Digging in Deeper: Hosea 2:5

“Yes, their mother is promiscuous; she conceived them and acted shamefully. For she thought, ‘I will follow my lovers, the men who give me my food and water, my wool and flax, my oil and drink.’”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter

Have you ever used graphic language when you were upset? It’s easy to do. When we get sufficiently upset, we begin working to find the words to adequately express our rage. When we’re angry enough, that can be a bit of a tall order. When we fumble enough, eventually we just use extreme words because we can’t find any others that will work. That’s a little like what’s going on here. 

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Morning Musing: Malachi 1:2-3a

“I have loved you,” says the Lord. Yet you ask, “How have you loved us?” “Wasn’t Esau Jacob’s brother?” This is the Lord’s declaration. “Even so, I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

When God asserted His love for the people of Israel at the beginning of Malachi’s little collection of prophecy, the people whose hearts were hard from years of doing religion without any kind of relationship meaningfully in place, immediately fired back a challenge: “How?” God’s response is, for modern ears, one of the hardest things we find Him saying in the Old Testament. What are we supposed to do with this?

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Morning Musing: 2 Samuel 12:13-14 Part 1

“David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ And Nathan said to David, ‘The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.’”  (ESV – Read the chapter) ‬‬

I have put off writing this note for several days. I’ve resisted because I haven’t been sure I’ve wanted to wade into this mess. I’ve read this passage before many times because I’ve read this story many times. But, I’ve struggled with it this time in ways I haven’t before. Rather than just sitting on it, though, I decided to let you in on the struggle. Here goes… Read the rest…

Morning Musings: Isaiah 55:7

“…let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

I love the last part of this.  When our God pardons us from our sins, we are not just barely forgiven.  He “abundantly pardons” us.  God doesn’t just say, “Well, you didn’t really measure up, but I’ll let you slide in just under the radar.”  No, He wipes our sins away as far as the east is from the west.  He forgives us completely and we are able to stand perfectly clean in His sight. Read the rest…