I was just reading through Hosea and came across something that made my eyes water at the first glance of this paragraph. Hosea chapters 1-10 and into 11, God is simply telling Israel how angry he is at them and how much they have fallen from him. Hosea 4:1-2 is God’s lawsuit against them saying: “There is no faithfulness, no kindness, no knowledge of God in your land. You curse and lie and kill and steal and commit adultery. There is violence everywhere, with one murder after another.”

This nation that God has loved since the beginning is turning against him and literally making idols to worship and calling God’s prophets insane. They seem to have forgotten their deliverance from slavery and bringing them to the promise land; however, we all know the incredibly bad attitudes the entire time. And yet, God was faithful and continued to bless them.

In chapter 9, Hosea announces Israel’s punishment saying that God will not allow their children to be born. They will either never be conceived or die in the womb, and if they do make it past birth, he will take them away. God will also cause Israel’s enemies to rise against them and defeat them which will eventually lead to the exile of 10 tribes by the Assyrians.

As I began reading Hosea, I couldn’t help but notice that God’s anger was not getting resolved very soon. Chapter after chapter, the Israelites continue to sin against God and God’s anger continues to rise. Once I hit chapter 10, I was afraid that this whole book was entirely about the wrath and anger of God and I began to wonder when would God show his love? All I’ve read is anger and where is God’s love that we all know so well?

As soon as that thought crossed my mind, this paragraph opened my eyes to the depth of God’s loving grace; this is the main point of this whole post. Hosea 11:8-9 “Oh, how can I give you up, Israel? How can I let you go? How can I destroy you like Admah and Zeboiim? My heart is torn within me, and my compassion overflows. No, I will not punish you as much as my burning anger tells me to. I will not completely destroy Israel, for I am God and not a mere mortal. I am the Holy One living among you, and I will not come to destroy.”

No matter how evil we become, God will never stop loving us. The more we turn from him, the more he hurts. Although, through our stupidity, we may make him want to simply send fire down and consume us immediately, he doesn’t. His heart overflows with compassion. This, by no means, means that we will not suffer the consequences of our wrong-doing, as Israel will find out, but it does mean that our sentence is far less than we deserve. I urge you to read this story for yourself to fully grasp to severity of Israel’s sin.

This is definitely something I needed to hear and I hope it helps you as well.

These two are awesome!

I miss Colorado.

I could definitely see myself living there someday.

I just wanted to share this song called Cocoon by The Ember Days. I was driving home today and this song came one and I’ve listened to it time and time again and never really paid attention to what I was listening to. The Ember Days is a phenomenal band and I would strongly advise anyone to get any of their albums.

Anyways, I was driving home and this song came on and I turned it up and started really listening to what they were saying. “Like a butterfly in a Cocoon”. God takes us, a dirty, ugly caterpiller, and surrounds us with his arms like a protective cocoon as we journey on and morph into this beautiful creation in his glory.

Here’s the lyrics:

Hold me close
Wrapped in arms

Like a butterfly in a cocoon
Like a butterfly in a cocoon

Fragile as I am
You must be careful
Gentle are the wings
They’ve just been born

Like a butterfly in a cocoon
Like a butterfly in a cocoon

Kiss me now
For the first time
And say to me
That you are mine

I’m your butterfly, You’re my cocoon

“I’m your butterfly, You’re my cocoon”. How powerful that simple statement is. I pray that God will wrap his arms around us like a cocoon.

May this song and idea bless you as much as it has me.

I love rediscovering bands that you listened to in high school and completely forgot about. Excellent album. Check it out.

Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

Got bored so I finally got to editing a few more of these.

Funk still rules. Especially Funkadelic. This is Maggot Brains with Eddie Hazel and Micheal Hampton keepin it real. Appreciate the funk.

(via congregatinvapors)

Right now, I’m reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan and this book is amazing. It has really made me think and reset the cornerstone of my faith. I just want to share a quote that he used that really made me reconsider WHY I am a Christian. Am I a Christian because I want to go to heaven and no hell, or am I a Christian simply because I love God for who he is?

This quote is from God Is the Gospel by John Piper.

“The critical question for our generation—and for ever generation—is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?”

Just think about it. I pray that none of us would be okay with that, but I’m afraid many Christians lean toward this skewed view of Christianity, and after deep reflection, I would have to include myself. We become so familiar with God that we aren’t amazed by him anymore and all we want is the “stuff”, the salvation, heaven, etc. I pray that we as Christians will realize this and turn our focus back to God and not on what he can do for us.

this is on top of Clingman’s Dome, one of the highest peaks in the Appalachian. got more comin later. enjoy