Walking the Way: A daily devotional

  Hosea 7:14 They do not cry to me from the heart,     but they wail upon their beds; they gash themselves for grain and wine;     they rebel against me.   Thought for the day – Exact opposite I love my kids. But every so often (read regularly) they drive me nuts. Like when I tell them to do things a certain way, and then they go and do it in whatever way they want. And when it all falls apart, they get upset because it ‘doesn’t work’ and ‘why is everything so hard.’ It’s as if they’re preprogrammed to do the exact opposite of what we want sometimes. And there’s a psychological term for this. It’s called ‘Oppositional Defiant Disorder’ or ODD.   Symptoms of ODD include: ·      Being unusually angry and irritable ·      Frequently losing their temper ·      Being easily annoyed ·      Arguing with authority figures ·    ...

Hosea 6:4 “What can I do with you, Ephraim?     What can I do with you, Judah? Your love is like the morning mist,     like the early dew that disappears. Thought for the day – Mist and dew I’m an early morning person. I regularly get up at 5 am and occasionally I go out and sit in the garden with a cup of coffee and just sit and enjoy the quiet before the chaos of the kids and ministry begin. But eventually the day comes round and life begins with all the busyness that it entails and that quiet In the mist and dew disappears like our verse this morning. In context our verse is about the superficiality of the worship of the Israelites. Hosea 6 has that profound verse ‘For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.’ About how going through the motions of worship isn’t enough, and the implication is that our shallow worship dissipates like dew and mist. But as I was thinking about the quiet of the mornin...

  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...

  Daniel 10:14   But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold,  Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.   Thought for the day – Battle beyond the stars When I was a teenager, I went away on a camp for young leaders. It was run by Scripture Union and we were looking at Nehemiah for leadership skills. Anyway, on the Saturday afternoon I was outside   reading, when I looked up and saw this enormous figure standing next to me. And I mean enormous, he was taller than some of the trees and as I looked around the campsite, I saw every person there had their own. It was of course a big angel and I couldn’t help but be blown away by that brief look into the spiritual realm. Today’s verse from Daniel reminded me of hat day. And as I was researching today I came upon this quote from Biblical Scholar Ronald Wallace: ‘We are indeed given a remarkable revelation...

  Daniel 9:4 And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and said, “O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments   Thought for the day – Our lament Daniel’s prayer today is a lament. It’s cry of shame for what has gone before and a shout for God to intervene and restore Jerusalem. And it reminds me of a song I love called Lament by a South African group called Friends First, which was written during the apartheid years of South Africa. So rather than wax lyrical, here are the lyrics. Make it your prayer today.   O Lord our God who keeps his covenant of love, we have sinned and done wrong. We have turned away from your righteousness, our ears have been closed to your command. The land is divided and the people are apart,  The nation is covered in shame. We have resisted your power and your grace, We have not acknowledged your name. Our leaders and...