Prayer: Father, the first rule of any personal change is to admit one’s need, or lack, or fault. May I always be willing before You to admit my need for transformation of mind and heart. My need for forgiveness of sin. Amen.
Reading: Hosea 7 key: vs. 1-4a ““When I would have healed Israel, the iniquity of Ephraim was uncovered, even the wickedness of Samaria, for they practice fraud. So a thief breaks in; a marauding band will raid outside. But they never admit in their heart that I remember all their evil. Now their deeds are all around them. They are right before My face. They gladden the king with their evil and the princes with their lies. All of them are practicing adultery. TLV
Attention: I assume that most of us have shopped for groceries. Have you noticed the gimmicks and marketing schemes that food manufacturers utilize with their packaging? The box or container is bigger, but the contents are less. How many times have you made a purchase at a drive thru fast-food restaurant and your purchase looked like the picture on their menu items?
When I was first in college, I took a class that featured a session about advertising. It exposed the deceptive marketing tactics used by ad agencies. I recall one tactic of for a soup ad was placing marbles under the vegetables to make them stand out more. Another was claiming how clear a car manufacturer’s windows were. The discovery was that the window was rolled down. Interestingly, my wife and I watched an episode of Leave it to Beaver recently. If you watch closely, in the opening trailer, as they back up and Jerry Mathers looks out the back window, there is no back window.
Deception, fraud, and lies are not a new practice of mankind. Even the wisest king Solomon declares, “What has been is what will be, and what has been done will be done again. There is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything about which is said, “Look! This is new!”? It was already here long ago, in the ages long before us (Ecclesiastes 1:9-10).”
Man’s heart is still the same. Unless a man’s heart is redeemed and transformed, it is still intent on evil (Genesis 6:5). Moses and all the prophets including Hosea, emphasized the depravity of man and his need tor an all sufficient Savior. The first step is admitting our need, our guilt, our sin.
Action: I choose to admit my sin and repent and seek forgiveness from the only One who can forgive sin.
Yield: I choose to bow my knee to the sovereign who forgives sin.
Engage: I choose to life eternally with God through the redemption of Yeshua.
Relationship: I choose to live in relationship with Adonai in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Prayer: Father, thank You for the cross of Yeshua. He died and raised for me and is building a place for me to dwell eternally with You. I look forward to His return. Even so, come Lord Yeshua. Amen.
Memory Verse: Romans 3:23-26 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. They are set right as a gift of His grace, through the redemption that is in Messiah Yeshua. God set forth Yeshua as an atonement, through faith in His blood, to show His righteousness in passing over sins already committed. Through God’s forbearance, He demonstrates His righteousness at the present time—that He Himself is just and also the justifier of the one who puts his trust in Yeshua.” TLV
Music Video: Zach Williams—No Longer Slaves https://youtu.be/bDnA_coA168?si=nXalupOaiJ_YweJc
Remember, “Abide in Yeshua, today!”