Tuesday June 1, 2004

 “Rebuke your mother, rebuke her, for she is not my wife,
and I am not her husband.
Let her remove the adulterous look from her face
and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts.
 Otherwise I will strip her naked
and make her as bare as on the day she was born;
I will make her like a desert,
turn her into a parched land,
and slay her with thirst.
 I will not show my love to her children,
because they are the children of adultery.
 Their mother has been unfaithful
and has conceived them in disgrace.
She said, ‘I will go after my lovers,
who give me my food and my water,
my wool and my linen, my oil and my drink.’
 Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes;
I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way.
 She will chase after her lovers but not catch them;
she will look for them but not find them.
Then she will say,
‘I will go back to my husband as at first,
for then I was better off than now.’
 She has not acknowledged that I was the one
who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil,
who lavished on her the silver and gold-
which they used for Baal.

 “Therefore I will take away my grain when it ripens,
and my new wine when it is ready.
I will take back my wool and my linen,
intended to cover her nakedness.
 So now I will expose her lewdness
before the eyes of her lovers;
no one will take her out of my hands.
 I will stop all her celebrations:
her yearly festivals, her New Moons,
her Sabbath days-all her appointed feasts.
 I will ruin her vines and her fig trees,
which she said were her pay from her lovers;
I will make them a thicket,
and wild animals will devour them.
 I will punish her for the days
she burned incense to the Baals;
she decked herself with rings and jewelry,
and went after her lovers,
but me she forgot,”
declares the LORD .

 “Therefore I am now going to allure her;
I will lead her into the desert
and speak tenderly to her.
 There I will give her back her vineyards,
and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.
There she will sing as in the days of her youth,
as in the day she came up out of Egypt.

 “In that day,” declares the LORD,
“you will call me ‘my husband’;
you will no longer call me ‘my master.’
 I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips;
no longer will their names be invoked.
 In that day I will make a covenant for them
with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air
and the creatures that move along the ground.
Bow and sword and battle
I will abolish from the land,
so that all may lie down in safety.
 I will betroth you to me forever;
I will betroth you in righteousness and justice,
in  love and compassion.
 I will betroth you in faithfulness,
and you will acknowledge the LORD.

 “In that day I will respond,”
declares the LORD –
“I will respond to the skies,
and they will respond to the earth;
 and the earth will respond to the grain,
the new wine and oil,
and they will respond to Jezreel.  
 I will plant her for myself in the land;
I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.  ‘
I will say to those called ‘Not my people,  ‘ ‘You are my people’;
and they will say, ‘You are my God.’ “

Hosea 2:2-23 (NIV)

== Adultery & Idolotry: Action and Reaction ==

A beautiful woman decked out in jewelry and lacking nothing in food, clothes shelter, property and wealth. Chasing lovers even though having both children and a husband. Something wrong with this picture?

If you feel that sense that something is wrong and the need for correction pulls at your heart… the spirit within you understands what God laments… God has given us so much, so many blessings… that we forget who has really given us all these great gifts. So God reminds us…

He takes away those blessings. Strips away all that is superficial and material to reveal… the spiritual. I’m sure this sounds cruel to some, but personally, I don’t know any way to show people a glimpse of themselves until they are at the end of their rope sometimes. This goes alot closer to what it feels to be naked. God showing us what he sees when he looks at us. God strips away all those things that we use to define ourselves… because this world offers so many good things, we begin to depend on these as the center of our universe. Boyfriend, girlfriend, family, best friend, money, power, honor, respect…. the list goes on and on. They are great things, but not something to center your life upon. God is the only thing to center your life upon and if you haven’t learned that lesson yet… beware, a rough ride is ahead of you. It took me 3+ yrs to learn this particular lesson and let me tell you: It ain’t pretty.

But look at what happens after all this stuff has been stripped away. We hear God again. We go back to the way things are supposed to be between us and God. Restoration of relationship between (wo)man and God. Reminders of salvation and redeemption by God.

God is never one to settle with just little reminders. We see God’s description of heaven. God returns as the redeeming one. Reclaiming those who are disowned because of their own actions. A place of peace and where God is known and acknowledged. Where idols are no longer needed. Where God’s people acknowledge Him by name.

<Random>

Yum… DDR… for your health…

CNN: Video game fans dance off extra pounds

</Random>

== Prayers ==

God, why did you let that happen? Was it for me… was it for her?
Thanks again for this weekend, besides for that, it was all very good. AB is thinking about a bible study for the family. Wow. God, you seriously move like the wind… Keep on working! How about this family group thing at Emmanuel Chapel? Should I go? I’ve got family and they are pretty much unhappy with how much time I spend with them as it is. Less going out? More chilling with christians? And this going to church thing, I know I haven’t really talked with you about it… It’s been kinda troubling to just go to church. Isn’t there more to this? And this book called the journey of desire… it’s just weird. I am no expert on desire or my emotions, that much is clear. But is this book right? Help me to see the truth. And oh yeah, my sleep pattern seems to have degraded even more… maybe I have been taking my sleep for granted. Did I learn my lesson yet? Cuz this is seriously tiring. But I seem to depend upon you more. Is sleep my idol?? That’s one weird thought. Get back to me on that one would you? Hosea is a pretty good book. Should’ve read it sooner. Hope, I’ve been picking up all the important stuff. Make sure I don’t miss any good stuff, k? Remind me once again… it’s not what I want, but your will be done. What I want is not always what’s good for me, You’d figure I’d have accepted this by now. But no… need more reminders. Keep me on the straight and narrow, walking the walk, talking the talk, and keeping You, numero uno! I ask these things in the name of the one who showed us how it’s done, Jesus. Amen.

EDIT:

Rest in peace, Wynne Wong, my friend.

One of my friends from college died this past week. She was hit and killed by a cleaning truck. 21 and just graduated from my alma mater. Life is short and no matter how bright your future looks… there’s something more than just this life. Our days are numbered and no one knows when it is time to meet our Creator. Father, may you have mercy on her soul.

== Requiem… ==

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised.”