"Take words with you and return to the Lord”

Hosea 14


In Hosea 14 the prophet is calling Israel (the northern Kingdom) to repentance.  The nation has been led by a series of failed kings and has strayed far from God.


It is interesting to note that Hosea does not call for animal sacrifices in his warning, but instead says “Take words with you and return to the Lord”.  A cross reference in my bible for this verse is Psalm 51:16-17:  “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart O God, you will not despise.”


When we desire strong and lasting relationships the willingness to repent when we have wronged the other party is essential.  As I read Hosea 14 I thought about changing Israel in verse one to my name.  I then thought about substituting the United States and finally the Christian Church for Israel.  In all three instances there are certainly many opportunities to tell God “I’m sorry”.


It seems that repentance is a term that we don’t hear very often.  We like to talk about all of the benefits of being a Christian, but sincere confession and repentance often take a “back seat”.  If this concept is essential to healthy human relationships, how much more so in our relationship with our perfect, loving, and merciful God?


Hosea seems to sum things up in chapter 14 verse 9:  “Who is wise?  Let them realize these things  Who is discerning?  Let them understand .  The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous work in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.”

Word Consumption

“Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.’”  John 6:68-69

There is no shortage of words today, is there?  Talk radio, 24/7 “news,” the social media explosion, a ubiquity of TV monitors ...  we overindulge in an endless buffet of words!

It is important to evaluate words with a strong mind and choose carefully which ones we will ingest.  Why?  Because their ingredients are the by-product of the heart; some are healthy and others not.  It is as Jesus said, “For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.”

Words spoken from one’s sin nature are often harsh, deceiving, accusatory, self-serving or dishonest.  Disagreeable and hard to stomach!  Yet the most dangerous ones are like candy flung to the crowds at a Fourth of July parade ... and containing about the same nutritional value: sugar, syrup and artificial flavoring.  Sweet, but unhealthy, these are things people like to hear, like “there are many paths to God” or “it’s all good.”  Again, listen to Jesus as he speaks to the Pharisees whose “path to God” did not lead to God at all: “... how can you who are evil say anything good?”  If we swallow whatever tantalizes undiscerning palates, the entire body pays the price.

But who but much-maligned Peter, would come up with this grain of truth: “Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”  Where did that come from?  Jesus told him, “Blessed are you ... for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven (Matthew16:17).”  Like an expert shopper, Peter squeezed, sniffed and poked around, accepting nothing but bread that would never leave him hungry and water that would forever satisfy (John 6:35).

Jesus is “the bread of life”; the words he speaks are “spirit and life.”  In him, our spirits never go hungry, but are nourished unto eternity.

Picky like Peter, may we fill ourselves with the words of eternal life.  Nothing less.  Nothing more.

"How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" Psalm 119:103

Matthew 21:28-32

Actions speak louder than words.  I have heard this saying since a small child and never really gave it much thought.  The words we say do have a lot of meaning, but in the end it is what we do that backs up our words.  It is easy to spout lofty principles but they mean nothing if we don't practice what we preach.

The last thing anyone in this world needs is conflicting lessons.  During Jesus' time the Scribes and Pharisees delivered this type of message regularly.  It reminds me of another saying from childhood, “Do as I say, not as I do.”

 What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’

“‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

 “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.

 “Which of the two did what his father wanted?” (Matthew 21:28-31)

We are called to repent, to believe in Jesus; to believe Jesus.  Our words matter, but our actions matter even more.  Let them know we are Christian by our love.  A bigger message here for me is, though my actions of the past were not admirable, there is grace and forgiveness.  I can turn, change, and live like John the Baptizer preached.  I can be like the son who said “no” but went anyway.  He changed his mind, he repented and he obeyed.

Read the Matthew 21:28-32 text here.  Listen to a reading of the Matthew 21:28-32 text here.

Did I Just Say That? Matthew 15:1-20

But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person... ( Matthew 15:17-20)

We recently needed to teach our son that certain words are not accepted in our home. He was not saying “bad” words, but there are some things he would say that made me cringe.

He loves playing video games, and when he would make a bad move he would say, “Oh dang it”. When he would get surprised he would exclaim, “Oh my gosh”. Now, dang and gosh are not what most people would classify bad words, but when they come out of the mouth of a four year old, they just don’t sound right.

It’s amazing how fast Evan has caught on. He has not only learned how to restrain his tongue, but he often corrects me when I slip. It’s easy to teach a young child to change a new behavior, but it is much harder for us to change as adults.

Our scripture passage today says that, “the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart.” This made me reflect on the things we say that make God cringe. Are there things in our vocabulary that we would classify as harmless, but God sees as a reflection of our heart?

Ask him to reveal to you any areas of your heart that you have not surrendered to Him.

Read today's passage at Biblegateway Matthew 15:1-20