Let’s read Amos 1. Do you have things that you will not tolerate from people? For me, I have two specific things I can’t stand: lying and entitlement. Those are grounds for someone to be completely removed from my life, or close to it. God set ground rules long before the days of Amos, and…

Read Joel 3. 16”But the LORD will be a refuge for His people.” We are bound to face trials, hardships, and difficulties in this world. The whole world is going to want to silence us, separate us, and destroy the very thing we bring with us – that is, Jesus. We will suffer. . .…

Read Joel 2. 12”Even now’, declares the Lord, ‘return to Me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.’” 18”Then the Lord was jealous for His land and took pity on His people.” I believe that this is the story of the Bible and of salvation. There is no other God, and He…

Let’s read Joel 1. There are two key things that I take away from this passage, a passage of mourning the destruction of God’s people.  The first takeaway is this: history and knowledge are important. Verse 3 emphasizes the need to make sure that generations know the history and knowledge of why there was a…

Hosea 14 9”Who is wise? Let them realize these things. Who is discerning? Let them understand.” Are you seeking to be wise and understanding?  We should seek to be wise and understanding, to be righteous, to live in the ways of the Lord, and seek after Him in all things above all else – these…

Read Hosea 13. Why do you think it is so important to have no other gods (lower case “g”) in your life? Take a few minutes today to think about that. What do you believe about that question? What do you place as a god in your life?  I know that for me, God deserves…

Hosea 12 Jacob struggled with God. Think about that word there.  Struggle (Merriam-Webster): To struggle implies that it is difficult and even painful. We so often want to think of God with this notion that He is a comforter, a peace, a shield, a protector. All of these are true, but we cannot belittle the…

Read Hosea 11. 1 “When I was a child, I loved Him.” 10 “When He roars, His children will come trembling from the west.” God loves us dearly as His own children. As believers, we are told that we are heirs along with Christ; quite literally, God views us as His own sons and daughters.…

Read Hosea 10. Short and (not so) sweet: Israel had become so wicked and evil, so all of its land and people were to reap the consequences of those actions. Hosea, along with many of the prophets of the Old Testament, was sent by God to give an ultimatum – repent and turn to God,…

Read Hosea chapter 9. 17 “My God will reject them because they have not obeyed Him; they will be wanderers among the nations.” This pretty well summarizes the next 2000+ years for the Jewish people – they were spread out all through the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, with no place to call home until…