Title: A Contrast of Attitudes/Topic: Wisdom

Today’s Reading: Hosea 13; Hosea 14; Psalm 100; Psalm 101; Psalm 102; Hebrews 5

Scripture: Hebrews 5:7-10; Hosea 13:6-9
7During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
6 When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me. 7 So I will come upon them like a lion, like a leopard I will lurk by the path. 8 Like a bear robbed of her cubs, I will attack them and rip them open. Like a lion I will devour them; a wild animal will tear them apart. 9 "You are destroyed, O Israel, because you are against me, against your helper.

Observation: As I was reading these scriptures, I noted a sharp contrast in the attitudes of Israel's people who were rebellious and Jesus, who, even though he was God incarnate, learned with a heart of reverent submission. His prayers were heard because of this reverence and submission. In contrast to this, the people of Israel, who knew God and had received many blessings from Him, were arrogant and forgot God (they still went through the rituals of worship, but it made no difference in their behavior; they lived as they wanted to without regard to what God had said was right and wrong). The result of this was destruction in their lives.

Application: Be teachable. Seek God during times of trial in order to learn to be more obedient. Have an attitude of reverence. And pray fervently, as Jesus did, counting on God for deliverance. If Jesus was humble before God his Father, who am I to think I can be full of pride?

Prayer: Father, I have seen the result of arrogance in the lives of many people and I desire to have that purged out of me completely. I want to be like you; learning obedience from the things I suffer and being heard by God because of my reverent submission. Help me to be like you. I submit to you as my Lord and Savior. You are good and kind, and I want to be a light in this world as you were and are.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Title: A Word in Time of Need/Topic: Hearing God

Today’s Reading: Isaiah 6; Isaiah 7; 2 Chronicles 26; 2 Chronicles 27; Philemon 1

Scripture: Isaiah 7:2, 7-9
2 Now the house of David was told, "Aram has allied itself with [a] Ephraim"; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.
7 Yet this is what the Sovereign LORD says: " 'It will not take place, it will not happen, 8 for the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is only Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people. 9 The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah's son. If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.' "

Observation: During times of threat, fear, or problem of any kind, the Lord is faithful to give us a word of encouragement or wisdom if we will seek him. Sometimes that word comes through prayer in times of solitude and sometimes it comes through others in the Body of Christ. The key is to seek the Lord and then to accept and trust what he says. In this case, the Lord warned Ahaz to be sure to stand firm in his faith, or he would not be able to get through this time of trial well. God knew he needed this warning because his faith was weak. When the prophet told him that God wanted him to ask for a sign that this word would come true, the king refused to do it. Whether his disobedience was from fear or from a false sense of spirituality, his response is an indication of weak faith.

Application: We need to be sure we seek the Lord, especially in times of trouble, and then we need to be sure we LISTEN, TRUST IN and OBEY what we are told. Otherwise we will suffer much more than we need to and will miss seeing the Lord work on our behalf.

Prayer: Father help me, and all your people, to seek you and trust in you when you speak to us. Let us humbly receive instruction and words of wisdom and knowledge that come to us from those in the church who are mature. Help us to be humble enough to repent when we are rightly rebuked so that we may be healed and restored. May we always see your hand of deliverance working on our behalf and praise you for it.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.