The Choice Is Yours

 Hosea 14:1-9

[1]Return, O Israel, to the lord your God, 

    for your sins have brought you down.

[2]Bring your confessions, and return to the lord. 

    Say to him, 

“Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us, 

    so that we may offer you our praises.

[3]Assyria cannot save us, 

    nor can our warhorses. 

Never again will we say to the idols we have made, 

    ‘You are our gods.’ 

No, in you alone 

    do the orphans find mercy.”

[4]The lord says, 

“Then I will heal you of your faithlessness; 

    my love will know no bounds, 

    for my anger will be gone forever.

[5]I will be to Israel 

    like a refreshing dew from heaven. 

Israel will blossom like the lily; 

    it will send roots deep into the soil 

    like the cedars in Lebanon.

[6]Its branches will spread out like beautiful olive trees, 

    as fragrant as the cedars of Lebanon.

[7]My people will again live under my shade. 

    They will flourish like grain and blossom like grapevines. 

    They will be as fragrant as the wines of Lebanon.

[8]“O Israel, stay away from idols! 

    I am the one who answers your prayers and cares for you. 

I am like a tree that is always green; 

    all your fruit comes from me.”

[9]Let those who are wise understand these things. 

    Let those with discernment listen carefully. 

The paths of the lord are true and right, 

    and righteous people live by walking in them. 

    But in those paths sinners stumble and fall.'

Good morning believer in Christ Jesus? Continue with your journey as you seek to know who God is. Most people, if not all, grow up in a mixed religious environment where they (we) acquire and internalize different religious beliefs. However, those who feed on the Word of God find solace when they realize all things happen because of the love of God and that they in turn love God. As the Bible clearly testifies to us that whatever happens to a believer, one doesn't have to worry as...'greater is He who is in me than the one who is in the world....', 1 John 4:4. Hosea is admonishing us to worship, love, praise, believe, trust, pray and walk in God's abundant righteous ways so that we are counted as righteous children of the Most High God. In your thoughts today, think about what you see as man's contribution to all the things you find around you! What is keeping you from worshipping God and preaching His goodness to other people? What is holding you back from believing that no man created whatever you see around you except God? Get along your faith path and trust that God, in the name of Jesus Christ, will give you the Will power to save you from being trapped by a world bent on sinning. The choice is yours, the good news is God gives us unlimited chances to repent.