Thursday, October 08, 2009, 8:22 a.m. – I woke to this song in my mind:
All and More / NewSong
All I ever wanted was love
All I ever longed for was peace
All I ever needed was hope
Everything I reached for was wrong
To the very thrills here and gone
He was waiting there all along
He came to me
All of that I need he provides
Always he will be by my side
I will give to him all my life
Constantly he fills me with love
All I need and more than enough
Never been the same since the day he came to me
He’s all and more
That I hoped that he would be
He’s everything, (Christ is) everything to me
He calms my fears, and he wipes away my tears
He’s all and more to me
When you need a friend
Let me tell you he’s all and more
He’ll give you peace within
I said it, “He’s all and more”
With you ‘till the end
Jesus is all and more
All and more, all and more to me
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Hosea 6:1-11a:
My Understanding: This song, All and More, was in my head yesterday morning, too. This song paints the story of a person who wanted love, hope and peace, but he reached for these in all the wrong places and via all the mistaken thrills of life that are here today and gone tomorrow. Yet, God was waiting and he came to him. I like it that the writer expressed it that way… He came to me… because that is so true. The Bible says that no man can come to Jesus unless the Father first draws him. It also states, “Not that we loved God, but that he first loved us…” and “In that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us…” God’s love pursues us.
Then, the writer describes his relationship with Jesus Christ – the Lord provides for everything he needs, not everything he wants, but for his basic needs. And, God will always be by his side, will calm his fears, wipe away his tears, gives him peace within, and he is his best friend. Because of God’s love for him; because God pursued him; because Jesus died on the cross for his sins and has provided salvation from the penalty of and the bondage to sin to all who believe on His name, this writer says he will give to Jesus all his life. That is what our heart response should be to the One who laid down his own life so that we might go free.
In Hosea, we have been learning how God had Hosea marry a woman who was an adulterous woman and for them to have illegitimate and rebellious children. Through this acting out of a prophecy (a message from God), Hosea was symbolizing Almighty God, and his wife was a representation of Israel and their children were the offspring; future generations. We learned that Israel was unrepentant, too. So, in this passage of Hosea 6, God is calling Israel to repent and to return to the Lord.
The passage describes the condition of Israel at the time that they are being called upon to return to the Lord. God has judged them because this was his act of loving divine discipline in order to bring His people back to Him. He had torn them to pieces, but now he would heal them; he had injured them; but now he would bind up their wounds. After a short period of time, he would revive them and then he would restore them that they might live in his presence.
I believe the Lord has shown me time and time again that this is now the condition of His people in the USA, and that he has declared (decreed) divine judgment against us, but with the same goal in mind – to heal; to bind up our wounds; to revive us; and to restore us to a right relationship with Him so that we can live in His presence forever. He is calling out to the church in America to acknowledge Him as their one and only true God.
Then, the passage continues by describing God’s frustration (perhaps Hosea’s, too) with his people. God is like a loving parent who is frustrated over a rebellious and disobedient child. I am a grandmother of 7 (almost 8) and the mother of 4. I remember well those days when my children would just exasperate me to the point to where I said with God, “What can I do with you…?” I remember crying many tears over my children and over my own lack of knowledge in knowing how to discipline them (train them) in such a manner to where they responded with obedience. Now, God is not without knowledge, like I was. He knew what to do and what had to be done, and yet he did, I believe, feel some of that same frustration when his children continued over and over and over again to respond in rebellion instead of in faith and obedience.
He said that their love was like a morning mist or early dew that disappeared. It didn’t last. It was here and then it was gone and then here and then gone. There was no consistency. And, apparently at this point, it was gone and no longer existed. It had disappeared and had been replaced with worship of things and people and success and whatever else they put in their lives in place of God. So, he sent his prophets to declare judgment to them, and still they persisted in their rebellion and their disobedience and their unfaithfulness and their unrepentant hearts. God didn’t want, and doesn’t want, what they could do for him, he wanted their hearts; he wanted their lives on the altar; he wanted their obedience; he wanted their true love and compassion and passion and desire for Almighty God above all else.
Yet, they had broken covenant with God. The church of today in the USA, for the most part, has broken covenant with God, too. They are much like Israel was at the time of the writings of Hosea. And, God is declaring his judgments against us, too. So, when he says “a harvest is appointed,” it means the whole idea of a harvest, not just the good stuff at the end –
So, when the Lord says that “a harvest is appointed” for us, which I believe it is, he means this whole process of the cutting, separating, threshing (examining exhaustively), beating, etc. until what is produced is “wheat” that is useful to the Master for His work. In human terms, this is called revival. God is going to have to bring about this “harvesting,” i.e. his divine discipline, in order to do this cutting away of our flesh, this examining of our lives, this separating of ourselves from the world and worldly ways, etc. Not everyone will respond by turning from their sin and following after God, but I believe many will. This period of time is called the Tribulation. During this time the bride of Christ will make herself ready for the wedding with her groom, Jesus Christ, when he returns for His bride. Are you ready?
There is Power in the Blood / Lewis Jones
Would you be free from the burden of sin?
There’s power in the blood, power in the blood;
Would you o’er evil a victory win?
There’s wonderful power in the blood.
There is power, power, wonder working power
In the blood of the Lamb;
There is power, power, wonder working power
In the precious blood of the Lamb.
All and More / NewSong
All I ever wanted was love
All I ever longed for was peace
All I ever needed was hope
Everything I reached for was wrong
To the very thrills here and gone
He was waiting there all along
He came to me
All of that I need he provides
Always he will be by my side
I will give to him all my life
Constantly he fills me with love
All I need and more than enough
Never been the same since the day he came to me
He’s all and more
That I hoped that he would be
He’s everything, (Christ is) everything to me
He calms my fears, and he wipes away my tears
He’s all and more to me
When you need a friend
Let me tell you he’s all and more
He’ll give you peace within
I said it, “He’s all and more”
With you ‘till the end
Jesus is all and more
All and more, all and more to me
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Hosea 6:1-11a:
My Understanding: This song, All and More, was in my head yesterday morning, too. This song paints the story of a person who wanted love, hope and peace, but he reached for these in all the wrong places and via all the mistaken thrills of life that are here today and gone tomorrow. Yet, God was waiting and he came to him. I like it that the writer expressed it that way… He came to me… because that is so true. The Bible says that no man can come to Jesus unless the Father first draws him. It also states, “Not that we loved God, but that he first loved us…” and “In that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us…” God’s love pursues us.
Then, the writer describes his relationship with Jesus Christ – the Lord provides for everything he needs, not everything he wants, but for his basic needs. And, God will always be by his side, will calm his fears, wipe away his tears, gives him peace within, and he is his best friend. Because of God’s love for him; because God pursued him; because Jesus died on the cross for his sins and has provided salvation from the penalty of and the bondage to sin to all who believe on His name, this writer says he will give to Jesus all his life. That is what our heart response should be to the One who laid down his own life so that we might go free.
In Hosea, we have been learning how God had Hosea marry a woman who was an adulterous woman and for them to have illegitimate and rebellious children. Through this acting out of a prophecy (a message from God), Hosea was symbolizing Almighty God, and his wife was a representation of Israel and their children were the offspring; future generations. We learned that Israel was unrepentant, too. So, in this passage of Hosea 6, God is calling Israel to repent and to return to the Lord.
The passage describes the condition of Israel at the time that they are being called upon to return to the Lord. God has judged them because this was his act of loving divine discipline in order to bring His people back to Him. He had torn them to pieces, but now he would heal them; he had injured them; but now he would bind up their wounds. After a short period of time, he would revive them and then he would restore them that they might live in his presence.
I believe the Lord has shown me time and time again that this is now the condition of His people in the USA, and that he has declared (decreed) divine judgment against us, but with the same goal in mind – to heal; to bind up our wounds; to revive us; and to restore us to a right relationship with Him so that we can live in His presence forever. He is calling out to the church in America to acknowledge Him as their one and only true God.
Then, the passage continues by describing God’s frustration (perhaps Hosea’s, too) with his people. God is like a loving parent who is frustrated over a rebellious and disobedient child. I am a grandmother of 7 (almost 8) and the mother of 4. I remember well those days when my children would just exasperate me to the point to where I said with God, “What can I do with you…?” I remember crying many tears over my children and over my own lack of knowledge in knowing how to discipline them (train them) in such a manner to where they responded with obedience. Now, God is not without knowledge, like I was. He knew what to do and what had to be done, and yet he did, I believe, feel some of that same frustration when his children continued over and over and over again to respond in rebellion instead of in faith and obedience.
He said that their love was like a morning mist or early dew that disappeared. It didn’t last. It was here and then it was gone and then here and then gone. There was no consistency. And, apparently at this point, it was gone and no longer existed. It had disappeared and had been replaced with worship of things and people and success and whatever else they put in their lives in place of God. So, he sent his prophets to declare judgment to them, and still they persisted in their rebellion and their disobedience and their unfaithfulness and their unrepentant hearts. God didn’t want, and doesn’t want, what they could do for him, he wanted their hearts; he wanted their lives on the altar; he wanted their obedience; he wanted their true love and compassion and passion and desire for Almighty God above all else.
Yet, they had broken covenant with God. The church of today in the USA, for the most part, has broken covenant with God, too. They are much like Israel was at the time of the writings of Hosea. And, God is declaring his judgments against us, too. So, when he says “a harvest is appointed,” it means the whole idea of a harvest, not just the good stuff at the end –
So, when the Lord says that “a harvest is appointed” for us, which I believe it is, he means this whole process of the cutting, separating, threshing (examining exhaustively), beating, etc. until what is produced is “wheat” that is useful to the Master for His work. In human terms, this is called revival. God is going to have to bring about this “harvesting,” i.e. his divine discipline, in order to do this cutting away of our flesh, this examining of our lives, this separating of ourselves from the world and worldly ways, etc. Not everyone will respond by turning from their sin and following after God, but I believe many will. This period of time is called the Tribulation. During this time the bride of Christ will make herself ready for the wedding with her groom, Jesus Christ, when he returns for His bride. Are you ready?
There is Power in the Blood / Lewis Jones
Would you be free from the burden of sin?
There’s power in the blood, power in the blood;
Would you o’er evil a victory win?
There’s wonderful power in the blood.
There is power, power, wonder working power
In the blood of the Lamb;
There is power, power, wonder working power
In the precious blood of the Lamb.
