Hosea 7 Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

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Max Lucado Daily: Running the Race

You know as well as I do, it’s one thing to start something. It’s something else entirely to complete it.  Relax!  “Don’t start what you can’t finish” is not my point!

To be honest, I don’t believe you should finish everything you start.  Every student with homework just perked up. There are certain quests better left undone, some projects wisely abandoned. Though I wouldn’t list homework as one of them!  We can become so obsessed with completion that we become blind to effectiveness.  No, my desire is not to convince you to finish everything.  My desire is to encourage you to finish the right thing.

Certain races are optional.  Other races are essential—like the race of faith.  Consider this admonition from the author of Hebrews in chapter 12:1, “Let us run the race that is before us and never give up!”

Finish strong, my friend.

From Just Like Jesus

Hosea  7

Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people,
7 1 whenever I would heal Israel,
the sins of Ephraim are exposed
    and the crimes of Samaria revealed.
They practice deceit,
    thieves break into houses,
    bandits rob in the streets;
2 but they do not realize
    that I remember all their evil deeds.
Their sins engulf them;
    they are always before me.
3 “They delight the king with their wickedness,
    the princes with their lies.
4 They are all adulterers,
    burning like an oven
whose fire the baker need not stir
    from the kneading of the dough till it rises.
5 On the day of the festival of our king
    the princes become inflamed with wine,
    and he joins hands with the mockers.
6 Their hearts are like an oven;
    they approach him with intrigue.
Their passion smolders all night;
    in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
7 All of them are hot as an oven;
    they devour their rulers.
All their kings fall,
    and none of them calls on me.
8 “Ephraim mixes with the nations;
    Ephraim is a flat loaf not turned over.
9 Foreigners sap his strength,
    but he does not realize it.
His hair is sprinkled with gray,
    but he does not notice.
10 Israel’s arrogance testifies against him,
    but despite all this
he does not return to the Lord his God
    or search for him.
11 “Ephraim is like a dove,
    easily deceived and senseless—
now calling to Egypt,
    now turning to Assyria.
12 When they go, I will throw my net over them;
    I will pull them down like the birds in the sky.
When I hear them flocking together,
    I will catch them.
13 Woe to them,
    because they have strayed from me!
Destruction to them,
    because they have rebelled against me!
I long to redeem them
    but they speak about me falsely.
14 They do not cry out to me from their hearts
    but wail on their beds.
They slash themselves,[f] appealing to their gods
    for grain and new wine,
    but they turn away from me.
15 I trained them and strengthened their arms,
    but they plot evil against me.
16 They do not turn to the Most High;
    they are like a faulty bow.
Their leaders will fall by the sword
    because of their insolent words.
For this they will be ridiculed
    in the land of Egypt.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Matthew 5:21-26

Murder

21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder,[a] and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister[b][c] will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’[d] is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

I’m Sorry, Man

May 16, 2013 — by Dave Branon

Be reconciled to your brother. —Matthew 5:24

When my son-in-law Ewing and I attended a sporting event, we enjoyed watching both the game and the people around us.

One of those people showed both the bad and good side of humanity. This man had apparently lost track of his seat. As he was looking for it, he stood squarely between us and the field. A man sitting in front of us also had his view blocked, so he told the guy, “Could you move? We can’t see.”

The lost man responded sarcastically, “Too bad.” A second request got a similar but more heated response. Finally the man moved on. Later came a surprise. He returned and told the man he had blocked, “Hey, I’m sorry, man. I was upset that I couldn’t find my seat.” They shook hands and the incident ended well.

That interaction made me think. As we go through life striving to find our way, situations may frustrate us and cause us to respond to others in an un-Christlike way. If so, we must ask God to give us the courage to apologize to those we have offended. Our worship, according to Jesus, depends on it (Matt. 5:23-24).

We honor God when we make reconciliation with others a priority. After we have been reconciled, we can then fully enjoy communion with our heavenly Father.

It’s not easy, Lord, to swallow our pride and ask
others to forgive us. But You want us to seek
reconciliation before worship can take place.
Help us to seek forgiveness when necessary.
Confession of sin is the soil in which forgiveness flourishes.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
May 16, 2013

The Habit of Recognizing God’s Provision

. . . you may be partakers of the divine nature . . . —2 Peter 1:4

We are made “partakers of the divine nature,” receiving and sharing God’s own nature through His promises. Then we have to work that divine nature into our human nature by developing godly habits. The first habit to develop is the habit of recognizing God’s provision for us. We say, however, “Oh, I can’t afford it.” One of the worst lies is wrapped up in that statement. We talk as if our heavenly Father has cut us off without a penny! We think it is a sign of true humility to say at the end of the day, “Well, I just barely got by today, but it was a severe struggle.” And yet all of Almighty God is ours in the Lord Jesus! And He will reach to the last grain of sand and the remotest star to bless us if we will only obey Him. Does it really matter that our circumstances are difficult? Why shouldn’t they be! If we give way to self-pity and indulge in the luxury of misery, we remove God’s riches from our lives and hinder others from entering into His provision. No sin is worse than the sin of self-pity, because it removes God from the throne of our lives, replacing Him with our own self-interests. It causes us to open our mouths only to complain, and we simply become spiritual sponges— always absorbing, never giving, and never being satisfied. And there is nothing lovely or generous about our lives.

Before God becomes satisfied with us, He will take everything of our so-called wealth, until we learn that He is our Source; as the psalmist said, “All my springs are in You” (Psalm 87:7). If the majesty, grace, and power of God are not being exhibited in us, God holds us responsible. “God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you . . . may have an abundance . . .” (2 Corinthians 9:8)— then learn to lavish the grace of God on others, generously giving of yourself. Be marked and identified with God’s nature, and His blessing will flow through you all the time.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

The 'I Love You' At the Finish Line - #6874

Thursday, May 16, 2013

My regular routine doesn't allow me as much time for exercise as I'd like. In the past, when I had a few days away and my schedule permitted, I would enjoy doing some biking or hiking, or running. Of course, my body always told me that I hadn't been doing it enough. I ended up hurting in places I didn't even know I had places! But it's good to get some extra exercise when you can.

One of those times, my wife and I were away, and I had a chance to do some jogging on the beach at sunrise. I was chugging along trying to cover those last few hundred yards, which seemed like the longest and pounding back down the beach all tired and sweaty and disgusting. My muscles were saying, "Stop this, will you!" And then I saw my wife in the distance. Well, that was a great motivation to finish, and to finish strong. So I kind of picked up the pace a little bit, and had almost reached her when I saw what she had written in huge letters in the sand, "I love you, Ron." Oh boy, there it was! What a happy ending to my run...or for any man on any day.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The 'I Love You' At the Finish Line."

Our word for today from the Word of God is about "wife-ing" actually, and it's in Titus 2:4-5. It's actually instructions to the older women in the church as to what they should, from their well of experience, train the younger women to be like. He says, "Then they can train the younger women..." First and foremost notice now, "...to love their husbands and children. To be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands so that no one will malign the Word of God."

Actually, this passage is referring to two generations of loving wives, because obviously the older women had to do it in order to be able to teach it to the younger women. So, in both generations, the very first word to the women is, "Love your husband." Proverbs 31, that great description of the woman every godly woman wants to be, the Proverbs 31 Woman, well here's what it says about her in verse 12. "She brings her husband good, not harm, all the days of her life." Notice, each 24-hour period. In other words, she brings daily goodies into his life. Now, there's that picture of me running on the beach, coming toward the finish line, tired, feeling like quitting. And suddenly I see these words, "I love you, Ron." It gave me incentive to cross the finish line.

I'll tell you, that's a picture of many days in the life of a man close to you - a husband, a son, a brother. He comes home tired from today's run. Few things mean more to a man than to know that he will find an "I love you" at the finish line. I think a man can handle almost anything if he's sure that he will be safe and appreciated and loved when he gets home. You know, "All's well that ends well." Lots of pressure, lots of stress, but I can handle it if I know there's going to be security at the finish line.

There are a lot of ways to say it to him. First, just verbally express it. Don't just say, "I love you until further notice." No, tell him often. Touch him affectionately. Provide peace in the house as much as possible when he arrives home; maybe that special meal or special card or special note. Now, it's hard, because you've had a long run too. But God will give you strength to put your husband first when you feel like being first yourself.

By the way, what a tremendous surprise it is if that wife is greeted by a man who's more concerned about her needs than his own. If you're a woman, say "I love you" in his language; not just on Valentine's Day or anniversary, but remember "I love you" never means more than after that finish line that he crosses after a long day's run.