I Once Was Lost...

I will plant her for myself in the land;
    I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.[h]’
I will say to those called ‘Not my people,[i]’ ‘You are my people’;
    and they will say, ‘You are my God.’” (Hosea 2:23)

I have not spent much time in the book of Hosea and I am not certain why. The closest I came was when I read a book called Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. This novel is a beautiful story of love and forgiveness. It is a story of human frailties and folly, but also a tender tale of forgiveness and pure love.

Hosea is a book about God's love for His people and His promise to take them back when they surrender to Him. Hosea is a lesson in redemption which holds out for us, another chance to do the next right thing.

This book is an encouragement to us, when we are lost. It is reassurance of God's love and His plan to pursue us and give us opportunity after opportunity to accept Him right up until the day Jesus returns. The only catch is, we don't have a clue when that day will be.

We are not guaranteed a given amount of time here on earth. No one knows when he or she will breathe their last breath. It is foolish to wait for tomorrow. Tomorrow may never arrive; we may not have another chance to change our destiny. And even if we did, why wait? Why go another day without experiencing the hope that comes from a new lease on life?

In the book I mentioned earlier, Angel, Hosea's wife kept returning to her life of sin because she did not feel worthy of love.  She was more comfortable in the life and surroundings she came from and no amount of talking on the part of her husband could convince her different.

Eventually, Hosea won her over, but it was a grueling story and one that often mirrors our own stories. Read this beautiful book of the Bible with a new attitude.  See if you don't feel God's love and forgiveness in your heart even now. 

What there ever a time in your life when you wondered if and how God could ever pursue you?

What feelings did you experience when you repented and turned back to Him?
Hosea 2:14-23

Palm Sunday

Luke 19: 28-44

Though we may be familiar with the story of Jesus mounting a donkey and making his way through the streets of Jerusalem, have we truly considered the condition of his heart? As I read the words in Luke 19, I paused for a long time on the phrase, “he wept over it.” Though Jesus knew his ultimate destiny, the human piece of him likely could not be somewhat hopeful that the world would realize what they were doing and rest in the peace of the Lord.

The vision I have of Jesus weeping as he journeyed through the city is hard on the heart. His strength, grace, and peace were immeasurable, and his love for man unreasonable considering how they behaved, yet He

wept for them, knowing what they were missing. Jesus knew what was to come, but he rode into Jerusalem anyway.

According to: www.thisisyourbible.com, it is recorded specifically in the bible that Jesus wept twice, once when Lazarus died in John 11, and again in Jerusalem as he entered the city in Luke 19. Consider however, Hebrews 5: 7: “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.” His prayers were so sincere and intense that it would have been impossible to hold back tears. Isaiah 53:3 illustrates Jesus as “….a man of sorrows, familiar with suffering.” Deep sorrow and suffering accompanied with heartache bring forth genuine, heartfelt tears. So even though there are only two times Jesus is recorded publicly weeping in the bible, understanding his heart clearly reveals frequent cries to God for the love, grace, and forgiveness of his people….that’s us.

Jesus prayed, pleaded, begged, and mourned for us. “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)

Read/Listen to Luke 19: 28-44

Watch Music Video “By His Wounds” by Third Day     -It is intense, but real!