Chapter 1
When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.” So he went… (v.2 and start of verse 3) Not all directions that God is going to give you will make sense. Turn the other cheek. Bless those who persecute you. Pray for the leaders who don’t follow God’s directions themselves. Give your cloak to someone without the expectation of receiving it back. Go to the Middle East and preach the Gospel. Sometimes we’ll never truly understand why God led us down this or that path and that’s alright. What isn’t in question is the purpose or legitimacy of God’s direction, what’s in question is what will be your response? Hosea got the directions no man of God at that time would ever want. Go and marry a prostitute and have children with her. What questions were going through Hosea’s head at that time I’m not sure, but what we do see is his response to God’s rather odd directions. He went and did exactly like God directed him. For you, the directions God is giving you whether in His word or personally in your life with Him isn’t what is on question. It’s your turn to respond. How are you going to respond to the crazy, odd, unreasonable, and sometimes dangerous directions God is going to give you? My advice, just go with it. If God is leading you, He’ll provide for you. I’m not saying it will be easy or safe, but I know if that is the path that God is leading you on, He’s going to walk it with you. It’s more dangerous to not take that path, because if God isn’t leading you down it, you’re walking it alone and away from Him. So even if it seems crazy at the time, follow His lead. He knows the path far better than you do. – Daily DEVO 24
And the Lord said, “Call his name Not My People, for you are not my people, and I am not your God.” Hosea1:9 – In 1 John 1:6, we see scripture saying those that say they are with God yet live their lives in total rejection of that statement lie to themselves because they don’t yet have that relationship with God yet. They may say they are with Him, but they aren’t. I believe that’s the same message begin said in this first chapter. Israel is saying they are with God and following Him, but their actions and lives show something very different. God is saying because you have chosen to follow something other than me, while you might think you’re my people, you aren’t. For us, make sure that your life matches your profession. If you say you are a follower of God, then follow God. Let not only your words express who you follow, let your whole story point to the One you follow. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 551
When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.” Hosea 1:2 – “For the land commits…” Sometimes the heavy parts our faith journey end up being mostly for someone else. Like here, the reason Hosea was sent to do what He was sent to do was because the people of Israel needed to repent. Not because he himself was wayward but to use his life as a tool to bring others back to God. Now I’m not saying this didn’t help Hosea’s walk at all nor am I saying that seasons like this for us don’t impact our walk at all. Yet we must settle in our hearts that the pursuit of Jesus in other people is worth suffering for. That we’d be willing to go through a trial or a difficult season solely for the sake of someone else coming to know Jesus. We see that Jesus was willing to suffer and die in order that we could come close to the Father. What are we willing to go through in order to help someone else draw closer to God? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1669
Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God.” Hosea 1:10 – The people of the Northern Kingdom of Israel at the time of Hosea’s ministry were so politically and economically secure that they found no “need” of God in their life anymore and choose to worship the idols of the neighboring lands. God, in His efforts to open the eyes of Israel’s sin of idolatry, had his prophet Hosea take on a unique task. Hosea was to marry a prostitute and have children with her. The names of the kids were to be “God will scatter,” “No mercy,” and “Not my people.” All this was to be a visual example to Israel of how they had committed adultery in their covenant with God and what the product of such adultery would be. And while they were scattered and punishment did come for the complete fall of Israel took place just decades later, God brought the message as well that this state of “Not my people” wasn’t for forever. He would bring them back and take them back as His children. God is going to allow us as well to taste the results of our sinful choices. Feelings of distance from Him, a lack of Him answering our prayers, and a lack of protection from the enemy is just the beginning of such results. Know though as believers we are always His children and He will not let us go too long in the punishment. His goal is our holiness, not our condemnation. He desires us with Him as His people, but He will allow us to see the outcome of our choices to turn from Him if that’s what we chase after. Let’s be so grateful that we have a God that instead of leaving us as not His people, He sacrificed His own Son so we could be forever His people. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2940
Chapter 2
And there I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt. (v.15) At first when reading over this passage, that little phrase “and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope” didn’t stand out at all, but I was drawn back to it for some reason. When I looked into what Achor means, it changed the whole meaning of the phrase for me and I’ll do my best to explain it to you. Achor means trouble. God is saying I will make out of your valleys of trouble a door hope for you. That your past struggles and mistakes are true valleys of troubles that have kept you down and out for longer than you or God wanted. Yet, that valley of trouble that you’ve dwelt in for so long doesn’t have to be the end of your story. God is opening a door for you. One of hope that where you are at now, this valley, isn’t your ending. A hope that God isn’t done with your story yet and the writing of your story so far doesn’t have to be the way your story ends. He is showing you that He can make something beautiful even out of your worst situations. So while the valley is dark and deep, recognize it’s never to messed up for God to create a door of hope in it for you. – Daily DEVO 25
Therefore I will hedge up her way with thorns, and I will build a wall against her, so that she cannot find her paths. She shall pursue her lovers but not overtake them, and she shall seek them but shall not find them. Then she shall say, ‘I will go and return to my first husband, for it was better for me then than now.” Hosea 2:6-7 – Keep in mind this book is about Israel abandoning their pursuit of God and going after other gods. So this adulterous wife being spoke of is Israel and her “lovers” she goes after are the false gods. In our passage God says He will make it difficult for her to get to her lovers. Why would he do that? Just like a parent would make a rule and put up a fence so a child won’t run into the street, so will God help us to not run into areas that will hurt us. But we can break rules and open the gate to walk out of the fence. God gives us a choice, but He is going to do all He can to help us make the right on. Make sure you’re not crawling over all that Jesus has done for you so you can entertain your sinful desires just a little longer. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 552
And in that day, declares the Lord, you will call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.’ Hosea 2:16 – Ishi and Baali. Ishi is the word used here for “husband” and baali is the word used for Baal. Both words were used back in the day of Hosea to speak of a marriage relationship and to help the hearer understand the nature of that relationship. Ishi would express a loving, caring sort of marriage while baali would speak to a lordship and fearful marriage. What God then is saying here is that as He begins to heal His people that He wants to change their viewpoint of His marriage with them. No longer does He want them to see Him as baali but to see Him as Ishi. No longer does He want you to see Him as baali but to see Him as Ishi. God wants a loving, caring relationship with you, not one of fear and power. How then do you see God in your story? Does seeing God wanting a more loving relationship with these people change the way you feel about your relationship with Him if you see Him more as a baali? Know He wants to be your Ishi. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1670
And she did not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the wine, and the oil, and who lavished on her silver and gold, which they used for Baal. Hosea 2:8 – We see within this passage that Hosea’s adulterous wife had chosen to live in the house of her false lover. There she was enjoying bread, water, oil, and drink, and she believed that it was her lover that was providing her such things. Yet Hosea clarifies for us what really was happening, he was still providing all this for her. One commentator said to imagine Hosea knocking on the door of the man’s house that his wife was in, dropping off groceries to make sure she was taken care of because he knew this other man couldn’t provide for her, and then this other guy pretending he was the one taking care of Hosea’s wife. This is us with the Lord. We may believe that our sin is offering us so much. We are finding relief from the pain, rest from the chaos, and happiness from the high. We believe that it’s because these sinful things are in our life that we are being taken care of, but it’s because God hasn’t left us that we are being taken care of. He is still providing rest, love, and life for us even when we have strayed from Him. Yet as we see from the chapter, God will take His blessings back for a time so we will finally see it’s not our sin taking care of us, it’s our God providing for us. If you are waging war with some sin right now, remember anything good that you think you are receiving from that sin is from the Lord and not from the sin. Turn from the sin to the Lord and realize that not only will the good you were receiving still be there, but that it is just the beginning of the good God wants to bring into your life. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2941
Chapter 3
And the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins. (v.1) God’s love and plan of redemption is truly displayed everywhere in scripture. God is commanding Hosea His prophet to seek once again his wife that has gone astray. She has walked herself into a life of sin and shame, giving herself away in all manners. God though didn’t command Hosea to stand in judgement, but to seek out and rescue his wayward wife. This is exactly what God did for us with Jesus. We were that wayward wife. Lost and broken; caught in a world of sin that had entangled us and enslaved us. Even if we wanted out, we couldn’t. God though didn’t sit there in judgement over us, but had compassion and sent His Son to rescue us. He was offering to us a new life and a new relationship that was totally different than the one sin was giving us. He still is offering that to us. Most likely if you’re reading this, you know Christ already. Then my message to you is you aren’t lost anymore. You don’t have to carry the title of wayward, adulteress, or sinful anymore. Your title is wife. Meaning you’ve been bought, rescued, and taken back into the loving arms of your husband. You’re safe again and loved again. When we realize that, truly taking to heart what that means for us, why would we ever want to stray away from that again? – Daily DEVO 26
And I said to her, “You must dwell as mine for many days. You shall not play the whore, or belong to another man; so will I also be to you.” Hosea 3:3 – I have as a note in my Bible next to this passage, “No longer is your title wayward, adulterous, or sinful; your title is wife.” What we see in this passage tucked away in the Old Testament is the Gospel. That God wants to take you back, strip off all the bad titles the world and you have given yourself, and remind you that you are His and you are loved. Remember the Gospel isn’t about God condemning you with titles like failure, sinner, or disposable, it is God reclaiming you as His child, His own, His love. Be sure to share this Gospel. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 553
So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley. Hosea 3:2 – Fifteen shekels of silver was half the price of common slave from what we see in Exodus 21:32. Barley was used in the offering of one accused of adultery yet this little amount was not even half of what a slave would get for a food allowance a month. All this was to point out the worthless state Gomer had gotten her into. Her redemption price was less than a slave. Yet for us, what was our redemption price? The Son of God died on a cross and rose again for us. If we are taking our worth from the cost it took for God to redeem us, then we are worth everything to God. Some silver couldn’t buy us back, no barley could cover our adulterous actions, yet the blood of Jesus could do it all. So yes you’ve been bought back and the price God paid was His own Son. You are so valued by Him and so love by Him. Seek to dwell on that truth today. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1671
For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods. 5 Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days. Hosea 3:4-5 – We see Hosea put in perspective for us the bigger picture of what God was doing behind the unique commands he was being given. Like Hosea’s adulterous wife, Israel had turned from their love of the Lord. The result for Israel would be no political support or stability, no spiritual life with God, and no direction from the Lord. Their choice to break their covenant with the Lord would find them in a dark place, but when Israel would return to the Lord, like Hosea’s wife would return to him, then Israel would find the goodness and life they were truly seeking. For us the picture we must see is that the path towards sin leads not to our good. It’s leads to instability in all areas of life and a blindness to the directions of the Lord. When though we walk on the path of seeking the Lord, we’ll find the life and goodness that the people of Israel found when they turned to the Lord. The lie of the world is that it offers you all you need, and the truth of the Lord is He offers you all you need. Both are offering the same and you must choose which path you will go to find such blessing. Allow these sort of passages to reveal the deception of the enemy’s words to you and reveal the truth of God’s word to you. Life, fulfillment, joy, rest, grace, and salvation can only be found on the path of following Jesus. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2942
Chapter 4
The more they increase, the more they sinned against me; I will change their glory into shame. (V.7) Have you ever found yourself praying for an increase of some sort and it didn’t come to pass? You didn’t get the job or get into that school. That person didn’t look your way or reply back to your messages. Things just didn’t work out, but you prayed hard that they would. Why would God listen to your prayers, but not offer the answers that seem so good to us to have? Maybe those things didn’t enter your story because God knew they would hurt your story. Maybe they didn’t enter your story because God had something better in mind for your story. Maybe they didn’t enter your story because God knew they would lead you away from Him. Whatever the reason is, God held off on giving whatever it was to you because He knew it was best for your story not to have it. That’s often hard to accept, especially when it seems so perfect at that time and no explanation is available currently as to why it wouldn’t work out. Thankfully though our God is trustworthy. If He chose to keep that thing out of your story, know it was for your benefit. His goal is to lead you to Him and to help you accomplish His mission. If something doesn’t fit into His goal, He’s not going to add it to your story. – Daily DEVO 27
My people inquire of a piece of wood, and their walking staff gives them oracles. For a spirit of whoredom has led them astray, and they have left their God to play the whore. Hosea 4:12 – This passage sums up the stupidity of following an idol. They seek advice from a piece of wood? They get their directions in life from their walking stick? That’s sounds so idiotic, but we do things just like they did. We listen to our non-Christians friends on how to live our life. We let our calendar tell us if we have enough time for God this weekend. We let our emotions determine what we do in a current situation. See, we can be just like these people worshiping a stick so don’t make yourself as any better. We all need to daily choose to listen and follow God. If we don’t, something else sure will tell you what to do and where to go and how to respond. Make sure that the God you claim as your God has the authority you claim He has in your story. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 554
They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is good. Therefore your daughters play the whore, and your brides commit adultery. Hosea4:13 – Because their shade is good, another way to read this is because their darkness is good. Even in the light of day they could hide within the dark shadows of these trees and commit their sins of adultery. However deep the darkness, it apparently wasn’t able to hide from God what was happening under those trees. We too may have places of “shadows” that we believe go unseen by others and God. We visit these shadows because the darkness is good there and we enjoy what we find in those shadows. While we very well may be able to hide what we’re doing in those shadows from people in our story, know God sees into those shadowy parts clearly. Nothing is hidden from Him. Let’s then seek to end our visits to the shadows. Let’s make sure that what God sees in our story is a complete pursuit of Him, one without side trips to the shadows. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1672
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. Hosea 4:6 – Starting in chapter 4 the whole visual example of Hosea and his adulterous wife is set aside and God begins to speak plainly about the state of Israel. The nation had fallen deep into sin, they had broken all restraints, and they were diving head first into all sorts of sin and worship of false gods. In verse six we learn a primary reason the people of Israel lacked the knowledge of God’s word which caused them to stray so heavily. The priests, the ones who were supposed to be teaching God’s word to God’s people, had themselves chosen to reject God’s word and were not teaching it to the people. When the teachers of God’s word don’t teach God’s word, God’s people stray to sin. While this sort of passage is certainly directed at me as a preacher, know if you are a Christian, this passage is speaking to you as well. Every follower of Jesus is to be a proclaimer of His Word. We are to share His word to our fellow believers to help them grow, and we are to share God’s word with non-Christians to help them know of God’s salvation. So when we look at the state of the world we are in now, would we say the world knows God and knows God’s word properly? Sadly no, and that’s on all of us believers. Today, however you can and with whoever you can, start sharing the truth of God’s word and make His word known to everyone. Let lack of knowledge of God’s word not be the case for the people that God has put in your reach. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2943
Chapter 5
When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his wound, then Ephraim went to Assyria, and sent to the great king. But he is not able to cure you or heal your wound. (v.13) Turning back again to it won’t help. “It” is a very personal fill in the blank. For you IT could be finding yourself in a spiral of depression, isolating yourself from everything. Maybe IT is another relationship, shallow as always but temporarily giving you the fill you need. IT might be something you eat, put into your bloodstream, or watch alone. Like I said before IT is a very personal fill in the blank. Each one of us though has to fill in the blank. We are going to turn to ______ when the hurt of the world is too much; when we recognize the path we are on isn’t going to work out anymore. I would like to encourage a different “it,” rather a “who,” that can fill in that blank for you. Let God fill in your blank. When you’re hurt and broken, when you have seen the damage the choices of your life have caused, and the world isn’t at peace anymore in your story, let God be the one that you turn to. He is the only one that can heal your wound and cure you. Turning anywhere else is just going to infect the wound even more. It might dull the pain, but all you are doing is creating a deeper wound that will continue to fester until the true healing comes. When your story is more than you can handle, let God be the one that you turn to for healing. – Daily DEVO 28
When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his wound, then Ephraim went to Assyria, and sent to the great king. But he is not able to cure you or heal your wound. Hosea 5:13 – Don’t be distracted by the names, just look at what took place. People saw their hurt and they saw their need, so they went to another power other than God to help them. What then does God say will come about when they go to this “great king?” This king won’t be able to help them like they need. God wants you to know that the needs you have and the healing you desire can only be met in and through Him. Worldly things can provide temporary distractions from the pains, but God brings the restoration. Begin turning to God instead for help rather than anything else. Let’s God and what God has put in your life be what you use to meet those needs and desires you have in your story like nothing else can. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 555
With their flocks and herds they shall go to seek the Lord, but they will not find him; he has withdrawn from them. Hosea 5:6 – Doesn’t scripture say though when we seek God we’ll find Him? Why is that message not working for them? Notice though what Jeremiah 29:13 says. “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Here they were seeking God not with a heart ready to repent but with flocks and herds. The sacrifice God wanted from them was for them to lay down their sinful ways once and for all and turn to a life of pursuing Him. What they though we’re giving to God was a sheep. Not even out of desire to please God but out of obligation and desperation. This is why God was not found by them, because they weren’t truly searching for Him with a heart that wanted to find Him. Know today if you truly want to seek and find the Lord you’ll find Him. Don’t let the passage we read make you think God is hidden from you and unreachable. If your heart is truly desiring a deeper knowledge of Him and you want to come to Him know you can be sure He will be found by you. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1673
I will return again to my place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their distress earnestly seek me. Hosea 5:15 – This chapter is an eye opener to the scary reality that is connected with a refusal to turn form our sin. God withdraws from us. Not in the sense that we may immediately think, for a God who is everywhere can’t suddenly not be around you. What this withdrawal means is that his Hand is temporarily removed. The hand that guides, the hand that protects from the enemy, the hand that provides blessing…is lifted for a time. We see over and over in scripture when God choose to lift His hand off His people chaos and distress followed. But was God’s heart for His people to be crushed and isolated from Him? Never, not even in the times when His hand was lifted. As we see in our verses above, the key word is “until.” God would step away until the His people realized the wrong of their sin and turned back to following Him. If the people wanted to sin and reject Him, He would let them, but they would face the results of that choice of a life without Him. Yet if they would see the folly of that choice and turn once again to the Lord, they would find Him ready to once again wrap them in His hands. Whether it’s with the people of God in Hosea’s day or even your own life, God’s purposes behind what He does is for us to always be drawing near to Him. We can choose the path after sin, and God will let us, but we’ll also be allowed to see the fruit of such a choice and it’s not good. Instead, learn from our past and learn from these scriptures. Reject the tempting path of sin that leads to our distress and lean in after the pursuit of God. Seek His face with all your heart and you will find Him. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2944
Chapter 6
For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. (v.6) I will never claim to understand Brandi like I should; she’s far too awesome for me to understand her completely! After about three years of marriage with her though, I’ve learned some things. One is she’d much rather me know her than treat her. Sure, I could break the bank getting teddy bears and chocolate every day and she wouldn’t refuse them, but what she’d rather have is a husband that is in growing in his love for her and striving to know HER more every day. That’s relationship goals. That’s the relationship goals God is seeking with you. Your offerings are great, your times of service are wonderful, but what He truly longs for is you. He didn’t die on the cross so you’d have a chance to give a bigger offering; He did all that so He could be close to you like He always planned for it to be like. See, God is pleased with your willingness to give unto Him, even encourages that, but let the first gift you present to Him be you. Let the start of your offering be given over to growing in your love for God and your knowledge of Him so you and Him have a deeper relationship at the end of each day. What comes out of that – tithes, offerings, service, Etc. – that will grow as you grow with Him. Because now I know I don’t have to buy chocolate for Brandi for her to be happy, I do it because I love her and enjoy eating the chocolate with her. Same way with God. As we get to know HIM, our giving will come out of our love for Him and we’ll realize everything we give we get to enjoy right along with Him. – Daily DEVO 29
Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. Hosea 6:1 – If someone is tearing you apart and striking you, I strongly encourage you think wisely about staying in that relationship….that is unless they are a doctor doing their job. Sometimes a doctor will have to tear apart scar tissue that we’ve allowed to grow or strike a bone to re-break it after we’ve let it grow back wrong. We all realize the doctor isn’t wanting to cause us pain, but he will in order for us to be truly healed. So will God. We can let our lives end up like our bodies can, filled with scar tissue and bones growing wrong. Maybe that looks like bad relationships or even twisted ways of viewing yourself. Whatever the case God isn’t afraid to break the bad things in our life in order for us to be truly healed. Keep this in mind, not all pain will God remove because sometimes He allowed it so He can strip us away from what’s killing us and bring the true healing we need. I love you, but Jesus loves you
“Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.” What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away. Hosea 6:3-4 – In our pursuit of God let’s be sure it’s a true, steadfast pursuit of Him and not a superficial one. Yes, it looks like God’s people for a moment had a heart to draw closer to their God. Yet we see God knows how fading their pursuit of Him is. Like a morning cloud that will go away early on in the day leaving nothing behind. What can we relate our pursuit of God to? An unmovable rock that remains even through the toughest storms or like a morning cloud that even just the touch of heat causes it to fade away? Please don’t see this as a guilt trip on anyone but simply as an note to be real with ourselves on how true our pursuit of God is. If a little heat in life can cause it to fade and disappear then we need to invest more time into our life with Jesus. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1674
What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away. Hosea 6:4 – Hosea begins the chapter with seeking to lead Israel in what to say to the Lord. He directed them to return to the Lord, to press on to gain knowledge of the Lord, and to have faith the Lord would heal them. While giving of their offerings and sacrifices were still taking place, what God didn’t have was their heart. Their love for God was like a morning cloud or the morning dew. Both certainly present, but so temporary and fleeting the moment any heat comes their way. God was making it clear such a love for Him wasn’t what He was looking for. He wasn’t looking for a love that came and went. He wasn’t looking for more sacrifices from them; God wanted them. Today God wants you too. Your money and your gifts isn’t what God longs for. God wants you to first be about giving yourself wholly over to Him. He wants us to return and to consistently grow in our knowledge of Him. Is that though what the Lord has from you? Is He finding a wholehearted follower, or simply a Christian that can only be determined as a Christian by their social media profile page? God deserves our best, let’s pursue Him as the greatest thing in the universe. There is where we can begin to see the promises of blessing begin to take shape in our story. I love you, but Jesus loves you more than – Mac – Daily DEVO 2945
Chapter 7
They do not cry to me from the heart, but they wail upon their bed; for grain and wine they gash themselves; they rebel against me. (v.14) What’s at the heart of why you pray? The reason why I ask is what can easily happen is our prayer life can become a “wish list” rather than a conversation. That if we pray to God enough, then He’ll give me what I want. That if I show Him I’m a dedicated, praying person He’ll work everything out like I want. Almost treating God like some vending machine. That if we place in the right amount, push the right combination, we’ll get exactly what we want. Recognize it’s not bad to request things from God, God desires that from us, but is that really all your prayer life with Him is? Simply a wish list? Our prayers should be an outburst of our gratitude of what He has already done for us. Sadly, that gratitude can be the smallest part of our prayer life, if it holds any part at all. Let’s change that. Today, rather than your prayers just being for provision, let it be thanking the provider as well. Let this be the theme to your prayers – We lift up our voices to God not to earn blessings, but to praise Him for the blessings He’s already given. – Daily DEVO 30
They return, but not upward… Hosea 7:16a – This quick phrase wraps up the message of this chapter, if not also so much of the Old Testament. God’s people are crying out, seeking help, running to help, but they aren’t running to God. They are crying out and running to the very things that got them in this dark place to begin with. That’s why this verse is so powerful, they returned, but not to God but to a deeper passion of following sin. For us, listen to God’s heart here. He wants us returning to Him, not to the things that hurt us. Be careful not be be deceived by the tangibility and immediate nature of sin. While it can seem to offer help so quickly and God’s ways can seem so far off, return to the one who loves you and not the one just trying to destroy. God is better to return to. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 557
All of them are hot as an oven, and they devour their rulers. All their kings have fallen, and none of them calls upon me. Hosea 7:7 – Here’s what this passage means. They were hot after their sin and were letting heated anger lead them to either stopping or taking out any leader who tried to keep them from their sin. None were reaching out to God, just reaching after their sin. In our story often the best way to handle our lust after sin is to have the help of another follower in Christ. They can hold us accountable and even be a shoulder to lean on when the temptations are strong. In your story though, have you been nurturing your relationships with those who help you with your struggle with sin or have we been allowing those relationships to crumble like we see in our passage? While we may not even be aware that we’re allowing those connections to fizzle out, know your enemy is very aware and celebrating watching us disconnect from our support system. Today let’s seek to reinforce those supporting relationships. Maybe it’s with setting up a coffee date to talk, maybe it’s just praying for them to keep them on your mind more. We need these relationships so let’s nurture them however we can today. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1675
Woe to them, for they have strayed from me! Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me! I would redeem them, but they speak lies against me. Hosea 7:13 – Chapter 7 seems to be summed up with this idea of being blinded by love, but not in the typical sense. Israel was in love with idolatry. They were sinning deeply with the worship of other gods, yet where does the blindness come into play? They believed God was blind to their sin. That somehow they could worship all these other gods, yet still come to church and worship God and He wouldn’t notice all the idolatrous things they did that week. God though wasn’t blind to all this, everything they did was plainly before Him. Look though at the language of this verse, “they have strayed from me…I would redeem them, but…” God, who saw every sin they committed was ready to forgive, redeem, and restore His people after they strayed from Him. His people though rejected, lied about their sin, and kept after their idols. In our story know God’s posture is always forgiveness, even when we stray. We can chase after sin for years in our life but turn to the Lord and find forgiveness. What isn’t honoring to God though is pretending He is blind to our sin and keep “worshipping” Him while wallowing in sin. He’s not a fool and His eyes see clearly what we are doing. Let us then finally and fully give to the Lord our sinfulness so we can properly follow Him unhindered by the baggage of sin. No more hiding, no more lying, and no more believing God can’t see it. Give it to the Lord and allow God to begin His healing process in our life. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2946
Chapter 8
To me they cry, “My God, we – Israel – know you.” (v.2) I couldn’t help but immediately relate this to probably one of the scariest verses in the bible when I read this passage. In Matthew 7:23, Jesus is teaching a truth that most likely stopped everyone in their tracks when He spoke it. He let them know that it wasn’t the cry out of His name that brought about rescue for them; it wasn’t about the “mighty deeds” done in His name that gave them salvation. It was all about whether they had chosen to follow His will or chosen their own path. The scariest part of this all was at the end of the verse when Jesus replied to those crying out to Him who had followed their own path. He told them, “I never knew you.” In Hosea’s story, Israel is crying out to God saying, “We know you God.” Isn’t it funny though they had to identify themselves to God? Saying, “God we know you, but do you know who we are?” Of course God knew who they were, but their sinful behavior had damaged the connection they had with God to the point that they weren’t even sure if God recognized who was crying out to Him. So does God know you? Would He welcome you with open arms or say, “I never knew you?” The path to knowing God and Him knowing you is through a relationship with Jesus. Knowledge of a person is key in any relationship, but it has to start with a commitment were one tells the other, “I’m all for you.” I hope you can claim that for yourself. If not, hit me up and I’ll be happy to share with you how to start the most amazing relationship you’ll ever find. – Daily DEVO 31
Israel is swallowed up; already they are among the nations as a useless vessel. Hosea 8:8 – Sin ruins what is good. Here Israel, a nation that was designed to show the world the power and glory of God, has given themselves over to their sinful ways and become a stench to the world. It says they have become like a useless vessel, like a dirty bowl that you’d never use for anything anymore and just stinks. Understand that how their sin caused them to be useless for God’s work our sin can do the same. If we allow sin to be active and acceptable within our lives, all it’s going to do is ruin our witness and ruin our ability to properly carry out God’s will for our lives. Our sin can make us a useless vessel. Through Jesus we have been set free from this sin so let go of the very things making you unusable to God. If you’re truly grateful for the life He’s blessed you with, make your life usable for His plans by setting aside your habits of sin. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 558
I have spurned your calf, O Samaria. My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of innocence? For it is from Israel; a craftsman made it; it is not God. The calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces. Hosea 8:5-6 – In ancient Egypt the calf was a god to them and a symbol of worship; this is also where Aaron got his idea for the golden calf in Exodus. Now here in our passage a calf is being spoken of again. Now I’m not sure if they had a golden calf like in exodus or God is just summing up their idolatry by saying “calf,” either way though the message is clear. It is not God. It’s just something created and not their Creator. It had no life, no breath, and couldn’t offer them any help. What then is your “calf?” What’s been more important to you than you pursuit of Jesus? If that’s too far then what’s been side tracking you from your purpose in life of sharing Jesus with others? A job? Fear? Netflix? Our calves don’t have to be golden to ruin our walk with Jesus. What needs to go so you can pursue your life with Jesus like He’s calling you to? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1676
Were I to write for him my laws by the ten thousands, they would be regarded as a strange thing. Hosea 8:12 – Israel at this time had devoted themselves to the creation of many idols of silver and gold to worship and trust in for their protection. They followed the way of neighboring nations that knew not God and found themselves in a place where God said even to them He knew them not. Israel was His bride, but they were behaving like a wayward woman chasing after other lovers. In verse twelve we see the Lord saying that even if He were to give them His laws by the tens of thousands, meaning that His words to them would be perfectly clear and they would have no doubt in how to live faithfully after God, they still would reject it. The words from God would seems like a strange, unfamiliar thing because they weren’t familiar with God Himself. Such truth is repeated in 1 Corinthians 2:14 when it speaks about how the things of God don’t make sense, they are folly, to the person that does not know God. See then the connection, we can’t know God’s word without God. Even with the Lord, if we aren’t following Him, He could speak tens of thousands more pages of scripture to us and it still would be like a foreign language to us for we aren’t first seeking to know Him. God Himself is the lens to understand God’s word. Until we make that choice to live fully for God and to seek Him always, His word will just be a book that has no impact on our life. Choose to love the Lord, choose to be about His purposes today, and choose to seek to know Him more, and there God’s word will come alive and this collection of “strange things” will become a source of joy, peace, and life because you are taking in the words of the God who loves you. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2947
Chapter 9
What will you do on the day of the appointed festival. And on the day of the feast of the Lord? (v.5) Their lifestyle and the consequences of their lifestyle would hinder them from celebrating some of the most important days and things to them. Could the same be for you? Have the choices you’ve made and the consequences of those choices created a hindrance for you to be able to celebrate the special things in your life? Are you unable to show your love for someone because you hurt them in the past and the relationship has been shattered? Are you unable to celebrate with someone else’s blessing because of your selfishness and pride? Are you unable to feel the rest and peace of God because you have filled your days with things that would dishonor Him? Our lifestyle, the choices we make, and the consequences that follow truly will direct how we celebrate and enjoy these special things. Possibly that brokenness is already here and is effecting your life right now. How do we move past the brokenness in the areas? Begin with the healing of your relationship with God. He is going to be the one that brings about the true healing in every area of your life. Start with a coming back to Him, developing a deeper and real connection with Him within your life. The healing of that relationship will guide you in the healing of your other relationships. When you’re healthy with Him, He can help you heal. – Daily DEVO 32
They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah: he will remember their iniquity; he will punish their sins. Hosea 9:9 – I’m glad this verse is within this chapter because it reminds us of a very valuable truth; God doesn’t hate the sinner, He hates the sin in our lives. See how it says I will punish their iniquity and their sin. While yes that does mean they themselves will feel the pain of this punishment, the wrath of God is being directed at the sin of the people, not the people themselves. God isn’t just waiting for some reason to hurt you and punish you. Grasp the truth He loves you and wants what’s best for you. What’s best is killing off the sin in our lives. Just remember, the closer we are to our sin, the more we’ll feel the sting when God burns it away. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 559
Like grapes in the wilderness, I found Israel. Like the first fruit on the fig tree in its first season, I saw your fathers. But they came to Baal-peor and consecrated themselves to the thing of shame, and became detestable like the thing they loved. Hosea 9:10 – Some chapters within the Old Testament can be hard to push through when we begin to see God’s intensity towards sin. His wrath is real and as we’ve seen through history the promises He makes concerning His wrath do come about. In these moments though it’s helpful to remember why God’s wrath is on the scene at all. Here the Lord shares how He found His people and loved them, yet they chose to love another and chased after them. They chose to become like them in all their wickedness. After promising to commit to God they sought after another. Know God gives us a choice in what we chase after and what we become like. Just know our choice to chase after sin comes at a steep cost; a cost that steals out joy, kills relationships, and destroys our chance at peace with God. God offers us a way out of the heaviness sin brings through Jesus yet offers us the choice to refuse it as well. Know though His heart longs to be close to you and wants nothing more than you to embrace a life with Him that keeps the sting of sin far from your story. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1677
They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah: he will remember their iniquity; he will punish their sins. Hosea 9:9 – Reading this verse with a 21st century lens won’t have the same impact as it would for someone in Hosea’s day. For us, we see the straightforward message of they have sinned deeply and God would punish that sin. Yet what happened in the days of Gibeah that Hosea here is connecting Isreal’s sins to? Judges 19 tells us all about the sins of the people of Gibeah. It’s a story that shocked and disturbed the nation as a whole. It for me is my least favorite chapter in the Bible, and it was used by God to show just how far into depravity Israel had gotten during the time of the Judges. Hosea now seeks to get the attention of his listeners by telling them that they have corrupted themselves just as badly as in the story of Judges 19. That horrible black mark on the history of Israel that everyone wanted to just forget about, they were being just has sinful. What would this look like for you? What would your “days of Gibeah” be? Think back to the season of your life when you were living the furthest away from a holy life for the Lord, that’s your “days of Gibeah.” Now look at the sin that is still currently present in your story. If you continue to feed that sin and allow it to remain in your life, do you know where you will find yourself? Gibeah. Do not be fooled thinking you are the master of your sin and you can control how deep you get with it. The enemy will take that small foothold you give him and take you to the depths of depravity with it. Instead, whatever the sin that is still active in your life, give it today to Jesus. Sin will lead you to the days of Gibeah, holiness will lead you to Jesus. Choose which path you want to be on. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2948
Chapter 10
…and they shall say to the mountain, “Cover us,” and to the hills, “Fall on us.” (v.8b) Point of reference, often where the people would commit their sins of idol worship would be on the high places (such and mountains and hills). Crying out to the places of where they rejected God during the time of God’s judgement of their rejection. For you though, I have a different message. You can cry out to Him instead. It’s true that God is going to give punishment on you because you have sinned. That due to your mistakes and rejection of Him in your past (and present) that your chances of making it out are none. Through Jesus though, those chances take a drastic change for the better. Sin has to be punished; your choice is whether you pay the price or allow Jesus to. That’s the beauty of the different message for you. Not that the sin doesn’t have to be punished anymore, it’s just someone who loves you is willing to pay it for you. If that price has been paid for you already, you know the beauty of it. Take a moment today to thank Him for the salvation you’ve been blessed with. Having Jesus might not be your story…yet. Just know, He loves you and doesn’t want you to have to fear punishment and death. That why He did what He did on the cross for you. If you want Him take that burden of punishment on Himself for you, all you have to do is ask Him to. – Daily DEVO 33
Israel is a luxuriant vine that yields its fruit. The more his fruit increased, the more altars he built; as his country improved, he improved his pillars. Hosea 10:1 – The more they prospered, the more they turned away from God. Ironic isn’t it that as they received blessing, they turned further away from the one blessing them. Today challenge yourself to not be like them. Recognize the blessings in your life are from God. See that it’s because of Him that there is any good in your life. Then, because of that, turn to follow Him rather than using what He’s given to make a quicker escape. God gave you time today to use for Him. God gave your freedom from sin so you don’t have to keep turning back to it. Demonstrate your gratitude by walking closer to Him rather than turning away. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 560
Ephraim was a trained calf that loved to thresh, and I spared her fair neck; but I will put Ephraim to the yoke; Judah must plow; Jacob must harrow for himself. Hosea 10:11 – Keep in mind here Ephraim, Judah, and Jacob are all names of God’s people. Here God speaks of how He let Ephraim, part of His people, enjoy His fields and blessing without putting any large yoke of burden on them. They could enjoy life with God and all He asked was that they follow His ways. Yet instead, while in the midst of God’s field of blessing they took advantage of God’s good will and turned stubborn towards Him. Now God is saying it’s time to put a larger yoke on them. Not to destroy them but to guide them back to Him despite their stubbornness. What we should take away from this is that God is about our repentance not our destruction. God didn’t say He was going to slaughter the calf, He was simply going to put a yoke on them to remind them of where they were suppose to go and what they were meant to do. God’s heart for you is that we turn to follow Him and we enjoy the blessings of life from Him. We can turn and be stubborn towards Him, know though because He loves us He will still put in the effort to work through our stubbornness to redirect us back to Him. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1678
Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you. Hosea 10:12 – While I’ve lived my whole life in the Midwest, gardening and farming are a couple things I know almost nothing about. So when it said, “break up your fallow ground,” I had to look up what that meant. It means to work the hardened ground that was given time to rest for a year or longer so it can be ready to plant again. That hard ground hasn’t been ready for seed for awhile, and unless some hard work is done on it, it will never be ready for growing anything. Such can be our hearts, and such was the hearts of the people Hosea was speaking to. Due to their years of idolatry and disobedience, their hearts were harden to the Lord and unable to produce righteousness. It though wasn’t too late, they could choose to break up that fallow heart and ready it once again for God to grow something holy within them. Know today is a perfect day to break up your fallow ground if that’s your story. As I write this it’s Christmas, the day we celebrate our Savior being born. Yes, we may be hardened by sin, but Jesus has come and He can grow something beautiful from our hardened heart if we let Him. This Christmas, however fallow your ground is, begin the breaking up process by coming to the Lord and asking His help. He is ready to plant and to bring the rain, we just have to demonstrate to Him we’re ready to be used for Him. Merry Christmas! I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2949
Chapter 11
I will not execute my burning anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath. (v.9) “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.” Isaiah 55:8 illustrates for us why God would respond this way. He’s had an entire nation that He has rescued, healed, poured into, and loved continually turn away from Him. They would credit the rescues and blessings to fake gods and give pieces of wood their love and devotion rather than God Himself. How would you respond to treatment like this? You pour everything you have into the wellbeing of someone else and in return they use the blessing you gave them to run away from you. Then they credit all you did for them to someone else, never even thinking of you till they need something again. It’s easy to expect God to be angry and it even says He is. Yet even in His anger, He responded with love. That’s the challenge that us as His followers need to imitate. He is going to respond different to those who have hurt Him than what’s expected in the world. So should we. People are going to walk away, use, and hurt you; God showed us though that it’s possible with Him to respond to those people in love. If we claim to be His followers, let’s actually follow Him even when it’s not easy to. – Daily DEVO 34
I will not execute my burning anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath. Hosea 11:9 – I love that phrase, “For I am God and not a man.” God is saying He handles things differently than we do. He is in complete control of His emotions and self. He doesn’t let His anger or feelings direct His actions like we so often do. He also doesn’t let sin rule at all in His life so things like unforgiveness are absent in His heart. So you must remember when you mess up, don’t expect God to deal with you the way you would or someone else would handle it. God is forgiving and loving, but also serious about sin. Seek more time with Him in His Word to find out more of who He is and how He’ll react to things. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 561
The more they were called, the more they went away; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols. Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up by their arms, but they did not know that I healed them. Hosea 11:2-3 – This makes me think of a dog who watches for the moment when their owner isn’t looking and they bolt out the front door. The owner could be calling their name over and over yet it just makes the dog run harder away. Doesn’t the dog know the one calling it’s name is the owner who feds it and takes care of it? Why would it run so hard away? Don’t we realize it’s God who provides for us and takes care of us? Why would we run so hard away? Maybe our run isn’t as dramatic as the dog in our example or the people in our passage. Has though God been calling your name to stop entertaining a certain sin or destructive mindset? Maybe it’s not a full run away but any path away from Him is one He’ll be calling us back from. Where then has God been calling you back from? Where is the place we’ve run to that God never led us to? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1679
I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them. Hosea 11:4 – The language in this chapter feels different than the previous for we see the compassion of the Lord shine. The Lord remembered and reminds His people how it was Him who rescued them from the hands of Egyptian slavery. He compared His faithfulness and help to them like a parent gently holding a child’s arms so they can begin to walk for the first time. In verse 4 God says He led them, but not with whips like their previous slave masters, but with cords of kindness and bands of love. Meaning He went before them, guiding them forward gently, and encouraging their faithfulness after Him with kindness and love. What a picture for the people in Hosea’s day, and also a picture that works for us. God isn’t behind us with a whip forcing us to follow His ways. Our God instead has come before us, is walking ahead of us, and gently guiding and encouraging our following of Him. He invites us to follow with loving kindness, but He also allows us to reject the guiding cords. We can have God’s word and God’s help in our life, but chose to not listen and walk our own path. That “freedom” is available to us, just know such a path doesn’t lead towards freedom. Listen then to the gentle words and obey the gentle tug from the Lord. He is calling you out of love for you and desiring your best life, which is a life of following Him. Examine how God has guided you well in the past and examine where rejection of His ways has gotten you. Follow today the One who is seeking to lead you. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2950
Chapter 12
So you, by the help of your God, return, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God. (v.6) For a time in my life, I was hooked on the Brady Bunch. I remember this episode where the kids were playing in the house with a soccer ball when they lost control of the ball and it crashed into their mom’s antique vase, shattering it to pieces. They tried to cover the mistake up, making it look like it never happened. Eventually though, the mom was getting suspicious and the kids had to think fast. So they brought out the glue and pieced together the vase. It’s actually looked alright all glue together, couldn’t really tell anything happened to it. That is until the mom poured water into the vase and it showered the room with water pouring out of all the hidden cracks. I want you to understand, our life, mended and healed with our own “glue” is going to look that that broken vase to God. To everyone else, it looks put together and whole, but God knows that if He poured some water into you, those cracks would be blatantly obvious. That’s why God, as our heavenly Father, tells us He’ll help us return to Him. He’ll be our glue. He’ll be the one that holds us together allowing us to not worry about those gluing process, just returning to Him. He’s not mad that the vase is broken; He just doesn’t want you hiding from Him ashamed of your brokenness. Drop the glue and hand the pieces over to Him for Him to bring the restoration. – Daily DEVO 35
So you, by the help of your God, return, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God. Hosea12:6 – Make sure you catch the little phrase stuck between the commas. It didn’t say just you return, but by the help of your God return. That’s so important!! Realize this verse speaks to our lack of ability to return to God by ourselves. It’s only with the help of God that we can return to God. Thankfully that help is always available to all. Cease trying to make your life right just on your own. Yes, God is directing us to change our lives to live more for Him, but that process doesn’t happen without His help. We can’t make those changes without Him so stop trying to change without Him. Lean on the strength that is more than enough to help and is being offered to you this very moment. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 562
By a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt, and by a prophet he was guarded. Ephraim has given bitter provocation; so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him and will repay him for his disgraceful deeds. Hosea 12:13-14 – Imagine someone doing something amazing for you that helped you in ways that deeply changed your life for the better. Now imagine the way you respond to them for all that is bitter rejection. That’s the message we get here about how God’s people responded to all the help He gave them. As we look over our story with God we can see so many times where He has stepped in and changed things for the better. Yet what’s been your response? Maybe not bitter rejection thankfully, but what about distracted devotion? Apathetic evangelism? Zeal-less worship? Remember all that God has done within your story and let’s seek to respond with our lives in a way that shows our gratitude. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1680
Ephraim has said, “Ah, but I am rich; I have found wealth for myself; in all my labors they cannot find in me iniquity or sin.” Hosea 12:8 – One problem that Hosea found himself in during the time of his telling of his prophetic words was that Israel wasn’t struggling financially at this time. In fact, they were in a season of great wealth, and we see here that reality led them to believe nothing was wrong with the way they were living. How could they have any sin if they were living in such wealth? Here reveals a lie that the enemy longs for us to believe, that the status of our life determines our righteousness. If money is abundant, everyone is healthy, and food is on the table, then you must be living holy…right? If you are struggling, there is sickness in the family, and you have no food, then you must be living sinfully…right? Both are wrong, and we see that in this passage. Isreal was living in an abundance of wealth but also living in an abundance of sin. Idolatry had plagued their nation, and they turned from trusting God to trusting in foreign nations for help. Do not then allow the status of your life right now be your only determiner of the righteousness of your walk with the Lord. Things may be going well, but you may still be in sin somehow. Things may be going poorly in life, but you still are living righteously. Instead of looking at the status of your life as the determiner, look to scripture at the gauge you use to see if you are living righteously or not. For even the most holy of Christians will see struggles, and the most sinful will see worldly blessings. Use the steadfast word of God as your gauge in life and have your eyes open to the right way to live and the sin that may still be present in your life. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2951
Chapter 13
It was I who knew you in the wilderness, in the land of drought; but when they had grazed, they became full, they were filled, and their heart was lifted up; therefore they forgot me. (v.5-6) When was the last time you opened up to God about your situation; asking Him for the blessing of a way out? Or even just opened up to Him over a need? Next question…did He provide? Are you still in that mess, in that need, or has He moved you from your pain and into something better? For us who have been blessed with the move we opened up over, we are thrilled during the transition period. Yet how often does the following happen? We receive the move away from the job, away from the loneliness, away from the struggle, take in the blessing of what God has given us, then forget once the blessing is ours to actually praise Him for it? We may give a quick thanks, sure, but is our life truly praising Him for the move we longed for that He blessed us with? It is God’s nature to provide for us, but it is not our natural response to live in praise over the provision. That is going to take a choice directed by you to actually praise Him for what He’s done for you. Make sure that choice is being made in your life. We serve such a good Father; the last thing He deserves is us forgetting about Him when the blessing arrives. – Daily DEVO 36
And now they sin more and more, and make for themselves metal images, idols skillfully made of their silver, all of them the work of craftsmen. It is said of them, “Those who offer human sacrifice kiss calves!” Hosea13:2 – Sin is never satisfied. As we see in the first phrase, “now they sin more and more.” They have stepped into their sin and now it’s like a hunger that can’t be meet so they keep filling themselves with sin trying to satisfy their desires. Sin though is never satisfied, it only leads to more sin and deeper pain. Did you notice how the last verse spoke of child sacrifice? That’s the type of sickening pain that sin wants in your life. See what sin gives today through this passage, now remember as well the joy and love God brings. Today when faced with the temptation to sin, remember how sin is never satisfied. Ask yourself, where is this sin going to lead me next and what will I have to do next to try and satisfy it? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 563
When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling; he was exalted in Israel, but he incurred guilt through Baal and died. Hosea 13:1 – What is lifted high can be brought down quickly when sin is added in. We’ve seen examples of this passage all throughout history. Presidents losing their position due to sin, pastors losing their ministry due to sin, a husband/father losing everything due to sin. What happened with Ephraim in our passage isn’t an isolated situation and it isn’t one we can say will never happen in our story. Remember the goal of our enemy and sin…to steal, kill, and destroy. Our earthly position doesn’t keep us from the enemies attacks, even if we are lifted and exalted high. Keep then in mind the people who your fall will impact. Our spouse, our kids, our congregations. Yes the enemy is going to attack, but Jesus is giving you all you need to refuse and reject the enemy. Lean on Jesus then for help so the precious ones in our story don’t have to be collateral damage in our fall. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1681
But I am the Lord your God from the land of Egypt; you know no God but me, and besides me there is no savior. Hosea 13:4 – Hosea is seeing something sad unfold in the lives of the people of Israel that we can see happen often in the lives of people today. Israel was in real need and they turned to the Lord. When the help came and they were back on their feet again, where did they go? Away from the Lord. Once healthy and whole again, instead of continuing after the God who just helped them, they turned once again away from God and pursued the sin that got them in the dark spot they were just in. Verse 4 of our chapter reminds us of a powerful truth, that God isn’t like this. God isn’t for us one day then the next day against us. We see that God was reminding them He had been their God since the time of Egypt, and even longer before that. Beside God there is no other god or savior for the people. He had remained constantly the same and constantly for His people, even when His people changed and were no longer for Him. Let us remember God is the same today for us. The God who met you at your lowest point and showed you deep love and mercy is the God who is with you right now. The God whose power from the stories of scripture captivated your attention is just as powerful in your story today. God hasn’t changed, but we sure can. Let us then come back to our first love, our love for the Lord. However we may have drifted away or however we may have ran away, let us return to the Lord that has always and will always be ready to receive us again. For He has been our God since the cross, and long before, and there is no God and Savior apart from Him. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2952
Chapter 14
Take with you words and return to the Lord; say to him, “Take away all iniquity; accept what is good, and we will pay with bulls the vows of our lips.” (v.2) After reading through the book of Hosea, one theme is evident everywhere in this writing….it’s time to come home. How often do we see the word “Return” show up in the verses of this book. Of course, God is disappointed in His people. They’ve walked so far away and gave their love elsewhere. What is His word to them though? Return. Return how? Not with fancy sacrifices, not with amounts of gold, but with their words of confession and repentant heart. Something those other fake “gods” they created out of wood and stone wouldn’t accept. Something seemingly worthless to them; their words of saying, “God, I’m sorry, take away from me the sin that is in my life and accept me again.” That’s what God wants; that’s coming home. Allow what the people in Hosea’s time be eye opening to you. God is telling you as well it’s time to come home. You don’t need to bring a huge sacrifice to win back His favor, Jesus took care of that. He is looking for your words and heart. Words of confession and love, and a heart of devotion only to Him. That’s coming home to God. – Daily DEVO 38
Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. Hosea 14:1 – This is truly amazing. God is aware of our sin yet still is inviting us to come back to Him. We see God here acknowledging that Israel has stumbled because of their sin yet still is opening the door for them to return home to Him. Understand God sees and is aware of everything you have done wrong and still He longs for you to come home to Him. Realize today your mess ups don’t disqualify from returning to God. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 564
I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily; he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon; his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon. Hosea 14:5-6 – In much of the rest of the book of Hosea we see what a life away from God looks like. Empty, dark, grasping for help from things that offer nothing to us. Here though in our final chapter we get a glimpse of what a life close to God looks like. One that is refreshed daily with God’s blessing, one that finds itself rooted deeply in a secure foundation, one that is beautiful and fragrant. Use this book as a reminder that the pursuit of a close walk with God is worth it. A closeness with sin leads only to pain but our closeness with God leads to a fill of all we need in life. What then is a way you can pursue a closer walk with Jesus today? What’s a way you can distance yourself from a closeness with sin today? The further we get from sin and the closer we get to Jesus the more full our life will become. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1682
O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols? It is I who answer and look after you. I am like an evergreen cypress; from me comes your fruit. Hosea 14:8 – For a book like Hosea where there we see God’s people turning so far away from a faithful walk after Him and giving themselves unashamedly to idol worship, reading a chapter like this one where mercy is flowing so richly is such a picture of who our God is. We read about God’s plans to heal, forgive, and restore His people even after they had gone after sinfulness so fully. In verse 8 we get a glimpse of the heart of the individual who had been healed from their backsliding. The idols that once meant the world to them that they gave their lives to worship, mean nothing to them anymore for they have the Lord. The foreign nations and gods of gold that they trusted in for help are no more their source of help for God answers and looks after them now. The fruit they need to survive and to be holy they will acknowledge comes from the Lord and nowhere else. This posture is what the Lord longs from all His people. Where they give up their idols, where they know He will answer and look after them, and where they come to Him alone for the fruit they need in life. How are you doing with that? What idols are still at play in your story? Do we still find ourselves seeking answers and help in other places when God seems to be moving too slow? Are we finding our fill in life in other places than in what the Lord provides? As we step into a new year, let’s evaluate how we are doing with such things for the Lord is inviting us into a fully surrendered life with Him. Idols and the fruit from this world will offer you no good thing, but the Lord offers life. Choose to pursue the Lord. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2953
Daily DEVO 