May 18th

Passage: Psalm 1

v.3 "He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither."


Jeremiah 17:8 "He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit."

Ezekiel 47:12 "And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing."

Scripture Passage: Hosea 6:1-6

This passage reveals the unfaithfulness of Israel and Judah, in love with their sin with their hearts far from God. This is essentially the prophet Hosea giving an encouragement/prayer (in verses 1 to 3) to the people of Israel and Judah, to basically call them to smarten up.
-We see words such as 'come, let us return to the LORD' and 'Let us press on to know the LORD'

From verses 4 to 6 we see God's response and His voice in light of their sin.
-God calls out His people by saying, "Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes away early."
-Much like the dew in the grass, the grass gets wet early in the morning and ends up becoming up by afternoon. God is basically telling His people that their love for Him is so temporary, so short-lived. This passage hits me hard, knowing that at retreats we find ourselves able to pray so easily and yet at home, we struggle to utter a single word in prayer.

v.6 "For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings."
-This is language that is quoted by Jesus in the New Testament to essentially state that the hearts of the pharisees are far from God, yet their 'deeds' may appear to be holy

How is my heart today? Is it desiring to love God or is it desiring to please Him in a superficial way? And if I can really state that I do love God, then is it temporary? Is it only when good things occur in my life?