Author: astherainandsnow

“I will extol you, my God and King,
    and bless your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless you
    and praise your name forever.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
    and his greatness is unsearchable.

One generation shall commend your works to another,
    and shall declare your mighty acts.
On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
    and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
    and I will declare your greatness.
They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness
    and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

The Lord is gracious and merciful,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The Lord is good to all,
    and his mercy is over all that he has made.

All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
    and all your saints shall bless you!
They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
    and tell of your power,
to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds,
    and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
    and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

The Lord is faithful in all his words
    and kind in all his works.
The Lord upholds all who are falling
    and raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you…
You open your hand [in due season];
    you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
The Lord is righteous in all his ways
    and kind in all his works.
The Lord is near to all who call on him… in truth.
He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
    he hears their cry and saves them.
The Lord preserves all who love him,
    but all the wicked he will destroy.

My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
    and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.” Psalm 145

David’s every sense is piqued by the greatness of God. The meditations of his mind and messages of his mouth behold and speak of the might of his Lord. His majesty, wondrous works, abundant goodness, abounding love captivate and fill the psalmist who cannot help but sing.

Are we so mesmerized and moved to bold witness? The cheerful chirp of night crickets. The exquisite tension, harmony, and perfect resolution of a violin concerto. The captivating splendor of the northern lights. The bright surprise of scarlet when a cardinal wings into morning monochrome. The leap of the heart when a loved one comes running. Seeing the soul through someone’s eyes. God’s inexplicable balm in sorrow. The wash of freedom in forgiveness offered and received. The transformation of countenance and language the instant of salvation’s belief. The indescribable sweetness of Holy Spirit unity among friends. All these beauties, these marvelous works, are worthy of praise.

What works and ways of God move my spirit to awe and praise? Where has He recently intervened with mercy, loving authority, or provision? How do I actively bless His name? To whom will I make known His glories and power and exalt His worth? It is good and honorable to ponder and proclaim His goodness.

“Praise the Lord!
It is good to sing praises to our God;
    for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.” Psalm 147:1

Lord, keep filling my mind and heart that I bless Your name forever.

“I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.  For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.  By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.” 2 Timothy 1:3b-14

Timothy is greatly loved and constantly prayed for by his spiritual father, Paul. He’s encouraged to put his growing faith to work, never ashamed of his testimony, weaknesses, or youth, but instead fanning into blazing flame the gifts God’s given him. His spiritual upbringing and examples served well to develop acute sensitivities, and the power and holy call of God would lead him confidently forward. (Romans 1:16; 1 Timothy 4:12)

The Lord and His word encourage us similarly. Saved from waste and condemnation, we are responsible to stoke the fires of faith lit by God’s Spirit. We may struggle with fear of proclaiming the gospel, or lack of confidence or doubt about our abilities, but when we turn our eyes from self to the mighty God, we catch a vision for His might, ability, and inspiration. He opens our eyes to see opportunities for bold witness. He gives insight to the ways we are gifted, the attributes He intends us to hone and use. He makes clear specific calling to work, service, and ministry, and every time we obey in faith we are strengthened to do it again.

Where are we uncertain, self-conscious, ashamed? Would we bring our reluctance to the Lord and His Spirit of power, love, and self-control? Will we reject apathy and boldly step up to exercise our holy calling, even if it means suffering?

What are we doing to fan into flame the gifts of God? With whom will we share today, verbally and practically, the beauty of His gospel?

Lord, may I never be ashamed, but flame with passion in bold living for Your truth and glory.

“The priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties,  but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people… According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.

“But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

“Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant…

“For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” Hebrews 9:6b-7,9-15,24-26

The comparison could not be more stark. The earthly place of holiness was set up with regulations for regular temporal sacrifice. Day by day, year by year, many lives were given for many sins with no end in sight. But when the infinite Christ appeared as High Priest, He once for all sacrificed Himself away from the temple, on a cross, to secure eternal purification and certain hope. His once-for-all made way for our all in all, unshakable inheritance and joy.

How vastly different is our everlasting God from us! How distinct His high ways from our finite thinking, His perfection from our selfish impulses! We see limited and dimly, He sees everything and clearly. His work on the cross, in divine and supernatural power, obliterated the human way of atonement to free us forever. Where we continue to struggle with pesky consequences, niggling shame, and unfinished suffering, we find it hard to reckon the Lord’s balm. (Isaiah 55:8-9; John 19:30; 1 Corinthians 13:12)

Our Savior’s ‘It is finished!’ is potent when we apply its effectual truth. Are we stuck in a pattern of worry, impatience, jealousy, or idolatry? Are we in a relentless cycle of sin, guilt, confession, shame, repeat? When will we take Christ’s once and forever death to heart, surrender to crucifixion with Him, and determine to live in everlasting freedom? What He finished we need not continue. (Romans 6:1-7,10-14; Galatians 2:20)

Lord, help me understand and apply Your forever forgiveness, and live to reflect Your glorious redemption.

“In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah.., I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. I will enter into judgment with them, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and divided up my land, and have cast lots for my people…

“Proclaim this among the nations:
Consecrate for war;
    stir up the mighty men.
Let all the men of war draw near;
    let them come up.
Beat your plowshares into swords,
    your pruning hooks into spears;
    let the weak say, ‘I am a warrior.’

“Hasten and come,
    all surrounding nations,
    and gather yourselves there.
Bring down your warriors, O Lord.
Let the nations stir themselves up
    and come up;..
for there I will judge
    all the surrounding nations.

“Put in the sickle,
    for the harvest is ripe.
Go in, tread,
    for the winepress is full.
The vats overflow,
    for their evil is great.

“Multitudes, multitudes,
    in the valley of decision!
The day of the Lord is near…
The sun and the moon are darkened,
    and the stars withdraw their shining.

“The Lord roars from Zion,
    and utters his voice from Jerusalem,
    and the heavens and the earth quake.
But the Lord is a refuge to his people,
    a stronghold to the people of Israel.

“’So you shall know that I am the Lord your God,
    who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain.
And Jerusalem shall be holy,
    and strangers shall never again pass through it.

“’And in that day
the mountains shall drip sweet wine,
    and the hills shall flow with milk,
and all the streambeds of Judah
    shall flow with water;
and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord
    and water the Valley…

“’Egypt shall become a desolation
    and Edom a desolate wilderness,
for the violence done to the people of Judah,
    because they have shed innocent blood.
But Judah shall be inhabited forever,
    and Jerusalem to all generations.’” Joel 3:1-3,9-20

“Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah… has conquered.” Revelation 5:5

Joel closes his prophetic message with a revelation of the final war on God’s enemies and triumph for the faithful in Zion. He had called all to repent and foretold restoration and pouring out of God’s Spirit, and ends with the regal Lion of Judah roaring and reigning over His fruitful people. In Him alone was Israel’s refuge and hope.

Present culture resounds with a cacophony of unsettling noise. In the clamor of disharmony, injustice, and frenzied tensions, it is hard at times to hear the roar of God. Louder noise alarms, captivates, or threatens, and blocks both ear and mind to the presence of the Almighty who rules over all.

We can get so caught up in the cruel mess of life that we fail to sense the Lion of Judah on alert, strong with power, in control. His word rules both these days and that day. A final war will occur, the Lord will judge, and the Lion will roar His victory song.

Over what cruelties and injustices do I rue? What troubles tax? Can I see my strain, or another’s pain, at the place of ultimate reckoning and hope? What blessings do I find in my Refuge and Stronghold Jesus? (Psalm 144:1-2)

Lord, may I daily take hope and assurance in Your promises.

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;

to him who alone does great wonders,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who by understanding made the heavens,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who spread out the earth above the waters,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who made the great lights,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
the sun to rule over the day,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
the moon and stars to rule over the night,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.” Psalm 136:1-9

“The Lord by wisdom founded the earth;
    by understanding he established the heavens.” Proverbs 4:19

“It is he who made the earth by his power,
    who established the world by his wisdom,
    and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.” Jeremiah 10:12; 51:15

The psalmist’s heart is overflowing with gratitude to the Lord for His magnificent creation and activity through history. He sees them as an ongoing act of steadfast love, the essence of God and the impulse, motivation, and signature of everything He has made. The more he observes, the brighter God’s benevolent care shines and the deeper his praise in response. (1 John 4:8)

The triune God is as orderly and powerful and purposeful as He is creative. From chaos to exquisite universe, His steadfast love for His people pulses. Designing and crafting man for meaningful industry and relationships, He prepared his world in minute, colorful, and systematic detail, and continues to interact with it through hours and seasons to bring about His divine plans. Fully knowing our low and helpless estate, He perfectly executed our deliverance. The rightful response of His creatures, who are loved beyond measure, is to give Him unceasing thanks! (Genesis 1:1-28,31; Psalm 136:10-26; Proverbs 8:27-31)

Would that we regularly take time to marvel at God’s creation! He has made all things well and beautiful for our delight. His world is designed to teach us about Him, and life, and to satisfy physical need. (Psalm 104:14-15; Proverbs 6:6-8; Ecclesiastes 3:11; Amos 4:7-9; Matthew 6:25-34)

What have we observed recently that heightened our wonder at the Creator? What common sense have we gleaned and employed? What in God’s world delights our souls unto praise?

“Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise him, for he is your health and salvation!
Come, all who hear; now to his temple draw near,
join me in glad adoration.

Praise to the Lord, above all things so wondrously reigning;
sheltering you under his wings, and so gently sustaining!
Have you not seen all that is needful has been
sent by his gracious ordaining?

Praise to the Lord, who will prosper your work and defend you;
surely his goodness and mercy shall daily attend you.
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,
if with his love he befriends you.

Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore him!
All that has life and breath, come now with praises before him.
Let the Amen sound from his people again;
gladly forever adore him.” ~Joachim Neander (1680)

Creator, may I ever adore You!

“Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
    for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.
Take with you words
    and return to the Lord;
say to him,
    ‘Take away all iniquity;
accept what is good,
    and we will pay with bulls
    the vows of our lips.
Assyria shall not save us;
    we will not ride on horses;
and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’
    to the work of our hands.
In you the orphan finds mercy.’

“I will heal their apostasy;
    I will love them freely,
    for my anger has turned from them.
I will be like the dew to Israel;
    he shall blossom like the lily;
    he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon;
his shoots shall spread out;
    his beauty shall be like the olive,
    and his fragrance like Lebanon.
They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow;
    they shall flourish like the grain;
they shall blossom like the vine;
    their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

“O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols?
    It is I who answer and look after you.
I am like an evergreen cypress;
    from me comes your fruit.

“Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
    whoever is discerning, let him know them;
for the ways of the Lord are right,
    and the upright walk in them,
    but transgressors stumble in them.” Hosea 14:1-9

The prophet closes his book with a final plea to God’s beloved people. The punchline was that they’d been horrific and God was holy, yet He would not stop pursuing them. Hosea had exemplified the Lord’s unrelenting love for His wayward Israel, and spelled out how His gracious mercy persisted in calling them back to Himself. Genuine penitence and petition would be met with promises they could trust.

Any stumbling requires Penitence to restore a right relationship with the Lord. He calls us to name our sin, acknowledge its folly and hurtful consequences to others, and intentionally turn from it in particular repentance. There is much wisdom in paying attention to our attitudes and behaviors that need to be made pure. (2 Samuel 12:13)

The words we’re commanded to bring Him should include Petition for His cleansing mercy, for protection from the devil’s wiles and strength not to sin again. When we ponder His past graces, we can make clear declaration of need that we believe He will profoundly meet.

The Lord replies with Promises we can believe and count on. God’s power is poured forth as His Spirit directs and meets us in prayer, and supplies truths on which we can stake our unknowns.

When we stray from the Lord or His pattern for living, do we panic in fear we’ll be found out, or approach Him humbly on the basis of His passionate love for us? Have we grown apathetic, unwilling to consider the possibility of a changed outlook or way forward? What in our thinking, our hearts, our habits, needs to be punctuated by God’s power? Where is He calling us to genuine penitence, or to more explicit and persistent petition? What particular promises will we claim for ourselves as we progress on our spiritual journey?

Lord, may I daily return to You for purity and passion to flourish for Your glory.

“Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it—the Lord is his name: Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” Jeremiah 33:2-3

“ Pray then like this:
‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil.'” Matthew 6:9-13

From the birth of life in the world, man was made to commune with his Maker. Although sin early breached that perfect communion, God’s covering made a way for shameless conversation and knowing. Throughout scripture, the Lord’s speaking and man’s calling weave a strong net of delight and duty in meaningful intimacy, a secret place of safety where God’s people are firmly held and cares can be washed away. (Genesis 2:7-9,15-3:10,21)

Through prayer, the Lord gives insight, wisdom, and inspiration, opening our minds to His and making way for the Spirit to flow. By prayer, we gain encouragement to fortify, mercy and grace to help in time of need. In prayer, we align perspective so we can live in the world and remain not of it. In prayer, our souls are quieted from the bedlam that is the world’s stress and responsibility, and find rest in a haven of peace. In prayer, sorrow finds solace, and a song. (Job 35:10; Psalm 62:5-8; John 17:14-15; Romans 12:2; Hebrews 4:15-16)

It is our privileged duty to go often to the Lord in prayer and take advantage of Christ-borne access. How are we maintaining the two-way conversing to know the Lord better and to build trust? In what effort and deliberation are we finding delight? Has obedience borne the savor of God’s welcome, character, and answers? Where in prayer has expectation built as authorities are supported, quandaries are settled, cares are unloaded, needs are released, hope is inspired, discernment is granted, and faith is made sight? Drudgery in duty turns to delight when the Lord is sought, trusted, and praised. (Isaiah 26:3; Matthew 7:7-8; James 1:5; 4:2b-3)

“Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer! 
that calls me from a world of care, 
and bids me at my Father’s throne 
make all my wants and wishes known. 
In seasons of distress and grief, 
my soul has often found relief, 
and oft escaped the tempter’s snare 
by thy return, sweet hour of prayer! 

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer! 
the joys I feel, the bliss I share 
of those whose anxious spirits burn 
with strong desires for thy return! 
With such I hasten to the place 
where God my Savior shows his face, 
and gladly take my station there, 
and wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer! 

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer! 
thy wings shall my petition bear 
to him whose truth and faithfulness 
engage the waiting soul to bless. 
And since he bids me seek his face, 
believe his word, and trust his grace, 
I’ll cast on him my every care, 
and wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!” ~W. W. Walford (1845)

Lord, turn the duty of prayer to delight in Your greatness, to Your honor.

“There is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, ‘Do you want to be healed?’ The sick man answered him, ‘Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Get up, take up your bed, and walk.’ And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.” John 5:2-9

“The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!'”

“As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.  And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant.  They told him, ‘Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.’  And he cried out, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!..’ ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ He said, ‘Lord, let me recover my sight.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.’ And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.” Luke 17:5; 18:35-38,40-43

The invalid at Bethesda made excuses and blamed others, and through inertia and self-pity his want to be made whole had atrophied. The faith of the blind man recognized that by mercy he could be healed, and implored Jesus accordingly. Rather than limit the Lord by lethargic assumption, he clung to divine possibility with hope that loosened His power.

Jesus attends to His people in mercy, inviting us from initial need to go deeper. He probes to see what we really desire, how deep our faith might reach. Superficial solutions blind us from better and more significant work He can and intends to do. What is it we really want from Jesus?

When burdened with cares for life and loved ones, angry at ourselves for poor discipline, missed opportunities, or impulsive words, we often want a quick fix. Simple restoration to health, easier circumstances, carefree hours. When we wallow in our weak estate, we can grow complacent in shrunken possibility. But Jesus probes to turn shallow to substantial.

His goal is faith, life-change, sanctification. He designs circumstances to awaken hope, fortify faith, and develop broad spiritual insight. Answering with an immediate ‘all better’ often doesn’t accord with His longer-term purposes.

How big and deep are my desires? Where do I limit what I think God could do for or through me by impatience, or a narrow perspective? Do I allow circumstances and fears to close in and limit expectation, or fling open the windows of faith to possibility, and let loose my prayers and wants to God? Will I ask Him for the impossible, the too wonderful and too difficult for anyone but Him? The greater our view of God, the greater our asking, and the greater our anticipation of His answers. (Matthew 19:26; James 4:3)

Father, increase my faith and understanding of You so I never limit, but ever endeavor to loosen and magnify Your power and glory.

“Hezekiah received the letter,.. read it, and went up to the house of the Lord and spread it before [him]. [He] prayed before the Lord and said: ‘O Lord, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made the heavens and earth. Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, and see; hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God… The kings of Assyria… have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands… Now, O Lord our God, save us, please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O Lord, are God alone.’

“Then Isaiah sent to Hezekiah, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord,.: Your prayer to me about Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard. This is the word that the Lord has spoken concerning him:

‘She despises you, she scorns you—
    the virgin daughter of Zion;
she wags her head behind you…

‘Whom have you mocked and reviled?
    Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes to the heights?
    Against the Holy One of Israel!
By your messengers you have mocked the Lord,
    and said, “With my many chariots
I have gone up the heights of the mountains,
    to the far recesses of Lebanon;
I felled its tallest cedars,
    its choicest cypresses;
I entered its farthest lodging place,
    its most fruitful forest.
I dug wells
    and drank foreign waters,
and I dried up with the sole of my foot
    all the streams of Egypt.”

‘Have you not heard
    that I determined it long ago?
I planned from days of old
    what now I bring to pass,
that you should turn fortified cities
    into heaps of ruins,
while their inhabitants, shorn of strength,
    are dismayed and confounded,
and have become…
like grass on the housetops,
    blighted before it is grown.

‘I know your sitting down
    your going out and coming in,
    your raging against me.
Because you have raged against me
    and your complacency has come into my ears,
I will put my hook in your nose
    and my bit in your mouth,
and I will turn you back on the way
    by which you came.'” 2 Kings 19:14-16,18,20-28

King Hezekiah knew Assyria’s evil idolatry and great power. Offended for God’s sake by their king’s defiance and threats, he took them before the Almighty in humble, confident prayer. In timely answer, Isaiah reminded him that God would not be mocked, that king Sennacherib did nothing apart from His sovereign will. Hezekiah could trust that His ultimate and just determinations would stand. (2 Kings 19:5-7; Galatians 6:7)

It’s difficult for earnest Christians when God is mocked and maligned. We can believe that He reigns and will eventually triumph, yet still be unsettled by injustice, blatant pride, enemy pressures, and threatening opposition that demeans the Almighty. Taking concerns promptly and directly to the Lord elicits His confirming word as He delights to answer. Time in His presence reminds us He is omniscient, upright, and pledges justice on our behalf. (Isaiah 26:3; Daniel 9:16-23)

How does my view of God shape responses to the world? Am I troubled when He’s mocked? Do I quake at the world’s threats, or quiet myself in faith before my Sovereign? How will my restless soul find rest in Him?

Lord, keep me coming always to You in humble dependence and passion for Your glory.

“Israel is a luxuriant vine
    that yields its fruit.
The more his fruit increased,
    the more altars he built;
as his country improved,
    he improved his pillars.
Their heart is false;
    now they must bear their guilt.
The Lord will break down their altars
    and destroy their pillars.

For now they will say:
    ‘We have no king,
for we do not fear the Lord…
so judgment springs up like poisonous weeds
    in the furrows of the field…
The high places, the sin of Israel,
    shall be destroyed.
Thorn and thistle shall grow up
    on their altars,
and they shall say to the mountains, ‘Cover us…’
I will discipline them…
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.” Hosea 10:1-4,8,10,12-13

“My beloved had a vineyard
    on a very fertile hill.
He dug it and cleared it of stones,
    and planted it with choice vines;
he built a watchtower in the midst of it,
    and hewed out a wine vat in it;
and he looked for it to yield grapes,
    but it yielded wild grapes…

What more was there to do for my vineyard,
    that I have not done in it?
When I looked for it to yield grapes,
    why did it yield wild grapes?

And now I will tell you
    what I will do to my vineyard.
I will remove its hedge,
    and it shall be devoured;
I will break down its wall,
    and it shall be trampled down.
I will make it a waste;
    it shall not be pruned or hoed,
    and briers and thorns shall grow up;
I will also command the clouds
    that they rain no rain upon it.

For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts
    is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah
    are his pleasant planting;
and he looked for justice,
    but behold, bloodshed;
for righteousness,
    but behold, an outcry!” Isaiah 5:1-2,4-7

The Lord in love and generosity did everything for His people to make them a fruitful vineyard, burgeoning with rich and abundant fruit. And grow they did, yet away from their Root in many a wrong and wild direction. Willful rebellion and idolatry left them untamed, languishing in spiritual drought, heavy with sour grapes that could not nourish.

The world has many devices to make us look pretty and pretend at luxury. The measure of success in the world’s eyes is askew from God’s standards. Glossy exteriors and an abundance of stuff can give a false impression of fruitfulness, but many an extravagant life wanders astray, meaningless and lacking flavor. God treasures the inner person and directs us to heavenly riches. (Matthew 6:19-21)

How has the Lord tended the vineyard of my life, family, job, surroundings, even with discipline? Am I grateful, or do I take His supply and care for granted, worshiping created things and self-effort rather than Him? What needs to be removed from my mindset or activities for me to flourish in righteousness? Realizing all He’s provided compels us to bear fruit as His pleasant planting. (Romans 1:20-25)

Lord, break the fallow ground in my heart, that I may reap love and delicious fruit that pleases You.