Change of Plans, Day 8 Do our plans match God’s plans? Read Hosea chapter 8. I am a planner. I am really good at figuring out how to get objectives accomplished and making sure that we meet deadlines. I love a good plan. My plans often have backup plans. And occasionally, my backup plans have backup plans. I can get carried away with the details and the logistics of making sure that something gets done. However, the bigger question is how do my plans get determined? As we have been reading about all the changes of plans that God has done in this book, we can see that so often,…

Change of Plans, Day 7 God Remembers. Read Hosea chapter 7. When someone does something against you or wrongs you in some way, how long do you remember that? Even when we make a choice to forgive, we still remember what people did to us. It can influence us in ways we hadn’t expected and sometimes in ways that we don’t want. God himself has a memory. God remembers our sins. He tells the people here that he remembers what they have done. He knows what they have done and their sin is always before him. What an incredible idea to think through that God knows and remembers our sins.…

Change of Plans, Day 6 Change of Offerings. Read Hosea chapter 6. It can be really hard when plans change. We can have an incredible idea of what we’re going to do and how we’re going to do it .Then all of a sudden, we get to the place and the time when that’s supposed to happen and we realize that’s something else will happen instead. Here we see the people of Israel having grown up with an expectation and understanding of what they thought God wanted. They thought God wanted sacrifices. They thought God wanted offerings. Now they are learning that what God really wants is mercy and acknowledgment.…

Change of Plans, Day 3 Forgiveness. Read Hosea chapter 3. Over the years, I’ve spoken with many people who have been hurt by someone else. There are several people who talk about the fact that they want to hang on to that hurt and anger forever. They never want to forgive that person. They never believe that that person should have the opportunity to experience forgiveness. Often, when we have plans of revenge and vengeance, God changes those plans. God is a God of holiness and justice. But, God is also a God of mercy and forgiveness. Here we see God instructing Hosea to go, find his wayward wife. Hoses…

Change of Plans, Day 1 Does God have permission to change your plans? Read Hosea chapter 1. We often have so many plans for our lives. We have ideals and goals and objectives. In many cultures, we grow up being told that we can go or do anything and we just need to work hard at it in order to achieve it. However, how often do we seek God’s plans for our lives? Hosea probably had some plans for his life. But, God had a different plan. God gave him instructions that didn’t really make sense and that we would find completely crazy in today’s day and time. God told…