June 1, 2013 "But God..."

Read Jonah 1 – 2 “But God, You’ll Save Them!” Jonah 1:1-3 The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” 3 But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD. WHAT do you think? Isn’t it folly to “flee from the LORD”? How could anyone think that is possible, especially a prophet. Jonah has been around. He prophesied God would restore Israel’s boundaries, and it happened. Jonah has seen the LORD work. Yet, he runs away. As odd as it seems, that is exactly why he is running from God’s assignment. He knows full well that God is merciful and offers forgiveness when people repent and turn to the LORD. Jonah hates Ninevah, a city that has done great harm to Israel. He wants no part of “saving” Ninevah. So he goes the opposite way—literally. Tarshish is in modern day Spain. He wants to really get away! That’s often what we do when God says, “Come here.” We go “there” instead, don’t we? We prefer our own ways to listening to God’s ways. We pray for answers, but we don’t like it when God says, “Wait.” or “No.” or “You need to change, too.” Jonah wanted his own answers, his own way at his own time. But God would show Jonah how much he loved him, and even how much he loved Israel’s enemies. God is always about showing his love to you. Receive it and be glad. It’s True! God may be showing you to save someone you don’t like.    

May 31, 2013 Praying Praise

Read Habakkuk 3 Praying Praise Habakkuk 3:2-5 &19 Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy. 3 God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. His glory covered the heavens and his praise filled the earth. 4 His splendor was like the sunrise; rays flashed from his hand, where his power was hidden. 5 Plague went before him; pestilence followed his steps…19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights. WHAT causes you to pray? Stop for a minute and consider your answer. What came to mind? I believe that many of us are “trained” to answer that question with things that we or loved ones need. “I pray for a good day. I pray for my wife’s health. I pray for a job.” Certainly it is appropriate to pray these types of petitions, asking God to care for and restore certain areas of your life. But do you ever answer your reason for prayer with this: “I want to praise God and celebrate His majesty, to rejoice in His promise of salvation.” That is Habakkuk’s prayer. He is distressed over the sins of God’s people, and now he prays for these reasons: 1. He understands God’s sovereign power. 2. He loves God’s people. 3. He loves those who sin. 4. His hatred of sin. 5. His desire God will remove sin from the world. 6. His faith in God’s promises. Praising God, petitioning God for protection from evil and deliverance from sin are powerful prayer purposes. Jesus did that. Check out Matthew 6:9-13. It’s True! Prayer is for praise and petitions.

May 29, 2013 A Plea and a Promise

Read Habakkuk 1-2 A Plea and a Promise Hab 1:2-6 How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? 3 Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. 4 Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted. 5 “Look at the nations and watch — and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told. 6 I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwelling places not their own. 7 They are a feared and dreaded people; they are a law to themselves and promote their own honor.” & 2:20 “But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.” DO YOU sometimes wonder in the course of your daily life, “How long, O Lord, must I cry for help?” It’s easy to ask, isn’t it, as you watch the world decay in sin? Verses 5-7 are just the beginning of God’s response to Habakkuk’s question, “How long, O Lord, must I cry for help?” God gives his prophet a litany of judgment and destruction that he, the Lord, will send upon his people who violently oppose God’s laws and truths. What must be the world’s response to God and his impending judgment? It is silence. As a disobedient child realizes his sin and is quiet, the world will become silent before God to acknowledge God’s power to rule. The world will become silent, prepared to pray to be saved from God’s wrath as you will see in chapter 3. It’s True! God’s coming in judgment again. Be silent and listen to His Word.

May 19, 2013 God the Lion

Read Hosea 13-14 God the Lion Hosea 13:4-9 “But I am the Lord your God, who brought you] out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me. 5 I cared for you in the desert, in the land of burning heat. 6 When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me. 7 So I will come upon them like a lion, like a leopard I will lurk by the path. 8 Like a bear robbed of her cubs, I will attack them and rip them open. Like a lion I will devour them; a wild animal will tear them apart. 9 “You are destroyed, O Israel, because you are against me, against your helper.” GOD tells his people he will act as a lion, leopard and bear to rip them open. Wow. The images of God as ferocious wild beasts that devour the flock echoes the covenant curses for disobedience found in such scripture as Leviticus 26:21-22 “If you remain hostile toward me and refuse to listen to me, I will multiply your afflictions seven times over, as your sins deserve. 22 I will send wild animals against you, and they will rob you of your children, destroy your cattle and make you so few in number that your roads will be deserted.” Divine judgment is more than severe. It is horrible. It tears you apart from God. it leaves nothing behind. Judgment is final. What do you do? You must be passionate to tell your family, friends and others the way to salvation. Let them know of the way to life. Pray for them. Call on the name of the Loved that they might be saved. It’s worth every ounce of energy you have. It’s True! Sin is an awful thing, isn’t it? Salvation is an amazing grace, isn’t it?

May 28, 2013 Let God Judge

Read Obadiah Let God Judge Obadiah 1:10-12, 14-17 Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame; you will be destroyed forever. 11 On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them…14 You should not wait at the crossroads to cut down their fugitives, nor hand over their survivors in the day of their trouble. 15 “The day of the Lord is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head. 16 Just as you drank on my holy hill, so all the nations will drink continually; they will drink and drink and be as if they had never been. 17 But on Mount Zion will be deliverance; it will be holy, and the house of Jacob will possess its inheritance. EDOM is a nation that comes from Esau. Esau was Jacob’s brother. They were sons of Isaac. Jacob stole Esau’s birthright and blessing from Esau. Except for a brief respite (see Gen 33), Esau and Jacob, and then their descendants the Hebrews and the Edomites were often at war. When Babylon and Assyria conquered Israel and Judah, Edom joined with the conquering nations to enslave and kill their “brothers”. But God uses Obadiah to pronounce judgment against Edom. It is a judgment that will annihilate them. Don’t mess with God’s chosen people. Are people persecuting you because you are a Christian? Do not judge them or revolt. Let God judge them in his time. You are to forgive and pray for your enemies. God will protect you and silence your enemies. That’s his authority and power. Let him do it. It’s True! Judgment is in God’s hands.

May 26, 2013 Stunning Silence

Read Amos 8 Stunning Silence Amos 8:1-3 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: a basket of ripe fruit. 2 “What do you see, Amos?” he asked. “A basket of ripe fruit,” I answered. Then the Lord said to me, “The time is ripe for my people Israel; I will spare them no longer. 3 “In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “the songs in the temple will turn to wailing. Many, many bodies — flung everywhere! Silence!” HAVE you ever disciplined a child? Likely you have in some context as a teacher, leader, parent or coach. What often happens? They speak back to you, don’t they? Or they say they’ll listen to you but then act as if the conversation never occurred. If you persist in the discipline, you might come to the point where you forcefully say, “Quiet!” You are done waiting for them to choose to obey. Now you are giving them no choice. They must obey or be punished. It’s judgment time. That is the context of this scripture. Amos tells the people there is a time when God will stop talking to them and start administering his righteous judgment on them. Silence comes as the time for talking is done and the time for action has come. This day did come for Israel. This day will come for the entire world. Revelation 8:1 When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. In the days of final judgment there will be silence in Heaven as all of God’s creation awaits his next move. Before he unleashes the 7 angels with their 7 trumpets of judgment, silence will come. And every living creature will breathlessly, fearfully await God’s great judgment on the world. The time of listening to God is now. Listen while he’s still talking to you. It’s True! Judgment’s silence is a fearful thing. Be prepared.

May 25, 2013 Complacency Kills

Read Amos 6-7 Complacency Kills Amos 6:1 Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come!...3 You put off the evil day and bring near a reign of terror. 4 You lie on beds inlaid with ivory and lounge on your couches. You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves. 5 You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments. 6 You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph. 7 Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging will end. COMPLACENCY is an attribute of destruction. If you are complacent, you are feeling self-satisfied and content when you should be anything but satisfied and content. God uses Amos to decry Israel’s complacency. They have become rich by God’s hand; yet, they reject God. The wealthy subject the poor. They believe they are able to prosper without God. One day, though, he will exile them from his presence. Complacency is a huge threat to our nation, our family and our church. Our nation has been strong, but we feel we can ignore warning signs of economic destruction and moral decay. Complacency runs amok in our families. Children rule the households. Parents have little moral standing and no courage to be parents. Complacency wreaks havoc in our churches, too. God’s Word is received with no conviction and desire to trust His power to transform and lead our lives. We must awaken socially and spiritually to welcome God into our nation, into our church and into our families. We must transform complacency to conviction. If we do not, we, too, will become exiles, wondering, “What happened?” It’s True! Complacency kills, Christ reveals.

May 24, 2013 Salvation's Peace

Read Amos 4-5 Salvation’s Peace Amos 4:6-13 “I gave you empty stomachs in every city and lack of bread in every town, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord. 7 “I also withheld rain from you when the harvest was still three months away. I sent rain on one town, but withheld it from another. One field had rain; another had none and dried up. 8 People staggered from town to town for water but did not get enough to drink, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord. 9 “Many times I struck your gardens and vineyards, I struck them with blight and mildew. Locusts devoured your fig and olive trees, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord. 10 “I sent plagues among you as I did to Egypt. I killed your young men with the sword, along with your captured horses. I filled your nostrils with the stench of your camps,yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord. 11 “I overthrew some of you as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. You were like a burning stick snatched from the fire, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord. 12 “Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel, and because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel.” 13 He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, he who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth — the Lord God Almighty is his name. RESTLESS and worried, we wonder, “What’s wrong? Why do I have no peace? Where is rest and confidence? Can I ever be at rest?” I simply want to ask you, “Are you rejecting God’s ways in some way?” The power of the Lord God is available to you to release you into his Way of life. It’s True! Sin will make you restless. Salvation will give you peace.

May 23, 2013 Chosen-Accountable

Read Amos 3 Chosen-Accountable Amos 3:2 “You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins.” WHEN you choose someone to represent you or your family, you certainly want them to do well, don’t you? Perhaps that’s one reason we sit and squirm or stand and shout when our kids are participating in some form of competition: You’re my child. Make me and the family look good. That’s a bit self-centered, isn’t it? Maybe as humans it is self-centered, but it’s not with God. He made mankind in His own image. That means you carry the image of God as you live. You reflect your creator. Do you think that God, your creator, wants you to bear an image of evil as He is holy? Sin corrupted God’s image in mankind. Then God chose the Hebrews formed the people through whom all other nations of the world could bear his image again. Israel didn't have to do anything to be chosen; God had given them this special privilege because he wanted to, not because they deserved special treatment. Pridefully, though, in their privileged position, God’s people rejected their benevolent creator. They felt they deserved special treatment. They became the spoiled child who rejects instruction and discipline. As a parent must take extreme measures to restore a prideful child, God would take extreme measures to restore his people to bear his image. He took steps in ancient Judah to keep people under his discipline that they would be saved. Do you feel the privilege of being chosen as God’s own? I pray you live in His discipline as Jesus’ disciple to bear His image, glorifying your God. It’s True! Saved in Jesus, you are chosen. Bear the gift well.

May 22, 2013 The Shepherd Speaks

Read Amos 1-2 The Shepherd Speaks Amos 1:1-2 The words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa — what he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake, when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel. 2 He said: “The Lord roars from Zion and thunders from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds dry up, and the top of Carmel withers.” WHAT’S your job? Are you pretty sure your job disqualifies you from being God’s messenger? Guess what? It doesn’t. Amos was a shepherd, not as in “pastor” but as in “shepherd”. But then, God called him. “Be my messenger, Amos. Speak what they must know.” So he did as the LORD commanded. I wonder if he said, “Not me, LORD.” But he surely got over it because he went to work. And we’re reading his work 3,000 years later! He begins his work with the prophecy of natural disasters. Drought will dry up the pastures and the fertile land around Carmel. Do you notice that drought is often a means of God’s judgment? It’s an appropriate picture because drought, dryness and desert correlate with emptiness and no growth. One day my wife was declaring her wonder at how the trees give us oxygen and absorb the carbon dioxide we breathe out. Our lungs give life to the trees, and the trees give life to our lungs. But then she remarked how a sand-filled desert has no such life exchange. That’s what happens when our relationship with Jesus gets dry. We do not breathe in his life. We do not breathe our lives to him. The life exchange ends. Amos prophesied God’s life exchange would end in Judah. It was only restored when Jesus came. Are you exchanging your breath of life with Jesus? It’s True! Breathe in Jesus and you will breathe out his love.

May 21, 2013 Two Promises

Read Joel 2-3 Two Promises Joel 2:1-3, 18-20 “Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming. It is close at hand — 2 a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never was of old nor ever will be in ages to come…18 Then the Lord will be jealous for his land and take pity on his people. 19 The Lord will reply to them: ‘I am sending you grain, new wine and oil, enough to satisfy you fully; never again will I make you an object of scorn to the nations. 20 I will drive the northern army far from you, pushing it into a parched and barren land, with its front columns going into the eastern sea and those in the rear into the western sea. And its stench will go up; its smell will rise.’” FROM the moment of the first sin recorded in Genesis 3, God has made two promises to mankind. First, he will judge the sin. Second, he will save us from our sin as we repent. This is the call from Joel. He tells Judah to repent, or a great army will come and destroy it – and, indeed, it does one day at the hand of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He also promises this: I will bring salvation to the land. And, indeed, he does through Jesus Christ. Judgment, my friends is coming again. Jesus came to prepare you for the next judgment with his salvation. Are you prepared? It’s True! God will judge you in your sin; he will save you in your repentance.

May 20, 2013 Tell It Forward

Read Joel 1 Tell It Forward Joel 1:1 The word of the Lord that came to Joel son of Pethuel. 2 Hear this, you elders; listen, all who live in the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your forefathers? 3 Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. JOEL was a prophet to the nation of Judah, also known as the southern kingdom. Although the 12 tribes of Israel had been united under David and Solomon, after Solomon's death, the kingdom had divided into two parts. Two of the tribes—Judah and Benjamin—stayed loyal to David's line and accepted Solomon's son Rehoboam as king. They became the southern kingdom, also called Judah (after the larger tribe). Around the time of Hosea and Isaiah, God destroyed the nation Israel because of their great sin. He preserves Judah for the purpose of bringing Jesus out of the tribe of Judah as prophesied. Joel’s message is the timeless message: Sin brings God's judgment; yet with God's justice there is also great mercy. God uses Joel to declare both and begins with speaking to the elders, then the people of Judah. And note what he says. “Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation.” It is imperative that you tell the next generation who God is. You must tell God is creator, Savior and judge. The next generation must know over and over again that all people are born into a deadly problem with sin, and God has solved that problem through Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. May the Spirit of God be on you as you tell God’s story. It’s True! The truth must be known.

May 18, 2013 God Weeps

Read Hosea 11-12 God Weeps Hosea 11:1-5 “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. 2 But the more I called Israel, the further they went from me. They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images. 3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them. 4 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. 5 "Will they not return to Egypt and will not Assyria rule over them because they refuse to repent?” DO YOU hear God weeping? He mourns the missing son he loves so much. Yes, his son is Israel, 10 tribes of the people He called from Egypt’s awful sin and detestable, deadly idol worship. He’s the Father, who rescues his son from the drug gangs and drunken party. He’s the Father, who stands by his children when they are bullied, brutalized and battered. He gets them away from harm and shows them the place to be safe. But tragically, God is also the Father, who can’t understand why his bruised, brutalized and battered son will sneak out of the house to risk his life with those who want to destroy him. God’s the Father, who repeatedly, lovingly, firmly, says to his son, “Live right. Obey the rules. Be safe. I love you. I love you. I love you. Listen, and I’ll take care of you.” But still the son refuses. “Then go,” the Father says. “Go to your hard life. You must know separation before you truly know that I love you and will always welcome you home when you are willing to come.” It’s True! Too many fathers mourn their lost sons. Pray for them.

May 17, 2013 Who's On Your Altar?

Read Hosea 9-10 Who’s On Your Altar? Hosea 10:1 But the richer the people get, the more pagan altars they build. AS people consider the decline of Christianity in America today, the general mindset is that our nation’s mind is set on things. We have much stuff. And people with much stuff worship the stuff while stuffing God into the “garage sale” closet. Guess what. That’s the way it was in the last days of Israel. That’s the way it has been since Adam and Eve in effect said to God, “You didn’t give us enough stuff.” The devil stirred up discontent in the Garden, and mankind’s mind has been beset with the mindset: More stuff wins! Hosea warned Israel that their richness was turning them from God. Their wealth became pagan altars, separating them from God. What might be the “pagan altars” in your life? Could it be the house that costs a “little” more than you can easily pay for...the extra car for your convenience…those super cool shoes you must have…a desire to give your kids everything they want…simply “things” to have things? Things that block you from pursuing God and his truths for your life are pagan altars. Things become your focus. You have no time and no desire for God’s riches. You become poor in spirit, longing to fill the empty space where God wants to be. Check your schedule. What’s on it? Why are you doing what you do? Are you pursuing things, or are you pursuing God? Stop and know this: God wants you to put Him first—that’s at the top—to be on your altar of worship. If he is anywhere else, He will leave you to the destruction of your “pagan altars”. That’s why He destroyed Israel. It’s True! Anything between you and God is a pagan idol.

May 16, 2013 Repeated Patterns

Read Hosea 7-8 Repeated Patterns Hosea 8:5 Throw out your calf-idol, O Samaria! My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of purity? 6 They are from Israel! This calf — a craftsman has made it; it is not God. It will be broken in pieces, that calf of Samaria. “WHEN will they ever learn?” asks Bob Dylan in his song Where Have all the Flowers Gone? as he mourns the unending cycle of life that turns to death of young men in war. He could have written the song about the Israelites. The golden calf keeps showing up in Israel’s history of incredibly terrible sin. When Moses returned from Mt. Sinai with the Ten Commandments, he found his brother Aaron had led the Hebrews to form a golden calf idol to worship. The calf or ox was a supreme deity in Egypt from which they had departed 50 days earlier. They couldn’t let go of sin and worthless idols even when God’s supreme majesty had led them on a miraculous freedom journey to Mt. Sinai. They could even see his frightening holiness on the mountain! Through the centuries Israel continues its sin affair with the idol Baal, symbolized often with a calf or ox. Here in Hosea’s time, Samaria, the northern kingdom of the Hebrew tribes, have chosen the calf idol over their true God. When will they ever learn? They didn’t learn, and they perished. It’s interesting today that cows are considered sacred among the Hindus, people who reject the living God for idol worship. Do you think they’ll ever learn? Do you think we in Jesus’ church will ever learn to put aside our idols and get passionate for our Lord God who offers us his holy salvation even when he has led us on a miraculous life-saving journey out of Hell? It’s True! We need to destroy our idols and worship Jesus.

May 15, 2013 Lead for the Lord

Read Hosea 5-6 Lead for the Lord Hosea 5:1 “Hear this, you priests! Pay attention, you Israelites! Listen, O royal house! This judgment is against you: You have been a snare at Mizpah, a net spread out on Tabor.” HAS God called you to be a leader? If you’re a married man, he has. If you’re a mother, he has. In truth, God has called each and every person who proclaims Jesus, “Savior.” to lead for the Lord in the Spirit of the Lord. But, do you? I know you feel ill-equipped to lead. I know you are afraid of leadership because it means responsibility, and leadership is a place to be criticized. Leadership means some people will not like you. But the truth of leadership is that leadership is must in the Kingdom of God. In this scripture today, lack of leadership has caused great sin in Israel. Mizpah and Tabor may have been sites prominent in the false worship of Baal that included child sacrifice. With both their civil and religious leaders hopelessly corrupt, the people of Israel were led into depraved darkness. They looked to their leaders for guidance, and they were guided only to destruction. And destruction is exactly where a nation, a community, a church and a family will go if they are led by godless leaders. God calls you to lead people to Jesus Christ. God calls you to lead people in his ways of truth and righteousness. He calls you to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ who follows Jesus and leads people into Jesus’ truth. Feel unqualified? Then get qualified. Read, study and know the Word of God as if your nation, your community, your church and your family depend upon it. It’s True! A leaderless nation is only one generation away from destruction.

May 14, 2013 God Awaits

Read Hosea 3-4 God Awaits Hosea 4:1-3 Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites, because the Lord has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: "There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. 2 There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. 3 Because of this the land mourns, and all who live in it waste away; the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the fish of the sea are dying. THE LORD longs for his people to respond to his love. He is the husband desiring his unfaithful wife to return to him; yet, his people turn their backs to him. Do you see Israel’s horrible sins? Then see how sin affects the natural world. “Because of this the land mourns, and all who live in it waste away.” Yes, sin affects the physical world. (Rom 8:20-22 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.) You see creation groan almost every day in natural disasters. Sin corrodes, infecting your soul and infecting all of God’s creation. How about you? Do you groan in your soul, longing for release from sin? Do you need peace and joy? Do you need to be saved? Then search your heart. See your sin. Give your sin to Jesus. Open your life to God’s faithful love. Israel refused, and they perished. It’s True! God awaits you.

May 13, 2013 Tragic Task

Read Hosea 1-2 Tragic Task Hosea 1:1-3 The word of the Lord that came to Hosea son of Beeri during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the reign of Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel: 2 When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord.” WE have just spent a week looking at a loving, committed relationship between a man and a woman in Song of Solomon. Now we come to Hosea, a story of a man whose marriage was one of deep unfaithfulness by Gomer, the woman he marries. Imagine this. God calls you to be a prophet among his people who are in deep sin against God. The work is difficult. Prophet work is always difficult. Sinners hate hearing the truth. But then God tells his prophet Hosea, “Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord.” “Yes, Hosea, go marry a prostitute. You’ll have children with her, but she will be unfaithful to you.” Why such a difficult, even tragic task for Hosea? God is about to show to Israel and Judah – the countries where his people live – that they have prostituted his grace. They have taken his commands, his love and his mercy and, in effect, they have sold them off to their own pleasures. They are selling their souls for the sake of extreme immoral acts and self-pleasure. God’s people are smitten with evil, and God’s purpose is to dramatically through Hosea to say, “Faithfully come home to me, the One who loves you.” It’s True! God dramatically acts to save you—check out the cross.

May 12, 2013 Love Is

Read Song of Solomon 8 Love Is Song 8:6 Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. 7 Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned. THE Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13 of the many characteristics of love. He writes this love “dissertation” not so much for married couples but for a church to understand the power of love to motivate people’s hearts into Christ-like living. Here, in this final description of their love, the girl includes some of love’s significant characteristics to form a lasting relationship between two people. She proclaims that love is as strong as death. Moreover, love cannot be killed by time or disaster. Love cannot be bought for any price because it is freely given. Love is beyond value, and even the richest king cannot buy it. Love must be accepted as a gift from God and then shared within the guidelines God provides. Rejoice in and accept the love of your spouse as God's gift. Strive to make your love a reflection of the perfect love that comes from God himself. After all, God is love, and he has given of himself to you. Rejoice in his gift. Love God. Love each other. Certainly love is a most precious gift. It is worth nurturing and fighting for. It is worth your time. Take time to love. It’s True! Love is a gift. Unwrap it every day and use it well.

May 11, 2013 Two-Way Love

Read Song of Solomon 7 Two-Way Love Song 7:10-12 (Young Woman) I belong to my lover, and his desire is for me. 11 Come, my lover, let us go to the countryside, let us spend the night in the villages. 12 Let us go early to the vineyards to see if the vines have budded, if their blossoms have opened, and if the pomegranates are in bloom — there I will give you my love. THE best kind of love is a two-way love, isn’t it? What a wonderful sense of joy is in these words as the young woman invites her husband to the country, to enjoy each other’s company and to spend time away from the work and the responsibilities of everyday life. You could say they were off to a weekend getaway. Isn’t it a joy to see the wife invite her husband? You feel great, don’t you, guys, when your wife says, “Let’s go be alone together. Let’s focus in on each other.” Certainly she feels joy, too, when you invite her to step away from life to take time to love each other. Be sure, then, in your marriage relationship that, indeed, you do invite one another to be alone together. Spend time simply enjoying each other. Relax, have fun and remember why you married. Rejoice in each other’s presence and celebrate that God has joined you together. For those of you not married, there are certainly ways you can do this with your children or your friends. Express love to someone with an invitation to dinner, a fishing or golfing outing, a picnic or simple conversation over a cup of coffee. Yes, it’s good, isn’t it, to take time to “love one another” as the Lord has directed. It’s True! Jesus loves you and invites you to spend time with him.

May 10, 2013 Love One Another

Read Song of Solomon Chapter 6 Love One Another Song 6:1-7 (Women of Jerusalem) Where has your lover gone, O woman of rare beauty? Which way did he turn so we can help you find him? (Young Woman) 2 My lover has gone down to his garden, to his spice beds, to browse in the gardens and gather the lilies. 3 I am my lover's, and my lover is mine. He browses among the lilies. “BLESSING” is a word that comes from God’s character. The very first forms of his creation were to bless the earth with remarkable beauty and diversity. He then blessed the first couple with marriage, forming them into a “one-flesh” union under His love and protection. There are many words of affirmation in Song 6 between a man and his wife. But I want to focus on how the wife affirms her husband when she refers to their commitment to one another, “I am my lover's, and my lover is mine.” See how she affirms their committed union as they have given themselves to each other unreservedly. Marriages need total commitment between husband and wife. Oftentimes a marriage is diminished when we put the kids first. For some reason we have come to believe our kids are the most important people in our marriages. They aren’t. The husband and wife are. Yes, you two parents must see your relationship must have the blessing of commitment to one another without reserve. The best way you can care for your children is to commit to your marriage and make sure your kids know how important you are to one another. Committed love is a growing love between the two of you, and your love for your children will grow from you. Love builds upon love. A marital one-flesh union is a blessing of affirmation to the husband and wife, and it is a blessing of affirmation to your children. Commit to each other. Enjoy your lover, and your family will flourish. It’s True! God’s blessing to marriage is committed love.

May 9, 2013 Friendship Relationship

Read Song of Solomon 5 Friendship Relationship Song of Solomon 5:9-16 How is your beloved better than others, most beautiful of women? How is your beloved better than others, that you charge us so? 10 My lover is radiant and ruddy, outstanding among ten thousand…14 His arms are rods of gold set with chrysolite. His body is like polished ivory decorated with sapphires. 15 His legs are pillars of marble set on bases of pure gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as its cedars. 16 His mouth is sweetness itself; he is altogether lovely. This is my lover, my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem. ONE of my great privileges as a pastor is to see couples married for 40, 50 and 60 years who are very much in love with each other. Within their love is an extraordinary sense of friendship. They are really good friends, enjoying the opportunity to be together for so long. As the young bride is asked why her husband, Solomon, is so special, she replies with a list of his good-looking characteristics. But the most important thing she says is, “This is my lover, my friend.” In a healthy marriage, lovers are also good friends. Too often people enter into marriage with the exciting feelings of physical love and passion before they take the time to develop a deep friendship. One of the things we strive to do for couples before they marry is to teach them how to be friends. This means they will learn how to listen to each other, share their thoughts and emotions, forgive each other and honor the other’s preferences. A marriage must be a relationship of friendship that will make the love relationship much deeper and far more satisfying. It’s True! Learn to be friends and your love will last all your lives.

May 8, 2013 Love Lifts

Read Song of Solomon 3-4 Love Lifts Song 4:1-11 (Young Man) 1 You are beautiful, my darling, beautiful beyond words. Your eyes are like doves behind your veil. Your hair falls in waves, like a flock of goats winding down the slopes of Gilead. 2 Your teeth are as white as sheep, recently shorn and freshly washed. Your smile is flawless, each tooth matched with its twin. 3 Your lips are like scarlet ribbon; your mouth is inviting. Your cheeks are like rosy pomegranates behind your veil. 4 Your neck is as beautiful as the tower of David, jeweled with the shields of a thousand heroes. 5 Your breasts are like two fawns, twin fawns of a gazelle grazing among the lilies. 6 Before the dawn breezes blow and the night shadows flee, I will hurry to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense. 7 You are altogether beautiful, my darling, beautiful in every way. 8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, come with me from Lebanon. Come down from Mount Amana, from the peaks of Senir and Hermon, where the lions have their dens and leopards live among the hills. 9 You have captured my heart, my treasure, my bride. You hold it hostage with one glance of your eyes, with a single jewel of your necklace. 10 Your love delights me, my treasure, my bride. Your love is better than wine, your perfume more fragrant than spices. 11 Your lips are as sweet as nectar, my bride. Honey and milk are under your tongue. Your clothes are scented like the cedars of Lebanon. HOW do you love someone? One way is tell him or her, isn’t it? Here’s an idea: write down words that describe the ways you love your spouse, best friend, parent or sibling. See what you feel about someone. Then read it them. Solomon loves his bride. He tells her of her beauty. He is transforming her from a country girl to a bride of the king. He is raising her up to feel loved. That’s a loving thing to do. It’s True! Speak your love and you will lift up your loved one.

May 7, 2013 Submission

Read Song of Solomon 2-3 Submission Song 2:2-4 Song 2:1 (Young Woman) I am the spring crocus blooming on the Sharon Plain, the lily of the valley. 2 (Young Man) Like a lily among thistles is my darling among young women. 3 (Young Woman) Like the finest apple tree in the orchard is my lover among other young men. I sit in his delightful shade and taste his delicious fruit.4 He escorts me to the banquet hall; it’s obvious how much he loves me. AS Solomon and his young love converse, I find it hard at times to know who is talking. The New Living Testament indicates which person is speaking. I’ve put that in parentheses, and I hope it’s helpful to you. What is submission? I believe “submission” is often a curse word in our culture. Too often it is seen as a frame of mind that means letting someone control your every action. But as the Apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 5:21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ, he urges the marital union to be based on a submission of love and honor to one another. As these two lovers honor one another with their words of endearment and compliments, they are submitting their hearts to each other. They demonstrate a love relationship that God formed in Adam and Eve as he made them “one-flesh”. They were to submit to each other and to God. Are you sometimes demanding your way in your marriage or friendships? Then consider these words of love from this scripture. Consider Paul’s encouragement to submit to others. Remember Jesus’ submission to the cross for you. Before you demand your way from the one you love, stop and consider how much you love the one you love. It’s True! Love leads to loving submission.

May 6, 2013 See What's Real

Read Song of Solomon See What’s Real Song of Solomon 1:5-7 Dark am I, yet lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, dark like the tents of Kedar, like the tent curtains of Solomon. 6 Do not stare at me because I am dark, because I am darkened by the sun. My mother's sons were angry with me and made me take care of the vineyards; my own vineyard I have neglected. 7 Tell me, you whom I love, where you graze your flock and where you rest your sheep at midday. Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the flocks of your friends? SONG OF SOLOMON (also known as the Song of Songs) is a conversation between two people who meet, fall in love and are married. The young woman in this story is from the country. She grew up amid a family of brothers who forced her to care for their vineyard. From the affects of her work and the sun, her skin is dark, and she doesn’t feel very pretty. She’s apologizing for her appearance. She wants to meet up with her beloved and seeks to know where he’ll be. She hopes that he will find her acceptable in his sight. Chapter 1 is a conversation between the two, and you’ll find he is a very encouraging man. And who is the man? He is Solomon, King of Judah. It is thought this woman is the first princes Solomon fell in love with and married before he would later marry to form political alliances. The essence of this chapter is the beginning of a love relationship culminating in marriage. The woman urges Solomon to look past her outer flaws to see her inner beauty. Solomon assures her that he does see her beauty and commits his love to her. It’s True! Love sees no flaws.

May 5, 2013 What Will You Say?

Read Ecclesiastes 9 – 12 What Will You Say? Eccl 12:13-14 That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. 14 God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad. THAT’S IT. Do you want to know the secret of life, of happiness, of peace, of hope, of joy, of trusting God? It is right here for you. Solomon had wisdom. But he disregarded his wisdom for the world, and he didn’t finish life well. God honored him with great wisdom, wealth, fame, and power. But Solomon ended life in great despair and depression. He turned away from God. He ignored God’s commands to not marry an Egyptian wife. He ignored God’s commands to not have many wives—he had hundreds of wives and concubines! Many of them worshiped false gods. Solomon got too close to the false gods, too far away from the real God. Solomon got lost in the world. Still he had the wisdom to tell you the truth. He knew what he was talking about. He’s a man sitting by a car wreck saying, “Don’t drive too fast.” He’s the lung cancer patient saying, “Don’t smoke.” He’s the adulterer with AIDS saying, “Be faithful to your spouse.” He’s the lost soul saying, “Stay with Jesus.” What will you say at the end of your life? Will you share your regrets? Or will you tell your family, “I trusted God’s commands. And he blessed me. Trust him in your life, and he will bless you with his presence—forever. It’s True! Live with God, and you will live in peace.

May 4, 2013 Weird Advice But True

Read Ecclesiastes 6 - 8 Weird Advice—But True! Eccl 7:2 Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties. After all, everyone dies. WOW. Solomon is really down! A funeral is better than a party? Is that any way to look at life and the life of salvation God offers to us in Jesus Christ? Actually, it is one way to look at life. People really do need to know that one day they will die—unless Jesus comes back first. In either case, life as we know it on earth ends. And it’s true. When life on earth ends, there are two options for the next part of life: Hell or Heaven. We don’t like to think about that do we? We’d rather think about it when it’s “time”. But who knows when that time is? Who wants to get to the time of death too quickly or unprepared? To be prepared for any time that life on earth ends, we must seriously consider that we will die and our souls will live a state of eternal punishment or eternal joy. What’s more, it is good and necessary to consider, “What legacy will I leave?” Your life will impact future generations that come after you. Do you want your descendants to live well? Then live well now. Live in God’s purpose today for your family now. Live in God’s purpose today for your future family. Yes, funerals are more profitable to think of than parties. We must consider how we can live life to our purpose as we live in the salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Trusting Christ to guide your life will give you that purpose and that joy. It’s True! A life on purpose in Jesus is a life to celebrate now and forever.

May 3, 2013 Are You Listening

Read Ecclesiastes 3-5 Are You Listening? Eccl 5:2 Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. AS I opened this scripture, I was listening to the Third Day Song “Sound of Your Voice”. Here are the lyrics: I ran away from your love But you waited for me Yes, you waited for me And then I heard your song Singing over me Singing over me Now that I hear you, Lord I want to know you more I want to know you more Sing your song to me Oh, there's no greater thing Than to listen to the sound of your voice When I hear your song I want to sing along And listen to the sound of your voice The sound of your voice Lord, I am calling your name And I'm waiting for you Yes, I'm waiting for you So won't you show me your way And I will follow you Yes, I will follow you Singing over me Bringing peace and mercy With a song that never ends Singing over me Marvelous and holy Lord, I want to hear your song again Are you listening? Most of us aren’t because we’re too busy talking, or we’re too eager to start talking when the other person stops. (“When will he shut up so I can say what’s important?”) Do you have that same kind of attitude when you are “listening” to God’s Word? Don’t you just want to get through the reading, so you can get to prayer and start telling God what you need? (“Oh, God, why do your words go on and on? I have so much to say to you. I need you to know what I want!”) The thing is, God is listening. The question is: Are you? The thing is, God is listening. The question is: Are you? Let God’s words “sing over you”. Soar in his truth. Discover his love. Celebrate his knowledge. Let his words sing in your heart. It’s True! Prayer is about listening, too.  

May 2, 2013 Everything but Nothing

Read Ecclesiastes 1 – 2 Everything but Nothing Eccl 2:11 But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere. ECCLESIASTES is such a sad book. Here’s a guy—Solomon—with everything any man could want. But in reality he has nothing. He is never satisfied. He always wants more of something. As he pursues more “more” he, unfortunately discovers more hopelessness and more despair because he becomes more empty. Many people say the Bible is irrelevant in our world today. Here’s one example of its reality for our lives right now: Many negative aspects of what’s happened in our country’s economy to cause cycles of recession and depression are the result of people always seeking more. People in position of controlling money continually contrive ways to gather great wealth at the expense of the nation. I’m certainly not opposed to capitalism, and I believe people who take appropriate business risks, work hard, have great ideas and are equipped to bring those ideas into reality are deserving of reward for their efforts. But too often, greed motivates people to break rules, and greed in our nation’s history and the history of the world has too often crippled a country and sent hundreds of thousands to the unemployment line. The Bible doesn’t condemn good and honest work. But it condemns pursuit of temporary worldly wealth as a means to eternal happiness. The temporary never satisfies the eternal. Solomon learned that long ago. Now he has told you. You may not be pursuing great wealth, but are you trying to find meaning in “more” sports, “more” busyness, “more” of things that are really less? Will you trust that what God has taught Solomon is the truth of folly, and will you listen to him? It’s True! Only when you pursue more God will you have true wealth.