How did I get to Hosannah from Hosea?

Have you ever been on a car trip heading to your destination with only oral instructions to get you to a place you've never been?  Yikes! You think you remember the sequence of directions after repeating them a few times, but as you drive it out you don't recall whether the stop sign was at the left turn, or after the road turned left. That little detail is enough to throw you and take you down the wrong road.  This is true in life too, when you wind up in a place you didn't want to be - perhaps a job, a relationship or a business deal, and you wonder where you took that wrong turn, or how you misjudged circumstances or people.  

Then there are times when you knew for sure what you were supposed to do, or not do, but didn't follow through.  Look at the history of the Israelites, who had it all spelled out for them, as to what they needed to do, yet how many examples of rebellion were there, which led to severe consequences? Too many to describe here, but Jerusalem was often called a harlot because of  unfaithfulness to God. The Israelites ran after pagan gods represented by objects of wood and stone, seeking favor from heathen people and nations, while wicked priests, false prophets and diviners misled the people into thinking it was okay, and caused many to perish.   As hearts turned away from God, his glory faded from amongst them, and it was replaced with spiritual deception and blindness.  They traded God's favor for captivity and the yoke of oppression.  Yet when they turned back to God and repented of their sins, he forgave them and brought them back with his blessing.

God's never ending love and forgiveness is clearly evidenced in the book of minor prophets, Hosea, whose wife Gomer, a literal harlot, committed adultery against him over and over again.  She put on her makeup and tramped around town looking for lovers to satisfy the void in her soul.  There is a place in the heart, intended for God, which women and men in ignorance, seek to fill, as Gomer did.  Ironically, her loving husband, who was called by God to this prophetic and thankless mission, waited patiently for her return home, while caring for their children; some of whom were conceived in sin by Gomer's whoring behavior.  Hosea's mandate from God was to be  ready to forgive her infidelity, each time she repented.  Hosea's steadfast character is Christ-like. For those with eyes to see, Gomer is representative of all who are in rebellion against God; individuals, Christians living in sin, the apostate church could be included, and perhaps it has ramifications for the house of Israel and especially the lost tribes.  This website is very resourceful if you want more info on this subject.

The defilement capability of the world's system is ever powerful today and it's rubbing its filth on the church.  It's the believer's responsibility to discern heresy, but it takes greater knowledge and application of the scriptures than some of us want to work for in these lazy days of letting others do our thinking for us. When we get our priorities out of order and exalt things above the throne of God, we are committing spiritual idolatry, just as the Israelites did.  Putting work, even ministry, appearances or ______ (you're welcome to fill in the blank with any habits, hobbies and entertainments) above devotion to God, it can cause us to be deceived. 2 Peter 2 has more to say about things we can be overcome by, and enslaved to.  Yet, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive them and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. (I John 1:9)  There is a caveat here; you may not know your sin if you don't know the Word.

Jesus told his disciples about a King and a coming kingdom, in Luke 19:11-27 just prior to his grand entrance into the Mount of Olives.  The triumphal entry into the holy city, as he mounted the donkey, was a significant fulfilment of prophecy about Jesus being the king and anointed one; the Messiah or in Hebrew, Yeshua Ha-Mashiach. (Zechariah 9:9)  Jesus's entrance into Jerusalem ties in with the parable of the 10 coins, (some versions call coins talents) recorded just prior in the Luke text, as it poses only two choices:  Accept him today as Messiah and King, and receive all his kingdom has to offer at his return, as well as all those he's giving you to bring along into his kingdom.  Or be like the wicked servant, who isn't willing to serve him and throws away the only talent he was given on some foolish pursuit, which doesn't fulfill its purpose.  The wicked servant receives spiritual as well as physical death, upon the King's return.  Now that's a road you don't want to go down.

Here's the Good News:  Jesus, the Son of God, paid the penalty for our sin and rebellion, by his death on the cross.  The bible is a road map to heaven, so you don't miss the signs along the way.  "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name."  John 1:12

Oh love that will not let me go as sung by Chris Rice

Read more about Hosea and Gomer at Women of Faith

Used with permission.  Go to Cody F. Miller's gallery to see more.
Learn more about Cody's "rich and complex message of God"

Hope this rocks you like it did me...

Have you noticed any pretty rocks lately?  If you walk the beach or gravel road, or keep an aquarium, or child, you probably take rocks for granite - I meant granted; you hardly notice them.  But if you've visited the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and gazed at the Hope Diamond, or other fabulous representations of precious and semi precious gems, you know what I mean by pretty rocks.  My interest in collecting and appreciating rocks goes back to childhood, while combing the shores of Lake Superior for driftwood and assorted flat rocks, geodes and volcanic rocks.  My collections filled me with wonder about nature and the world and God.  In fact a prized possession, which came along with my darling husband, is a huge hunk of limestone, from the Mississippian period, displaying a stunning arrangement of Crinoids. 

I opened several bags of small, smooth rocks yesterday, while preparing for VBS (that's Vacation Bible School for any atheists:) as I will be hosting a "Rock Quarry" in the Market Place of our local Nazareth.  The same darling husband pointed out this morning, that he picked up one of said bags of rocks, and read "Made in China." Now I understand why some things are mass produced there, but how absurd is it that we have to import rocks from there, too?  I've attempted to boycott them various times for civil rights issues, but have you ever tried?  I'll tell you that the stone age awaits you.  If we'd all done that, perhaps we'd have realized we have plenty of rocks here to sell, or done something productive with them.  We aparently aren't making American flag pins either, since all of the ones I've seen say "made in China," so how about we try to find some local raw materials and make our own partiotic symbols and flags?  Then, set up a table near the 4th of July parade and sell them as "Made in America." While you're out doing that, pick up some rocks, wash or polish them, bag them up around a pound's worth, tie them in plastic netting bags (like your small red potatoes come in) and put them for sale on e-bay, since aparently there's a market for them.  We've got to start somewhere.

I'm sure you can do better than this!

File:Jerusalem stone in the rough.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

File:Jerusalem stone in the rough.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Marriage at 29 years and counting...

In 1981 we planned a wedding while both of us were working and going to school full time.  Both of us had been around the block a few times.  He had seen the world in the Navy, and was finishing college.  I was seeking a career in nursing, having worked in retail management for years, and had already experienced marital failure.  We both had a spiritual awakening by then, and we were new creations in Christ.  We thought we knew what we wanted in life.  We weren't expecting to sail away and live happily ever after on the loveboat to paradise, but in hindsight, our imaginary and lofty thoughts on marriage did just that soon after the honeymoon.  What remained were two spirits joined together in Christ, but two distinctly different flesh and blood human beings ready to fight it out, be sifted by frustration, confusion and selfish ideals, and to butt heads often and painfully.  Our differences pointed out how completely incompatible we were!  When times were tough, we often questioned the reasons why we married in the first place, and why we didn't see this characteristic about him or her, or privately, why we settled for less than we thought we deserve.

Here's reality:  The minute you say "I will" you can expect to receive every possible challenge, blow and affront to your own will to do those things which you are supposed to do; to "love, honor and cherish" one another, and to view marriage as a "sacred covenant" as the Pastor easily proclaimed it to be.  The words missing in our memory of the vows, like "for better or for  __ ," "for richer or  ___, and "in __ and in health" grew flesh and blood and teeth and nails and stood in plain sight.  Not what we'd hoped for.

It's been said that a covenant is different from a contract, in that a covenant is love, plus trust.  A contract is love, without trust. In a covenant, what is the object of the trust?  If it's the other person, then here's the kicker:  They will let you down, they will do you wrong, because no one is perfect and without fault.  If the trust is in the One who invented marriage, and is without fault, it's going to work out much better.  What a relief to know that Someone knows what He's doing in this marriage, and in this family, and in this household!  Our best attempts still miss the bull's eye of perfection most of the time, but that doesn't mean we put the bow down and quit practicing our aim to value and encourage the one we are yoked in marriage to.

I have recently learned that marriage, as an institution, is on the decline, but so is the divorce rate.  If one sees marriage as the perpetrator of painful divorce, that reasoning makes sense. The truth as I see it, is that it's not the institution at fault, but the presence of so called "no fault" divorce.  There still needs to be a blame for something that went wrong...if you want to stay semi-sane, so rather than take responsibility for actions and decisions that caused pain and lack of trust, just blame it on being married!  No marriage - no problem!  I know this is an oversimplification, but it doesn't take a genius to see that a husband or wife can destroy a family in one fell swoop and not be held responsible for doing anything wrong.  That's just unacceptably sad, especially for the child/children involved.

For us, the "better or worse" part came in unlikely ways.  Even though we were using multiple forms of birth control in order to plan our family, we still found ourselves celebrating our first year anniversary with a dear two month old!  Deciding to finish a nursing program a few years down the road, baby number two came along instead!  Three years later, the day after completing oral boards for his master's degree, baby number three was born!  Although the timing of babies didn't happen as we necessarily would have planned, they were truly gifts. They were, in hindsight, the "better" part.

The "worse" part involved hard questions.  Questions like: Where will you get a job? (Especially coming out of agricultural grad school during the farm crisis!)   How do you sell a house when the same houses were on the market two years ago? Then there were frightening questions, like How long will dad live with cancer? What's wrong with mom, and why does she act this way?  What does my biopsy show? How can I keep my heart/mind/will from straying, and be faithful to my spouse under great temptation?  There were the life changing questions like how did we get to Maryland from Iowa, when we planned to raise our family there? And finally, questions without answers like, why did God allow this terrible thing to happen? In such times, trusting that things happen for reasons we don't understand, and seeking God in times of fear, doubt and worry, causes your faith to grow.

The "richer and poorer" times included losses of jobs, losses of all four of our parents, and losses of income through just plain hard times and also bad decisions!  It's all part of living in the real world, if you are blessed to live long enough.  It's through life's twists and turns, that you experience blessings in unlikely places, and silver linings inside storm clouds.  You learn you shouldn't be too quick to judge by how things look, but rather give it time to see what it becomes.  He makes everything beautiful in its time.  Since you truly never know how your marriage or your spouse can turn out in the end, you owe it your yourself and to them, and children, to "trust in the Lord with all your heart, and not lean on your own understanding, and acknowledge God in all your ways, and He will direct your paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6)

How did we stick it out?  What's changed in thirty years?  Life gets easier to figure out with age and experience...the answer is that we've changed.  Friction in a relationship, when Love is applied causes what? A roughing away of the sharp edges that hurt others.  Try reading I Corinthians 13 to see where your rough edges are...I assure you they are listed there.  We all fall short of the view.  That's why we seek the Rock that is higher than we are.  If you both lean on Him, stand together on the Rock that doesn't roll, you will remain standing together in the end. This kind of "Rocky" marriage is the only one that has lasting power to see beyond the temporary circumstances.  They block the view.  On Christ you see a new horizon, and beyond - eternity.  

In the Bible, Samuel took a single rock and set it upright between the towns of Mizpah and Shen. He named it "Ebenezer" (Rock of Help), saying, "This marks the place where God helped us." I Samuel 7:21

We look back and see those hard questions as our path of "Ebenezers," and are thankful we didn't give up on each other.