Author: nickjones2011

When things look bleak, you need hope. The prophet Micah has warned of the severity of God’s coming judgment, things look very bleak. Then into the darkness comes hope from an unexpected place. God’s ways are not our ways. Help is going to come from a place too small to even have a traffic light…

Do people think you’re crazy for believing that Jesus will come back? When you try and encourage people to trust Jesus so that they will be safe from the coming judgement, do people look at you as if you have two heads?! Imagine what it was like for Noah, building a boat for years and…

Two pictures stand out today, a loved plant and a hen with her chicks. If you’re not a gardener then you won’t understand being upset over a plant! But a gardener will invest so much in a plant, that they may be upset if it doesn’t flower or produce fruit. They have weeded, put in…

Just as we saw in Hosea, Isaiah shows us the dilemma God faces. How can He keep His promises to disobedient people. The LORD tells His people that the animals are better than them! “The Ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib, but Israel does not know.” God’s own people who He…

Worship matters to God, and that’s a good thing. In 1 Kings 16, King Ahaz is condemned for his worship. His worship involved him looking at what the nations did rather than what God commanded. This worship was so wicked that it included human sacrifice. Thankfully God does not approve of this. When Ahaz faces…

Pride is not a good thing. In each of our readings today we see either the danger of pride or the wisdom of humility. In Hosea we have seen God’s faithful love to His people, wooing them back to himself. In Hosea 14 we see the Lord’s gentle rebuke to His people – “what have…

Do you ever wonder, how can God love someone like me? How can He keep loving someone who keeps letting Him down? If you never wonder this, it may be that you think too highly of yourself and don’t realise what a sinner you are. The more we study God’s Word the more we see…

It’s a strange expression – “Ephraim is a cake not turned.” (Hosea 7:8) What does God mean?! Ephraim was one of Joseph’s sons, and sometimes God uses “Ephraim” to speak of the Northern kingdom of Israel. But what about the cake not turned? This is a cake cooked on top of the stove. If it’s…

Yesterday we saw the heart of God, the pain we cause by forsaking Him. God is like a faithful husband to an unfaithful wife. After warning of discipline and judgment, Hosea urges people to return to the LORD. “Come, let us return to the LORD; for He has torn us, that he may heal us.”…

How does God feel when His people forsake Him? In the book of Hosea we get a glimpse into the heart of God, we see the hurt we cause Him by forsaking Him and going after other things. Hosea was a prophet after the kingdom had split into the northern kingdom (Israel) and southern kingdom…