Thoughts on Christ and His Word

How would you like to receive this command from God? "Go and marry a cheating wife." This is exactly what God told the prophet Hosea to do. The word of the LORD that came to Hosea...the LORD said to him, "Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife Hosea 1:1-2 Why would God ask him to do such a thing? Did God want to ruin his life? Although this was a great sacrifice to ask of his prophet, God wanted to make a point, and a BIG one: That He loves us even though we act like a cheating wife. After Hosea marries Gomer (her name alone should have kept every man away from her) she sells herself into prostitution. And not just any common prostitution, but a shrine prostitute - one who has sex as a worship ritual to other gods (idols). This relationship should have ended right there. But God had other plans. 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 ...

What do singing love songs and prophesying have in common? People love to hear hear both and then walk away and ignore them. People love the poetry, deep meaning and the great voices in a love song, but few are committed to the hard practices of love. Similarly, people love to go to church and hear a beautiful sermon, but few are willing to put the principles exposed by the preacher into practice. "What a nice sermon" is often heard after a Sunday message, but many people return to their sinful practices and attitudes on Monday. God told Ezekiel that this is what the people were doing after his messages: My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. 32 Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put th...

Ezekiel was a Jewish prophet in Babylon. As a young man of about 25 years old he was uprooted from his homeland in Israel and taken captive to a town by the River Chebar in Babylon. From there God gave him a mission to preach to his fellow captives in Babylon, to send prophetic messages to the Jews that were left in Israel, and to prophecy against other nations for their wicked behavior. One concept rings out throughout the book: That "they will know that I am the Sovereign LORD" Ezekiel 28:24 Over 50 times in his book, Ezekiel writes this phrase or a similar one. God has always wanted the people of the world to know him and to worship Him - the one and only true God. Today, we have been given the same mission as Ezekiel. Our geographic location might be different, our methods are different, but the bottom line is the same - that the people might know that God is "the Sovereign LORD". Our mission is the Great Commission - to preach the gospel to all creation. Let...