Fast...Show God You Are Serious

Joel 1:13-15 -  Put on sackcloth, O priests, and mourn; wail, you who minister before the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you who minister before my God; for the grain offerings and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God. Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD. Alas for that day! For the day of the LORD is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty.

 

God sends yet another prophet named Joel to deliver his words of repentance and judgment.  He told everyone to listen…to weep….to mourn for the destruction that was coming.  God’s judgment was going to destroy all the crops they depended on for food…he was going to allow all the water to dry up from the rivers.

 

Joel called for the priests to take drastic measures to ask God to reconsider.  He told them to put on sackcloth and weep before the Lord to show their humility.  He told them to fast and pray for repentance of the people they had been given to lead and teach the commands of God.

 

It’s a reminder to me that sometimes…when we let the circumstances around us get so bad…when we have prayed and petitioned God...and are still waiting for answers…we need to show God just how serious we are with fasting. Fasting calls for us to give up something we dearly love in order to spend more intense time with God praying and seeking his direction…or praying for an important change in someone we love.  It can be giving up time on our favorite social media ap….giving up a favorite drink…going without one food…or all food for a period of time….to name just a few examples.

 

The act of fasting takes our focus off ourselves…or the problem we have been praying about …and puts the focus back on God’s reason for not giving us an answer yet.  It causes us to reflect on the sin …or behaviors we have been doing that might be blocking our answer…or even preventing us from hearing and accepting God’s “no” to our request.  It allows us to spend more time in prayer….shows God a bit of humility on our part…and provides the time to study and seek his will from study of his word.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that fasting is way to focus my worries back on you.  Forgive me for forgetting this extreme way of spending more time with you by giving up some earthly thing that I love. Help me spend some time today considering what answer I think I need the most from you…and pray about what I should fast to ask you for an answer. Help me use the time I fast to seek you in a deeper way.  Amen.

Ask God To Restore You To HIs Love

Hosea 14:3-4  and 9 –  Assyria cannot save us; we will not mount war-horses. We will never again say 'Our gods' to what our own hands have made, for in you the fatherless find compassion."  "I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them.

…..Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them. The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.

 

Hosea’s last words to the people were God’s call to return to him. He begged them to realize that no other nation…no other god could help them.  True restoration would come only from a heart that uttered to God to forgive their sins and ask him to be gracious in restoring their nation back to its former strength.

 

God promised to cure them from their idolatry and unfaithfulness. He promised to increase his love to them in unmeasured bounds. He would remove all his anger from them and restore them like the morning dew refreshes the earth in the springtime.

 

Hosea’s last chapter reminded me of my favorite verse…Jeremiah 29:11.  He knows the plans he has for us…and wants to give us good things...to bless us with the wisdom and discernment we need …so our future prospers in his love….even though we don’t deserve it….(translation mine).  

 

It is our choice whether to accept this great love…and let it enrich our life.  We can cling to the earthly things around us that we think are giving us happiness…or we can turn those things over to God…realizing that they are gifts…on loan only to do hs will here on earth.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that I must daily seek a time with you to ask you to expose any sin in my life…and ask you to remove it and fill the space it occupied with more of your love.  Thank you for the promise to care for me…even though I stray far away from you will at times.  Thank you for the promise of restoration no matter what mistakes I make.  Help me to wake each morning and thank you for the day to come…and claim your promise of growth for my good.   Amen.

Build A Relationship With God So You Can Grow And Thrive In Any Situation

Hosea 13:1-3 -  When Ephraim spoke, men trembled; he was exalted in Israel. But he became guilty of Baal worship and died.  Now they sin more and more; they make idols for themselves from their silver, cleverly fashioned images, all of them the work of craftsmen. It is said of these people, "They offer human sacrifice and kiss the calf-idols." Therefore they will be like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears, like chaff swirling from a threshing floor, like smoke escaping through a window.

 

God gave Hosea a message that reminded his people how far they had drifted form God’s purpose and will.  They had once been a strong nation…fearing God and keeping his commands. They grew and thrived in the close relationship they had with God. But they had forgotten God…leaving him for idols of all kinds….committing sins so unthinkable that God was going to allow something drastic to show them the error of their ways.

 

God used many people to strengthen his people…to help them grow in knowledge and thrive in their Christian walk. I think of Moses…who showed them how to be obedient….no matter what.  I think of Jacob…later called Israel……who left his home on sheer faith…to be escorted into a land so rich with resources that the countless children he had would become a great an prosperous nation.  I think of Naomi…who taught her family the power of love …to heal and restore any hurt or pain that God allows in our lives.

 

The journey we take with God is not a one-time climb up a mountain. We don’t reach greatness and keep it forever. My life Application Bible notes put it this way…. “Greatness in the past or present is not a guarantee of greatness in the future.  We must keep our relationship up to date, so we can grow and thrive.”

 

Moses climbed that mountain to get God’s commands...but then he brought them back down and gave them to the people.  He constantly talked with God and interceded for the people when he knew they had sinned.  Jacob talked with God about his plan…even wrestling with God’s angel for a blessing until he felt God was a part of hs heart and life…so he could use his strength when it got hard. Naomi read the word and studied it all her life…so she could use its truth to find the courage to move forward after her family had been taken from her. She was able to teach these truths to even a pagan like Ruth…and give her the tools to transform her life as well.

 

It is a great reminder to me that a relationship with God takes constant work.  It is not a once a year visit to church for a holiday service. It is not one casual glance at a scripture each morning.  It is not an occasional prayer when things go wrong.  It is a constant attitude of prayer….asking him to be a part of everything that you do.  It is a purposeful search of his word to study and find ways to apply the truths to the problems he has allowed in our lives. It is finding a fellowship of believers to worship with on a regular basis…so they can give you support and teach you things you have yet to learn.

 

Father….thank you for the reminder that I need to build a strong relationship with you with prayer … study of the Bible….and worship time in a church.  Forgive me when I have let my relationship with you grow weak because I have tried to coast on what I did in the past. Help me to build my strength by spending more time with you in prayer.  Show me new ways to study your word and glean the truths that will help me be a better Christian to the world.  Bless the time I spend in fellowship with other believers in worship and teaching. Amen.

God Builds Character When We Balance Love And Justice

Hosea 12:4-6 -  He struggled with the angel and overcame him; he wept and begged for his favor. He found him at Bethel and talked with him there--  the LORD God Almighty, the LORD is his name of renown!  But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always.

 

The Israelites had been chasing the wind.  They were searching for help in all the wrong places. So Hosea reminded them of Jacob…how he deceived his brother….spent time in hiding running from his problems…but finally realized the error of his ways and came back to try and make amends to his brother. He met with God just before he met with Esau…..wrestling with him all night …refusing to let go of him until he gave him a blessing for his future task.

 

Jacob understood the mistakes in his life…the sin they had caused and wanted to make things right with God again.  He was beginning to understand how love works…how it must be balanced with justice …and his life be given to God completely for his existence to make any sense.

 

The note is my Life Application Bible reminded me that too much love lulls a person into an easiness absent of any discipline. Too much justice results in no mercy at all. Love with no justice leaves people in sin….and justice without love drives people completely away from God. Our witness is distorted if we live very long with one or the other dominating our actions.

 

God builds good character in me when I let love be tempered with just the right amount of justice.  I am able to love all people …the way Jesus modeled for me.  I can see the soul of one who has been confused by homosexuality….and love them so much they might see the truth in their choices.   I can see the pain in the alcoholic or drug addict who struggles to put that obsession down….and love them with God’s strength to heal and help them break the addiction.  I can see the struggle the person who has done something terrible to hurt someone…and use my love to help them wrestle with that angel of God till they feel the blessing that God has already promised to give them if they repent.  God’s love simply isn’t selective…it loves all.

 

God builds good character in me when I refuse to let the world cause me to compromise justice. I can always use his love to help me take a stand on issues that are just not supported by his word. I can love the person…but hate the sin in their life.  I can love the heart…without being sucked into their sin ….with God’s help and strength.

 

Father...thank you for the reminder that building my character with love and justice will help me be more like you.  Forgive me when I have loved too hard…or used justice alone….and damaged my character.  Help me to learn to balance love and justice in my life…and model for others how your love can overcome any problem…no matter how long satan has tricked them into sin.  Help me to love everyone…and show them how to harness justice to free them from their addictions…hurts…and habits. Amen

Accept God's Discipline....Come Back To Him Completely

Hosea 11:3-5 -  It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them.  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.  "Will they not return to Egypt and will not Assyria rule over them because they refuse to repent?

 

God gave Hosea these loving words of discipline for the people of Israel.  He loved them like a father loves his children.  He raised them with love and mercy and gave them all they needed….but they had rebelled against his ways.  God was going to punish them by allowing them to be taken into captivity in Assyria.

 

Israel was the ultimate strong willed child….so God had to use some tough love to wake them up and help them see how far they had gotten form the promise they had made to him. God could not stand to see them throw his love completely away…so he allowed a situation in their lives that would redirect their hearts back to him.

 

It is a reminder to me that God disciplines us when we stray too far away from his will and purpose for our lives.  He will not allow us to rebel against him without trying a little tough love to redirect our paths back to him...because the ultimate punishment is death.  Just take a look back at Deuteronomy 21:18-21 to see the original laws given to Israel for a wayward son.  They were to be stoned…till they died….so the evil could be purged from within them.

 

God loved us so much that he gave his only son to take that death sentence for us.  After years of trying to love the humans he created with tough love...he decided to pull out all the stops…and send his only son in human form to take our place on the cross. He became the last sacrifice the world would ever need to atone for sin.

 

God still disciplines us when we stray too far away from his purpose.  Jesus’ death and resurrection paid the price for our sin…but it did not force us to accept the gift he gave. When we forget the promise we made to him…God spares no tough love practices to help us see how much he loves and wants us to return to him.

 

Father...thank you for the reminder that God loves me so much more than I can comprehend with my human heart and soul and mind.  Forgive me for the times that I have strayed so far away from your purpose for my life…and ignored the discipline you have allowed to try and help me see y need for you in my life.  Help me to stay close to you from this morning forward…so you can bless me and love me like you originally designed man for.  Help me see the ways you have provided for me to follow your will completely…and love you back as much as you love me.  Amen.

Use God's Power To help You Keep Your Promises

Hosea 10:8-9 - The high places of wickedness will be destroyed-- it is the sin of Israel. Thorns and thistles will grow up and cover their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, "Cover us!" and to the hills, "Fall on us!"  "Since the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, O Israel, and there you have remained. Did not war overtake the evildoers in Gibeah?

 

God had given Israel so much….but he couldn’t bear watching them give thanks to the idols and gods they were worshiping instead of him. The more he blessed them…the more praise and they gave the heathen gods they worshiped.  He called their hearts false.  He was tired of their empty promises.  He was brokenhearted because they deserted him…worrying about the heathen gods more than they did him.  He was going to let thorns and thistles grow up around the altars they gave away his praise and sacrifices.

 

I couldn’t help but think of the children’s story Sleeping Beauty. I could see the pictures from that story where the thorns grew so tall they blocked the prince’s way to save the sleeping girl. She laid there sleeping for years before one brave prince decided to chop his way through the thorns and wake her up with a kiss.  I know it’s a stretch…but the thorns reminded me that I let myself be tricked so many times….yet God in his perfect timing always finds a way to cut through the thorns I have allowed to let me fall asleep in his love….and wake me up.  

 

I also thought of the way we make New Year’s resolutions…and break them as soon as our willpower gives out. The promise we made demands too much …and we let it go…never to keep our promise to our self. Rick Warren reminded me as I was reading his book, The Daniel Plan, that I don’t have to do anything on my own anymore.  God is there…in the form of his Holy Spirit to help me keep any promise I made to him….or the people around me that I am trying to love.

 

It is a reminder that I need to always shout out the biggest raise I can find in my heart to God. The things have are because God loaned them to me…whether I deserved them or not. He owns them…and will use them to spread his kingdom if I listen to him tell me how to use each one. I must guard against any thorns or thistles growing up around my heart and tricking me into using them for my own gain.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that everything I have comes from you.  Forgive me for the times that I have used them for my own satisfaction and contentment.  Forgive me for not guarding my heart from satan’s tricks and lies and confusions.  Help me to focus so intensely on you that I give praise to you for everything you allow to bless my life.  Help me to use all the things you have give me to spread the truth about your love to others.  Amen.

Be A Better Listener

Hosea 9:7-8 - The days of punishment are coming, the days of reckoning are at hand. Let Israel know this. Because your sins are so many and your hostility so great, the prophet is considered a fool, the inspired man a maniac.  The prophet, along with my God, is the watchman over Ephraim, yet snares await him on all his paths, and hostility in the house of his God.

 

Hosea had to tell the people to rejoice no more. He had to tell them that God had put up with all the disobedience and adultery of his Temple and words that he was going too.  God was going to allow a time of great oppression and captivity to teach them how to love him again. He had sent so many prophets to warn them…but they turned the words they heard into what they wanted to hear.

 

It is hard for me to grasp the full measure of the words in this chapter.  God was going to turn his back on his people…because he couldn’t stand the pain they caused his heart to feel.  The people’s selective hearing had caused them to wander so far away from the truth that God had to allow something drastic in their lives to wake them up to the promises they had made to him.

 

I needed this reminder this morning to guard against the selective hearing that damaged the Israelites relationship with God so badly.   God speaks to us in so many ways that is it sometimes hard to discern just what is God speaking…and just what satan inserts to confuse me. For satan will spare no tricks to try and keep our hearing impaired.

 

 

It is the faith that we develop by seeking God in Bible study and prayer that helps us hear his words clearly.  It is that same faith that tells our heart just what God wants us to do with what we read in our studies and hear God tell us in those prayers. It is the godly friends…the teachers he has placed in our pathways….and the pastors that he has placed in our churches that will teach us how to listen just to God.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that you love us enough to keep speaking your purpose and will in our lives until we open our ears fully to your voice. Forgive me for the times that I have allowed confusion to abound because I have failed to filter out the world and satan’s tricks.   Help me this morning to learn to hear your voice only.  Help me to learn to listen…to all that you have to say to me ….so I can do what you placed me here to do.  Amen.