Month: December 2015

Click Here For Today’s Reading  

HOSEA 10:1-14:9 | JUDE 1:1-25 | PSALM 127:1-5 | PROVERBS 29:15-17

Click on the link below to listen to an audio recording of this post:

Hosea must surely have been getting somewhat tired with this job of being the prophet of gloom and doom. 

Israel was a stubborn people who didn’t seem to realize or even care about how grave their offenses were and how far they were getting away from their God.  Hosea pleads with his people in this way:

¹² Sow righteousness for yourselves,
reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;
   for it is time to seek the LORD,
until he comes
   and showers his righteousness on you.

Would that we would also heed that cry today and every day.  May it always be a personal goal and motto that we adopt.  It is time to seek the Lord.

Hosea goes on to ask the rhetorical question:

⁹ 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.

Today, the God of Israel is our God as well.  The coming of Christ has ensured that we are all entitled to call him our own God. 

By faith in the great work accomplished on the cross some 800 years after this prophecy was made, it became possible for each person on the face of the earth present at that time — and for the ages to come — to become a child of God by faith in Jesus Christ.

A personal relationship with God produces an intimate association of the type where a line like this one uttered by God through the voice of Hosea suddenly takes on a special meaning as though it was meant only for you.  It is the image of a parent tending to his child — caring for it by bathing it, clothing it, and feeding it. 

God says:  I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them.

And here’s one verse that made me pause to consider it in some detail: I am like a green pine tree; your fruitfulness comes from me. 

This verse brought to mind the most popular image of this Christmas season:  the Christmas tree.  Yes, I am aware of the origins of this pagan winter festival, but it still doesn’t take away from making other associations one may wish to.  I choose to believe Hosea’s account of God’s promise to the people of Israel when he likens it to a pine tree. 

God’s love is like a green pine– evergreen and everlasting!  Wouldn’t you agree?

We turn now to our reading in the New Testament, and find that the book of Jude is a very small but interesting one.  Jude offers a history of God’s faithfulness over the generations, and closes with what is most likely one of the most commonly given benedictions around the world: 

²⁴ To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— ²⁵ to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

Next, we turn to our reading of the Psalms, and find that David opens this psalm with a great truth right in the very first verse:

¹ Unless the LORD builds the house,
the builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the guards stand watch in vain.

And then, these verses that affirm the truth that children are a blessing from the Lord.  David says:

³ Children are a heritage from the LORD,
   offspring a reward from him.
⁴ Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
   are children born in one’s youth.
⁵ Blessed is the man
   whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
   when they contend with their opponents in court.

Finally, a few verses from the book of Proverbs, authored by Solomon, wise king of Israel, worthy of record and rumination:

¹⁵ A rod and a reprimand impart wisdom,
but a child left undisciplined disgraces its mother.

¹⁶ When the wicked thrive, so does sin,
but the righteous will see their downfall.

¹⁷ Discipline your children, and they will give you peace;
   they will bring you the delights you desire.

May God bless the reading and reflection of His Word.  Amen.

Click Here For Today’s Reading

HOSEA 6:1-9:17 | 3 JOHN 1:1-15 | PSALM 126:1-6 | PROVERBS 29:12-14

Click on the link below to listen to an audio recording of this post:

Hosea continues on with his warnings to Israel to turn from their wicked ways — to turn back to the One who loves them and wants to be their God. 

But Israel is unrepentant.  They take on new gods, and when they tire of those, they build new ones for themselves.  They sow the wind.  And Hosea warns that they will then reap the whirlwind.  This is what Hosea says:

⁵ Samaria, throw out your calf-idol!
   My anger burns against them.
How long will they be incapable of purity?

⁶ They are from Israel!
This calf—a metalworker has made it;
   it is not God.
It will be broken in pieces,
   that calf of Samaria.  

⁷ “They sow the wind
   and reap the whirlwind.

Isn’t that how it is with us sometimes?  We willfully enter into the path of destruction.  We intentionally court heartache and disaster.  We almost wish the evil upon us, and when we are in the midst of it, and are perhaps so fortunate as to receive a forewarning to turn from our ways, we pay no heed.  Until of course, it is too late.  We’ve sown the wind by then, and like Israel, we must now reap the whirlwind.

But the road to repentance is sometimes a long and winding one — unlike the broad highway that brought us to where we are.  But despite it all, there is hope to be had.  Because a contrite spirit is pleasing to God, and just as he turned his face toward the people of Israel, he will not let his anger last forever.  But for now, these are Hosea’s words to the children of Israel:

⁷ The days of punishment are coming,
   the days of reckoning are at hand.
   Let Israel know this.
Because your sins are so many
   and your hostility so great,
the prophet is considered a fool,
   the inspired person a maniac.

Would that we might understand these truths! 

But would that we might also understand another truth:  God will not be mocked.  And so, it would be foolish to assume that we can continue in our misguided ways time and time again without consequence.  Forgiveness is free, indeed, but it cannot not be abused.

Turning now to our reading in the New Testament, we open the third and last letter of John.  This is a letter to a man named Gaius.  The power of bearing witness and receiving a good report is such a significant one, even to this day.  It transcends all cultures and customs.  A favorable letter of recommendation in these modern times for instance, be it for education or employment, bestows upon the person a sense of honor and worth, and eventually serves to open doors. 

John is citing the effect of the good reports that have come to him in verse 3 when he says:

³ It gave me great joy to have some brothers come and tell about your faithfulness to the truth and how you continue to walk in the truth.

 John continues in his exhortations to treat each other in love and in truth.  He says: 

⁵ Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you. ⁶ They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way in a manner that honors God.

May it be that we strive to conduct ourselves in a manner that would cause our fellowmen to bear good witness on our behalf, and that would be pleasing in the sight of God.

Turning now to our reading of the Psalms, we find a beautiful psalm of praise by David. I reproduce it in its entirety for the timeless promise of comfort that may be had by anyone even to this day. 

May it be that we might also raise our voices high in order to say, “The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.” 

The Psalmist says:

¹ When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion,
   we were like those who dreamed.
² Our mouths were filled with laughter,
   our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
   “The LORD has done great things for them.”
³ The LORD has done great things for us,
   and we are filled with joy.

⁴ Restore our fortunes, LORD,
   like streams in the Negev.
⁵ Those who sow with tears
   will reap with songs of joy.
⁶ Those who go out weeping,
   carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
   carrying sheaves with them.

Finally, a few verses from the book of Proverbs, worthy of record and rumination.  Solomon, wise king of Israel, says:

¹² If a ruler listens to lies,
   all his officials become wicked.

¹³ The poor and the oppressor have this in common:
   The LORD gives sight to the eyes of both.

¹⁴ If a king judges the poor with fairness,
   his throne will be established forever.

May God bless the reading and reflection of His Word.  Amen.