Our Daily Bread 26 November 2018 Devotional
Topic: God Is Here
Read: Hosea 6:1–6 | Bible in a Year: Ezekiel 27–29; 1 Peter 3
Scripture: Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him. Hosea 6:3
Message: A plaque in our home states “Bidden or not bidden, God is present.” A modern version might read, “Acknowledged or unacknowledged, God is here.”
Hosea, an Old Testament prophet who lived in the late eighth century bc (755–715), wrote similar words to the Hebrew nation. He encouraged the Israelites to “press on” (Hosea 6:3) to acknowledge God because they had forgotten Him (4:1). As the people forgot God’s presence, they began to turn away from Him (v. 12) and before long there was no room for God in their thoughts (see Psalm 10:4).
Our Daily Bread 26 November 2018 Devotional – God Is Here
Hosea’s simple but profound insight to acknowledge God reminds us He’s near and at work in our lives, in both the joys and struggles.
To acknowledge God might mean that when we get a promotion at work, we recognize God gave us insight to finish our work on time and within budget. If our housing application is rejected, acknowledging God helps to sustain us as we trust Him to work in the situation for our good.
If we don’t make it into the college of our choice, we can acknowledge God is with us and take comfort in His presence even in our disappointment. As we enjoy dinner, to acknowledge God may be to remind ourselves of God’s provision of the ingredients and a kitchen to prepare the meal.
When we acknowledge God, we remember His presence in both the successes and sorrows, whether big or small, of our lives.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, please forgive me for the times I am prone to forget You. Help me to acknowledge Your presence in my life.
Thought for the Day: God is always present and at work.
INSIGHT
James Limburg comments on today’s passage in his book Interpretation: Hosea—Micah: “The contrast which comes to expression in Hosea 6:6 is between two fundamentally different notions of religion. The one thinks in terms of discharging religious obligations through . . . sacrifice and offering; the other speaks of loyal love and of acknowledging God as God. . . . When religion becomes preoccupied with the niceties of liturgy, the nuances of language, the novelties of music, art, and architecture, but forgets the neighbor, then religion has been reduced to cultic correctness . . . . True religion has that rich word hesed [steadfast love] at its center, recalling God’s steadfast love (Ps. 136) and mercy (Titus 3:5–7) and then calling for lives which respond to that love with loyal devotion to God and loving service to the neighbor.”
Are there areas of your life where the line between religion and relationship has become blurry?
For more on true devotion to God, read Following Jesus: Relationship or Religion? at discoveryseries.org/q0215.
J.R. Hudberg
Our Daily Bread 26 November 2018 Devotional was written by Lisa Samra