Is God Angry With You?

I will heal their waywardness
   and love them freely,
   for my anger has turned away from them.
Hosea 14:4

Let's be real. Sometimes we stray. We get a little off course. We sin. One of the absolutely amazing truths about God is that he loves us freely and heals our waywardness.

I don't know about you, but when I struggle my first instinct is to try to heal myself before I go to God. That is like being sick yet waiting until I feel better before I go to the doctor. 

The fruit of our sin can be very painful. It may seem like God is angry with you. The truth is that he loves us enough to send his Son to die for our sins and open the way back to him.

In Christ, your sins are forgiven. Whatever you have been struggling with, God knows. In Christ he heals. In Christ he freely loves you. 

Are You Looking Back to Egypt?

“But I have been the Lord your God 
   ever since you came out of Egypt.
You shall acknowledge no God but me,
   no Savior except me.
      Hosea 13:4 (NIV)

What lifestyle was the Egypt the Lord brought you out of? I definitely was heading down the broad path of hedonism. If the Lord had not called me out of that lifestyle I am sure I would of brought great harm to myself and anyone near me. 

Honestly, anytime I have "acknowledged" any other "god" it has only resulted in the lack of happiness and a painful lesson that sin feels good for a moment but after that moment...pain.

Remember, your only Savior is Christ. He is your hope, your righteousness, holiness and redemption (see I Corinthians 1:30). 

Is It a Choice?

Sow righteousness for yourselves,
   reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;
   for it is time to seek the Lord,
until he comes and showers his righteousness on you.
Hosea 10:12 (NIV)

When you simplify walking by faith it boils down to knowing what the right thing to do is and doing it and trusting God with the results. 

I look at it like this: Was going to work yesterday the right thing to do? Yes. (I know that's a gimme, but, bear with me.) There are many choices we make every day that are simple, but righteous choices. The challenging part is when I must choose to respond to difficult people, circumstances or outright temptations. Yet again it will narrow down to a simple choice to do the right thing.

Sow righteousness by choosing righteousness.

Faithfulness Friday

I will betroth you to me forever;
   I will betroth you in righteousness and justice,
   in love and compassion.
I will betroth you in faithfulness,
   and you will acknowledge the Lord.
Hosea 2:19-20 (NIV)

The faithfulness and forgiveness of God never cease to amaze me. The desire of God is always our repentance that leads to fellowship with him. His discipline is to never meant to estrange us from him, it is always his desire that we  would turn to him. That is why Paul encouraged Timothy saying, "If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself" (2 Timothy 2:13).