Everyday Truth with Kurt Skelly Kurt Skelly

Hosea 4:14-16
God uses everybody. That’s right. Even rebellious people are used of God… just not in the way they want. God will use the poor example of someone who has made a sinful choice like a billboard that says, “Don’t be like him!” Israel had made up her mind that she would not follow God. Places in Israel that had been places of holiness now had become cesspools of sinful behavior. God told Judah to stay away from Israel lest she fall into the same behaviors.

Hosea 4:9-13
Temptation is a slick marketing agent. She over-promises and under-perform. She tastes good to the mouth, but alway leaves the stomach upset. The people of Israel were living in sinful addiction—it was there very spirit to pursue sin. They loved the comfort (like the cool shade of a tree) of fleshly religion, but they didn’t realize that their pursuits were eroding their own hearts.

Nehemiah 5
From the series "When God Interrupts Your Life"

Hosea 4:1-8
It is not a knowledge about God that prevents the destruction of a life or an institution; it is a knowledge of God that secures us. The people of Israel had rejected their relationship with God, refusing to know Him in any real and relational way. Without a knowledge of God, the people acted in the most selfish ways with a total lack of regard for their fellow man. God placed a special accountability on the priests because they were not teaching the Word of God. Instead, they were imitating and benefiting from the sinful behaviors of the people. What a mess!

Hosea 3:1-5
What if the wife you loved walked out on you? What if she cheated on you in the most hurtful way? What if she did this over and over again? Divorce, right? Vengeance, perhaps? But God’s command was entirely different! Love her. Go get her. Pay whatever price to secure her. Restore her. Be faithful to her. Astounding! (And that’s the way that God loves us.)

Hosea 2:18-23
Through the years, God’s covenant people have not had the best testimony. In the Old Testament, many of the individuals who were among the elect nation made the unfortunate, individual choice to reject God. Does that mean that God has abrogated His covenant with His people. Can hardened people ever come back to God? Is there hope for those who do not currently enjoy a relationship with God?