AUGUST 23, 2021 CAC LIVING WATER DEVOTIONAL : TOPIC – RETURN TO GOD

By | August 22, 2021

AUGUST 23, 2021 CAC LIVING WATER DEVOTIONAL : TOPIC – RETURN TO GOD

Read previous CAC Living Water Devotionals here

LIVING WATER CAC DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE

Monday, August 23, 2021

RETURN TO GOD

Read: Hosea 14:1-3

Hosea 14:1-3  O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.

Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.

Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.

MEMORISE: 

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded (James 4:8)

EXPOSITION

Billow upon billow have rolled over Ephraim and the last wave discharged itself in the overwhelming destruction of the seat of its strength. ldolatry, adultery, and all forms of wickedness and injustices caused the beloved nation to be turned to their adversaries. While the kingdom was past and gone, the remnant remained heirs of the promises made to their fathers. Hosea, therefore, declared that Israel, after having long remained lonely, should in the end ‘seek the Lord their God and David their king’ (Hos. 3:5). Their God not only invites them to repentance but also foretells that they would be wholly converted, if they return to him.

God’s Word is full of mercy. He calls the Israelites by the name of acceptance, which he had given to their forefather, Jacob: ‘O Israel’. He designs to entreat them to return; ‘return now’; and that not ‘toward’ but ‘quite up to’ Himself, the unchangeable God, whose mercies and promises are as immutable as His Being.

And what God says to all, then, He is saying to us today. Hosea describes the process of returning to the Lord, both for Israel and for us: accept personal responsibility for your sin (v. 1); make an honest confession (v. 2); renounce every false god (v. 3); claim God’s promise and blessings for restoration (vv. 4-8); and finally, surrender your will to the Lord God (v. 9). His arm is open to receive all those who turn to Him readily and unwaveringly. Hosea 6:1 says, ‘Come, and let us return to the Lord; for He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up’. God awaits your return, O you backsliders. Come, return to Him.

PRAYER POINTS

1. Lord Jesus, forgive my turning away from You in the past.

2. O Lord my God, deliver me from wandering off from You. Let Your mercies keep me alive in You.

3. Pray for any backslider you know around you, that God should restore them by His mercy and power.

EXTRA READING FOR TODAY: Psalms 66:19 – 69:19; Romans 14:13 – 15:11

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