Dec. 12 – Thoughts on Hosea 9-11 & Rev. 3

We still fallaciously believe that God owes us something.  We still heretical believe that we should be able to control God’s actions.  We still childishly believe that we hold all the cards in this relationship rather than the other way around.  Forgive us, Lord.

In today’s reading, and in the days before, Hosea has stated for God that He does not love us anymore.  9:15 says, “I will no longer love them.”  He tells Hosea to name his daughter Ruhamah as a condemnation of Israel, a name that means, “not loved.”  And we read this and cry foul!  God HAS to love us; He said so.  God loves everyone so He can’t not love us.  Isn’t that what grace is?  “Undeserved love”?  If God doesn’t love us, then He’s no God I want to follow!

But we never stop to listen to ourselves.  We never stop to think about what we’re saying.  Who are we to dictate terms to God?  Who are we to command God to do anything, let along feel anything?  Who are we to make such statements?

Since the beginning of time, we’ve ignored God, turned away from God, cheated on God, disobeyed God, crucified God… and yet still we command Him to love us.  We are like abusive spouses, who beat God with our words and attitudes and then declare that He’s not a good spouse unless He does everything we demand of Him.

What if God came to us today and told us that He is done loving us?  Does God have a right to do that?  Can He just stop loving us after the history of abuse we’ve put Him through?  Of course He can!  He’s God!  He can do whatever He likes!

But the good news, the Good News, is that He doesn’t.  He keeps on loving us in spite of our abuse and unfaithfulness.  1:7 says, “Yet I will show love to Judah… I, the Lord their God, will save them.”  Not because He has to, or because He owes us, or because we have demanded it, but out of His own well of love for us.  We need to drop the privileged children act and recognize God’s love and forbearance for what it is – mercy given by one who doesn’t need to give it.  And then, in humility, come with gratitude before Him and praise His name.

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Dec. 11 – Thoughts on Hosea 5-8 & Rev. 2

As we move through John’s Revelation, we’re going to be meeting some recurring characters.  Besides Jesus Himself, and of course John, today we meet the Nicolatians, one of John’s favorite targets.  He mentions them a few times here and they will show up again, but who were they to receive such vitriol form John?

We have to go back to Acts 6:5 and the founding of the modern day Deacon.  Seven men were appointed to be Deacons and to serve the poor and widows, freeing up the apostles to preach and teach rather than wait tables.  One of these seven was Stephen the Martyr, stoned to death for his witness as Saul (later the Apostle Paul) looked on approvingly.  Another was Nicolas, who became the founder of the Nicolatians.

Jump forward to the book of Revelation and we find these people rebuked by John the Apostle.  Why?  At the time of Revelation, Domitian was Emperor and required everyone to worship him as a god.  Christians obviously wouldn’t, so any that he noticed were persecuted.  The persecution continually increased until Domitian was rounding up Christians, dipping them in tar and then lighting them on fire to be used as torches to light his great feasts.  Loved ones were killed, children taken, and so the book of Revelation is partially a call to endure.

The only place to purchase anything was an open market called the Agora, and to enter it, one had to burn incense in worship of Domitian.  Since Christians refused to do this, they could neither buy nor sell in the Agora.  The Nicolatians decided that if they burned the incense but just pretended to worship Domitian, then that was ok.  Essentially they “crossed their fingers” as they entered the Agora and so didn’t have to suffer for their faith.  Among the rest of the church who were losing loved ones to Domitian, you can imagine the hatred they developed for these “traitors” and “pretenders”.

Are there any ways that we are living like the Nicolatians today?  Where are we giving in to our culture instead of facing the difficulty of standing against it for our faith?

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Dec. 10 – Thoughts on Hosea 1-4 & Rev. 1

I’m very excited to be in Revelation finally for a number of reasons.  First, it’s one of my favorite books of the bible.  Second, there is A LOT to write about so the rest of this year should be pretty easy to comment on.  But third, it means we’re almost done!  A year and we’ve read the whole bible yet haven’t missed a day!

Today, however, I’d like to take a look at Hosea.  This is one of the hardest books for me to stomach.  My whole life, family has held a respected position.  We’ve not only had a great family but have valued each other and the relationships we’ve enjoyed.  So to hear God using family to make a metaphorical point to His people is hard to bear.  It is good to see Hosea and Gomer love one another despite Gomer’s promiscuity, but I still have this basic urge to tell God, “Hand’s off the family!” no matter how sacrilegious that is.

Another piece of this book is the naming of their children.  Names in the Old Testament were very important.  People were named to describe them, to set their destiny, and to tell their story.  They are not named until they have a very good reason to, and names are often changed to fit a new destiny, whether Abram, Jacob, or Simon.  Here, God sets the names of the children, but not as descriptions of the children.  These children are named quite horrible names to describe Israel itself.

I’ve often said that God can ask most anything of me as long as it doesn’t affect my children.  I guess that’s not my call.

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Dec. 10 – Thoughts on Hosea 1-4 & Rev. 1

I’m very excited to be in Revelation finally for a number of reasons.  First, it’s one of my favorite books of the bible.  Second, there is A LOT to write about so the rest of this year should be pretty easy to comment on.  But third, it means we’re almost done!  A year and we’ve read the whole bible yet haven’t missed a day!

Today, however, I’d like to take a look at Hosea.  This is one of the hardest books for me to stomach.  My whole life, family has held a respected position.  We’ve not only had a great family but have valued each other and the relationships we’ve enjoyed.  So to hear God using family to make a metaphorical point to His people is hard to bear.  It is good to see Hosea and Gomer love one another despite Gomer’s promiscuity, but I still have this basic urge to tell God, “Hand’s off the family!” no matter how sacrilegious that is.

Another piece of this book is the naming of their children.  Names in the Old Testament were very important.  People were named to describe them, to set their destiny, and to tell their story.  They are not named until they have a very good reason to, and names are often changed to fit a new destiny, whether Abram, Jacob, or Simon.  Here, God sets the names of the children, but not as descriptions of the children.  These children are named quite horrible names to describe Israel itself.

I’ve often said that God can ask most anything of me as long as it doesn’t affect my children.  I guess that’s not my call.

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Dec. 9 – Thoughts on Daniel 11-12 & Jude

Any time someone complains about a public official, from president to governor to mayor, I try not to join in.  I left Facebook for that very reason – I was finding it too depressing to look at the posts of some of my closest friends.  Their hatred toward others in the political world was just too hard to stomach.  I tried first hiding certain posts, then certain kinds of posts, then certain people who posted all the time.  But no matter how wide I cast that net, I was still getting post after post of vitriol and slant.  So, I finally had to drop out of Facebook altogether.  Recently I started a whole new account that is only connected to certain groups who decided to communicate solely through Facebook.

Having cut that cord, I then found that attending family gatherings was just as bad.  And quick conversations at church, and with friends, and… the belief that we were in “the very worst time ever politically” was everywhere.

It only takes one quick read through the prophets to see that we are NOT in the worst time ever politically.  In fact, we are in pretty good company when it comes to our political leaders.  Today’s reading alone has titles like, “The King who Exalts Himself,” and I think I’ve seen almost that exact headline in the last few months.  Our political leadership has always been like this, with varying degrees of self-exaltation, misuse of amassed wealth and power, unethical alliances, and self-promotion.  And today is no different.

As Christians, our answer to this needs to be, “It doesn’t matter.”  Our salvation, peace, joy, and hope will NEVER come from our political leaders.  Whatever they do, God is in control and He’s got this.  As it has been, so it is and so it will ever be.  Amen.

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