A Bitter Satire

Reading:  Hosea 1 -3
My Verse:  "And I will have mercy on No Mercy,
                       and I will say to Not My People, 
                       'You are my people';
                       and he shall say, 'You are my God'" (Hosea 2:23)

When I first read this book I was appalled at it - at the imagery.  I did not get it.  It seemed way too harsh and awful.  The bitter and sharp satire was beyond my ability to fully grasp at that time.  I now do get the idea, the theme of it, mostly.  Even yet it seems a most awful thing that You, LORD God would  require of a man - that he marry a women known for her whoring.  What makes this so distasteful is that she, Gomer, chose to do this not because she needed to but because she wanted to.

So much in the Bible is unlovely, but that is because we are so very unlovely.  We so often choose to do that which is not within Your precepts, LORD God.  And anything that is not within Your precepts is by its very nature mean and small and wayward.

Your chosen people, Israel, were often so very wayward that you chose to provide them with a vivid illustration to portray to them what they were doing.  You told Hosea.

"Go again, love a woman 
   who is loved by another man and is an adulteress,
   even as the LORD loves the children of Israel,
   though they turn to other gods and 
   love cakes of raisins"  (Hosea 3:1).

This verse makes me feel  sad because it so aptly describes us.  We just don't get it.  We don't want to get it - to realize how very base and unlovely we are.  We constantly look for excuses for ourselves for why we go astray, when the simple truth is we do so because we want to - just like Gomer. We choose to be satisfied with such paltry, base and pitiful things - things that can never really satisfy.  As CS Lewis stated.

"We are half-hearted creatures,
   fooling about with drink,
   and sex and ambition,
   when infinite joy is offered us."

And yet, this book is a most wonderful illustration of how very much You love us.  How very much You are willing to forgive us.  No sin is too great that You, LORD God, cannot wipe it away so completely that You make us new people with new hearts.  You are able to transform the most wayward of us.  You can bring us to the point where we can say "You are my God."

Thank You, LORD God, for Your mercy and grace.  Thank you for this book of Hosea that reminds me of that.  I will never fully understand the hows of this amazing love and mercy.  I can only accept it with humility and thankfulness.

How Can it Be by Lauren Dangle

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

Our Names Written in the Book! Or not!

Reading:  Daniel 12
My Verse:  "But at that time your people shall be delivered,
                    everyone whose name shall be found 
                    written in the book." (Daniel 12:1).

This has always simply fascinated me.  That You, LORD God, keep a written record of us!  This idea that You record our doings, LORD God!  What an amazing book that must be.   There are many references throughout the Bible to this amazing activity of our names and lives being recorded in a written form in this Book of Life.

"You have taken account of my wanderings;
  Put my tears in Your bottle.
  Are they not in Your book?" (Psalm 56:8)

"Nevertheless do not rejoice in this,
 that the spirits are subject to you,
 but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven" (Luke 10:20).

"Indeed, true companion, I ask you also to help these women
 who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel,
 together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers,
 whose names are in the book of life"  (Philippians 4:3).

"He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments;
 and I will not erase his name from the book of life,
 and I will confess his name before MY Father and before His angels" (Revelation 3:5).

"and nothing unclean, 
 and no one who practices abominations and lying,
 shall ever come into it [heaven],
 but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life" (Revelation 21:27).

"Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another,
 and the LORD gave attention and heard it,
 and a book of remembrance was written before Him 
 for those who fear the LORD
 and who esteem His name" (Malachi 3:16).

"Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
   And in Your book were all written,
   the days that were ordained for me,
   When as yet there was not one of them" (Psalm 139:16).

Sadly, there are also references to the blotting out of names.

". . . and I will not erase his name from the book of life . . . (Revelation 3:5).

"Then Moses returned to the LORD, and said,
"Alas, this people has committed a great sin,
 and they have made a god of gold for themselves,
"But now, if You will, forgive their sin-and if not,
please blot me out from Your book which You have written!

The Lord said to Moses,
   "Whoever has sinned against Me,
     I will blot him out of My book" (Exodus 32:31-33).

"Add iniquity to their iniquity,
   And may they not come into Your righteousness.
   May they be blotted out of the book of life.
   And may they not be recorded with the righteous" (Psalm 69:27-28).

And finally that very disturbing verse that says what happens to those whose name
gets blotted out!!

 "And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life,
      he was thrown into the lake of fire"  (Revelation 20:15).

Thank You, LORD God, for the written word, most especially for this Your WORD, the Bible!
We can read it, study it, commune with You through it and learn how to be prepared for that day when our Risen LORD Jesus returns as He has promised for those of us whose names are written in that great Book!

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

Behold, It Comes!

Reading:  Daniel 7 -11
My Verse:   "And my eye will not spare you,
                        nor will I have pity,
                        but I will punish you for your ways,
                        while your abominations are in your midst.

                     Then you will know that I am the LORD" (Ezekiel 7:4).

These chapters speak of inevitable judgement for those who refuse to acknowledge their sin and turn to You, LORD God.  So much of the Bible speaks of your great love and mercy and yet, for the many who refuse to accept the fact of Jesus's sacrifice, they will have to answer and pay for their own sins.  This punishment will come.

Easter, that most wonderful of holidays has just passed.  I was rather amazed at the people that proclaimed "He is risen!"  in the media.  What do they mean when they say that?  It is nice to see anytime someone proclaims Jesus as the living God, I just wonder at it.

I ran across this most wonderful verse that never really stood out to me before.

"May the LORD direct your hearts
   to the love of God
   and the steadfastness of Christ"  (2 Thessalonians 3:5).

I found it while reading John Piper.  He pointed out how we so need this.  For we cannot live the very difficult life of a follower of Christ on our own.  We need divine intervention throughout our days, especially when the going gets tough - as it so often does!

We need out hearts to be directed by You,  LORD God!
We need You to direct our hearts to Your massive, all embracing LOVE!
We need You to direct our hearts to that steadfastness of Jesus Christ, our LORD and Savior!

In order for You to direct my heart I need to be in Your Word - often!  When things get difficult I need to be in Your word even more often!  I love to take time each day to meditate on the Psalms.  They are a balm to my entire being.

Your Word was written to encourage me, to give me hope.

"Whatever was written in former days
     was written for our instruction,
     that through endurance and
     through the encouragement of the scriptures
     we might have hope"   (Romans 15:4).

And I need to pray.  You tell us to cry out to you when we are in need.

Like the blind beggar, Bartimaeus, cried out to Jesus for physical healing.

"He called out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  (Luke 18:38).

Like King David cried out to You, LORD God, for mercy and healing of his spirit.

"Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am pining away;
  Heal me, O LORD for my bones are dismayed"  (Psalm 6:2).

"Have mercy upon me O God,
    according to thy lovingkindness;
    according to the multitude of thy tender mercies 
    blot out my transgressions"  (Psalm 51:1).

Sin requires a payment.  Either we pay for our own sins or accept that most incredible gift of the payment Jesus made for us by the shedding of his own blood.

The choice is ours.  Judgement day is coming and we will be required to make an accounting of ourselves.

Oh, LORD God, thank you for this reminder.  As always you do not leave us with only doom and damnation to look forward to.  Always there is the hope of redemption.  You tell us in chapter 11, verse 19.

"And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them.
  I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh 
  and give them a heart of flesh,
  that they many walk in my statutes and
  keep my rules
  and obey them."

Just like You did for King Nebuchanezzar!  And for all those willing to let go of pride and humbly accept Your wondrous gift of salvation.  We do not need to dread judgement day.

You, LORD God, will give us a new heart!

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

A Disciplined Life

Reading: Daniel 6
My Verse:  "When Daniel knew that the document had been signed,
                        he went to his house where he had windows 
                        in his upper chamber open towards Jerusalem.

                    He got down on his knees three times a day
                       and prayed and gave thanks before his God,
                       as he had done previously" (Daniel 6:10).

Who does not love the story of Daniel and the Lions's Den?  It is a most wonderful illustration of Your greatness and love for Your own, LORD God.  I learn so much from this story every time I read it.  Today, what stands out to me is how disciplined Daniel is.  He did not let the schemes of his enemies sway him from his disciplined life of prayer.

It makes me realize how woefully lacking I am in this area.  It doesn't seem to take much to get me out of my habit of daily prayer and worship.  The tyranny of the urgent gets me every time!

This is an area that is definitely challenging for me and I have had to learn with your gracious help, LORD God!  I am constantly reminding myself of 2 Timothy 1:7.

"For God gave us a spirit not of fear
     but of power 
     and love
     and self-control."

This is what you give us LORD God if we ask it.  Daniel prayed three times a day.  He did it because it was what got him through the many challenges required of him.  And it was so very obvious in his life, so obvious that others recognized it.

"Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps,
   because an excellent spirit was in him.
And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom"  (Daniel 6:3).

While Daniel had distinguished himself before previous kings, he also did before this new king.  It was seen that Daniel always did what was right and good for the kingdom.  He, Daniel, was steadfast, dependable, wise and sure in all that he did in his job.

He did not let the politics and schemes of his enemies sway him, even though his life was threatened.

So inspiring!  LORD God, lead "me in paths of righteousness"  that I may honor you in how I live my life.

I read this wonderful article on this verse some time ago and have forgotten the source but it spoke of how righteousness is a true inner goodness, rightness.  It represents a combination of skill, wisdom, power, and steadfastness for good that makes it very attractive.  Righteousness is the deepest sort of attractive way of being/living.  To be a good and true person reflects that goodness and truth of our LORD and savior, Jesus Christ.  I love it and want so much for that.  This is what Daniel did - he reflected You, LORD God in the way he lived.

A disciplined life does not sound attractive but it is the most attractive way of being as it is what enables me to walk those wonderful paths of righteousness that You lead me on LORD God.

Thank you for the disciplined life of Daniel.

Ditat Deus - God Enriches!

Numbered Numbered Weighed and Divided!

Reading:  Daniel 5
My Verse:  "He was fed grass like an ox,
                         and his body was wet with the dew of heaven,
                         until he knew that the Most High God 
                         rules the kingdom of mankind 
                         and sets over it whom He will.

                     And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart,
                          though you knew all this,
                          you have lifted up yourself against the LORD of heaven"
                                                                                            (Daniel 5:21-22)

LORD God of heaven You are not to be mocked!  You will not let man go on forever in his wayward way.  We each of us will answer for our sins if we do not humble our hearts and acknowledge You as LORD of our lives!  We each of us will be Numbered Numbered Weighed  and Divided!

The most telling phrase in this passage is "though you knew all this."

King Nebuchadnezzar's humbling and acknowledgment of You, LORD was very public.  So it is interesting that Daniel seems to have been forgotten and the Queen Mother had to step in and remind the king of him.  It is also interesting that the other "wise men of Babylon" did not refer to Daniel.
Does this speak to how very quickly we forget You, LORD God?  How very quickly we shut You out because we want to indulge our selfish base desires?

It has been alarming to watch our society sway away from Your precepts, LORD God.  A verse I love and have tried to keep foremost in my mind is Ephesians 4:29.

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths,
     but only such as is good for building up,
     as fits the occasion,
     that it may give grace to those who hear."

I understand the need for us to be honest with one another but the way our speech has degenerated is truly sad and certainly does not follow the direction of this verse.  It has become popular to swear.  Many terms once considered rude have become part of common language, used in almost all speech.  Even those in public leadership positions have begun to use foul language or speak in rude ways.

This is just one of the societal trends that sway from Your precepts, LORD God.  How sad that we find the need to follow societal trends like this.  We march lock step in these patterns of behavior because we are so immersed in it through the media and  society at large.

This is why I love the story of Daniel and his friends.  They show how it is possible to live within an ungodly society and still hold to You and Your truths.  And they did not hide away.  They were put into positions of leadership but were still able to live noble and honorable lives.

You, LORD God, tell us,
   "You are the salt of the earth." (Matthew 5:13)
   "You are the light of the world."  (Matthew 5:14)

You tell us that we are to live intentional, purposeful lives.
     "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and
           and with all your soul and with all your might" (Deuteronomy 6:5).

     ". . . pray without ceasing . . ." (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

You tell us we are to protect our personal integrity.

     "Do all things without grumbling or disputing,
          that you may be blameless and innocent,
          children of God without blemish in the midst of a 
          crooked and twisted generation,
          among whom you shine as lights in the world"  (Philippians 2:14-15).

      "But be doers of the word,
            and not hearers only,
            deceiving yourselves" (James 1:22).

You tell us we are to strive to be sinless.

     "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body,
          to make you obey its passions.
          Do not present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness,
          but present yourselves to God as those 
          who have been brought from death to live,
          and your members to God as instruments for righteousness . . .

     Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good"
                                                             (Romans 6:12-13, 12:9).

Thank you for this amazing story of Your power and love!

Thank You, LORD God, for the example of men such as Daniel.  We need so often to be reminded to hold to You and Your truths or we too will be "numbered,  numbered, weighed and divided!"

Didat Deus - God Enriches!