August 12, 2021 | Hosea 5:8–14 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Author Flannery O’Connor once wrote that when you’re talking about faith to an unbelieving audience, “you have to make your vision apparent by shock—to the hard of hearing you shout, and for the almost-blind, you draw large and startling figures.” Her story “Greenleaf” tells of […]
August 11, 2021 | Hosea 5:1–7 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Have you ever been present in a courtroom when a bailiff says, “All rise,” just before the judge enters the room? Everyone in attendance stands to attention, out of respect—for the judge and for the law. Today’s passage begins with a similar proclamation. “Hear, you […]
August 10, 2021 | Hosea 4:15–19 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue What should a church do when a member is pursuing sin? The New Testament teaches that an individual should approach the brother or sister one-on-one. “If they listen to you, you have won them over” (Matt. 18:15). If they do not listen, two or three […]
August 9, 2021 | Hosea 4:4–14 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Being a spiritual leader of any kind is an immense responsibility that we dare not take lightly. The book of James warns us that people holding such positions incur a stricter judgment (James 3:1). Jesus told His disciples that causing a young, impressionable convert to […]
August 8, 2021 | Hosea 4:1–3 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Isn’t it fascinating to watch skilled prosecutors argue a case? They clearly articulate the charges brought against the suspect. Then they support those allegations with evidence, logic, and witness testimony. In today’s passage, Hosea called the Israelites into God’s courtroom because God Himself had a […]
August 7, 2021 | Hosea 3:1–5 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue I believe that love is primarily a decision, a choice, an action we take. Hosea 3 reinforces this understanding. In this short and summarized chapter, we return to the story of Hosea and Gomer. From the first-person point of view, Hosea relays a key conversation […]
August 6, 2021 | Hosea 2:16–23 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue I recently read a story by a woman who calls herself “The Restored Wife.” She and her husband endured years of bitter arguments, bankruptcy, an affair, and even divorce. She was planning to take her own life when God broke through and led her to […]
August 5, 2021 | Hosea 2:6–15 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue In the movie Fireproof, firefighter Caleb Holt fights to save his failing marriage by following advice found in The Love Dare. The book challenges spouses to make one concrete overture of love each day for 40 days. Ultimately, Fireproof is a story of hope, and […]
August 4, 2021 | Hosea 2:2–5 DEVOTIONS Read Passage This Month’s Issue Christianity has never existed in a cultural vacuum. For centuries, believers around the world have lived out their faith within that era’s language, customs, artistic expressions, and politics. In the book of Acts, for example, the Apostle Paul put his sermons into context […]
August 3, 2021 | Hosea 1:10, 2:1 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Have you ever heard a salvation story so shocking it dropped your jaw? For the past several years, Christianity Today has compiled the Top Ten Testimonies of the year. Titles include: “How a French Atheist Became a Theologian” and, “I Thought God Could Never […]