The Men’s group I lead on Tuesday nights (I use the term lightly…they teach me way more than I do) has decided to study the minor prophets beginning now until the the middle of November. I am stoked about the study and got started this morning getting ready for tomorrow’s discussion by reading Hosea 1-4 and doing some background study. It’s good stuff! Hosea is a little odd to take in at first, but the lessons are incredible…and as relevant today as they where in c. 700 B.C.
As I was reading, one little sentence jumped off the page and I can’t get away from it. It’s a confirmation of what God has been teaching me over the past year or so. It’s at the foundation of His transformation in my own spiritual journey…as I’ve turned from religion to relationship. Here’s the sentence (this is God talking):
My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me. (Hosea 4:6a, NLT)
That right there is some powerful stuff…packed into a short little sentence.
The principle here? Knowing God, having a personal relationship with Him, is key to our survival!
Wow. If we don’t know God then we are already in the process of being destroyed…of perishing. It’s that important. God built us this way and if we don’t follow His design for our lives we’re in serious trouble. If we don’t know Him we’re in “deep do-do” (deep theological term!).
But the opposite is also true: If we know Him…if we have a personal relationship with Him…then we’re growing and living. Good stuf instead of the bad stuff. Again, because that’s how God made us.
Off to chew on this more…your thoughts and reactions…??
Post Tags: Hosea, Knowing God, Relationship
