December 11, 2006 - Hosea 5-8 and Revelation 2
Hosea's message to Israel was very profound as were the messages John wrote for the seven churches of Asia Minor. All of these messages are still very relevant for us as believers today. I urge all of us to read these words prayerfully and with a mind to apply the truths in our own lives.
Hosea 5:11 tells us that God's judgment on Israel or Ephraim came because they willingly walked by human precepts. They did not follow God's laws but man's laws. We must not give more credence to science than we do to God's Word. Instead, God's Word must always come first.
Hosea 6:6 makes it very clear that God is looking at our hearts for faithfulness to Him and at our minds to see if there is knowledge of Him. He is not looking at our rituals or religious practices. God does not care about the religious things we do, unless they are an expression of our love and commitment to Him. We must not fool ourselves into thinking that God gives us points for going to church, if all the while we are wishing we were somewhere else doing something else.
Hosea 7:2 reminds us that we can never trick God. He knows all of our wickedness. We can never sin without Him knowing about it. We should just confess it and repent. It does us no good to try to ignore sins or to hide them from God.
Hosea 8:12 declares that Israel was considering strange things, instead of going by the great things of God's laws. Think about our world today. How many strange philosophies are people following today? Even Believers get caught up in weird things, when there is God's law plainly spelled out for us in His Word. We must not get off on tangents.
Revelation 2 should cause us to reflect, also. Have we left the kind of love we had for Jesus when we first came to know Him? (v.4) If we have, it doesn't matter how many good things we are doing for Him. We need to get back to that first kind of love. Are we afraid of persecution and suffering for the Lord? (v.10) We must not fear those things, but we must be faithful to the Lord through it all. Are we allowing those who hold false doctrine to infiltrate our church? (v.14) We must remember that a little leaven will leaven the whole lump, and get rid of those false doctrines. In the same way, we must not tolerate false teachers in our churches. (v.20) We should give them time to repent, but if they will not repent, they must be removed. All of these things are so important, because we are dependent on God's blessing. We can't do it ourselves. We must follow His directions for our lives and for our churches.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Hosea 9-11 and Revelation 3.
Hosea 5:11 tells us that God's judgment on Israel or Ephraim came because they willingly walked by human precepts. They did not follow God's laws but man's laws. We must not give more credence to science than we do to God's Word. Instead, God's Word must always come first.
Hosea 6:6 makes it very clear that God is looking at our hearts for faithfulness to Him and at our minds to see if there is knowledge of Him. He is not looking at our rituals or religious practices. God does not care about the religious things we do, unless they are an expression of our love and commitment to Him. We must not fool ourselves into thinking that God gives us points for going to church, if all the while we are wishing we were somewhere else doing something else.
Hosea 7:2 reminds us that we can never trick God. He knows all of our wickedness. We can never sin without Him knowing about it. We should just confess it and repent. It does us no good to try to ignore sins or to hide them from God.
Hosea 8:12 declares that Israel was considering strange things, instead of going by the great things of God's laws. Think about our world today. How many strange philosophies are people following today? Even Believers get caught up in weird things, when there is God's law plainly spelled out for us in His Word. We must not get off on tangents.
Revelation 2 should cause us to reflect, also. Have we left the kind of love we had for Jesus when we first came to know Him? (v.4) If we have, it doesn't matter how many good things we are doing for Him. We need to get back to that first kind of love. Are we afraid of persecution and suffering for the Lord? (v.10) We must not fear those things, but we must be faithful to the Lord through it all. Are we allowing those who hold false doctrine to infiltrate our church? (v.14) We must remember that a little leaven will leaven the whole lump, and get rid of those false doctrines. In the same way, we must not tolerate false teachers in our churches. (v.20) We should give them time to repent, but if they will not repent, they must be removed. All of these things are so important, because we are dependent on God's blessing. We can't do it ourselves. We must follow His directions for our lives and for our churches.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Hosea 9-11 and Revelation 3.