The Kingdom Age of the Hebrew People

My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions! [1 Kings 12:11].

Over three thousand years separate the modern reader from the prophet Hosea. Hosea's world was quite different from our own. Hosea never had to worry about losing his cell phone, forgetting a vital password, or recycling his plastic containers. Yet, in many ways, we are the same. Hosea's fears resemble ours; his heart breaks over betrayal as we do today. Like today, people in Hosea's day yearned to be free of oppression and upheaval. In Hosea's time, though his nation teetered on the edge of war and chaos, the national leaders seemed self-absorbed or corrupt. Don't our headlines scream about the same issues?

Yet the man Hosea was unique. God spoke and ordered him to marry Gomer. Now, I have heard people say God told them to marry a particular person. Still, I don't know anyone who was told to marry an unfaithful mate!

How did this unusual command come ab...

I will be posting the individual sections of Hosea: The Now Prophet on my blog until the entire section of

HOSEA: THE NOW PROPHET—

 COMMENTS ON THE BOOK OF HOSEA

 Part 1--General Historical Background

 has been presented.

PROLOGUE

“Teach us about the ancient prophets.”

Our home group asked me to teach them about the book of Hosea a couple of years ago. I was happy to do so. For several months, I presented a short lesson about Hosea in each of our meetings. This time was an emotional challenge for me. Preparing and teaching this study struck me hard in two ways. First, the strong emotions Hosea and God expressed throughout the story struck me hard. Second, the political, cultural, and spiritual parallels between Hosea’s day and our own struck me hard.

I believe God has much to teach us through the ancient book of Hosea. Therefore, I organized my notes, prayed over the editing of my comments, and published the results. May they bless you greatly; may you understand why I na...

Good morning. It’s a cold morning today in South Carolina.

It is now 2025; the new year promises both blessings and turmoil. Like many of you, I have various plans for this new year. For one thing, I am in the process of rearranging my library. I’m trying to clean out my files and arrange what remains by the Dewey Decimal System. I expect the process to take several months.

 But I’ve also been pondering what God has shown me concerning the new year. Today, I want to share some of what the Lord has told me.

I have no grandiose news for you; what I do have falls into two categories. Depending on how you view it, this can be good or not-so-good news. The first point is primarily for the Church; the second is for all humanity [including the Church].

First, this year, the Holy Spirit will actively work in God’s people to separate or cleave their spirits from their souls. What does this mean? God wants our spirits and souls to reside within our bodies but no longer be entangled.

To unde...

I have been on the run, traveling and learning, and [I hope!] growing in the Lord. My last stop was at the  Leadership Summit for Prophets in Charleston, S.C. It was a fairly intense two days [think of the difference between condensed orange juice and regular juice to understand the level of intensity]. Pastor Samuel imparted wisdom to all those who attended to receive.

On the second day of the summit, we had a round table summit to discuss what God was doing in the nation and the world. My assigned topic was “What God is saying to His Leaders.”  The following is a copy of what God spoke at this round table:

The word of the Lord to those who call themselves “shepherds” concerning the heart, actions, and rewards of shepherds:

Know this, all who call themselves shepherds, my measuring rod is in My hand. I have measured you and am now separating you one from another as the shepherd separates the rams from his nursing ewes with lambs and the goats from those that will go to the slaughte...

Some call the events happening at Ashbury "a move of God."

Some call it "revival."

Some wonder if this is some type of spiritual hysteria.

Some think Asbury is not "worthy" of a move of God.

But God is God and moves as He wills.  Please check out my YouTube video:

https://youtu.be/nREly7gjDpQ.

Yes, we can do anything---IF God is with us.

We can have peace, prosperity, safety, and social justice for all--IF we seek His face.

But walking in pride is even now leading us toward disaster as we listen to the pied-piper of selfish arrogance.

Our problem did not start with politics and will not end with politics--we are suffering from heart disease. Our hearts are growing cold toward God and hard toward anyone or anything except ourselves.

The cure?