DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- WORDS OF COMFORT

 WORDS OF COMFORT
Hosea 2:13-14
 
" 'I will punish her for the days of the Baals to which she burned incense. She decked herself with her earrings and jewelry, and went after her lovers; but she forgot Me. Therefore, behold, I will allure her, will bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her.' "
 
Through Hosea, God told Israel the consequences of forgetting God. He would withhold His blessing; He would take away their material prosperity (grain, wine, wool, linen, grapes and figs) and also their joy (verses 9-12). He would take her into the wilderness where the would be more prone to hear His words of comfort to her. When I am in the wilderness – the dry, barren, painful places, where there is no joy, it is time to check to see if I have left God behind in my pursuit of other things. It is in the wilderness where all the other distractions have been removed that I am more attentive to listen to God's voice speaking words of comfort.
 
TODAY'S PRINCIPLE: God takes His people into the wilderness, where they lose His blessings and their joy, so that they will listen to God's voice speaking words of comfort.
 
[end]
 
Have a listening day. Love you.

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- GOD'S BLESSINGS

 GOD'S BLESSINGS
Hosea 2:7-8
 
" 'She will chase her lovers, but not overtake them; yes, she will seek them but not find them. Then she will say, "I will go and return to my first husband, for it was better for me than now." For she did not know that I gave her grain, new wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold – which they prepared for Baal.' "
 
Israel was like many people. She forgot how many blessings she had received from God, and instead chased after other gods, thinking that life would be better. But the emptiness, pain, and bondage that she found prompted her to return to God. We are like that. We look at the things of the world and think that living for our own selfish desires would be so much better than serving the Lord – the greener grass syndrome. We chase after those things, and use the talents and treasures that God has given us to serve other gods, instead of using them to bless Him. But when we find that living to fulfill our own desires is not as good as we thought it would be, maybe we will return to Him. I need to appreciate all of God's blessings and remember that "every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights" (James 1:17). I am just a steward of God's gifts and I need to use His blessing wisely instead of squandering them on my own selfish pursuits.
 
TODAY'S PRINCIPLE: God blesses us with good gifts that we should use to serve Him instead of squandering them
on our own lusts.
 
[end]
 
Have a "blessed" day. Love you.

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- PAIN RELIEF

 PAIN RELIEF
Hosea 2:6-7
 
" 'Therefore, behold, I will hedge up your way with thorns, and wall her in so that she cannot
find her path. She will chase her lovers, but not overtake them; yes, she will seek them but not find them. Then she will say, "I will go and return to my first husband, for then it was better for me than now." ' "
 
Pain is a great motivator. It causes me to avoid certain behaviors – like touching a hot stove, or makes me want to seek relief – like going to a doctor. Pass me the Tylenol!! God puts a hedge of thorns along my path to cause pain that will keep me on the straight and narrow, and return to Him for help. Saul experience that pain when we was rebelling against God and persecuting Christians. When Jesus appeared to him, He said, "It is hard for you to kick against the goad" (Acts 9:5b). The pain that comes from an unhealthy lifestyle or a hurting conscience is a blessing from the Lord. It causes me to look for the cause of the pain and find a remedy. Instead of enduring the pain of rebellion, I can return to Jesus and find rest and peace. He does not just cover the pain as aspirin does; He brings real pain relief when I come to Him in repentance.
 
TODAY'S PRINCIPLE: Jesus brings relief to people with a hurting conscience when they turn to Him.
 
[end]
 
Have a pain-free day. Love you.

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- THE CHILDREN

 THE CHILDREN
Hosea 2:4-5
 
[God said.] " 'I will not have mercy on her children, for they are the children of harlotry. For their mother has played the harlot; she who conceived them has behaved shamefully. For she said, "I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my linen, my oil and my drink." ' "

Sadly, people who forsake faith in God – who go after other lovers rather than God to find fulfillment and satisfaction in life – are not the only ones who suffer. Their children also pay a price. Certainly, there are children of godly parents who go astray, and there are children of ungodly parents who come to faith and serve God. But as a general rule, children will follow the faith of their parents. Children who see their parents turn away from their faith in God are negatively affected. Children who are raised in a home where God is not honored will themselves not honor God. I believe that parents who forsake their faith and cause their offspring to walk in unbelief will be held accountable before God for not leading their children in righteousness, and will receive a harsh judgment. If they truly loved their children, they would lead them to faith.
 
TODAY'S PRINCIPLE: Parents have a profound affect on their children – for good or for evil.
 
[end]
 
Bless you for setting the example of godliness before your children. Love you.

CHRISTMAS MEDITATION

 CHRISTMAS MEDITATION
They Call Him "Lord"
 
A baby nestled in the womb of a young maiden named Mary.
When she came to visit her Aunt Elizabeth, Elizabeth greeted her with the question,
"Why has the mother of my Lord come to me?" 1
Elizabeth called Him Lord, and so He was.
 
When that baby was born in Bethlehem and lay in a manger,
an angel announced to some shepherds tending their sheep in the field,
"Unto you is born this day a Savior, who is Christ, the Lord." 2
The Angel called Him Lord, and so He was.
 
That baby grew into adulthood and was baptized by a man who said his mission was to "prepare the way of the Lord." 3
John the Baptist called Him Lord, and so He was.
 
As Jesus traveled about doing His ministry, He had followers who accepted Him as Lord. 4
His disciples called Him Lord, and so He was.
 
The sick were healed and possessed were delivered by Jesus, and they worshiped Him as Lord. 5
The people called Him Lord, and so He was.
 
After He was resurrected from the dead, people recognized Him as Lord. 6
Even an unbelieving Thomas confessed Him as Lord.
They called Him Lord, and so He was.
 
Saul of Tarsus met Him on the road to Damascus, and cried out, "Who are You, Lord?" 7
Saul (Paul) called Him Lord, and so He was.
 
Everyone who believes in their heart and confesses with their mouth that Jesus is Lord
will be saved. 8
Believers call Him Lord, and so He is.
 
Someday this same Jesus will come again as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that He is  Lord. 9
Everyone shall call Him Lord, and so He is forever and ever.

I call Him my Lord, for so He is.

 

1. Luke 1:43 2. Luke 2:11 3. John 1:23 4. Matthew 14:28-30; John 6:68; John 13:13 5. Matthew 8:2; Matthew 15:25; John 9:38 6. John 20:18, 25, 28 7. Acts 9:5 8. Romans 10:9 9. Revelation 19:16; Philippians 2:11

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- THE MOTHERLAND

 THE MOTHERLAND
Hosea 2:2-3
 
Bring charges against your mother, bring charges [margin: contend with], for she is not My wife nor am I her husband! Let her put her adulteries from between her breasts; lest I strip her naked, and expose her, as in the day she was born, and make her like a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst."
 
Hosea's life continued as an analogy. The wife he had delivered from her prostitution has returned to her old life, and Hosea divorced her. Her innocent children were urged to plead with their mother to forsake her prostitution and return to her husband, or face dire consequences. The picture is this: God had delivered Abraham from an idolatrous society and formed a new nation – a motherland. But as a nation, they returned to the idolatries they were delivered from. The children, who were innocent, were urged to plead with the motherland to "put her adulteries from between her breasts," and return to their Father (God), or receive dire consequence. In the same way, God urges us to do intervention – to contend and plead with our motherland to return to Him. Will she heed the message?
 
TODAY'S PRINCIPLE: In His love, God calls us to contend with our nation to forsake her adultery and
return to Him.
 
[end]
 
Have a "contending" day. Love you.

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- THERE IS HOPE

THERE IS HOPE
Hosea 1:10-2:1
 
" 'Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, "You are not My people," there it shall be said to them, "You are sons of the living God." Then the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and appoint for themselves one head; and they shall come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel! Say to your brethren, "My people," and to your sisters, "Mercy is shown." ' "
 
It was a dark picture Hosea had painted for the future of Abraham's nation – scattering, judgment, being disowned. But even though things looked hopeless, God has a future planned for His people. God had made a promise to Abraham that his offspring would be a great nation, numbered as the sands of the sea (Genesis 12:2; 22:17; 32:12). God is faithful to His promises. Instead of being scattered, they would be united; in the place of judgment they would find mercy and salvation; instead of being disowned, they would be called sons of the living God. Things may look dark in the world around us – in our nation, in the culture, in my family, and in the church. But there is hope because God is in control and He has a plan. That is the essence of Christmas: God came down to give reconcilliation, mercy, sonship, and hope. "Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God...." (Psalm 42:5).
 
TODAY'S PRINCIPLE: Even when the future looks dark, the Believer has hope because God is faithful to His promises.
 
[end]
 
Have a hopeful day. Love you.