Hosea 5

 

Hosea 5

1 “Hear this, you priests! Pay attention, you Israelites!
Listen, royal house! This judgment is against you: You have been a snare at Mizpah, a net spread out on Tabor.

² The rebels are knee-deep in slaughter. I will discipline all of them.

³ I know all about Ephraim; Israel is not hidden from me.
Ephraim, you have now turned to prostitution; Israel is corrupt.

⁴ “Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God.
A spirit of prostitution is in their heart; they do not acknowledge the Lord.

⁵ Israel’s arrogance testifies against them; the Israelites, even Ephraim, stumble in their sin; Judah also stumbles with them.

⁶ When they go with their flocks and herds to seek the Lord, they will not find him; he has withdrawn himself from them.

⁷ They are unfaithful to the Lord; they give birth to illegitimate children. When they celebrate their New Moon feasts, he will devour their fields.

⁸ “Sound the trumpet in Gibeah, the horn in Ramah.
Raise the battle cry in Beth Aven; lead on, Benjamin.

⁹ Ephraim will be laid waste on the day of reckoning.
Among the tribes of Israel I proclaim what is certain.

¹⁰ Judah’s leaders are like those who move boundary stones. I will pour out my wrath on them like a flood of water.

¹¹ Ephraim is oppressed, trampled in judgment, intent on pursuing idols.

¹² I am like a moth to Ephraim, like rot to the people of Judah.

¹³ “When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his sores, then Ephraim turned to Assyria, and sent to the great king for help. But he is not able to cure you, not able to heal your sores.

¹⁴ For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, like a great lion to Judah. I will tear them to pieces and go away; I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them.

¹⁵ Then I will return to my lair until they have borne their guilt and seek my face—in their misery they will earnestly seek me.”

Exodus 11

 

Exodus 11

1 Now the Lord had said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely.

² Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold.”

³ (The Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh’s officials and by the people.)

⁴ So Moses said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘About midnight I will go throughout Egypt.

⁵ Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the female slave, who is at her hand mill,and all the firstborn of the cattle as well.

⁶ There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt—worse than there has ever been or ever will be again.

⁷ But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any person or animal.’ Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.

⁸ All these officials of yours will come to me, bowing down before me and saying, ‘Go, you and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will leave.” Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh.

⁹ The Lord had said to Moses, “Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you—so that my wonders may be multiplied in Egypt.”

¹⁰ Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country.

A Woman Who Degraded Herself Through Revenge And Murder

 

This woman name is Herodias. Herodias had a grudge against John the Baptist because he spoke out against her marriage to Herod. She was Herod’s brother’s wife. Herodias was the the cause of John the Baptist death. Here is her ugly story.

Mark 6:17-28

¹⁷ For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married.

¹⁸ For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”

¹⁹ So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to,

²⁰ because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him.

²¹ Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.

²² When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.”

²³ And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”

²⁴ She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” “The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.

²⁵ At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”

²⁶ The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her.

²⁷ So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison,

²⁸ and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother.

Trust In Jesus-Third Day

 

Ephesians 1

 

Ephesians 1

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:

² Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

⁴ For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love

⁵ he predestined us for adoption to sonship through

Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood,the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace

⁸ that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding,

⁹ he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ,

¹⁰ to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

¹¹ In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,

¹² in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.

¹³ And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,

¹⁴ who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

¹⁵ For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people,

¹⁶ I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.

¹⁷ I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.

¹⁸ I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,

¹⁹ and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength

²⁰ he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,

²¹ far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

²² And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church,

²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

Hosea 4

 

Hosea 4

1 Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites, because the Lord has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: “There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land.

² There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.

³ Because of this the land dries up, and all who live in it waste away; the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky
and the fish in the sea are swept away.

⁴ “But let no one bring a charge, let no one accuse another, for your people are like those who bring charges against a priest.

⁵ You stumble day and night, and the prophets stumble with you. So I will destroy your mother—

⁶ my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.  “Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.

⁷ The more priests there were, the more they sinned against me; they exchanged their glorious God for something disgraceful.

⁸ They feed on the sins of my people and relish their wickedness.

⁹ And it will be: Like people, like priests. I will punish both of them for their ways and repay them for their deeds.

¹⁰ “They will eat but not have enough; they will engage in prostitution but not flourish, because they have deserted the Lord to give themselves

¹¹ to prostitution; old wine and new wine take away their understanding.

¹² My people consult a wooden idol, and a diviner’s rod speaks to them. A spirit of prostitution leads them astray; they are unfaithful to their God.

¹³ They sacrifice on the mountaintops and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar and terebinth,
where the shade is pleasant. Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution and your daughters-in-law to adultery.

¹⁴ “I will not punish your daughters when they turn to prostitution, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery, because the men themselves consort with harlots and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes— a people without understanding will come to ruin!

¹⁵ “Though you, Israel, commit adultery, do not let Judah become guilty. “Do not go to Gilgal; do not go up to Beth Aven. And do not swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’

¹⁶ The Israelites are stubborn, like a stubborn heifer.
How then can the Lord pasture them like lambs in a meadow?

¹⁷ Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone!

¹⁸ Even when their drinks are gone, they continue their prostitution; their rulers dearly love shameful ways.

¹⁹ A whirlwind will sweep them away, and their sacrifices will bring them shame.

Exodus 10

 

Exodus 10

1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these signs of mine among them

² that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the Lord.”

³ So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, so that they may worship me.

⁴ If you refuse to let them go, I will bring locusts into your country tomorrow.

⁵ They will cover the face of the ground so that it cannot be seen. They will devour what little you have left after the hail, including every tree that is growing in your fields.

⁶ They will fill your houses and those of all your officials and all the Egyptians—something neither your parents nor your ancestors have ever seen from the day they settled in this land till now.’” Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh.

⁷ Pharaoh’s officials said to him, “How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship theLord their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is ruined?”

⁸ Then Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. “Go, worship the Lord your God,” he said. “But tell me who will be going.”

⁹ Moses answered, “We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and our daughters, and with our flocks and herds, because we are to celebrate a festival to the Lord.”

¹⁰ Pharaoh said, “The Lord be with you—if I let you go, along with your women and children! Clearly you are bent on evil.

¹¹ No! Have only the men go and worship the Lord, since that’s what you have been asking for.” Then Moses and Aaron were driven out of Pharaoh’s presence.

¹² And the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over Egypt so that locusts swarm over the land and devour everything growing in the fields, everything left by the hail.”

¹³ So Moses stretched out his staff over Egypt, and the Lordmade an east wind blow across the land all that day and all that night. By morning the wind had brought the locusts;

¹⁴ they invaded all Egypt and settled down in every area of the country in great numbers. Never before had there been such a plague of locusts, nor will there ever be again.

¹⁵ They covered all the ground until it was black. They devoured all that was left after the hail—everything growing in the fields and the fruit on the trees. Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.

¹⁶ Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you.

¹⁷ Now forgive my sin once more and pray to the Lord your God to take this deadly plague away from me.”

¹⁸ Moses then left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord.

¹⁹ And theLord changed the wind to a very strong west wind, which caught up the locusts and carried them into the Red Sea. Not a locust was left anywhere in Egypt.

²⁰ But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.

²¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.”

²² So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days.

²³ No one could see anyone else or move about for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.

²⁴ Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go, worship theLord. Even your women and children may go with you; only leave your flocks and herds behind.”

²⁵ But Moses said, “You must allow us to have sacrifices and burnt offerings to present to the Lord our God.

²⁶ Our livestock too must go with us; not a hoof is to be left behind. We have to use some of them in worshiping the Lord our God, and until we get there we will not know what we are to use to worship the Lord.”

²⁷ But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to let them go.

²⁸ Pharaoh said to Moses, “Get out of my sight! Make sure you do not appear before me again! The day you see my face you will die.”

²⁹ “Just as you say,” Moses replied. “I will never appear before you again.”

A Woman Who Thought She Could Trifle With God

 

We all know this woman, Jezebel. Jezebel is not a woman a Christian female should follow. Jezebel refuse to turn to God. She did evil in God’s eyes. She mocked God. Jezebel committed her evil in the name of Baal. Jezebel proudly believe she could hold out against God. Jezebel died a horrible death because her evil. Her story will probably remind you of some women in power today.

 

1 Kings 19:1-3

1 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.

² So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.”

³ Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there,

1 Kings 21:1-23

1 Some time later there was an incident involving a vineyard belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. The vineyard was in Jezreel, close to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.

² Ahab said to Naboth, “Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth.”

³ But Naboth replied, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my ancestors.”

⁴ So Ahab went home, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my ancestors.” He lay on his bed sulking and refused to eat.

⁵ His wife Jezebel came in and asked him, “Why are you so sullen? Why won’t you eat?”

⁶ He answered her, “Because I said to Naboth the Jezreelite, ‘Sell me your vineyard; or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard in its place.’ But he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’”

⁷ Jezebel his wife said, “Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I’ll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

⁸ So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, placed his seal on them, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city with him.

⁹ In those letters she wrote: “Proclaim a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people.

¹⁰ But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them bring charges that he has cursed both God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.”

¹¹ So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city did as Jezebel directed in the letters she had written to them.

¹² They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth in a prominent place among the people.

¹³ Then two scoundrels came and sat opposite him and brought charges against Naboth before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death.

¹⁴ Then they sent word to Jezebel: “Naboth has been stoned to death.”

¹⁵ As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite that he refused to sell you. He is no longer alive, but dead.”

¹⁶ When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of Naboth’s vineyard.

¹⁷ Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite:

¹⁸ “Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He is now in Naboth’s vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it.

¹⁹ Say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?’ Then say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!’”

²⁰ Ahab said to Elijah, “So you have found me, my enemy!” “I have found you,” he answered, “because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord.

²¹ He says, ‘I am going to bring disaster on you. I will wipe out your descendants and cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel—slave or free.

²² I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat and that of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have aroused my anger and have caused Israel to sin.’

²³ “And also concerning Jezebel the Lord says: ‘Dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.’

Send Me I’ll Go-Lecrae

 

Galatians 6

 

Galatians 6

1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.

² Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

³ If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves.

⁴ Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else,

⁵ for each one should carry their own load.

⁶ Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor.

⁷ Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

⁸ Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

⁹ Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

¹⁰ Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

¹¹ See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!

¹² Those who want to impress people by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.

¹³ Not even those who are circumcised keep the law,yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh.

¹⁴ May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

¹⁵ Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation.

¹⁶ Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to the Israel of God.

¹⁷ From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

¹⁸ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.