What a Powerful Love! Part II

I hope this finds you all blessed and prospering in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior. I also hope you had time to read up in Hosea about the story of Hosea and Gomer we were discussing in Friday's post. If not, that's quiet alright because you will still be blessed as we conclude our story.

We left off with Gomer leaving her husband and returning to her life as a prostitute. It is interesting to note that she left a very well provided home to return to a life most of us would find repulsive, but I assure you that we have an enemy that can and does make anything look and sound good.

So now we have a devout man of God who is suddenly left to be a single parent of two small children, and he knows tat his wife is out committing adultery, as that is what prostitutes do. Most men would immediately call it quits if our wives or girlfriends cheated with one man, but you can safely assume she had several.

So what did this man who was by now the talk of the town do? You know how people yap and gossip nowadays. Just look at all the public hoopla that happens when a preacher, his wife or kids fall from grace today. They are ostracized and damned to hell. For example, look at Jim Baker, James Robinson or Jimmy Swagart. They all fell, repented, and by all reports are serving God faithfully today. Now despite what you may feel about televangelists, they are not all crooks trying to con you out of your money, but I am using these as examples. Despite their public apologies and despite all the good they have done for the Kingdom of God, mention them today to a majority of Christians, and you will hear how bad they are and they will be thoroughly condemned to hell.

That's what Hosea was going through. Here was a prophet of God who was tasked to take oracles from the Lord to the people and the king. His reputation, authority, and standing in society was very important, and it his day and time he needed all the help he could get so people would believe his report came directly from God.

And now this! His wife had committed sin. So what was a man to do. In this day and age, the preacher would immediately divorce his wife, publicly condemn her, and she would never be welcomed or invited to a church in the entire city, county, and probably state.

Know what Hosea did?

He loved her anyway!

He began to look for her. He searched high and low, stopped into every store, called and visited all her girlfriends, and no one had seen her lately. He was at the end of the line, and dejected and afraid she was dead, he began the slow walk back home.

What would he tell the kids? What about his parents? What would he say in church? He was void of just about all hope.

On his walk home, he happened to walk by the slave market, and upon glancing over one of the slaves caught his eye. He looked more closely, and could it be? She was awful dirty, bruised and naked but there she was, his Gomer. She was in big trouble, as her last client had beat her, kidnapped her, and was now selling her as a common slave.

Hosea ran over and begin to bid. And he purchased back what was his. He should not have paid such a high price, because she was already his. But he did. He took her home, cleaned her up, and once again treated her like a queen. But it was different this time. Gomer came to realize just how much her husband loved her.

And we don't know what happened that pushed Gomer over the edge and made her leave, as the bible leaves that to our imaginations. Maybe it is just like most preachers and teachers say, she was just a sinful woman who hadn't got it out of her system. But what if Hosea had actually had something to do with it. I don't know, and this is pure conjecture and is not told in the bible, but I can freely assume this without violating God's Word or changing the bible to suit me, so hear me out.

What if Hosea served God so devoutly that he began to neglect his duties as a husband and father? Trust me, it happens often to preachers nowadays and is the prime reason why most ministers leave their ministries. Maybe they had a big fight, maybe he had really screwed up the finances again and again, who knows but just fill in the blank here and you'll get the point.

I can hear you naysayers and legalist saying, "Oh, but preacher, Jesus said to divorce and remarry if adultery were committed." (also if your spouse died, see Matthew 5:31-2) But I must point out to you to read Mark 10:1-12 where Jesus taught that divorce was allowed because of the "hardness of men's heart," not because of the sin. remember the story of the woman caught in the very act of adultery and the Pharisees were about to stone? They asked Jesus His opinion, and He replied, "He that is without sin cast the first stone," and the people walked away ashamed. When the woman, in answering Jesus' question, told Him her accusers had left, He refused to condemn her, but told her to go and sin no more. Divorce was allowed, not commanded in either testament for adultery. And remarrying was ONLY allowed in instances of adultery and death.

So, he forgave her, and by all accounts they remained married the rest of their lives.

God used this story as an example of His love for Israel, and later for the entire world. If you put this together with Abraham's near sacrificing of his only son, you can begin to realize just how much God really loves you. These are striking, bold, and almost vulgar examples, but it still could not possible show us just how much God really loved us.

In Hosea, we see how, despite her continual sin, Hosea still loved his wife and would go through any cost to get her back. He paid way more than a normal price for a slave; he should not have had to pay one penny! She was already his! But he loved her that much.

Imagine now Abraham and Isaac. You may be familiar with the story, but if not, take a minute to read in in Genesis chapter 22. Suppose you and your husband or wife had tried for many, many years to have children and could not. Nothing the doctors could do helped, but you always remained faithful and held on to a little hope. Then you went through menopause, and with that, your hope died. Now there was none. But lo and behold, you feel sick and out of sorts, and after going to the doctor you find out you are pregnant! Then you give birth to a beautiful boy, and your heart is full of so much joy, you name him laughter! (Isaac in Hebrew=laughter)

Then God commands you to give him up. Not only give him up, but you are to kill him with your very own hands.

Sounds hateful, but you know what that is? Love.

Another quick example: Suppose there is a worldwide plague of swine flu that has mutated and the death rate is 100%. No hope. Then at the hospital it is found out that your only son had the antibody needed to make a vaccine in his blood. The whole world can be saved by your little boys blood. But there is a catch...it will take all of his blood and he will not survive. The decisions yours. Save the world, or save your son.

Are you getting it yet?

Think those stories are unrealistic? Each situation is just as real as the computer you are looking at. The entire human race was headed for an eternal death. All they would have had to do was serve and believe in God and repent of their sins, but they refused. They laughed and totally rejected God. They kept on and kept on committing spiritual adultery. And the only way to make a provision for these creatures that God loved so much would require His only Son to shed His very own blood.

All of it.

God is all powerful and mighty. He holds the entire world in His hands and causes our every breath not to end in death. Even now, He still creates new stuff every day. He could just as easily allowed the world to perish and start all over. But you know what?

He loved us anyway.

So much so that the Bible tells us that not only did He send His Son to die, but because He was in total control of the entire universe, He ultimately had to kill Him. Not only that, but He loved us so much that the Bible also said He took delight in causing His Son's suffering. And when Jesus cried out from the cross...

God turned His back on Him.

All so He wouldn't have to turn His back on you.

Now friends, that is love.

You may ask yourself, "How could God kill His only Son, or let Him die, or allow evil people to live?"

Because He loves you that much, and is not willing that any should perish.

That same God will soon send His Son, who not only died but also lives again (don't believe that, go take a look at His grave in Jerusalem...He's not there) to get all those that believe that He died and rose again, and then He will finally destroy His creation and all living things that remain.

And at one point in another, we all have to make that choice.

And friends, I can tell you from experience the joy that comes when someone you love so much it hurts, tells you they forgive you and that they love you too.

True love never fails. Despite what your friends or family tells you, hold on for a little while longer and God will see you through.

Because He has made provision for you.

Praise God who reigns in heaven above, yet live in my heart below, forever and ever.

Interested in meeting this God and His Son? I can introduce you! I don't have the link up for the Plan of Salvation, but if you are just reply to this post or send me an e-mail and I will get back to you as soon as I return from Church tomorrow.

Thanks for all the encouraging words and well wishes!

Happy Fathers Day to all you Dads out there, and Praise God for all you Moms that put up with us!

I love and cherish you all and pray that this blog blesses you as it has me!

What a Powerful Love! Part 1

I hope this finds you all doing very well. It has been well over a year since I posted a blog, and it has been a year full of battles, heartaches, and even a miracle or two. I wanted to post a quick one to let all my subscribers (or at least the ones still left) that I have redesigned a little of the blog and will start this thing up again. I will be adding more links later and will eventually have a full service counseling site up and running.

My favorite subject has always been love. If you read my earlier posts, you will find that I think that love is the most powerful weapon we Christians have in our arsenal. I have preached and taught on the subject on many occasions, but just did not feel in my soul that I was getting the message out. Then I went through a trial so fiery that it almost destroyed everything I held sacred! Of course the Lord delivered me through it, but in the process He allowed me to finally "get it." By it, I mean love.

I will go into details in a later post, but to sum it up, I nearly lost my wife of almost 15 years very recently. It was nothing like adultery or domestic violence, but it was mostly my fault. I had hurt her so deeply that she became so angry and bitter that we almost called it quits. After many tears and false starts and stops, and despite all of our friends and family totally giving up on our marriage, God led us through and she forgave me, and now we are like newlyweds. We still have some things to work through, but this sacred union is intact, Praise God.

But looking back, I began to think: If I loved her this much, I mean so deeply and intently that it hurt and felt like my soul was being ripped from my body, how much more does God love us? I mean, we all know John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life," but what does that really mean? The Bible tells us that, but where does it explain just what "so loved" mean? We Christians claim to know, but do you really? Go ahead and try to explain it to someone, then. Harder to do than it sounds, huh? But God being who He is, He gave us a few examples in His Word so we could know just how much that "agape" love really is.

Look at the book of Hosea, for example. Hosea was a righteous man who was just about as perfect as a man could be without being God. He was a prophet, and was blameless in his work and actions. So God decided He was going to show Hosea just how much He loved His people, so He commanded this well thought of "church man" to go and marry a woman. Not just any woman, but a .............whore. Yes, you read that right. A prostitute.

But here is the good part. Not only did God tell her to marry her, because anyone could marry someone and then immediately divorce them, but no, God also told Hosea to LOVE HER!

And he did.

But she did not love him back. Oh, it was fine for a while, but before too long, Gomer (his wife) started longing for her previous life. Hosea gave her all her heart desires, but she still did not love him on the same level as he loved her. When it was convenient, she was the best wife in the world. But Hosea was a boring old prophet, so she left him. And she went back to being a whore.

Have you ever loved someone so deeply that it hurt, only to have them not love you back? The bed is cold, the son or daughter steals from you, the husband turns his head when you try to steal a kiss. You get the message.

But the story does not end there.

In my next post, I will finish up and share with you what God showed me through Hosea and Gomer thanks to a fellow minister that obeyed God and preached a sermon that probably not only saved my marriage, but more importantly saved both my wife and my souls as well. I am burning to share it with you now, but this has already gone on too long.

Please forward this to your friends and invite them to subscribe as well. And feel free to post any comments or questions you may have, even disagreements. And keep checking back for part two and for our new website to be up.

Until then, may the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ richly bless you and keep you!

Jesse