An introduction to “Don’t you dare love me!” “It’s too intense to be published for readers on the public market” Intended, I guess as constructive criticism, these words took root. I know they weren’t meant to be offensive and I trust this one more than most, but to say it is too intense, is to […]
Maybe I have subconsciously placed you alongside the gods of Mythology… The story of Hosea* has taken me by surprise. It has opened my eyes – actually my very soul – to Your heartache God, and in doing so, You have revealed a side of You that I had not before given much attention to, or attributed […]
How both privileged and devastating it was for Hosea to be chosen to reveal Your heart toward humanity; to be the one who would live out the expression of Perfect Love, knowing and experiencing both delight and gut-wrenching grief – the extremes of emotion that can only be known by one who has truly […]
God, You ask Hosea to take to himself (Hosea 1:2 NKJV), Gomer. You ask him to unite with her, take her to himself in closeness, in vulnerability, and in genuine care for her – to join, to marry, to make her his own precious wife – for life. You are not just asking Hosea to […]
Casual def – easy going; happening by chance; fortuitous; without definite or serious intention; careless or offhand; passing; seeming or tending to be indifferent to what is happening; apathetic; unconcerned. The words, take to yourself, meant for Hosea to make Gomer his. It was a relationship for them to have solely with each other. He was […]
I’m into James Arthur at the moment. Just loving his lyrics and sound. He has written a song, “Let me love the lonely” – it is perhaps unknowingly to him, a deeply spiritual song, whose lyrics speak of the desire to have someone who will love us intimately. I have listened to it often, lately. If the […]
God, You are angry. Anger, the emotion of betrayal. Anger from injustice. Anger from deep hurt. Anger aroused from what has become of the very best of Your creation. It feels like the rest of Hosea 1, is Your expression of anger through the deep hurt and injustice You feel. I have often wondered after reading […]
I love theatre. It’s rooted in the love of a good story. I love that feeling of excited anticipation – the cacophony of the orchestral instruments as they do their final tuning, the crowd noise quietens, the house lights dim, the stage lights brighten, the opening music plays, and the curtains part – all together […]
Even the priests… In relating to Hosea the offense You feel towards Israel, You lay Your complaint about the priests – those set apart for the purpose of leading the people into knowing You, but who too had become corrupt. And like Hosea, as he writes Your words down, I hear the ache of things […]
None of my brokenness darkens or diminishes¹ my worth. None of my brokenness is able to put an end to the unfailing love You have for me that seeks my company and my return to relationship with You. Yes, like Israel, and like Gomer, I am ruined, broken, desperate, lost, but You love me here. You understand […]