that Israel had a love problem. As a result, they were not able to
remain faithful in serving the Lord. Nevertheless, when we love God, then we
desire to please Him, and in faith, we become obedient to His will and submit
our lives as a living sacrifice. Something to ponder….
QUESTION OF THE
DAY - (19SEP19) Would you be quick to allow a cheating spouse to get
back into your good graces? Well, some people may be more familiar with this
type of situation than others, but for most people, the answer would be an overwhelming,
“No.” Well, that is exactly what God had
Hosea to do… take back his adulterous wife. The Bible says: “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go and love your
wife again, even though she
commits adultery with another lover. This will illustrate that the Lord still loves Israel, even though the people have turned to other
gods and love to worship them’” (Hosea 3:1).
God had Hosea to do this to show Israel that even though she had been
unfaithful to Him, He would take her back if only she would repent and turn
from her wicked ways. Isn’t the Lord a loving and most faithful God even when
we aren’t faithful to Him?
Many of
us have at some point been adulterous towards the Lord. We knew what was right
and yet, we decided to go our own way and do our own thing. Nevertheless, the
Lord stands as the faithful spouse pleading for His betroth to return home. The
Lord is returning to find a bride without spot or wrinkle, but will He find faithfulness
in the land? Everyone must examine themselves to know if they are the faithful
bride ready for the Lord’s return. Jesus is coming soon. Will you be ready? “”Let
us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to him. For the time has
come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. She
has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.’ For the fine linen
represents the good deeds of God’s holy people. And the angel said to me, ‘Write
this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.’ And
he added, ‘These are true words that come from God’” (Revelation
19:7-9). Something to ponder….
HOSEA MOMENT – (19SEP19)
” I want you to show love,
not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me
more than I want burnt offerings” (Hosea 6:6). Israel thought that they could be in good with the Lord if they
merely offered Him sacrifices. In their adulterous mindset, it was similar to a
customer leaving a prostitute money on the nightstand without a commitment.
This is not the type of relationship that the Lord wanted from Israel, nor does
He want it from His church today. God wants us to be in RELATIONSHIP with Him.
He does not want to be our sugar daddy – only dropping by when we want
something from Him. The Lord loves us with an everlasting love and all He asks
for is our love in return through our obedience to Him. There is nothing that
we can give the Lord in material possessions that He doesn’t already own. What
we can give Him, nonetheless, is our hearts where He can reside . Will you give
Him your heart today? “… What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his
voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better
than offering the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15:22). Something to ponder….
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