People of Israel, listen to the LORD's message. The LORD has this against you who live in the land: "The people are not true, not loyal to God, nor do those who live in the land even know him. Cursing, lying, killing, stealing and adultery are everywhere. One murder follows another. Because of this the land dries up, and all its people are dying. Even the wild animals and the birds of the air and the fish of the sea are dying. No one should accuse or blame another person. Don't blame the people, you priests, when they quarrel with you. You will be ruined in the day, and your prophets will be ruined with you in the night. I will also destroy your mother. My people will be destroyed, because they have no knowledge. You have refused to learn, so I will refuse to let you be priests to me. You have forgotten the teachings of your God, so I will forget your children (Hosea 4:1-6- New Century Version).
I was reading the book of Hosea during my personal time with the Lord today. And this verse seemed to stare at me again. We in America have been blessed due to our forefather’s honor of God and His moral laws. Our system of government was based upon the ethics of the Ten Commandments. Sure, not everyone involved in leading our nation has been godly, but enough have been that there has been a defining influence of godliness here. And we live in relative opulence and prosperity as no other people have because of the light of the gospel that has been here.
God asked the prophet Hosea to marry a prostitute and to remain faithful to her while she committed adultery. His life was to be an example of the way backslidden Israel treated God.
Israel lost God’s promised blessings due to their disobedience. Slowly the Lord removed His protective hand from their nation and the enemy came to wreck havoc. It was all due to their choices to sin. In the above verses you see that even the land and the animals were affected by the sins of the people.
Are the fires, floods, droughts, severe weather, and national and international problems that are rising in our land due to our national attitude as a whole towards God and His Word? No, God doesn’t bring hurtful things to His people. But disobedient living hinders God’s hand of blessing, and gives the enemy opportunity to steal, kill, and destroy. God has no choice but to back away from sin and disobedience. The results is calamity after calamity coming in due to His removal of protection as He is forced to back away the choice of the people.
Let’s hit our knees daily in prayer for our nation. God’s people went into captivity right along with the rest of Israel when the Babylonians removed them from their land. Yes, God protected and made provision for His own during these times of national disobedience, but the results affected everyone, God’s folk as well as unbelievers.
We need to be aware that if we as the church don’t rise to the occasion and live for God and be the salt and light He’s destined us to be, then the end results of national disobedience will affect us and our children right along with the unbelievers. Yes, God will make an ark for us, but the land will be affected, lifestyle will change, and we’ll be living in in a lesser condition instead of the peace and prosperity we have now.
Friday, July 11, 2008
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Pastor, so true and so eye opening. I want my life to be a living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto the Lord and I notice that as of late, it is almost impossible to walk in that way without daily reading of the Word and in constant commune with our God. The testings are harder, the trials, more severe and sometimes I can feel almost hopeless and exhausted at the end of the day. Thank God for the body of Christ, His Word and your faithfulness to your calling. We need to be on our knees more at this time than ever.
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