Today's Worship

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Hosea 4:1-3,

"Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites, because the Lord has a
charge to bring against you who live in the land: 'There is no
faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. There is
only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all
bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. Because of this the land
mourns, and all who live in it waste away; the beasts of the field and
the birds of the air and the fish of the sea are dying.'"

The indictment the Lord brings against Israel contains an observation
about the land they live in. In that there is no acknowledgment of God
among the people and that cursing, lying, murder, stealing and
adultery are rampant, the land mourns. From a figurative observation
to what appears as a rather literal one, the Lord goes on to say that
because of these things "the beasts of the field and the birds of the
air and the fish of the sea are dying."

While our contemporary pop culture espouses fantasy ideas of a "green
economy" and "green jobs", notions to support efforts at protecting
what is considered to be the pristine condition of plants, animals and
"Mother Earth", the very same culture embraces the abnormal, the
unnatural and the unseemly. The perverseness of homosexuality, the
horror of abortion, the acceptance of sexual immorality, adultery,
lying, stealing all appear to be defended in one fashion or another
today. Not surprising, then, is the condition Israel was found in at
the time of her judgment from the Lord: "No acknowledgment of God in
the land."

Our culture is sparing no effort in scrubbing any acknowledgment of
God from the public square, from it's vision, from its memory.

Perhaps if our culture senses a need to retain the pristine purity and
beauty of God's creation, it might do well to heed the Lord's
observation here in Hosea - to draw near to the Creator that creation
might be preserved. The pollution of immorality, lost virtue and
irresponsibility that attends the rejection of its Creator doesn't
seem to be accomplishing much for the environment. Possibly it might
be bringing the condition in Hosea's day, "the beasts of the field and
the birds of the air and the fish of the sea are dying": God's
judgment!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Today's Worship: The Lord sees it all!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Hosea 5:3,

"I know all about Ephraim; Israel is not hidden from me. Ephraim, you
have now turned to prostitution; Israel is corrupt."

In the judgment against Israel, her sins are not hidden from the Lord.
Her moral corruption and pursuit of Idolatry is on full display to the
Lord. Nothing is hidden from his sight.

Here is something that may have had a big impact on my life, on the
choices I have made: recognizing continually that there is simply
nothing hidden from his sight, at any time. All I think, all I do, and
all I say is clearly visible before him. What a sobering thought!

The writer of Hebrews tells us, "Nothing in all creation is hidden
from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the
eyes of him to whom we must give account." Hebrews 4:13. This is cause
to reflect on choices I make! Although I may make excuses for poor
choices I might make, justify what the Lord may not find pleasing, in
the same passage the writer points out that the Lord's word judges the
real thoughts, the real attitudes fo my heart. I might be able to fool
others, I might be able to fool myself, but I will never be able to
fool the Lord.

In spite of the Lord knowing everything there is to know about us, he
loves us nevertheless. He knows all about the sin, he knows all about
the cover ups, he knows all about what we hope others don't see, yet
he still loves us. It is in our naked estate before him that he
expressed his love to us in sending his Son to die for those very sins
we hope he doesn't see or notice.

In that same passage of Hebrews, the writer tells us that because
Jesus Christ was tempted in every way we are (yet without sin), he has
an ability to sympathize with our weaknesses. He died to pay the
penalty for them and the result is that now we can "approach the
throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find
grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:15-16.

What a kind and merciful Lord!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Today's Worship: The Lord intervenes in his world!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Hosea 1:1,

"The word of the Lord that came to Hosea son of Beeri during the
reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and
during the reign of Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel..."

Here is perhaps something that needs to be wrestled with in our day.
The book that bears his name tells us "The word of the Lord that came
to Hosea..." The verse goes on to tell us who Hosea is, "son of Beeri"
and when the Lord's word came to him, "during the reigns of ..." with
a listing of four kings of Judah, and one of the northern kingdom of
Israel, the focus of the Lord's intentions in this prophecy.

The astonishing reality of this verse is that the Lord steps into his
creation and speaks to it! Not a new kind of event at the time, as we
have record of the Lord speaking to his creation for millenia now. It
is an historical activity, however, I never want to fail in
appreciation of.

Mankind, in sin and rebellion against his Creator has gone his own
way, turned his collective back on the Giver of life to follow his own
devices. Out of his great love, mercy and kindness, the Lord steps
into his creation to speak to those who have completely lost their
connection to the One who breathed life into their progenitors - the
Author of life itself. Consideration of the sweeping nature of God's
great love and kindness in reaching out to mankind is an activity rich
in finding just how full and deep love and kindness can be. And,
although the Lord's message through Hosea is one of coming judgment
due to the sins of Israel, there is within it a great message of hope
and future restoration.

What is seen in this book is that the Lord has his own agenda. He is
not reluctant to step into his creation to carry out his own purposes.
Here in this book we find the Lord manipulating events on the
international stage and will bring about further future events. This
seems to me to be something lost on the people of our day. As we watch
the current events unfold in the world today, as well as within our
own nation, and listen to the commentators, the pundits, the analysts,
talk show hosts, etc. weigh in on what dominates the news cycle for
the day, it is almost entirely from a perspective of a closed world
without any thought of intervention by the Lord himself.

If nothing else, this first verse of this great book of prophecy
should cause me to stop and consider just what the Lord might be doing
in our day, how his activities, his agenda might be influencing the
events that unfold in our world around us today.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

RE: Today's Worship: It is God's choice!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic,
and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Hosea
2:8-9,

"She [Israel] has not acknowledged that I was the one who gave her the
grain, the new wine and oil, who lavished on her the silver and gold-
which they used for Baal. Therefore I will take away my grain when it
ripens, and my new wine when it is ready. I will take back my wool and
my linen, intended to cover her nakedness."

As the Lord pronounced his judgment of Israel through Hosea, he told her
he was going to remove his blessings of a robust economy. The nation of
Israel will now, among other things, experience financial hardship.
Throughout the pages of Scripture we find the Lord often brings his
judgments of Israel, as well as other nations, through the vehicles of
economic hardships, reversals in foreign affairs with surrounding
nations (including war), sickness, disease and famine. The Lord had
blessed Israel. She misused her blessings to pursue the false gods of
the peoples surrounding her and now the Lord is going to remove what
Israel enjoyed from his hand.

I note he calls the food, the wine, the silver and gold of the land "my
grain", "my new wine" and "my wool and my linen". I am reminded that the
blessings of what I enjoy in this life come from God and are his to do
with as he wishes. If I am blessed, it is at his hand and it is his to
remove at any time. Whatever blessings I have are simply on loan to me
from him. I also note that what the Lord had blessed Israel with, it
came with his intentions attached. He said, "I will take back my wool
and my linen, intended to cover her nakedness." As such, I am further
reminded that if I misuse what the Lord has provided me, I just might
find myself in Israel's shoes.

On another level, as we face challenges in our own nation today, whether
in the economy, in our security in a hostile world or the threat of
incurable diseases, etc., I suspect national attention to God's
intentions for our nation might best be considered as a primary source
for resolution. Perhaps the straying of our national interests from the
interests of the Lord has brought about much of what challenges us most
as a nation today.

The Lord has his own way of getting our attention.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your
thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Today's Worship: It is God's choice!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Hosea 1:6b-7,

"Call her Lo-Ruhamah, for I will no longer show love to the house of
Israel, that I should at all forgive them. Yet I will show love to the
house of Judah; and I will save them—not by bow, sword or battle, or
by horses and horsemen, but by the Lord their God."

The Lord tells Hosea to name his daughter "Lo-Ruhamah" which means
"not loved". Hosea is to name her that because the Lord will no longer
show love to the northern ten tribes of Israel, he will not forgive
them. However, he will show love to the southern kingdom, Judah, and
save them.

I am reminded that the Lord makes his own choices. He decides what it
is he is going to do, who he is going to bless and who he is going to
judge and he doesn't check in with me first to see if what he has
decided agrees with my theology or what I think is best. He makes his
own choices without reference to opinion polls, denominational
distinctives, political correctness or the sensitivities of others. He
doesn't seem to have a concern for social justice, affirmative action
programs, reparations or politics. He simply makes his choice and all
of creation must bow to it. He is, after all, our sovereign Creator
God.

Paul makes a point in expressing the fact that God makes his choices
without regard to what we may think of it. He says, "One of you will
say to me: 'Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his
will?' But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? 'Shall what is
formed say to him who formed it, "Why did you make me like this?"'"
Romans 9:19-20. Paul answers his would-be questioner, "Does not the
potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some
pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?" Romans 9:21. In
the same passage Paul points to the Lord's choice of Jacob as one he
loved, but Esau as one he hated. Paul points out that the Lord's
choice was not influenced by anything either of the brothers had done,
but was a result of an exercise of his choice, "Yet, before the twins
were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God's purpose
in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls—she was
told, 'The older will serve the younger.'" Romans 9:11-12.

Paul points these things out in Romans 9 to explain that although the
Jews of his day thought they could earn their way into the kingdom of
God by keeping the law, it was God's choice that entrance into his
kingdom will be by faith and faith alone. He quotes the Lord as saying
to Moses (through whom the law came) "I will have mercy on whom I have
mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." Romans
9:15. God decides salvation is by faith, not by works and he doesn't
care what others may think. If we will embrace him in faith, he will
welcome us as his children. If we reject him, he will cast us into a
fiery lake of burning sulfur, Revelation 21:8.

It is God's choice, God's decision, it is what he has "elected". "To
all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the
right to become children of God..." John 1:12.

What we find in the pages of Scripture is that the Lord is just,
righteous and fair. He is not arbitrary or capricious. Without a
single wrinkle in his personality, he is perfectly consistent in his
fairness and justice. All of his choices, all of his decisions are
entirely consistent within these basic characteristics of his
personality. He tells us in Jeremiah 9:24, "Let him who boasts boast
about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who
exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I
delight..."

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Today's Worship: The Lord redeems his beloved.

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Hosea 3:1,

"The Lord said to me, 'Go, show your love to your wife again, though
she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord
loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the
sacred raisin cakes.'"

The Lord expresses himself through Hosea as a man who loves an
adulterous wife. The Lord had Hosea marry Gomer, who would be
unfaithful to him to portray Israel's unfaithfulness to the Lord. In
this verse, following Gomer's adultery, the Lord has Hosea take Gomer
back again to demonstrate how the Lord would one day restore Israel as
his people. Hosea actually has to pay to get his wife back! "So I
bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a
lethek of barley." Verse 2.

So much of the heart of our Lord is on display in this book! Israel
deserved to be cut off from the Lord for her unfaithfulness. Israel
here is emblematic of all mankind, in that all mankind, whom the Lord
created, has turned his collective back on his Creator to go his own
way and displace the Lord with his own devices.

Through Hosea and Gomer, the Lord expresses his desire and intention
to redeem Israel and restore her once again as his people. This will
take place following a time when, "The Israelites will live many days
without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without
ephod or idol. Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the Lord
their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the Lord
and to his blessings in the last days." Hosea 3:4-5. It is my
perspective that today we stand just prior to this great event that
will change forever the course of the world. Paul takes up this theme
in Romans 11:25-27, "I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery,
brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a
hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.
And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: 'The deliverer will
come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is
my covenant with them when I take away their sins.'" As Paul points
out earlier, in verse 23, this will be contingent upon a renewed faith
by Israel in her Lord, "If they do not persist in unbelief, they will
be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again."

In this coming restoration of Israel, she is yet again emblematic of
what God will accomplish with all mankind. As the Lord has Hosea
redeem his wife, to take her back again following her unfaithfulness
to him, so the Lord has provided redemption for all mankind, to pay
the price for all mankind's unfaithfulness to him. He accomplished
this through the cross of Jesus Christ. All he asks is that mankind
return to him, expressed in an embrace of faith in him.

What strikes me this morning is the heart of our Creator who has such
a place in his heart for us that he would seek us out, pay the
redemption price for our unfaithfulness toward him, and make us his
very own!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Today's Worship: God and tolerance.

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Hosea 2:17,

"I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips; no longer will
their names be invoked."

The Lord tells the Israelites that when he restores them in a future
time, he will remove their participation in the religious worship of
the peoples around them. Indeed, it is precisely their choice of
worship the Lord found abominable and which prompted his judgment of
Israel.

Acceptance of others is an ideal that we are to aspire to. Paul tells
us in Romans 15:7, "Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted
you, in order to bring praise to God." Here he speaks of embracing
other believers in what he hopes for as "a spirit of unity among
yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus..." verse 5. In his letter to
the churches of Galatia he tells his readers, "There is neither Jew
nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in
Christ Jesus." There is to be an acceptance of others within the body
of Christ.

We live in a day where tolerance in our society appears to be the
quality that trumps all other virtues. We are told that we are to
tolerate others, no matter their religion, their sexual orientation
(homosexuality), what goes on behind closed doors, etc.

However, what I see in the Scriptures is that God is very intolerant
of any religious preference that places worship elsewhere. As Israel
chose a religion that did not worship him, he brought destruction to
the nation. It doesn't take much reading in the Scriptures to find
that God is intolerant of a lot of what is promoted today: sexual
immorality, homosexuality, lifestyle choices, etc.

Jesus Christ praised the church in Ephesus because they were
intolerant of sinful men, "I know your deeds, your hard work and your
perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men..."
Revelation 2:2. Likewise he condemned the church in Thyatira for their
tolerance of the sinful, "Nevertheless, I have this against you: You
tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her
teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the
eating of food sacrificed to idols." Revelation 2:20.

It may come as a surprise to many that the toleration that is demanded
of us by others is something the Lord does not share. Listen to this
piece of intolerance, "Do you not know that the wicked will not
inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually
immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor
homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor
slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." 1
Corinthians 6:9-10. Jesus Christ said, ""I am the way and the truth
and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John
14:6. He is not at all tolerant of other religions.

What the Lord is tolerant of - is all who will embrace him in faith.
He doesn't care about your race, your age, your nationality, your
heritage, even your sinful ugly past! He tells us, "To all who
received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to
become children of God..." John 1:12. In the earlier passage I quoted
from 1 Corinthians 6, Paul goes on to say of his readers, "Neither the
sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor
homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor
slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is
what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you
were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit
of our God." 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.

How wonderful is that?!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Today's Worship: The Lord's love and the Lord's righteousness.

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Hosea 2:19,

"I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness
and justice, in love and compassion."

As the Lord tells of a future day when he will reestablish Israel as
his "betrothed" he says he will do it in or with the two chief aspects
of his own character and nature. He will betroth Israel in or with
righteousness and justice as well as love and compassion.

These two aspects of God's character and nature are on display
throughout the Scriptures. In the Lord's highlighted revelation of
himself to Moses in Exodus 34:6-7, he says of himself, "The Lord, the
Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in
love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving
wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty
unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of
the fathers to the third and fourth generation." Here he points to his
love and compassion as well as his judgment of the sinful,
demonstrating his righteousness and judgment. Here is what is to me
the great riddle of interplay of these two great aspects of the Lord
that finds its answer in the cross of Jesus Christ.

In Jeremiah 9:24 the Lord says, "Let him who boasts boast about this:
that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises
kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,"
Here again the Lord stresses the dual nature of his character. He
exercises kindness as well as justice and righteousness.

As I think of both of these aspects of the Lord's nature, I am
reminded I should never view either at the expense of the other. The
manifold glory of the Lord finds its expression in the splendor of
both his love and his justice. Both his kindness as well as the
unflinching tenacity of his righteousness.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Today's Worship: God's wonderful gift of the life-changing Holy Spirit!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Hosea 2:17,

"I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips; no longer will
their names be invoked."

As the Lord announces his judgment of Israel for her idolatry, he
speaks of another day when he will reestablish his people. At that
time he will take away his people's proclivity to wander from him to
chase after other gods, such as the Baals.

This is reflected in the new covenant God will establish with his
people that we read about in Jeremiah 31:31-33. There he says, "'The
time is coming,' declares the Lord, 'when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be
like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by
the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to them,'  declares the Lord. 'This is the
covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,'
declares the Lord. 'I will put my law in their minds and write it on
their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No
longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying,
"Know the Lord," because they will all know me, from the least of them
to the greatest,' declares the Lord. 'For I will forgive their
wickedness and will remember their sins no more.'"

In the new covenant is a reality that the Lord brings to our lives
today. Paul calls it becoming a "new creation", 2 Corinthians 5:17. It
reflects our being born-again, being regenerated. We have something
new the Lord puts on our hearts that changes us from within: the Holy
Spirit. About the Holy Spirit Jesus told his disciples, "It is for
your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will
not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you." John 16:7. All
believers have the Holy Spirit and it is his very presence in our
lives that brings change. "You, however, are controlled not by the
sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you.
And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong
to Christ." Romans 8:9.

I recognize the ultimate fulfillment of the new covenant will come in
the resurrection. However, I find our mystical and existential
transformation by the Holy Spirit in this life to be one of the
greatest of all gifts the Lord has given us!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Today's Worship: Man's sinfulness, God's mercy.

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Hosea 2:13,

 

"'I will punish her for the days she burned incense to the Baals; she decked herself with rings and jewelry, and went after her lovers, but me she forgot,' declares the Lord."

 

Astonishing that a people who had seen so much of God, who had been blessed by him in so many ways could stray from him in this way. These are the people who were the descendants of Abraham, to whom he made wonderful promises... and fulfilled them all. This is the nation that witnessed God's miraculous powers displayed in stunning fashion in the land of Egypt where the Lord set them free from slavery. This is the people who saw the mighty hand of the Lord conquer her enemies. This is the nation who shook from fright at the foot of Mt. Sinai as the mountain quaked from the Lord's presence and glory. This was the people who were chosen by the creator of the universe as his own, provided them with his revelation and raised up the law-giver Moses. This is the nation that was delivered countless times from hunger, thirst, poisonous vipers, ruthless enemies. And, yet, here they are, abandoning the covenant they had made with the one true God, abandoning the One who had done so much for them, to run after... nothing. Idols that are simply figments of imagination, idols that lead astray, idols that lead into sin and rebellion.

 

I am reminded of the observation made about the human heart in Jeremiah 17:9, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" It was and is not just the Jews. It is all of us that have hearts that turn from the one true God. As Paul observed in Romans 3:9-18, "We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written: 'There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.' 'Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.' 'The poison of vipers is on their lips.' 'Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.' 'Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know.' 'There is no fear of God before their eyes.'

 

Given this state of things, it is a wonder that God is even mindful of us at all, that he hasn't just wiped us all out as he did in Noah's day. And yet, given the circumstances of the depraved condition of all of us, we are the very ones that God looked down on, the ones God sent his Son for, who died a horrible death for. We are the ones that God has sought for himself.

 

It is no wonder he makes a new creation of us, given the sinful proclivities we have cultivated in our hearts. Given the backdrop of our sinful condition, all that God has done for us stands out in the stark contrast of his merciful kindness toward us. We all deserved to be cast into that fiery lake of burning sulfur. How astonishing he has made a way for us to become his very own children! And, all he asks of us is to trust in him...

 

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Today's Worship: God's judgment and loving kindness!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Hosea 1:10-11,

 

"Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' they will be called 'sons of the living God.' The people of Judah and the people of Israel will be reunited, and they will appoint one leader and will come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel."

 

In the midst of informing Israel of his judgment, the Lord tells them a day is coming when he will bless the people. As a nation, Israel will be judged for its rebellion against the Lord. For now, the northern ten tribes and later it will be the souther two. But God, in his loving compassion and kindness will bring about a later day when a people who were told they are not God's people will be called "sons of the living God".

 

This, of course, is a reference to the coming Messiah. Jesus Christ. He will come and make a way, not just for the Jews, but also for the Gentiles to become God's own people. God informs his people of this as he announces his judgment of them.

 

Here are two chief aspects of the nature of God on display. His judgment and his loving kindness. His judgment is horrific and his loving kindess is the most wonderful thing we will ever encounter!

 

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Today's Worship: The Lord is strong in our weakness.

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Hosea 1:7,

 

"I will show love to the house of Judah; and I will save them—not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but by the Lord their God."

 

The Lord told Israel he was going to save Judah, not by their strength, as measured in their bows, swords, horses and horsemen. As the Lord would bring on the destruction of the northern ten tribes through the agency of an aggressive military campaign by her enemies, Judah would be spared (at least for the time being) apart from their own effort in battle.

 

This brings to my mind the many things the Lord does for us. Often he does what he does without using whatever strengths we may feel we have.

 

Paul made an interesting observation about himself. He reflected on the fact that he had weaknesses, "I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses." 2 Corinthians 12:5. Relative to this he says the Lord had told him, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Because of this Paul boasted of his weaknesses and delighted in them, "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." Verses 9-10. His strength was in the Lord, what the Lord did in spite of his weaknesses.

 

Often it is the very canvas of our weakness the Lord paints his strength in our lives. I believe he does it to encourage us in him, to build up our faith in him and remind us of where the good things come from we have in him. Our inheritance in Jesus Christ is due to the strength and effort the Lord has exercised, not our own. Faith is not the stuff of work. It is the very opposite of work as Paul points out in Romans 9:30-32, "What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works." The Jews in Paul's day attempted to gain the promised inheritance in the resurrection through their own hard efforts. Paul points out that it is the gift of God, something he has wrought, and provided to those who embrace him in faith, not something folks obtain in their own strength, their own efforts.

 

As I consider my own salvation, I can't boast of my own efforts. I didn't have what it took to bring it about. But I certainly can boast about what the Lord has done for me! He brought it about, doing all the heavy lifting himself!

 

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Today's Worship: Some are God's people and some are not.

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Hosea 1:9,

 

"Then the Lord said, 'Call him Lo-Ammi, for you are not my people, and I am not your God.'"

 

Every once in a while you hear it said, "We are all God's people." From a certain sense, it can be said, but not in the sense in which it is usually stated. We are all descendants of mankind which God created, but that is not what is often intended when the comment is made.

 

The Lord told Hosea there are people who are not his and those who are. Here he told Hosea that because of Israel's idolatry and sin, they are not his people.

 

Likewise, he tells Hosea that a time will come when "In the place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' they will be called 'sons of the living God.'", verse 10. Paul quotes this prophecy when he speaks of a people consisting of both Jews and Gentiles who embrace God in faith, Romans 9:26. In that chapter Paul points to God's prerogative to choose who he wants as his, Romans 9:20-21 and his choice is that it will be those who embrace him in faith, Romans 9:30-32.

 

From this standpoint, the comment, "We are all God's people" couldn't be further from the truth. The truth is that all who have not embraced Jesus Christ in faith are not children of God but children of the devil. The apostle John wants us to be able to distinguish between the two, "This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother." 1 John 3:10.

 

We live in a day where tolerance is held as the trump of all virtues. As I read my Bible, however, I find our Lord not as tolerant as some assume him to be. I read, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6. I also read, "The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." John 3:35-36.

 

Perhaps a more lofty virtue is love where we take concern for those who have not embraced Jesus Christ in faith and are therefore not God's people. The imperative to do all we can to reach out to them, to bring them into God's camp is the greatest and most honorable activity that anyone can engage in.

 

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Today's Worship: God's rightful judgment!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Hosea 2:8,

 

"She has not acknowledged that I was the one  who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil, who lavished on her the silver and gold— which they used for Baal."

 

As the Lord speaks of the judgment he is going to bring to Israel because of her abandonment of him to chase after the false idols of the surrounding nations, the Lord points out that the very things they used to pursue their sin was provided them by the Lord himself.

 

The two great aspects of God's nature are told to us by God himself in Jeremiah 9:24, "let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight". This speaks to his loving kindness and his justice. Although our God is loving, merciful and kind, particularly demonstrated by his sending of his Son to pay the penalty for our sins, he will nevertheless judge all those who reject him by casting them in a fiery lake of burning sulfur on a terrible day, "the day of the Lord."

 

From time to time I hear someone say that they simply refuse to accept any god who would condemn anyone to an eternity of torment. The notion of a god of judgment who represents a "religion of blood" as portrayed in the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ is rejected out of hand as repugnant and beneath all sensibility.

 

Perhaps what is forgotten is that the very One who provided the Son of his love to take our punishment on himself is the very One who has provided all we have, all we are, our very existence itself. He is the One who provided our bodies, with which we sin against him. He is the One who has blessed us with so much with which some indulge themselves as they abandon their acknowledgment of him. He is the One who has given life itself, life with which so many reject their Creator to go their own way to satisfy their own sinful desires.

 

Just as Israel used what their loving God blessed them with to sin against him, so the people of our day do likewise. I find it helpful to think of such things to bring to my mind the appropriateness of God's rightful judgment against those who turn their backs on him. May each receive the gospel message and find his forgiveness!

 

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Today's Worship: God is alive and well and active!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Hosea 1:7,

 

"I will show love to the house of Judah; and I will save them—not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but by the Lord their God."

 

The Lord speaks to his prophet, Hosea, and tells him he will save Judah from judgment as he is going to bring the northern ten tribes of Israel to destruction. I note that Judah will be spared from the Assyrians during the destruction of the northern kingdom, not because of her military strength but simply by the Lord. Judah would never be able to protect itself from the coming onslaught of the Assyrians in any event. However, the Assyrians would be no match for the Lord, of course.

 

As I think of the activities of the Lord that I read about in the pages of Scripture, I think of our world's current perspective. We live in a day where God has been relegated to the places of worship. We go on Sunday mornings to worship in our churches, we study about him in our Bible studies or go to prayer meetings. But, by and large, God has been removed from the dialog of the day. I suspect conversations about the Lord in most work places are rare. Outside of opportunities taken to evangelize, I find little in the way of conversation and public reflection about the Lord and what he may be doing in the world today. I'm not saying it doesn't take place and maybe you are exposed to more than I am, I am just saying I find little thought and reflection on the Lord in public and with others throughout the week outside of "church" settings.

 

As I read of the events that are recorded throughout Scripture, though, I find the Lord is quite alive and well. Not just that, but he has revealed himself to be quite active in the affairs of this life in a very contemporary way. Hosea and the other prophets make this abundantly clear. I realize the threat imposed on the delicate sensitivities of those who are atheists or who live their lives in opposition to the Lord when he is spoken of. However, I also note that delicate sensitivities seem to hold a lesser priority when conversations turn to politics or sports, etc. Given the profound impact the Lord has on our existence in this life, this state of affairs is unseemly to me.

 

When talking of real things in this life, the contemporary events that transpire and causes for them, I find it surprising how effectively the Lord's presence has been scrubbed from the conscious awareness of a world that would prefer to live in ignorance of the realities around it: The reality of the Lord's existence and his activities amongst mankind as evidenced through the prophetic activity of a man named Hosea.

 

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Today's Worship (and prayer request): God - the forsaken husband.

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Hosea 1:2,

 

"When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, 'Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord.'"

 

At the end of the book that bears his name, Joshua challenged the Israelites in their commitment to the Lord, now that they had taken possession of the promised land.  He said, "... choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve..." Joshua 24:15. They responded by saying, "Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods!... We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God.'"

 

However, Joshua responded by saying, "You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you." Here now is Israel some 600 or so years later, in Hosea's day, and they are up to their eyeballs in idolatry, having forsaken the Lord, just as Joshua warned them.

 

Not only was Joshua insightful about what the nation of Israel would do, he was accurate on how the Lord would respond. Israel, having turned from the Lord to embrace the idolatry of the nations around them, would now face the Lord's judgment.

 

I find the Lord's perspective on his feelings toward Israel stunning. He doesn't address the nation through Hosea so much as, say, a monarch addressing a mutinous people as he does a husband with an adulterous wife on his hands. He speaks to Israel through Hosea by having him act the very part for him, to portray to the nation of Israel in a very practical way their infidelity toward him. Through other prophets he will express himself as a jilted lover, pained over the disloyalty of his loved one.

 

I find this perspective of the Lord quite moving. Given the events, it speaks to me so much of his heart.

 

My friend, Rod Cornelius, is on life support. His son, Rick, has asked us to pray for him and for the wisdom for decisions that need to be made. Thank you.

 

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com