Posted on

Mercy over sacrifice…. (devo reflection)

Matthew 12:7 If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.

When I was in college, I had a standing babysitting gig after classes each day. I was instructed, if my charge got into trouble with a toy, to remove that toy into “timeout” but to offer another toy in its place. I remember my college-age self being baffled by that parenting technique, wondering how the child would ever learn if he still had a toy to play with.

Matthew 12:9-10 Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

Today’s reading brought that long-ago time to mind. I wonder if the parents, in their own way, were upholding Hosea 6:6/Matthew 12:7, showing the child mercy instead of forcing him to sacrifice.

Matthew 12:11 He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out?

Lord, I still have so very much to learn in this life. Help me to take to heart the fact that You desire mercy over sacrifice as I deal with others in day-to-day life. Help me to seek ways to be merciful and compassionate in Your name. Amen.

Matthew 12:12 How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

Have a blessed day. I love you.

Posted on

The fruit of my lips…. (devo reflection)

Hosea 14:2 Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to him: “Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips.

I love the expression “fruit of our lips.” Some translations say “sacrifices of our lips,” which brings to mind Hebrews 13:15, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.”

Hosea 14:4 “I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them.

For me, these verses and thoughts raise the question: How can I use my words, the fruit of my lips, as a sacrifice of praise to my Savior? And in my current grumpy, exhausted mood, the answer seems to be to turn all my negative thoughts into praise to God for the abundant blessings that are all around me if I will only take the time to look.

Hosea 14:5 I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like a lily. Like a cedar of Lebanon he will send down his roots….

Lord, I’m grumpy and tired, which makes me much more likely to look for and dwell on every single negative thing in my life. Forgive me. Help me to use the “fruit of my lips” to offer up a “sacrifice of praise” to You for the many, many (many, many) blessings that are all around me if I will only look. Draw me closer to You. Amen.

Hosea 14:6 …his young shoots will grow. His splendor will be like an olive tree, his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.

Have a blessed day.

Posted on

…no God but me…. (devo reflection)

Hosea 13:4 “But I have been the Lord your God ever since you came out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me.

These are the kinds of passages I have always struggled with. It seems like God is throwing a fit, having a tantrum. I’m always tempted to read it as though Israel is God’s toy that’s been taken away. But God flailing and yelling “Mine! Mine! Mine!” Doesn’t fit with what I know of the character of God, so what’s really going on here?

Hosea 13:6 When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me.

God loves His creation fiercely. He showers us with mercies and blessings. I’m sure He wants acknowledgment of those gifts but not so that He can preen about feeling good about Himself. God wants us to praise Him so we don’t forget the source of every good thing in our lives—Him. Because when we forget, or when we give ourselves credit, we become proud and take our eyes off of Him, which leads to very bad things. And God loves us so much that He always wants us to be able to luxuriate in His love.

Hosea 13:14a “I will deliver this people from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction?

Lord, Thank You for Your fierce love of us, Your creation. Thank You for wanting us to always walk in Your light so that You can shower us with blessings. Forgive me when I get proud and self-reliant in a boastful way. Redirect me when I stray. Draw me closer. Amen.

Hosea 13:14b-15 “I will have no compassion, even though he thrives among his brothers. An east wind from the Lord will come, blowing in from the desert; his spring will fail and his well dry up. His storehouse will be plundered of all its treasures.

Have a blessed day.

Posted on

Return, maintain, wait…. (devo reflection)

Hosea 12:1 Ephraim feeds on the wind; he pursues the east wind all day and multiplies lies and violence. He makes a treaty with Assyria and sends olive oil to Egypt.

The imagery of feeding on and pursuing the wind speaks to me. I feel I’ve done my fair share of both, with just as little to show for it as Ephraim. The wind is intangible. It cannot sustain, it cannot be caught, yet we can spend our whole lives caught in its pursuit if we lose sight of our center, our foundation, our portion and our cup, the One who makes our lot secure (Psalm 16:5).

Hosea 12:4 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—

Ephraim, the Israelites, lost sight of Who their center was. They chased after the wind, they tried to lean on worldly powers. They completely lost sight of Hosea 12:6: “But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always.” And even as I’m tempted to chastise them for their actions, I am powerfully aware that there is little difference between them and me when I examine my own willfulness and pride.

Hosea 12:5 the Lord God Almighty, the Lord is his name!

Lord, I continue to be humbled by Your love and care, by Your desire for me to realize and live Hosea 12:6. Returning to You and waiting for You is so much easier said than done for me in my quest for self sufficiency. But when I lose sight of You, maintaining love and justice become selfish activities because I am at the center. That is Your place, Lord. Help me. Amen.

Hosea 12:6 But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always.

Have a blessed day.

Posted on

What do we live for…? (devo reflection)

Hosea 11:1-2 “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. But the more they were called, the more they went away from me….

As I was working on my reflection this morning, I came across a literary quote that I was wholly unfamiliar with: “What do we live for, if not to make life less difficult for each other?” ~George Eliot. It reminded me of another quote that I love: “We are all just walking each other home.” ~Ram Dass.

Hosea 11:3 “It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them.

Who do you think teaches us how to walk each other home? God. Who teaches us how to be there for each other, how to forgive, how to show mercy and compassion? God shows us these things daily, but if we aren’t looking, if we aren’t seeking, we will miss the lessons, we will get so caught up in ourselves, in the idols we lose ourselves in—money, possessions, status, etc—that we will try to live only for ourselves.

Hosea 11:9 “I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I devastate Ephraim again. For I am God, and not a man—the Holy One among you….

Lord, You made us for relationship, for community. You want us to make life less difficult for each other by drawing closer to You, by helping each other, by walking each other home. Help me, everyday, to seek You, to shine Your light, to walk with my fellow travelers home toward heaven. Amen.

Hosea 11:11 “They will come from Egypt, trembling like sparrows, from Assyria, fluttering like doves. I will settle them in their homes,” declares the Lord.

Have a blessed day.

Posted on

The danger of depending on my own strength…. (devo reflection)

Hosea 10:12a Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground…

Stasis—defined as a period or state of inactivity or equilibrium—isn’t terribly productive or useful, but it sure is comfortable. There’s no sowing or reaping in stasis, no breaking up unplowed ground. All those things are messy and disruptive. Unpredictable things can happen when you sow, reap, plow. Such are the thoughts when I depend on my own strength (v13). But God….

Hosea 10:12b …for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you.

But God says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9). While He’s a master in all mediums and He can, will, and does work in stasis IF we allow Him to, He’s especially skilled at bringing beauty from ashes, specifically the ashes of chaos and disruption. These truths are hard to see when I depend on my own strength.

Hosea 10:13a But you have planted wickedness, you have reaped evil, you have eaten the fruit of deception….

Lord, Forgive me for my love of stasis, comfort, predictability. My strength is not very strong and prefers to lean on the familiar. Help me to push past my limits, to sow, reap, and plow, knowing that You will bring beauty from the chaos of construction and change. Your power is perfected in my weakness, Lord. Help me not to be afraid. Amen.

Hosea 10:13b …Because you have depended on your own strength and on your many warriors….

Have a blessed day. I love you.

Posted on

Remember who God is…. (devo reflection)

Hosea 9:7 The days of punishment are coming, the days of reckoning are at hand. Let Israel know this….

As I was pondering my reflection this morning, I thought of how important it is to remember who God is when reading Hosea 9. Isaiah 43:25 says, “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”

Hosea 9:8 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.

Our God is the God of relationship, of love and compassion, of forgiveness and restoration. As painful as this chapter is to contemplate, I have to believe that God is who He says He is and that His actions are to achieve His ultimate goal: relationship with His creation, love and compassion, forgiveness and restoration.

Hosea 9:9 They have sunk deep into corruption, as in the days of Gibeah. God will remember their wickedness and punish them for their sins.

Lord, Thank You for who You are and who You are to me. Help me, no matter what chaos is occurring in life, to remember who You are and who You are to me. Give me strength. Help me seek to draw closer to You always. Amen.

Hosea 9:17 My God will reject them because they have not obeyed him; they will be wanderers among the nations.

Have a blessed day.

Posted on

At my center…. (devo reflection)

Hosea 8:2 Israel cries out to me, ‘Our God, we acknowledge you!’

My memories of the God I learned about as a child involve Him being very quick-tempered and angry. One of the things that continues to surprise me as I learn more about Him through His word at this point in my life is how loving and compassionate He is. The adjective long-suffering comes to mind.

Hosea 8:3 But Israel has rejected what is good; an enemy will pursue him.

Twenty eight books into the Bible and the Israelites are still lifting up idols and doing what they want, even when spouting lip-service about who God is and His place in their lives. God’s compassion for them—at this point in my life and reading —truly boggles my mind.

Hosea 8:7 They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.

Lord, Thank You for my adult understanding of Your nature. Thank You for Your fierce love and compassion, especially when I don’t deserve it. Thank You for the reminder that You don’t want us to go through the motions. You want relationship with us. You want us to claim You as our own and keep You at our center. I want these things as well. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Hosea 8:10 Although they have sold themselves among the nations, I will now gather them together.

Have a blessed day.

Posted on

Pay attention to what’s important…. (devo reflection)

Hosea 7:2 …but they do not realize that I remember all their evil deeds. Their sins engulf them; they are always before me.

Hosea in this chapter is describing a completely oblivious Israel. They don’t realize, they don’t notice, they don’t care. “Their sins engulf them; they are always before me.” As I search for connections in my own life, the chapter brought to mind Matthew 7:3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”

Hosea 7:9a Foreigners sap his strength, but he does not realize it….

I’ve been struggling this week with the hurtful actions of a friend, analyzing and over analyzing what’s done and undone. I feel Jesus gently calling me here to pay attention to what’s important: Him, to focus on actions I can control—my own, and to let the rest go, to find my center, my comfort, my peace in Him alone. Thank You, Jesus.

Hosea 7:9b …His hair is sprinkled with gray, but he does not notice.

Lord, You are my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold (Psalm 18:2). Forgive me for taking my eyes off of You. Forgive me for worrying about things outside of my control. Thank You for forgiving me of my iniquities and remembering my sins no more (Jer 31:34). Help me to keep You as my center and my focus. Draw me closer. Always. Amen.

Hosea 7:10 Israel’s arrogance testifies against him, but despite all this he does not return to the Lord his God or search for him.

Have a blessed day.

Posted on

“Oh, that we might know the LORD!…” (devo reflection)

Hosea 6:3a “Oh, that we might know the LORD!…”

We all know what it’s like to just go through the motions. If a kid is told to clean his room and he’s not feeling it, you might get things shoved in closets and under beds, you might get the letter of what you asked, but the spirit of the request—sort, trash, organize, clean—will definitely be missing.

Hosea 6:3b “…Let us press on to know him….”

Today’s scripture is similar. The Israelites have been going through the motions, checking the religious boxes of sacrifice, but their hearts are far from God. And what God really wants from us isn’t blind obedience. He wants a relationship with us. He wants us to seek Him, to know Him. He wants our hearts, not just mindless actions.

Hosea 6:3c “…He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.”

Lord, Forgive me for the time I’ve just been going through the motions, checking off boxes, instead of honestly, earnestly seeking You. Help me to rise above the chaos and irrelevance of this world and to press on to know You more every moment of every day. Amen.

Hosea 6:6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.

Have a blessed day.