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Day 5 Hosea 5 Hosea 5:1 Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment is toward you, because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor. 2 And the revolters are profound to make slaughter, though I have been a rebuker of them all. 3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, O Ephraim, thou commit whoredom, and Israel is defiled. 4 They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known the LORD. 5 And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them. 6 They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them. 7 They have dealt treacherously against the LORD: for they have begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with their portions. 8 Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: cry aloud at Bethaven, after thee, O Benjamin. 9 Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be. 10 The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound: therefore I will pour out my wrath upon them like water. 11 Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment, because he willingly walked after the commandment. 12 Therefore will I be unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness. 13 When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound. 14 For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him. 15 I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early. You’ve heard the term, ‘lock him up and throw away the key.’ People who continue to commit crimes against their fellow man, without remorse, will not see any empathy or compassion from anyone. God told Hosea, he would not acknowledge his people, but he would take his people out of the way, send them into captivity, for all their sin against him. For several hundred years, Israel had sinned against God by worshiping idols, and practicing every kind of wickedness. God told Hosea, the time had come for Israel to face the consequences of their actions. You can see the depravity of man, read the horror stories in the news, and hear the outcry of families and friends of victims who want to see justice done. As Christians, you can’t just sit back and watch the events unfold. There is only one thing a person can do in the midst of all the trouble, and that is pray. Prayer unlocks the gates of heaven. Prayer let’s God know you will not stand idly by while people commit crime in your streets. Prayer brings answers to situations that look hopeless. God turned his back on Israel because they didn’t seek him, but did their own thing, without a care for their fellow man. They sought alliances with nations who didn’t seek after God, but worshiped idols. They practiced the ways of those nations, allowing wickedness to creep deep into their hearts and souls, until nothing was left except a depraved mind and heart. Satan plays on the depravity of man, causing him to sink further from redemption, until the thoughts and actions of the person no longer reflect a heart for anything good. Ezekiel said a soul like that would die. Ezekiel 18:4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sins, it shall die. Ezekiel 18:20 The soul that sins, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. In a world nearly bankrupt of God’s love, because Satan has struck at the hearts and minds of depraved man, it’s time for those who still call on the name of God, to rise up and let their voices be heard in heaven. It’s time for those who call themselves Christians to fall on their knees and not allow Satan to bring anymore chaos and confusion to the world. It’s time to take back what the enemy stole from us – our sons and daughters, our friends and neighbors, our coworkers and those we don’t know, the terrorists, who rain destruction on our lives. It’s time for the men and women of God to rise up and let their voices be heard. We don’t need to hear anymore cries of hatred in our streets. It’s time for the world to see God loves them and cares about them. He will only act, if we do. Israel didn’t know how to seek God any longer, and God walked away from them. Don’t let God walk away from you. Turn to him, acknowledge him, pray. Then watch God take hold of the situation and turn your mourning into dancing, and bring beauty from your ashes. Psalm 30:10 Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me: LORD, be thou my helper. 11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; 12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee forever. (KJV) Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. (KJV) Don’t let Satan win the battle. Join the battle, by bringing your petitions to God, and God will lead the charge and destroy the works of Satan. Let’s pray: Father, we are a world at war with Satan. Everywhere I look, I see the chaos and confusion Satan brings to the lives of those who don’t know you. Help me fall on my knees, seeking your grace and mercy in the midst of all Satan is doing. Bring your justice to your children, and help us take back what Satan stole from us. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. Copyright ©19 February 2018 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay