Walking the Way: A daily devotional

  Hosea 4:4 The Lord says, “Let no one accuse the people or reprimand them—my complaint is against you priests.   Thought for the day – Higher calling Today’s reading is God proclaiming judgement on the priests of Israel. And as a church minister that has some sort of priestly function it sits uncomfortably with me as I consider my own ministry in the light of the passage today. There can be no denying that those called to ministry face increased scrutiny in terms of their words, behaviours and attitudes. It’s not easy. But then being a Christian isn’t easy either.   For while I am an ordained minister, I firmly believe in the priesthood of all believers. As Peter say in 1 Peter 2, we are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that we may declare the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light. We are all priests of God and we all subject to the highest calling. We are called to represent peopl...

  Hosea 3:3 I told her that for a long time she would have to wait for me without being a prostitute or committing adultery; and during this time I would wait for her. Thought for the day – Waiting Every so often I read a verse, and it just sits with me. I can’t explain it, and today’s verse just sat with me. I know it’s a metaphor for the people of Israel going through a period where they will have no kings. But in my head I have this image of God just sitting and waiting, while we just sit and wait. Or most likely sit and struggle with whatever we’re desperate not to do. And God is there sitting alongside us as we struggle with whatever it is God is called us to do or give up. It’s an image of someone who loves us enough to sit with us. Like the person supporting someone going through withdrawal. Holding their hair while they throw up or wiping their forehead as they sweat out their poison of choice. It’s an image of someone sitting in silence as the person they’re wi...

Hosea 2:17 I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips;     no longer will their names be invoked. Thought for the day – Sanctification Hosea is not an easy read. God uses some very heavy imagery in the book. Hosea is told to marry Gomer, a promiscuous woman. It an image of how unfaithful the Kingdom of Israel was. Their children are called Jezreel, Not Loved, and Not my people. Jezreel because God would soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel. Not Loved and Not my people, I think are self explanatory and describe the punishment God was to bring on the people of Israel.  Lovely. But then in Chapter 2 we see something different. We see God calling the people something else: ‘My people’ and ‘My loved one’. It’s as if God has changed his mind and has wooed the people of Israel back to him. They have been sanctified. They have been redeemed. And for me this is a really hopeful message that no matter how far we have strayed from God we can a...

Hosea 1:2 When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord.” Thought for the day – Welcome to the Minors Well, yesterday we finished the Major prophets of the Old Testament. Today we start the Minor prophets. Minor prophets (Hosea through Malachi — twelve books) are "minor" purely in terms of length. Obadiah is one chapter. Most run 3–14 chapters. In the Hebrew canon they were traditionally copied onto a single scroll and referred to collectively as "The Twelve," precisely because individually they were short enough that they might otherwise get lost or damaged. It’s also a Christian term. Not something Jewish folk would understand. And "Minor" is a genuinely unfortunate label if it's misheard as "less important." Amos on justice, Hosea on covenant love, Micah's "act justly, love me...

Daniel 12:13 As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance Thought for the day – Coming home If yesterday's verse about wise people suffering for their wisdom was a fun , perky way to start the day, then today's verse is, I think , probably a much nicer way to start our day . Today, we come to the end of the book of Daniel . It is the last of the five major prophets, and I think that, of all of them , it has the best ending — one that brings hope to us , the people of God . The Son of Man says to Daniel at the end of Daniel 12, “ As for you , go your way till the end . You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance .” What a promise ! And I don't think it's just a promise aimed at Daniel ; I think it's a promise aimed at anyone who claims to be a follower of Jesus : “ As for you , go your way till the e...

Daniel 11:33 Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered. Thought for the day – Whatever the cost That’s a perky little verse to start our day with isn’t it? This verse is part of Daniel is famously dense — kings of the North and South marching back and forth across centuries. But right in the middle of it, something remarkable happens. In the days of Antiochus Epiphanes, when the temple was desecrated and faithfulness to God became a genuinely dangerous thing to practise, a group of ordinary believers kept teaching anyway. They had an understanding of who God was and what he'd promised and instead of hoarding it for safety, they gave it away. To many. Knowing full well it would cost them. But have you ever noticed how faithfulness and cost tend to travel together? We'd love a version of discipleship where wisdom earns applause instead of some sort of persecution. But Daniel doesn't offer us that...