Admitting Guilt Hosea 5:13–15 I will return again to my place, until they acknowledge their guilt. Hosea 5:15 What happens when we do not turn to God even after he sends trouble to get our attention? In that case, says God, he reluctantly pours out on us the greatest judgment of all: He leaves us….

The Greatest Love Story Hosea 3:1–3 Love . . . as the Lord loves. Hosea 3:1 After Gomer left Hosea, she sank lower and lower in the social scale of the day until she became a slave and was sold in the capital city of Samaria. When the time came for her to be sold on an…

A Door of Hope Hosea 2:14–23 Therefore, behold, I will allure her. Hosea 2:14 Chapter two of Hosea presents a series of “therefores” in which the hand of God’s judgment has been pressed down ever more firmly on Hosea’s rebellious and errant wife. But just as we are expecting further trouble, God opens the hand…

Spiritual Adultery Hosea 1:1–11 Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom. Hosea 1:2 You may not have sunk so low as Gomer, Hosea’s wife. You may not have been so unfaithful as to deny God and seek other gods, committing spiritual adultery with them. But you have certainly flirted with other gods. You have…

The Way of the Righteous Daniel 12:1–3 Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above. Daniel 12:3 This combination of ideas—purification, refinement, spotless living, and shining with the brightness of the heavens—speaks of the actual personal righteousness of God’s elect people, which by the blessing of God inevitably leads others…

The Practice of God’s Presence Daniel 6:1–10 Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. Daniel 6:10 (NIV) I like those last words: “just as he had done before.” This was a pattern with Daniel. The outside world may have…

Faith in the Furnace Daniel 3:1–30 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace. Daniel 3:17 There were three things that gave Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego the strength to stand firm in this great test of their commitment. 1. They knew that God was…

The Sovereignty of God Daniel 2:19–23 Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. Daniel 2:20 The theme of Daniel’s prayer is the sovereignty of God. The prayer has three parts. First, there is praise to God for two of his most important attributes: wisdom and power. How…

Decision Making Daniel 1:1–16 But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Daniel 1:8 What is your reaction to Daniel’s decision? Remember that Daniel was a young man at this time—probably between fifteen and seventeen. It was at this young age that he…

A New Spirit Ezekiel 36:23–29 A new spirit I will put within them. Ezekiel 11:19 While studying in Basel, my wife and I participated in a Bible study that met in our apartment. There was a girl in the study for whom we had been praying for some months prior to her attending. She had…