Agape Devotions

Read Joel 1-2 Verses chosen for meditation: Joel 2: 23 - 27 ESV: 23 "Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given the early rain for your vindication; he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before. 24 “The threshing floors shall be full of grain; the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. 25 I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you. 26 “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. 27 You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame. Reflect How do you feel when the narrative changes suddenly one - third way through the chapter while you were reading? Why do you think it changed? Wh...

Today is Catch up day and there will not be a devotional. This is to allow you to catch up on your readings.

Catch up on your readings day Use this day to catch up on your readings! 

Read: Hosea 14 Verses chosen for reflection: Hosea 14:9 "Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;     whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the Lord are right,     and the upright walk in them,     but transgressors stumble in them." Reflect The point of Hosea is indicated in the very last verse of the book: that whoever had read the book to be wise to understand and walk upon what is good and right. What is good and right is outlined for us in this chapter. That even when we fall and stumble, the wise thing to do is to turn back to the Lord and repent.  And this constitutes repentance: that we do not return to the old ways and cling on to our own strength or other powers as idols. Instead, we start to learn to rely on God for our daily lives. Turn away from our old self and inclinations. Turn towards the ways of God and rely on God to embrace His way.  After what Israel and Judah had done against the Name of God; such...

READ : Hosea 11:12 to 13:16 REFLECT : The prophecy of Hosea has been describing the sins and coming judgment against the northern kingdom, Israel. God has described that their love is like a mist that disappears. God has revealed that they have false hearts that are not truly repentant, but merely say the words. Israel has corrupted themselves, reject God’s prophets, and rely on their own ways and power. Chapter 10 ends by picturing a complete destruction of the nation. It is with this background of judgment that God is going to express the most amazing display of His character in these chapters of Hosea. God begins this paragraph by reminiscing about His love for Israel. God loved Israel as a child and called Israel His son as He brought them out of Egypt. We see God calling Israel His firstborn son in Exodus 4:22-23. However, the more God called His people to Himself, the more they turned from Him. It is a terribly sad picture. The more God showed His love and drew His people into a ...

READ : Hosea 11:1-11   Verses chosen for meditation: Hosea 11:8 8  How can I give you up, O Ephraim?     How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah?     How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me;     my compassion grows warm and tender. REFLECT Today, we look at Hosea 11 from the vantage point of a divine parent who remembers time with His child with joy, then anguishes with loneliness as the child grows distant with ingratitude and self-destruction. Still, He pursues and looks forward with hope for restoration and reunion.     In Hosea 11:1, we see the vulnerable love of God. Love given freely with the possibility of being rejected. To an all-knowing God, it was love given with the knowledge of how rebellious Israel might grow to become. Yet, He poured out this love lavishly. In Hosea 11:2-4, God tenderly brought up His child, “ta...

READ : Hosea 9:10 - 10:15. Verses chosen for meditation: Hosea 9:1-3 . 1 Rejoice not, O Israel! Exult not like the peoples; for you have played the whore, forsaking your God. You have loved a prostitute's wages on all threshing floors. 2  Threshing floor and wine vat shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail them. 3  They shall not remain in the land of the  Lord , but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean food in Assyria.   REFLECT In today’s reading, we read further charges against the unfaithful Israel. I n Hosea 9:1-3 , the Lord rebuked Israel upfront that they have nothing to rejoice about . Judgement was on the way because they stood condemned spiritually and morally in God’s sight. T hey were about to experience the end of the good life in Israel. Hosea 9:1 describes that Israel practiced idolatry on the threshing floor (a place where grain was processed); they worshipped Baal because they bel...