Two Crowds You Should Not Let Influence You Too Much

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Hosea 7:1-16.  Let’s go!

Hosea 7:1 (NIV) 
1 “Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people, whenever I would heal Israel, the sins of Ephraim are exposed and the crimes of Samaria revealed. They practice deceit, thieves break into houses, bandits rob in the streets; 

On verses 1-2: These verses describe how every time God would restore and heal Israel, Israel (also known as Ephraim) would go back to its same old sins again.  Examples of those sins include crime, thievery, robbery (v1), lying (v3), adultery (v4), and one more sin we will describe below.   

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Let’s Press On to Acknowledge the Lord

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Hosea 6:1-11.  Let’s go!

Hosea 6:1-2 (NIV) 
1 “Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds.
2 After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.

On verses 1-2:  For the rest of our lives on earth, we can be sure that whenever God allows us to go through difficulties or defeats, it’s not because He is cruel or indifferent.  It’s because His ultimate purpose is to revive us, to restore us, to make us stronger than we were before, and to know Him more intimately, “that we may live in His presence” (v2).

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A New Spirit In You

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Today’s passage is Hosea 5:1-15. Let’s go! Here are 3 short points to share with you from Hosea 5:1-15.
 
Hosea 5:3 (NIV)  I know all about Ephraim; Israel is not hidden from me. Ephraim, you have now turned to prostitution; Israel is corrupt. 
 
On verse 3:  In case you’re wondering who Ephraim is, Ephraim here is another name for the nation of Israel.  Ephraim was one of the 12 tribes of Israel, but later was often used by the Old Testament prophets to refer to Israel as a whole.

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The Way God Sees You Now Because of Jesus

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Hosea 4:1-2 (NIV)
1 Hear the word of the LORD, you Israelites, because the LORD has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: “There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. 2 There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.

Here in Hosea 4 Joel describes the way God saw the people of Israel and their priests — as nothing but sinners (v1-2), given to unfaithfulness and idolatry (v12-13, v17), hurt and hurting one another, lovers of evil (v18), unsatisfied (v10), stubborn (v16), stumbling (v5), rejected by God (v6), and wasting away (v3). Let this chapter be a reminder that until Jesus Christ came and reversed our fortunes, Hosea 4 was our destiny too. If it were not for Jesus, Hosea 4 is a perfect description of how God would see us today.

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3 Truths about God’s Love for You

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Today’s passage is Hosea 3:1-5.  It contains a powerful lesson for us as we begin our fast together.  Open your Bible, click on the above Scripture link or check out your GAME booklet to read today’s passage.  Let’s go!

First, God’s love for you is unconditional (v1).  We see God’s unconditional love in verse 1 where it says “the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes” (v1).

To illustrate His unconditional love, God tells the prophet Hosea to love his wife, though she had cheated on him, with that same unconditional love: “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress.  Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites” (v1).

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12 Ways God Loves You

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Hosea 2:14-23.  Let’s go!

On verses 14-23:  After describing in previous verses how God wanted to punish Israel for their unfaithfulness to Him, Hosea now goes on to describe the amazing, forgiving, second-chance-giving love that God extends to Israel.  From these verses we can learn 12 ways that God loves you and me.

1. God’s love takes initiative. God is a leader and, like a good leader, God takes the initiative.  God will not force Himself upon you, but He does take the first step and waits for you to respond.  He stands at the door and knocks.

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10 Clues That You Might Be Worshiping An Idol

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Today’s passage is Hosea 2:1-13.  Let’s go!

Hosea 2:1 (NIV)  “Say of your brothers, ‘My people,’ and of your sisters, ‘My loved one.’ 

Verse 1:  This verse fits in more with the contents of chapter 1 than with chapter 2.  At the end of chapter 1 Hosea describes how God will show His people amazing grace and mercy and restore them after they have cheated on Him.  Verse 1 here is part of that restoration. 

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Find Your Story in the Book of Hosea

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Hi GAMErs,

Today we begin the book of Hosea, a book written by the prophet Hosea in approximately 8th century B.C.  Today’s passage is Hosea 1:1-11.  Let’s go!

Hosea 1:2-3 (NIV) 
2 When the LORD began to speak through Hosea, the LORD said to him, “Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the LORD.” 3 So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. 

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God Watches How You Treat His Other Children

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Joel 3:1-21

On verses 1-21: While everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved from God’s wrath (Joel 2:32) and blessed abundantly (2:18-32), the opposite is also true: those who do not trust in the Lord, who reject the Lord as God, will suffer God’s wrath.

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What God Will Do For Those Who Humble Themselves

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Joel 2:18-32. Let’s go!

On verses 18-32: God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (Proverbs 3:34; 1 Peter 5:5; James 4:6). We see that here in these verses. After urging his people to humble themselves through repentance, fasting and praying together (v12-17), Joel now describes what God will do for His people when they humble themselves that way:

– He will have pity on his people (v18)
– He will send them new grain, wine and oil that fully satisfies (v19, v24)

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