Faithful Love: Week 6, Friday — The Embrace of God’s Love

Posted on June 4, 2021June 2, 2021 by

Read: Hosea 14:4-9; 1 Corinthians 1:25 and James 3:17; SOAP: Hosea 14:9

Hosea 14:4-9

The Lord says, “Then I will heal you of your faithlessness; my love will know no bounds, for my anger will be gone forever. ⁵I will be to Israel like a refreshing dew from heaven. Israel will blossom like the lily; it will send roots deep into the soil like the cedars in Lebanon. ⁶Its branches will spread out like beautiful olive trees, as fragrant as the cedars of Lebanon. ⁷My people will again live under my shade. They will flourish like grain and blossom like grapevines. They will be as fragrant as the wines of Lebanon. ⁸“O Israel, stay away from idols! I am the one who answers your prayers and cares for you. I am like a tree that is always green; all your fruit comes from me.” ⁹Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those with discernment listen carefully. The paths of the Lord are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them. But in those paths, sinners stumble and fall.

1 Corinthians 1:25

This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.

James 3:17

But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace-loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.

I want to be a wise woman. And I know that the only way of being wise is through knowing and living God´s Word every single day.
Read the Full Devotional

Type AMEN in the comment bar if you agree with the above quote.

Faithful Love: Week 6, Thursday — It’s Never Too Late

Posted on June 3, 2021June 2, 2021 by

READ: HOSEA 14:1-3, NEHEMIAH 1:9, and 2 PETER 3:9; SOAP: HOSEA 14:2

Hosea 14:1-3

Healing for the RepentantReturn, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for your sins have brought you down. ²Bring your confessions, and return to the Lord. Say to him, “Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us, so that we may offer you our praises. ³Assyria cannot save us, nor can our warhorses. Never again will we say to the idols we have made, ‘You are our gods.’ No, in you alone do the orphans find mercy.”

Nehemiah 1:9

⁹But if you return to me and obey my commands and live by them, then even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth, I will bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be honored.’

2 Peter 3:9

⁹The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.

He´s patiently waiting for every soul to reach repentance. –
Read the full LGG Devotional

Reflection Question: Hosea calls Israel once again to return to the Lord. This time he tells them to take words with them – what were the words or what was the point of the words?

Bible study, LGG Study

Faithful Love: Week 6, Wednesday Pleading our Cause

Posted on June 2, 2021June 1, 2021 by

Read: Hosea 13:15-16 and Jeremiah 4:11-12 and 51:36; SOAP: Jeremiah 51:36

Hosea 13:15-16

Ephraim was the most fruitful of all his brothers, but the east wind—a blast from the Lord— will arise in the desert. All their flowing springs will run dry, and all their wells will disappear. Every precious thing they own will be plundered and carried away. ¹⁶The people of Samaria must bear the consequences of their guilt because they rebelled against their God. They will be killed by an invading army, their little ones dashed to death against the ground, their pregnant women ripped open by swords.”

Jeremiah 4:11-12

The time is coming when the Lord will say
    to the people of Jerusalem,
“My dear people, a burning wind is blowing in from the desert,
    and it’s not a gentle breeze useful for winnowing grain.
¹²It is a roaring blast sent by me!
    Now I will pronounce your destruction!”Read full chapter

Jeremiah 51:36 – The Lord’s Vengeance on Babylon

This is what the Lord says to Jerusalem: “I will be your lawyer to plead your case,
and I will avenge you. I will dry up her river, as well as her springs,

We blame God for all our problems and struggles, but actually, we are the ones to blame
Read the Full LGG Devotional

Bible study, LGG Study

Faithful Love: Week 6, Tuesday Conqueror of Death, Mighty to Save

Posted on June 1, 2021May 31, 2021 by

Read: Hosea 13:4-14 and Mark 10:45; SOAP: Hosea 13:14

Hosea 13:4-14

“I have been the Lord your God ever since I brought you out of Egypt. You must acknowledge no God but me, for there is no other savior. ⁵I took care of you in the wilderness, in that dry and thirsty land. ⁶But when you had eaten and were satisfied, you became proud and forgot me. ⁷So now I will attack you like a lion, like a leopard that lurks along the road. ⁸Like a bear whose cubs have been taken away, I will tear out your heart. I will devour you like a hungry lioness and mangle you like a wild animal.

⁹“You are about to be destroyed, O Israel— yes, by me, your only helper. ¹⁰Now where is your king?
Let him save you! Where are all the leaders of the land, the king, and the officials you demanded of me? ¹¹In my anger I gave you kings, and in my fury, I took them away. ¹²“Ephraim’s guilt has been collected, and his sin has been stored up for punishment. ¹³Pain has come to the people like the pain of childbirth, but they are like a child who resists being born. The moment of birth has arrived, but they stay in the womb!

¹⁴“Should I ransom them from the grave? Should I redeem them from death? O death, bring on your terrors! O grave, bring on your plagues! For I will not take pity on them.

Mark 10:45

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Israel foolishly turned to its earthly governors instead of turning to God.
Read the full devotional –

This is the link I refer to in my SOAP recording today. It was a very helpful resource for me and I trust it will be for you too.
Commentary on Hosea 13:14 – God Will Deliver

Reflection Question: Why did Jesus come from Heaven to earth?

Bible study, LGG Study

Faithful Love: Week 5, Thursday Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Love

Posted on May 27, 2021May 26, 2021 by

Hosea 12:9-12 NLT

“But I am the Lord your God,
    who rescued you from slavery in Egypt.
And I will make you live in tents again,
    as you do each year at the Festival of Shelters.
¹⁰I sent my prophets to warn you
    with many visions and parables.”

¹¹But the people of Gilead are worthless
    because of their idol worship.
And in Gilgal, too, they sacrifice bulls;
    their altars are lined up like the heaps of stone
    along the edges of a plowed field.

The people of Israel had confidence in their wealth, in their financial success and didn´t want to listen to Hosea. Ultimately, they didn´t want to hear God.
Read the Full LGG Devotional

Romans 8:38-39 New Living Translation

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. ³⁹No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Bible study, LGG Study

Faithful Love: Week 5, Tuesday — God Never Gives Up

Posted on May 25, 2021May 25, 2021 by

READ: HOSEA 11:1-12, PSALM 145:8-9, MICAH 7:18-19; SOAP: HOSEA 11:8-9

Hosea 11 New Living Translation

The Lord’s Love for Israel

“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and I called my son out of Egypt. ²But the more I called to him, the farther he moved from me, offering sacrifices to the images of Baal and burning incense to idols. ³I myself taught Israel how to walk, leading him along by the hand. But he doesn’t know or even care that it was I who took care of him. ⁴I led Israel along with my ropes of kindness and love. I lifted the yoke from his neck, and I myself stooped to feed him. ⁵“But since my people refuse to return to me, they will return to Egypt and will be forced to serve Assyria. ⁶War will swirl through their cities;
their enemies will crash through their gates. They will destroy them, trapping them in their own evil plans. ⁷For my people are determined to desert me. They call me the Most High, but they don’t truly honor me.

“Oh, how can I give you up, Israel? How can I let you go? How can I destroy you like Admah
or demolish you like Zeboiim? My heart is torn within me, and my compassion overflows.
⁹No, I will not unleash my fierce anger. I will not completely destroy Israel, for I am God and not a mere mortal. I am the Holy One living among you, and I will not come to destroy.
¹⁰For someday the people will follow me. I, the Lord, will roar like a lion. And when I roar, my people will return trembling from the west. ¹¹Like a flock of birds, they will come from Egypt. Trembling like doves, they will return from Assyria. And I will bring them home again,” says the Lord.

Charges against Israel and Judah

¹²Israel surrounds me with lies and deceit, but Judah still obeys God and is faithful to the Holy One.

God has always been a good, loving, caring Father. –
Read the rest of the LGG devotional here

Psalm 145:8-9

The Lord is merciful and compassionate,
slow to get angry, and filled with unfailing love.
⁹The Lord is good to everyone.
He showers compassion on all his creation.

Micah 7:18-19

Where is another God like you,
    who pardons the guilt of the remnant,
    overlooking the sins of his special people?
You will not stay angry with your people forever,
    because you delight in showing unfailing love.
¹⁹Once again you will have compassion on us.
    You will trample our sins under your feet
    and throw them into the depths of the ocean!

REFLECTION QUESTION: WHAT WAS GOD’S CHANGE OF HEARt BASED ON IN OUR SOAP PASSAGE TODAY?

I invite you to share an answer to today’s question and/or your thoughts on today’s passage –

Bible study, LGG Study

Faithful Love: Week 5, Monday Reap Steadfast Love

Posted on May 24, 2021May 23, 2021 by

READ: HOSEA 10:9-15, ACTS 17:27, JAMES 4:8; AND SOAP: HOSEA 10:12

Hosea 10:9-15

⁹The Lord says, “O Israel, ever since Gibeah, there has been only sin and more sin! You have made no progress whatsoever. Was it not right that the wicked men of Gibeah were attacked? ¹⁰Now whenever it fits my plan, I will attack you, too. I will call out the armies of the nations to punish you for your multiplied sins. ¹¹“Israel is like a trained heifer treading out the grain— an easy job she loves. But I will put a heavy yoke on her tender neck. I will force Judah to pull the plow and Israel to break up the hard ground.

I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness,
    and you will harvest a crop of love.
Plow up the hard ground of your hearts,
    for now is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come
    and shower righteousness upon you.’
SOAP Passage

¹³“But you have cultivated wickedness and harvested a thriving crop of sins. You have eaten the fruit of lies—trusting in your military might, believing that great armies could make your nation safe. ¹⁴Now the terrors of war will rise among your people. All your fortifications will fall, just as when Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel. Even mothers and children were dashed to death there. ¹⁵You will share that fate, Bethel, because of your great wickedness. When the day of judgment dawns, the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.

Acts 17:26-28

²⁶From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries. ²⁷“His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. ²⁸For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

James 4:8

⁸Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.

God is so loving, so forgiving, and good to His people that He gives unrepentant Israel a choice –
Read LGG’s full devotional

Reflection Question: What do you think Hosea meant in our SOAP Passage today when he said: “Now is the time to seek the LORD“?

Bible study, LGG Study

Faithful Love: Week 4, Wednesday Unaware of Disaster

Posted on May 19, 2021May 18, 2021 by

READ: HOSEA 9:1-9 AND ISAIAH 10:1-4; SOAP: HOSEA 9:9

Hosea Announces Israel’s Punishment

O people of Israel,
    do not rejoice as other nations do.
For you have been unfaithful to your God,
    hiring yourselves out like prostitutes,
    worshiping other gods on every threshing floor.
²So now your harvests will be too small to feed you.
    There will be no grapes for making new wine.
³You may no longer stay here in the Lord’s land.
    Instead, you will return to Egypt,
and in Assyria you will eat food
    that is ceremonially unclean.
⁴There you will make no offerings of wine to the Lord.
    None of your sacrifices there will please him.
They will be unclean, like food touched by a person in mourning.
    All who present such sacrifices will be defiled.
They may eat this food themselves,
    but they may not offer it to the Lord.
⁵What then will you do on festival days?
    How will you observe the Lord’s festivals?
⁶Even if you escape destruction from Assyria,
    Egypt will conquer you, and Memphis^[a] will bury you.
Nettles will take over your treasures of silver;
    thistles will invade your ruined homes.

The time of Israel’s punishment has come;
    the day of payment is here.
    Soon Israel will know this all too well.
Because of your great sin and hostility,
    you say, “The prophets are crazy
    and the inspired men are fools!”
⁸The prophet is a watchman over Israel^[b] for my God,
    yet traps are laid for him wherever he goes.
    He faces hostility even in the house of God.
⁹The things my people do are as depraved as what they did in Gibeah long ago.
God will not forget.

Hosea Announces Israel’s Punishment

What sorrow awaits the unjust judges
    and those who issue unfair laws.
²They deprive the poor of justice
    and deny the rights of the needy among my people.
They prey on widows
    and take advantage of orphans.
³What will you do when I punish you,
    when I send disaster upon you from a distant land?
To whom will you turn for help?
    Where will your treasures be safe?
⁴You will stumble along as prisoners
    or lie among the dead.
But even then the Lord’s anger will not be satisfied.
    His fist is still poised to strike.

Hosea was accused of being a fatalist by Israel when the truth is Israel was gravely unaware of the pending disaster.
Read today’s LGG Blog to see why they were so unaware –

Gibeah is remembered for several things but one especially horrendous incident is what God was referring to here when He compared Israel’s corruption to Gibeah’s. For the full story and the answer to today’s reflection question read the brutal story, at the link below, that God included in His Word for us to read – Reflection Question: In light of what we know about Gibeah, what possible good could come from God’s reminder and comparison of Israel’s sin to that of Gibeah? — Share your thoughts in the comment bar.
https://www.gotquestions.org/Gibeah-in-the-Bible.html

Bible study, LGG Study

Faithful Love: Week 4, Tuesday Pressing On In Faith

Posted on May 18, 2021May 18, 2021 by

READ: HOSEA 8:1-14 AND ROMANS 9:22-24; SOAP: ROMANS 9:22-23

God Will Raise Up the Assyrians to Attack Israel

Sound the alarm!
An eagle looms over the temple of the Lord!
For they have broken their covenant with me
and have rebelled against my law.
²Israel cries out to me,
“My God, we acknowledge you!”
³But Israel has rejected what is morally good;
so an enemy will pursue him.

The Political and Cultic Sin of Israel

⁴They enthroned kings without my consent.
They appointed princes without my approval.
They made idols out of their silver and gold,
but they will be destroyed!
⁵O Samaria, he has rejected your calf idol.
My anger burns against them!
They will not survive much longer without being punished,
even though they are Israelites!
⁶That idol was made by a workman—it is not God!
The calf idol of Samaria will be broken to bits.

The Fertility Cultists Will Become Infertile

⁷They sow the wind,
and so they will reap the whirlwind!
The stalk does not have any standing grain;
it will not produce any flour.
Even if it were to yield grain,
foreigners would swallow it all up.
⁸Israel will be swallowed up among the nations;
they will be like a worthless piece of pottery.

Israel’s Hired Lovers

⁹They have gone up to Assyria,
like a wild donkey that wanders off.
Ephraim has hired prostitutes as lovers.
¹⁰Even though they have hired lovers among the nations,
I will soon gather them together for judgment.
Then they will begin to waste away
under the oppression of a mighty king.

Sacrifices Ineffective without Moral Obedience

¹¹Although Ephraim has built many altars for sin offerings,
these have become altars for sinning.
¹²I spelled out my law for him in great detail,
but they regard it as something totally unknown to them.
¹³They offer up sacrificial gifts to me
and eat the meat,
but the Lord does not accept their sacrifices.
Soon he will remember their wrongdoing,
he will punish their sins,
and they will return to Egypt.
¹⁴Israel has forgotten his Maker and built royal palaces,
and Judah has built many fortified cities.
But I will send fire on their cities;
it will consume their royal citadels.

SOAP: Romans 9:22

But what if God, willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects of wrath prepared for destruction? ²³And what if he is willing to make known the wealth of his glory on the objects of mercy that he has prepared beforehand for glory— ²⁴even us, whom he has called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?

With their silver and gold, they made idols for their own destruction.” (Hosea 8:4) The people of Israel were experts in living an independent life apart from God. Read the full devotional
Read the full devotional

Thoughts on today’s reading? Share them in the comment bar –

Bible study, LGG Study

Faithful Love: Week 4, Monday The First and Best Option

Posted on May 17, 2021May 16, 2021 by

MONDAY – WEEK 4, DAY 1: FAITHFUL LOVE

Read: Hosea 7:13-16 and Psalm 78:32-39; SOAP: Psalm 78:38

Woe to them! For they have fled from me!
Destruction to them! For they have rebelled against me!
I want to deliver them,
but they have lied to me.
¹⁴They do not pray to me,
but howl in distress on their beds;
they slash themselves for grain and new wine,
but turn away from me.
¹⁵Although I trained and strengthened them,
they plot evil against me!
¹⁶They turn to Baal;
they are like an unreliable bow.
Their leaders will fall by the sword
because their prayers to Baal have made me angry.
So people will disdain them in the land of Egypt.

Despite all this, they continued to sin,
and did not trust him to do amazing things
³³So he caused them to die unsatisfied
and filled with terror.
³⁴When he struck them down, they sought his favor;
they turned back and longed for God.
³⁵They remembered that God was their protector,
and that God Most High was their deliverer.
³⁶But they deceived him with their words,
and lied to him.
³⁷They were not really committed to him,
and they were unfaithful to his covenant.
³⁸Yet he is compassionate.
He forgives sin and does not destroy.
He often holds back his anger,
and does not stir up his fury.
³⁹He remembered that they were made of flesh,
and were like a wind that blows past and does not return.

Israel saw their problem, but not their sin.
Read the rest of the LGG devotional –

Reflection Question: What do you learn about God in light of His response to Israel’s rebellion? I invite you to share your answer or a question n the comment bar.