Hosea 11
God's Love for Israel
1 "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. 2 But the more I [a] called Israel, the further they went from me. [b] They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images.
3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them.
4 I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them.
5 "Will they not return to Egypt and will not Assyria rule over them because they refuse to repent?
6 Swords will flash in their cities, will destroy the bars of their gates and put an end to their plans.
7 My people are determined to turn from me. Even if they call to the Most High, he will by no means exalt them.
8 "How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboiim? My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused.
9 I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim. For I am God, and not man— the Holy One among you. I will not come in wrath. [c]
10 They will follow the LORD; he will roar like a lion. When he roars, his children will come trembling from the west.
11 They will come trembling like birds from Egypt, like doves from Assyria. I will settle them in their homes," declares the LORD.
Israel's Sin 12 Ephraim has surrounded me with lies, the house of Israel with deceit. And Judah is unruly against God, even against the faithful Holy One.
Our Daily Bread readings and devotional
Psalm 139
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.
5 You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, [a] you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,"
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
December 18, 2007
Frogs And More Frogs
ODB RADIO: Listen Now Download
READ: Psalm 139:1-12
O Lord, You have searched me and known me. —Psalm 139:1 About this cover Mary received a ceramic frog for her birthday from a co-worker, and she displayed it on her desk for all to see. Some of her fellow employees began to think she must like frogs, so they started to give her frog items for Christmas, birthdays, and special celebrations. Her office soon became filled with “things frog”—pens, candles, stickie notes, posters, coffee cups.
After Mary left the company, a friend asked her what she did with the frogs. She replied, “Well, I don’t really like frogs, so I gave them all away.”
Others mean well, yet don’t always know us well. They’ll never know us as God does. We are an open book to Him—there is nothing about us that is hidden from Him. Psalm 139 tells us:
• God knows everything we do (v.2). He knows all the activities of our day and every detail of our schedule.
• God knows everything we think (v.2)—the good and the bad, the wholesome, and the impure.
• God knows everywhere we go—“You comprehend my path . . . and are acquainted with all my ways” (v.3).
• God knows everything we say (v.4).
He knows us better than we know ourselves. Isn’t it a comfort to be known so intimately by our Lord—even with all our flaws—and yet be loved so completely! —Anne Cetas
The blood of atonement fulfills all the law!Amazement succumbs to the message of grace:Though God knows our thoughts, every sin, every flaw,His love bids us hide in His holy embrace. —Mollon
You’re not just a number computers can trace; Christ knows your need, your name, and your face.
My Utmost for His HighestDecember 18, 2007
Test of FaithfulnessLISTEN: READ:
We know that all things work together for good to those who love God . . . —Romans 8:28 About this cover It is only a faithful person who truly believes that God sovereignly controls his circumstances. We take our circumstances for granted, saying God is in control, but not really believing it. We act as if the things that happen were completely controlled by people. To be faithful in every circumstance means that we have only one loyalty, or object of our faith— the Lord Jesus Christ. God may cause our circumstances to suddenly fall apart, which may bring the realization of our unfaithfulness to Him for not recognizing that He had ordained the situation. We never saw what He was trying to accomplish, and that exact event will never be repeated in our life. This is where the test of our faithfulness comes. If we will just learn to worship God even during the difficult circumstances, He will change them for the better very quickly if He so chooses.
Being faithful to Jesus Christ is the most difficult thing we try to do today. We will be faithful to our work, to serving others, or to anything else; just don’t ask us to be faithful to Jesus Christ. Many Christians become very impatient when we talk about faithfulness to Jesus. Our Lord is dethroned more deliberately by Christian workers than by the world. We treat God as if He were a machine designed only to bless us, and we think of Jesus as just another one of the workers.
The goal of faithfulness is not that we will do work for God, but that He will be free to do His work through us. God calls us to His service and places tremendous responsibilities on us. He expects no complaining on our part and offers no explanation on His part. God wants to use us as He used His own Son.
A Word with You
Deliveries in Your Hands - #5462 Tuesday, December 18, 2007
It's the Christmas season, and everywhere you go these days you see those brown trucks - it's UPS running everywhere, delivering Christmas surprises to people. Those UPS drivers work really hard this time of year - lots of long hours to get everything where it's supposed to be in time for Christmas. I expect they sleep pretty well at night. Even though they have a big job, at least they don't have to go out and buy all those packages that they're bringing to people's doors. Their job is just to deliver what someone else has paid for. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "Deliveries in Your Hands." When you see those UPS guys and girls, remember that you have an assignment just like theirs - delivering something that someone else paid for - that Jesus paid for with His life. If those UPS drivers don't deliver what's been entrusted to them, the person it's for just won't get it, no matter how much the giver paid for it. And so it is with the very expensive gift that Jesus has given you to deliver to some people you know who need Him desperately. This privilege we have of delivering the good news about Jesus began on the very first Christmas with some unlikely delivery men. Shepherds - people who were on the margins of society in Jesus' day, maybe even on the bottom. They were considered undesirables, and they were unlikely messengers. But listen to our word for today from the Word of God in Luke 2:16 after the angels' announcement of the Savior's birth, "They hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen Him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed by what the shepherds said to them." These shepherds understood something that you and I tend to forget: once you've heard the Good News about a Savior and you have experienced Jesus for yourself, it's up to you to tell your world about Him! That's the expensive delivery that God has entrusted to you. He's counting on you to get it to the people on your "route" - the people you work with, the people who live near you, the people you go to school with, the people you love. If you don't deliver the life-saving message about Jesus, it may never get to them. After all, you're probably closer to those people than any other Christian on this planet. In a sense, their lives are in your hands. Notice, the first deliverers of the Good News weren't religious professionals like priests or scribes. It was people who, on the surface, looked unqualified, even under-qualified. But God loves to do that. You may feel inadequate, unqualified to present Jesus to people you know, but you have been positioned by Jesus in their lives because it's you He's assigned to tell them! Often, everyday Christians, who feel the least qualified to tell someone about Jesus, are actually in the best possible position to do it, because you are right next to someone that Jesus died for! You live in their world. They'll listen to someone from their world.
If you don't deliver what Jesus paid for with His life, they may never know what He did for them. And that could cost them heaven. The very expensive gift purchased with the life of the Son of God is now in your hands to deliver.