When I heard a sermon in a morning assembly from Dr. Yeung yesterday, the image of Holy and Almighty God stunned me though I had heard of it many times (Isaiah 6:1-8). Even the angels seraphim and the only righteous man, Isaiah, told themselves they were not holy enough to see His throne and God. How about me? 'O, Jah, if you took note of every sin, who would go free? (Psalms 130:3)' 

"Before Isaiah was sent to the people for sending messages from God, his sins were first cleansed by the burning coal. "Before we accept God's call to speak for him to those around us, we must be cleansed as Isaiah was, confessing our sins and submitting to God's control. Letting God purify us may be painful, but we must be purified so that we can truly represent God, who is pure and holy." (NLT)

"Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?" I said,"Here I am. Send me."                      Isaiah 6: 8

My reponses in the sermons?  I closed my eyes and prayed ... 'Lord, if you don't cleanse me, how could I stand in front of You? how could I be your servant? You are the ONLY one who is capable to cleanse me at once. I am so impure when I stand in front of You. "PUT YOU ASIDE."    Yes. (I always put me as top as Him or even higher)    "PUT YOURS ASIDE and FOLLOW ME"     Yes. Wherever You lead me to go, I will follow You. I would like to be a servant of You. (I concerned my future ministry, confronting sins, toefl and GRE results very much) "YOU ARE CLEANSED" ' When I opened up my eyes, everything went brighter and lighter. I was so peaceful and joyful and I smiled.  

His cleansing did not come from what I could give, in fact, I have nothing to give since He is so rich in everything and He lacks nothing from the beginning! What I know about Him is His generous Grace and Love. He humbled himself, suffered and eventually died on the cross, just for manifesting His Love and Glory to us and building up the fellowship among us. I am still deeply touched by His acts (particular at the time of my preparing my theology exam. I know more about Him).

Thank you, Lord. May Your name be glorified ever. Amen.

(I got my GRE exam result last night...better than what I expected...Dear Lord, million thanks!)

But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, 'O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.' I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those whol exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves wil lbe exalted.                        Luke 18:13-14

The tax collector showed his genuine repentant attitude in front of Jesus. Our dearest Jesus understands our situations and difficulties ... He sees through our genuine hearts ... I never try to evade my responsibility i.e. try to carry the consequences of our faults, pursue a holy living and keep me from doing something evil. BUT Jesus sees our broken spirit as very precious. I truly believe at times when I think there is no further turning back in hopelessness, Jesus is STILL here. He would hear our prayers and like to offer His merciful hands to everyone in need.

The offerings of God are a broken spirit; a broken and sorrowing heart, O God, you will not put from you.   Psalms 51:17

"... For your (human's) love vanishes like the morning mist and disappears like dew in the sunlight."        Hosea 6:4

"I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings."         Hosea 6:6

Dear Jesus, You know human's nature very clearly, so fragile and thankless ... BUT You still show Your PERPETUAL LOVE to us. What you need us is to SHOW OUR LOVE AND LOYALTY with ACTIONS and PRESS ON TO LOVE YOU through reading the Bible, loving others, ... etc. Lord, I truly believe we'll become strong when you are staying with us, not depending on our capacity. Please teach us how to be the ones You love most. Amen. 

Three verses that inspire me a lot.

(Even the Israel did not change themselves and turned to evil) "Then I (God) will return to my place until they admit their guilt and turn to me. For as soon as trouble comes, they will earnestly search for me."                            Hosea 5:15

Our dear Lord never abandons the ones He loves!!! Though we do something really bad sometimes, He still keeps His promises and waits for our changes.    'Do I repent easily without seriously considering what changes need to take place in our lives?' (NLT)

"Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in eary spring."                      Hosea 6:3

(我 們 務 要 認 識 耶 和 華 、 竭 力 追 求 認 識 他 ． 他 出 現 確 如 晨 光 、 他 必 臨 到 我 們 像 甘 雨 、 像 滋 潤 田 地 的 春 雨 。)

For this reason let us go on from the first things about Christ to full growth (i.e. become mature in our understanding); not building again that on which it is based ...                          Hebrews 6:1

Dear Lord, lead me to a place where You want me to stay and learn. Please teach me how to be a more mature Christian, more importantly, to have encounters with You always. Amen. 

What would you say now? if a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone wandering away, will he not let the ninety-nine be, and go to the mountains in search of the wandering one. And if he comes across it, truly I say to you, he has more joy over it than over the ninety-nine which have not gone out of the way.               Matthew 18:12-13

Dear Shepherd, let me be Your found sheep. Your guide, protection, sacrifice ... every attributes touch my heart deeply and they are what I am longing for.

*****

If we say openly that we have done wrong, he is upright and true to his word, giving us forgiveness of sins and making us clean from all evil.              1 John 1:9

What a valuable promise!!! Every time I get lost, You find me, teach me and bring me to Your sheepfold. Thank you, Shepherd.

In Chapter 4 of the Hosea, God condemned priests in religious leaders and priests of keeping the people from knowing Him. They were supposed to be spiritual leaders, but they had become leaders in wrongdoing and bad examples for believers. The sins they committed were ... "every time a person brought a sin offering, the priest received a portion of it. And because they couldn't eat all of the offerings themselves, they sold some and gave some to their relatives. The priests profited from the continuation of sin. So instead of trying to lead the people out of sin, they encouraged sin to increade their profits." (quoated in NLT)

At the beginning, my feeling instantly tells me that it's so ridiculous for a priest to lead people away from God. However, then I ask why priests or religious leaders turned to commit sins in front of their Gods. Did they know that it's absolute wrong to do these? Did they know that they would receive the punishments from God if they keep doing so?    YES.   I recall my past experiences and they tell me that christians commits sins are usually blindfolded by the demon and themselves, i.e. tries to cover the followed consequences from God and inner divine voices from Holy Spirit. At that time, we naturally do something very stupid and unwise ... If we continue to addict to 'these', turn away from God very often and 'enjoy' the satisfaction of getting more and more interests and excitements. I think this is why priests did those shameful things in front of God without considering His righteousness.

Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts. And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.                Psalm 139:23-24

At the times I think 'I CAN' is the time 'I AM WEAK'. Lord, please keep my hearts towards You. If I rely solely myself to combat the temptations, I foresee I'll fall in front of You. Please give me strength, Lord. 

 In Hosea 2:23, "I (God) will show love to those I called ' Not loved.' And to those I called ' Not my people,' I will say,'Now you are my people.' And they will reply,'You are our God!' "

'No matter how we sink, God is willing to buy us back - to redeem us - and to lift us up again.' quoated in NLT.

Dear Lord, I can't fully describe Your love in words, pictures or any means. In the past few years, I clearly experienced your redemption and unceased love during my several rebellions and hardships. I am so sorry to do so many shameful things and for my ignorance ...  even I thought that You never forgive me any more ... BUT ... Your love brought me back from the hook of death in time ... Thank you Lord. What should I do to show my gratitude? Please tell me Lord ...

What Gomer (in Hosea 1 and 2) did and made Him so angry ...

1. Adultery: She did shameful things behind her husband. What is yours? How's your allowance to sin?

2. Ingratitude: She treated all her blessings, jewels, crops (her possessions) as something that she deserved to have. She had no concept to the Giver. Do we have the same thought as hers? What if God take all away?

3. Idolatry: She worshipped the idol, Baal, and offered sacrifice. What is the hidden idol that allures you most in your heart? Have you underestimate your Almighty God?

4. Filling her emptiness with vain stuffs: What's your goal? Where is the origin of your emptiness? Did 'they' satisfy your need?

I am not pretending to be one who conquers all of the above. I did and sometimes I'm STILL in the struggles.

But the Bible does not just disclose and analyze one's faults and this is not the main purpose of the Bible. This is not the end of the story about Hosea and Gomer. God's love, richness, mercy, forgiveness, righteousness and salvation were then followed in later chapters. What exciting news this is! For me, the HOPE He gives is the spring in a desert.  

Dear Lord, please let me lean on you and have a breath of FRESH air near Your chest. Amen.

Hosea 2:6, "For this reason (rebellion against Jesus) I will fence her in with thornbushes. I will block her path with a wall to make her lose her way."

2:14 "But then I will win her back once again. I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her there."

All blessings and the things I see very important or meaningful may disappear at once when I turn my face away and do what I desire without considering His feeling. His punishments shows His dual paradoxical natures: Righteouness and Love (only those He loves receive His penalty). Moreover, the punishments are always followed by His unconditional forgiveness and tender loving care.

Dear Lord, I would not behave myself mainly due to horror towards You, rather, due to caring how You feel since ...

You have regarded me as your intimate friend.

Thank you Lord.

Hosea, a prophet, was ordered by God to marry a woman, Gomer, who would turn to be a prositute after marriage.

I was deeply impressed to his absolute obedience, through this, His messages "even the people did something very evil, the Lord still loves them" was finally spreaded out. I can't imagine the scene of God telling him to do so and how Hosea felt.

Will I be able to accept the fact that the pain involved in obedience may benefit those I serve and I personally?

In Horsea 1:7, God rescued the people of Judah from their enemies with no help from their weapons or armies. It shows that God can accomplish all his plans without any help of us. Though we are very important to God, but we have neither the ability to fulfill nor the power to disrupt God's plan.

Dear Lord, please don't forsake me and let me obey your wills totally. When I am in doubt what to do and where I go, please teach me how to follow your ways. Amen.