I apologize for having to do this, but there is no way we can meet tonight. The upside is this: you have another week to finish reading the prologue of "Redeeming Love" and to find more Scripture to back up what you think the Lord is telling you.
Another upside is that two more women want to join this conversation, and they will not be as far behind as they thought.
___
On another note, please continue to pray for one another this week. Last week was a rough one for so many of us, and I know that we are all encouraged by the prayers being offered on our behalf. Please also remember in your prayers our church, its leadership, and the women's ministry. We all know so many parts of our church are growing and changing, and I know the leaders would covet our intercession.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Questions about walking away...
Hi ladies, I don't really know any of you besides Tamara, but I would like to! :) Anyway... along the theme in Hosea of the unfaithful wife, I have a question for you. Not really meant to start a theological debate, but asked because my heart is hurting.
What do you do when someone really close to you walks away from Christ? Someone who has walked with God for a few years, who has shown the fruits of the Spirit in his or her life, who has oozed God's love, and who has even led others to Christ?
I've known a lot of people who are or have been devoted followers of Christ who are under the impression they are living fully in the Spirit, but their rebellious actions and choices definitely reveal otherwise. I've lived in resistance to obeying God myself and I'm not proud of it. But I'm talking about something different. I'm talking about a follower of Christ who willingly and consciously decides to completely reject Christ's lordship in his or her life, to purposefully aim to disobey God's will, and even to give up eternity in heaven.
There is a lot that led to this person's decision, mainly that God didn't behave the way he/she wanted. This person is obviously choosing outright rebellion in choosing to "leave" Jesus. But I also don't believe that anything can separate us from the love of Christ. Obviously Jesus still loves this person and is waiting with open arms... just like Hosea always went back for Gomer and just like Michael always goes back for Angel in the book, I know He is waiting for this individual to come back. But what happens if this person outright refuses His attempts at wooing him/her back? Can He force him/her to return?
I believe with all my heart that God is irresistible and that when He romances us, we can't help but succumb. I love that about Him. But I also know He doesn't want to force us to love Him... He wants us to choose to love Him back and follow Him. I know my husband wants me to love him because I want to and because it brings me joy-- he wouldn't want me to love him out of obligation or a sense of duty.
I just don't know. The whole thing just hurts. I don't think people realize that when they decide to tear themselves away from Christ, they are ripping out a part of the Bride of Christ too. They are dismembering the Body.
I'm doing my best to love this person and encourage him/her, but it seems to only make things worse because the only things I find to be truly encouraging have to do with God.
Thoughts?
What do you do when someone really close to you walks away from Christ? Someone who has walked with God for a few years, who has shown the fruits of the Spirit in his or her life, who has oozed God's love, and who has even led others to Christ?
I've known a lot of people who are or have been devoted followers of Christ who are under the impression they are living fully in the Spirit, but their rebellious actions and choices definitely reveal otherwise. I've lived in resistance to obeying God myself and I'm not proud of it. But I'm talking about something different. I'm talking about a follower of Christ who willingly and consciously decides to completely reject Christ's lordship in his or her life, to purposefully aim to disobey God's will, and even to give up eternity in heaven.
There is a lot that led to this person's decision, mainly that God didn't behave the way he/she wanted. This person is obviously choosing outright rebellion in choosing to "leave" Jesus. But I also don't believe that anything can separate us from the love of Christ. Obviously Jesus still loves this person and is waiting with open arms... just like Hosea always went back for Gomer and just like Michael always goes back for Angel in the book, I know He is waiting for this individual to come back. But what happens if this person outright refuses His attempts at wooing him/her back? Can He force him/her to return?
I believe with all my heart that God is irresistible and that when He romances us, we can't help but succumb. I love that about Him. But I also know He doesn't want to force us to love Him... He wants us to choose to love Him back and follow Him. I know my husband wants me to love him because I want to and because it brings me joy-- he wouldn't want me to love him out of obligation or a sense of duty.
I just don't know. The whole thing just hurts. I don't think people realize that when they decide to tear themselves away from Christ, they are ripping out a part of the Bride of Christ too. They are dismembering the Body.
I'm doing my best to love this person and encourage him/her, but it seems to only make things worse because the only things I find to be truly encouraging have to do with God.
Thoughts?
"Redeeming" homework
Good morning, ladies.
I forgot to tell everyone what chapters to read before Monday.
Let's start just with the prologue this week, since it's a little over 30 pages long, and there's a ton in there.
A few key questions:
1. Based on this reading, what are we learning about God, or who are the characters perceiving God to be? (And, for bonus points, can you find Scripture -- both in Hosea and elsewhere -- that either confirms or refutes these traits?)
2. What are the overall themes in this section, and how can you expect the situations to shape the characters?
3. The prologue deals a lot with the idea of rejection. Have you felt fully, hopelessly rejected, and how do we as Christians overcome these feelings?
4. Do we have a responsibility to try to overcome our pasts? What does Scripture say?
5. Food for thought: It's easy for us to say we'd want to step in for little Sarah, help her escape this horrible life she is forced into. We know that unfortunately Sarah's situation doesn't change, but our thoughts toward her do as she grows up. Why is this?
I forgot to tell everyone what chapters to read before Monday.
Let's start just with the prologue this week, since it's a little over 30 pages long, and there's a ton in there.
A few key questions:
1. Based on this reading, what are we learning about God, or who are the characters perceiving God to be? (And, for bonus points, can you find Scripture -- both in Hosea and elsewhere -- that either confirms or refutes these traits?)
2. What are the overall themes in this section, and how can you expect the situations to shape the characters?
3. The prologue deals a lot with the idea of rejection. Have you felt fully, hopelessly rejected, and how do we as Christians overcome these feelings?
4. Do we have a responsibility to try to overcome our pasts? What does Scripture say?
5. Food for thought: It's easy for us to say we'd want to step in for little Sarah, help her escape this horrible life she is forced into. We know that unfortunately Sarah's situation doesn't change, but our thoughts toward her do as she grows up. Why is this?
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
The God of grace -- in spite of us
An overview of Hosea 1 - 3 (A sort of "Cliff's Notes" version of Week 2 in our Hosea study)...
Note: (GM) denotes lines taken from Dr. George E. Meisinger's study of Hosea.
In Hosea 1, we find two introductions: 1.) Hosea, a prophet we know little else about; 2.) God, a jilted lover.
By Hosea 1:2, we are seeing the prophecy begin. "Take yourself a wife of harlotry and children of harlotry," the Lord commands Hosea. It is an unbearable assignment. The relationship is a reflection of the one between God and Israel, He says. Meanwhile, Hosea is commanded to marry a woman who will cheat on him and spurn him.
In Hosea's day, "great harlotry" permeated the Northern Kingdom (Israel, or Ephraim). Baal worship was everywhere. And it was a slap in God's face; an outright rejection of His first commandment: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength."
Hosea & Gomer have three children, all with very peculiar names.
Baby #1 is a boy, called Jezreel after a horrific massacre (2 Kings 9 & 10) in the Valley of Jezreel, a place of much idolotry.
Baby #2 does not fare much better. She is called Lo-Ruhamah, which means "without mercy" or "without pity." She is so named because "the Lord says that he will not show Israel merciful acts of deliverance from her enemies." Yet, He still has mercy on the house of Judah (2 Kings 19:35-37).(GM)
Baby #3 is named Lo-Ammi, or "not my people." God, a spurned husband, is separated from His beloved Israel. The relationship is broken.
Yet, by Hosea 1:10, we see the Lord as still faithful to His promise. He keeps his Abrahamic covenant (Gen 12:1-3 and chp. 15). In verse 11, we see Himself bringing David into leadership, a king whose heart is for the Lord.
For more reading, see Romans 9:22-26.
Hosea 2:
We see the harlot lose everything. She loses her vines, her clothing, her happiness. (Cf. chapter 9.)
Yet through this all, God's grace shines.
"The Lord promises five different times, in no uncertain terms, that He will not abandon His people in spite of how circumstances appear." (GM)
In the second half for chapter 2, the restoration begins. The first half is restoration by discipline -- putting up hedges and walling her in.
Israel had turned to Assyria and Egypt for protection, and not to God. They were her "other lovers."
God allows destroyed or removed everything that is a remnant of harlotry -- her "wages," her clothes, wines ... all of it. Gone.
By v. 14, however, he is restoring her, offering her new wines, new hope. She had forgotten Him, but He will allure her and speak comfort.
Chapter 3 is short. It's a lovely story of restoration. Take her back, the Lord says. Tell her that she will be without a man for some time. Be with her, but not with her. Hosea buys back his wife from the place where she is enslaved, just as God promises; just as He has done for us.
But it's bigger than that. It's prophecy (3:4-5). The nation is told they "will abide many days without king or prince." This was prophecied in 722 B.C. Israel still waits.
They are told in v. 5 that total restoration (an Eden-like scenario) will come to pass eventually.
In the meantime, they wait.
We all do.
Note: (GM) denotes lines taken from Dr. George E. Meisinger's study of Hosea.
In Hosea 1, we find two introductions: 1.) Hosea, a prophet we know little else about; 2.) God, a jilted lover.
By Hosea 1:2, we are seeing the prophecy begin. "Take yourself a wife of harlotry and children of harlotry," the Lord commands Hosea. It is an unbearable assignment. The relationship is a reflection of the one between God and Israel, He says. Meanwhile, Hosea is commanded to marry a woman who will cheat on him and spurn him.
In Hosea's day, "great harlotry" permeated the Northern Kingdom (Israel, or Ephraim). Baal worship was everywhere. And it was a slap in God's face; an outright rejection of His first commandment: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength."
Hosea's family (his wife, Gomer, and their three children) illustrates three things: 1. Israel's disloyalty/backsliding into idolotry;
2. God's judgment;
3. the Lord's faithfulness to His promises. (GM)
Hosea & Gomer have three children, all with very peculiar names.
Baby #1 is a boy, called Jezreel after a horrific massacre (2 Kings 9 & 10) in the Valley of Jezreel, a place of much idolotry.
Baby #2 does not fare much better. She is called Lo-Ruhamah, which means "without mercy" or "without pity." She is so named because "the Lord says that he will not show Israel merciful acts of deliverance from her enemies." Yet, He still has mercy on the house of Judah (2 Kings 19:35-37).(GM)
Baby #3 is named Lo-Ammi, or "not my people." God, a spurned husband, is separated from His beloved Israel. The relationship is broken.
Yet, by Hosea 1:10, we see the Lord as still faithful to His promise. He keeps his Abrahamic covenant (Gen 12:1-3 and chp. 15). In verse 11, we see Himself bringing David into leadership, a king whose heart is for the Lord.
For more reading, see Romans 9:22-26.
Hosea 2:
We see the harlot lose everything. She loses her vines, her clothing, her happiness. (Cf. chapter 9.)
Yet through this all, God's grace shines.
"The Lord promises five different times, in no uncertain terms, that He will not abandon His people in spite of how circumstances appear." (GM)
In the second half for chapter 2, the restoration begins. The first half is restoration by discipline -- putting up hedges and walling her in.
Israel had turned to Assyria and Egypt for protection, and not to God. They were her "other lovers."
God allows destroyed or removed everything that is a remnant of harlotry -- her "wages," her clothes, wines ... all of it. Gone.
By v. 14, however, he is restoring her, offering her new wines, new hope. She had forgotten Him, but He will allure her and speak comfort.
What we learn here is something astonishing about how God's grace works.
The harlot here does absolutely nothing to earn her redemption. Unlike other books of prophecy in the OT, Hosea is not a "repent and be saved" kind of book. It is by God's grace alone that she is saved.
Chapter 3 is short. It's a lovely story of restoration. Take her back, the Lord says. Tell her that she will be without a man for some time. Be with her, but not with her. Hosea buys back his wife from the place where she is enslaved, just as God promises; just as He has done for us.
But it's bigger than that. It's prophecy (3:4-5). The nation is told they "will abide many days without king or prince." This was prophecied in 722 B.C. Israel still waits.
They are told in v. 5 that total restoration (an Eden-like scenario) will come to pass eventually.
In the meantime, they wait.
We all do.
Tweaks.
Good morning, beloved.
I sent you each an email about how to post to this blog yourself. This way, if you want to write, it doesn't have to be only in the comments.
A word of caution on that, however. This blog is open to anybody who wants to read it (and please feel free to invite friends and others to participate in our discussion). What that means for you as a blogger is, you must keep in mind that tender secrets are best not shared with the entire Internet world. Please use discretion.
Also, if you want to be notified every time a blog post or a comment goes up, let me know. I can add your email to that setting as well.
Stay tuned... Later today I will post about the happenings from last night's first study in Hosea.
Love to all...
I sent you each an email about how to post to this blog yourself. This way, if you want to write, it doesn't have to be only in the comments.
A word of caution on that, however. This blog is open to anybody who wants to read it (and please feel free to invite friends and others to participate in our discussion). What that means for you as a blogger is, you must keep in mind that tender secrets are best not shared with the entire Internet world. Please use discretion.
Also, if you want to be notified every time a blog post or a comment goes up, let me know. I can add your email to that setting as well.
Stay tuned... Later today I will post about the happenings from last night's first study in Hosea.
Love to all...
Monday, August 18, 2008
Your place at our table
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Yada Yada Coffee Stains welcomes you!
Here, we reflect on what we're learning together from the Lord.
We are His children, lovers of coffee and good conversation, yearning for holiness and mercy. Together, we will endeavor to know Him better, through Bible study, fellowship and prayer.
This blog is called From the Table. Why, you ask? Because the conversations here all stem from shared coffee and truth and questions at my dinner table. Because the Lord asks us to join Him at His table. Because Psalms tells us He prepares a table for us before our enemies and offers us peace. Because Job tells us He draws us to His table to feast on His blessings. Because Luke tells us we will eat with Him at His table in His kingdom. Because Matthew reminds us that offerings from alabaster jars are poured out before the Lord at His table.
Thank you, thank you, for joining us on this journey. For walking in Grace with us. For taking a place at the table.
Here, we reflect on what we're learning together from the Lord.
We are His children, lovers of coffee and good conversation, yearning for holiness and mercy. Together, we will endeavor to know Him better, through Bible study, fellowship and prayer.
This blog is called From the Table. Why, you ask? Because the conversations here all stem from shared coffee and truth and questions at my dinner table. Because the Lord asks us to join Him at His table. Because Psalms tells us He prepares a table for us before our enemies and offers us peace. Because Job tells us He draws us to His table to feast on His blessings. Because Luke tells us we will eat with Him at His table in His kingdom. Because Matthew reminds us that offerings from alabaster jars are poured out before the Lord at His table.
Thank you, thank you, for joining us on this journey. For walking in Grace with us. For taking a place at the table.
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