Speak Kindly - Hosea 2:14-15

Hosea 2:14-15 NASB 

 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her,

 Bring her into the wilderness

And speak kindly to her.

 “Then I will give her her vineyards from there,

And the valley of Achor as a door of hope.

And she will sing there as in the days of her youth,

As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.

Israel continued to stray from God, despite repeated pleas for her return. 

His discipline and wrath are in response to the waywardness of the nation. His mercy and compassion remained. They are in response to our weakness. 

In the wilderness, in the valley of the shadow of death, God is preparing a people to call His own. 

He holds out the desire for His people and opens the door of heaven so they may come. 

This holds true for you and me.  His mercy is there and available when we are. 

Isaiah 40:2-3

“ Speak kindly to Jerusalem;

And call out to her, that her warfare has ended,

That her iniquity has been removed,

That she has received of the Lord’s hand

 Double for all her sins.”

 A voice is calling,

“ Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness;

Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.

That Becomes Visible - Ephesians 5:6-14

Ephesians 5:6-14 NASB 

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says,

“ Awake, sleeper,

And arise from the dead,

And Christ will shine on you.”

Darkness is the absence of light. The light bears fruit, while the darkness is unfruitful and void. 

"for everything that becomes visible is light"

God shines the light on the world. We reflect that light when we accept that light and begin to walk in it. 

Those things that remain in the presence of God' fire and light are the fruit of light.  They become visible for they are real.  As children of light we walk in true reality, for we walk in the kingdom that is and is to come. The current creation is passing away and the new creation is being revealed. It grows more visible as the light increases. 

John 3:20-21

For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

We Are Filled - Romans 8:4

Romans 8:4 NASB 

so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

The requirement of the Law is a Spirit filled life, one that is in complete obedience to those commands and able to stand before God. 

Our flesh was unable to abide in the Law, for we are weak. Through His strength we can walk according to the Spirit as we abide in Him.  He walks with us and helps us on our way. 

The Law is fulfilled for we are filled. We are completed in Him. 

Galatians 5:22-25

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self- control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

Merely Human - 1 Corinthians 3:1-4

1 Corinthians 3:1-4 NASB 

 But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?

A divided church is unbiblical. There is one Spirit and the Church is united in that Spirit. There is one communion. This is the body of Christ. 

The idea of denominations is foreign to the gospel and dividing into groups is a human impulse, and not a work of the Spirit. 

To do so is being merely human. 

Hebrews 5:12-14

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

John 16:12-13

“I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.

The Unbounded Life

We are stunted when our vision goes no further than what our eye can see. The unbounded life and its beauty are why we were created. This is what the Father wishes to share with us. Creation is but the stepping stone to a new creation. Even so, the path is narrow, for Christ is the only way.

Vultures Will Gather - Matthew 24:26-28

Matthew 24:26-28 ESV 

So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

The elect will not be deceived by false teachers or those that claim to be Annointed of God and are not. 

The light of the Son of Man will shine brighter than any imitation. Following after that light will lead into new life. 

Those that bear the mark of the beast have the aroma of death.  That scent travels on the winds across the wilderness and draws the birds that will feast on the corpse of the dead. 

Luke 17:35-37

There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.” And they said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”

Revelation 19:19-21

And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

Obedience Of Faith - Romans 1:5-6

Romans 1:5-6 ESV 

through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,

Faith leads to obedience and obedience leads to faith. 

It is in the doing we become. 

Faith results in the fruit of our life and is made possible by the Holy Spirit. It is obedience to the word of God that brings the harvest of His inheritance. 

We are called for His name's sake. It is for His purpose and glory that He calls to us. 

1 Corinthians 15:10

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.