Prostitutes and Idols

Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.” [Hosea 6.3]

Much of what I read today from Hosea involves God desiring that His people know Him.

As I thought about the prostitution mentioned as well as the idols referred to in Hosea, I realized that time spent with prostitutes and idols is time that belongs to God. Any and all time spent with prostitutes and idols helps us to know them, but at the sacrifice of knowing God better.

In many cases, the idols and prostitutes we turn to are not even the same ones from time to time. Perhaps this is indicative of the futility of so doing. God presents Himself as one God. We need to have a growing relationship with Him - building knowledge upon knowledge of Him as time goes by. The futility of spending time with multiple prostitutes and idols is that we do not get enough time with the multiple relationships to even know that those relationships are worthless and meaningless! Before we have the chance in a relationship with a prostitute or idol to realize that that prostitute or idol is without substance, we move on to another. This, in turn prevents us from ever realizing the foolishness in having affairs of unfaithfulness to God.

The remedy is to stay with one lover - Yahweh, God Almighty. He teaches us faithfulness by example and we should therefore take every opportunity we can find to build relationship with Him!

Father, thank You for the insight into Hosea today about the value of focusing on building relationship with You the One True God, and not being distracted and diluted in multiple worthless relationships with "prostitutes" and "idols" in our lives!

It Is Time To Know God

Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring. [Hosea 6.3]

Religion just doesn't cut it. It simply is not enough to exercise religious protocol - do religious things - to be right with God. God wants a relationship with us - He wants us to KNOW Him.

If one thinks about Israel's history in the Bible, religion was never really a problem. Israel was always worshiping something - unfortunately, it was not always God! And, therein lies the problem with religion - one can be religious about anything. The very well-known and real historical fact of "shrine prostitutes" reveals that one can be very religious (thus the "shrine") and still be wrong ("prostitute").

Christianity today needs a real good and long look in the mirror. We need to evaluate our religion to see if God is anywhere in it!

Frankly, I truly and sadly believe that far too many people who call themselves Christians have little or no real relationship with God. They make only pitiful efforts to know God (if at all) in reading and studying about Him in the Bible and speaking and listening to Him in prayer. These same people may be the most faithful in the world at attending Christian meetings and gatherings. They may even be 'serving God' as the pastor or a church, a teacher of Sunday School, or even a missionary in some foreign country - all the while going through religious protocol, but without truly knowing God.

I know this because I have served the LORD in various ministry positions! On one side, I have presented myself as 'one in leadership' while struggling to have any relationship at all with God! On the other side, I have served on the mission field and witnessed fellow missionaries who simply had no time for the Bible or prayer. This is simply unacceptable! How can one belong to God and yet have no time for Him?

If we ever hope to increasingly make God known in the earth, we must proactively strive to know Him ourselves. It will take time and it will take commitment. It will take real devotion. We need to evaluate whether our 'religion' (and all its busyness and meetings) is more of a distraction rather than an aid in knowing God.

There is certainly a time for being busy. However, if that time being busy distracts us from knowing the One we claim to be busy about, then we have made an idol out of our religion giving it higher esteem than God.

It is time to know God. Always.

Father, help me to take to heart my own words here today. I know I posed many years as one who knew You but really gave You no time at all. Help me to help others to know You as I have only begun to know You. Help me to know You more!