Missional Mondays

It's been a fun couple of weeks for me; stressful at times, but fun, especially looking back.  I just finished a great class called: Jesus and His Mission.  It was VERY insightful and it most assuredly helped me in my studies.  On top of that, Elijah started to crawl, Mary and I saw the move Fireproof twice, and I got to study hard and preach 2 weeks in a row on Hosea .  Again, very busy, but fun.

Amidst this busy schedule, I found that my study in Hosea was very helpful.  Israel was chasing after idols and God was tired of it.  He promised Judgment (read: Assyria) for the nation.  He called out the Priests (Hosea 4:6), the Leaders (Hosea 5:1) and the individual pagans who thought that a piece of wood could help them out (Hosea 4:12).  In fact, things were so bad, that God wanted to destroy them.  But God is loving too.  Hosea has a major theme in the book and it deals with the tension between God's Wrath and God's Love.

Theology is important.  Some people bash those who work hard to study and learn doctrine without the realization that its intended purpose is to change that person so he/she can affect the world.  I'm that type of person.  I love the Scriptures because it points me to my Savior.  The more I study and understand, the more I grow in my passion for the Lord.  This is what God had been showing me, that he desires my heart and the attachment to himself (Hebrew: daath Elohim, which is translated "the knowledge of God" should be translated "attachment to God", which is what the word is trying to say; Hosea 6:6).  It's not enough to just 'know' him, we must KNOW him.