Hidden Sins

Psalm 19: 12+13

Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.”

Definitions:

Secret: Hidden, absent, conceal

Presumptuous: Speak or act without a warrant, proud, doing things with no right or authority.

Introduction:

For the past couple months, the Lord has been working in my life and trying to teach me some important lessons in his word; but before my heart was ready to dive into his word again, after being away for many months, He worked in my heart through church services and now online bible studies, and had brought verses to my attention during one-on-one readings. Last night was Psalm 19 which I opened this post with and provided definitions for two words that seemed to pop out at me.

While reading those two words, a song comes to mind that has been years since I sang, or even thought of. It is titled “Secret Place” written by the Booth Brothers: I will just add a glimpse of the song for now, and you can read it by following the link below.

My heart is like a house
One day I let the Savior in
There are many rooms
Where we would visit now and then

But then one day He saw that door
I knew the day had come too soon
I said, “Jesus, I’m not ready
For us to visit in that room

‘Cuz that’s a place in my heart
Where even I don’t go
I have some things hidden there
I don’t want no one to know”

But He handed me the key
With tears of love on His face
He said, “I want to make you clean
Let me go in your secret place.”

In this secret place were imagined sins, fears, worries, and doubts; but Jesus came into that secret place, and “cleaned out the closest” some may say – but it was only when the heart was ready for him to clean it out.

Sometimes, we may look at our secret place and think “it’s not a big deal, the problem isn’t that bad; God will overlook it and still forgive me because of all the great things I have done.” I am sure David had that thought until he realized how great, wise, and just God is which lead him to say these next words “Keep thy servant from PRESUMPTUOUS SINS”. This presumptuous sin is looking at your secret faults and having pride and when pride comes into the picture, we ruin the relationship we have with the Lord and leads us to transgress against him. David wanted no part in that and saught the Lord to forgive him.

What about you? Are there secret hidden sins that bring pride in your heart that make you think and presume that God does not see? God sees everything, and God knows. He is standing at the door, with the key in his hands stretched out – hands that have the scars of the cross of the payment for that sin. He already had the key, but He only asks one favour – to trust him. I am going to add the last part of that song.

So I opened up the door
And as the two of us walked in
I was so ashamed
His light revealed my hidden sin

But when I think about that room now
I’m not afraid any more
‘Cuz I know my hidden sin
No longer hides behind that door

That was a place in my heart
Where even I wouldn’t go
I had some things hidden there
I didn’t want no one to know

But He handed me the key
With tears of love on His face
And He made me clean
I let Him in my secret place
Is there a place in your heart
Where even you won’t go

Take care, and God bless.

 

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=H5641&t=KJV

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=H2086&t=KJV

https://boothbrothers.com/song/the-secret-place/

Hinds’ feet

Psalm 18:33

“He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet, and setteth me upon my high places”

Definitions:

Hinds’: Mountain Goat.

Introduction:

I read a book one time, Titled: “Hinds’ Feet on High Places” by Hannah Hurnard and this story is a depiction of an unsaved person and the fears and problems they face in life. The main character’s name is Much-Afraid, and the story it gives, of her salvation and spiritual maturity, is one that has stuck with me since I read the book. The main verse of the book is Habakkuk 3:19, oddly one verse after my favourite. Let’s read those verses and I’ll give a background: Habakkuk 3:18-19 “Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. [9] The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet and he will make me to walk upon mine high places..” The context of the chapter revolves around the nation of Israel; they had rebelled, once again, and God sent a famine in the land – as one of the corrections He had done before to turn Israel back to himself. During this famine, a man named Habakkuk a prophet during that time who asked the LORD, throughout the book, to forgive the nation and to end the troubles.

“O LORD, How long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!” Habakkuk 1:2.

Back to the story of Much-Afraid. She, like Habakkuk, sought for a way out of trouble and sought it through the Good Shepherd; which is the Lord; and He gave her a task that, he believed, she could handle. This task was to travel through a dark valley and climb a mountain where she will meet him once again. She did not travel this road alone – The Good Shepherd sent her help, and she had to learn to rely on the two companions. Habakkuk saw this dark valley as well and learned the simple truth that our feet will become like the hinds’ feet, and will walk on high places. This valley they went through was to teach them that no matter how dark, or gloomy, or what obstacles and trials they would face; the Good Shepherd is always there.

The same can be applied to us, this year 2020, We are stuck indoors, unless we need to work or buy groceries; It is a dark time, but even in this dark time, the Good Shepherd is still here, and he still waits for us to answer his call… He is calling, but will you listen? or, will you ignore the call and pretend everything is okay. Much-Afraid thought that a few times on her journey, just when she thought the fear, the worry, and the doubt was gone by her working it out on her own, she was proved wrong and was confronted with the need to ask for help. We can not do it on our own, we must call out to our helpers, and our Good Shepherd. God gave us helpers; Pastors, counsellors, and prayer warriors- to help us on our journey.

Just a short lesson, but I hope it was a comfort to you that you are not alone. Call out to the Good Shepherd and he will come and help.

Take care, and God bless.

Peace in Covid-19

Good morning Readers.

WOW! Has it really been that long since my last post?! *sigh* so much has happened and I wouldn’t know where to start. Well, let’s start where the last post was- September. I had been in Toronto for one month for college. I started a program called American Sign Language and Deaf Studies (ODSP) and I had made many friends, which some have long now cut ties with me after discovering I am a Christian and other reasons I have no idea why. Anyway, I found an amazing church that just started about a year and a half ago on the west end of the GTA, and they have been nothing but encouragement and a blessing! I am still in Toronto even with the Covid-19 pandemic, because I am in ISOLATION!

Yes, I am sick; no, not with corona. At the end of February, for reading week, I went up north to visit my sister; Well, they were sick with a sinus cold and lovingly shared it with me. After returning to Toronto from visiting my sister that week, the sinus cold aggravated my acute asthma and made me stuck in my apartment for an entire first week of March. Then Covid-19 broke out, and the doctor put me in isolation just last Tuesday because I was not getting better and prescribed me with an inhaler that has been helping me feel better so far. But through all of this, I have found peace, “how?” you may ask.

Well, as a visiting preacher said a few weeks ago, it’s not about the “how”, it’s about the who. You see, Colossians 3:15 says “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be thankful.” God is the God of Peace, not fear, or worry, or anything contrary to who He is. even though the news wants to drive us to be afraid of everything and everyone, we need to remember that God is bigger than the corona, and if he wants us to get sick nothing will stop his will. Even the people who have practiced social distancing and kept good hygiene and are very healthy, are still at risk. There is a prayer email from someone I read this morning, a missionary and his family have contracted the virus and are very sick. “But why would a loving God allow people that trust him to get sick?”

God may be testing your faith. During this time Satan wants us to abandon all forms of faith and trust in God, and run to that fear that is so contradicting of what faith is. God allows his children to experience testing because he wants us to grow our faith, as Hebrews 11:6a says “But without faith it is impossible to please him:”. We can not please God if our faith is wavering, wavering like a “wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed” as James 1:6 states. Faith is crucial to peace, they go hand in hand.

So, during this time of isolation, quarantine (for those minorly sick), recovery (for those seriously ill) and those who are healthy, remember to look for the one who can give you peace that passes all understanding, because he is the one who will keep your hearts and minds. Keep your hearts and minds in peace, only through Jesus.

I am praying for you all that God will bestow upon you his everlasting peace, and give strength to your wavering faith, and courage to keep trusting Him through this storm.

Deliverer

Good morning readers.

While on the bus this morning, I saw a gentleman reading the Bible, and I asked him what passage he was in; he said Psalm 34. So today I am going to share with you what today’s title is: attribute of God, our Deliverer.

Psalm 34:4 KJV
“I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.”

1. Delivery from Fear

What are you afraid of?? The past that reminds us of your failures, the present of what people may think of you, or the future and what is in store? God says don’t fear, instead to call upon him and he will deliver you.

Psalm 34:6 KJV
“This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.”

Psalm 34:17 KJV
“The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.”

2. Deliverer from trials.

This points to me personally in so many ways, but mostly in the fact that God saved me from my troubles. It could be through encouraging friends, random people in the subway, or just reading His word.

Psalm 34:7 KJV
“The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.”

3. Deliverer from loneliness

I faced this recently, last night to be specific. Being in college has been a change of pace for me and adjusting to the busy city I tend to feel alone and that when I panic and struggle. But reading this passage I am assured I am not alone.

Just in these passages alone, we have so much to be thankful for with this attribute of God. As I wrap up this morning’s study, I want to close with this verse and final thought.

Psalm 34:19 KJV
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.”

What are you struggling with? Fear, loneliness, or trials and afflictions. God is there for you and if you only look to him, trust him and ask him to help- he will answer and give relief.

Provider

Good morning,

It has been some time since I posted on the website. I haven’t stopped reading I just haven’t found enough scripture to share with you all – until today!

I want to get started and first tell you what inspired this post.

I just recently moved to Toronto for School at University, and since moving here I have been feeling the Lord wants me to have a deeper and closer walk with him. This study actually started yesterday, but the information gathered was very personal between God and me, and I will need to edit it before posting on this website.

I started a study on the attributes of God, and yesterday’s post was about His Mercy and why he extended it to us. It is a beautiful study and if you would like to look up the main scripture that led me to go into this study was Job 11:6 “Know therefore that God exacted of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.” Powerful, right? Well, that verse alone opened a whole can of worms and I felt closer to God after pouring my heart to him and studying why he exacteth less than what we deserve.

Today is different and you may notice that I am doing this study and posting it immediately on the website. This is a study that I believe everyone needs. As you see by the title it is short and sweet… too bad this post isn’t. “Provider” is what we are looking at today.

So as you know yesterday I decided to begin a study on the attributes of God. being in a busy city where everything is at your fingertips to gain, many people, including Christians, forget there is A God that will supply our need (Philippians 4:19); only if we trust him and ask him in faith to supply.

I emphasize “A God” because in this large city there are millions of people who worship a god (small “g”) -a god such as Allah, or Buda, or a version of Jesus whom they don’t believe is the Son of the Almighty God. So as I get started the Attribute of the Almighty God our Provider.

Starting in Deuteronomy 8:18 it says “But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.”

A history around this verse, God is giving the Israelites commandments and saying if they forget these commandments there are consequences but will eventually remember the Lord that supplied them with the “power” or riches in their lives.

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I had this post all planned out. I had bullet points and reasons why God does what he does in his great power, but I think, halfway through this God had a different plan. I was reading old posts from last year, and the year before, editing them and fixing mistakes; and something just hit me like a sack of potatoes (ouch!). I want this post to be a reflection of the Lord’s provision, on your life and on mine. What has God done for you in this past year that you just want to praise him for? Yes, he provides with great power and in ways, we can not comprehend, but do we tell anyone? This year has been busy, and I lost focus on telling people the great things the Lord provided for me, and his power working through it. I want to share what God has done for me this year and I hope somewhere in this post you remember what he has done for you.

1. Completed my high school upgrade. you may think that isn’t something to be praised about, but it is. I think it was halfway through the year I was feeling quite down, I was preparing to finish, leave for college and whatever else God had planned for me. I was overwhelmed and probably would have done better in my courses if I kept my focus. I passed the courses, but not as high as I was hoping them to be and it was all my fault; but even in that, I see God waking me up each morning, giving me the strength to eat breakfast, pack a lunch, arrive at school, and doing the best I physically could do. I wasn’t doing it on my own, but God’s power brought me through it when I was weak.
2. Moving to the big city. “how is that a blessing?” I am a small city girl, the largest population this girl has lived in was just over 100,000, but recently it has been in a city of 24,000 or so. so moving to this big city of Toronto of millions of people, it gets overwhelming. But God is so good! He found me a place that is outside of the busy city, close to the bus stops, and grocery stores, and with a lady whom I have known for over 5 years. Please tell me that, that isn’t the working of the Lord! I know you can’t. I did nothing to bring me to this place and God did everything. Even driving to the place was easy, and I never thought I would say that! God has everything to receive praise through this situation because I had no power to do it on my own.
3. A loving family. Nothing else can describe my family; through thick and thin God has shown me that the love of family goes deeper than any sin that could be committed. When I feel that I have lost every respect from my family in poor choices I have made, God assures me that NO amount of sin can cause my family to think less of me. I am human, I make mistakes and mess up sometimes so bad I convince myself I can not make it through it; but he gives me strength and I am thankful for this life he has given me, and the family he has put me in.
4. This blog. Even today I feel that when I want to share something with other people of things God has brought into my life to strengthen and uphold me. I read those posts and I feel the Lord working still. If it weren’t for these post I would have no way of looking back and seeing God’s mercy and provision in my life.

I know this post isn’t what I was hoping to be, but I hope, somehow, it helps you to see God’s working in your life, even in the small things.

May God bless you all today and give you the power you need to become what God wants you to be.

God bless, and have a fantastic day.

Freely Give

Good morning, afternoon, or evening- wherever you are reading this.

It has been a long while since my last post, and I feel I need to make a real effort sharing with you Gods word and what I have learned. I’ve noticed, over the years of this blog, that there are people across the world reading these, and many of them are in places where the Bible is forbidden and could be jailed for reading it. I want to praise the Lord for those people because they obey God rather than man and follow Him no matter what.

I want to share a few verses I found this morning, first in Matthew 10 and then in Acts 3. You’ll see a fulfillment of the Lord’s command by one of his disciples and I hope it blesses you in seeing what God’s power can do.

Let’s start reading Matthew 10:8-9 KJV This is Jesus speaking:

“Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. [9] Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses,”

Now let’s go to Acts 3:6,8 KJV a bit of background. After the Lord’s death, and resurrection- before he was ascended into heaven he told his disciples to meet in an upper room, on Pentecost, and wait for the Holy Spirit to appear. When that was completed Peter and John were filled with the Holy Ghost and preaching Gods word to anyone they met. Here we see them meeting a lame man and Peter, for sure, remember what Jesus had told them in Matthew 10:9. So let’s read and I’ll lay out a few points.

Acts 3:6+8 says:
“Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. [8] And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.”

I want to share four (4) things I got from this message and I hope it is a blessing to you.

1. The Need. Peter saw this man, he was sitting outside the temple gates, begging for food and water. Peter had compassion and saw his need for much more. “Such as I have, give I thee.” He didn’t just give him healing, but he gave him the greatest thing his soul wanted: Love.
2. The Remembrance. No doubt the commandment of Jesus came to mind from Matthew 10. “..freely ye have received, freely give.” Peter didn’t think twice. You don’t hear a “silver and gold have I none… oh wait, I have 10 shekels, go walk and buy food” NO! But “such as I have give I thee.” He gave him Hope.
3. The Healing. When Jesus healed someone, he just said simple words like “rise up and walk”, or “be thou clean”, and even “thy sins be forgiven” he had the authority to do so, he is God. Peter, on the other hand, could have said “rise up and walk” but he didn’t have that kind of authority; he wanted to give God the glory so he said, “in the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” He gave him healing and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
4. Finally, we see The Praise. “..and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.” If Peter had just said “rise up and walk” the praise would be him and not God, but because Peter said “in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth..” at the end of it all that man glorified and praised God.

So what can we personally draw from this?

1. Look for a need. Could be as small as having your life reflect Christ, but it could be giving someone the Gospel and offering the soul healing that they need.
2. Remember his word. We are called to be the light to this dark world, and we can’t be a light if we are afraid of what people might say. Think of what I said before I started; there are people, who read these post, in places the Word of God is forbidden; they are not afraid because they have the hope of the Lord and the Peace of God.
3. Give God the praise. When a lost soul comes to know Christ, forget about their past. Their past is covered by the blood and they are made new. Only God can do that, and He deserves all the praise.

I hope this devotional was a blessing to you.

God bless and I hope you all become the light to this dark and dying world.

“The wicked in his pride”

Good morning readers,

It has been a long time since the last study we had done, which was on the rainbow and God’s promises never ending. I want to change the pace- yes God’s promises will never fail, but God makes promises for good and bad to bring us closer to him.

Today I started a study of comparison between the prideful and humble spirit; beginning by reading verses pertaining to the prideful heart and reading verses that are contrary to the actions and next week (possibly) will be the humble spirit and the blessing, because that is what God expects from us.

This morning was in Psalm 10 verse 2 and 4, which is the title of the post, and a question to think about during this study.

Starting in verse 2: “the wicked in his pride..”

1. “Persecute the poor”

In Deuteronomy 15 we see the opposite of persecuting the poor. Verse 11 “open thine hand..unto thy brother..poor..needy”

When you see the poor on the streets, do you turn away or buy them lunch and something to keep them warm? I know many people can not afford to do that all the time, but God wants us to have compassion on them and not judge them for their life choices. We all have made wrong choices and God showed us mercy, we need to show the same mercy to the poor.

Verse 4: “the pride in his countenance”

2. “Will not seek after God.”

In Psalm 14 we see what the prideful spirit actually says and thinks. In verse 1 “the Fool hath said in his heart, there is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works..”

This was me. I thought in my heart that there was no God, but when I looked around at the good things in my life, and studied God’s word, I found he was with me every day in every decision, guiding me to his love.

What are the “abominable works” that psalm 4 talks about? Well, we find that in the following verses in chapter 10 and verses 5-10. I will let you all read it on your time as this post is getting lengthy.

I want to end in a challenge for you all as found also in Psalm 10 and verse 12 “Arise..forget not the humble”. This is a plea from David to the Lord to not forget the people who are humble in his presence, but it can be applied to us. The humble can be anyone, the poor on the street, or a servant heart in the church. Pray for those people, encourage and bless them. The servants in the church do so much work in the back ground and do not ask for recognition, God will will remember their actions. God also commands us to open our hand to the poor, the needy, the humbled in the streets; they have needs that we do not lack, and they look to us to show them the love of God.

On the flip side of helping the humble, the prideful looks at the the lowly, poor, and needy, and lifts his nose to the air. God warns that having pride is a “compassion…chain” (psalm 73:6) but Jesus freed us from the chains of sin, and all we have to do is claim his freedom.

So I challenge you, wherever you may be; be kind and help the humble soul and strive to be like them, for there are blessings to those that are humble in spirit; or you will be in bondage to your pride that will destroy your life beyond comprehension.

His Promises are Forever

Good morning readers.

A few years back I had attended a youth camp and during this camp the guest preacher spoke about remembering passages that made you say “wow!” So today, I would like to share with you a “wow” that I found, while reading.

Please read a long. First we will start off in Revelation 4:3 in your KJV. It says: “And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.”

I would like us to notice the bolded word “rainbow”. This word is only mentioned twice in Revelation – in chapter 4 and chapter 10, but we will only be looking at chapter 4. Now I want you all to turn your Bibles to Genesis 9:12-16. This passage says:
“[12] And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:

[13] I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

[14] And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:

[15] And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

[16] And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.”

You may ask ‘okay, why is the word “bow” bolded?’ Well, you see, these are the first mentions of the bow. God had purified the earth with a flood, so Noah and his family were the only people left. The bow was a promise God made to Noah and himself that he would never flood the earth again. But I want you all to see the first bolded words- “my bow”. God had used this possessive pronoun, because if we remember back in Revelation God has a rainbow surrounding his throne.

This is not just a random bow God created! This rainbow, has been around his throne forever – before time began! It was God’s bow. And now, it is our promise from God to never flood the earth.

But now a days, people mess up the rainbow, the pride events to be an example. God’s promises is pure but it has been defiled. But God still loves those people, he sent Jesus to save them, and we aught to love them too, and try to win them to the Lord.

Thank you for joining me today. I hope you were wowed as much as I was.

Let’s pray:

Dear heavenly Father, thank you for your scriptures and allowing us to read it in the freedom we have. Lord, many people who read your word may not be free in their country, but they are free in their spirit. So Lord, give us peace in our physical bondage, and help us to grasp the promises you have for us. Help us as well, Father, to love those that aschew your promises and change it’s meaning. We thank you for this day, and thank you for waking me up this morning. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

God Bless!

Gods Grace

Good morning readers,

Well; it’s been a few weeks, almost a month, since I’ve done a post;and this morning I found a verse that we all can apply to our lives and get great comfort from. Let’s read this verse and I’ll discuss it a bit.

Malachi 3:6 KJV
“For I am the Lord , I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.”

So just a touch on the earlier verses: The LORD is talking to Israel through Malachi about the coming messenger, other named of John the Baptist, because the word of God says that the messenger will “prepare the way” before him(Malachi 3:1)

Prophesied in Isaiah 40:3; and come to pass in Matthew 3:3; Mark 1:2+3; Luke 1:76, 3:4 and John 1:23.

After the first verse, in Malachi, about John the Baptist, the LORD goes into talking about Jesus and how he will judge Judah and Jerusalem for their sin and save those who had rejected him.

Then we go into this promise he makes to the sons of Jacob, and if you are a born again Christian,you are adopted into that family; and this is the promise: “For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.”

We have the assurance that, as a child of God, we are under the care and protection of God:but a warning it does not give us a free pass to sin and use the Grace of God any way we want.

By a closing note; I know, by personal experience, that Gods Grace isn’t something to mess around with. God gives us the amazing choice to serve,and be his child; but, as humans, we make mistakes, and with these mistakes we learn that God extends his hand of grace, and waits for us to return to him. There is a warning; if you live in sin, and have not confessed it, and renewed your life to Christ; there will be a time where the LORD says it is enough and take you home early.

I pray, and pray, that no one who reads these devotionals and take to heart what I say, will live a life that will bring that warning on your life.

Please take this advice by someone who knows what it is like to live in sin and live on the fence, and developed physical problems that I knew exactly why I had them happen.

Praying always for you all, and as the Paul ended all his notes to the Christian’s he reached out to: Galatians 6:18 KJV
“Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.”

Healing

Good morning readers,
This is just a simple title but I feel like it needs to be brought to our attention, yes even to mine.
As you all know, by previous posts, at the beginning of the year I started reading five chapters of the bible a day, and today I just finished the book of Hosea; honestly, I am feeling quite overwhelmed. Throughout the bible there are promises, which I have come to name them “Hidden Gems”, but with these ‘Hidden Gems’ there are even some warning signs, but I just want us to look at this passage, where I found a ‘Hidden Gem’, and talk a bit about the passages before.

Hosea 14:4 KJV “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely; for mine anger is turned away from him.”

So, at the end of the Book of Hosea, we see God’s promise to heal the backsliding nation and love them freely (unlimited) and it closes the verse with God saying that his anger is turned away from him (Israel). Why, you may ask, that God reminded them, briefly, that he was angry, but looking past his anger and choosing to love his nation again? Yes, and to answer “why”, God is a forgiving God, and he removes our sin as far at the east is from the west, and chooses to remember our sin no more; But he is also a just God, and being just he wanted them to remember where they were standing with him in the past and where they are now. God had allowed his nation to go through captivity and destruction multiple times, and his reason for it was to teach them that he was and still is in control and to bring them back to him. In this Book of the Bible, Hosea gets visions from the LORD that Israel had sinned once again and lived in Idolatry and rebellion, but the gracious LORD called them back and offered healing and redemption.

I can honestly tell you, that reading through the Bible this year has not been a breeze; God has been teaching me some things that I just need to take a step back and look at my life in a whole. I have made mistakes, no one is perfect, I have drifted and wandered many times; but God, in His great mercy, love, and grace, pulled me back to himself time and time again, and though I may mess up, he is still right there, waiting where I had left him behind.

Are you struggling? Not just emotionally, or physically but spiritually; Do you have that assurance that God is waiting for you to return to him? It may take a while, Israel is still a backsliding nation, But so is Canada and the U.S. and God calls all of us to return to him. It’s not too late.

You might even say that you don’t have the assurance, maybe because you don’t know if you are a born again Christian, well, it is never too late; Jesus calls to people to go to him for spiritual filling and needs. Matthew 11:28 says “Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” and Jesus beckons in John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me.” I encourage you if you do not know Christ as your Saviour, please accept him today. He is the same yesterday, today and forever, and he never fails. I could sit here, and do one long post about what God has done for me since I accepted Christ as my Saviour almost eight years ago. and I can tell you, with complete honesty and faith, that God has not once given up on me; but many times as he had done with Israel, I was left to be in captivity and sin, until my eyes opened and I saw his love.

If there are any questions, maybe about finding your way back to the LORD, or a path to gain a relationship with Christ through salvation; I am willing to help in any way possible, but as always, I will direct you to the promises God has for you and me in his word.

Have an awesome day, and stay cool in this heatwave, wherever you are.

God bless!