Friday
Israel’s punishment is harsh, but their sins are much worse. To turn your back on God and all he has given is so insulting to God and then to make idols to worship in His place is so outrageous and wicked. We think that the Israelites are so stupid in not grasping all God has done for them, but ask yourself – are you any different? Do you love God with ALL your heart? Do you put God first in your life? We may not worship golden calves, but we have our own idols that we worship. Things like cell phones. Ask yourself, could you go a week without it? Could you go a day without checking any of your electronic devices? What about TV? Or your family? Are you putting your family before God? That’s a tough one, because our families are so very important. How about church activities? That one may sound strange too, but we can become so involved in the busyness of church work that we neglect our spiritual life, our time alone with Jesus.
Well, praise God there is good news at the end of our reading, because I was getting very depressed thinking about how many times I’ve failed Christ. But God loves us so much that He is willing to forgive our past actions if we only return to Him. “Return, O Israel to the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall! Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to him: ‘Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips.’” (14:1-2) When we recognize our sins and ask for forgiveness, this is God’s reply to us. “I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them.” God provides a way for us to come back into fellowship with Him, and that is through the shed blood of Jesus. It is through Jesus and Him alone that we have the power to have our sins cancelled. It is good for us to know that God will forgive all our sins, even when we think we have gone beyond hope of that ever happening. But we also do well to know the other side of justice – that God requires our obedience to Him and Him alone – He is a jealous God and loves us with the passion of a Husband for his bride. The question we need to ask, are we totally faithful to our Groom?
Shalom
Pastor Kathy