Prov 14:16 A wise man fears the lord and shuns evil, but a fool is hotheaded and reckless.
This scrip tells us to actually SHUN evil…what does shun mean???
The dictionary definition of shun: to avoid somebody or something intentionally. That does not mean to avoid everyone who does something wrong because we are all sinners(Rom 3:23). But if someone is saying they serve God but is refusing to live it we are told to AVOID them.
Hosea 14:1
Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall! NIV
Throughout the book of Hosea it describes I how many sins Israel has committed and how evil they have become. Yet, even in the midst of the evil God is still calling them to come back to Him. God cries out in this verse, He says RETURN, your SINS have been your downfall. He just wants them to stop sinning and come back to Him so that He can care for them and help them.
God I pray for my friends that don’t know You or have simply forgotten You, please draw them back to you and help them to understand that if they will just turn to you and stop living in sin that you will welcome them back with open arms.
Help me to always go back to you when I make a mistake and to seek forgiveness right away so that I can have relationship with you again. Just because I sin once does not mean I need to keep going.
Thoughts from AVK
Hosea 13:6
When I fed them, they were satisfied, when they were satisfied, they became proud, then they forgot me. NIV
Hosea 13:9
You are destroyed, O Israel because you are against Me, against your helper. NIV
Forgot…such a seemingly simple thing…to forget…yet it can hold disaster depending on what we forget. Opps, I forgot my keys, cant go far without those. Opps, I forgot to call my friend back, hope I didn’t hurt her feelings. Opps, I forgot God, now that can bring some serious issues.
Hosea 13 talks about how God cared for and protected Israel, but in verse 6 it says Israel became proud and forgot God. The simple act of forgetting caused them to live for themselves in sin without caring what God had to say. They forgot all the wonderful things God had done for them and how God had rescued them from their enemies. Israel’s forgetting led to what verse 9 describes as them being against God and says they are destroyed.
God I never want to get to the point where I forget you and turn my back on you. I never want to be known as someone who is against you. Help me to remember how amazing you are and to always honor you.
Thoughts from AV
Ps 32:6
6 Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. ESV
- While he may be found. You can call out to God now. But you aren’t even guaranteed tomorrow. Ecc 11:3; james 4:14; I think there are a lot of people waiting for the last moment to call on God, but, for many, that moment will never come. They will miss there chance and spend forever in Hell because of it. Acts 26:28 King Aggripa seems to have missed his chance. It was probably that last time the gospel was presented to him.
Acts 26:28
28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?” NIV
- Perhaps Agrippa went away thinking on this and became a Christian later, but I doubt it. I think that here he was given the easiest opportunity he would ever have, and he looked and said, “not so quickly, (maybe tomorrow)”. What if his tomorrow never comes? James 4:14; Prov 27:1; Tomorrow is the day that never comes. It is always a day away. I think so many leave everything God has for them in that unreachable day. Tomorrow they will get that straight. Tomorrow they will… but tomorrow never comes. Lord, don’t let me wait for a day that doesn’t come. Let me respond immediately. (Heb 3:7-8;) Don’t let me put off until tomorrow what you told me to do today. (Prov 3:28)
Heb 2:1
1 We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. NIV
- If one’s relationship with God is not given special attention he will drift away. How much attention do you give your walk with God? What are you doing to make sure that God stays number one? What are you doing today to draw near to God (James 4:8)
- Deut 4:9 & 23; 32:46-47; Josh 23:11-12; 1 Chron 22:13; 2 Chron 12:14; Ps 119:9; Prov 2:1-6; 3:21; 4:1-4; 7:1-2; Matt 24:12-13; Luke 8:15; john 16:1; 1 Tim 6:21; Rev 2:5; 3:5
Hos 7:14
14 They do not cry to me from the heart, but they wail upon their beds; for grain and wine they gash themselves; they rebel against me. ESV
- They were not after God but after grain and wine. Gashing themselves was common practice of Baal Worship 1 Kings 18:28. They were not out to serve God, but themselves. Their god was themselves and their own stomachs Phil 3:19. Are you after God or an easier life? God or a genie? Matt 15:8; Mark 1:12-13;
- Where did the “easy life” Christianity start? Who said it was going to be easier? I agree that God is smarter than me and I know that He loves and has a great plan for me. I know in the end He knows what is best for me, but I know that will include making some rough choices. I know that though it won’t be easy it is worth it. I know that I have decided I want to live for Him whatever the cost. So often we find that there are “fair weather” Christians because they think it is suppose to be easier. They just want God’s help to do life their way. When God’s way looks tough and another way looks easier the “fair weather Christians” will take the easy way. There are always short cuts. I think that most temptations are shortcuts or “easy ways out”. Doing it God’s way is work, but in the end it’s worth it. Short cutting in the end costs us greatly. Are we living for God or trying to just get God to help our living?
- Prov 28:9; Matt 20:20; 1 Tim 6:5; 1 Peter 3:7;
