Hosea 5 - Rebels Knee Deep

"The rebels are knee-deep in slaughter.
    I will discipline all of them.
I know all about Ephraim;
    Israel is not hidden from me.
Ephraim, you have now turned to prostitution;
    Israel is corrupt.

“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." (Hosea 5:1-4)
 

Sadly, it seems, I think a lot about and pray for rebels who are knee-deep in something... And..., again, sadly it is not in building up the house of the LORD, the Body of Christ. False gods stir up a lot of trouble in the hearts and minds of mankind. Worship of self, of ego, of anything and everything; but the LORD, brings about a lot of strife within the church on earth and indeed the whole world.

Even if we think no one knows, God knows. He sees the prostitution that is in our hearts. He sees how we love ourselves more than we love Him. He sees how we love and follow after our false gods even if it means the destruction of the church. Well, hears a bit of good news... The Church, which is the Body of Christ, cannot be destroyed. It's been tried. He is Risen! He lives! The Body of Christ is alive and well!

God's Peace - Pr. J

Psalm 44 - Save Us Again!

You saved us from our adversaries before, O God.  Save us again! 

The Isralites remember the stories of God strong arm saving from their enemies.  The Psalmists acknowledges that it was not they that won the victories, but that God had won them for them.  Those were tough times.  Apparently, they are struggling through some more tough times and call upon the LORD to save them

As we recount the stories of God saving His people, sometimes we neglect to remember that in order to be saved from their enemies, first they needed something to be saved from.  Life for the people in the stories we recall from antiquity was not easy.  They suffered and God saved them. They sinned and God saved them.  They were hungry and thirsty and God saved them.  They were attacked and God saved them.  He brought them to the promised land.  He was with them

There are times that we may feel like maybe God has rejected us and left us like sheep for the slaughter. He has not.  There are times when we think, maybe, God is still on Sabbath; that He's sleeping or maybe He's just forgotten us.  He has not. He is with us always. But, that does not mean that we will not, from time to time, suffer.  In fact, if you truly follow in the footsteps of Jesus, you can pretty much be guaranteed that life will not be free from suffering.  Following in the footsteps of Jesus means that we will go where he has been.  His journey took Jesus through much suffering.  It takes us to the cross. And, finally the footsteps lead us to the promised land - our Father's house - the Kingdom of God.

Remember what you have heard with your own ears...  Through His Son, Jesus the Christ, God has saved you.  He has rescued us from the enemy, in His never failing love.

God's Peace - Pr. J