JMD Devotional 171 Hosea 6:1-3 Third Day
Vs 1-3 COME AND let us return to the Lord, for He has torn so that He may heal us; He has stricken so that He may bind us up. After two days He will revive us (quicken us, give us life); on the third day He will raise us up that we may live before Him. Yes, let us know (recognize, be acquainted with, and understand) Him; let us be zealous to know the Lord [to appreciate, give heed to, and cherish Him]. His going forth is prepared and certain as the dawn, and He will come to us as the [heavy] rain, as the latter rain that waters the earth.
Anyone trapped in a sinful lifestyle sooner or later has a quiet moment of sober reflection. They know that their rebellion did not deliver the life they had hoped for. They live daily with the misery and frustration of chasing fantasies that never pan out in reality. I have listened to a candid round-table conversation between homosexual men who admitted if there was a pill they could take to change their orientation, they would take it in a heart-beat! They lamented all of the broken marriages, the hollow holidays, estrangement from family, the miserable cycle of imbalanced and co-dependent relationships driven by fear and jealousy. Nevertheless, they only want an instant fix, a ‘zap’ a miraculous transformation. However, God employs a process for reforming people, it takes time, it works in stages, and it principally involves a death to self. The prospect of self-denial is more than most people can face. It looks like a lifetime of austerity; but it is in fact the gateway to the abundant life. Dying to self really means putting God, who really cares for you, into your driver's seat. It means submitting to His ways even if you cannot see how they will work out (faith). The body and soul does morn Christian discipline initially, self-denial and the sacrifice of one's own will is hard; but if you endure the process, new resurrection life and joy await the dawn of the third day.
Dear God,
It is so hard to convey to people that while abandoning the world and coming to You is the hardest thing they'll ever do, it gets so much better under the Yoke of Christ Jesus. Many times in my growth I accused You of holding out on me, of not giving me 'the abundant life'; but in reality I was holding out on You, trying to keep one foot in the world and one on the altar. May your people truly die to the old self, to dead works, to futile living so that we can fully embrace the life we always wanted, which is really only to be found under your lordship and in your presence.
Amen
All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by
the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
*New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)
If you know of someone who would like to subscribe to
my daily devotional, please forward.
jamesdinsmore_32907@yahoo.com
Short, concise, thought-provoking.
More features:
http://SaintJamesPoetry.blogspot.com
http://recoverydevotional.blogspot.com/
http://jamesezadventures.blogspot.com/
Anyone trapped in a sinful lifestyle sooner or later has a quiet moment of sober reflection. They know that their rebellion did not deliver the life they had hoped for. They live daily with the misery and frustration of chasing fantasies that never pan out in reality. I have listened to a candid round-table conversation between homosexual men who admitted if there was a pill they could take to change their orientation, they would take it in a heart-beat! They lamented all of the broken marriages, the hollow holidays, estrangement from family, the miserable cycle of imbalanced and co-dependent relationships driven by fear and jealousy. Nevertheless, they only want an instant fix, a ‘zap’ a miraculous transformation. However, God employs a process for reforming people, it takes time, it works in stages, and it principally involves a death to self. The prospect of self-denial is more than most people can face. It looks like a lifetime of austerity; but it is in fact the gateway to the abundant life. Dying to self really means putting God, who really cares for you, into your driver's seat. It means submitting to His ways even if you cannot see how they will work out (faith). The body and soul does morn Christian discipline initially, self-denial and the sacrifice of one's own will is hard; but if you endure the process, new resurrection life and joy await the dawn of the third day.
Dear God,
It is so hard to convey to people that while abandoning the world and coming to You is the hardest thing they'll ever do, it gets so much better under the Yoke of Christ Jesus. Many times in my growth I accused You of holding out on me, of not giving me 'the abundant life'; but in reality I was holding out on You, trying to keep one foot in the world and one on the altar. May your people truly die to the old self, to dead works, to futile living so that we can fully embrace the life we always wanted, which is really only to be found under your lordship and in your presence.
Amen
All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by
the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
*New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)
If you know of someone who would like to subscribe to
my daily devotional, please forward.
jamesdinsmore_32907@yahoo.com
Short, concise, thought-provoking.
More features:
http://SaintJamesPoetry.blogspot.com
http://recoverydevotional.blogspot.com/
http://jamesezadventures.blogspot.com/
posted by James M. Dinsmore at 7:26 AM
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