Oh yes, the first day back to school. It has a distinct smell that is hard to shake even after it's over. In a sense that smell is literal (the freshman who bathe in it before going to class for the first time with "college girls"), but in a different sense it's almost like a tangible excitement that just permeates the campus. Whether it's upperclassman finding their old friends in the hallways or the freshman looking for t a friend in the hallways, it's just an exciting time to be here.
I'm currently sitting in the laptop section of the computer lab trying to figure out where my classes are. As of now I only have two classes on Monday, a first since I've been at school. Usually by this time I would have already had a class or two, eaten almost two meals and had at least one cup of Jazzman's coffee. I almost don't even know what to do with myself since I've got an hour in between convo and my next class. I guess I could go meet some of those bright eyed freshmen who are wandering around the halls trying to figure out where DeMoss 1113 is.
Or I could just sit here...
This year holds a lot of interesting things for me. For one, I'll be turning 21 in less than a month. Two, I'm trying out a fantasy football league thing for the first time ever. Three, I'm living in a hotel, the one on Odd Fellows Road. I like it so far, and hopefully it stays that way. It's weird 'cause there are girls on the second and third floors. I guess that's not so weird, but I'm so accustomed to Liberty's male dorm thing that I kind of freak out a little when a girl walks down the hall to get to the staircase. I feel like I'm in third grade a lot when there are girls around the dorm and in my mind I'm saying "No! Forbidden!" Maybe I'll get over my fear of girls this year too... or maybe I'll be more frightened. After reading Twilight, I'm not any less scared.
Well, I'm about to go and get some coffee and wake up. Here's to another school year at LU...
Hosea and Me
Friday, August 21, 2009
I've been reading in Hosea lately and I cannot get over the first 3 chapters. Hosea is basically the man, and through his story I'm learning more and more about how I fall short of where I need to be.
Hosea is faced with an intense command from God. Chapter 1, verse 2 says this: "When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, 'Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord." I don't know what I'd do in this situation. Take for myself an adulterous wife? Really? But since Hosea is the man, he obeys God and marries this girl named Gomer. I don't know what her parents were thinking when they named her this... but whatever.
Chapter 2 talks about Israel and how adulterous it has been to God. There is some pretty harsh language towards Israel throughout this entire chapter and it seems pretty grim for the Israelites at this point. But this is where the story gets interesting: the start of chapter 3.
The Lord then says to Hosea "Go show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adultress. Lover her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes." Even through Israel's total deprivation in sin and turning to anything but God, He still loves them. He tells Hosea to do the same for his wife. Hosea searches out his wife and finds her immersed in sin to the point of being put on auction for other men. He looks at her with love and buys her back for 15 shekels of silver and asks her to come live with him again for "many days". Hosea takes his wife back even after she has openly and freely given herself away to other men. What a picture of redemption this gives us!
It says in Exodus 21:32 that the price for a slave is 30 shekels, so in essence, Hosea's wife here is being sold for half the price of a slave. She is cheapened so much that she is being sold for next to nothing practically. But Hosea still sees worth in her. To me, this gives me great hope because I am worth less than Hosea's wife. I have cheapened myself so much by sin that I am worth next to nothing, but Jesus Christ loved His bride enough to come and not only buy us for half to the price of a slave, but He came down and saw us in our nakedness and shame and adultery and decided to give His LIFE for us. I'm chosen to be His, and I can think of no one greater to serve than Someone like that.
May we realize this and grab hold of Christ's extended arm that's buying us back from adulterous slavery. And may we live with Him for "many days" learning through the words that He's spoken through the Bible.
I'm ready to start preparing the bride for the Bridegroom's return.
Hosea is faced with an intense command from God. Chapter 1, verse 2 says this: "When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, 'Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord." I don't know what I'd do in this situation. Take for myself an adulterous wife? Really? But since Hosea is the man, he obeys God and marries this girl named Gomer. I don't know what her parents were thinking when they named her this... but whatever.
Chapter 2 talks about Israel and how adulterous it has been to God. There is some pretty harsh language towards Israel throughout this entire chapter and it seems pretty grim for the Israelites at this point. But this is where the story gets interesting: the start of chapter 3.
The Lord then says to Hosea "Go show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adultress. Lover her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes." Even through Israel's total deprivation in sin and turning to anything but God, He still loves them. He tells Hosea to do the same for his wife. Hosea searches out his wife and finds her immersed in sin to the point of being put on auction for other men. He looks at her with love and buys her back for 15 shekels of silver and asks her to come live with him again for "many days". Hosea takes his wife back even after she has openly and freely given herself away to other men. What a picture of redemption this gives us!
It says in Exodus 21:32 that the price for a slave is 30 shekels, so in essence, Hosea's wife here is being sold for half the price of a slave. She is cheapened so much that she is being sold for next to nothing practically. But Hosea still sees worth in her. To me, this gives me great hope because I am worth less than Hosea's wife. I have cheapened myself so much by sin that I am worth next to nothing, but Jesus Christ loved His bride enough to come and not only buy us for half to the price of a slave, but He came down and saw us in our nakedness and shame and adultery and decided to give His LIFE for us. I'm chosen to be His, and I can think of no one greater to serve than Someone like that.
May we realize this and grab hold of Christ's extended arm that's buying us back from adulterous slavery. And may we live with Him for "many days" learning through the words that He's spoken through the Bible.
I'm ready to start preparing the bride for the Bridegroom's return.
A Non-Seriously Serious Post
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
List of Awesome things:
- Cheesy scary movies
- Sleeping in a bed
- Growing Pains (the TV show, not the pains you get from growing.)
- Chocolate milk
- New car tires
- You
- Kyle Cumming's CD "The Interstate"
- Spending all summer traveling with cool guys and playing music
List of Not-Awesome things:
- Hip-hop music so loud it hurts my body
- 98 degree weather (however, 98 Degrees the band might be a different story...)
- People who scream a lot
- Twilight (sorry. It was so hard to finish reading for me.)
- Forgetting what you were about t........
ANYWAY, I'm in Wilson, North Carolina right now just hanging out for the next couple of days before Ministry Team training camp starts. I'm looking forward to getting back to a routine.
Kthxbye.
- Cheesy scary movies
- Sleeping in a bed
- Growing Pains (the TV show, not the pains you get from growing.)
- Chocolate milk
- New car tires
- You
- Kyle Cumming's CD "The Interstate"
- Spending all summer traveling with cool guys and playing music
List of Not-Awesome things:
- Hip-hop music so loud it hurts my body
- 98 degree weather (however, 98 Degrees the band might be a different story...)
- People who scream a lot
- Twilight (sorry. It was so hard to finish reading for me.)
- Forgetting what you were about t........
ANYWAY, I'm in Wilson, North Carolina right now just hanging out for the next couple of days before Ministry Team training camp starts. I'm looking forward to getting back to a routine.
Kthxbye.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)