Living by Trust Amid National Tragedy
Dear Friends of North Wake I'm writing this just days after a man murdered many children in a school in my country and a week after another man murdered grocery shoppers elsewhere in my country. This is also the week a report revealed that men in leadership roles in churches connected to ours assaulted hundreds of women and children. To add to the horror, an organization that should have been at the forefront of making churches a safe place evidently did little to stop the evil and even protected the abusers. This sorrowful news comes in years after other murders, some by a man who claims to read the
Cool, Tough, and Tender: God Reaches Out (in Hosea)
Parents often have to decide how to relate to their children; we don't relate to a toddler the same way we relate to a teenager. We need wisdom for every situation. There are three main ways we might handle problems that arise with our kids. One option is to give them some space and hope they figure it out on their own. Another tactic might be to be firm with them, ensuring that they feel the unpleasant consequences or to inflict punishment (after much prayer!) Thirdly, as we see them struggling, our hearts go out in compassion for them to
The Heartbreak of Betrayal
As we come closer to the end of Hosea, I can’t help but read Hosea 11 and get a sense of broken-hearted betrayal. When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. The more they were called, the more they went away Many of us are from families that are broken in some way. Parents are divorced; siblings have left the fold; parents have abandoned us; children have walked away. Maybe we have been deeply wronged by a friend or a spouse. It seems there is no end to the betrayal
When Scripture Makes You Scared
I am listening to Hosea 7:8-10:15 over and over as I prepare this blog. It is not easy listening. Chapter 9: 15-17 “Because of all their wickedness in Gilgal, I hated them there. Because of their sinful deeds, I will drive them out of my house. I will no longer love them; all their leaders are rebellious. Ephraim is blighted, their root is withered, they yield no fruit. Even if they bear children, I will slay their cherished offspring.” My God will reject them because they have not obeyed him; they will be wanderers among the nations. Sometimes God
God and gods
Read: Hosea 4:1-7:7 Imagine a lady named Linda who works at her desk in her office 12 hours a day and sometimes weekends. Her husband and kids barely see her. She takes calls on weekends that get her up from the dinner table or cause her to walk out of the room at birthday parties. She takes her laptop to her daughter’s soccer games and hands out business cards at her son’s plays. She gets paid very well and reminds people of it often — especially when they tell her she works too much. Imagine a man named Jeffrey who
Hosea Resources
Here are some helpful resources as you study along with our Hosea study on Sunday mornings: Online Resources: The Bible Project - an overview of the book. The Gospel Coalition - online courses full of useful resources and insights. The Hosea Love Story Videos - a dramatized retelling of Hosea and Gomer’s story. These are tastefully done, but the story line is pretty provocative! Good for small group interactions! Click HERE for the link. Commentaries: I have found the commentaries by David Hubbard (Tyndale Old Testament) Gary Smith (NIV Application series) and Duane Garrett (New American Commentary) to all be helpful.
Crazy Love
Read: Hosea 2:14-3:5 I met my wife in middle school. She was hot and I was a hormonal preteen who did not know Jesus. There were a lot of us in my public middle school and looking back on those days makes me cringe. We would objectify our female classmates as things to be conquered and enjoyed; after all, this was the message that movies and pop culture fed us and the impulses that our flesh affirmed. There are many fond and good memories from my middle school and early high school years, but there are also many regrets. Then
Astounded by Darkness and Mercy – Hosea 1-2
God sent the prophet Hosea to Israel at a critical point in history before the Assyrians overran the nation. I find the message both incredibly uncomfortable and overwhelmingly reassuring. The book of Hosea shows the hard truth that my wandering from God amounts to adultery and prostitution. Through the dark night of ugly reality shines this extreme goodness of God like a sudden bonfire: He brings restoration in spite of my unfaithful misery. Read the commission God gave to His prophet Hosea. Hosea 1:2-6 (ESV) When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, "Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of
Attention to Detail
Have you ever noticed the attention to detail that a bride gives to her wedding? From the hair, to the dress, to the nails, to the shoes, to the very aisle she walks down, nothing escapes the eye of the bride as she sets everything in motion. She wants it to be just right for the moment that she is joined with her groom. Have you ever considered that this preparation and attention to detail is Biblical? Revelation 19 records these words for us: Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar
Biblical Geology 101
Let’s talk about rocks. My husband loves rocks—geodes, quartz, obsidian, sandstone, lapis lazuli—and a host of others you probably have never heard of. He studied them in college. He points them out on our walks. He loves a gem mine or a gem show. Recently he purchased a rock that can only be found in a certain mine in Spain. You could definitely say rocks are one of his favorite things. Rocks are a pretty big deal in the Bible, too. There are at least 99 references to rocks (or stones) in Scripture. God wrote His laws on stone tablets.
