Love, given by God, is not returned by His people. “When Israel was a child, I loved him” (Hosea 11:1), “The more I called them, the further they went away” (Hosea 11:2). “I was one who taught the people of Ephraim to walk. I took them by the hand” - This is the love of …
Continue reading God’s Love Is So Much Greater Than Our Sin.
"Come, let us return to the Lord" (Hosea 6:1). Something for the world, something for the church; The prophet says, "Come", the Lord says, "Come." It is love that is calling out to us. It is love that calls us to "come." There is no place from which we cannot come. There is no place from …
Continue reading Love is calling out to us, love is calling us to come.
“The people of Israel are as stubborn as a bull” (Hosea 4:16). This is more than the story of Israel. It’s the story of every one of us. Resisting God’s Spirit and rebelling against God’s Word, we dig ourselves, more and more deeply, into a hole of our own making. It is a hole from …
Continue reading We can be changed – by the love of the Lord.
HOSEA 1:1-3:5 - ‘Hosea’ means ‘salvation’. Married to ‘an adulterous wife’, Hosea spoke with great compassion to ‘the land’ which was ‘guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord’ (1:2). He brought God’s Word of love to the people: ‘I will show My love to the one I called, “Not My loved one”’. …
"On the third day he will raise us up, that we may live in his presence" (Hosea 6:2). As we read Hosea's words, we think of Jesus - "he was raised on the third day" (1 Corinthians 15:4). Jesus' resurrection points forward to our resurrection in him - "we know that the one who raised the …
God says, “I will wait for you” (Hosea 3:3). The people were slow to respond to God’s love. God’s Word says, “They will come trembling to the Lord for His blessings in the last days” (Hosea 3:5). How wonderfully patient the Lord is! He doesn’t compel us to come to Him. He waits patiently, until …
"But I have been the Lord your God ever since you came out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Saviour except me" (Hosea 13:4). Here, God is saying to the people, "Here's something you must never forget. I brought you out of Egypt the land of bondage." He's saying to them, "Never forget how much …
"Let the weak say, I am strong" (Joel 3:10). In ourselves, we are weak. In the Lord, we are strong. When we speak the words, "I am strong", we are not saying something about ourselves. We are saying something about the Lord. He is our strength. Our strength comes from him. Weak: this is what …
“I will make the Valley of Achor (Disaster) a door of hope” (Hosea 2:15). What a word of encouragement this is! Here’s another great word of encouragement: “Those who are not loved I will call My loved ones. Those who are not My people I will call My people.” The Lord has done great things …
“You are against Me, your Helper” (Hosea 13:9). God is our Helper. This is grace. How does He help us? He is our “Saviour” (Hosea 13:4). “You are against Me.” This is ingratitude. It’s not only disobedience of a command. It’s rejection of a love, the greatest love of all, the love of God. If …
They said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth’ (Genesis 11:4). Return, Israel, to the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall! Take words with you and …
Continue reading From a self-centred life to a God-centred life
God wants “to heal Israel” (Hosea 7:1). Sadly, there is so much “sin” in the hearts of Israel - “I trained them and made them strong. Yet, they plan evil against Me” (Hosea 7:15). God wants to send His blessing. Sadly, “they don’t return to the Most High” (Hosea 7:16). This is Israel’s story. It’s …
Continue reading A Promise Of Blessing And A Warning Against Disobedience
“The prophet, along with my God, is the watchman over Ephraim” (Hosea 9:8). Being a watchman will involve speaking strong words of warning. It’s not easy to speak God’s Word. It’s not easy to hear His Word. His Word calls for change. It calls us to come out of our sin and into His holiness. …
Continue reading God’s Word calls us to come out of our sin and into His holiness.
God wants “to heal Israel” (Hosea 7:1). Sadly, there is so much “sin” in the hearts of Israel - “I trained them and made them strong. Yet, they plan evil against Me” (Hosea 7:15). God wants to send His blessing. Sadly, “they don’t return to the Most High” (Hosea 7:16). This is Israel’s story. It’s …
"Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer you our words of praise" (Hosea 14:2). The forgiveness of of all our sins - what peace and joy this brings to us! We look for peace and joy, but we do not find them until the Lord of love finds us. When the Lord …
“I spoke to the prophets and gave them many visions. I taught lessons through the prophets ... The Lord used a prophet to bring the people of Israel out of Egypt. He used the prophet to take care of them” (Hosea 12:10,13). The ministry of the prophets was very important. It doesn’t begin with speaking …
Come, let us return to the Lord (Hosea 6:1). God's Word calls for our immediate response. Many years ago, a teenager said to me, "I'll think about all this stuff about God when I'm thirty or forty years old." That youngster is now seventy years old (if he's still living!). I wonder if he ever …
Continue reading God’s Word calls for our immediate response.
I will make the Valley of Achor (trouble) a door of hope (Hosea 2:15). Is there such a thing as a trouble-free life? No! There isn't. We might like to think that trouble won't ever come our way, but we're kidding ourselves, if we think like that. One way or another, trouble comes to all of …
Continue reading Responding to God’s Word (25): It is well with my soul.
God sees us in our sin. He says, “You are not My people.” He sees us in our Saviour. He says, “You are the children of the living God” (Hosea 1:10). This is grace. This is salvation. This is the love of God. When this great truth reaches us, we are changed. What “a great …
“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’" (Hosea 1:10). "Sons of the living God": How wonderful this is! The "children of Israel" had had …
HOSEA 8:1-9:17 - ‘Israel’ had ‘forgotten’ and ‘forsaken’ the Lord (8:14). We have not remembered the Lord. We have turned away from Him. We have forgotten Him. We have been ‘unfaithful’ to Him. This is the sad story of our life - a story of forgetting and forsaking the Lord. God is very different from …
Hosea 1:1-3:5 ‘Hosea’ means ‘salvation’. Married to ‘an adulterous wife’, Hosea spoke with great compassion to ‘the land’ which was ‘guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord’(1:2). He brought God’s Word of love to the people: ‘I will show My love to the one I called, “Not My loved one”’. He spoke …
Hosea 14:1-9 There is hope. There is a future. Hosea 14:9 - Conclusion: This is for us. The only way to live is the Lord’s way. Repentance (Hosea 14:2) - It’s returning to the Lord (Hosea 14:1). It’s more than “words” (Hosea 14:2). It’s a way of life. As we walk with the Lord, we …
God sees us in our sin. He says, “You are not My people.” He sees us in our Saviour. He says, “You are the children of the living God” (Hosea 1:10). This is grace. This is salvation. This is the love of God. When this great truth reaches us, we are changed. What “a great …
Continue reading God sees us in our sin. He sees us in our Saviour.
“The people of Israel are as stubborn as a bull” (Hosea 4:16). This is more than the story of Israel. It’s the story of every one of us. Resisting God’s Spirit and rebelling against God’s Word, we dig ourselves, more and more deeply, into a hole of our own making. It is a hole from …
The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel" (Ezekiel 1:3). The word of the Lord that came to Hosea (Hosea 1:1). The word of the Lord that came to Joel (Joel 1:1). The Spirit of the Lord is on me (Luke 4:18). I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. I did not receive …
Hosea 1:1-2:23; Romans 6:1-14; Psalm 87:1-7 The grace of God is amazing - “I will show My love to the one I called ‘Not My loved one ...’” (Hosea 2:23). We are now to live as those who have received grace (Romans 6:1-2). We put the past, with its sin, behind us. We look to …
Hosea 5:15-7:16 We are to leave the old way of sinful disobedience and follow the new way of faith and obedience: ‘Come, let us return to the Lord... Let us press on to know the Lord’. As we return to the Lord, pressing on to know Him, His blessing returns to us. He leads us …
Continue reading We Have Forgotten God. He Never Forgets Us.
Hosea 6:1-3 * “Let us return to the Lord” (Hosea 6:1). There are many blessings, waiting for us. We must come to the Lord and receive these blessings from Him. * “He will revive us” (Hosea 6:2). This is new life in Christ. It’s new life in the Spirit. We were dead. Now, we are …
Following many words about sin in Hosea 5, we have a call to “return to the Lord.” The people hear God’s call, and they say, “Let’s return to the Lord” (Hosea 6:1). This call to return to the Lord comes to us with the promise of His healing - “He will heal us” (Hosea 6:1), …
Third Sunday after Pentecost: Genesis 12:1-9; Psalm 33:1-12 or Hosea 5:15-6:6; Psalm 50:7-15; Romans 4:13-25; Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 God comes to us with grace and power. Let us rejoice in His faithfulness. This is a divine Story, carried forward by God’s grace and power. God’s very great promises (Genesis 12:1-3) find their ultimate fulfilment in …
HOSEA 1:1-3:5 - ‘Hosea’ means ‘salvation’. Married to ‘an adulterous wife’, Hosea spoke with great compassion to ‘the land’ which was ‘guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord’ (1:2). He brought God’s Word of love to the people: ‘I will show My love to the one I called, “Not My loved one”’. …
"I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor (trouble) a door of hope. There she will respond (sing) as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt" (Hosea 2:14-15). Here, …
Continue reading In our hard times as well as our happy times
In Hosea 8, we read about God’s judgment on the sinful nation of Israel. His standard is perfect holiness. Every one of us falls short. None of us can stand before God’s righteous judgment. There is, one Man who has not fallen short. God’s Son, Jesus, our Saviour, has taken our sin upon Himself so …
“Return to the Lord your God ... Return to the Lord” (Hosea 14:1-2). Who is the God to whom we return? He is the God who loves us. He is the God who says, “I will love them freely” (Hosea 14:4). God’s love for us is His free gift to us. He does not love …
HOSEA 1:1-3:5 ‘Hosea’ means ‘salvation’. Married to ‘an adulterous wife’, Hosea spoke with great compassion to ‘the land’ which was ‘guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord’ (Hosea 1:2). We thank You, Lord, that Hosea brought Your Word of love to the people: ‘I will show My love to the one I …
Debra Pedrow: Christian Author and Blogger
But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31
Following Jesus while Seeking Joy and Contentment in the Christian Life
Inspiring women to realize their worth in Christ and to live a life worthy of their calling
Loving Jesus, Encouraging Believers
The humble theology of Dr. John Leonard for everyday walking with God
Finding inspirations through the Word of God. A hub of encouraging thoughts and reflections.
Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." John 4:10
bylily
Here we discuss a variety of issues in light of scripture and experience
Curating a Life in Christ
A one stop for all things faith and life
Being Grateful for What We Have Ecc 6:9 NLT
Pondering my way through God's beloved world
Encouragement for your walk with Christ
Your Weekday Gospel Reflection
Blog by Debbie Kay, Founder of Hope For The Broken Hearted Ministries
To honor and encourage
In The Beginning Man Tried Ascending To Heaven via The Tower Of Babel. Now He Tries To Elevate His Existence To A Heavenly State of Consciousness Thru The Use Of Hallucinogenic Drugs. And, Since The 20th Century, He Continually Voyages Into Outer Space Using Spacecrafts. Prayer Thru Christ Is The Only Way To Reach Heaven.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Preaching, unto salvation.
WEEKLY THOUGHTS FROM NEAL, GARY, DALE, CARL, AND BRENT
Praise 2 Worship exists to encourage us to enter deeply into worship and experience what it means to give Jesus all our praise.
Encouraging Grandfathers & Future Grandfathers
This is a Ministry of Oasis Bible Ministry, a Fundamental Full-Gospel Bible Teaching Ministry
With God, change is possible!
"She can be silent because she has much to say and has learned through it all that deep silence speaks." ~ Richard Wurmbrand
Bread from Heaven, Fresh from God's oven!
...daily devotions to inspire intimacy with God
www.instructionstoayounglife.com on How to Live Life to the Fullest.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. ~ Psalms 119:105
A daily dose of encouragement from God's Word
Discussing books - theological, historical, and biblical - from a Reformed Christian perspective...
Make me to know Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me. Psalm 25:4-5a
Christian conversations taking us deeper in our faith
Thoughts and Ideas that Inspire
LOVE for God through Jesus Christ in a Creative way.
Bible Study, Biblical Principles for 21st Century
Biblical study, scholarship, theology, and archaeology from an equalitarian point of view
Jesus Is Coming Back!
Luke 9:23-24 23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 24 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.
Learning From God's Word 