October 2016 – Page 2

Judgement – Sodom and Gomorrah

“My people are bent on turning away from me,
and though they call out to the Most High,
he shall not raise them up at all.”

Hosea 11:1
When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
The more they were called,
the more they went away;
they kept sacrificing to the Baals
and burning offerings to idols.
Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk;
I took them up by their arms,
but they did not know that I healed them.
I led them with cords of kindness,
with the bands of love,
and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws,
and I bent down to them and fed them.
They shall not return to the land of Egypt,
but Assyria shall be their king,
because they have refused to return to me.
The sword shall rage against their cities,
consume the bars of their gates,
and devour them because of their own counsels.
My people are bent on turning away from me,
and though they call out to the Most High,
he shall not raise them up at all.
How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, O Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
My heart recoils within me;
my compassion grows warm and tender.
I will not execute my burning anger;
I will not again destroy Ephraim;
for I am God and not a man,
the Holy One in your midst,
and I will not come in wrath.

Deuteronomy 29:22
And the next generation, your children who rise up after you, and the foreigner who comes from a far land, will say, when they see the afflictions of that land and the sicknesses with which the Lord has made it sick— the whole land burned out with brimstone and salt, nothing sown and nothing growing, where no plant can sprout, an overthrow like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger and wrath— all the nations will say, Why has the Lord done thus to this land? What caused the heat of this great anger?’ Then people will say, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt, and went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods whom they had not known and whom he had not allotted to them. Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against this land,

Deuteronomy 32:37
Then he will say, Where are their gods,
the rock in which they took refuge,
who ate the fat of their sacrifices
and drank the wine of their drink offering?
Let them rise up and help you;
let them be your protection!
“‘See now that I, even I, am he,
and there is no god beside me;
I kill and I make alive;
I wound and I heal;
and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.
For I lift up my hand to heaven
and swear, As I live forever,
if I sharpen my flashing sword
and my hand takes hold on judgment,
I will take vengeance on my adversaries
and will repay those who hate me.
I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
and my sword shall devour flesh—
with the blood of the slain and the captives,
from the long-haired heads of the enemy.’

How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? Most will know the story about Sodom and Gomorrah and how God rained down His wrath on them but he also included the the towns of Admah and Zeboiim for the same reason. God’s wrath is being stored up and will once again will come upon mankind on the day of Judgement when every knee will bow and confess Jesus is Lord. I wonder what it will be like when we come face to face with Him. Will we bow before Him in humbleness, awe, and thankfulness or will it be in shame, sorrow, and great remorse? Will we hear well done my faithful servant or I do not know you and be cast into the lake of fire? Just because we live in a time of blessing and prosperity does not mean we are in any way shape or form humbly serving Him, living for Him, following His leading, seeking to hear Him, loving Him, or honoring and glorifying Him. Jesus said “Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.” He was speaking of those who hear the word and neglect it. Peter said it this way “if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly.” In Jude we read “just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.
Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones.” How will God find you on the day you pass from now into eternity? Do we think we are immune to judgement for how we live for Him now? Trusting in God is not an insurance policy for eternity. It is a new life lived out in humble service to honor and glorify Him.

Reap what you sow

“Woe to him who strives with him who formed him”

Hosea 10:12
Sow for yourselves righteousness;
reap steadfast love;
break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
You have plowed iniquity;
you have reaped injustice;
you have eaten the fruit of lies.
Because you have trusted in your own way
and in the multitude of your warriors,

Isaiah 45:6
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
I form light and create darkness;
I make well-being and create calamity;
I am the Lord, who does all these things.
“Shower, O heavens, from above,
and let the clouds rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;
let the earth cause them both to sprout;
I the Lord have created it.
“Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,

Galatians 6:8
For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Sowing to please our own flesh, striving with Him who formed us, and trusting in our own way all end up at the same place. Do we really want to reap corruption, discipline and or punishment from God, or have no righteousness raining down on our lives? Just because we are living in a time of blessing and, for the most part, abundance does not mean we are living our lives to humbly serve, honor and glorify God. It seems like we want benefits without any commitment. How would a father feel if for some reason he had to be gone for an extended period of time and left instructions for his children to follow and the children chose to stop reading his instruction or remember to follow them? How would the father feel if after he sent multiple people to speak to them of his desire for them to have fulfilling lives and they neglect and disregard what is being told to them? How would the father feel if he reached out hundreds of times to his children and they turned a deaf ear to what he was trying to tell and show them? What would you think of these children who treated their father with little to no respect? Like me, I am sure you think these children are very disrespectful and deserve what is coming to them. We can always find reason for not to spending time reading God’s word for the purpose of knowing and understanding Him. Choose this day whom you will serve.

Daily Choice

“I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.”

Hosea 10:3
For now they will say:
“We have no king,
for we do not fear the Lord;
and a king—what could he do for us?”
They utter mere words;
with empty oaths they make covenants;
so judgment springs up like poisonous weeds
in the furrows of the field.
The inhabitants of Samaria tremble
for the calf of Beth-aven.
Its people mourn for it, and so do its idolatrous priests—
those who rejoiced over it and over its glory—
for it has departed from them.
The thing itself shall be carried to Assyria
as tribute to the great king.
Ephraim shall be put to shame,
and Israel shall be ashamed of his idol.

1 Samuel 12:12
And when you saw that Nahash the king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when the Lord your God was your king. And now behold the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; behold, the Lord has set a king over you. If you will fear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well. But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you and your king. Now therefore stand still and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes.

Gideon 8:23
Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.”

What does it mean the Lord will rule over you? In Samuel there seems to be a choice we make – “If you will fear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well.” The choice to fear Him, serve Him, obey Him, and to follow Him each of us will make every second of the day. Hosea says those who choose to do what is right in their own eyes will have judgements that spring up like poisonous weeds on those who make choices with words rather than their heart. Some will die in this choice and others will see what they have done and will be ashamed. In James it is stated something like this – “you say you have faith, but I say your works should demonstrate this faith for faith without works is meaningless.” Is it easy to determine what choice has been made – or what is the desire of your heart? Is God and His word written on your heart – this would mean time spent in it. Do you meditate on His word with the sun comes up and when it goes down – this would mean time spent in His word. Do you desire knowledge and understanding of God and to grow in it – this would mean time spent in His word. There is so much from this world and our culture that would lead us down a path that sees no need for God and seems to validate our choices. David said “God’s word is a light unto his path.” Everyday we make a choice to live for and serve God or live for and serve self. Some may think this is a “one time” choice but it much more than that. It is a continuous “life long” “daily” conscious choice, lived out every second every single day.

Don’t Reject His Calling

“you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the Lord will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart.”

Hosea 9:17
My God will reject them
because they have not listened to him;
they shall be wanderers among the nations.

Deuteronomy 28:65
Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the Lord will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart. You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life. In the morning you will say, “If only it were evening!” and in the evening, “If only it were morning!”—because of the terror that will fill your hearts and the sights that your eyes will see.

Jeremiah 6:28
The bellows blow fiercely
to burn away the lead with fire,
but the refining goes on in vain;
the wicked are not purged out.
They are called rejected silver,
because the Lord has rejected them.

Job 11:20
But the eyes of the wicked will fail;
all way of escape will be lost to them,
and their hope is to breathe their last.”

Job 31:28
If I have made gold my trust
or called fine gold my confidence,
if I have rejoiced because my wealth was abundant
or because my hand had found much,
if I have looked at the sun when it shone,
or the moon moving in splendor,
and my heart has been secretly enticed,
and my mouth has kissed my hand,
this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges,
for I would have been false to God above.

We are surrounded by much that takes our eyes off of God. Being mindful of this will keep our heart in check against that which attracts and pulls us away from humbly serving, honoring, and glorifying God. When you look at the stars on a clear night do you wonder how God created it? When you see a new born child to you see the work of God? When you think about the involuntary actions of your heart pumping do you wonder how God created us? If we look just for a second with eyes wanting to see His creation and beauty we would see the world around us so much differently. Things of this world would grow dim and He would become so much brighter. We need to be mindful of His creation, love, mercy, but more than this – His calling to serve Him.

They Returned

“They do not cry to me from the heart”

“They return, but not upward;

Hosea 7:13
Woe to them, for they have strayed from me!
Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me!
I would redeem them,
but they speak lies against me.
They do not cry to me from the heart,
but they wail upon their beds;
for grain and wine they gash themselves;
they rebel against me.
Although I trained and strengthened their arms,
yet they devise evil against me.
They return, but not upward;
they are like a treacherous bow;
their princes shall fall by the sword
because of the insolence of their tongue.

Jeremiah 14:10
“They greatly love to wander;
they do not restrain their feet.
So the Lord does not accept them;
he will now remember their wickedness
and punish them for their sins.”

Ezekiel 34:9
“‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock.

Matthew 23:37
how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate.

It does not take much reading in scripture to see God’s warning to mankind. Warning of not tending to His flock, not willing to be gathered to Him, not listening for His leading, Not thinking they were accountable, wandering away from God, not restraining where they go or what they do, not acknowledging they are living in sin, speaking lies, not looking upward toward God, not crying out to God from their heart, and rebelling from what they know God is speaking to their heart. You have to know at some point each of these people being spoken about, chose to stop seeking God and serving Him. I doubt it was one day they woke up and said I am no longer going to do this. But at some point they gradually stopped desiring to know His word and apply it in their life. They lost their ability to hear God’s leading. Their desire became only for themselves. Has anything changed over all of these years and generations? I can’t think of much that has changed. Obviously since Christ we have the promise of the Holy Spirit. We have access to the written word at our finger tips and reject the need of it in our lives. We have blessings beyond any country ever established and deny it to the point of not being content. I wonder how much more we will be held accountable for such neglect and abandonment. God forgive me. Fill me with awe and wonder of who you are. Search me and see if there is anything offensive to You and lead me on paths that bring honor and glory to You. Build a desire in my heart for You only. Open my eyes to see Your hand at work all around me. Open my ears to your leading.

Start a fire in my soul

“and because you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, every one of you follows his stubborn, evil will, refusing to listen to me.”

Hosea 7:10
The pride of Israel testifies to his face;
yet they do not return to the Lord their God,
nor seek him, for all this.

Isaiah 9:13
But the people have not returned to him who struck them,
nor have they sought the Lord Almighty.

Daniel 9:13
As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us; yet we have not entreated the favor of the Lord our God, turning from our iniquities and gaining insight by your truth. Therefore the Lord has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon us, for the Lord our God is righteous in all the works that he has done, and we have not obeyed his voice.

Jeremiah 16:11
Because your fathers have forsaken me, declares the Lord, and have gone after other gods and have served and worshiped them, and have forsaken me and have not kept my law, and because you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, every one of you follows his stubborn, evil will, refusing to listen to me.

What is it you would say to God if He spoke these words to you: “you follow your stubborn, evil will, refusing to listen to me.” – “you have not sought the me the Lord Almighty” – “you did not seek Me” – “your fathers have done bad but you have done worse” – “why don’t you return to Me”- “you do not obey My voice” – “you do not turn from your sin” – “you do not look for insight or truth”?????? If you do not spend time in His word how will He speak truth into your heart and mind? How will you know His promises? Where will you find hope in times of trouble/trials? Where will you find peace and rest? How will you serve Him if you do not know Him? How can you ever say that His word is a lamp unto your path? How can you say I trust in You alone for my strength? Do you want to find peace, hope, rest, joy, and purpose in your life? Spend time in His word. Seek Him. Desire Him. Listen to what He is saying to your heart and mind. Obey Him and humbly serve Him. Like the song says Lord start a fire in our soul for You.

Heart Pierced

“Your own conduct and actions
have brought this on you.
This is your punishment.
How bitter it is!
How it pierces to the heart!”

Hosea 7:2
But they do not consider
that I remember all their evil.
Now their deeds surround them;
they are before my face.

Jeremiah 2:19
Your wickedness will punish you;
your backsliding will rebuke you.
Consider then and realize
how evil and bitter it is for you
when you forsake the Lord your God
and have no awe of me,”
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

Jeremiah 4:18
“Your own conduct and actions
have brought this on you.
This is your punishment.
How bitter it is!
How it pierces to the heart!”

Jeremiah 14:10
This is what the Lord says about this people:
“They greatly love to wander;
they do not restrain their feet.
So the Lord does not accept them;
he will now remember their wickedness
and punish them for their sins.”

Micah 7:3
Both hands are skilled in doing evil;
the ruler demands gifts,
the judge accepts bribes,
the powerful dictate what they desire—
they all conspire together.
The best of them is like a brier,
the most upright worse than a thorn hedge.

God has been speaking to my heart about the importance of growing knowledge and understanding of Him. He has been leading me through various scriptures that speak of the natural way of man who, for but a season, seem to follow Him with their whole heart, mind and soul but then, for some reason, they choose to think they have gained enough knowledge and understanding. Their lives reflect a form of godliness but the depth of their walk with Him is very shallow. This shallowness is reflected in pretending they are ok and they perform as though there is no need. Lost on an ocean. Scripture is very clear on what is in store for those who willing choose this path of little commitment. Verses like this one in Revelation; “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.” God’s word is sharper than a two edged sword and able to divide the thoughts and intents of our heart and mind. How are we to reflect the light of Christ (the word in us) when there is no time spend in it, no time thinking about what it says, no ability to hear God speaking His truth into our lives???? My wife and I recently went on a mission trip with 15 other believers. It was our first. I was so humbled by the commitment of each of them and how God was speaking into their lives. Leaders of CTSP (Cross Training Sports Camps) have continued multiple mission trips to Roatan for 13 years with many trials along the way. People being saved, sick people close to death getting emergency medical attention and lived, morning and noon food programs for the hungry, bible classes, guidance for fatherless young men and women, love for those who see no love, building a youth center, and many more God inspired actions. Another person had been on over 25 trips and others less. Some of us it was our first but what amazed me was the depth of each of their walks with God, how He was speaking into their lives, and their commitment to follow His leading. Not all are called to lead a foreign mission but for sure we are all called to walk humbly before God with a servant heart growing in understanding and knowledge of Him, and able to discern that quiet small voice of the Holy Spirits leading and finding our purpose in honoring and glorifying Him.

Steadfast vs Meaningless

“I desire to do your will, my God;
your law is within my heart.”

Hosea 6:6
For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

1 Samuel 15:22
But Samuel replied:
“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has rejected you as king.”

Isaiah 1:11
“The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?” says the Lord.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
When you come to appear before me,
who has asked this of you,
this trampling of my courts?
Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals
I hate with all my being.
They have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I hide my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
I am not listening.
Your hands are full of blood!
Wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds out of my sight;
stop doing wrong.
Learn to do right; seek justice.
Defend the oppressed.
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
plead the case of the widow.
“Come now, let us settle the matter,”
says the Lord.

Jeremiah 4:22
“My people are fools;
they do not know me.
They are senseless children;
they have no understanding.

Mica 6:8
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

Matt 12:32
Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

I recently spent time in Roatan, Honduras and met some fine young men. The one thing I was so encouraged about was their heart for God and how open they were to talk about it. There was no desire on their part to impress or judge it was a pure heart to talk about God and their walk and struggles with this walk. Their heart desire was to seek knowledge and understanding of His word and being able to apply it in their lives. These young men have struggles that we can’t even comprehend. Little or no father figure in their lives, cultural pressure from their friends, lack of consistent water, food, shelter, clothes, and yet they have chosen to serve, honor and glorify God. They spoke openly about sometimes not walking close to Him and I was so humbled by this openness. When we talk about how we are doing in our walk with God we don’t seem to open up and speak about all that sets us back. Even worse is sometimes we don’t even see how lacking we are. We pretend or perform trying to make ourselves right before God and man in our own eyes. The truth escapes us in this matter because we lack knowledge and understanding which comes from His word in our hearts and minds. I wonder if our submission to Christ is nothing more than an insurance policy against eternity in hell. How sad is this? Rather than being open and honest about our time in God’s word and application of it in our thoughts and actions we shrug it off because we don’t see immediate need or find time. I am not sure if I will see these young men again – I certainly plan on it – their names are written on my heart “Bebe, Jorvick, Pablo, Menfy, Hubert, Richard, Jonny, Jason, Christopher, Bryan, Carry, Oral”. Please keep them in your prayers of protection, guidance, and blessing from God.

Return to the Lord

“Restore us, O LORD God of hosts!
Let your face shine, that we may be saved!”

Hosea 6:1
“Come, let us return to the Lord;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live before him.
Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord;
his going out is sure as the dawn;
he will come to us as the showers,
as the spring rains that water the earth.”

Psalms 71:20
You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again. You will increase my greatness and comfort me again.

John 2:20
Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

Corinthians 15:3
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures

Luke 24:46
“Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.

In the first 6 chapters of Hosea it talks about the falling away from following God, not seeking to know or understand God, choosing to do what seems right in our own eyes, and the consequence to a nation and people because of it. Now we read acknowledgement of His hand against them and a plea to return to the Lord. Why? “That we may live before Him.” And Hosea encourages with “Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord;” We all get busy with life but is this any reason to choose to NOT seek and know the Lord. Scripture tells us over and over again that in times of peace and prosperity people (us included) choose to seek everything under the sun but God. We choose sports, relaxation, boats, vacation homes, hiking, work, TV, music, …. and the list goes on doesn’t it. We can always find reasons to be busy and never enough time to seek and know God, however when trials and problems comes our way our focus changes and we seem to find time for God then. Seems like a very shallow commitment doesn’t it. Hosea’s word ring loud “Let us return to the Lord, Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord;”

Running Away

” I will return again to my place,
until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face,
and in their distress earnestly seek me.”

Hosea 5:13
When Ephraim saw his sickness,
and Judah his wound,
then Ephraim went to Assyria,
and sent to the great king.
But he is not able to cure you
or heal your wound.
For I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
and like a young lion to the house of Judah.
I, even I, will tear and go away;
I will carry off, and no one shall rescue.
I will return again to my place,
until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face,
and in their distress earnestly seek me.

Isaiah 1:5
Why will you still be struck down?
Why will you continue to rebel?
The whole head is sick,
and the whole heart faint.
From the sole of the foot even to the head,
there is no soundness in it,
but bruises and sores
and raw wounds;
they are not pressed out or bound up
or softened with oil.

Ezekiel 6:9
how I have been broken over their whoring heart that has departed from me and over their eyes that go whoring after their idols. And they will be loathsome in their own sight for the evils that they have committed, for all their abominations. And they shall know that I am the Lord. I have not said in vain that I would do this evil to them.”

Are you looking for God to return into your life? Are you wondering where God is in your life? Why does it seem like there are times when God seems so far away? When it says “I have been broken over their whoring heart that has departed from me and over their eyes that go whoring after their idols” – does it speak to your heart? God is alive, He sees all, He knows all and nothing is shielded from His seeing and knowing. He knows our commitment, our desire, and our thoughts. Knowing this He sent His son to be a sacrifice so that we could have communion with Him. He did this out of grace and mercy to draw unto Him a people who want to humbly serve Him, who desire above all else to honor and glorify Him, who live for Him and His purpose. If God seems far away or distant it is not because of Him not pursuing in love, but rather because of our want to do what is right in our own eyes without giving any thought to service to Him. I can’t even comprehend how much time I’ve wasted on things that bring no honor or glory to God. How much time have I spent thinking about temporary things this side of eternity without any thought to serving Him and what His purpose is. Many times we are reminded in scripture how generations lost all knowledge and understanding of God and yet I wonder how it looks in God’s eyes to see a generation with God’s word so easily available yet treated as nothing more than dust on table.