I have decided to return in my Bible reading for a little while to the minor prophets. Yesterday I read Hosea and it struck me powerfully. This section of the Bible is often overlooked. Hosea is a small book tucked away in the part of the Bible that isn’t read in Sunday School. However, Hosea has one of the most powerful testimonies of any biblical character. Here we have a man who was told by God to go out and marry a prostitute, because Israel had committed prostitution against God. That’s pretty rough. It doesn’t end there; even after Hosea’s wife leaves him to go pursue other lovers, God calls him to go and buy her back; sound familiar? The prostitution that Israel was guilty of committing against God was idolatry. I refer you back to another post, Idols Named Jesus, to figure out what this means today. I would like to take a look at two powerful passages from Hosea, keeping in mind the context of what God has commanded Hosea to do. (more…)

I have a confession to make. God has recently revealed to me me an area in which I need to become more broken. God wants all of me and this includes my mind. He has shown me that the God I talk about in class and the God I talk to are not quite the same. I have tried to fit him into my systematic ideas about him. Worst of all, I have talked to people as if I know something. I care more about being right than helping others see God. I pray that God would truly break me in each of these areas. I want to be able to search out the deeper things of his character that he wishes to show me instead of creating my own philosophical God that fits with my system. It is time to hand my philosophy of God over to God himself. (more…)