Day 33 In God We Trust? (Reader Beware…this is a controversial post) (Read Hosea 8 for context) There is a great superstition and hypocrisy in our country. It is written on the back of our money, and recited in our pledge of allegiance. In my hometown it is enshrined on the side of our courthouse. And the words... Continue Reading →
Day 31 Missing the Mark 14 They do not cry to me from the heart, but they wail upon their beds;for grain and wine they gash themselves; they rebel against me.15 Although I trained and strengthened their arms, yet they devise evil against me.16 They return, but not upward;[b] they are like a treacherous bow;their princes shall fall by the sword because of the insolence of their tongue.This... Continue Reading →
Day 30 I Want To Be A Homing Pigeon 11 Ephraim is like a dove, silly and without sense, calling to Egypt, going to Assyria.12 As they go, I will spread over them my net; I will bring them down like birds of the heavens; I will discipline them according to the report made to their congregation.13 Woe to them, for they have strayed from me! Destruction... Continue Reading →
Day 29 Cooking Bad Cakes (A Meditation on The Great British Baking Show) 8 Ephraim mixes himself with the peoples; Ephraim is a cake not turned.9 Strangers devour his strength, and he knows it not;gray hairs are sprinkled upon him, and he knows it not.10 The pride of Israel testifies to his face;[a] yet they do not return to the Lord their God, nor seek him, for all... Continue Reading →
Day 28 A Smoldering Nation in Open Flame We have all witnessed with awe those who walk across hot coals. But how is it done? Well the trick is in the fact that the heat in the coals is trapped beneath the surface. While in its core, the heat can rise in excess of 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, the... Continue Reading →
Day 27 God Desires Love, Not Sacrifice 6 For I desire steadfast love[a and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. (Hos. 6:6) I’ll never forget Ray Hall. Ray died a few years ago at the age of 87. But in his life he had pastored for decades. When I met Ray he was but a year away from... Continue Reading →
Day 26 Love Like Waterless Clouds 4 What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah?Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away.5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light. (Hosea 6:4-5) Several years ago... Continue Reading →
Day 24 Press On To Acknowledge God 6 “Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.2 After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him.3 Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; his... Continue Reading →
Day 23 Trusting God’s Wounds 14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, and like a young lion to the house of Judah.I, even I, will tear and go away; I will carry off, and no one shall rescue. 15 I will return again to my place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their distress earnestly seek me.... Continue Reading →
