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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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“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.

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Pride, arrogance, and humility…. (devo reflection)

Hosea 5:4 “Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. A spirit of prostitution is in their heart; they do not acknowledge the Lord.

Matthew 6:24 comes to mind as I read Hosea 5 today: “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other….” Israel is arrogant, prideful. They have a spirit of prostitution, of using their talents in unworthy or corrupt ways. They are so full of themselves that they have turned from God toward man and idols.

Hosea 5:5 Israel’s arrogance testifies against them; the Israelites, even Ephraim, stumble in their sin; Judah also stumbles with them.

Jeremiah 29:13 also comes to mind: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” The Israelites are so full of themselves that their attempts to seek God are halfhearted. They aren’t really looking for Him. They want to look good. God doesn’t care about appearances. He wants our hearts. He has no use for pride and arrogance. He cannot be found with apathy.

Hosea 5:6 When they go with their flocks and herds to seek the Lord, they will not find him; he has withdrawn himself from them.

Lord, I stand before You humbled this morning. I have been arrogant and prideful. I have used my God-given talents in unworthy ways. I have called out to You for appearance sake. Forgive me. Renew me. Cleanse me. Empty me of myself so that I can be filled with Your love, compassion, mercy, and grace. Help me, Lord. Amen.

Hosea 5:15 Then I will return to my lair until they have borne their guilt and seek my face—in their misery they will earnestly seek me.”

Have a blessed day.

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Reverence…. (devo reflection)

Hosea 4:1 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.”

Proverbs 1:7 comes to mind as I read this chapter: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” I’ve long struggled with this idea of “fear of the LORD,” but I have come to equate it with reverence—understanding the LORD’s place in our lives—as opposed to terror of the LORD.

Hosea 4:6 “My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me….”

In this chapter, Israel seems to have no fear, no reverence for God and His place in our lives. That lack of understanding, lack of knowledge is directly responsible for their destruction. God wants to protect them like a shepherd guards his sheep, but the Israelites act like stubborn heifers instead.

Hosea 4:14 “…O foolish people! You refuse to understand, so you will be destroyed.”

Lord, Thank You for the ability to sit with You each morning, to study Your word, to draw closer to You. Thank You that my thirst to know You more grows stronger every day. Help me, Lord, to always understand Your place in my life, to reverence You, to glorify You, to know You more. Draw me closer. Amen.

Hosea 4:16 The Israelites are stubborn, like a stubborn heifer. How then can the Lord pasture them like lambs in a meadow?

Have a blessed day.

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Restoring relationship…. (devo reflection)

Hosea 3:1 The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.”

Love is not always easy. In the early days of a relationship, sure, but time and habit can make the most endearing quirks become nails-on-chalkboard annoyance. That can be hard enough, but today’s chapter takes it to another level entirely.

Hosea 3:2-3 So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley. Then I told her, “You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will behave the same way toward you.”

Gomer is still actively involved with others. She is actively betraying her marriage vows. But God’s purpose here is for Hosea and Gomer to be a living example of God’s unfathomable love for us, of His desire for relationship with us and our ultimate redemption in Him. This lesson goes far beyond adultery into any form of betrayal.

Hosea 3:4 For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or household gods.

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. What You are asking of us is incredibly difficult—to restore relationship that has been intentionally violated, to forgive and welcome back those who have betrayed our trust, those who are still actively betraying us. We encounter these relationships daily in a variety of ways. Give us the strength, the humility, the wisdom to love and forgive others in the same unfathomable way You love and forgive us. Amen.

Hosea 3:5 Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the Lord and to his blessings in the last days.

Have a blessed day.