Thursday: A Call to Repentance
“‘And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God,
Image © Darrel Tank from GoodSalt.com
and Jesus Christ whom You have sent’” (John 17:3, NKJV).
The name Hosea in Hebrew means “the Lord saves,” and is related to the names Joshua, Isaiah and even Jesus. The prophet calls the people to reject sin and find refuge in their Lord God because He is their Creator and Redeemer. The purpose of the divine judgment was to remind the sinners that their life and strength come from the One to whom they must return. Thus, even amid all the warnings and pronouncements of judgment, Hosea’s book presents the themes of both human repentance and divine forgiveness.
The prophet urges the nation, which was perishing in sin “‘for lack of knowledge’” (Hos. 4:6, NKJV), to press on to know God fully and live in harmony with His eternal principles. It was the people’s lack of knowledge, the knowledge of God, that led them to rebellion and eventually resulted in judgment.
In contrast, through faith and obedience they could come to know the Lord for themselves. This knowledge can be close and intimate too. That is precisely why, time and again, marriage is a symbol of the kind of relationship that the Lord wants with us.
That is also why the Christian life consists primarily of a relationship with the living God. That is why the Lord calls people to know Him and follow His will for their lives.
The sin problem brought a fearful separation between God and humanity. But, through the death of Jesus on the cross, a way has been made so that each one of us can have a close walk with the Lord. We can, indeed, know Him for ourselves.
What is the difference between our knowing about God versus our knowing God? How is this difference reflected in our everyday living? If someone were to ask you, How can I come to know God, what would you answer? What do the following passages teach about the importance of “knowing the Lord”?
(0)
Marriage is so important that it is compared to the relationship that God has for His people. For a marriage to work, it is necessary for the husband and wife to know each other. They can only know each other by building and fortifying their relationship. They do this by spending quality time together talking, interacting and doing things together. They get to know each others likes/dislikes, habits, temperaments, character etc. By doing these things together they build a relationship that will last.
It is also important that as God's bride, we take the time to know our husbandman. Take time to listen to Him and understand what His desire is for our lives. Take time to understand how to live for Him.
Let us strive to be the best bride a husband could have as we take time in prayer and Bible study to know about our husbandman. When He comes for His bride, it will not be about how much we know about Him, but about how much we know Him personally.
[Moderator Note: Please use full name when commenting]
It is similar to what Jesus told the deciples "how long have I been with you and you say show us the fathere. If you have seen me you have seen the Father." having that one on one personal relationship with Him is the only way of knowing who He is.
[Moderator Note: Please use full name when commenting]
That is so true.
I have seen in some marriage relationships,the husband can't get control over his family.
The marriage is being infiltrated by in-laws, trying to direct the wife/daughter's life by feeding her their directions on how her family should be, instead of both husband and wife getting to know each other by talking and praying with the family.
His direction is now indirectly being undermined. The wife now see him as an obstacle because her parents and siblings tells her what she wants to hear and not what is best for her marriage relationship.
We need to pray hard for marriages, the devil is out to destroy families.
To know that God saves it is the main support through temptation. Let us know that God is our refuge.
[Moderator Note: Please use full name when commenting]
The chorus: "Open our eyes Lord, I want to see Jesus," comes to my mind. That is my pray to get to know Jesus, to love Him, to know His will, and to live daily for him in action and prayer.
It also helps to get to know your partner before you get married; many marriages fail because when you really get to know your partner you may realize that you don't actually like who they really are and what they do. Part of our job as ambassadors for Jesus is to teach people all aspects of His character - mercy & justice.
Like Gormer we have committed spritual adultary but I'm happy that God still loves us and He has aleady bought us with his blood. I surrender to Him, do you?
It takes the Spirit of God to guide us through difficult time; therefore, we pray that the Lord pour His Spirit on us while we go through these testing time.
Michelle, you have described in detail how it is to know one's husband/wife and have applied it to our relationship with God. Bible study, prayer and listening to God's voice, seeking His will for our lives, including Him in every aspect of our lives (this is where I fail)are the ways to know Him.
Lovely words by Larnelle Harris below:
I know that I know that my life is redeemed
I know I have found what some only have dreamed
I hold in my heart the pearl of great price
Dear God, hear my cry
I want to know Christ
Chorus:
I want to know Christ
I keep Him before me
I lift up my eyes
I drink in His glory
I press toward the goal
His goodness unfolds
March on , oh my soul
I want to know
I want to know Christ
I know that my path is the way of the cross
So I count what I gain and forget what I've lost
In pain there is joy, In death there is life
Dear God, hear my cry, I want to know Christ
And the things that entangle me, I lay them down
All the treasures and trophies of life
Let them be lost, Only let me be found in Christ
For I want to know, Yes I want to know
*** This is my desire ***
If we learn about God and can do some bible swording that has nothing to do with knowing God. Jesus didnt converse with people but convert them.
What a huge difference it would be in this world if we really got to know who God is, versus knowing about him. Everything would be so much better. We must reflect that intimacy with God in everything we do and say. When we get married, I suspect our actions reflect it. Something about us says that we are married. The same goes for knowing our Lord Jesus. We must reflect it in our actions and most significantly in our reactions to certain situations. Let's show the world that we know the Lord
God may not have called us to marry an unfaithful woman, but he has called us to love our fellow beings despite their evil acts towards us. By so doing, we step into Hosea's shoes. Love the unloved, the lovely and the unlovable. This is possible when we have a relationship of love with LOVE.