Bible Verse of the Day Sunday December 11th, 2022

Hosea 10:12 Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you.

There are principles throughout the Holy Word of God concerning "reaping and sowing," the Apostle Paul teaches us that we "reap what we sow," whether it be for evil or good (Galatians 6:7). Paul further instructs the Galatians that those who sow to satisfy the flesh will reap devastation and bring ruin upon themselves. In contrast, those that sow to appease the spirit will gain eternal life (Galatians 6:8). Paul was well aware, as was the Prophet Hosea before him, of the more profound implication of sowing and reaping. That is, all righteousness that shows up in any human is from God and God alone, and only because of the love, grace, and mercy of a loving and forgiving Savior. So likewise, Jesus made it unequivocally clear that any fruit of the spirit found in the hearts and souls of anyone was due to God's love, grace, and mercy. Jesus teaches us that "He is the vine; we are the branches; without Him, we can do nothing, but through Him, we can do all things" (John 15:5).

Any follower and believer in Christ Jesus that has drifted away from the truth of God's Word should break up their unplowed ground and remove any weeds of doubt and vines of unfaithfulness. Revisit the validity of the Word of God and root out any weeds of resentment, hatred, hate, or hostility. This action will allow the seeds sown on the good ground to reap a harvest of righteousness as we grow spiritually in our day-by-day walk with Christ Jesus. 

The target audience of the Prophet Hosea was the nation of Israel, which he called upon to repent of their sins. He reminded them that they were committing spiritual adultery when they ran after foreign gods. Hosea was pleading with the wayward and sinful nation of Israel to return to their first love and follow the one true God with all their hearts, minds, bodies, spirits, and souls. However, the appeal and plea to break up our unplowed ground and plant the good seeds so that righteousness might bloom in our lives are just as essential and critical today as it was for the people in Hosea's day. Unfortunately, God's church has taken so many turns of faithlessness and unrighteousness in this day and age that it is almost unrecognizable from what God had in mind for His Children. There are false teachers today preaching heresy and blasphemy, and too many follow that profanation like sheep to the slaughter. There are also workers of Satan who promote carnal and worldly prosperity as the core foundation of the gospel.  In fairness, many churches tenaciously adhere to the true gospel of Salvation through faith by God's grace and not of any works or deeds that humanity might attempt. Therefore, when encountering any false teacher, let us shun them as the work of darkness they are and walk in the light of our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus.