Hosea 14 Devotions by Stephen Taylor

Hosea 14:1

“Return, Israel, to the LORD your God. Your sins have been your downfall!”

There are two truths we must grasp and hold fast to; sin is our downfall, and the LORD is our only hope! How merciful is our God that He points out our problem and our solution in the same verse? It’s amazing how far sin takes us from who God intended us to be. So many of us have wandered aimlessly down a path of pain, resentment, and shame that the LORD never intended for us to travel upon but one we walked because of our sin. Yet no matter how far sin takes us from Him, the blood of Christ can bring us back again. So yes, sin separated us, but the blood and love of Christ brings us close, almost as if we never left.

The LORD is a redeeming and restoring God. Drawing the dead to life, taking the empty and making them full, opening the eyes of the blind and equipping the lame to leap with His joy. But sin can be and will be our downfall if we allow it to be. Just because I belong to Christ doesn’t mean that sin’s effects have no hold on me. I can still fall victim to the sin in my life, ushering back in my own destruction and downfall. Yet God in His infinite wisdom and mercy has given us a Helper, One who is not subject to sin and flesh but is the Almighty Spirit of God. One to lead us, teach us, correct us, encourage us, and just be with us on this journey called life. Sin will be our downfall if we let it master us, but if we master it by surrendering to Christ in true repentance, we will be saved and set free! Each must choose life or death; choose life!

Deuteronomy 30:19,20- This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him. For the LORD is your life, and He will give you many years in the land He swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

God bless! I love you all, but His love is the open doorway home! Glory, honor, and praise now and forever to Papa God, Jesus Christ our King, and the Holy Spirit!