OCTOBER 27, 2024
Topic: “APPRECIATE GOD’S LOVE”
Text: HOSEA 11:1-4
Memory Verse: “I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them” – Hosea 11:4.
Taking a closer look at what we generally call the Minor Prophets section of the Bible made up of about 12 books, we discover that these short books contain some major truths and lessons we can draw from as we explore the character and work of God in Israel. These lessons and truths were not only relevant to the Jewish people who were the original recipients but also to us who are children of God under the new covenant.
Prominent among these prophets is Hosea, who is considered to be extra-special because he did not only speak his prophecy to the people or just write it down, rather he lived it out. His experiences clearly reveal the extent to which God’s love for rebellious Israel could reach, and by implication, His love for stiff-necked mankind. For example, God consistently provided for His people but they refused to see, acknowledge and appreciate what He had done for them. They showed no interest in appreciating the goodness and kindness of God. They ignored all that He had done as though they were entitled to it or that it did not matter.
Ingratitude is still common even among New Testament believers today; maybe even with you reading these lines at this time. It is a moral failure, which even Jesus condemned in the story of the Ungrateful Lepers in Luke 17:111-19. Are you guilty of taking the kindness of God or of men around you for granted?
Have you shown gratitude for your parents’ care? What of the spiritual services you have been receiving from your Pastor and other spiritual leaders? How about your children’s teachers for all their care of your children; your heavenly Father for His provisions, guidance, and many other benefits He daily loads you with? Do you want to repent of your ingratitude now and truly appreciate God in your prayer? Rising from here, do you want to become a thankful person? Meditate and act on this.
PRAYER: Ask God to forgive you of any act of ingratitude to Him and others, and ask Him to re-calibrate your heart and transform you into a thankful person.