It is now the cover photo of Mt. Celo Church Facebook page,
which you are invited to visit and "Like".
The Book of Hosea is a love story portraying the relationship between God and His beloved Israel. Hosea's wife, Gomer, responds to her husband's love and faithfulness with unfaithfulness and adulterous affairs. Some of Gomer's children were the result of her affairs. The children are given names that depict divine messages from God. Gomer will leave Hosea, however they will be fully reconciled because of Hosea's love for her. Hosea means "salvation" and he finds her, redeems her, and brings her back home to him. The Book of Hosea reveals glimpses of God's love for His people regardless of our sins and idolatrous behavior. God's persistent love for us will hopefully inspire us to be more committed to Him, faithfully honoring our relationship with our God who loves us so much!
"Once we enter into a relationship with the Lord, however, He promises to reveal more of Himself to us" (Dr. Charles Stanley). See Hosea 2:20, "I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, and you shall know the Lord". We, like the Psalmists, shall come to know that God is worthy of the praises of "all the kings of the earth" (Psalm 138:4-5). Verse 6, reveals that "Though the Lord is on high, yet He regards the lowly; but the proud He knows from afar". A close relationship with God is something to be cherished above everything else. The privilege of enjoying such a relationship cost the Son of God His life, yet is freely offered to us by God!
"Correct your son, and he will give you rest; yes, he will give delight to your soul" (Proverbs 29:17). Oh, that parents could understand the wisdom in this one verse. God intended children to be a blessing and a delight, however, without correction this is not going to happen.
"Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called the children of God!" (I John 3:1). The truth that we are called "the children of God" deserves serious consideration. It is a term we may have gotten used to hearing and therefore think little about it. However, we are in a powerful position as God's children, yet so few of us realize what this means for us. Our lives are not to be marked by sinful life styles. "Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him" (v. 6). To know God is a life-changing experience! "In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother." (v. 10). (God's words, not mine.)
We are not to be surprised if the world hates us (v. 13). Our love for others is to exceed just saying we love someone. We are to love others "in deed and in truth" (v. 18). "But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?" (v. 17).
Verse 22 & 23, "And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is the commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment". How do we know if we are abiding in Christ? "Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us" (v. 24)!
No comments:
Post a Comment