| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “God’s power in you and for you” Our Bible verse for today: “I discovered Israel like grapes in the wilderness. I saw your ancestors like the first fruit of the fig tree in its first season. But they went to Baal-peor, consecrated themselves to Shame, and became abhorrent, like the thing they loved.” Hosea 9:10 (CSB) Our thought for today: “You become like what you love” The Old Testament book of Hosea is a sad story that is hard to read. The main character (Hosea) was a good man, a godly man. The woman in the story (Gomer) was a woman of ill repute with a wandering eye inclined to adultery and prostitution. God instructed Hosea the prophet to marry Gomer the prostitute as an object lesson to the nation. Just as Gomer would cheat on Hosea and bring dishonor and shame into their lives, so too Israel was cheating on God and bringing dishonor and shame into their own lives. It was tough stuff for poor Hosea. Gomer left him, slept with other men, ended up getting trafficked as a prostitute, and had to be rescued from that life by Hosea, who was then instructed by God to bring her back into his home and to continue loving her. The main point of the story is that God still loves His wayward people, and He will rescue us out of the messes we have made and take us back. But please don’t miss what happened to Gomer (and to the nation of Israel), in the middle of all that. The end of verse 10 tells us, they “became abhorrent, like the thing they loved.” In Gomer’s case she rejected a stable life with a good man; she longed in her heart for other men and for a different kind of life; and she ended up being used by many, enslaved, and living a life of poverty and abuse. She became like the thing she loved – the thing she longed for and lusted after. So too with the entire nation. They turned their hearts away from the One True God who loved them and who treated them well, and instead they loved, longed for, and lusted after the gods of the surrounding cultures. They were horrible gods who had male and female prostitutes in their temples; they were gods who were never satisfied; they were gods who required child sacrifices. And soon the people became like their gods. They became grossly immoral, cold, brutal, heartless, chasing after every lust and desire. They were ugly people who were just like their ugly gods. They became like the thing they loved. Us too. We become like whatever it is we give our heart too. If your heart lusts after sex and drugs and parties, your life will probably look a lot like Gomer’s. If you are consumed with greed and a longing for more money, more possessions, more status, then your life will be a constant struggle to do more, to acquire more, and you will never truly be satisfied. You get the picture. I encourage you to consider who and what you truly love – who and what your heart is longing for. That will show you the kind of person you are in the process of becoming. Be careful what you give your heart to, because we become like that which we love. God bless, Pastor Jim (If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville |
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