In the United States (and many other countries), we have largely turned away from the God of the Bible and the consequences are obvious! Our godlessness has affected education, politics, business, family life, and more. Lawlessness is at an all-time high and, if that’s not bad enough, we continue to see a rise in mass violence and terrorism around the world and here at home. While it seems overwhelming, we can make a difference. Find out how.
Today’s Readings:
Hosea 3 & 4
Psalm 138.8
Proverbs 29.18
1 John 4.1-21
How to Make a Difference with the People Around You
Hosea 3 & 4:
God’s Mercy
Here in the book of Hosea, we have a beautiful picture of God’s mercy with His people and the fact that He will, eventually, redeem the true church and the nation of Israel.
If you don’t know the story, in the book of Hosea, God commanded the prophet to marry a prostitute knowing that she would run off and leave her husband and children to chase after her illicit lovers. But that wasn’t the end of the story. God told him to take her back.
Then the LORD said to me, ‘Go again, love a woman who is loved by a lover and is committing adultery, just like the love of the LORD for the children of Israel, who look to other gods and love the raisin cakes of the pagans’ (3.1).
Can you imagine the radical kind of love the Lord pictured here? Just as the Lord forgave His idolatrous people over and over, Hosea was to forgive and bring back his adulterous wife. Even when she had sold herself into slavery, her faithful husband would go and buy her back (Hos. 3.2).
An Unrepentant Nation
Sadly, while God had mercy on His people over and over and while He always had a faithful remnant, men like Daniel and his friends, the Nation of Israel as a whole continued in their idolatry and disobedience. And He eventually allowed them to be taken into captivity.
It’s impossible not to see some of the parallels between America and God’s rebellious people. We have largely turned away from the God of the Bible and loved a lover, a god, of our own making—one who allows us to live however we desire. Look at some of the phrases in chapter 4:
…no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in the land … swearing and lying … killing and stealing and committing adultery, they break all restraint … bloodshed upon bloodshed … you have rejected knowledge … forgotten the law of your God … they set their heart on iniquity.
No truth or knowledge of God:
He has been “kicked out” of our schools, our government, and the public arena. And sadly, we’ve thrown common sense out the window, too.
Swearing and lying:
In politics (ad nauseam), in business (whatever it takes to make a buck), and the list goes on.
Killing and stealing:
Just turn on the nightly news.
Committing adultery:
Too often we have excused and justified it when it was our life or our side of the political aisle. We looked the other way when a sitting President had sex with an intern in the White House. And it seems to have gotten exponentially worse since then.
Now we ignore God’s laws altogether and claim that everyone has the right to decide what’s right for them. The result is a culture of broken marriages, serial relationships, abortion, so-called gay marriage, and every other kind of sexual sin.
Breaking all restraint:
We have demanded and won the freedom to live out almost any lifestyle we choose. But we’re no longer happy to be allowed to live in sexual sin, we demand that everyone else accept, even applaud it. And we’re willing to destroy anyone who disagrees, dares to tell us we’re wrong or refuses to participate in our choices!
Bloodshed upon bloodshed:
Rioting, gang violence, and even wholesale murder in some of our inner cities.
Rejection of knowledge and the law of your God:
Anyone holding to a biblical standard will be mocked, accused of ramming their opinions down the throats of others, run out of business, fined, or worse.
Hearts set on iniquity:
There are those who live to lie, cheat, and steal.
The prophet also shall stumble with you:
Even some churches have removed a biblical standard and a call to holiness, refusing to use the word sin or to say anything that might offend anyone, ordaining gay clergy, and looking the other way concerning abortion, just for starters. And, sadly, far too many religious leaders have fallen personally (Hosea 4.5).
And look at some of the consequences:
Therefore the land will mourn … everyone who dwells there will waste away … even the fish of the sea will be taken away … you shall stumble in the day … I also will forget your children … I will change their glory into shame … they shall eat, but not have enough … (4.3-10).
Look at the condition of our nation as a whole. There is a lack of morality and justice. Selfishness rules the day. Everyone does what seems right and feels good to him. There is anger, violence, and unprecedented division. Our economy is up one day and down the next.
But …
Not without Hope
Right now there is more hope for change politically than there has been for a long time. And prayerfully we will see change for the better, but ultimately the change required is not political and that can’t be where our ultimate hope resides.
Just as it did for the ancient Israelites it lies in a return to God:
Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They shall fear the LORD and His goodness in the latter days (3.5).
Make a Difference
What can we do to make a difference and help others find that source of true hope?
Pray! Pray for our nation, our leaders, our neighbors, our families, and ourselves.
¹Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2.1-4).
Go! Jesus said we are to take the gospel to those in our neighborhoods, our cities, our nation, and the world.
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28.19).
By sharing the gospel, you could make a difference for eternity.
One way is to read through the book of John with someone.
It’s important to remember that we are only responsible to be faithful. God is responsible for the results.
Disciple! We’re to help others grow in their faith and help them understand how to apply God’s Word to their own lives.
‘teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen (Matt. 28.20).
After Christ’s resurrection and ascension, a few faithful men and women turned the world upside down (Acts 17.6). We, too, can make a difference in the world around us if we step out in faith.
Resources to Help You Make a Difference
Is there someone you could come alongside and disciple? One way is to read and study the Bible together. A book like One to One Bible Reading can help.
My husband and I also developed a discipleship book that takes you through an overview of the Christian life. It’s in an easy-to-follow workbook format. And it is available in a leader’s/discipler’s version, as well. You go through one lesson each week on your own. Then meet over coffee or your favorite beverage and go over your answers together. You’ll both grow in the process. Right now you can get both the leader’s edition and the disciplee’s edition here as a 2-pack for just $13 (regularly $25). Watch this short video to learn more about it.
Or you could go through a book like The Excellent Wife: A Biblical Perspective by Martha Peace with a wife who is struggling in her marriage (The Complete Husband for men). I’ve seen marriages impacted in powerful ways when a wife begins to live out the principles Martha explains so well. If you would like a recommendation for other resources, just leave me a comment and I’ll be glad to make some suggestions.
Whether you share God’s truth over a cup of coffee, teach adults or children, homeschool your kids, lead a small group, or do a million other things you can do to further God’s work in your neighborhood and the world, you can make a difference.
Let’s prayerfully consider what we can do to share the gospel and help others grow during this holiday season and beyond.
Today’s Other Readings:
Psalm 138.8:
He Will Perfect What Concerns Me
The LORD will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever; do not forsake the works of Your hands (v. 8).
Because of His great mercy, we can be assured that He is perfecting—bringing to maturity—the work He is doing in us (Phil. 1.6).
Proverbs 29.18:
True Peace, Joy & Happiness
Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but happy is he who keeps the law.
It looks like God is driving that point home to us today. Where there is no knowledge or understanding of God’s Word, people throw off any restraint.
The NLT says,
When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful.
When God and His Word are removed from a society, it gives place to every kind of evil and wickedness.
But even in the church where we hear the Word preached, we must apply it to our lives Monday through Saturday. It’s God’s law, not His divine suggestions!
Our sinful hearts tell us that it’s in freedom from restraint that we find happiness, but the opposite is true. True peace, joy, and happiness are found in living God’s way!
1 John 4.1-21:
Recognizing Truth
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world … We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error (1 Jn. 4.1, 6).
We recognize error by knowing THE TRUTH. That only comes from a steady intake of God’s Word.
If truth and knowledge are to come back into our land, we must be able to “test the spirits” (v. 1) and recognize the “Spirit of truth and the spirit of error” (v. 6). Only then will we “fear the LORD and His goodness” (Hos. 3.5).
Coming Up:
In the next few days, we’ll talk about false teachers, friendship, judgment, the Rapture, the Tribulation, Assurance of salvation, grace, and the responsibility involved in being a true friend.
I hope you’ll join us.
Get Ready for the Coming Year with a Plan for Your Bible Reading
The holidays are just around the corner and the new year will be on us before we know it. What will you do to make Bible reading an ongoing habit in the coming year? I want to encourage you to set a goal to read through the Bible again or for the first time. If you join me here, I’ll take you through a plan that covers both the Old and New Testaments in about 15 minutes a day.
You can read each day’s post or watch as I read through the passages on YouTube. Sign up here for my daily email. It has links to the written post and the YouTube video. It can serve as a gentle reminder to stay on track and I believe you’ll benefit from the additional information I share and grow as you learn to apply God’s Word to your own life.
You can check out our YouTube channel here.
If this post spoke to you, I would love it if you would share it on your favorite social media platform. Why not invite someone to join you as you both read through the Bible?
Blessings as you grow in Christ,
Donna ♥
Note about this post:
I began blogging through the Bible in 2012 and have done so every year since then. These posts are the product of many edits and additions throughout those years. Some days I make major changes, other days fewer.
A while ago, I read Jen Wilkin’s book None Like Him about the attributes of God. One is His incomprehensibility. In it, she says, “God is incomprehensible. This does not mean that he is unknowable, but that he is unable to be fully known.”
I have found that to be true each year as I’ve gone back through the Bible. Sometimes I find myself feeling as if a passage just appeared there for the first time. I’m reminded that no matter how many times we read through the Bible, we have only scratched the surface. I hope you feel the same.
Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?” (Job 26.14)
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