Praise the LORD, O my soul;

All my inmost being, praise His holy Name.

Praise the LORD, O my soul,

And forget not all His benefits –

Who forgives all your sins

And heals all your diseases,

Who redeems your life from the pit

And crowns you with love and compassion…

The LORD is compassionate and gracious,

Slow to anger and abounding in love.

He will not always accuse,

Nor will He harbor His anger forever;

He does not treat us as our sins deserve

Or repay us according to our iniquities.

 

For as high as the heavens are

Above the earth,

So great is His love for those who fear Him;

As far as the east is from the west,

So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

 

As a father has compassion on His children,

So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him…

 

Praise the LORD, O my soul.

Have you ever felt led to do something and couldn’t see the immediate reason why in front of your face?

 

This is how I feel about continuing on in Hosea.  Maybe in a few years I’ll know why I feel like He won’t let me off the hook.  Maybe I’ll never know.

Let’s dive in together…

 

“Don’t point your finger at someone else

and try to pass the blame!

My complaint, you priests,

is with you…

When the people bring their sin offerings, the priests get fed.

So the priests are glad when the people sin!”  (Hosea 4:4, 8)

 

I don’t know any Israelite priests, but I have known many pastors.  Pastors who genuinely love Jesus and desire to lead their people well.  I can honestly say that knowing each of them has shed light on our Savior in a unique way and enriched my walk with Him.  I am so grateful.

 

I have also had so many kind, beautiful-hearted women invest in me.  Women who loved me when I wasn’t lovable and challenged me to keep seeking Him.  Women who have cried with me and prayed with me and been honest with me when honesty was what I needed.

 

I say all that because I want to make sure and say I have no bitterness in my heart at any spiritual leaders that have ever been a part of my life.  Not only that, but in a way that freaks me out, I have some women I get to invest in and for whom I will have to answer to God.  And I would have no room to throw stones.

 

But I also know that if I am going to do the book of Hosea justice, I cannot ignore what God tells us in these verses, some that follow, and in chapter 5:

 

Leadership is serious business.

 

And spiritual leadership is a huge responsibility before God.

 

But let’s back up a smidge on the meaning of verses 4 and 8.

 

Leviticus 6:24-27 says:

 

“Then the Lord said to Moses,

‘Give Aaron and his sons the following instructions regarding the sin offering.

The animal given as an offering for sin is a most holy offering, and it must be slaughtered in the Lord’s presence at the place where the burnt offerings are slaughtered.  The priest who offers the sacrifice as a sin offering must eat his portion in a sacred place within the courtyard of the Tabernacle.  Anyone or anything that touches the sacrificial meat will become holy.'”

Israel’s sacrificial system had incredibly detailed instructions.  It was most holy because Yahweh wanted His people to take it seriously.

So you can see why He would be upset if His priests were not treating their position with the care it deserved.  The priests were the ones who ate part of the sin offering.  They were getting to eat choice meat.  And so they were “glad when the people sinned.”

How that must have broken His heart!  Not only were His people sinning, but those who were the mediators were happy about it.

Or as a friend put it, “It is one thing to hurt my feelings…it’s another to enjoy hurting my feelings.”

 

And the unfortunate result:

“And what the priests do, the people also do.” (Hosea 4:9 NLT)

 

Leading is intimidating.  Many days I want to run and hide from it.

 

But the beauty of spiritual leadership is we are under Him.  His blood covers us. His grace cleanses shame or fear or pride or anger.  He makes us new, day by day.

 

And, as always, most beautiful of all is that we’re not the Ultimate Leader.  We point to Someone Else and get to be those broken clay pots that prove – over and over – the all-surpassing greatness will never be us.

 

It is Him.

 

Let’s keep pointing to Him.

 

There are two more verses I want to focus on.  Verse 16 in chapter 4 and verse 15 in chapter 5.

 

But first let’s chat about chapter 5.  It opens with this:

 

“Hear this, you priests.
    Pay attention, you leaders of Israel.
Listen, you members of the royal family.
    Judgment has been handed down against you.
For you have led the people into a snare
    by worshiping the idols at Mizpah and Tabor.” (Hosea 5:1 NLT)

 

If chapter 4 hit the priests hard, chapter 5 includes the other leaders: the royalty and the government.

 

Likewise, maybe we’re not designated spiritual leaders.  But we all have a realm where our effective will is done.  We all have influence.

 

And even more, if we are Believers then we are spiritual leaders.  We may not be Levitical priests, but we are a chosen people and a royal priesthood.  Those around will be looking at us to see what God is like.  Is He real?  Present?  Does He care?  Change us? Make our lives worth living?

 

And Who is this Jesus?  Most people who read the gospels are drawn to Him.  He’s not what one would think God would be like if He were to walk around on planet earth with us.

 

He’s so much better than our expectations.

 

Can we show the world this, Believers?  Through the power of the Spirit of the Living God within us, can we show them that the God of the Universe, in Jesus the Nazarene, is so much better than their expectations?

 

Okay, let’s get down to those two verses I mentioned:

 

“The people of Israel are as stubborn as mules. How can I feed them like lambs in a meadow?”  (Hosea 4:16 GNT)

 

…and…

 

“They will seek my face; in their misery they will earnestly seek me.”  (Hosea 5:15b NIV)

 

 

Can I ask you something?  Have you ever had to rebuke someone?  Did you enjoy it?  Look forward to it?

 

Or did you throw up?  Shake with dread but obey anyway?

 

Can I suggest something?  I think there are a lot of verses that point to how God doesn’t enjoy rebuking His people.

 

Did you see why He’s calling them stubborn mules?  It’s because He wants to feed them like lambs in a meadow.

 

And when He brings the misery of their sin upon them?  So they will turn and earnestly seek His face.

 

He is a Good Father.  His discipline is not out of meanness but His love.

 

It seems to me that the goal of our Just King is not destruction, but restoration.

 

Even Jesus, in His righteous anger, cried out:

 

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.” (Matthew 23:37)

 

God insists on His ways because He knows they are for our good.

 

And He really, really loves us.

A psalm.  For giving thanks.

 

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

Worship the LORD with gladness;

Come before Him with joyful songs.

Know that the LORD is God.

It is He who made us, and we are His;

We are His people, the sheep of His pasture…

 

For the LORD is good and His

Love endures forever;

His faithfulness continues

Through all generations.

The junk is going around and our oldest caught at least some of it.  When his fever didn’t break during the night, we made the necessary plans to rearrange the day.

I called the carpool friend.

I called our friend who hangs with little one while I teach my seniors.

I called a sub for said class.

I called my boss and alerted her of the changes.

 

Around 10:30 I get a call…

 

Your child has an unexcused absence.

 

I knew I forgot something.

Have you ever heard of prayer walking?  If you have, this might be old hat.  If not, I’d love to chat!

 

 

I had the privilege of learning alongside a fellow student in college in matters of prayer.  We had used Praying God’s Word in our personal lives.  We both loved the concept of praying His Words back to Him.  So we decided to use it in prayer walks as well.

 

Prayer walking was all so new to me when I first heard of it.  The best description is that it’s praying “on site with insight.”

 

So we started on our college campus.  What would it look like to pray on site with insight there?

 

For us, it meant many things.  As we would walk by the school of business, we would pray for professors we’d had there.  For students to know Him and use their future professions for His glory and others’ good.

 

When we passed a group of international students, we would ask they would know Jesus in an intimate way.  And if they were only studying here and would return to their home country, that they would be influential for the Kingdom in their families and relationships.

 

See what I mean?  We were on the campus site and could therefore pray for what was immediately in front of us. And if there was nothing in particular, we would pray a verse and ask for the Truth of it to be true in the people of our university.

 

What does that sound like to you?  A little crazy?  The nice thing is, it just looked like she and I were chatting.

Eyes were open as we walked.  No laying on of hands to complete strangers.  Just the two of us walking and talking.  To Jesus.

 

Have you ever prayer walked before?  I’d love to hear where and any stories.

 

If this is kinda new, what do you think?  Would you ever try it?

Sing to the LORD a new song;

Sing to the LORD, praise His name;

Proclaim His salvation day after day.

Declare His glory among the nations,

His marvelous deeds among all peoples…

 

Splendor and majesty are before Him;

Strength and glory are in His sanctuary…

 

 

Welp.  Here’s where I would like to remind you this book is killing me.  And at times I would prefer to move on to a nicer one.

 

However, obedience seems to be pretty important to God.

 

So…let’s dive in together.

 

“Hear the word of the LORD, O people of Israel!

The LORD has brought charges against you, saying:

 

‘There is no faithfulness, no kindness,

No knowledge of God in your land.

 

You make vows and break them;

You kill and steal and commit adultery.

There is violence everywhere –

one murder after another.”

(Hosea 4:1-2 NLT)

 

We are now moving from Gomer’s story line to Israel’s.

 

And God begins with heart conditions and spiritual violations in His people.

 

In other words?  Demolition from the inside out.

 

You are not faithful.

You are not kind.

You don’t know Me.

 

Jesus often talked about fruit.  The fruit indicates the type of tree (Luke 6), if we fall to the ground and die, we will produce much fruit (John 12), and we can produce no fruit without being connected to the Vine (John 15).

 

And Paul tells us the Fruit of the Spirit consists of character beauties, fruit of our internal life with Him (Galatians 5).

 

What we do flows from who we are.  If we are not connected to God, not faithful to Him or others, and not kind…other sins are not going to seem like that big of a deal.

 

We have a heart that is hardened to sin.

 

Just a few days ago I shared with some ladies an area where the people I love are regularly bringing me back to truth.  My history in this area does not allow me the luxury of trusting my heart.  I need others.

 

How bout you?  Any areas like this in your heart?

 

Okay.  Deep breath.  Let’s dig into what happens when we have sin-hardened hearts:

 

“You make vows and break them;

You kill and steal and commit adultery.

There is violence everywhere –

one murder after another.”

 

Looking at this list, I keep coming back to trust.  When we cannot trust another’s word, their vow, we naturally protect ourselves from them.

 

When we kill or steal or commit adultery, others are violated.  Taking someone’s life or possessions or spouse completely dishonors them.  There is no room for trust.

 

“Violence everywhere –  one murder after another.”

 

Remember Jesus talking about murder?

 

“You know that our ancestors were told, ‘Do not murder’ and ‘A murderer must be brought to trial.’

 

But I promise you that if you are angry with someone, you will have to stand trial.

If you call someone a fool, you will be taken to court.

And if you say that someone is worthless, you will be in danger of the fires of hell.

 

So if you are about to place your gift on the altar and remember that someone is angry with you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. Make peace with that person, then come back and offer your gift to God.”  (Matthew 5:21-24 CEV)

 

Jesus meant it when He said we are to love one another.

 

We are Image Bearers.  All of us.  Even that person who disagrees with you.  Especially the one who is your enemy.

 

We will not truly love each other from the heart on our own strength.  We’re all far too selfish.  His agape love in us must take over.  In order for that to happen, we must train.

 

We yield.

 

We clothe ourselves intentionally with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

 

We ask Him to help us love our neighbor as ourselves in His strength.

 

 

We make room in our lives for that inside out demolition.

 

The LORD reigns, he is robed in majesty;

The LORD is robed in majesty

And is armed with strength.

 

Your throne was established long ago;

You are from all eternity.

 

Mightier than the thunder of the great waters,

Mightier than the breakers of the sea –

The LORD on high is mighty.

 

Modern Mrs Darcy is sharing Winter Survival Strategies.  I’m jumping in!

 

Things making me happy right now…

 

My space heater.  Knowing this and my Bible are waiting for me at my chair helps me get up when it’s dark.

 

Memorizing God’s Word.  I’m having my small group hold me accountable and also linking up twice a month at the Living Proof Blog.

 

Vitamins B and D.  Friends, no joke.  Try them.  Life changer.  Or at least energy changer.

 

New multi-purpose journal.  It goes pretty much everywhere with me these days.  I’m using it for goals, meeting notes, brain dumps and, well, a bunch of other stuff.  It’s not my planner but it’s pretty much everything else.

 

Under Kid Stuff:

Our new Kids’ Devotional.  It’s deep.

 

 

When these two spontaneously do this.

 

Big One’s story.  He even took the photo himself.

 

New games from Christmas.  Sequence and Doodle Dice.  Both have their charms.

 

Our favorite Kid Snippets video.  The boys quote it all the time.  “And one more…”

 

Under the category of Complete Vanity:

They say the brush matters.  It really does.  e.l.f. is a-mazing and super cheap, too!

I wrote about this CC Cream before.  Well, the right amount of un-budgeted money fell in my lap.  To say that it has changed my life would be…well…a gross exaggeration.  But I do love it and my skin feels much softer!

 

This little display in our room.  It includes a selfie from our first official date (like the bangs?), a wedding, graduation and recent picture.  Plus pressed flowers from our wedding, courtesy of a sweet friend.  It makes me smile to think on our years when I glance at it.

 

The bottom line is, of course, the same: Jesus, my family, and my community.  They keep me sane and make me happy.  Winter or summer.

 

Anything making you happy or helping you cope with the cold?  We’re halfway through winter, friends!

 

I’ve gotten to share with others quite a bit recently some verses that mean so much to me.  When our hearts betray us or circumstances make us doubt, particularly at weak times or at the beginning stages of our journey with Him, we can struggle to wonder…

…if He cares

…if we aren’t doing things “right”

…if we are truly His

 

 

“But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:31)

 

“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God…”

(John 1:12)

 

“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”  (Jesus in John 5:24)

 

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” (Jesus in John 10:27-29)

 

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.  Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession – to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:13, 14)

 

He is so beautiful.

 

He has done it all.

 

We believe.  He makes us His.  We stumble.  He holds on.  Others attack.  He won’t let us be snatched.  We repent.  He seals us.

 

He is our Salvation.

 

These are my go-to verses on this subject.  Do you have any?  Have you ever struggled with doubt?  In what ways have His Word and His Spirit reassured you?