My Quiet Time Bible reading is taking me through the book of Hosea. Wow! It is like reading about the day in which we live. Hosea the prophet warned the people of the judgement they would experience if they did not return to the Lord and remain faithful to Him.
Hosea is calling out to a backslidden and sin engulfed people pleading with them to return to the Lord. Think about these words from Hosea 4:1-3 from the New Living Translation.
Hear the word of the Lord, O people of Israel!
The Lord has brought charges against you, saying:
“There is no faithfulness, no kindness,
no knowledge of God in your land.
2 You make vows and break them;
you kill and steal and commit adultery.
There is violence everywhere—
one murder after another.
3 That is why your land is in mourning,
and everyone is wasting away.
Even the wild animals, the birds of the sky,
and the fish of the sea are disappearing.
There was NO Faithfulness, No Kindness, and No Knowledge of God throughout the land. Because of that the people would break their vows, kill, steal and commit adultery. The land was full of violence. It was so bad that the land itself seemed to groan under the burden of the sin of the people.
That was then and this is now; But God is the same! I believe the crime, violence and perversion that is rampant in our country (and in the world) can be traced back to the fact that we have by and large chosen to forget about God.
In Hosea's words, we hear the message of the Lord for us today. "Return,... to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. Take with you words and return to the Lord; say to him, 'Take away all iniquity...'"
How will we do this? One person at a time. It is time for you and I to return to the Lord in areas where we have wandered away from Him and have stumbled.
Listening to God in the words of Hosea,
Pastor Mike
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