Evening 11|30|2021
“Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by a lover and is committing adultery, just like the love of the Lord for the children of Israel, who look to other gods and love the raisin cakes of the pagans.” So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver, and one and one-half homers of barley. And I said to her, “You shall stay with me many days; you shall not play the harlot, nor shall you have a man—so, too, will I be toward you.””
Hosea 3:1-3 NKJVReclaimed
I love watching the videos of Joe Kirby! Today I watched a video where he featured Scripture from the prophet Hosea. Hosea had been instructed by God to take a prostitute as a wife. He did as the Lord commanded. Gomer went after other men and returned to her harlotry. One day Hosea encountered her at a slave auction. She was a shadow of her former self as the years of harlotry and human trafficking had taken their toll.
He redeemed her, reclaimed her as his wife and she played the whore no more. In the time of Hosea, the prostitute was in the place of the nation Israel, which had turned from God and played the harlot with other Gods.
For those of us in the New Testament times, it serves an example for the follower of Jesus who has backslid and turned From Jesus, the God of his salvation.
In my own walk, I have had seasons where I played the harlot with sins that have been long forgiven, and to which I have been rendered dead. Like a dog going back to its vomit, I go back to worthless things, finding no satisfaction, but only the old familiar guilt and shame.
Like Hosea, Jesus sought me in my harlotry and took me to be His own. When I have strayed, He has pursued me, awaiting my confession and repentance. As time has passed, His great love has transformed my heart, as the sinful things that once desired have paled against the glory that is increasing in me, as the Holy Spirit lays claim to my heart.
“Come, and let us return to the Lord; For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but 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 in His sight.”
Hosea 6:1-2 NKJVIn the pressure of these days, repentance has become the habit of my life, as I have turned from sin area after sin area, seeking to never return. By the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is reclaiming me.
He has brought much tearing into the fabric of my life, and he has also brought much healing. In my refinement, I have surely been stricken, but I have been raised. By His stripes I have been healed.
“He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:3-5 NKJVJesus paid for my sins, He took the punishment; the punishment unto death, that I should have borne. In His sacrifice I have been redeemed, yesterday, today and forever. Because of Jesus, I have a destiny in heaven.
Brothers and sisters, you might be one who has drifted away, whose life has been overwhelmed by complications that mounted up and separated you from God. Know this: on the other side of the mount that has been erected, God is waiting, ready to receive. If you have been saved, He has already purchased you.
If you are one who is right now trapped in slavery to sin, you too can be redeemed. God sent His Son Jesus on a rescue mission, ordained from the foundation of the world. He came to earth, lived life as one of us, lived sinless, was rejected and killed on our behalf to pay for our sins. But it did not end there! He was buried and He rose again, and is now at the right hand of the Father on high interceding on our behalf.
“For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,”
I Corinthians 15:3-4 NKJVMay this Christmas the first real Christmas where you truly know the reason for the season. He is waiting for you to come to Him by faith and believe. He is ready to forgive your sins. There is a useful link below if you want to know more.
Have a wonderful evening, friends! Sleep well.
Reclaimed
Published
Musings from an idle mind 
Me too, my friend. His glory is amazing!
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