I love the convenience of the YouVersion app on my Kindle. They have a wide variety of Bible reading plans. I spent the last three months reading "Psalms and Proverbs in 31 Days" (yeah, yeah, took me a little longer!!), and it was SO encouraging and equipping and challenging. I was sad to come to the end of the reading plan and wondered what God had for me next. I browsed the other reading plans and decided (mostly randomly) on "SheReadsTruth: HOSEA". I figured I should read something that I haven't spent a lot of time in before and it seemed interesting.
Then I read today's.......and I just have to share it with you! I know it is kind of alot of reading, but I encourage you to hang in here and see what God might have for you in His awesome Word!! (Just to be clear, the devotional part after the Bible passages are from SheReadsTruth, not from me!)
Hosea 4
1Hear the word of the Lord, O people of Israel!
The Lord has brought charges against you, saying:
“There is no faithfulness, no kindness,
no knowledge of God in your land.
2You make vows and break them;
you kill and steal and commit adultery.
There is violence everywhere—
one murder after another.
3That is why your land is in mourning,
and everyone is wasting away.
Even the wild animals, the birds of the sky,
and the fish of the sea are disappearing.
4“Don’t point your finger at someone else
and try to pass the blame!
My complaint, you priests,
is with you.
5So you will stumble in broad daylight,
and your false prophets will fall with you in the night.
And I will destroy Israel, your mother.
6My people are being destroyed
because they don’t know me.
Since you priests refuse to know me,
I refuse to recognize you as my priests.
Since you have forgotten the laws of your God,
I will forget to bless your children.
7The more priests there are,
the more they sin against me.
They have exchanged the glory of God
for the shame of idols.
8“When the people bring their sin offerings, the priests get fed.
So the priests are glad when the people sin!
9‘And what the priests do, the people also do.’
So now I will punish both priests and people
for their wicked deeds.
10They will eat and still be hungry.
They will play the prostitute and gain nothing from it,
for they have deserted the Lord
11to worship other gods.
“Wine has robbed my people
of their understanding.
12They ask a piece of wood for advice!
They think a stick can tell them the future!
Longing after idols
has made them foolish.
They have played the prostitute,
serving other gods and deserting their God.
13They offer sacrifices to idols on the mountaintops.
They go up into the hills to burn incense
in the pleasant shade of oaks, poplars, and terebinth trees.
“That is why your daughters turn to prostitution,
and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.
14But why should I punish them
for their prostitution and adultery?
For your men are doing the same thing,
sinning with whores and shrine prostitutes.
O foolish people! You refuse to understand,
so you will be destroyed.
15“Though you, Israel, are a prostitute,
may Judah avoid such guilt.
Do not join the false worship at Gilgal or Beth-aven,
even though they take oaths there in the Lord’s name.
16Israel is stubborn,
like a stubborn heifer.
So should the Lord feed her
like a lamb in a lush pasture?
17Leave Israel alone,
because she is married to idolatry.
18When the rulers of Israel finish their drinking,
off they go to find some prostitutes.
They love shame more than honor.
19So a mighty wind will sweep them away.
Their sacrifices to idols will bring them shame.
Romans 3:9-27
9Well then, should we conclude that we Jews are better than others? No, not at all, for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin.
10As the Scriptures say,
“No one is righteous—
not even one.
11No one is truly wise;
no one is seeking God.
12All have turned away;
all have become useless.
No one does good,
not a single one.”
13“Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave.
Their tongues are filled with lies.”
“Snake venom drips from their lips.”
14“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
15“They rush to commit murder.
16Destruction and misery always follow them.
17They don’t know where to find peace.”
18“They have no fear of God at all.”
19Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God.
20For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.
21But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago.
22We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.
23For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
24Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.
25For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past,
26for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.
27Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith.
28So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.
29After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course he is.
30There is only one God, and he makes people right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles.
31Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.
"As I read Hosea 4, my lips and heart grow silent. The image of Israel’s spiritual adultery is sobering to say the least. Part of me recoils at the dark and difficult language of Hosea, and yet how much more painful must it be for the God of heaven - creator, sustainer and lover of Israel - to watch His people choose path after path of destruction? His bride and His children quite literally running away?
The Father grieves as Israel gives their hearts to that which destroys them. He grieves as they run. He would be just to punish their sin in full, to give up and walk away. And yet He pursues them still.
He pursues us still.
The chasm of sin grows wider and we run faster, but our God changes not.
He is still sovereign, even as we flee.
God does not force Israel to stay, for forcing is not the way of Love. In fact, Hosea 4 paints the tragic picture of what it would look like for the Lord to end His pursuit of Israel, for Him to leave them to the sin that would surely destroy them. “Ephraim is joined to idols,” says verse 17. “Leave him alone.” (ESV)
Sisters, let us praise God today that He does not walk away when we run.
We are sinful. He is steadfast.
We are fearful. He is faithful.
We are broken. He binds up.
We cherish idols. He cherishes us.
His love and affection toward us do not change, no matter the depth of our sin.
Let us repent and rejoice in light of this truth today. Let us thank Him for allowing us to turn and to return to Him."
See what I mean? I just couldn't NOT share it with you......
