July 28, 2019

Breaking Open the Scripture Scriptures for July 28th: Hosea 1:2-10; Psalm 85, Colossians 2:6-19, Luke 11:1-13; Theme: prayers to God Luke: More than any other gospel, Luke shows us the meaning of prayer. Jesus prays constantly. He prays alone, and he takes painstaking detail to teach his disciples to pray. Prayer is a way of talking to God about what we need, even though God always knows. God always answers our prayer, but not always in the way we expect. When we pray, God may say yes, no, or not right now. But the point is that God always answers. God has promised that God will provide for our needs. The story of the friend who comes knocking on you door at midnight is an example. It was expected that you would help that person. If you help your friends, God will do even more for you. Jesus was an example of how God answers prayers – he went to God in all things going on in his ministry – even when he went to the cross – his last words were a prayer. Hosea: The prophets seemed to go through great lengths to get the message of God to the people. They did whatever they needed to do to get people’s attention. Hosea is still a little extreme. He uses his marriage and his children to get the message that the people have broken their covenant with God. Hosea marries a women with a reputation of being a prostitute. He says that is like the relationship between God and his people. They have been unfaithful. He gives his children strange names to demonstrate the negative behavior of the people of Israel. Many of the prophets are still giving that negative message that the people will pay for the way that they treat God. They are trying to get the people to repent. But you attract more flies with sugar than with vinegar. When there is repentance, God also shows grace. Yet even in the message of grace in the words of Jesus – Hosea’s message of the consequences of sin still is important today. Questions: How is your prayer life? Do you feel connected to God when you pray? What would Hosea say to Christians of today?