Wednesday after the Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on October 26, 2022 by under
Scripture: Hosea 14:1-9 (NKJV)
14:1 O Israel, return to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity;
2 Take words with you, and return to the Lord. Say to Him, “Take away all iniquity; Receive us graciously, for we will offer the sacrifices of our lips.
3 Assyria shall not save us, we will not ride on horses, nor will we say anymore to the work of our hands, ‘You are our gods.’ For in You the fatherless finds mercy.”
4 “I will heal their backsliding, I will glove them freely, for My anger has turned away from him.
5 I will be like the dew to Israel; He shall grow like the lily, and lengthen his roots like Lebanon.
6 His branches shall spread; His beauty shall be like an olive tree, and his fragrance like Lebanon.
7 Those who dwell under his shadow shall return; They shall be revived like grain, and grow like a vine. Their scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 “Ephraim shall say, ‘What have I to do anymore with idols?’ I have heard and observed him. I am like a green cypress tree; Your fruit is found in Me.”
9 Who is wise? Let him understand these things. Who is prudent? Let him know them. For the ways of the Lord are right; The righteous walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.
Devotion
“I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, for My anger has turned away from him.”
The Scriptures teach that those who are in Christ will walk in Christ and do the works of a Christian. However, even the saints of God are still sinners on this side of glory. When we walk, we will also stumble.
As we have learned to set our minds on things above and to lay up treasures in Heaven, we also learn that it is not only possible, but inevitable, that the people of God will backslide and fail. This is not because the Lord has failed us, but because we have sinful flesh to contend with until the end of our life. It is important to be reminded that we do not rely on our own strength, but on the promise of God in Christ, given in His Word and Sacraments.
Even as you stumble, remember that the Lord calls you continually to return to Him and trust in Him for strength to walk in newness of life.
Prayer: O Almighty and most Merciful God, of Thy bountiful goodness keep us, we beseech Thee, from all things that may hurt us; that we, being ready, both in body and soul, may cheerfully accomplish those things that Thou wouldest have done; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
