Author: Christine Wyrtzen

WHERE BELONGING BECOMES DANGEROUS

He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.  Luke 16:15

            My need to be accepted has taken me down some unfortunate paths.  Because I didn’t know how to connect with God, I put myself through some pretty ridiculous contortions to fit in.  I pretended to believe as the group did.  I worshipped as they worshipped.  I attended functions I had no desire to attend because I feared the repercussions.  Eventually, who I really was got lost, even to me.  I had become so homogenous with my surroundings that my identity was blurred.

            How many today have joined a group just to experience being a part of a pseudo-family?  Continue reading “Where Belonging Becomes Dangerous” →

I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.  Isaiah 45:3

            The dailyness of our struggles can often obscure our vision of any good that could come out of pain.  One difficult day leads to the next and we just can’t seem to view our story from God’s vantage point.  We can not see that we are sharing in the suffering of Jesus, the greatest redemptive suffering in all of history.

            A few days ago, I was personally given a picture that reinforced this truth.  An intercessor for Daughters of Promise was entrusted with this dream and she was faithful to share it with me.  As I have lived with it, I have come to realize that the dream was not just for me but for you as well. Continue reading “A Name In Gold” →

FINAL WORDS

Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them.  For the ways of the Lord are right, and the righteous will walk in them.  Hosea 14:9

    These are God’s final words in the book of Hosea.  After all is said and done, this is how He chooses to end His communication to His people.  He does not punish with an abrupt ending, leaving His people hanging.  He wraps up His message with grace.

    The storyline of Hosea has had all the elements of a great novel.  God professed His love, took a bride, and hoped for fidelity.  Love was unappreciated, spurned, and tested by the sin of unfaithfulness.  God has been anything but stoic throughout these pages.  He has been generous to express His heart.  He showed them He is a God who feels intensely.  He loves, hurts, weeps, longs, reaches, and forgives.  He aches to bless, restores when there is repentance, and is willing to put the past behind His back.   Continue reading “Final Words” →

CYPRESS

I am like the mighty cypress; from Me comes your fruit.  Hosea 14:8

    God is aware of the language barrier that exists between the spiritual realm and the physical.  Because we are earth-bound and our ability to comprehend His greatness and glory is compromised by our mortality, He is willing to tell us what He is like in terms we can understand.  He is quick, throughout Scripture, to say….”I am as a _____________.”  He employs the use of  illustrations and metaphors that are common to our everyday life. Continue reading “Cypress” →

THE PREMIUM OF WORDS

You have stumbled because of your iniquity.  Take words with you and return to the Lord.  Hosea 14:1,2a

            Each of us probably has a different view and a varying appetite for talkativeness.  Having grown up in a house where words were few, I value well chosen words.  When someone speaks them well and they are seasoned with love and grace, they fall on me like refreshing rains.  I’m not being poetic, I’m being completely transparent.  However, if you grew up in the company of incessant talkers, you probably are so used to the sound of chatter that you take it for granted and/or are repelled by it.  Perhaps you crave the quiet and wish words were less.

            God is clear in today’s scripture about the importance of words in the process of repentance.  Imagine if you had a prodigal son who spurned your love and went off on a long journey.  You mourned for him, prayed for him, and waited for his return.  One day, you wake up to see him sleeping in his old room.  He gets up in the morning and says little.  It’s obvious that he’s come home to stay and because he engages in familiar routines but with no explanation.  It wouldn’t be long until you’d erupt and say, “Look, we have to talk about this.  Where have you been?  What have you been doing?  What made you come home? What are you feeling? Are you okay?”  

    In that light, God’s message is easy to understand and take to heart.  We can never stray from God and go back without a language of repentance and self-disclosure.  “Lord, I went away because ___________.  I’ve been off doing _______________.  My heart feels ______________.  Please forgive me for ____________.”

            The only way to make a solid return is with words.  It’s not because He needs them either.  It’s because by speaking them, we are changed.  The dam breaks and acknowledgement of our actions and feelings brings what was hidden into the Light.

            Words are a gift we give to God that only come back to benefit us in the long run.  When we speak words of repentance, we are bathed in forgiveness.  When we speak words of praise, we are delivered from the chains of darkness.  When we speak words that reveal our own story, we gain self-awareness.  When we speak words of faith, we surmount the barriers of unbelief.  Let’s take our words and live in the presence of the Lord today.

If I am wordless, I am poor.  Breathe on my tongue, Jesus.  Release my language.  Amen

 

EVERY FORM OF DEATH

Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol?  shall I redeem them from death?  O Death, where are your thorns?  O Sheol, where is your sting?  Hosea 13:14

    Most any Christian who has stood at the graveside of a loved one ascribes to Christ’s triumph over death.  I have said goodbye to my father and my mother.  Both died of cancer.  While their loss ushered in profound grief, death was bittersweet for I knew they went immediately into God’s presence.  There was no doubt in my heart about that.

    However, while I can say that God was victorious over death, I have not been as willing to put Him to the test regarding other kinds of death in my life.  Continue reading “Every Form Of Death” →

TWISTED VALUES

They make for themselves molten images, idols skillfully made from their silver, all of them the work of craftsmen.  They say of them, “Let the men who sacrifice (their children) kiss the calves.” Hosea 13:2

            Hosea saw some pretty gruesome practices. In ancient Israel, human sacrifice usually meant child sacrifice.   Hosea watched as men sacrificed their children at pagan altars.  Consider their twisted values.  A craftsman would make a metal god, men would sacrifice their offspring and beg for the god’s help, and then the ‘live’ animals who matched the representation of the graven image were worshipped.  Children were thrown away, animals were exalted.

In some ways, our values today are similar.  Continue reading “Twisted Values” →

FULL CIRCLE

In the womb he took his brother by the heel, and in his maturity he contended with God.  He wept and sought His favor and found Him at Bethel.  Hosea 12:3-4

    These verses speak to the life story of every person who has ever lived.  Therefore, let me personalize. It is my story.  I follow in Jacob’s footsteps.  I know what it is to seize control of the events of my life, the ones I find so extremely distasteful, and try to change the outcomes.  Continue reading “Full Circle” →

BECAUSE GOD IS GOD, THEN ~

I will not execute my fierce anger.  I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst.  Hosea 11:9

    God stood on the brink of executing judgment.  When He looked upon His people, His heart was filled with waves of love.  He controlled His anger instead of executing it.  It’s as if He couldn’t stand the thought of the pain they would experience.  He explains the reason for such holy restraint.  He is God and not man.

Because God is God ~

• He did not leave me to die in my sins without any chance of being saved.  He sent a Savior, even though it meant sending His Son for sacrifice.
• He is not sending me to eternal judgment, even though I deserve it.  He has credited all my sins to His Son’s account, the Son He loves. How humbling.
• He forgave me for every wrong thing I did yesterday, and I start today with a white robe around my shoulders.
• He does not keep a record of my wrongs, even though they are substantial.  He chooses to put them behind His back and never say, “Remember what you did?”

I am called to be like Him.  I am His image bearer.  Since I am God’s child, then His nature is to be formed in me.

Because I belong to God ~ Continue reading “Because God Is God ~ Then..” →

GOD IS NO STOIC

How can I give you up, O Ephraim?  How can I surrender you, O Israel?  My heart is tuned over within Me, all my compassions are kindled.  Hosea 11:8

    Though judgment is on the horizon for God’s people, God’s sympathy for them is so stirred that this proclamation of love and heartbreak is expressed.  “I see what’s coming to you because of your sin.  I see how you have led yourselves into captivity.  But oh, how I can’t stand the thought of seeing you in the kind of distress that is coming your way.”

    Does this kind of sentiment surprise you?  Continue reading “God Is No Stoic” →