Hosea Part I

Hello all! I know it has been forever since I posted and I was going to post all of my study of Hosea in one post. Alas, I cannot. This book is way too much to dissect in one go. So I am going to discuss the concept of brokenness and how it can bring us back to where we began. I am finding out just how much God is in love with us and it makes me cry reading this book.

I have recently been thinking about how God pursues us. He loves us so relentlessly that He follows us into it all showing His love in everything our lives bring us. He does not force our love in return but desires it. I know you are probably like, "Duh, Athena." but this is new to me.

In Chapter two, God discusses how He will bring Israel to a point where they will have to acknowledge Him to survive. They think they can handle it all with "their other lovers" but they cannot. God has the power over everything. He can change the hearts of our friends to turn away from us in our time of need. I think God does this to show us just how unstable human love truly is. We fail even when we do not mean to. However God's love is never ending and is permanent.

After God's discussion on how He will bring Israel to its knees, God then says He will allure her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. This part astounded me. I didn't think Israel was getting out of this one and it reminded me of a time with my dad. I had stolen a pen from a store at the airport when I was 6 and he found out. Before my dad spanked me, he explained how he loved me and just wants me to know that he will no matter what. It is hard to believe as his hand comes down hard on my backside but it is so true.

All of my thoughts have led me to think of what I put up on a pedestal as God or instead of. I was talking to my High School Chem teacher today and he said something kinda cool. His wife wants him to be protected while he drives and gave him a rosary. He is not catholic and doesn't believe in the rosary but sometimes, seeing the cross will be an alter of sorts, a way to remind himself of God. He has to remind himself though that the little stupid jesus on the rosary is not his risen savior. That got me thinking a lot. Sometimes i feel as if Navigators is Jesus and while they teach me more about my God, they are not God themselves. I feel this way about a lot of things though and God is revealing this to me each day.

So this has been a post that doesn't make the most sense but it does to me =)
I encourage you guys to read Hosea and maybe you can help me with a few questions =)

Some Thoughts (as found in my journal)

I have been thinking a lot about God lately and my relationship with Him. Actually, this is a lie. I have been bombarded with truths about God and His role in my life. I have been attempting to suppress His voice for reasons I do not fully understand. It all started June 20th, Father's Day, when Pastor Bob gave a sermon on the following: "If I could go to heaven and be with everyone I love and it be absolutely perfect But Jesus wasn't there, would I still want to go?" This question hit me and got me thinking a lot. I think I would say no to going to heaven if this were the case. But I have my days (or years) of not loving God as I should and I think I have figured out why. I just finished reading A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller. In the book, Miller discusses the concept of story and how it translates into a life. One point he makes which I found extremely profound was how human lives are not like stories in that we do not have climaxes, or moments that solve all our problems. I often think that relationships, possessions, and even my relationship with God will be like a climax in which once this one thing comes into my life, my problems will disappear. Once I realize this is a lie, I can be free to love people more fully, get more out of my stuff or let it go, and desire to spend more time making a better story with my creator leading the way, knowing that none of these things remove the problems of my life.

Once I get to a place, I do not remember the journey most of the time. This is why I have to set up alters....not because God likes seeing piles of rocks but to remind myself of God's faithfulness. It is like we were discussing in Sunday School two weeks ago: Samuel and the Israelites set up an alter to remember God's faithfulness against their enemy, the Philistines.

God prayed for us that the evil one would not triumph over us...not that we would have perfect, problem free lives.

Miller brings up a point that I learned at STP: God takes delight in us. Miller compares it to his dog Lucy. He loves watching his dog play in the creek and he takes pleasure in her pleasure. It is the same with God. He delights in us playing and discovering life. God wants us to enjoy life and remain faithful to Him. They go hand in hand, I am learning, in that really getting the most out of life comes from a relationship with God. This is an exciting process and I am eager, and scared, of what awaits around the corner.