The Thoughts of a Young Preacher

When I hear the word Allure my mind jump to something that is sexual. Not sure why but this the case. So the last thing that comes to my mind when I hear the word allure is God. I have stumbled upon this during my studies of the Old Testament as I have been preaching through Hosea. (Which by the way is one of my favorite of the minor prophets.) Take a look at this scripture found in the book of Hosea. (This is the NIV translation.)

Hosea 2:14-15
14 "Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. 15 There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt.

This is God speaking about the nation of Israel. The Jews have an up and down relationship with God. They would follow Him closely and then fall away usually working other Gods. Yet here just after God talks about the punishment He has in store for them we see His true love for his people shine through. I love the thought that God loves me enough that He would allure me back to Him when I mess up. In fact this scripture really moved my heart. It moved me so much so that it brought me to tears during my sermon this past Sunday. I have often heard lessons and sermon taught about Satan and his ways of leading you astray, yet I never hear about God's methods of brining us back. Never forget how much you are worth to God. In fact that is what Jesus did. He gave His life to win us back to God. He created the bridge that we need to cross over for hopelessness to hope. From sin to purity.

We truly serve an awesome God that love us more then we will ever truly comprehend. I will do my best to love Him back. I hope that you will as well.

In His Awesome Love,
Michael