Category: Daily Devotionals

CARRIED BY THE WIND

The wind wraps them in its wings and they will be ashamed because of their sacrifices. Hosea 4:19

This morning, my spirit has been so drawn to this verse. I have spent a lot of time just walking around my office, asking God what it is about this concept that is so important for me to know. I feel that the message is this ~ that we are captives of a wind we can not see and may not even be aware exists. It’s the wind created by our evil deeds. Sin creates movement, a current that sweeps us away before we know what is happening to us. Continue reading “Carried By The Wind” →

WHY AM I A CAPTIVE?

“Since Israel is stubborn like a stubborn heifer, can the Lord now pasture them like lamb in a large field?”  Hosea 4:16

Cattle can afford to roam open pastures because they are not easy prey.  Their size makes them secure.  A lamb is another matter.  He is vulnerable as soon as he strays from his shepherd.  He is easily lost, easily overtaken by many enemies.  Hosea’s point is clear.

Christ died for His sheep and He unites them in His fold.  When one begins to stray, another is supposed to call out, “Where in the world are you going?  Jesus is going this way.  Stay with us!”  Still, there are casualties because one sheep begins to believe that he’s a cow, that he can go his own way and survive.  Continue reading “Why Am I A Captive?” →

IT RUBS OFF ON US

Do not let Judah become guilty; may they not go to Gilgal or go up to Beth-aven.  Hosea 4:15

During Hosea’s lifetime, God’s people were divided into two nations.  Israel was to the north and Judah to the south.  Israel had strayed farther from God’s ways than Judah.  In this verse, God gives a cautionary word to Judah so that the purity of her faith will not continue to deteriorate.  His encouragement was this ~ Do not go to Gilgal or Beth-aven.  These cities, both in Israel, were the centers of idol worship.  If a citizen of Judah traveled there, most likely he would be drawn to partake in idolatrous activities.  The pull toward apostasy would be profound.

In whatever ways I am drawn to sin, I must be careful to avoid situations that put me in vulnerable places. Being near the things that cause me to stumble is poor planning because I underestimate their allure.  It could be that God is doing a new work in me.  Because it has just been birthed, it is as fragile as a new baby. Continue reading “It Rubs Off On Us” →

JOYFUL CONFIDENCE

There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land.  Because of this the land mourns, and all who live in it waste away.  Hosea 4: 1,3

         If I turn my back on my home and strive to make some distant place my abode, I separate myself from my heritage. Out of touch with my Father, I cease to be like Him. I forget his ways.  The sound of His voice becomes a distant memory; so distant that when I hear Him calling, I may not recognize the sound of it anymore.  Separated from home, from love, I languish because every living thing God created will strain for a connection with its Creator.  Even the land mourns, hungry for God’s nurturing touch.  Can you feel the labor pangs?  Can you hear the earth groaning?

All who live apart from God today waste away.  Dreams die.  Injustice overwhelms. Futility becomes a cancer that eats away purpose.  Continue reading “Joyful Confidence” →

UNDERSTANDING GOD’S COMPARISON

And it will be, like people, like priest.  Hosea 4:9

    I can understand God’s words another way.  “As the people go, so go the priests.”  We can often expect the pastors and people in ministry to be holier than we are, even to be holy for us, instead of us.  But since our religious leaders arise from among us, if we are lukewarm, then it stands to reason that many lukewarm men and women will seek to become our religious leaders.  An infected society affects the purity of the church.  We can find ourselves in a passive church and not even understand, for a while, that there is anything wrong.

Ah, but once in a while there are exceptions.  A Christian leader can arise out of obscurity, untainted by the world.  Though he was raised in our times, God cupped His hands around his spirit and preserved his conscience.  He may have tasted of this world, even sinned in a big way, but once he met Jesus, he only had eyes for the Savior.  Continue reading “Understanding God’s Comparison” →

ADVANCEMENT BASED ON WHAT?

They (the priests) feed on the sin of My people and direct their desire toward their iniquity.  Hosea 4:8

    I want you to know that I don’t send out devotionals lightly.  Whenever I embark on the challenge of teaching a book, the text dictates the subject matter.  While I may, in the past, wanted to gravitate toward messages that underscored the Fatherhood of God and His great love for His children, that is no longer the case.  I made a vow a few years ago to honor the whole counsel of God and to be responsible with the Scriptures.

    The book of Hosea is ultimately about God’s unfailing love in the face of spiritual harlotry.  What a moving theme.  However, the book reads like a novel and a plot is always woven with light and dark threads.  Extravagant love is more beautifully highlighted when it is given to those who are undeserving.  Continue reading “Advancement Based On What?” →

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.  I also will reject you from being My priest, since you have forgotten the law of your God.  Hosea 4:6

    When people languish, it is not because God isn’t faithful or loving, or strong, it is due to a lack of knowledge.  People may not be completely ignorant either.  They may know just enough to convince themselves that they know enough.

    The ones ultimately responsible for making sure the people are equipped with the knowledge of God are the priests, the religious leaders.  In Hosea’s time, even they forgot God’s law.  What chance then, did the common man have!

    Can you hear the call?  Any of us who possess a knowledge of God and His Word must do two things.  Continue reading “Who Is Responsible?” →

WHEN EVEN A PRIEST STUMBLES

Your people are like those who contend with the priest, so you will stumble by day, and the prophet also will stumble with you by night.  Hosea 4:4-5

In Deuteronomy 17, God told His children that in order to live well, they needed to turn to the priests for guidance.  They would receive wisdom and spiritual direction.  During Hosea’s day, because there was no knowledge of God in the land, the priests were no longer respected.  The people argued with them instead.  They shrugged their shoulders at their words of reproof.  Things were so perilous that, not only did the people trip over themselves for want of direction, the priests did also.  The priest’s spiritual condition was no better than that of the common man.

It is impossible to read the story of Hosea and the times in which he lived and not look in the mirror.  Continue reading “When Even a Priest Stumbles” →

THE COMPLICATED WAY HOME

“I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from Me; For now, O Ephraim, you have played the harlot.”  Hosea 4:3

            Harlotry was second nature to me.  It was far too easy to substitute my need for God for other people and other things because they satisfied for a while.  Consequently, I felt no impending crisis.  There were few clues that spiritual prostitution would lead me to the dead-end street of emotional bankruptcy.  I was on a journey to no-where, though the road signs promised otherwise.  I ended up lost and far from home.

            My circuitous path was not hidden from God.  Though I was off course and disoriented, He had memorized my wayward excursion.  He remembered each fork in the road and which way I chose to go.  Though I ended up feeling like a rat in a maze who couldn’t seem to find its way back, God held the map.  Continue reading “The Complicated Way Home” →